Looks like Nick and Parker keep forgetting to make new topics.
Evel Knievel - Six Flags St Louis Hard to describe why this is one of the best wooden coasters in the country because there's nothing really special about its layout or stats. This is just a really solid wooden coaster that's filled with airtime and cool elements. Also, similar to Voyage, EK gets faster and more intense as it goes on.
Rockin Rollercoaster - Disney's Hollywood Studios / Walt Disney Studios While this is the same coaster that is at Six Flags/Walibi Holland, like any great Disney attraction, the theming (and onboard audio) make this a top tier coaster. This is also one of the very few rides at Disney's parks that was made to be legitimately intense and stand up to the best coasters at any other park, as evidenced by the fact that I have it higher up in my rankings than a few other great Florida coasters like Kumba and Manta.
Overall Rockin Rollercoaster is an extremely solid effort and is a lot more effective as a coaster than Disney's other thrill coasters Expedition Everest and California Screamin'. Both are good rides, but Everest is more about the dark ride and has a pretty lame layout, and California Screamin' is too slow and uneventful to be considered on a top 10 list. Also unlike most other Vekoma loopers, Rockin Rollercoaster is very smooth due to good maintenance. Regarding which one is better, I like both equally. The queue and preshow is better at DHS but the theming on the ride itself I like better at WDS.
Either way, #5 overall for me is Wildcat at Hershey. I've liked it since the first time I rode it during some good solid ERT on it back in 2001, it's a petty aggressive ride, especially for a GCI. I liked it a little better in the PTC's vs the Millennium Flyers, but when I went back in 09 even with the MF's it was a really solid ride still.
Then #5 for me in the steel department is Diamondback at Kings Island. It is what it is, though I like it a lot anyways. I find it to be the best of the modern(long train) B&M Hypers, a little above Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland which falls just short of my top 10, and way above Intimidator at Carowinds which didn't make a ranking for me.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
Thanks for making the topics fellas. I'll take over again this week, but want to update #5 first. Back in California again, had a week of work and taking my first Disneyland trip tomorrow, so I've got all my bases covered.
My #6 favorite is Thunderhead at Dollywood. Dollywood is just an awesome park and Thunderhead is a great out of control coaster.
#5 is at Cedar Point, it's big and its red and it's not Magnum. The first time I rode Maverick I thought it was going to rival my #1 coaster because it just had everything. It had launches, inversions, insane airtime, speed, it was great. The restraints are bulky and pretty uncomfortable, but the ride is solid.
Airtime is my favorite part of any roller coaster, and loopers tend not to have much if any, the fact that there are two moments of nearly painful air on Maverick makes it that much better for me. The more I rode Maverick the less impressed I got with it, once you know whats coming it can lose its "wow" factor a little bit, but it's always a solid coaster. Biggest complaint about Maverick is probably it's downtime and capacity, the thing goes down every couple of hours and it will always have a pretty long line because of its short trains.
Maverick seems to have a love hate relationship with a lot of enthusiasts, either you hate it or you love it, and I like it a lot.
Top 5 wood-5-Goliath 4-Ravine Flyer II 3-Phoenix 2-Voyage 1-El Toro Top 5 Steel- 5-Velocicoaster 4- Maverick 3- Fury 325 2-Steel Vengeance 1-X2 Coaster Count: 444
My #5 Coaster is many people's #1.... Millennium Force at Cedar Point:
I love the speed on this ride, but lack of airtime and over all boring ride after the turn around make this my #5 steel, which could drop lower this year as X-Flight and I-305 will im sure be added to my top 10 list.
#5 Wooden: American Thunder at Six Flags St. Louis.
An awesome ride. I love the airtime of this one, and this ride is definitely worth a trip or two as season to SFSTL.
I totally agree guys. "American Thunder" at SFStl is also my top 5. It is the only GCI that I don't get bored of. Also, with every visit I make down there I enjoy it more and more.
For my number 5 Steel coaster.
Mindbender at the West Edmonton Mall
First of all, being able to ride such an intense looping coaster backwards is crazy as hell. I seriously can not get over how shockingly good this coaster was. I don't know if it was because I wasn't expecting much or what but I don't think I have ever been so damn excited walking off of a ride...I probably looked like one of the weird ACEr guys on Travel Travel. The layout is simple yet very effective in an indoor setting. It has a layered feel to it as you drop down through ceiling rafters and other supports. The big twisting drops give an awesome zero G sensation and are pretty much vertical. The bottom of the drops are loaded with positive Gs and have crazy headchoppers. There is also a very good ejector airtime hill near the end of the ride which was an awesome surprise. The ride feels like it goes faster and faster with an awesome finale of face choppers and a forceful helix. Its such a shame that this ride is so damn far away because I would love to make frequent trips to the mall as they have another awesome spinner and some cool flats.
Also I am like 95% sure that the sound of this coaster is used for the B&M sound for RCT2. When I first walked I knew EXACTLY what the sound was. It also makes sense as recording an indoor coaster would offer the best sound for recording purposes as apposes to outside.
