It's actually pretty fun! The first launch is quite weak indeed, but the other two are decent. The backwards climb of the twisty spike is so weird and exciting, and provides a cool mix of laterals/floater. It's mostly a soft coaster force-wise, but there're still a couple of intense moments and the little bunny hop section has good little pops of ejector too
Schwur des Kärnan absolutely blew my mind last weekend and I spent ages dithering over just what to do with it. It's such a complete package and does pretty much anything I've ever asked of a ride - from leaving me trembling with fear, to pops of strong ejector, to Taron-style direction changes, and all encompassed by a theme that doesn't just surround you - you ARE the theme. On a technical level, the coaster section is excellent but not 'best in show', but put it all together and it's an insanity that really shouldn't exist and that left me more 'emotionally moved' than any coaster I've ever been on. Totally gutted that we didn't get to ride it again in the afternoon as I wanted to see if it still had the same effect once the hype/fear had worn off a bit. So for now, my judgment can only be based only on the hyped morning session.
So what to do with my count then? I'm always open about my love for Vliegende Hollander which also has incredible theming, but where the coaster section is so poor that I could never put it in my top ten. By comparison, Kärnan's true coaster section is solid, coupled with the 'unique' coaster section at the start. Most of my top ten represent unique coaster experiences so this certainly fits the bill. Then I thought, are there any other coasters I rate highly because of a coaster/theming combo? Well Taron naturally. And Baron too. So maybe I do allow theming to influence my choices. And music - good music makes an otherwise great coaster amazing.
But the main reason I love Kärnan is the absolute care and attention to detail throughout the ride. No element is there unnecessarily. The whole thing tells a story which evolves around you with well-placed surprise after surprise after surprise.
First you have the queue and the theme creating huge anticipation - it's really dark and ominous in there. Even the bloody bag drop and accompanying video are themed, damn it! Then you have the ingenious row selection process to help build anticipation - just genius. On-ride starts with a pitch black section (which I always love) so you have no idea just where the track is going as it falls away beneath you. Then there's the ridiculous tower itself which is just utterly terrifying. I love the way it's so dark and as you creep out onto the lifthill, the only light is from small bulbs up the lift which are revealed slowly one, by one, by one as the anticipation builds ever further. Sitting on that lift is like waiting for the world to end! All the time surrounded by that amazing music score. But the huge amount of time left lingering on your back, letting all the blood rush to your head in the pitch black, is not wasted - by the time you are suddenly inverted into negative gs accompanied by bright sunlight, it's a complete assault to the senses. I was just giggling all the way to the first bam of airtime, trying to process just what the hell had gone on. But Kärnan isn't done with you yet. How playful that despite the huge amount of track, there are no visible inversions. You hit the breakrun a mess of wobbling jelly and, breathing a sigh of relief, enter the darkness once again, only to be met by a sudden last surprise barrel roll and sharp corner before the station.
I just can't get over how much it does. How much it plays with you. How such a complete THING it is.
Take into account the number of other rides I've been trying to squeeze into my top ten since my America trip last month - Maverick and Outlaw Run definitely deserve a place but I'm finding it harder and harder to fit everything in that I like.
So, I've decided the only thing to do is to dump the top ten, hang the criticism and put Kärnan where my heart wants it to be - No 1.
Maybe I'll ride it again and reconsider and it'll fall dramatically? Who knows? But for now, there it is...
I can feel Sue's pain with the ranking of things, but I'm too much of a numbers guy to not try and keep a top list. Not much changed in Germany, but a couple of movements. I go by gut feeling mostly.
1. Kärnan - Hansa Park (Still amazing)
2. Taron - Phantasialand
3. Helix - Liseberg
4. iSpeed - Mirabilandia
5. Wildfire - Kolmården
6. Wodan - Europa Park
7. OzIris - Parc Astérix
8. Sky Scream - Holiday Park
9. Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa
10. Lost Gravity - Walibi Holland
11. Thunderbird - Power Park
12. Stealth - Thorpe Park 13. Fluch von Novogorod - Hansa Park (Dropped from 6 - sadly not as good as I remember, though the launch is still epic)
14. Troy - Toverland
15. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park
16. Cú Chulainn - Tayto Park
17. The Ultimate - Lightwater Valley
18. Balder - Liseberg 19. Star Trek: Operation Enterprise - Movie Park Germany (New)
20. Blue Fire Megacoaster - Europa Park
1 Lightning Rod
2 Skyrush
3 El Toro
4 Taron
5 Helix 6 Goliath (SFGAm)
7 Fury 325
8 Wildfire 9 Renegade
10 Wicked Cyclone
New in Bold. Also, I really liked Viper at SFGam, not enough to displace anything in my top 20 but it sneaks into my top 30.
Interesting that you put Goliath and Renegade so high. What is it about Goliath that could possibly put it over Wildfire, Boulder Dash, Fury, and Wicked Cyclone?
After my first visit to Port Aventura since 2008, my list's also had to have a reshuffle.
It was with a heavy heart that I had to shove Dragon Khan out, as it was one of my first big coasters that I remember really liking, but as many have said, it's not aged well due to Spanish maintenance (or lack thereof) meaning it's developed Gerst-esque brain rattle. EGF has also been moved down - again, a big deal to me in 2008, but I feel there are rides I'd be in more of a hurry to rush back to.
However, after spending an hour in the bar last Friday, I then spent an hour riding Shambhala - at the back at 10 at night. It was out of this world, though naturally no daytime rides came close to comparing. If I was able to rank on individual rides, this would rank behind only a few rides on Nemesis back in October 2011.
As for Hansa Park, I finally rode Karnan on a thoroughly miserable day in April and my first ride was in sleet, which wasn't much fun. By contrast, I'll always have a soft spot for FvN, as a whoring session on what was then arguably the continent's best Gerstlauer rounded off one of the best weeks of my life.
And I thought I had some explaining to do! Bandit was hilarious though (reminded me of why I enjoyed White Cyclone - the one that's being RMC'd - just a barrel of laughs).
Now here's a guy who's not afraid of controvertial opinions. Truth be told, it had its painful jolts and very rough patches, but I wouldn't have said no to a reride.
Yeah perhaps I should at least try and explain myself! I expected absolutely nothing from this coaster to begin with, I’d heard some atrocious tales about these RCCA woodies and expected a lacklustre ride. What I actually got was a relentless, brutal, punchy, airtime filled layout that just didn’t let up the hole way round! The layout is insane, it flys (bumps and bangs) all the way round without letting up until the brakes. There’s only one painful section where you can actually see the train bouncing but the rest has been retracked and I bloody loved it in the back. Granted I never rode anywhere other than the seat nearest the back (the very back was shut) but I can honestly say a mix between the crazy layout, a night ride, the mental airtime and the sheer brutality of the ride somehow made me really really love this coaster.
After 5 years I have a new number 1 yayyy!
1. Taron
2. Shambhala
3. Wildfire
4. Helix
5. Expedition GeForce
6. Katun
7. Silverstar
8. Stealth
9. Superman PWM
10. Balder
I decided to bump Nemesis out of my top 10 because the more I think about it, the more I feel like it doesn't deserve to be there anymore.
I'm also still really undecided on how I feel about Karnan, I loved it but was really gutted we didn't get a night ride. I might decide to put it up there in the next couple of days.
Interesting that you put Goliath and Renegade so high. What is it about Goliath that could possibly put it over Wildfire, Boulder Dash, Fury, and Wicked Cyclone?
Goliath does so much within such a small footprint. Every element is amazing, no deadspots, different types of airtime throughout the layout, good drop. Yeah it's over quite quick but it's wonderful what it does.
Wildfire's deadspots, Boulder Dash's nasty jolting, Fury's slow helix and trim, WC's ending, all these are minor issues, but Goliath has no minor issues. It could be longer, but it's not, so I judge what I've ridden, which is an incredible ride.
Renegade I can't speak highly enough about, it's so so so brilliant. Trying to fit these excellent rides in is getting harder and harder..
In a way, I prefer Wildfire's pacing. Everything comes at you so fast on Goliath that you don't have time to appreciate it all. Maybe pacing somewhere between the two would be best (that is the pickiest thing I've ever suggested).
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