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Two rides with the same layout: one great, one terrible

Rob Coasters

Rob Coasters

Rob Poster
What are two coasters that have the same layout but are on entirely opposite ends of the quality spectrum?

I'll start: Mad Mouse at Clarence Pier is an inoffensive Zyklon coaster at worst, but Cyclone at Barry Island Pleasure Park is horrible. Same layout, but one is 'passable' while the other is rough, boring, loud, isn't next to water and has horrid brakes and needs to be demolished. I liked Mad Mouse enough to ride it 3 times, Cyclone I wanted to get off before the first lap was over.

Rattlesnake at Chessington is a decently themed & decently fun wild mouse coaster, but Marble Madness at Pleasurewood Hills is completely unthemed, not taken care of, reeks of neglect and the trims rearrange your stomach just like Cyclone.

Any others?
 
Whirlwind at Camelot and Crush’s Coaster DLP.

Obviously Whirlwind is now gone but amazing what putting the same layout inside in the dark and adding some theming can do.
 
Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka. Obviously their layouts aren't exactly the same, but they're essentially the same ride.

I could name through some of the minor differences that made Dragster better, but the big one is that Dragster was smooth and Ka was just shambles.
 
JoshC. said:
Speed of Sound (Walibi Holland) vs any other Vekoma Boomerang.

Speed of Sound is by no means great, but it's significantly better than every other Boomerang by quite some way.
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Interesting you say that, because I found Speed of Sound to be worse than the stock model I've done (Wipeout). For me, the vests did nothing to mitigate the general discomfort that the ride brought, and while the vests did eliminate the would-be headbanging, shuffling around them while not knowing where you're going is still quite unpleasant. Audio was broken too, so I guess that plays a part as well!
 
^ Well not really, because they wouldn't be the same layout 🤷‍♂️

On the subject of wooden coasters though, I'll suggest Heidi: The Ride (Plopsaland) and White Lightning (Funspot Orlando). Essentially the same layout but Heidi was smooth and reridable with some nice theming in a lovely park, whereas WL was shaky, poorly operated and situated in a dirty park overcrowded with vile children.

The latter has had some retracking since I rode it in 2018 but I still wouldn't want to go back to that park.
 
I'll take a stab at Vekoma SLCs - Thunderhawk at Michigan's Adventure has weirdly stood the test of time and remains significantly smoother than many of its brethren. Especially interesting for this specimen, as it's the rare bird that has been owned by Six Flags and Cedar Fair throughout its lifetime.
 
Yeah on this theme I remember the SLC with new restraints at Energylandia was fine, while Flight Deck at Canada's Wonderland was genuinely atrocious even in the front row. Crazy variation in enjoyability tbh
 
Yea I find SLCs do vary alot.

I found Arkham Asylum to be actually pretty good with the new Kumbak trains and vest restraints meant no headbanging. I've never found Infusion too bad on the roughness either.

I remember Blue Tornado and Limit however being rough as hell.
 
Xpress Platform 13 at Walibi Holland. Exactly the same ride as Disney's Rock n Rollercoaster, except outdoors, unthemed and sh*t. The queueline might be quite atmospheric, but without the giant neon guitars and pumping soundtrack the actual coastery bit is meandering, dull and... well, sh*t.
 
Howie said:
Xpress Platform 13 at Walibi Holland. Exactly the same ride as Disney's Rock n Rollercoaster, except outdoors, unthemed and sh*t. The queueline might be quite atmospheric, but without the giant neon guitars and pumping soundtrack the actual coastery bit is meandering, dull and... well, sh*t.
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On the inverse, ironically: I much prefer the outdoor Premier Spaghetti Bowls (Poltergeist) to the indoor Flight of Fears. FoF is trimmed to a complete stop at the MCBR, a big factor; but riding in a shed doesn't garner any more atmosphere versus riding outdoors with better sightline to the tangled web of track.
 
When I rode the Great Nor'Easter at Morey's Piers, I was shocked at how good an SLC could be. At the time, that SLC was as smooth as nearly any B&M. As opposed to nearly any other SLC in the world.

Having the ocean view on the lift hill only adds to the experience
 
Howie said:
Xpress Platform 13 at Walibi Holland. Exactly the same ride as Disney's Rock n Rollercoaster, except outdoors, unthemed and sh*t. The queueline might be quite atmospheric, but without the giant neon guitars and pumping soundtrack the actual coastery bit is meandering, dull and... well, sh*t.
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Absolutely, without the darkness and atmosphere, the layout just doesn't work. It's in unique category of "the queue is better than the ride" for us, and that's not a good category to be in.

Oh the flipped side, the park has made their generic SLC (the OG SLC at that) actually smooth and enjoyable, so it's a weird old park.
 
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