Mitch Hawker Wood Coaster Poll 2012 - Results

[Mysterious Sue]

I can't for the life of me understand why Tonnerre de Zeus isn't in the top 20 when Boulder is up as high as number 6! This makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.
I'm happy with Phoenix (and Boulder Dash too, as I appreciate we just had a lousy ride on it in the summer).
Can't comment on the top three as I haven't ridden any of them yet.
Wood Coaster can **** off out of the top 20 though!

 

[marc]

Zues is an average coaster that's no better than the Big Dipper at Blackpool that's why

I think in my list of a about 30 I had put it at 18. I just never found it as good as some others did.

The only thing Sue I could think of is we never actually went on the same train at all, that might explain why you found air time and we got none.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Well as far as Phoenix goes it‘s hard to justify it being in the top unless you‘ve been on it in the front seat. I‘ve been on it like everywhere and it doesn‘t do anything otherwise.

 

[Hyde]

^ It's awfully nice of you to rank a roller coaster that "doesn't do anything otherwise" as your #5 roller coaster overall. :razz:

 

[SaiyanHajime]

I think Nadroj makes a profound point. Boulder Dash MUST be good.

But on the flip side, I'm in Furie's boat with his thoughts regarding Phoenix's back row with my thoughts towards Boulder Dash. It was't good enough to make me go back, especially because the park was just downright awful.

It's worth noting I don't think too highly of Phoenix, either. In fact, I placed Boulder Dash above it.

What I don't get about Boulder Dash though, is the set of rules by which you must ride it, whilst a coaster such as Beast gets flack BECAUSE you kinda have to ride it by night to understand what makes it so good. Beast is one of my favourites because it outright refuses to comply with any enthusiast ****.

 

[ECG]

Sorry that I missed it, but what are the rules for riding Boulder Dash. I've ridden it hundreds of times & wasn't aware of any rules that needed to be followed for it to be good. :?

 

[SaiyanHajime]

In the evening.

 

[ECG]

I've ridden Boulder Dash first thing in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening & at night. It's run great at any of those times. The only time it hasn't run great was when it's been wet.
El Toro, "the world's best wooden coaster", doesn't run good in the morning & takes quite a while to warm up & run great. So I don't get your point.

 

[Snoo]

I have personal rules towards BD.. like the front is my favorite row.. and the night makes it fun.. but I rode it at all times in the day and it was still delicious.

 

[ECG]

Yeah, I understand that. I also like the front, but I've sat in every seat & they're all good. UC even says that the third row on the left (or something like that) is the best, but I'll be damned if I can tell that much of a difference. I also really like riding at night, but it isn't like Beast where it's an entirely different experience. I just don't think that there's a certain rule or set of rules where the coaster is only great by following such, other than don't ride it after it's been raining for days on end (which can be said of most wooden coasters in the USA).

The Flying Turns ride engineer at Knoebels explained to us during the walk-through that coasters run best in their accustomed climates, whether it be dry heat in the USA or cooler wet conditions in the UK (generally speaking, of course). This would also explain why Phoenix was running so poorly for furie, as it was & had been raining quite a bit during & prior to his visit.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Honestly, how was Boulder Dash running on the day everyone was disappointed? Was it actually running that poorly in your opinion?

My point was that Beast is a good ride that gets outstanding at night and no one gives it the light of day. Boulder Dash, from my experience of it, is apparently similar, but it gets so much praise.

 

[ECG]

Beast & Boulder Dash are nothing alike in that sense. Beast during the day is good, but Boulder Dash at anytime has been great except for the Live add-on day. However even by the end of that day (as the track dried out) it was running better than anytime I've ridden Beast during the day.
The reason most of us like Beast at night so much isn't because it runs better, but because of the overall ride experience. Boulder Dash has great speed, incredible airtime & complete unpredictability during the day that just gets amplified at night because of the darkness. During the day Beast has fun tunnels, yet little airtime & speed that's ruined by trims, but at night all that gets amplified as well & the trims don't seem to matter as much when you can't see how much the coaster actually slows down. At night the whole ride just turns eerie & the tunnels go from fun to terrifying. That's what makes Beast so special at night compared to the day.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

The reason most of us like Beast at night so much isn't because it runs better, but because of the overall ride experience.

Differentiating those two is an issue in itself. And I don't get it the same way as I don't understand how the entire park experience, and even location of the park, doesn't matter or can somehow be objectively removed. It cannot.

With regard to Beast, yeah, it's not got airtime, but who decided that was important, anyway? The out of control feeling when it's not doing anything is what makes this ride special. It races along straight sections of awkwardly banked track which should be boring, but instead are somehow dynamic. It's got character and a sensation of speed that simply no other ride has. The nighttime brings with it a lost hopelessness, but the expansive race around the woodland is still fun during the day. It paces well and constantly has a sense of more to come or of never-ending adventure.

Boulder Dash didn't have that much airtime... And certainly had no interesting sense of speed. I was expecting an deer bouncing around in the woody ravine, but what I got was comparatively slow swerving about in the trees. Visually it's a great ride, got good length... But the lack of speed was such a hindrance to it being taken seriously as one of those few "outstanding" coasters that it clearly should be.

It's the one coaster I've been on that has just boggled my mind as to how can the general consensus be so different to what I got? I get why Beast isn't rated, or The Big One isn't rated... Or why Nemesis IS rated. But I don't get Boulder Dash. And that fact that both the CF group, and my small group, went on different days and were met with the same crippling disappointment confirms it wasn't me, or Nadroj or anyone else on the trip, it was the ride. I have no doubt it MUST run better, but I cannot figure out why it was so unlike the descriptions.

Our negative first experience of it will have probably damaged any hope of seeing it otherwise. I have distaste for what is a terrible, overpriced park full of mediocre rides that isn't all that easy to get to.

 

[nadroJ]

I wonder if Boulder Dash has gone back to being 'omg amaze balls *brain explodes*' or if it is indeed declining as a coaster in general, due to age or something I don't know.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

With regard to Beast, yeah, it's not got airtime, but who decided that was important, anyway? The out of control feeling when it's not doing anything is what makes this ride special. It races along straight sections of awkwardly banked track which should be boring, but instead are somehow dynamic. It's got character and a sensation of speed that simply no other ride has. The nighttime brings with it a lost hopelessness, but the expansive race around the woodland is still fun during the day. It paces well and constantly has a sense of more to come or of never-ending adventure.

You pretty much described by I love Beast to a tee. Night ride on Beast wins for me over Boulder Dash and most wooden roller coasters apart from Toro, Voyage, and Ravine Flyer II. The fact it's a bit crap during the day is why it doesn't rank higher as a whole, but the night experience is great. I still like it during the day, but it doesn't compare.

I do know coasters get bad days and I don't think Jerry or anyone else was lying when they said it wasn't running good. When I took Ciall to Cedar Point, Maverick was running like absolute ****. It was the beginning of the day and it was just soo slow, but even later in the day it wasn't that good. I do see the potential that Boulder Dash has. I think the airtime could have been great and it could have at least SOMEWHAT lived up to the expectation I had if it were running a little bit faster. As it warmed up after the rain I could see it was running slightly better, just not an orgasm-inducing coaster like everyone makes it out to be.

 

[Snoo]

I really do think perception has a lot of play here. As I said before.. when I first rode it.. it wasn't really that popular among enthusiasts.. then it seems 2008 or so it seemed to explode after the retracking.

When you slap something after the craze, it will let you down 9 times out of 10, because you expect, as Jordan put it, 'omg amaze balls *brain explodes*'. I expected an average coaster and got insanity, while you guys expected insanity, and got average.

Say what you will if you dont feel that way, but subconsciously, we all look at ways to tear 'great' things down, even if we don't intend to. Even if it was that good, you picked apart this, overanalyzed that, until you reached a point where it wasn't as good as it actually was.

Of course, in reality, even some of the bashers had Boulder Dash in their top 10. While it might not have been 'omg amaze balls *brain explodes*', a top 10 in anyones book is still a pretty good ride.

Just my two cents tho.

 

[ECG]

Boulder Dash didn't have that much airtime... And certainly had no interesting sense of speed.,, what I got was comparatively slow swerving about in the trees. Visually it's a great ride, got good length... But the lack of speed was such a hindrance to it being taken seriously as one of those few "outstanding" coasters that it clearly should be.

Never heard that from anyone before & I couldn't disagree more. Not only have Snoo, Mike, furie & I posted to the contrary here (along with Ben, Jake, UC, etc. elsewhere), but even those at the Live add-on were enjoying the airtime & speed of the coaster on a off-day. The dryer the conditions got, the faster the speed & the more the airtime - so much so that many were running through the exit/entrance queues for re-rides.

I don't get Boulder Dash. And that fact that both the CF group, and my small group, went on different days and were met with the same crippling disappointment confirms it wasn't me, or Nadroj or anyone else on the trip, it was the ride. I have no doubt it MUST run better, but I cannot figure out why it was so unlike the descriptions.

If I'm not mistaken, the days weren't that far apart & it was raining quite a bit prior to your visit to the park as well, wasn't it? Possibly even on the day of your visit?
This was also the case when furie visited Knoebels & Phoenix was running like ****. Snoo, UC & I even experienced the same thing on El Toro on the day that Ben, Jake, Mike & MouseAT visited SFGAdv as part of the East Coast Bash. The Wild Bull was running great in the early afternoon, but after a six hour downpour it was nowhere near up to par.
Coasters over here, contrary to the ones in the UK, run at their best in extremely dry, hot conditions. If the track has been saturated with days of relentless rain, it's going to take at least a day or two of heat to get it back to optimal conditions, especially Boulder Dash since it's doesn't just sit out baking in the sun like most American coasters. I can well imagine that it would need a week, possibly more, to completely get back to normal after a prolonged soaking.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

You pretty much described by I love Beast to a tee. Night ride on Beast wins for me over Boulder Dash and most wooden roller coasters apart from Toro, Voyage, and Ravine Flyer II. The fact it's a bit crap during the day is why it doesn't rank higher as a whole, but the night experience is great. I still like it during the day, but it doesn't compare.

Wow we have really similar taste! What's your favourite steel?

Say what you will if you dont feel that way, but subconsciously, we all look at ways to tear 'great' things down, even if we don't intend to. Even if it was that good, you picked apart this, overanalyzed that, until you reached a point where it wasn't as good as it actually was.

Of course, in reality, even some of the bashers had Boulder Dash in their top 10. While it might not have been 'omg amaze balls *brain explodes*', a top 10 in anyones book is still a pretty good ride.

Just my two cents tho.

No, you're definitely right. Boulder Dash, despite what I've been saying, is still VERY good, it's just that it didn't come anywhere close to expectation. Expectation is a big deal. Couple that with Jerry's claim that it wasn't running great anyway, and there's what happened. Still weird though. A horrible fact of life.

If I'm not mistaken, the days weren't that far apart & it was raining quite a bit prior to your visit to the park as well, wasn't it? Possibly even on the day of your visit?
This was also the case when furie visited Knoebels & Phoenix was running like . Snoo, UC & I even experienced the same thing on El Toro on the day that Ben, Jake, Mike & MouseAT visited SFGAdv as part of the East Coast Bash. The Wild Bull was running great in the early afternoon, but after a six hour downpour it was nowhere near up to par.
Coasters over here, contrary to the ones in the UK, run at their best in extremely dry, hot conditions. If the track has been saturated with days of relentless rain, it's going to take at least a day or two of heat to get it back to optimal conditions, especially Boulder Dash since it's doesn't just sit out baking in the sun like most American coasters. I can well imagine that it would need a week, possibly more, to completely get back to normal after a prolonged soaking.

I remember you saying this before. Makes sense. And yes, it was only a couple of days apart.

 

[Snoo]

I do agree about Beast. That is one ride that doesn't meet someones expectations. Night is simply incredible, even if the ride is a bit ****.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

^ Beaast isn't really RAVED about though. Yah, the night rides are highly praised but it's not something that enthusiasts talk about non-stop like Boulder Dash.