Do you prefer a straight first drop or a twisted first drop on a roller coaster?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. On a gravity-fed roller coaster, the first drop is a key part of the experience. It gets the ride going, and sometimes, it can provide a means to start the ride with a real bang. The first drop can provide huge airtime, surprising laterals, or even both in some cases, and the first drop can be either straight or twisted. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; do you prefer your first drop straight or twisted? Do you like a drop that just goes straight down, or do you prefer a bit of directional change to be thrown in there too?

Personally, I tend to lean towards a straight first drop. A straight first drop can often be a brilliant means to start the ride off with huge airtime, and when I think about some of the best straight first drops I’ve ridden, I can’t think of a twisted drop that’s given me the same pleasure. For instance, Iron Gwazi’s first drop is absolutely obscene, with absurd ejector airtime the whole way down; it was truly sublime, and I dare say that it was my favourite element of the ride! I’m also a huge fan of Mako’s first drop; you get a phenomenal kick of wonderfully strong sustained ejector the whole way down, and on the back row, you get a surprising pull out of the seat! Those two coasters easily have my two favourite first drops on a gravity-fed roller coaster, and I can’t think of a twisted drop that meets quite that same level of ecstasy for me.

But which do you prefer? Are you a fan of a straight first drop, or do you prefer your first drop to be twisted?

 

[Zeock]

Definitely a straight first drop.

 

[Connor98]

There’s some amazing example of both. Lech coaster having my favourite twisted drop as of yet! But drops like Shambhala and Zadra just can’t be beaten in my opinion.

 

[Tim]

Personally I'm a fan of rides that don't open with a big first drop. Rides like Wodan that circle the first drop before taking it. Or Nemesis, which barley seems to have dropped at all before hitting its first inversion.

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

I don’t really have a favourite type as but I do like a nice curved first drop (ie The Big One) and especially when it then goes straight in to an inversion (Kumali). But I also like a good straight drop such as on Hyperion and the Intamin Mega Coasters.

Something I find really interesting though is coasters that climb up the lift hill and then don’t immediately drop. The B&M dive coasters are obviously a great example of this as they go up and then level out before bringing you to the drop and building up your anticipation of it. Wild mouse coasters (including the Gertslauer bobs and S&S El Locos) are good for this as well, though of course they don’t have the massive drops.