Hidden Gems

[Nic]

Inspired by this topic which got moved to trip planning...

Which parks have a hidden gem of a coaster. The rest of the park is distinctly average, but there's one fab coaster that makes it worth the visit.

Which of these parks have you been to? Which ones do you want to visit? Is it worth travelling a long way and paying entry for a park with only one decent ride?

In terms of ones that I've been to, LWV immediately springs to mind. T'Ultimate is epic, but the rest of the park is utterly "meh".

As for ones I'd like to visit, Bayern Park must be at the top of the list. Its got 2 tivolis, 2 butterflies, and is about to get this - http://www.bayern-park-coaster-blog.de/ Freischutz: an opera themed Launched X-Car with light up wheels. The park isn't even particularly near to any others that are worth visiting, so would it be worth the trip?

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

As I said before, Oakwood for Megaphobia...

Even if you think it's dire Nic... ¬¬

 

[Nic]

I didn't say it was dire. Not at all. Just dull. Really dull.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

^BLASPHEMY!!!

 

[ECG]

Other than Boulder Dash & Ravine Flyer II, there's no hidden gem that shines brighter than El Toro at Freizeitpark Plohn IMO. The park has even less to offer than Lake Compounce or Waldameer & is in the middle of nowhere, but is so worth the effort to get there just for the little GCI woodie.
I'm sure there are others out there that I haven't been to yet, but those would be my choices.

 

[Lofty]

I've not been to a park yet that has made me go, "Wow, I'd visit again for that coaster" - Hopefully Walibi Holland changes my thoughts with that

But, the one I do have, is on the same lines but slightly different. A coaster that when you look at it, you'd think, "Nahh, looks ****, it's a kiddies coaster". But turns out to be absolutely loads of fun and pretty intense" Tomahawk, Port Aventura. That first drop and first corner, not to mention last drop are amazing.

 

[Mysterious Sue]

That's exactly how I felt about Troy at Toverland. You'll all get to see it for yourselves soon enough too I guess, but it is completely separate and alien to the rest of the park.

Toverland is mainly indoors - it's basically like a large children's play area with climbing frames and such. You walk outside and there's the Booster Bikes, but then keep going and suddenly Troy appears - this giant beast completely on it's own! It's totally odd to see it there.

I'd totally go back just for Troy!

 

[Snoo]

Cornball Express. Some people don't like it.. but it REALLY REALLY shined for me.. and I absolutely loved it. The airtime was fantastic.. as good as Phoenix.. each time I've been on it and it never failed to be just epic.

Honorable mention goes to a few rides who are overshadowed by other rides in the park but are equally or even better... or just aren't known: Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood, Mind Bender at SFoG, and Patriot at WoF.

 

[Hyde]

I think my previous post was deleted?

Anyways, Waldameer and Ravine Flyer II. Because I get the feeling you're not visiting for this roller coaster. :lol:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOpSr3AcQo8[/youtube]

 

[Hixee]

OK, here goes...

Hidden Gem coasters in 'meh' parks:
-Boulder Dash - couldn't not mention that could I?! Lake Compounce is a nice park, don't get me wrong, but it really doesn't feel like it'd home to a coaster like that. Boulder Dash is remarkably good and easily one of the best 'hidden gems' out there.
-Ravine Flyer II - same as Boulder Dash in some respects, the rest of Waldameer isn't that great, but Ravine Flyer II is epic.
-Cyclone - Coney Island is falling apart. It's a really nice place, but just feels very run down. I was expecting the Cyclone to just be a crappy credit, but it was actually quite good. Certainly did not fit with the area.
Megafobia - Like people have said above, Oakwood's a bit lame really, but Megafobia is good.

Awesome coasters that don't look awesome:
-Oblivion - all is does it a drop and a turn right? Yes, but it really kicks-ass. Not a hidden gem for obvious reasons.
-Patriot - I'd not really heard anything great about this, but it was actually very good. The best bit was the zero-g-roll. No violence, just perfect floater and a wonderful roll. I really like it. It's not a hidden gem though really, as Prowler was pretty good too.
-Phoenix - Jerry was hyping this ride up (not really by saying all that much, almost the lack of it actually), and forced us to sit at the front. I couldn't really understand why, looking at it it's just a small woodie, but yeah... it's got some mad airtime.

I'm bound to think of ones I've missed, I might come back at some point...

 

[WelcomeToOblivion]

^I agree with the Oblivion comment. Such a beast.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Ravine Flyer II would probably be the obvious choice for me here, because although the park is cute and has hella good Lemonade, the coasters and rides (apart from Xscream) are all mediocre. It's such a good coaster, it literally zips through the whole layout and has badass airtime.. I wish most of the bigger parks had a wooden coaster this good!

Voyage at Holiday World might be considered one as well, because I'm not fond of like, anything else in the park at all. Raven is disgustingly overrated, Legend is average, Pilgrim's Plunge is okay. The park itself is nice but that's the only coaster or ride worth mentioning there, in my opinion.

Phoenix would probably be the last one on my list that I can think of right now. It looks so lame, and like Hix said, looking at it I thought "this can't live up to the hype," but it did!

 

[furie]

Every time I read this topic, I think of this:

Only replaced with these:

 

[Inverse]

^Great! Now I want Iced Gems...

I'm gonna second (third or fourth, really) Megafobia and T'Ultimate.

And then add Jubilee Odyssey.

 

[Ian]

Hmm, Wild Mouse at Blackpool jumps out at me.

I know there are better roller coasters in the park, but when I first visited BPB in 2002, I remember looking at it and thinking it looked like a pile of ****. I rode it and loved it! It really surprised me. I actually used used the word "gem" to describe it to my mates afterwards.

 

[Hyde]

Another hidden gem that usually gets skipped over is Wicked Twister at CP.

With popular coasters such as MF, TTD, Maverick, Magnum, and Raptor, there is often little mention of WT being a really good coaster.

WT is not a hidden gem in the sense of being the only good ride in a park, but that it is often overlooked and not fully appreciated.