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First Installment Wins

Coaster Hipster

Giga Poster
With movie franchises, generally people tend to think the first film in the series is the best one, with sequels ever more likely to decrease in quality with notable exceptions. With coasters this is usually the opposite with the first ride of a kind made by a manufacturer being average or simply bad and the company improving afterwards.

However sometimes, a manufacturer tries its hand on a new concept and never manages to top it of even years later no matter how good their later installments are. Not only their "first" was really good, it still stands out as their best yet :eek:

Kumba is an example of First Installement Wins I believe. First big B&M looper and many think it is still the best because of its intensity and gorgeous landscaping.

Magnum XL-200 was the debut Hypercoaster for Arrow and while it receives mixed opinions nowadays, its reception is arguably much better than the Desperado/Big One/Titan V follow ups. It's odd to think that their experimental design turned out to be their best effort!


Do you have more examples of successful coaster first tries in mind?
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
I like this topic!

I completely agree with Kumba, such an amazing coaster.
I would also say the first Intamin Giga Coaster, Millennium Force, is the best of the two.
X2 is often regarded as better than Eejanaika or Dinoconda.
Oblivion was the first dive coaster, and I feel most people think it is the best.
 

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
While not a particular 'model', I do think that WDW's Space Mountain is the best of the bunch. The immersiveness, the soundtrack, and the overall experience just seem to work out the best than the other versions. It may not be the best in terms of theming and layout, it works better as a complete package.

I'd also like to say Dinn Corp woodies. Beast(I know it wasn't exactly under Dinn Corp, but the ride did spark the start of them) is regarded as one of the most iconic woodies out there, whereas some most all of their other additions are seen as some of the worst things known to man.
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
@Edward M got it right with X2 and Oblivion. Hell yeah.
And at the risk of sounding like an Alton Towers fan boy (which I'm most definitely not), Nemesis too. Ok, I know technically it wasn't the first B&M inverter, but at that point in time all the others had just been, well... 'roller coasters'. Called Batman.
Nemesis was different. To this day, I know of no other coaster that combines ride concept, theme, storyline, location, marketing and execution so perfectly. So in that respect, it's still kind of a first.
 
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HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
I tried and failed to come up with any from the big 'categories' of rides.
Either rides are unique enough to not really have had much competition or follow up yet, or most designs have improved over time.
I can believe the ones in original post.
Oblivion ain't the best.
What makes X2 better, out of interest?
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
^Oblivion IS the best.
If you don't 'get' why it's the best, then, well... I dunno.
I guess it helps if you were around at the time when it was 'new'. Back then, there was simply nothing else like it.
In fact, somebody wrote an excellent piece on why Oblivion was the best of its kind, can't remember who it was now, might have been @Joey ?? Worth a read.
If that doesn't convince you, nothing will.

As for X2, well, I haven't been on the others, but for me the onboard audio, the smoke effects and the fire are what raise it up a notch.
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
The main reason I've heard X2 is better is that Dinoconda and especially Eejanaika can be really really rough. That isn't to say X2 isn't rough, but it just isn't nearly as rough, from what I've heard. I'll hopefully be riding Eejanaika Monday and can say for myself.

Also, I haven't been on Oblivion, but I think it's the only dive coaster that works as a dive coaster. The main feature and only real excitement of a dive coaster is the drop. The rest of the ride tends to be mainly meandering through the course since the trains are too big to do anything very intense. This is coming from someone who's only been on one dive coaster (Sheikra), but I feel like I get the gist of it. Oblivion uses the highlight of the ride and hypes it up. It is something mysterious and scary. It goes into a hole that seems like it won't even fit! Even though I haven't ridden it, I can't help but appreciate the buildup the ride seems to have from pictures and videos as well as people's opinions.
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
Dinoconda is only rough in a fun way, I'd hope they're similar on that front.
Bonus effects are certainly a bonus, but perhaps not enough to make X2 the standout design.
 

gavin

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
I didn't find Dinoconda rough. Yeah, it throws you around like a rag doll, but that seems intentional. That's not the same as rough to me, which would be down to poor design, construction or maintenance.

The effects and audio were also added later with X2 (hence the "2"), so certainly weren't part of the original package.
 

Coaster Hipster

Giga Poster
What about Raptor @ Gardaland ? The first B&M Wing Coaster and arguably one that plays the whole wing seating and near-misses very well.
 

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
The effects and audio were also added later with X2 (hence the "2"), so certainly weren't part of the original package.
Considering they haven't yet worked any time I rode it. :p

B&M Invert - Batman the Ride, SFGAM - Batman clones are very well received. While small in their original conception, they have always packed a punch.
B&M Floorless - Medusa, SFGAdv - Just like Kumba, large steel coaster with loads of inversions is always a hit.
Arrow Steel/Steel Tubular - Matterhorn Bobsleds, Disneyland - Arguably the most classic of any modern steel coaster - it's the first period!
Arrow Mine Train - Runaway Mine Train, SFOT - A great family attraction, complete with cheap animatronic scenes!
Intamin Accelerator - Xcelerator, Knott's Berry Farm - Man, I remember when this was the craziest looking launched coaster; little did we know the 400 ft. coasters that lay beyond. Overall however, it was received as an outstanding innovation at the time.
Intamin Blitz - Maverick, Cedar Point - Who said multi-launch coasters need to be taller than 105 ft.?
Gravity Group - Hades, Mt. Olympus - It partly got rough over time, but man were minds blown at the time for using a 90 degree banked turn at opening.
Arrow Corkscrew - Corkscrew, Knott's Berry Farm - Yes, Corkscrews are hardly popular these days. But they were the first modern-inverting roller coaster, and offered a relatively smooth, compact thrill. They were also rather cheap, which gave advent to lots of installments at lesser-known parks.
 
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