Terminator Salvation - Six Flags Magic Mountain I haven't ridden it since it's been re-themed/de-themed whatever you want to call it but going from my experiences when it first opened as Terminator Salvation it did have a lot going for it. The outside part of the queue is really corny but once you get to the first pre-show the theming does a 180 and becomes very good. The build up to the ride is very exciting and the onboard audio added a lot of ambiance to the lift. The ride itself is GCI gold, action packed from the drop to the brakes and tracks extremely well. Next time I ride it it's going to be weird going over the lift and not hearing the audio or seeing DejaVu, still its a really solid coaster.
Maverick - Cedar Point Maverick is unquestionably my favorite coaster at Cedar Point and proves it doesn't have to be the biggest or fastest to be great. The ride is completely dwarfed by all the bigger coasters around it, but it has a sick first drop that is steeper than 90 degrees, an awesome mid-ride LIM launch, intense quirky layout, and unique inversions. The one thing that this ride could benefit from is Intimidator305 type strap restraints as opposed to the hard ones because there is some neck chopping involved.
#6 is Dania Beach Hurricane. DBH of course right now is SBNO, but hopefully it reopens. It was designed by the same designer/company that did Viper here at SFGAm. Riding it late(like 1:45am) on a Sat night when it's running with a full train and it's had all day to warm up, it was really hard to compare with anything else, under those conditions, even the first drop had a pop of airtime towards the back. The airtime was brutal, and the turns had quite a bit of punch to them also, it was a really great ride and hopefully it reopens, sooner rather than later.
Then #6 in my steel column (we're starting to break top 50 or so overall now) is Nitro at SFGAdv. It's a really good early effort at Hyper Coasters by B&M, I especially like the pre-block brake helix. Really the only negatives towards the ride are the park it's located in, and the short single row trains, and luckily the ride's setting, though a pretty shameful clear cutting of a Forrest, still takes you away from and almost makes you forget about where exactly you're at
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
I like Nitro from a ride standpoint but I don't understand anything about it at all. The queue consists of a chain link fence with worn down bland grey walls and the station is a random tin box. I don't know if they thought this would look good because the station is next to Batman's but it looks really strange. On top of that the staircases on both sides of the station are not only pink (i'm assuming to match the track ties), but really disgusting looking beaten down pink that looks like someone just vomited candy they just ate all over the staircase. Note to businesses everywhere: pink is not a good color if your not going to repaint things frequently (or ever).
It always seems to have bothered me more than anyone else but I come off that ride feeling like I need to take a shower.
I had the chance to ride this coaster in 2009 during Winter Coaster Solace right after a major refurbishment. Despite what everyone else has said this ride is awesome. While it is pretty rough I really didn't find it any more rough then the Gravity Group coasters out there. Riding it at night and in the back row gave a very intense and out of control experience.
Steel - Xcelerator at Knotts Berry Farm
I don't have that much to say about this ride as there really isn't much too it...but I like it a lot. Despite the shorter top hat and the slower launch it feels just as intense as Dragster or Kingda Ka. The airtime in the back row is incredible and the overbank turns are full of positive G's.
