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Rank the B&M's you've ridden

EthanCoaster

Mega Poster
I'll go first:

1. Incredible Hulk @ IoA
2. Raptor @ CP
3. Fury 325 @ Carowinds
4. Afterburn @ Carowinds
5. Goliath @ SFOG
6. Griffon @ BGW
7. Alpengeist @ BGW
8. Intimidator @ Carowinds
9. Apollo's Chariot @ BGW
10. Wild Eagle
11. Gatekeeper @ CP
12. Superman: Ultimate Flight @ SFOG
13. Rougarou @ CP
14. Vortex @ Carowinds
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
Geez, this took a lot longer than expected. Also, this definitely belongs in Polls
  1. Fury 325
  2. Kumba
  3. Shambhala
  4. Mako
  5. Goliath SFOG
  6. Nitro SFGAdv
  7. Montu
  8. Afterburn
  9. Manta
  10. Dragon Khan
  11. Superman SFFT
  12. Black Mamba
  13. Diamondback
  14. Raptor
  15. Wildfire
  16. GateKeeper
  17. Thunderbird
  18. Scream!
  19. Dominator
  20. SheiKra
  21. Batman SFGAdv
  22. Kraken
  23. Valkyria
  24. Incredible Hulk
  25. Wild Eagle
  26. Silver Bullet
  27. Georgia Scorcher
  28. Goliath SFFT
  29. Batman SFOG
  30. Intimidator
  31. Great Bear
  32. Batman SFNE
  33. Superman SFOG
  34. Swarm
  35. Patriot
  36. Bizarro
  37. Batman SFSL
  38. Dueling Dragons Ice
  39. Nemesis Inferno
  40. Batman SFMM
  41. Valravn
  42. Dueling Dragons Fire
  43. Rougarou
  44. Superman SFGAdv
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Errrm... nah. Waaay too much effort this one. Sorry. I've been on 52 of the things and my overall rankings don't go much past the top 30 or so, and even that's just a rough guess, sooo, nah.
I've had a crack at ranking the various different types of B&M in their respective threads - inverts, hypers, divers, wingers etc... but all of them? Nah.
What I can tell you is that Nemesis is still the bestest.
Things like Tatsu, Behemoth, Thunderbird, Montu, Wildfire, Banshee, Oblivion, Hulk and Dominator all rate very highly for me.
Then down at the bottom end we have things like Green Lantern, Raging Bull, Flight Deck and Silver Bullet.
Pretty much all of the others I've ridden have been in the 'good - great' range.
 

cookie

Giga Poster
  1. Silver Star, Europa Park
  2. Valkyria, Liseberg
  3. Manta, SeaWorld Orlando
  4. Kraken, SeaWorld Orlando
  5. Krake, Heide-Park
  6. Flug Der Dämonen, Heide-Park
  7. Black Mamba, Phantasialand
  8. Daemonen, Tivoli Gardens
 

emoo

Hyper Poster
I can give you an idea if you are looking for trends, but its too much and I'd never agree on my own list.

Flying Dinosaur & Nemesis are way at the top. Starry Sky Scrapper is close because of the 540 roll.

Most Hypers/Gigas are in the high end mix long rides; comfortable seats & restraints; graceful hills; floating in air far from the daily misery on the ground. But I must ask, is it really that hard to make or justify a nice station? Going backwards on the Hollywood Dream is terrific but forwards is inherently the weakest due to its stature. Raging Bull isn't that bad but the mid course trim brake lets you down every time.

Inverts are usually great with Afterburn and Banshee on the podium. I may have rated Montu higher if I hadn't already ridden so much good stuff - but didn't get Alpengeist at all and that was early in my journey. I have a lot of my distain towards Nemesis Inferno: the name; when the mist looks ****; my first BnM to break down; long thin exit ramp with slow people in the way going both directions. But on a good day the pre-lift works for me and can be a satisfying ride. Silver Bullet is good, better when riding at sunset and seeing the romantic horizon rotate. There are too many Batmans for me to care & I remember Black Mambas shuffle/rattle/staff more than its forces. The dragons fell short of expectations.

Wings can be great with Gatekeeper, Flug der Dämonen, Fenix, and Thunderbird, but people never agree on that. All have a ball ache queue and station and could easily get our ranked by something else so not sure why they pop up all over the place.

The themmed Superman flyers are great, without its just a pretzel loop ride. Either way they rate below all the others, even Air and the slightly inferior Galactica.

The big Dives can be forever great like Oblivion. Busch Gardens should be proud of both the rides they built and how they got the make going, but if a park wants to strike fear then maybe include a tunnel and don't put pretty flowers in the footers (frowning at you Valravn). Mini dives are fine.

Floorless coasters are better than sitdowns because of the disappearing, reappearing floor.

Standups are all at the bottom with age are more of an issue than the saddle. A couple were absolute pants though.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Ooh, nice thread idea! Let me just fire up my Captain Coaster list; this one should be fairly easy for me, as I've only done 14 B&Ms at present and I've ranked all 67 coasters I've done. So, here's my personal B&M rankings:
  1. Mako (SeaWorld Orlando) (#1 overall)
  2. Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa) (#3 overall)
  3. SheiKra (Busch Gardens Tampa) (#4 overall)
  4. The Swarm (Thorpe Park) (#5 overall)
  5. Nemesis (Alton Towers) (#7 overall)
  6. Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando) (#8 overall)
  7. Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa) (#9 overall)
  8. Nemesis Inferno (Thorpe Park) (#11 overall)
  9. Incredible Hulk (Universal's Islands of Adventure) (#14 overall)
  10. Galactica (Alton Towers) (#16 overall)
  11. Oblivion (Alton Towers) (#18 overall)
  12. Manta (SeaWorld Orlando) (#28 overall)
  13. Dragon Challenge (Hungarian Horntail) (#51 overall)
  14. Dragon Challenge (Chinese Fireball) (#52 overall)
 

Jamesss

Hyper Poster
Roughly this, from best to worst...

Shambhala
Mako
OzIris
Montu
Black Mamba
Dragon Khan
Nemesis
Riddler’s Revenge
Baron 1898
Incredible Hulk
Oblivion
Kumba
Silver Star
Batman The Ride (SFMM)
Galactica
Manta
The Swarm
Sheikra
Tatsu
Kraken
Dueling Dragons Fire
Dueling Dragons Ice
Fenix
Nemesis Inferno
Silver Bullet
Valkyria
Scream

I love B&Ms. Out of all of the above, it was only the bottom two that I would say I actually disliked.
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
I like a challenge, so here goes:

1. Flying Dinosaur @ USJ
2. Fury 325 @ Carowinds
3. Pyrenees @ Parque Espana
4. Hollywood Dream @ USJ
5. Parrot Coaster @ Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
6. Flying Wing Coaster @ Happy Valley Chongqing
7. Nitro @ SFGAdv
8. Nemesis @ Alton Towers
9. Hair Raiser @ Ocean Park
10. Silver Star @ Europa Park
11. Batman la Fuga @ Warner Madrid
12. Monster @ Walygator
13. Starry Sky Scrapper Ripper @ Joyland
14. Apollo's Chariot @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
15. Valkyria @ Liseberg
16. Acrobat @ Nagashima Spa Land
17. Superman la Fuga @ Warner Madrid
18. Afterburn @ Carowinds
19. Flight Deck @ CGA
20. Black Mamba @ Phantasialand
21. Nemesis Inferno @ Thorpe Park
22. Tatsu @ SFMM
23. Fenix @ Toverland
24. Flug der Dämonen @ Heide Park
25. Krake @ Heide Park

I'd probably draw a line here where the standouts of each type end.
Now it starts to get a bit bland.

26. Dive Coaster @ Chimelong Paradise
27. Draken @ Gyeongju World
28. Griffon @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
29. Dæmonen @ Tivoli Gardens
30. Scream! @ SFMM
31. Crystal Wings @ Happy Valley Beijing
32. Diving Coaster @ Happy Valley Shanghai
33. Goliath @ SFoG
34. Shambhala @ Portaventura
35. Intimidator @ Carowinds
36. Great Bear @ Hersheypark
37. Alpengeist @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
38. Wild Eagle @ Dollywood
39. Swarm @ Thorpe Park
40. Katun @ Mirabilandia
41. Phaethon @ Gyeongju World
42. Batman @ SFMM
43. Batman @ SFoG
44. Batman @ SFGAdv
45. Silver Bullet @ Knotts
46. Diavlo @ Himeji
47. Oblivion: The Black Hole @ Gardaland
48. Baron 1898 @ Efteling
49. Western Regions Heaven @ Happy Valley Chengdu
50. The other Scream @ SFGAdv
51. Dominator @ Kings Dominion
52. Dark Knight @ SFNE
53. Raptor @ Gardaland
54. Riddler's Revenge @ SFMM
55. Dragon Khan @ Portaventura
56. Oblivion @ Alton Towers
57. Air/Galactica @ Alton Towers
58. Medusa @ SFDK
59. Superman @ SFGAdv
60. Ozlris @ Parc Asterix
61. Family Inverted Coaster @ Happy Valley Shanghai
62. Patriot @ CGA
63. Vortex @ Carowinds
64. Green Lantern @ SFGAdv
 
I like a challenge, so here goes:

1. Flying Dinosaur @ USJ
2. Fury 325 @ Carowinds
3. Pyrenees @ Parque Espana
4. Hollywood Dream @ USJ
5. Parrot Coaster @ Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
6. Flying Wing Coaster @ Happy Valley Chongqing
7. Nitro @ SFGAdv
8. Nemesis @ Alton Towers
9. Hair Raiser @ Ocean Park
10. Silver Star @ Europa Park
11. Batman la Fuga @ Warner Madrid
12. Monster @ Walygator
13. Starry Sky Scrapper Ripper @ Joyland
14. Apollo's Chariot @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
15. Valkyria @ Liseberg
16. Acrobat @ Nagashima Spa Land
17. Superman la Fuga @ Warner Madrid
18. Afterburn @ Carowinds
19. Flight Deck @ CGA
20. Black Mamba @ Phantasialand
21. Nemesis Inferno @ Thorpe Park
22. Tatsu @ SFMM
23. Fenix @ Toverland
24. Flug der Dämonen @ Heide Park
25. Krake @ Heide Park

I'd probably draw a line here where the standouts of each type end.
Now it starts to get a bit bland.

26. Dive Coaster @ Chimelong Paradise
27. Draken @ Gyeongju World
28. Griffon @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
29. Dæmonen @ Tivoli Gardens
30. Scream! @ SFMM
31. Crystal Wings @ Happy Valley Beijing
32. Diving Coaster @ Happy Valley Shanghai
33. Goliath @ SFoG
34. Shambhala @ Portaventura
35. Intimidator @ Carowinds
36. Great Bear @ Hersheypark
37. Alpengeist @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg
38. Wild Eagle @ Dollywood
39. Swarm @ Thorpe Park
40. Katun @ Mirabilandia
41. Phaethon @ Gyeongju World
42. Batman @ SFMM
43. Batman @ SFoG
44. Batman @ SFGAdv
45. Silver Bullet @ Knotts
46. Diavlo @ Himeji
47. Oblivion: The Black Hole @ Gardaland
48. Baron 1898 @ Efteling
49. Western Regions Heaven @ Happy Valley Chengdu
50. The other Scream @ SFGAdv
51. Dominator @ Kings Dominion
52. Dark Knight @ SFNE
53. Raptor @ Gardaland
54. Riddler's Revenge @ SFMM
55. Dragon Khan @ Portaventura
56. Oblivion @ Alton Towers
57. Air/Galactica @ Alton Towers
58. Medusa @ SFDK
59. Superman @ SFGAdv
60. Ozlris @ Parc Asterix
61. Family Inverted Coaster @ Happy Valley Shanghai
62. Patriot @ CGA
63. Vortex @ Carowinds
64. Green Lantern @ SFGAdv
And the award for the most controversial B&M rankings goes too...
 
1. Shambhala
2. Nemesis
3. Katun
4. Tatsu
5. Kraken (nostalgia probably propping this one up the most)
6. Sheikra
7. Montu
8. Black Mamba
9. Kumba
10. Fenix
11. Incredible Hulk
12. Scream!
13. Batman the Ride (SFMM)
14. Manta
15. Baron 1898
16. Dragon Khan
17. Oblivion
18. Silver Star
19. Dragon Challenge Fire
20. Dragon Challenge Ice
21. Swarm
22. Nemesis Inferno
23. Riddlers Revenge
24. Valkyria
25. Air
 
Anything tickle you in particular? I'm guessing from your list Shamb, Katun and Valkyria. Let's at least have a banter about it. ;)
Yeah seeing Shamb and Katun below Valkyria was pretty painful haha. I feel like both Shamb and Katun are forceful as **** and in both cases the restraints allow for it. Valkyria has so much potential, but the combination of restraints and being almost so smooth it felt forceless just did not lead to a good time for me haha.

Also seeing silver star that high was quite a shock too haha. But it's always interesting to see different people's opinions and try to understand how they can come up with such a list haha
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
B&M have been an interesting journey for me over the years. Used to love them, everything was really good, really solid, thought they could do no wrong. Nemesis is a former #1 (inevitably), their inverts in particular used to be top of the radar stuff for trip planning and bucket lists.
These days I've said to myself that the ride type will most likely never scrape a top 25.

The more I ride, the more I start to notice how formulaic some of it is, so that dependability they had (which of course is a measure of their commercial success) starts to become, in my selfish personal view while travelling the world to ride them all, blandness.

I think the main thing that formulaic nature does to me as an enthusiast is make the chronological order in which I ride things play a much more significant role in how well I view them on the day. If it doesn't do anything unique that stands out over a previous memory of one, then what does it have to offer me? And inherently the more you do, the less opportunity there is for it to offer something unique.
I also begin to learn the traits in them that I enjoy best and then look for them in others. If they don't do any particular thing I like about those rides, then it hasn't served its purpose to me.

^^Which brings me nicely to Katun. Something like my 18th invert. It had a big reputation that it didn't, perhaps couldn't, live up to.
What do I like from inverts these days?
1) Stupidly intense positives that make the whole train scream AHHHH! in perfect unison and make your feet tingle unpleasantly to the point that I'm punching myself in the leg and shouting stop it, but there's nothing I can do about it.
2) Stupidly intense inversions that the train SNAPs through. There's nothing graceful about it, it may even be an awkward transition, but it's very fun and to me, characterful. I want these machines to be trying to kill me. That's what I've come to expect from them.
3) As alluded to above, something unique that I haven't felt on an invert before. An interesting element that breaks the monotony of loop, zero-g, cobra, corkscrews, that is actually an enjoyable moment and serves purpose to the layout.

On the days I rode it, Katun offered none of these.
1) Forcefulness is where things get subjective and we all find that everyone experiences things differently. You say it was forceful as ****, I found it less forceful than say, 10 other inverts. It didn't get my feet tingling. It didn't crush my head. No one on the train screamed ahhhh in the final helix.
2) It didn't snap through the cobra or corkscrews in the way I described I enjoy.
3) Element-wise the ride is something between Pyrenees and Monster (off the top of my head). It didn't contain a single moment that set it apart from these 2, and those 2 both get a tick for 1) and 2).

Shambhala isn't quite as easy as that. I didn't particularly know what I liked out of B&M hypers other than 'fun', having only ridden 2 previously. I did however know what I liked out of hypers and 'airtime machines' (is that fair?) in general - a layout that never relents and being kicked out of your seat as viciously and often as possible really.
On the days I rode it, Shambhala offered none of that.
I know it's subjective again but I really do struggle to understand anyone calling this one forceful as ****. I don't even think that's the intention of the ride.
The ride started off by bugging me when it slows down at the top of the lift. Any ride that feels like it's holding back for whatever reason is gonna take a hit for me. It's a character thing again, I want it to try its hardest at all times.
The first big hill probably crosses over to that common discussion of floater vs ejector. In my book, it was perfectly providing the sensation that I can only describe as it wanting you to leave your seat, and you almost are, but you don't. It's a tease, just a little more, just a little more, nope it's over.
Some people obviously get off on this sensation. Sadly, I'm not one of them.
The best moment of airtime for me was on the speed hill, but that moment also contains a trim which I felt a strong pull from and literally turns the moment into YES, this is good, OH, that's a shame. Again, it's holding back.
I don't remember any of the other hills to be honest, so I have to take that at face value - nothing stood out to me.
I lied earlier, there is one thing I knew I liked about B&M hypers. Coming into an MCBR, sure it slows down a bit, but then BAM, kicked out of your seat on the exit of it, because the profile is sharper. Shambhala's 'mid'course is laughably late and does no such thing, it just slows you down again into a single corner and hill that only serve the purpose of transporting you to the end brakes. I'd put that section on par with the Swarm's ending with its 2 brake runs. Just feels unjustified.

Valkyria you've already played the restraint card, so I'll jump at that being the fundamental difference. I was very worried about vests, but they had no impact on the ride sensation whatsoever for me, including the main drop which was up there with the best of its type. The remaining layout felt much faster and had more purpose than any other Dive I've experienced. To me this was the saviour of the ride type.

^The opposite can be said for OzIris, which was to me the downfall of the ride type. And as far as I recall the downfall of B&M in general.
I remember the moment clearly. I left the ride with a friend, a silence hanging in the air between us and we just stood for a moment by a wall at the exit, watching another train go round. A specific thought crossed my mind - 'did this ride just kill B&M?'. Neither of us wanted to say it aloud first, but we both independently didn't really like the ride we had just experienced. We were really into inverts at the time and it was simply a letdown. It didn't sit right.
So back to my invert checklist, even if I didn't know it at the time.
1) It didn't have any of those standout forceful moments.
2) The only SNAP it had was punching me in the side of the head on the first drop, which I'd never expected from this ride. That put me right off.
3) Yes, the layout is different and has some unique features, but I've since forgotten them. All I remember now is there's a weird bump in the track in or out of the loop and several uneventful corners over mud. It just didn't flow very well, nor did it ride like an invert I enjoy.
To this day I've never been THAT disappointed again by an Invert, so I view it as the worst of its type. But that may just be that my expectations have dropped a lot since and it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Inferno is fine, I'd say it's getting better with age. The loop and final helix are really forceful, the prelift gives it a bit of character and I can think of no specific issue with it.
 
@HeartlineCoaster Ooo I like this response a lot, very detailed haha.

I do completely understand what you mean by having your experience on a ride affected by the chronology of which you ride them and i'm sure it's something i'll experience once my coaster count has climbed a bit higher. You're not wrong in that a lot of B&M's are formulaic and when there is something drastically different about an experience I can see why that would make something stand out for you.

Something like Katun though for me was a break from that mould as it did a lot of formulaic things, but the elements as a whole were far more impressive than those i've experienced on different inverts. I loved the Zero-G, felt more like an airtime hill with an inline twist chucked on top of it and it was a kind of weird airtime i've never experienced that level of on an invert. Despite not doing many of them, the cobra roll was an absolute monster, along with corkscrews and gave the exact snappiness you described it as lacking. I'd like to go back on it after doing 17 other inverts though to see how my opinion would change. The criticism of the helix is far enough, but Nemesis is the only invert that's ever made me look forward to a helix so i'd be interested to see what others do.

Ok, maybe it was an oversight to put Shambhala in the 'forceful as ****' category, but there were several times I felt like I was seriously going to fly out my seat and for floater that's saying a lot. On my latest trip the first hill really delivered more than a tease, for me Silver Star gave much more of the teasing sensation that you describe. I'll agree with you on that, the post-MCBR would be the one thing holding it back, but the rest of the ride has such strong satisfying floater it really doesn't take anything away from the ride. You're also correct in that it would be nice to have more ejector moments, but like you said that isn't really the purpose of the ride.

As for Valkyria, yes I already played my restraint card and that did suck all the fun out of it initially for me but I do have a confession. I went back to Liseberg on the weekend after going to Gothenburg for a long weekend and I did actually really enjoy it. @MouseAT told me about how you can get air on the drop by holding the vest forward, doing this the entire ride completely changed the experience for me. The drop was greatly sustained floaty fun. The inversions all felt whippy and gave great sensations and I actually got a bit of air on the little hill they've got. I think it will now probably shoot up above Oblivion and Baron in my B&M Dive rankings. A bit embarrassing considering how I slated it before, but i'd rather get good rides and enjoy it than to feel the same level of underwhelmed I felt last time. I'll happily concede on this one.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Fury 325
Nitro

Silver Star
Kumba
Montu
Nemesis
Thunderbird
Afterburn
Oblivion
Krake

Something like that. Top two are the only definite placements, I'm not ranking all 49.
 

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
S Tier
1. Fury 325
2. Behemoth
3. Diamondback
4. Leviathan

A Tier
5. Apollo's Chariot
6. Yukon Striker
7. Raptor (CP)
8. Talon
9. Dominator

B Tier
10. Griffon
11. Alpengeist
12. Banshee
13. Great Bear
14. Hydra

C Tier
15. Gatekeeper
16. Valravn
17. Afterburn
18. Rougarou

D Tier
19. Intimidator

The tiers are only for the B&Ms compared to the other B&Ms. Anything D Tier and below is anything I found bad, boring, or unenjoyable, so that means most of the B&Ms I've ridden are at the very least "good".
 
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