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Top 10(ish): 2024 Edition - page 124

Matt N

CF Legend
Sorry for double posting, but why is it that Skyrush seems to be flying up so many lists as of late? From memory, I think @Snoo and @Eyebrows both notably raised their rankings of Skyrush, and I could have sworn there were more people who raised it a fair amount following a revisit; has the ride been running particularly well as of late or something?

Please don’t kill me, Skyrush fans, but I have to say; I think Candymonium actually excites me more than Skyrush within Hersheypark. Don’t get me wrong, the ride looks absolutely insane, and the ejector looks almost like it shouldn’t exist because it's so strong, but if the restraints are as painful as they’re commonly made out to be, then I feel like that’s the kind of thing that would bother me, personally…
 

Eyebrows

Hyper Poster
Well, my answer probably isn’t the one you’re looking for, but I’ll answer anyway. I had only ridden Skyrush before I actually became an enthusiast, so I had (and still am, to a lesser extent) based my rankings largely on memories. As a non-enthusiast I focused less on airtime, so Skyrush really impressed me when ridden with an enthusiast’s point of view. Something that helped it in my rankings a lot as well was lots of night rides during ERT. It was running incredible and the ops were (slightly) more lenient. Before the ERT, I was ready to move it up to #4, afterwards I moved it to #2.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Well, my answer probably isn’t the one you’re looking for, but I’ll answer anyway. I had only ridden Skyrush before I actually became an enthusiast, so I had (and still am, to a lesser extent) based my rankings largely on memories. As a non-enthusiast I focused less on airtime, so Skyrush really impressed me when ridden with an enthusiast’s point of view. Something that helped it in my rankings a lot as well was lots of night rides during ERT. It was running incredible and the ops were (slightly) more lenient. Before the ERT, I was ready to move it up to #4, afterwards I moved it to #2.
That’s fair enough, and I kind of agree that you do tend to review things differently once you become an enthusiast, so I can certainly understand why certain things might shoot up or go down when viewed from an enthusiast point of view in comparison to a non-enthusiast point of view!

Thanks for the answer @Eyebrows; glad you seemingly had a pleasurable visit to Hersheypark! Well, I assume it was a pretty pleasurable visit, given the 12 rides on your number 2 coaster Skyrush and the entry of Candymonium into your top 10…
 

Eyebrows

Hyper Poster
(changes and new additions in bold)

After two days at Knoebels:

1. i305 (0)
2. Skyrush (0)
3. Twisted Timbers (0)
4. Phoenix (New) - I hate to repeat myself but holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** holy **** how the hell is this legal?? Dear god, this shouldn’t be allowed! Everything you’ve heard about this ride is true. Ride in rows 1, 3, or 12. (also sorry Talon)
5. El Toro (-1)
6. Beast (-1)
7. Kumba (-1)
8. Mystic Timbers (-1)
9. Flying Aces (-1)
10. Candymonium (-1)
 
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MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Please don’t kill me, Skyrush fans, but I have to say; I think Candymonium actually excites me more than Skyrush within Hersheypark.
Skyrush definitely has the worst restraints I’ve ever experienced. But if — and it is a big if — one can get past those restraints enough to concentrate on the experience of the coaster ride itself, Skyrush is one of the most intense steel coasters on the planet. The drops especially feel like cliff leaps. The aggression in general is like ExGF’s far feistier younger brother.

I love a great B&M hyper, absolutely, but for me a B&M hyper compared with Skyrush is like a pleasant horse ride along a country lane versus the white-hot insanity of a bucking bronco.
 

Snoo

The Legend
Sorry for double posting, but why is it that Skyrush seems to be flying up so many lists as of late? From memory, I think @Snoo and @Eyebrows both notably raised their rankings of Skyrush, and I could have sworn there were more people who raised it a fair amount following a revisit; has the ride been running particularly well as of late or something?

Please don’t kill me, Skyrush fans, but I have to say; I think Candymonium actually excites me more than Skyrush within Hersheypark. Don’t get me wrong, the ride looks absolutely insane, and the ejector looks almost like it shouldn’t exist because it's so strong, but if the restraints are as painful as they’re commonly made out to be, then I feel like that’s the kind of thing that would bother me, personally…

Well.. I think the adjustments over the years as well as the flood of enthusiasts returning to parks have seen that. Hell, I rode SR last year and it was meh but marathoning it this year just felt right. The ride cooked and was fantastic doing it.

Candy is a GREAT ride, no doubt one of my favorite, if not my favorite B&M Hyper, but not in the same vicinity of SkyRush tbh.

I love B&M Hypers, even the lower rated ones (Raging Bull >>> Goliath).
Fisted. No. Just no. No. No.
 

Snoo

The Legend
Ok.. last time I swear.. LITTLE MORE TWEAKING after sitting down. Moved up Phanny and moved around a few others having reridden them recently as I hadn't really sat down and looked past 15.

1 Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point
2 Lightning Rod - Dollywood
3 Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce
4 Voyage - Holiday World
5 Goliath - Six Flags Great America
6 Fury 325 - Carowinds
7 Twisted Timbers - Kings Dominion
8 Jersey Devil - Six Flags Great Adventure
9 SkyRush - Hersheypark
10 El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure

11 Wildfire - Kolmarden
12 Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City
13 Storm Chaser - Kentucky Kingdom
14 Mine Blower - Fun Spot Kissimmee
15 Copperhead Strike - Carowinds
16 Orion - Kings Island
17 Afterburn - Carowinds
18 Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood
19 Maverick - Cedar Point
20 Boardwalk Bullet - Kemah Boardwalk
21 Wicked Cyclone - Six Flags New England
22 Nitro - Six Flags Great Adventure
23 Mystic Timbers - Kings Island
24 Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point
25 Phoenix - Knoebels
26 Lightning Run - Kentucky Kingdom
27 X2 - Six Flags Magic Mountain
28 Steel Curtain - Kennywood
29 Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa
30 Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa
 

Antinos

Slut for Spinners
I’m going to SFGAdv this Saturday and I’m going to ignore this in an effort to keep my expectations low. Assuming this is some sort of typo… :rolleyes:
It's an excellent ride, but it seems to be affected by temperature and cycle count much more significantly than other rides. If you ride it first thing in the morning, you have to go back later in the day for a second opinion because I'm sure the ride will be running MUCH faster in the afternoon.
 

Snoo

The Legend
I’m going to SFGAdv this Saturday and I’m going to ignore this in an effort to keep my expectations low. Assuming this is some sort of typo… :rolleyes:
What Antinos said. Those who have ridden it later as opposed to morning said it was moving faster significantly. It did also get better as we went on when we were there and we rode it some 15 times? I was underwhelmed from expectations after the first ride (Due to the Wonder Woman hype) but took it for what it was after no longer comparing it and loved it.

Do that, and you'll be good. Don't compare it to anything else. Just sit back, enjoy, and embrace it for what it is after youre done. You'll know then.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Proud of you for getting rid of Banshee!
Why is it that Banshee is so hated, out of interest?

Personally, I always thought it looked more up my street than most B&M inverts; I personally prefer the more smooth, fun and floaty B&Ms (often new B&Ms) to the more raw, intense B&Ms (often old B&Ms), and Banshee is one of the few inverts that looks fun & floaty, along with probably Oz’Iris and Monster. Banshee looks almost like they put a load of wing coaster elements onto an inverted coaster, and given how much I love the only wing coaster I’ve done (Swarm is my #4!), I always thought that boded pretty well for Banshee!

One of the things I love about Swarm is that the inversions are just absolutely fab; the first drop, the zero-g roll and the final inline twist in particular have sublime negative g-forces. Swarm also has a really nice balance between thrill/intensity and rerideability, so you get a kick out of it, but it’s not so intense that you feel ill after riding; too much intensity can inhibit rerideability for me, but Swarm doesn’t hit that level. It strikes a really nice balance.

So for that reason, I thought that Banshee looked to have lots of lovely negative g’s in its inversions, and also looked to strike the same nice balance between thrill and rerideability!
 
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Hutch

Strata Poster
I personally prefer the more smooth... B&Ms
You'll have to look elsewhere, as Banshee does not offer a smooth ride.

It's had a consistent rattle for years now. making every valley unenjoyable. But even if it was smooth, it'd still be a weak invert for me. I'm not a fan of the huge, drawn out inversions... they just don't really do anything. No snap, no intensity, they're just... there.

I prefer that floaty stuff on the wingriders (like Swarm, as you mentioned), and those are even more interesting with the seating arrangement.

If you want an invert that's smooth and not as intense, I'd recommend Great Bear. It's on the lower end of B&M inverts for me, but it's a big smooth ride with solid moments.
 

solarfall

Mega Poster
To each their own, but I never noticed much of a rattle at all on banshee (most recent KI visit would have been 2 years or so ago). I hear that from so many enthusiasts that it makes me wonder if I rode it in a parallel universe or something.

Though I understand rattle on B&M coasters varies a ton from ride to ride, from things like load distribution, rider height, weather conditions, etc. I likewise often heard that Superman at Fiesta Texas had a noticeable rattle, yet my first ride on it was so tame I could have taken a nap on it. Conversely, I find Rougaroo to be unpleasantly rough, but I've talked to people who think it's glass smooth. Who knows. I guess there's a lot of subjectivity involved too.
 

Matt N

CF Legend
To each their own, but I never noticed much of a rattle at all on banshee (most recent KI visit would have been 2 years or so ago). I hear that from so many enthusiasts that it makes me wonder if I rode it in a parallel universe or something.

Though I understand rattle on B&M coasters varies a ton from ride to ride, from things like load distribution, rider height, weather conditions, etc. I likewise often heard that Superman at Fiesta Texas had a noticeable rattle, yet my first ride on it was so tame I could have taken a nap on it. Conversely, I find Rougaroo to be unpleasantly rough, but I've talked to people who think it's glass smooth. Who knows. I guess there's a lot of subjectivity involved too.
The build of the rider and how they fit into the restraints can affect that sort of thing too. For instance, my dad at 6’6” says that Saw at Thorpe is glass smooth, but I at 5’9.5” find it incredibly rough, and never fail to come off without a headache.
 

Snoo

The Legend
Why is it that Banshee is so hated, out of interest?

Personally, I always thought it looked more up my street than most B&M inverts; I personally prefer the more smooth, fun and floaty B&Ms (often new B&Ms) to the more raw, intense B&Ms (often old B&Ms), and Banshee is one of the few inverts that looks fun & floaty, along with probably Oz’Iris and Monster. Banshee looks almost like they put a load of wing coaster elements onto an inverted coaster, and given how much I love the only wing coaster I’ve done (Swarm is my #4!), I always thought that boded pretty well for Banshee!

One of the things I love about Swarm is that the inversions are just absolutely fab; the first drop, the zero-g roll and the final inline twist in particular have sublime negative g-forces. Swarm also has a really nice balance between thrill/intensity and rerideability, so you get a kick out of it, but it’s not so intense that you feel ill after riding; too much intensity can inhibit rerideability for me, but Swarm doesn’t hit that level. It strikes a really nice balance.

So for that reason, I thought that Banshee looked to have lots of lovely negative g’s in its inversions, and also looked to strike the same nice balance between thrill and rerideability!
It was fantastic year 1. But I've ridden it many times in the last few years hoping it was just a one train or a time of year time deal but nope.. I've ridden it front to back, early to late, summer to fall.. its rattling pretty badly unfortunately. Diamondback had the same issue recently as well.

It's also more concerning because other, older rides are much smoother then a brand new B&M, which is probably the most annoying part of it.
 

RcTmix

Mega Poster
So for that reason, I thought that Banshee looked to have lots of lovely negative g’s in its inversions, and also looked to strike the same nice balance between thrill and rerideability!

There's some decent hangtime on that last roll, but not much else in the realm of negative g's. The layout is mostly about positive g's.

I absolutely loved my Banshee rides in 2018 and 2019, so I used to roll my eyes when I heard other enthusiasts Banshee bashing because of a rattle. This year was a different story. I've had two separate trips to KI this June, and got on Banshee both days. First trip I got a back row ride. The layout felt much less interesting than I remembered, and there was a NASTY rattle. I got off thinking "Well that was a ride" and had no interest in waiting for a second lap.

On my next trip I had a fastlane, and thought I'd give it another go. Maybe my previous trip had just been a bad day? Front row ride this time, and even in the front row it was one of the shakiest rides I've ever had on a B&M. For the second time I had absolutely no interesting in a reride. Just out of curiosity, (and because I'm apparently a glutton for punishment) I decided to take a spin on Invertigo for comparison. Thanks to the fastlane I only had about 10 minutes between the two rides, and the rattle on Banshee was significantly worse than on the 22-year-old vekoma.

I also enjoy smooth, floaty elements mixed with positives, so Banshee should be a great ride. Unfortunately when it's running like this it seriously diminishes the experience.
 
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