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Your Top 5-10 as a Non-Rider?

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
So, let's imagine a scenario in which (heaven forbid) you absolutely hated being on roller coasters. To you, the idea of being flung around through death-defying maneuvers saved only by a metal or rubber harness/bar is beyond horrible and you would have a panic attack if you did it.

However, you still liked them as pieces of engineering. You'd still go with coaster enthusiasts to media days and Lives and such, just would walk through the station and not ride. You'd still like to walk around them to experience them offride and watch them hurl terrified riders through death-defying maneuvers you wouldn't dare put yourself through. You'd still buy merchandise for them from the gift shop and would be that guy that shows up to parks wearing stuff from coasters across the country, just not from anything you've ridden.

My question is, in this scenario, what would be your top 10 and why? What would be your favorite coasters if you couldn't actually ride any of them and why?

For me:

5. Alpengeist; For some reason I love the skiing theme and walking along the exit path and seeing a mess of twisted track running through the hills is just great for some reason.
4. Goliath (SFMM) The thing that wins this one over for me is the queue. While I love the signage and watching it run the layout like it does, the journey to the ride through thick, jungle foliage and going into the Mayan-themed station really completes it. Shame the theming on the actual ride is ****.
3. Cheetah Hunt; This coaster looks really cool to watch because it, in a sense mimics the movements a real cheetah makes. The jumping from the ground onto a high place, the wide sweeping turn and directional change, and the final run through the canyon feel really animalistic to me for some reason. Not to mention the windcatcher being another example of coaster hardware being used for its visual properties. The indoor queue is also a really nice break from the Florida sun and the cheetah rock is sweet. Not to mention the really nice cheetah exhibit right across from the launch track.
2. GateKeeper; This would have been my second favorite had it not been for Banshee. I love the sign for this ride on a potentially unhealthy level, the gargoyle is such a great mascot for a coaster, and the merchandise for it is awesome. However, my favorite thing about GateKeeper is that it goes over the entrance, fully utilizing the beauty that can come with a coaster structure and incorporating it into architecture for something else. And the trains are beautiful, the gold bodies trailing behind the gargoyle head works really well. And the queue on the lake is amazing, maybe someday I'll have to wait in it. :wink:
1. Banshee; It's close to home, it's absolutely incredible to watch, and hearing the ominous music as the train is pulled up the lift climaxing into the iconic Banshee scream is sweet. At night the queue comes alive with lighting effects and the coaster is lit up with textured lighting, it's awesome! Not to mention it has some of the best merchandise for a coaster I've seen. I love my little Banshee gravestone desktop ornament, shot glass, and paperweight from media day.
 
hmmmm interesting topic...

Lets see

5. Kingda Ka
Love watching the launch!
4. Medusa
Beautiful background of Californian hills
3. Bizarro
Cobra roll goes over your head.
2. Expedition Everest
WED's theming + scared first timers on a roller coaster = priceless
1. The Hulk
I always found the B&M roar quite soothing to the ears. :p
 
Honestly too hypothetical for me, as I appreciate roller coasters both on their architectural form and ability to thrill. So maybe you're just getting at the architectural/design aspect only then?

In which case: Thunder Dolphin, Gatekeeper, Ravine Flyer II, or Nurburgring Racer. All have a presence and unique interaction with their surrounding environment, and go beyond a simple objective of only providing thrills for riders onboard.
 
This is a tough one. In no particular order...

Dragon Challenge (when it dueled) - the near misses were cool to see and it has great theming

Millenium Force - I find the station music kind of catchy and the train zooms right by the queue. And it looks great from all over the park.

Manta @ Orlando - beautiful to watch + queue line aquarium

Hulk - Like Glennderp said, B&M roar, plus that cool sound fx it makes going around the zero g

Top Thrill Dragster - Bleachers, cool theming, sound fx, launch, speed, cable, hydraulics, top hat, and horrified faces make it great to watch!
 
1. Rage being right next to the vertical lift hill and it dropping whilst your walking past.
2. Big thunder mountain you can hear it throughout frontier land.
3. Green scream interaction with people seeing the layout.
4 oblivion watching people's faces when they plunge.
5 space mountain hearing the launch the train go flying.
 
Hmm...I'm not sure if I can rank these, but there are a few coasters that I enjoy watching.

Griffon/Sheikra: Both of these are very fun to watch, and they always seem to draw a crowd when a train reaches the top of the drop. The splashdown is their pretty much exclusively for spectators as well.

Aplengeist: It's a fairly interesting ride to watch. It's got a nice color scheme, and just about the entire ride is visible from the bridge that connects the New France and Germany areas of BGW. It's also pretty big for an inverting coaster, which makes it more interesting from an off-ride perspective.

TTD: This is on the list for pure shock value. Cedar Point has bleachers set up to watch the launch, and there's usually quite a few people watching. It's big, it's fast, what else can a spectator ask for?

Hulk: Watching the train launch into the zero-g roll, then fly into the cobra roll over the lake is just great. Much of the second half is unfortunately hidden from view, but the first section is great to watch.

I personally also enjoy watching woodies. El Toro and White Lightning come to mind. Seeing the trains race around the track combined with the roar that woodies create is nice.

Never been there myself, but I've heard many say that Smiler is a very compelling ride to watch.
 
A few that stand out:

Oblivion. Standing next to the hole and watching the cars just disappearing into it, with the mist being sucked in, is really cool.

Gravity Max. Spectators can stand right above the entrance to the tunnel, right below the tilt section, which gives an excellent view.

French Revolution. Specifically the walkway that goes through the vertical loop. No nets or other crap to get in the way.

There's loads more, but I'm late for class.
 
Not too certain about a top 5 or 10, but what I believe to the most visually impressive coaster is Supersonic odyssey at Berjaya. There's something intimidating, prominent and simply quite insane about a coaster whose footprint has been so tightly squeezed into a shopping mall. It's also bizarre, and therefore intriguing. With the sounds (more specifically the roar :--D )amplified by the indoor space, everyone just seems to just turn and stare at it whilst its making a circuit, from the multiple levels you can view it from. Shame I never found out how to access the tunnel threading the loop...

It's ridiculously absurd and I love it :--D !

Other honorable mentions go to:

-Stealth (and its superiors)
-The Smiler for its incredible interaction
-Any B&M wingrider - they're just majestic and really don't deserve the criticism they receive!
 
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