Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Results!

[Mike]

Just a few weeks after El Toro took the honours in the Wood Coaster poll, it is now your opportunity to vote for your favourite STEEL coaster!

http://www.ushsho.com/steelrollercoaste ... ts2012.htm
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The results are in, and the winner is Expedition GeForce!

Expedition GeForce has edged Six Flags New England's Bizarro to claim the top spot for the first time since 2005, and is the 5th time in the poll's history that it has claimed this number 1 ranking.

Meanwhile, New Texas Giant has stormed into the number 3 spot, knocking Intimidator 305 and Kawasemi into 4th and 5th respectively to round off the top 5.

Despite being ridden by 47 riders that took the poll, PortAventura's Shambhala loses out to Kawasemi that only had 16 riders due to the riders being "more experienced, giving Kawasemi valid mutual rider comparisons with 348 other coasters". However, "it will be interesting to see where 'Shambhala' ranks after it has been ridden by more experienced riders in years to come".

Falling out of the top 10 for 2012 are the UK's highest placed coaster at 12th in Nemesis, Piraten [13th], Millennium Force [14th] and Walibi Holland's Goliath [16th].

Holding up everybody right at the bottom is Goudurix, whilst Flamingo Land might want to look away as Zamperla Volares narrowly avoided last place. Thorpe Park's X:\No Way Out remains one of the most hated coasters in the UK and is comfortably in the bottom 10.
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So, where has your favourite coaster come? Do you agree with the rankings? Does anything particularly surprise you?

Discuss!

 

[Hixee]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012

I'm going to sticky this topic so it sits alongside the Wooden Poll topic. Thanks Mike.

 

[furie]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Just a few weeks after El Toro took the honours in the Wood Coaster poll, it is now your opportunity to vote for your favourite STEEL coaster!

http://www.ushsho.com/bestrollercoasterpoll.htm

If you don't want the burden of going through Excel manually changing everything on the Ballot, there is a drag-and-drop ballot waiting for you!

http://hawker.stationbrakes.com/

Polls are open until February 28th, giving you plenty of time for submission.
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The drag and drop seems to be working fine now.

 

[Mike]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

^ I've deleted that option from the post. If people still want to use then it's available through the Mitch Hawker website.

I've also added a bit of extra information to the opening post about the 2010 poll and new coasters opening since... No effort spared really.

 

[furie]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

I don't have my old ballot, so it means starting from scratch. I just spent an hour dragging and dropping everything into place, I can't see me bothering again. Wasted my time so I doubt I'll be submitting one this year. Such is life.

I should really make my own list, but It's a lot of effort and then I have to work out which coasters are grouped this year and which ones aren't and everything else

Cheers for the effort though Mike

 

[Mike]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Ah, that sucks.

Although you did put Lisebergbanan over Apollo's Chariot, so it's not that much of a loss for the poll. ...

http://www.ushsho.com/processedsteelballots2010.htm
You're under "furie".

 

[furie]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Ahhh, that MAY change things Mitch responded right away to my email, and I like the ballot so I'll redo one - just print screened the choices I made. So all is good, especially where Apollo's Chariot lies (it's even farther from the top now).

It's okay, but really nothing special. Lisebergbanana I loved though. Actually, AC is lucky Avalanche at Blackpool isn't above it

Actually, that poll shows that I'm still pretty much in the same mind now as I was then, which is cool

 

[furie]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Drag and drop seems to now be working

http://hawker.stationbrakes.com/

Top Twenty for me:

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1
Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,2
Expedition GeForce Holiday Park DE,y,y,3
Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES,y,n,4
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,5
Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,y,6
Blue Fire Megacoaster Europa Park DE,y,y,7
Griffon Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,8
Silver Star Europa-Park DE,y,y,9
Oblivion Alton Towers UK,y,y,10
Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,11
The Swarm Thorpe Park UK,y,y,12
Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,13
Lisebergbanan Liseberg SE,y,n,14
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,15
Great Bear Hersheypark PA,y,n,16
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,17
Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,n,18
Possessed Dorney Park PA,y,n,19
Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park UK,y,y,20

My 2010?

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1
Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,2
Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES,y,n,3
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,4
Nemesis Alton Towers UK,y,y,5
Griffon Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,6
Oblivion Alton Towers UK,y,y,7
Great Bear Hersheypark PA,y,n,8
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,9
Lisebergbanan Liseberg SE,y,n,10
Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,11
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,12
Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,13
Shockwave Drayton Manor UK,y,n,14
Jubilee Odyssey Fantasy Island UK,y,n,15, Alpha
Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park UK,y,n,16
Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,17
Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,n,18
Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,19
Avalanche Blackpool P.B. UK,y,n,20

It's interesting how memory, further experience and discussion over time changes things subtly. Though I do find "tops" very difficult as the criteria for working out what is "better" is so subjective and determined by mood when you look at the list.

 

[Youngster Joey]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Just submitted. My top 20

Favorite Wood Coaster - Any Park Anywhere, **
Shambhala - Port Aventura, ES
Skyrush - Hersheypark, PA
Leviathan - Canadas Wonderland, ON
Griffon - Busch Gardens Will, VA
Dragon Khan - Port Aventura, ES
Vortex - Canadas Wonderland, ON
Space Mountain - WDW Magic Kingdom, FL
SkyRider - Canadas Wonderland, ON
Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Will, VA
Verbolten - Busch Gardens Will, VA
Matterhorn Bobsleds - Disneyland, CA
Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Will, VA
SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tamp, FL
Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood Park, PA
Great Bear - Hersheypark, PA
Bobsled - Seabreeze, NY
Fahrenheit - Hersheypark, PA
Expedition Everest - Disney Animal King, FL
Green Lantern - Six Flags Great Ad, NJ

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

This is going to be SUCH a burden.

 

[Hyde]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

#300plusRollerCoasterRiderProblems

 

[Smithy]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Can't get the drag and drop to work at all without it crashing Firefox or IE or Chrome. Lame.

 

[Youngster Joey]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Can't get the drag and drop to work at all without it crashing Firefox or IE or Chrome. Lame.

It works on Chrome. Its just slow and sometimes the movement doesn't work. Be patient it should work.

 

[Mike]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

My top 10 for 2012:

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1
Powder Keg Silver Dollar City MO,y,n,2
Shambhala Port Aventura ES,y,y,3
Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,4
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,5
Black Mamba Phantasialand DE,y,n,6
SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,7
Superman Escape Warner Bros. Movie AU,y,y,8
XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,9
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,10

And from 2010...

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1
Powder Keg Silver Dollar City MO,y,y,2
Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Euro VA,y,n,3
Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,4
Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,5
X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,6
Oblivion Alton Towers UK,y,y,7
XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,8
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,9
California Screamin' Disney CA Adventur CA,y,n,10

So only 4 coasters remain.
Both Goliath and X2 have slipped down my rankings quite a bit after some crappy rides on them in 2011, and rides like Shambhala and Kumba coming in have pushed everything else down.

 

[Smithy]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

Can't get the drag and drop to work at all without it crashing Firefox or IE or Chrome. Lame.

It works on Chrome. Its just slow and sometimes the movement doesn't work. Be patient it should work.

Java script issues on all three browsers. I'm fully up to date though. Odd.

Oh well, filled it out manually.

 

[Hyde]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

I was able to get the drag-and-drop to work on IE for Windows 7, however there is definite lag. I just ended up using the regular ballot.

Here is my 2012 Top 20:

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,1
Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,y,2
X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,3
Skyrush Hersheypark PA,y,y,4
Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,y,5
Goliath Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,6
Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,y,7
Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,y,8
Storm Runner Hersheypark PA,y,y,9
Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,10
Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,11
Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,y,12
Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,y,13
Great Bear Hersheypark PA,y,y,14
Patriot Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,15
Green Lantern:1st Fl. Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,16
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,y,17
Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,18
Fahrenheit Hersheypark PA,y,y,19
XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,20

Compared to my 2010 Top 20:

Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,1
Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,y,2
Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,y,3
Goliath Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,4
Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,y,5
Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,y,6
Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,y,7
Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,8
XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,9
Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,y,10
Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,11
Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,12
Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,13
Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,y,14
Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,15
Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,y,16
Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park PA,y,n,17
Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,18
Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,19
Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL,y,n,20, Alpha

Cedar Point has definitely seen a dip in overall rankings, with Six Flags Magic Mountain claiming 1/4 of my top 20 slots.

I will be most intrigued on where Skyrush, Shambhala, and Leviathan will land. I'd imagine that all three could get into the top five, but it all boils down to how the high CC lists rank. As we have seen, roller coasters with a ridership of 16 can land rather high.

 

[_koppen]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

My top five

1. Piraten, because it's the best one out there, IMO.
2. Expedition GeForce, because it's the most fun ride in the world.
3. Insane, because it's the most awesome ride in the world.
4. Stealth, simply because the launch is out of this world.
5. Black Mamba, because it has the best atmosphere of any ride I've been on, and it is really fun.

 

[TheCoasterCruiser]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

As reflected in my top ten, I haven't ridden that many coasters, but my favorites has to be as follows.

Furius Baco - Port Aventura Because it blew me away and it's the coaster that gave me the final push to be an enthusiast. Rode it in 2009, and I'd probably have another opinion on it now.

Fluch von Novgorod - Hansa-Park I liked the indoor drop, great launch and nice Eurofighter drop.

Speed Monster - Tusenfryd This is just a fun and enjoyable coaster.

Salama - Linnanmaki Most enjoyable coaster I've ridden to date!

Piraten - Djurs Sommerland I don't think it's as good as everybody says, but I do see it has some qualities.

Nessie - Hansa-Park Very good for it's age. Perfect forces.

Tornado - Bakken One of my favorite first drops.

Lynet - Farup Sommerland Nice layout and location in one of the best parks I've been to.

Krake - Heide Park Smoothest coaster I've been on, the Immelman is perfect. The coaster is just to short.

Kanonen - Liseberg Launch is almost up there with the faster accelerators. Just a really cute little guy.

 

[bmac]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

I'm probably gonna get lynched for some of the positions of coasters on my ballot, but here's my top 10:

1. Nitro (Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey)
2. Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa, Florida)
3. Skyrush (Hersheypark, Pennsylvania)
4. Apollo's Chariot (Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia)
5. Storm Runner (Hersheypark, Pennsylvania)
6. Maverick (Cedar Point, Ohio)
7. Intimidator 305 (King's Dominion, Virginia)
8. Magnum XL-200 (Cedar Point, Ohio)
9. Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa, Florida)
10. Sooperdooperlooper (Hersheypark, Pennsylvania)

I would have Big Bad Wolf in my top 5 but it got snubbed this year. I also had a lot of fun trying to find Scorpion @ BGT and found out it's classified under "Favorite Looping Star / Silver Arrow"

I'll reveal the other 55 coasters on my ballot when the results come out next month.

 

[Treeis]

Re: Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll 2012 - Voting!

I havent ridden many coasters this year...should I still vote? I would put Nemesis as my Number 1, but I haven't ridden it since 2010 so I dont know if my opinion on what ride is better than what would count.