OK, then; since getting back to the parks, there have been some changes to my list! My list chops and changes a lot, as many of you know, so I’ll just post the top 10 for now and go over the main changes (things I’ve moved are in
italics, as I haven’t ridden anything new that’s made the list in a while:
- Mako - No change. 10/10
- Icon - No change. 10/10
- Wicker Man - I thought Wicker Man couldn’t surprise me any more after my 2018 rides left me in wonder and amazement. But I’m happy to admit that I was wrong, as the coaster that keeps on giving had yet more surprises in store for me when I got back on it in July 2020! The pacing, although fantastic in 2018, felt as though it had been taken up a notch, and I was flying out of my seat around pretty much every transition, in stark contrast to a ride that, while it had a fun moment or two of airtime, was pretty lacking in airtime on the whole in 2018! The ride was also still very comfortable and rerideable for a wooden roller coaster; I was in absolutely no pain at all getting off, and the trains are very comfortable and track well, in my opinion! I may only have had 2 laps on Wicker Man while at Alton Towers in July, but judging by the spring in my step every time I got off, I could have done far more! I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Wicker Man, and I can’t wait to hopefully experience it at night later this year! 10/10
- Mine Blower - No change. 9/10
- The Swarm - Getting back on this coaster made me realise how much I actually love it, and that in reality, my ranking of it before didn’t really show the extent to which I really enjoyed it! It’s just such a smooth, enjoyable coaster, in my opinion, with just the right amount of force and some blissful moments of hang time; the first drop & zero-g roll in particular are just delectable, in my opinion! Also, that final inversion over the station packs surprising negative g-forces that really send me flying out of my seat every time; it almost feels like inverted airtime, and it’s an amazing sensation that feels like it shouldn’t be possible! The restraints do tighten a bit, and this remains a minor niggle for me that prevents it from reaching that 10/10 tier for me, but this is nowhere near as much of a problem on Swarm for me as it has been on some other rides I’ve been on, and I still love it in spite of this minor flaw! Overall, Swarm is a coaster that delivers me fun, enjoyment and a huge desire to reride every time I get off, and those are all very good reasons why this coaster spent 2 years as my number 1 coaster prior to visiting Florida in 2016! 9/10
- Stealth - Now this is where things get interesting! Prior to revisiting Thorpe Park in July, Stealth wasn’t even in my top 10, and only narrowly made my top 15. However, I think Stealth is a very similar case to The Swarm for me in that I forget just how much I actually love it, but even more so in Stealth’s case. Riding in the front row for the first time made me realise that I had always dismissed the ride due to its short length when deciding how to rank and rate my coasters, when in reality, the length isn’t a huge problem for me when I’m on the ride; it’s what the ride does with that length that truly matters to me, and what Stealth does with the length that it has is truly something to behold, in my opinion! That hydraulic launch of 0-80 in under 2 seconds is truly a sensation unlike any other, and really gets the heart racing! Then, the top hat actually provides a pretty fantastic moment of sustained ejector airtime before you plummet down and feel that raw speed hitting you once again, and then you get another small pop of airtime before hitting the brake run! Overall, while Stealth is a very short ride, it delivers hugely in the duration that it has, in my opinion; second for second, it really is quite something! That short length does keep it from ranking even higher, however, and is a minor niggle for me in that it doesn’t provide as much of a wide range of elements and doesn’t deliver for as long of a time period as some other coasters I’ve been on. Still, Stealth is one hell of a ride, in my opinion! 9/10
- Montu - No change. 9/10
- SheiKra - No change. 9/10
- Kraken - No change. 9/10
- Megafobia - No change. 9/10
So, that’s my updated top 10 after some UK park revisits in July! I’ll keep it to just the top 10 for now, but I’ll probably show off my updated top 30 in a different post, as there has also been some notable movement there; my opinions are ever changing, as you probably know by now!
While I’m here, I must admit that I am starting to get slightly uneasy about my rankings of certain coasters, namely things that I haven’t ridden in quite a few years. Unfortunately, this does include my current number 1 coaster, Mako, which I have not ridden in 4 years. My memories from that ride are just blissful; from my memories of my 3 rides in 2016, it was packed with more airtime than any other coaster I’ve been on, smooth as can be and just the most amazed and blown away I’ve ever been by a ride to date!
However, I’m starting to worry that my comparative lack of coaster experience when I rode Mako compared to now may be making me view the ride through somewhat rose-tinted goggles, and that if I was to ride Mako in 2020, it would feel somewhat disappointing in comparison to some of the amazing coasters I’ve ridden more recently, such as Icon and Wicker Man amongst numerous others. I was talking to my dad, and he’s flabbergasted that I still rank Mako so highly all these years on; he says he remembers it “not really doing anything interesting”, and he says that he’s surprised I don’t rank things like Smiler, Big One, Megafobia, Grand National, The Swarm and Saw much more highly than it (those are some of his favourite rides), and that Mako is surely not as fresh in my mind as some of the more recent experiences.
From my perspective, I still remember the ride experience Mako provided and my opinions on it at the time pretty well, and my memories of it from 2016 are the most positive memories I have from any roller coaster, so I’ve chosen to keep it where it is until I eventually get around to getting back on it.
But do you guys think I should keep it where it is at number 1, or should I downgrade it because I haven’t ridden it as recently as some other coasters I have ranked really highly?
