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Review the last roller coaster you rode

Matt N

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. From looking through the forums, we have a lot of threads reviewing things like the last film or TV program you watched, so I had an idea; why don't we employ a similar concept, but instead reviewing the last roller coaster you rode?

I'll get started, as I was at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland yesterday and managed to ride some new coasters:

Olympia Looping was a ride that I was really looking forward to riding, and I had heard a lot of very superlative-filled reviews that gave me pretty high expectations. However, even though it was a good ride, and a brilliant piece of engineering for a travelling coaster, I must admit that I was somewhat underwhelmed. Even though the layout was good, I think I found the loops a touch too intense for my personal liking. I didn't grey out, but I felt a very weird and unpleasant sensation when the train was going through them that made me feel a bit nauseous. Also, I wasn't a fan of the shoulder harnesses; they tightened significantly during the ride and really made my shoulders ache. Despite its flaws, I think that Olympia Looping is a good ride, although I wouldn't rate it anywhere near as highly as many do.

6/10 (3 stars)


Ice Mountain was your standard Reverchon spinning mouse, really, although it had some very good theming and lighting for a travelling ride! I should also mention that it was probably the spinniest one I've done; I could barely walk in a straight line getting off! However, it was probably one of the rougher Reverchon mice I've done, and I'm not a fan of the ride type anyway.

2/10 (1 star)


Spinning Coaster was another Reverchon spinning coaster, although I'd say it was marginally smoother than Ice Mountain.

2/10 (1 star)


Wilde Maus XXL was certainly more fast-paced than your average wild mouse, however it was also quite a bit rougher as a result of this. As a result, I personally found the experience very painful, as I'm not a huge fan of really strong lateral g-forces and I'm not generally a fan of wild mouse coasters anyway. As a result, I unfortunately wasn't a fan at all. The big drops were fun, though, and the queue was certainly unique and spiced things up!

2/10 (1 star)


Euro Coaster was a ride where I wasn't sure what to expect. And it was certainly... different. Despite having a similar layout to a wild mouse in places, I'd actually say that it was quite a bit smoother due to the banking, and for this reason I enjoyed it more than a typical wild mouse. I must admit it felt like it was going to stall in places, and I wouldn't say it was brilliant by any means, but I don't think that Euro Coaster was a bad little ride for what it was!

4/10 (2 stars)

While I'm on the subject of HPWW, Hangover was surprisingly awesome; it was actually my personal favourite ride there and one of my personal favourite drop towers I've done!
 
Review of Euromir, Europa Park
"A big green track that's made by MACK" Shaun Sanbrooke
As well as the cool techno soundtrack, this spinning coaster is very enjoyable despite not being very thrilling. The lift hill is very long and drawn out which helps build up the tension, going outside into the cold (it was 1 Celsius at 8pm when I went on this). There are several wild mouse style turns before going into some long drops and turns which do give you a rush of wind before going back into the station. Operations were incredibly fast, 30 second dispatches! By 8pm, the queue was non-existant so I got a re-ride as the only person on the train.
 
I actually had to look up the last coaster I'd been on, and discovered there was only 1 in 2019 :oops: not that it wasn't an interesting year.

That 1 was The Dragon, Legoland Windsor. I have quite a history with this ride which will make my review a bit biased. I can't deny it's showing it's age but I still love the hybrid of coaster and dark ride. The coaster section while basic does what it needs to do and I remember the drops being quite intense when I was the target age.

Let's say 7/10
 
SAW: The Ride - better than I remembered and not rough/jolty at all. The puppet at the start couldn't be understood at all though so that wasn't so good. I enjoyed the indoors bit after that though.
 
Sorry for bumping, but I went to Alton Towers today, and I managed to get on 5 of the 10 coasters.


The Smiler was actually running quite smoothly compared to usual, although it definitely still had its rough patches. The ending was quite rough as per usual, and there were 1 or 2 other spots of slight jolting, but other than that, the rest of the ride had little more than a very slight rattle, and on the whole, it was one of the most enjoyable rides I’ve had on Smiler in a while. However, I would still like the ride a little bit more if the aforementioned jolts weren’t present and the ending was smooth, and while I’m a big fan of the layout and admire what they crammed into the space, I think the ride is possibly a touch too intense/nauseating in its execution for my liking; it’s not one of my favourite coasters.

Row(s) experienced: 1x row 1 Rating: 6/10


Oblivion was absolutely fantastic! The ride has massively grown on me as of late, and I just love the sustained airtime over the drop as well as the insane sense of speed in the tunnel! The way that force hits you in the tunnel makes the ride feel so fast; my dad said to me on the brake run that Oblivion feels like the fastest coaster he’s ridden, and I can definitely see why he thinks that! Overall, while Oblivion is a tad too short to score very top marks from me, it’s virtually flawless on a pound-for-pound basis, in my opinion, and contrary to my previous belief, I actually think I like the ride more than SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa, despite the latter having more elements. I just love how concise Oblivion is; it doesn’t mess around! I’d have to reride SheiKra to be completely sure, though, as it’s been 5 years since I was last at Busch Gardens Tampa.

Row(s) experienced: 1x row 1 Rating: 9/10


Wicker Man was absolutely breathtaking; my rides on this were genuinely quite magical, and my favourite rides I’ve ever had on Wicker Man! I definitely concur with the recent reports that the ride has been running well; it was absolutely flying on all 3 rides I had today, and my first ever ride in row 12 in particular had some absolutely biblical ejector air! On the back row, some of the longer drops honestly produced ejector airtime moments to rival Megafobia, and as much as I don’t usually scream much on rides, I was practically screaming the whole way round back row Wicker Man; the ride was honestly throwing us out of our seats or hurling us round a corner at every opportunity it got! To top it off, the moment of roughness I nitpicked about on my last visit seemed to have disappeared, so the ride was smooth (well, smooth-ish; it’s a traditional woodie, so is never going to be completely smooth) and comfortable throughout! Overall, I absolutely loved Wicker Man today, and even on my rides towards the front, it was running spectacularly; I’d have to reride Icon to be sure, but in spite of the fact I’m not usually a hardcore wooden coaster fan, I’m honestly quite tempted to say it’s now my favourite UK coaster!

Row(s) experienced: 1x row 12, 2x row 4 Rating: 10/10


Runaway Mine Train is a definite guilty pleasure of mine! Even though we were towards the front of the train, the ride was still surprisingly fast and great fun; as I’ve said before, those helixes don’t feel like they should be on a powered coaster for small children!

Row(s) experienced: 1x row 7 Rating: 6/10


Nemesis is a classic, and it was running reasonably well today! However, there was some minor headbanging that left my ears a tad sore; the ride is beginning to show its age a little. I wouldn’t call it rough per se, but it’s certainly getting quite fierce. This is only a very minor critique of mine, though; Nemesis was still great today!

Row(s) experienced: 1x row 7 Rating: 8/10


In terms of my personal ranking of the coasters I did today, I’d settle for:

  1. Wicker Man
  2. Oblivion
  3. Nemesis
  4. Runaway Mine Train
  5. The Smiler
 
Last coaster I rode was The Smiler last Thursday - 10/10 loved it as always, front row, glass smooth, the "rough" inversions (2, 12 & 13 - although I'd say the 13th inversion being rough is pushing it) - are genuinely not even that bad anymore I don't think. I don't have to brace for them anymore, and it made me realise I'll probably always love this ride!
 
Clown Coaster at Wicksteed Park

3 lap special.
Ride 6/10

Nostalgia factor from riding it at Blackpool 10/10

Have to say they've done a fantastic job at restoring it and giving it a new paint job.
 
Sorry to bump the thread, but I went to Thorpe on Tuesday, and had some interesting rides on some of their coasters. I got 16 rides in in total (!!!), which I was very pleased with!


Stealth (1x row 5, 1x row 7, 1x row 10) - I’ll admit I’m growing increasingly unsure where I stand on Stealth. There’s so much I love about it; the launch is insane, and the airtime over the top hat is brilliant! In the back row especially, you get whipped off of it with a phenomenal amount of sustained ejector! However, am I the only one who’s increasingly finding it a bit rough? I noticed yesterday that it really bopped my head about a fair bit entering and leaving the top hat in a way that it never has before (I’ve only ever noticed a slight rattle in the past), and I found the top hat entry in particular to not be that pleasant at all due to how much the ride was bashing my head about. It’s a shame, as it never used to be that bumpy, and I do love the launch and airtime. I still don’t dislike Stealth on the whole, and I guess the top hat entry and exit are only a little bit of it, but I’m afraid to say it’s definitely dropped a fair bit for me after yesterday; controversially, I’d actually say I prefer Rita based on my most recent experiences with that one. 6/10


Nemesis Inferno (1x row 7, 1x row 1) - On the contrary to Stealth, I’ll admit Nemesis Inferno is a coaster that’s grown on me a fair bit in recent years, and it was running very well indeed yesterday! Just the right amount of force, great pace, fairly smooth (a touch of headbanging, but nothing major at all); what’s not to like? The tunnel was also in full working order yesterday, with both bright orange lighting and tons of mist; brilliant! One thing I will say is that I don’t think the front on Inferno is quite as much of a drastic improvement as it is on Nemesis for me, but it was still great! Whether or not I prefer it to Nemesis is something I’ll have to decide when I reride the original this coming weekend, but on the whole, Inferno was running great yesterday, and it is a coaster I really enjoy! 9/10


The Swarm (2x row 7, 2x row 5, 1x row 4) - I’ve always had a real soft spot for Swarm, and yesterday was no exception! That first drop is absolutely insane, I love the raw sense of speed and exposure the winged seating position gives you, the pacing is brilliant, and that last inline twist still gets me with its brilliant negative g-forces every single time! However, following yesterday, I do have a couple of small caveats with it that mean it isn’t 10/10 material for me anymore. Firstly, the vest restraints aren’t terribly comfortable, and seemed to cause me more issue today than they did on my previous visit. Secondly, the one outer seat ride I had, while not rough per se, was surprisingly really juddery, and while the inner seat rides I had later on were pretty smooth, the judderiness of it on that particular outer seat ride did take away from it a bit for me. Thirdly, while I know this one is more down to personal preference, there is one bit of Swarm that I wasn’t finding too enjoyable on Tuesday, and that’s the low helicopter helix. I don’t know whether it was the heat, but that section was consistently making my eyesight go for a good few seconds on Tuesday, and I’m increasingly realising that while Swarm didn’t do anything to my body upon getting off (e.g. making me feel sick, making my head hurt), I don’t personally find that greying out sensation too enjoyable. On the whole, I do still really, really enjoy Swarm, and I’d still say that it’s my favourite at Thorpe Park purely based on how utterly brilliant some of its biggest highs are (the only section I’d say I don’t rate highly is the helicopter helix), but I’m afraid it’s slipped down a bit for me; I can’t personally put it as 10/10 material anymore. 9/10


Saw The Ride (1x row 2) - Saw has never been my favourite coaster, but I have to say; by Saw standards, it was not running badly at all on Tuesday! I rode in the back row, and I can honestly say that it was possibly the smoothest ride I’ve ever had on Saw! Ultimately, it still isn’t my favourite coaster, because it was a bit of a headbanger on the first drop, and everything after the MCBR, although not as bad as usual, was still a touch too much on the rough side for my liking, but everything after the first drop up to the MCBR was honestly not too rough at all, and it made me realise that I do actually really like Saw’s base layout; I’d argue that it has my favourite layout of any Gerstlauer in the UK, and I love the fast pacing and surprising amount of airtime it has! Overall, while the first drop jolt and rough ending do still ruin it a bit for me, and for that reason, it still isn’t one of my absolute favourite coasters, Saw was not running badly at all on Tuesday! Put it this way; it’s the first time I’ve ever done Saw and not had a pounding headache getting off, so I’ll take it! 6/10


Colossus (1x row 10) - I’ve never particularly liked Colossus at all, and I’m afraid that Tuesday’s row 10 ride did absolutely nothing to change that. It was extremely rough, and combined with the uncomfortable restraints, I’m afraid it was possibly the worst ride I’ve had on Colossus in some time; I came off with sore ears, sore thighs and an absolutely pounding headache. It’s a shame it’s so rough, because even though I wouldn’t be huge on the second half regardless of ride comfort, I think the first bit of it would ride quite well if it were smoother, and I also find it a really aesthetically pleasing coaster! 2/10


Flying Fish (1x row 17) - Flying Fish is a fun enough little coaster for what it is; given it’s a small powered coaster, I can’t really think of anything to criticise about it, as even though it’s certainly no Runaway Mine Train, it’s not a bad little ride! Ultimately, though, it doesn’t really stack up against the other coasters in the park by virtue of its much smaller scale. 3/10


If I had to rank the coasters based on how much I enjoyed them yesterday, I’d probably go with:

  1. The Swarm
  2. Nemesis Inferno
  3. Saw The Ride
  4. Stealth
  5. Flying Fish
  6. Colossus
I apologise if I sound a bit harsh on the coasters here (I know that based on my comments, you probably all think I’m a complete pansy in terms of roughness and/or intensity tolerance), but I can only be completely honest with you, and say what I honestly thought and how much I honestly enjoyed the rides.
 
Last coaster I rode was Rage at Adventure Island, my first Gerstlauer Eurofighter. Did it twice, in the front row both times (did ask for the back on my second go but the group of 4 in front of me took it so I had to do the front again), and it was a little rough but not too bad. Really enjoyed it. :)
 
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