Rank the Alton Towers coasters

[Nick13]

Visited yesterday for the first time in a few years:

1. Nemesis Reborn - the back row night ride was amazing and liking the new theme, not so keen on the new queue line though.
2. Wickerman - running much faster than I remembered
3. Smiler - this was probably my #1 at Towers last time, still enjoy it but always a chore to get on with its queue line shenanigans!
4. Oblivion - really showing it’s age now but was the most reliable major coaster in the park yesterday, and probably one of the best capacities with the full station in use.
5. Rita - meh.
6. Thirteen - didn’t ride yesterday due to crazy queue times but enjoy it for the drop I suppose…
7. Runaway Mine Train - rarely ride it but ok for a Mack powered…
8. Galactica - queued a ridiculous amount of time with 3 breakdowns including when sat on the train. Used to enjoy it years ago but doesnt do it for me anymore, not a fan of the sensation lying on your back either. And the Galactica theme makes zero sense anymore, time for it to go…
9. Spinball whizzer - not ridden in years
10. Octonauts - did it once for the shameless cred!

 

[BobaFett]

1. Wickerman - I really like GCIs, they are always fun rides. The theming and the pre show are really great, the layout itself is rather tame, compared to other GCIs, still a fun ride, imo.
2. Thirteen - I like the location in the forest, also the theming, the surprises. A fun ride, nothing too spectacular though.
3. The Smiler - Fun coaster, not as rough as I expected (except for 1 bump pretty much at the airtime hill at the end somewhere, if I remember correctly). Had a ride completely in the rain, which was definitely an experience, especially going up the vertical lift hill.
4. Oblivion - I like Dive coasters, and this is the OG.
5. Galactica - Being the first Flying coaster, it's a bit lame, compared to other Flying coasters. Still I enjoyed it.
6. Nemesis - Not a big fan of B&M inverts, but I really love how it's embedded in the terrain.
7. Rita - The launch is awesome but just with Desert Race at Heide Park, I really despise the seats and the restraints. Maybe it's because I'm quite tall, but it's really uncomfortable and thus not really reridable for me.
8. Runaway Mine Train - Love the tunnel alongside the Congo River as it boosts up.
9. Spinball Whizzer
10. Octonauts

 

[witchfinder]

Shocked I've never posted in this thread, given I have lived within 30 minutes of the park almost my entire life. I think I must have posted in a similar thread sometime in the past. Anyway....

1. Nemesis
2. Rita
3. Wicker Man
4. Thirteen
5. Smiler
6. Galactica
7. Oblivion
8. Runaway Mine Train
9. Octonauts
10. Spinball Whizzer

And as an old guy, all the defunct ones:

1. Thunder Looper
2. Corkscrew
3. Black Hole
4. Alton Mouse
5. Alton Beast
6. Four Man Bob
7. Dragon/Beastie
8. Mini Apple

I would put Thunder Looper above Thirteen and maybe even WM. Loved that ride!

 

[RevolutionRuleZ]

1.Nemesis Reborn
Brilliant coaster, now it's the complete package, absolutely love it.

2. Wicker Man
A Very close second, again a great all round package attraction and very thrilling, just doesn't quite beat the National for my number one wooden coaster.

3. Oblivion
A one trick pony, but it's it's bloody good trick.

4. Rita
A ride that's grown on me in recent years, the launch still takes my breath away but the layout and overall theme lacks.

5. Spinball Whizzer
A great family coaster, more thrilling than I expect it to be, and a lot of fun.

6. Galactica
Needs a overhaul now to find it's home in FV but it's a fun enough ride.

7. Thirteen
Good family coaster, nice drop element, questionable theme.

8. Runaway Mine Train
Decent family coaster, very good theme too.

9The Smiler
Poorly executed ride, no attempt at themeing beside the structure in the middle of the ride, the rest of it takes place in a concrete pit. The queue is horrible, the ride itself is rough with no thought given to the layout other than to take the number of inversions.

10. Octonauts
Typical kids coaster.

 

[Flash Shift]

I'm not going to rank Octonauts as I've never actually been on it - there's never enough time or shamelessness to ride it and going solo last week definitely meant I wasn't doing it! I'm assuming it would be at the bottom though.

9. Runaway Mine Train - skipped this last week. From previous rides it's a nice family coaster with good terrain usage.
8. Thirteen - this just feels confused. I've never liked this section of the park and Thirteen is very bland until the indoor drop track. Which is actually great, but still.
7. Galactica - every year I ride this I like it less and less. I just think it's not really that comfortable. I wonder if I'm just not a fan of flying coasters?
6. Spinball Whizzer - skipped this last week, not sure I should have. I tend to have a good time on this but the queue is often terrible and it's never really "fit in" at Alton Towers.
5. Rita - I like this more than I used to when I was younger. The launch is great, but the rest of the layout isn't that good. Honestly it's the restraints that kill it. I got a bit of airtime two years ago, a bit less last week though.
4. Oblivion - I tend to go back and forth on this - last week the drop was awesome. Better than Valkyria's.
3. Smiler - it is an absolute marvel with the theme, how they fit the ride in, even the volley of elements. Unfortunately the inversions often blend together, and the fact it's a bit rough does hinder it a bit. Particularly, the second half of the cobra roll. The roughness costs it number two.
2. Wicker Man - not super thrilling and the theme is a bit OTT for it being this way. However it's pretty smooth, looks great, is fast paced, and given time to warm up you'll get a bit of airtime, mostly on the double down towards the end. Just good clean fun - I do wish the airtime was stronger though!
1. Nemesis Reborn - I don't think it's any better than the original, especially as you can't queue for the front anymore, but it's still a ride with a great layout and fast paced intensity. Warmed up towards the later parts of the day as well. The rattle sucks a bit though.

 

[CarterG3ttingSm4rter]

Hi guys. I'm in a ranking kind of mood tonight, and a park particularly near and dear to me is Alton Towers. I'm honestly staggered that we don't already have an Alton Towers coaster ranking thread given that CF is a UK forum and many members have been to Alton Towers (in fact, I even could have sworn that I posted in one once), but I could not find one no matter how hard I searched the forum. So I decided to make this one! I'll get the ball rolling with my personal ranking of Alton Towers' rollercoasters:

1. Wicker Man - I know this will be controversial, but I really value fun & rerideability in a coaster and Wicker Man delivers wonderfully in both these departments, in my opinion! The pacing is absolutely fantastic, the transitions are brilliant, the layout is very good and I even feel as though the coaster's airtime, while not its strongest area, improved as I rode it more! Combine that with the amazing theming and I think Wicker Man really is something quite special! It was one of my biggest ever positive surprises when I first rode in March 2018 and it's somehow grown on me even more ever since; I really do adore it! 10/10, #6 in overall rankings
2. Nemesis - Nemesis is a stunning machine! The pacing is fantastic, the g-forces are brilliant; it's just a wonderful and iconic coaster! However, I must say that one thing keeping me from ranking it higher is that while it's very smooth for its age, some of the inversions do bash your head a little. Despite this, Nemesis is still a fantastic ride, in my opinion! 9/10, #8 in overall rankings
3. Galactica - Galactica may not be the most intense coaster, but I love it because it's just such a fun ride! I love the coaster's grace and smooth, yet thrilling transitions and it's genuinely a very fun ride, if you ask me! 8/10, #18 in overall rankings
4. Oblivion - It may be short, but this ride is certainly sweet! That drop never fails to deliver; the forces and sensation of speed are brilliant! 7/10, #19 in overall rankings
5. Thirteen - A very fun family coaster! It may not be the most intense coaster out there, but it wasn't designed to be; the first drop is actually very, very good, in my opinion, especially if seated towards the back where you get some good sustained floater! The turns are also nice and whippy and some of the other hills provide good gentle floater, and the drop track and backwards section never fail to disappoint! A very fun ride! 6/10 relative to my whole count, but a top-notch family coaster, #23 in overall rankings
6. Runaway Mine Train - Runaway Mine Train never fails to disappoint as a fun family coaster! Even though it might not be the fastest or most intense coaster, it provides the perfect mid-ground between Octonauts and Thirteen, in my opinion! If seated towards the back of the train especially, I also find the ride to be surprisingly forceful considering its apparent low speed! I personally think that John Wardley's description of it as a "pink-knuckle coaster that everyone can enjoy regardless of age" sums up RMT perfectly, and it will always be a special ride for me! 6/10 relative to my whole count, but a brilliant family coaster, #27 in overall rankings
7. The Smiler - I really struggle to rank The Smiler. It is a good coaster, I won't deny, but I don't really enjoy it as much as many others I've ridden these days. While not terribly rough, in my opinion, I definitely wouldn't call it smooth, and I do think I would enjoy it more if it didn't have such a persistent judder to it and some of the hard jolts were smoothed out. As my taste in coasters changes, I'm also not really sure if it's my kind of coaster, if you get what I mean. Still, I appreciate it as a piece of engineering, and the layout is quite good with many thrilling moments; 14 inversions in that space was never going to be butter smooth, and I certainly admire them for doing it! 6/10, #35 in overall rankings
8. Spinball Whizzer - I can certainly get why people would like this, as the spinning is fun, but I find Spinball a little too rough and jerky to truly rank highly as a family coaster, personally. Still, it's a reasonably fun ride that has a wide appeal! 4/10 relative to my whole count, but still a good family coaster, #44 in overall rankings
9. Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure - Perfectly fine as far as kiddie coasters go; it's smooth and reasonably fun, so I don't really know what else I can ask for! Also, the theming is very nice, with a synchronised audio track, a bubble machine and a water-squirting whale, amongst other things! A great first coaster for the youngest guests! 4/10 relative to my whole count, but it's a great kiddie coaster, #49 in overall rankings
10. Rita - The launch is great, but I remember it being very rough last time I rode and I'm not a fan of those Intamin OTSRs. 3/10, #58 in overall rankings

But how would you rank Alton Towers' cohort of coasters?

1) The Smiler
2) Nemesis
3) Wickerman
4) Oblivion
5) Th13teen
6) Rita
7) Spinball Whizzer
8) Galactica
9) Runaway Mine-train
10) Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure