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Rank the UK wooden roller coasters

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. In the UK, we currently have 10 operating wooden roller coasters according to RCDB, ranging from 100 years of age right through to just 2 years of age! But I was thinking; I wonder which one is the favourite of our forum members? And what better way is there to determine that than a good old ranking thread! I'll get the ball rolling with my personal ranking of the ones I've ridden (I've done 6 of the 10):
  1. Wicker Man - As well as being my personal favourite UK wooden coaster, Wicker Man also has the pleasure of being one of the most surprising coasters I've ever ridden! When I rode for the first time in March 2018, I was expecting a fun family ride at best, but I was blown away by the ride's pacing & fun layout! It feels incredibly fast and relentless for the whole ride, it's pretty smooth for a wooden coaster and tracks well, and despite not being the most intense or airtime-filled coaster out there, it seems to grow on me every time I ride it, and on the whole, it's just a tremendous amount of fun! 9/10 (#8 in overall rankings)
  2. Megafobia - Megafobia holds a very special place in my heart for being the first ever wooden coaster I rode, and it still holds up as one of my favourites from a ride experience standpoint! Despite the fact that I found the much fantasised about back row a little too rough for my liking, a front row ride on Megafobia provides many satisfying moments of floater airtime and some very exciting moments! Megafobia isn't the smoothest wooden coaster I've ridden, and it does peter out a little towards the end in comparison to the likes of Wicker Man and Mine Blower, but it is still a pretty fun ride, in my opinion! 9/10 (#12 in overall rankings)
  3. Nickelodeon Streak - As my top entry from Blackpool Pleasure Beach's wide array of classic wooden coasters, Nickelodeon Streak is a fun ride that all the family will enjoy! From my experience, it's by far the smoothest of Pleasure Beach's full-size wooden coasters, although it definitely feels more of a family coaster in terms of its forces and profiling. There are also one or two gentle pops of airtime, although I don't really think the strongest forces or pacing are what Nickelodeon Streak aims to produce! It seems to aim more to be a good step-up woodie for the younger guests, which it does pretty well, in my opinion! 5/10 (#40 in overall rankings)
  4. Blue Flyer - Blue Flyer is definitely a coaster designed solely for the younger guests, and you can definitely see this in the layout and car design. Still, it's a fun little ride for the kids! 4/10 (#46 in overall rankings)
  5. Big Dipper - Big Dipper has a good layout, with some fun pops of airtime and a good ride duration, but last time I rode, I personally found it too rough to enjoy. I don't know whether it depends on seat, but I was really bashed around quite a lot on every drop last time I rode in August 2019. I think that I would certainly enjoy the ride a lot more if it wasn't so rough, as it actually has a really good layout, in my opinion. Still, despite its roughness, Big Dipper is a classic, and I'm probably being overly harsh on it, what with it being nearly 100 years old! I certainly hope it has a long and prosperous future left in Blackpool! 3/10 (#55 in overall rankings)
  6. Grand National - Now before I move on to the main reason why Grand National is at the bottom of my UK wooden coaster ranking, I'll start by saying that the ride actually has a lot going for it in terms of layout. It has some of the strongest airtime of any wooden coaster in the country, it keeps its pace really well, and it's a really long ride, so the layout actually has quite a lot of potential, in my opinion! However, there is one key factor keeping Grand National at the very bottom end of my coaster rankings as one of my personal least favourite coasters I've ever ridden; it was so rough both times I've ridden it that I almost think calling it rough is an understatement. Grand National is somewhat unique in that it is the only coaster I've ever ridden where I've genuinely feared for my spinal health plummeting down the ride's drops due to how much I was being bashed around. However, I'm probably being overly harsh on it, as it's an 80 year old coaster, and the layout is a very good one. 1/10 (#71 in overall rankings)
As you can probably tell, I don't really like rough coasters. If the larger duo at BPB weren't so rough, I think they would be quite a bit higher in my personal rankings, although as I said, I shouldn't expect them to be glass smooth, I suppose. I can see the appeal of them if you have a higher roughness tolerance than me, but I've always ranked more fun and rerideable coasters higher.
 
How many ranking threads have you made now Matt?
Anyway, I've been on 6/10
1. Wicker Man
2. Grand National
3. Big Dipper
4. Scenic Railway (Dreamland)
5. Nick Streak
6. Blue Flyer
 
I don’t know if I could rank them now? I don’t think there is one that stands out as being the best, maybe megafobia? But I haven’t ridden in a long time.

Grand national in its pre fire state would still be the best today in my opinion. :)
 
Grand national in its pre fire state would still be the best today in my opinion.
Didn't Grand National only have seatbelts before the fire? Or did I imagine that?

I can only imagine that Grand National with minimal restraint was insane; the airtime would surely have been obscene!
 
Didn't Grand National only have seatbelts before the fire? Or did I imagine that?

I can only imagine that Grand National with minimal restraint was insane; the airtime would surely have been obscene!
I think it had a single lap bar like Big Dipper. Maybe had individual seatbelts as well but unsure.
 
I think it had a single lap bar like Big Dipper. Maybe had individual seatbelts as well but unsure.
All I know is that it definitely didn't have the trains and restraint style that it has now!
 
1. Megafobia
2. Wicker Man
3. Nick Streak
4. Roller Coaster (Gt. Yarmouth)
5. Dipper
6. Nash
7. Blue Flyer

Not done Scenic / Tubtwist / Antelope.

Wild Mouse would slot in at no.2 if still operational. Loved it.
 
Didn't Grand National only have seatbelts before the fire? Or did I imagine that?

I can only imagine that Grand National with minimal restraint was insane; the airtime would surely have been obscene!
Some of us can remember it with nothing at all, just a bar in front of you to hold on to.
All for two shillings.
 
Some of us can remember it with nothing at all, just a bar in front of you to hold on to.
All for two shillings.
My goodness! How were there not more incidents on it with no restraints; Grand National has some fair ejector with the restraints it has now, so I imagine you would have been absolutely launched from the train with no restraints!
 
Some of us can remember it with nothing at all, just a bar in front of you to hold on to.
All for two shillings.

When did restraints come into play?

I'm 47 and i swear i can remember riding it as a kid and it just had little metal oval bars to hold onto?

or was that dipper...or have i imagined it!?
 
1. Wicker Man, Alton Towers
2. Megafobia, Oakwood
3. Grand National, Blackpool
4. Big Dipper, Blackpool
5. Nick Streak, Blackpool
6. Roller Coaster, Great Yarmouth
7. Scenic Railway, Dreamland Margate
8. Blue Flyer, BPB
 
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