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Most polarising roller coasters

Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. I know this is my second thread of the day, but I would be interested to know your thoughts on which roller coasters really divide opinion. What coasters are like Marmite; some people love them, whereas others hate them? I'll get the ball rolling with a few notable examples I can think of:
  • Hades 360 at Mount Olympus - Out of what I've read about Hades 360 over the years, it certainly seems to have a variety of opinions surrounding it. There are some people who absolutely love this ride and rank it among their favourites, and there are others who despise it with a passion and rank it among their least favourite coasters. The fact that out of the 3 reviews this coaster has on Captain Coaster, one is a 5 star review and another is a 0.5 star review says it all, if you ask me.
  • The Ultimate at Lightwater Valley - Again, The Ultimate is a coaster that some people seem to absolutely love and rank as one of their favourites in the UK, whereas others seem to hate it and rank it as one of their least favourite coasters. From my perspective, The Ultimate certainly looks... interesting.
  • 4D coasters in general - Now, there is a lot of positive praise surrounding 4D coasters as a ride type, but there are some people out there who are not a fan of this ride type at all. Over the years, I have read some rather scathing reviews of the likes of X2, Eejanaika, the ZacSpins and the Free Spins alongside the very positive ones.
  • Flying coasters in general - Again, flying coasters are a ride type that some love and some hate; I'd imagine that some of this comes down to the pretzel loops that these models often contain, but I know some who also don't like the restrictiveness of the ride type and the prone riding position. There are some out there who rank Tatsu as their favourite at SFMM, for example, whereas there are others who rank it as their least favourite at SFMM, so I'd definitely call flyers a polarising ride type.
  • Beast at Kings Island - The Beast is an icon, but it is also a coaster that I've seen a wide range of opinions about over the years. Some love it, but others aren't huge fans of it.
So, what rides do you guys find to divide opinion?
 
SLC's.... I like them.....

And yeah im one of the lovers of Nash. I havent ridden it in a good 10 years but riding with Big John when i was a skinny underfed uni student (ahhh those days) was one of the most terrifying moments of my life.
 
Cedar Point

The whole park, depending on who you are, can be just a whole thing of divisiveness. I remember the feelings around SV when people started adoring it.. many calling those who live close fanboys then, when you ride the ride, realizing it was a phenomenal experience. The whole park has been like that for nearly two decades IMO. Any new release is met with ire or harsh criticism when it really isn't needed objectively. Of course, when fanboys come into play, they ruin everything. :p
 
Agree with The Ultimate and Baco, both wonderful rides to me.

B&M hypers have fan boys (also me) and others who think they are too #insert Intamin comparison.
 
I’m surprised Skyrush hasn’t been mentioned already, some people love it for its intensity and extreme ejector, while some people can’t get over the restraints, and it ruins the ride for them. Also recently Nemesis has become quite polarising, it still has its fanboys, however recently some people have not found it to be quite as good as many say.
 
Another one is saw. Some people once again find it rough but others find it smooth enough and one of the best coasters at Thorpe.
 
Intamin Gigas - all two of them - do seem to have two tribes that gather around "Best Contribution to Mankind" and "Never Ever Living Up to Potential". Millennium Force especially can draw this ire as it has for years given it's "Best Steel Coaster In the World" award from Golden Ticket Awards (the coaster to an extent is a strawman for critiquing Golden Ticket).
 
Intimidator 305 - This seems to be rated a bit less favorable on here, but there's still a handful of people that have it in their Top 10. I never thought it looked all that great, but it's hard to tell sometimes.

Beast - I think most would agree, including myself, that the layout is pretty poorly designed, what with needless straightaways, drawn out turns, and no airtime. Have that as your mindset and you might end up underwhelmed. Despite the layout, I think it rides great. It's a fun ride during the day but a whole monster at night and I'm glad others appreciate it. I think I actually might rate Beast the highest on here, and it's really because the night ride I got was like no other.
 
I would say flying coasters in general. There are some people who absolutely love everything about the experience, from the prone position to their intense elements. And there are those people that absolutely despise them for being too uncomfortable or sometimes lacking creativity in their layouts with swooping curves and drawn-out inversions.
 
Hutch said:
Intimidator 305 - This seems to be rated a bit less favorable on here, but there's still a handful of people that have it in their Top 10. I never thought it looked all that great, but it's hard to tell sometimes.

Beast - I think most would agree, including myself, that the layout is pretty poorly designed, what with needless straightaways, drawn out turns, and no airtime. Have that as your mindset and you might end up underwhelmed. Despite the layout, I think it rides great. It's a fun ride during the day but a whole monster at night and I'm glad others appreciate it. I think I actually might rate Beast the highest on here, and it's really because the night ride I got was like no other.
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Nope :)

The thing I like about Beast is that it doesn't need airtime, like it doesn't follow the classic formula but it has a fun runaway feel to it. I get bored but the same old formula (which is why B&M has gone down in favourites because so many of them are samey once you've done a certain amount) so this was a refreshing change and the speeding through the woods is fun. Every time I mention it here I get hate from a few people who really hate it though! :p Their reasoning is always "it's boring it has no airtime", "it has trims" but like that's why it's cool to me because it doesn't fit the normal formula. It just feels like you're rolling away into the woods and is just great fun to me.

Other contestants would be:

Intimidator 305- probably the most obvious one. I think the ride wins the whole thread really because some people really hate it and others love it so much. I felt weird coming off it and thinking "it was good" because I didn't feel like my opinion was extreme enough!! Like I feel like I didn't completely "get it" but I also didn't hate it and enjoyed it but it had such a reputation I felt like I would feel more polarised about it.

Millennium force- I think some people hate this ride just because it got so hyped, but you do see a mix in opinions.

The Swarm- some people really love this ride for some reason and claim it to be the best in the UK whereas others considering it boring and bland.

Skyrush- only because of the restraints but some people can't stand this ride because of them, others have found ways to ride it ok (like me) or just aren't bothered by it at all.

Kingda ka- some people don't rank this ride because they consider it's rough and inferior to TTD but others like it.

Magnum- I found this so rough and couldn't wait for it to end because it was so bad but all the signs point to me being a weirdo or just having sat in the wrong seat. I am still perplexed as to why some people have this as their favourite CP coaster, like how???

Coasters that won't be going on here: Steve. I believe I am the only person in the world who has ridden it and not put it in my top 10, which I find amusing.
 
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There's a few mentioned already that need repeating;
Skyrush - The restraints really are an issue for some, those who love it don't care if it would eventually bruise them, the others need to stop being so soft.
Millennium Force - The hype... but really it's still a great ride, not world beating anymore but it was.
The Beast - I love it. But I've only ridden it in the dark. I guarantee those who have just ridden it at night feel the same. I'll never ride it during the day though, can't spoil it.

Some others;
Oblivion - Some of us still think it's the best one, others think it's a one trick pony which has been surpassed.
The Smiler - Most sane people hate it, but my god the GP love this piece of crap.
Tornado - I don't get the love for it, it's waaaaaaaaay down on my fave Intamin list.
Nitro - I've seen people state this is the worst hyper, which utterly baffles me as It's my fave of the lot so far.
 
Silver Star. I don't know which year Europa Park had it's swing in opinion in regards to tuning down the trims but it used to get an absolute pasting by enthusiasts. It used to be the tallest B&M for 10 straight years and still stands as the 4th tallest to this day, and even though stats are not everything, they are kind of important with Out&Back Hypers, and imo it absolutely delivers.

What got met thinking last time I rode it was the S-bend right before the brake run, because it kind of gives the people a sense of what could have been with a more twisty layout. Multiple times, GP-friends have stated that they got excited by the S-bend for something more to come, and then the ride just ends.
 
I'd say The Big One is pretty polarising here. It's either the biggest, baddest coaster out there with a fantastic first drop, or a crown example of how badly coasters were made before computer aided design took off, whose first drop is passable and the rest forgettable.
 
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