Matt N
CF Legend
Well, I have to update this list because on 25th March 2018, an unexpected fantastic coaster crept its way into my top 10...My top ten is currently as follows:
So, that is my top ten. I admit that I may have some slightly strange opinions compared to all of you, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion. For all I know, there might be someone reading this who thinks that Mako is a pile of trash and Colossus at Thorpe Park (my current least favourite coaster) is amazing! Also, some of these are quite interchangeable/very closely matched. I would say that the last 3 or 4 are quite closely matched. On a completely random side note, I don't think I currently expect SW8 to change this list at all. It might really surprise me, for all I know, but I'm expecting it to be high top 20 at the very most (for me, that is, not top 20 worldwide. I've only ridden 39 coasters.) Granted, there is no video footage of it testing, currently. If I get to visit Blackpool next year, then Icon will probably make this list, but I can't judge before I ride!
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando) - This was my first B&M hyper, and wow! It blew me away! Before I had the opportunity to ride, I had very high expectations of it, but I kept thinking to myself from watching POVs of different B&M hypers; "What do they [coaster enthusiasts] all like so much? It's just a load of hills in a row! Where are the inversions?" But that first ride on Mako, on the 23rd August 2016, in second row, I was wowed! The airtime was immense, with the drop really pulling me over with an immense moment of airtime. The hills all had an immense amount of airtime too. The ending also provided some nice twisty fun. When I read reviews online after riding, I was thinking "Trim? What trim? I couldn't notice any trim!" And it was so, so smooth! One of the smoothest coasters I've ever ridden. As soon as Mako ended, I just knew it was the best thing I'd ever ridden. Is that what you guys felt like when you first stepped off of El Toro, Lightning Rod, Taron and other highly rated coasters? In conclusion: best thing ever for me. Out of 39 coasters, this is my favourite.
- Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa) - It's just like Nemesis but longer. What's not to love?
- SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa) - I was not expecting to like SheiKra as much as I did. It's such a great ride! It packs a punch, the drops are great, it's quite smooth for a 12 year old coaster and I just adore this ride! Fun fact for you guys: SheiKra is actually my Dad's number 1 coaster!
- The Swarm (Thorpe Park) - I love this attraction! It packs a punch, it's virtually Mako smooth, the seating position makes for an interesting ride experience, the theming is excellent and it's just a great ride. I don't really get all the hate for wing coasters, as Swarm is fantastic in my opinion. Although in a way, I am slightly worried that I've overrated the Swarm. I last rode in May 2015, so I may have to rejudge in 2018.
- Nemesis (Alton Towers) - Brlliance. Sheer brilliance is what this ride is. John Wardley is a genius. Where do I even start with Nemesis' awesomeness? It's still one of the most forceful and intense roller coasters I've ever ridden. For the first few years I rode, I actually came off Nemesis with a sort of dizzy/light-headed feeling which strangely, no ride other than Montu in 2016 has given me. Also, I love that the ride builds up speed as it goes on and is still going at the same speed it started at when it hits the brake run. It's incredibly smooth for a 23 year old coaster, as well! It does have a very slight rattle to it on some rides, but this is more than acceptable at the ride's age. There are no kinks, jolts or roughness whatsoever in the trackwork itself. In fact, I actually reckon I may have had a Mako smooth ride in July 2017, with no rattle whatsoever. It just glided forcefully along the track! It was great!
- The Smiler (Alton Towers) - This ride is seriously messed up, from the ton of inversions to the theme, and I like it! This coaster is actually quite intense, but in a different sort of way to rides like Nemesis and Montu. Rides like Nemesis and Montu are intense in a forceful way, whereas the Smiler is intense in a crazy/dizzying sort of way, if you get what I mean. Gerstlauer were actually very clever in how they designed the Smiler's layout, because every single inversion adds to the feeling of dizziness and disorientation you get during the ride. I have also not found the Smiler overly rough, just a bit rattly. The rattle is more noticeable than on the park's B&M coasters, but is nothing too unbearable. I did have a pretty rough back row ride, however. And don't forget the cobra roll exit. An exit from one of the dive loops has a pretty hard jolt, as well. If the ride is any rougher when I next ride, I may consider bumping it down a few spots, as I'm not a fan at all of rough coasters. One thing I do find interesting, however, is that I actually think Speed at Oakwood is smoother, and it's 7 years older than Smiler.
- The Incredible Hulk (Islands of Adventure) - The Hulk is a great ride! I like the launch, it packs a good force to it and the onboard audio is a great touch! An interesting note is that the ride was more rattly than I would have expected from a coaster that had literally reopened after retracking earlier in the month (when I rode), but was nothing unbearable.
- Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando) - I was pleasantly surprised with Kraken! It was not as rough as I was expecting and I actually thought that it was pretty fast and packing a good force when I rode!
- Megafobia (Oakwood) - Megafobia is the only wooden roller coaster I've ridden (that is set to change in 2018!) and it is an awesome ride! It's really quite wild with quite a bit of decent airtime. In terms of airtime alone, it's probably second only to Mako, but Mako is in a different league in terms of airtime. One real detracting point from Megafobia, however, is the turns. They are unbanked, so they provide a horrible jerky sensation when the ride turns, sort of like on a Wild Mouse. It did rattle quite a bit, but less than I would expect from a 21 year old woodie.
- Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa) - Kumba is a really great ride, but I don't remember it maintaining its pace as well as Kraken did. It's smooth for its age and packs a punch. I think I may need to reride Kumba in the future, as I only managed to get one ride.
My top ten is currently as follows (the new addition is in bold):
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando) - This was my first B&M hyper, and wow! It blew me away! Before I had the opportunity to ride, I had very high expectations of it, but I kept thinking to myself from watching POVs of different B&M hypers; "What do they [coaster enthusiasts] all like so much? It's just a load of hills in a row! Where are the inversions?" But that first ride on Mako, on the 23rd August 2016, in second row, I was wowed! The airtime was immense, with the drop really pulling me over with an immense moment of airtime. The hills all had an immense amount of airtime too. The ending also provided some nice twisty fun. When I read reviews online after riding, I was thinking "Trim? What trim? I couldn't notice any trim!" And it was so, so smooth! One of the smoothest coasters I've ever ridden. As soon as Mako ended, I just knew it was the best thing I'd ever ridden. Is that what you guys felt like when you first stepped off of El Toro, Lightning Rod, Taron and other highly rated coasters? In conclusion: best thing ever for me. Out of 39 coasters, this is my favourite.
- Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa) - It's just like Nemesis but longer. What's not to love?
- SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa) - I was not expecting to like SheiKra as much as I did. It's such a great ride! It packs a punch, the drops are great, it's quite smooth for a 12 year old coaster and I just adore this ride! Fun fact for you guys: SheiKra is actually my Dad's number 1 coaster!
- The Swarm (Thorpe Park) - I love this attraction! It packs a punch, it's virtually Mako smooth, the seating position makes for an interesting ride experience, the theming is excellent and it's just a great ride. I don't really get all the hate for wing coasters, as Swarm is fantastic in my opinion. Although in a way, I am slightly worried that I've overrated the Swarm. I last rode in May 2015, so I may have to rejudge in 2018.
- Nemesis (Alton Towers) - Brlliance. Sheer brilliance is what this ride is. John Wardley is a genius. Where do I even start with Nemesis' awesomeness? It's still one of the most forceful and intense roller coasters I've ever ridden. For the first few years I rode, I actually came off Nemesis with a sort of dizzy/light-headed feeling which strangely, no ride other than Montu in 2016 has given me. Also, I love that the ride builds up speed as it goes on and is still going at the same speed it started at when it hits the brake run. It's incredibly smooth for a 23 year old coaster, as well! It does have a very slight rattle to it on some rides, but this is more than acceptable at the ride's age. There are no kinks, jolts or roughness whatsoever in the trackwork itself. In fact, I actually reckon I may have had a Mako smooth ride in July 2017, with no rattle whatsoever. It just glided forcefully along the track! It was great!
- The Smiler (Alton Towers) - This ride is seriously messed up, from the ton of inversions to the theme, and I like it! This coaster is actually quite intense, but in a different sort of way to rides like Nemesis and Montu. Rides like Nemesis and Montu are intense in a forceful way, whereas the Smiler is intense in a crazy/dizzying sort of way, if you get what I mean. Gerstlauer were actually very clever in how they designed the Smiler's layout, because every single inversion adds to the feeling of dizziness and disorientation you get during the ride. I have also not found the Smiler overly rough, just a bit rattly. The rattle is more noticeable than on the park's B&M coasters, but is nothing too unbearable. I did have a pretty rough back row ride, however. And don't forget the cobra roll exit. An exit from one of the dive loops has a pretty hard jolt, as well. If the ride is any rougher when I next ride, I may consider bumping it down a few spots, as I'm not a fan at all of rough coasters. One thing I do find interesting, however, is that I actually think Speed at Oakwood is smoother, and it's 7 years older than Smiler.
- The Incredible Hulk (Islands of Adventure) - The Hulk is a great ride! I like the launch, it packs a good force to it and the onboard audio is a great touch! An interesting note is that the ride was more rattly than I would have expected from a coaster that had literally reopened after retracking earlier in the month (when I rode), but was nothing unbearable.
- Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando) - I was pleasantly surprised with Kraken! It was not as rough as I was expecting and I actually thought that it was pretty fast and packing a good force when I rode!
- Wicker Man (Alton Towers) - Well, well, well... I think Wicker Man might possibly be one of the most surprising attractions I've ridden in a while! During its construction, I was expecting a similar level of thrill to Thirteen from this ride, but I remained cautiously optimistic. And I was right to, as Wicker Man is a fantastic ride! It's pretty wild, and actually quite forceful in portions, even if not quite as forceful as Megafobia! The ride also had 2 pretty good pops of airtime following the not-so-boring corner, even though the airtime is not as strong for me as Megafobia's. The reason I prefer this to Megafobia, though, is because; it's smoother, with more comfortable trains; the transitions are much better and more thrilling than Megafobia's and just because I think I enjoyed the ride just a little bit more than I enjoyed Megafobia. Overall, Wicker Man is absolutely fantastic, and it really makes me want to ride more GCIs in the future.
- Megafobia (Oakwood) - Megafobia
iswas the only wooden roller coaster I'd ridden(that is set to change in 2018!)and it is an awesome ride! It's really quite wild with quite a bit of decent airtime. In terms of airtime alone, it's probably second only to Mako, but Mako is in a different league in terms of airtime. One real detracting point from Megafobia, however, is the turns. They are unbanked, so they provide a horrible jerky sensation when the ride turns, sort of like on a Wild Mouse. It did rattle quite a bit, but less than I would expect from a 21 year old woodie.
EDIT AGAIN: Found it!
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