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Is Steel Vengeance’s Immediate and Overwhelming Impact Unique?

MestnyiGeroi

MestnyiGeroi

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I don’t remember a year when a new coaster made this many people’s number one. It’s clearly the overwhelming majority of riders who make it their top coaster in this its debut season.

Can you remember another such coaster?

Maybe if we go back to 2000 and Millennium Force? Or further back to Colossus at Magic Mountain? Any others have this kind of immediate impact?
 
Like Millenium Force, this is a landmark roller coaster. It has raised the bar for what makes a great coaster. For me, Steel Vengeance is SO good, it has made my other favorite coasters seem less fun. Within a week of riding SV, I rode Intimidator 305 and Fury 325, my previous top 2 coasters. As I rode them, they didn't have the same magic they once did because they paled in comparison to the incredible rush I felt when riding SV. Steel Vengeance is like Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont Stakes - uncontested first place with everyone else left in the dust.
 
MestnyiGeroi said:
I don’t remember a year when a new coaster made this many people’s number one. It’s clearly the overwhelming majority of riders who make it their top coaster in this its debut season.

Can you remember another such coaster?

Maybe if we go back to 2000 and Millennium Force? Or further back to Colossus at Magic Mountain? Any others have this kind of immediate impact?
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Lightning Rod. Everyone who rode it immediately put it at number one, or the vast majority did. This will happen again whenever Cedar Point/Magic Mountain build another massive coaster. Or if Alton built something truly massive. Or Europa. Or any major global park that goons obsess over.

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I think quite an interesting difference though is how Steve perfectly nails the somewhat narrow taste of most enthiusiasts, while other coasters like Millenium Force are hyped way beyond just the enthusiasts and actually more from the GP. From my tiny little memory, I don't think a coaster has ever nailed that enthusiast-taste as perfectly as Steel Vengeance has done it but I think the overall hype amongst all people that have ridden it might be huge but not exceptionally huge.

But I feel like it's also the first coaster at CP that is aimed precisely at those true enthusiasts, while most other rides try to appeal towards the enthusiastic GP (I hope that difference does not sound too confusing), the people who actually care about coaster records, but still see theme parks as a recreational activity rather than a form of passion. That gives Steve the impression that it is so outstanding in a collection of already outstanding coasters, even though the CP-coasters mainly provide a very high base-level of quality rather than trying to provide outstanding experiences. Valravn and Gatekeeper are perfect examples of that, they are fantastic high-quality coasters, but CP got them for the sake of having them. Steve was built out of much different motives.
 
Really, Millennium Force or maybe even Top Thrill Dragster were likely the last coasters with this sort of impact. Millennium Force is the obvious answer to the question - its success was unprecedented. Even with the six other roller coasters opening since, Millennium Force is still the park's star attraction in many respects. Its location on the bay and its massive, isolated lifthill and overbanked turn give it an unmistakable and recognizable identity. The ride (especially it's swooshing M profile) is still a cornerstone in the park's marketing after all this time and it is clear that the park is taking care of its baby (fresh paint, noticeably replaced trim on the trains, etc). Even after 18 years, although park goers love the park's recent additions, many will still say that Millennium Force is their favorite roller coaster. Millennium Force might not even be in my top 30 anymore from what I can remember, but I still have the utmost appreciation for arguably the most iconic roller coaster in the world due to what it did to the industry back in 2000. Steel Vengeance is Cedar Point's answer to Millennium Force after all this time.

I mentioned Top Thrill Dragster. Is it as iconic as Millennium Force? No. Is it viewed by the park in the same light as Millennium Force? No. Did it have the same effect on the industry as Millennium Force? No. But people still queued just as long as they did for Millennium Force to ride the latest tallest and fastest roller coaster on planet Earth. Top Thrill Dragster was an absolute hype machine.

And I might as well mention Maverick. It wasn't the hype machine that the former were, but it was so much better. Back in '07, if Maverick wasn't somebody's favorite coaster, it was certainly in their top 10.

Lightning Rod...It certainly had the hype...within the enthusiast community. I remember watching the announcement and saying "that could very well be my favorite roller coaster when I get on it." You knew the terrain and that heavenly quad down would make it very special. But I'm not sure if it generated enough buzz outside of enthusiast communities.

Steel Vengeance is special, that's for sure. It had and still has the hype machine running at full steam ahead. Similarly to Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance has a striking and iconic profile to it with its lift and hills. And finally, everyone from the gooniest CP/RMC fanboy to the first time visitor to the park is stating that it's the best ****ing roller coaster in the world.
 
Short of those coasters mentioned, El Toro at SFGAdv came out with GREAT fanfare when it was exposed to the world (which has since faded). I would also say Magnum did that as well when it opened in 89.

I will say and agree with those above me, the acclaim for Steel Vengeance is unprecedented short of Millennium Force. Cedar Point really hit a home run with this ride as enthusiasts as well as the general public absolutely love the ride. Most rank it as one of the best or best at the Point while Enthusiasts have been nearly universally loving the **** outta it. I can safely say I'm in that camp as well and I don't think this is purely because it's new either. The ride is genuinely insane and those who have loved other RMC's will love the hell out of this ride as well.
 
Enjoying the answers so far, but — fwiw — just to clarify/remind a tad, I’m not asking which coasters also had a big impact or a lot of hype; I’m asking which coasters immediately had the vast majority of riders (especially enthusiasts) saying, “This has to be my new number one coaster.” That’s a narrower question. And that’s a really high bar. Not just universal acclaim, but universal and immediate superlatives — we all immediately agree this is THE best.

By the way, I think Magnum is another good shout. That’s three from CP alone (personally, I don’t see TTD in the same light — universal hype, yes; universal superlatives, no).
 
MForce.
Yup, the answer everyone gave but its true.
Lightning Rod was an enthusiast slam dunk but ask my parents or brother I bet it'll be "Those things on buildings?"
But MForce, my parents were watching the coaster show as excitedly as I was. When I said as a 12 year old I kinda want to go there, they VERY quickly planned a trip to Ohio and CP. The acclaim was universal, and lets be honest it was pretty much everyone's #1. All the above comments are right, it wasnt just a sweet coaster, it seemed almost revolutionary. 300 feet? 93 mph? Telling people some didnt even believe it.

Since you have narrowed your question I gotta say not sure anything else has met that since. No other coaster has had the same wide appeal (as in enthusiast and "GP") with the same degree of award. I mean Kingda Ka was huge, it made news, everyone talked about it in school even non coaster people, but no one had as their #1
And with your narrower question, not sure anything else has had the same level of both buzz and top rated success in a wide scale.

Till now. My brother, without me mentioning it, somehow found out about this ride and is planning a trip to CP for it. He goes to like 1 park every 4 years lol
And its even crazier for enthusiasts or enthusiastic GP (btw I love that term) who know of Mean Streak, everyone I know hated that thing, when they realize one of the worst rides there is now the best, that should be illegal lol
 
To answer the original post, I would say a definite yes - SV's immediate impact is unique.
I mean, there have been several "Greatest Coaster in the World" moments before - Lightning Rod and Taron spring to mind as recent examples, but I don't ever recall that conclusion being so unanimous as it is with SteVe. With Taron, for example, it very often came with a caveat,.namely "as long as you get the night time ERT". With L' Rod, it was "as long as you get the back seat".
But Steel Vengeance comes with no such clauses. Wherever you sit, whenever you ride - it's just insanely good.
 
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Everybody and their mother loves Steve, well except for Mean Streak Henry (he didn’t like it). The sensation behind the ride itself isn’t unique but it definitely seems way more successful than what would have been expected.
 
Hixee said:
Whilst I agree the ride looks amazing, I'm pretty sure my mum would HATE it. ;)
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