Matt N
CF Legend
Hi guys. As many of you know, we all have different things we like in a coaster. Some of us crave the most intense machine in the world that makes you grey out countless times and makes you have to sit out for hours before a reride. Others crave insane ejector that would chuck you straight back towards the park entrance if you didn't have a restraint. Some just crave anything as long as it has track and a train. But my question to you today is; has your taste in coasters always been the same? Have you always had that appetite for airtime, or that itch for intensity? Or is it something that you've developed over time; somewhat of an acquired taste? Is it sort of like how your taste buds for food sometimes change as you get older, but in terms of coasters?
As for my answer to this question, my tastes have definitely changed since I became an enthusiast and rode my first big thrill coasters back in 2013. And in some ways, they have changed quite drastically!
Disclaimer: The story below is extremely long.
To start our journey through my taste in coasters over time, let's rewind right back to 28th September 2013; my first time riding the big thrill coasters at Alton Towers, the park I grew up visiting. I loved experiencing these rides for the first time, but there was one in particular that wowed me like no other on the first ride. Now, given my present day top 10, I'd imagine you're all expecting me to say Nemesis. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Nemesis, and it was probably my firm 2nd or 3rd favourite in the park at that time, roughly tied with The Smiler. But it was actually Rita! At the time, I remember thinking that that 61mph hydraulic launch was the best thing I'd ever experienced; I came off it breathless! Even though it was actually the 7th coaster I rode at Alton Towers, I'd say it was my first proper number 1. I'm afraid I went off Rita as the years went on and it's now my #54 out of 64 coasters ridden, but that's a story for another day.
For about a year after that, I was mad for anything with a launch. During this phase, Rita and Stealth both had stints as my number 1 coaster at some point (albeit Stealth's was only for a matter of hours, but I'll get onto that later), and I seem to remember thinking very highly of Incredible Hulk at IOA when I first rode it. Rides like Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster shot straight to the top of my bucket list, and I had a craving for quick acceleration at that point in time. However, all was about to change...
For the next stage of my story, let's fast forward to 27th July 2014; my first ever visit to Thorpe Park. As I mentioned earlier, I rode Stealth that day, and its 80mph launch in 1.8 seconds shot straight to the top spot. However, that only lasted a matter of hours, because a ride that I hadn't seen coming was The Swarm. Cloaked in all of its post-apocalyptic themed glory, this B&M beauty shot straight to the top spot after I rode it purely because it was lovely and intense, but it was also so much fun! I absolutely loved how smooth it was, how forceful it was, and I just genuinely loved it so much that it simply had to top Stealth for me! So from that moment on (and still to quite an extent now), I craved a nice balance between smoothness and thrill. I wanted a coaster that was intense enough for me to find thrilling, but also comfortable and smooth enough for fun and rerideability. For me, The Swarm became my number 1 because it ticked all of these boxes, and I still hold it in extremely high regard (at the #6 spot, to be exact!) to this day!
The Swarm then stayed at my number 1 spot for just over 2 years. It kind of shaped the sort of taste I have now, as I'd say that I still have that sort of taste very much engrained within me. However, my story isn't quite over yet. As I started to read forums and watch YouTube videos more, I noticed that one thing most high-profile enthusiasts all seemed to love and crave was airtime. Now at this point in time, I wouldn't say I was entirely convinced that airtime topped inversions and intensity. I'd ridden Thirteen in the back row; the sustained airtime on the drop was really fun, but it definitely didn't top inversions. However, I rode Megafobia on 18th July 2016 and thought "Hey, I can see why they all like airtime so much! This is really good!". But despite how good Megafobia was, its airtime still didn't quite top inversions and intensity for me. But that all changed around a month later when I went to Florida. On 23rd August 2016, to be exact; the day of my first visit to SeaWorld Orlando.
Now, I had actually gained a new top 2 the previous day at Busch Gardens Tampa in the form of Montu and SheiKra; both amazing rides, but very much in line with my acquired taste from The Swarm, so I won't talk about them now. But the day after, I rode a highly anticipated ride for me; Mako. It was my first ever B&M hyper, and I was actually quite nervous climbing the lift hill in case Mako didn't meet my expectations. But my lap bar was nice and loose... and I was absolutely ejected out of my seat for a good 3 or 4 seconds plunging down that 200ft first drop, even though I was in row 2! Then came the first hill; more ejector action! This trend was repeated on the hills that followed, and if there was one word to sum up that first ever ride on Mako, it would be WOW! That coaster combined the comfort and decent forces of a ride like The Swarm with outstanding sustained airtime that finally won me over to the airtime camp that most enthusiasts are in. I could gush about my rides on Mako all day, and I knew coming into the brake run that Mako had to be a new number 1 for me! It still is to this day, in fact, and that ends my story of how my tastes in coasters evolved from a lust for launches to my present day craving for a balance between smoothness and thrill with some airtime chucked in there too!
I apologise for the really long-winded story, but have you guys' tastes changed over time?
As for my answer to this question, my tastes have definitely changed since I became an enthusiast and rode my first big thrill coasters back in 2013. And in some ways, they have changed quite drastically!
Disclaimer: The story below is extremely long.
To start our journey through my taste in coasters over time, let's rewind right back to 28th September 2013; my first time riding the big thrill coasters at Alton Towers, the park I grew up visiting. I loved experiencing these rides for the first time, but there was one in particular that wowed me like no other on the first ride. Now, given my present day top 10, I'd imagine you're all expecting me to say Nemesis. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Nemesis, and it was probably my firm 2nd or 3rd favourite in the park at that time, roughly tied with The Smiler. But it was actually Rita! At the time, I remember thinking that that 61mph hydraulic launch was the best thing I'd ever experienced; I came off it breathless! Even though it was actually the 7th coaster I rode at Alton Towers, I'd say it was my first proper number 1. I'm afraid I went off Rita as the years went on and it's now my #54 out of 64 coasters ridden, but that's a story for another day.
For about a year after that, I was mad for anything with a launch. During this phase, Rita and Stealth both had stints as my number 1 coaster at some point (albeit Stealth's was only for a matter of hours, but I'll get onto that later), and I seem to remember thinking very highly of Incredible Hulk at IOA when I first rode it. Rides like Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster shot straight to the top of my bucket list, and I had a craving for quick acceleration at that point in time. However, all was about to change...
For the next stage of my story, let's fast forward to 27th July 2014; my first ever visit to Thorpe Park. As I mentioned earlier, I rode Stealth that day, and its 80mph launch in 1.8 seconds shot straight to the top spot. However, that only lasted a matter of hours, because a ride that I hadn't seen coming was The Swarm. Cloaked in all of its post-apocalyptic themed glory, this B&M beauty shot straight to the top spot after I rode it purely because it was lovely and intense, but it was also so much fun! I absolutely loved how smooth it was, how forceful it was, and I just genuinely loved it so much that it simply had to top Stealth for me! So from that moment on (and still to quite an extent now), I craved a nice balance between smoothness and thrill. I wanted a coaster that was intense enough for me to find thrilling, but also comfortable and smooth enough for fun and rerideability. For me, The Swarm became my number 1 because it ticked all of these boxes, and I still hold it in extremely high regard (at the #6 spot, to be exact!) to this day!
The Swarm then stayed at my number 1 spot for just over 2 years. It kind of shaped the sort of taste I have now, as I'd say that I still have that sort of taste very much engrained within me. However, my story isn't quite over yet. As I started to read forums and watch YouTube videos more, I noticed that one thing most high-profile enthusiasts all seemed to love and crave was airtime. Now at this point in time, I wouldn't say I was entirely convinced that airtime topped inversions and intensity. I'd ridden Thirteen in the back row; the sustained airtime on the drop was really fun, but it definitely didn't top inversions. However, I rode Megafobia on 18th July 2016 and thought "Hey, I can see why they all like airtime so much! This is really good!". But despite how good Megafobia was, its airtime still didn't quite top inversions and intensity for me. But that all changed around a month later when I went to Florida. On 23rd August 2016, to be exact; the day of my first visit to SeaWorld Orlando.
Now, I had actually gained a new top 2 the previous day at Busch Gardens Tampa in the form of Montu and SheiKra; both amazing rides, but very much in line with my acquired taste from The Swarm, so I won't talk about them now. But the day after, I rode a highly anticipated ride for me; Mako. It was my first ever B&M hyper, and I was actually quite nervous climbing the lift hill in case Mako didn't meet my expectations. But my lap bar was nice and loose... and I was absolutely ejected out of my seat for a good 3 or 4 seconds plunging down that 200ft first drop, even though I was in row 2! Then came the first hill; more ejector action! This trend was repeated on the hills that followed, and if there was one word to sum up that first ever ride on Mako, it would be WOW! That coaster combined the comfort and decent forces of a ride like The Swarm with outstanding sustained airtime that finally won me over to the airtime camp that most enthusiasts are in. I could gush about my rides on Mako all day, and I knew coming into the brake run that Mako had to be a new number 1 for me! It still is to this day, in fact, and that ends my story of how my tastes in coasters evolved from a lust for launches to my present day craving for a balance between smoothness and thrill with some airtime chucked in there too!
I apologise for the really long-winded story, but have you guys' tastes changed over time?
) and while Lightning Rod may be a better ride statistically I still enjoy Thunderhead just as much if not more. It’s a good, old fashioned, rough-and-tumble wooden coaster with that out of control feeling I now actively crave — similar things could be said about The Voyage, as it combines Thunderhead’s wild feel with the ballistic airtime and amazing intensity of something like (dare I say) Skyrush! 
