Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Hi guys. Intamin are one of the most respected coaster manufacturers out there, and launch coasters are arguably one of their bread and butter ride styles. From the LSM Launch Coasters to the Accelerator Coasters to the Family Launch Coasters, Intamin has done a lot of different launch coasters over the years. With this in mind, I’d be interested to know; how would you rank the Intamin launch coasters you’ve ridden?
While I’d only done a select few Intamin launch coasters for a number of years, I feel like I’ve done a fair few new Intamins with launches in recent years. I make it that I’ve now done around 11, if I’m not mistaken, and I would rank them as follows:
But how would you rank the Intamin launch coasters you’ve ridden? I’d be really interested to know!
While I’d only done a select few Intamin launch coasters for a number of years, I feel like I’ve done a fair few new Intamins with launches in recent years. I make it that I’ve now done around 11, if I’m not mistaken, and I would rank them as follows:
- Jurassic World VelociCoaster - Universal’s Islands of Adventure: This is just a sublime coaster! To be completely honest, I’d struggle to think of a single thing I’d really criticise about it; it’s just so good! The first half, while not as fast as the second half, still has lots of really interesting twists, turns and manoeuvres, as well as some nice bits of airtime, and that whole second half is just absolutely stellar; every single element hits, and it’s genuinely hard to pick a highlight out of the plethora of standout moments! In particular, that whole sequence of the second launch followed by the top hat is just absolutely wonderful, and that mosasaurus roll is such a phenomenal way to end the ride! And in general, VelociCoaster is so fast, it has brilliant airtime, it’s smooth, and in general, I just adore it and would definitely place it as one of my very favourite coasters! 10/10, #3/134
- Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure - Universal’s Islands of Adventure: Hagrid’s may not be the most intense of coasters, or have the plethora of standout moments of thrill that VelociCoaster does, but what it is, possibly more so than any other coaster I’ve ridden, is purely fun. Hagrid’s is an immensely fun and enjoyable experience that will just put a huge smile on your face, and it’s no slouch in terms of the thrills either; the launches are punchy, some of the fun and unique tricks really add to the experience, and the ride does pack a surprising amount of speed through some of those twists and turns! The predominant thing I would say about it, though, is that it is hugely fun, and it is very much proof that a coaster does not need to be intense to be amazing, in my view! 10/10, #8/134
- Stealth - Thorpe Park: Stealth may be short, but I feel that it uses its length wonderfully! That hydraulic launch is amazingly punchy, the speed is insane, and the airtime over the top hat is excellent! It maybe hasn’t got the most comfortable of trains compared to some of the newer Intamin launch coasters, but I don’t personally feel that this overly detracts from the ride, as there’s not a huge amount of lateral movement on it and I also don’t find those Intamin OTSRs overly offensive in terms of comfort. In my view, Stealth is an absolutely fantastic coaster, and rides like it do make me sad that the hydraulic launches are seemingly dying out; there really is nothing quite like that hydraulic launch! 9/10, #14/134
- Red Force - Ferrari Land: Red Force, like Stealth, is an absolutely fantastic coaster; the speed is brilliant, the airtime is brilliant, and just being on a coaster that huge and that fast is quite something! To its credit, the new Intamin lap bars are also a big improvement on the old OTSRs of Stealth. However, there is one main reason why I would place it marginally below Stealth… and that is that I simply don’t think the LSM launch is quite the same as the hydraulic launch on this ride style. Red Force is undeniably fast, and I do like the way it builds up speed as the launch progresses, but I perhaps don’t think it feels as fast as it is simply because it lacks that initial kick that the hydraulics have. It also has a bit of a weird rattle along the launch that Stealth doesn’t, but that doesn’t really factor into why I rank Stealth higher. Overall, though, Red Force is still an excellent coaster, and that speed and height are brilliant! 9/10, #15/134
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts - Universal Studios Florida: Gringotts may only be an “Intamin launch coaster” on a technicality, but it is still an Intamin coaster with a launch, so it still counts in my book! It may not have much in the way of coaster elements, but it is an absolutely sublime dark ride experience, in my view; the 3D is excellent, with excellent screen quality, and the physical theming and effects are also stunning and mesh with the screens wonderfully! The coaster elements it has are also quite neat; the tilt track into the twists and turns is fun, as is the launch at the end! Overall, Gringotts is a stunning blend of dark ride and roller coaster, in my view! 9/10, #19/134
- Cheetah Hunt - Busch Gardens Tampa: I admittedly haven’t ridden it since 2016, but I seem to remember Cheetah Hunt being a pretty fun ride, with some nice airtime, some fun twists and turns, including some nice, punchy s-bends, and a long length! It could probably have done with better restraints than those old Intamin OTSRs, however. 8/10, #28/134
- Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence - PortAventura Park: While the on-ride theming of Uncharted does leave much to be desired, the coaster itself is excellent! I thought the various launches were nice and punchy, and great fun, there were some really fun twists and turns in there, the ride packed a nice sense of speed, it was smooth, it was punchy, and I thought that some of the tricks were also great fun! The theming, however, is weak for a coaster that’s quite obviously designed to be heavily themed and story-driven, and if it was better, I think that would raise the ride up a tier to be more on par with the likes of Gringotts and Revenge of the Mummy. Nonetheless, I think Uncharted’s brilliant track and train coaster still makes it a great ride! 8/10, #30/134
- Gold Rush - Drayton Manor: I had quite low expectations for Gold Rush, but I have to say that it notably exceeded those expectations; Gold Rush was a brilliant family coaster! The switch track technology makes for a fun and novel experience, the ride has some fun twists and turns, good punchy launches and a long ride length, and it’s overall just a very good, fun family roller coaster! I would have liked it a tad more if it actually gave some small pops of airtime rather than merely threatening airtime like it does in a number of places, but that is a very pedantic critique; Gold Rush is a fab family coaster, in my view! 8/10, #32/134
- Rita - Alton Towers: While it’s pretty low on the pecking order of Intamin launch coasters, Rita is still a great coaster, in my opinion! While its launch hasn’t quite got the punch of Stealth’s, it still serves as a very punchy way to start the ride, and Rita also has some surprisingly strong moments of ejector airtime! It admittedly has not got the most interesting of layouts, and those Intamin OTSRs are possibly a bit worse here than they are on Stealth due to the ride having a layout more focused on strong lateral movement, but I don’t find Rita overly rough or uncomfortable by any means and I think it’s still a great coaster overall, despite its low ranking in this list! 8/10, #33/134
- RC Racer - Walt Disney Studios Park: Here’s where the quality drops significantly. I admittedly haven’t ridden RC Racer since 2011, so this opinion is potentially very outdated and my memory of the ride is vague at best, but even at the time, I don’t remember it being anything overly spectacular or memorable. 4/10, #85/134
- Furius Baco - PortAventura Park: I personally did not find Furius Baco quite as bad as some of its most vehement haters had led me to believe it would be… but I still wouldn’t say I was a massive fan. While the launch was as punchy as those hydraulic launches always are, and the ride packed a decent pace throughout, it was really pretty rough, even in the inner seats that I sat in both times I did it. It perhaps wasn’t overly rough in the sudden jolting/jerking sense, which is the sort of rough I find worse than rattling, but it was very, very bouncy, to the extent that it almost bordered on jolting/jerking and I definitely found it a bit too rough for my personal taste. 4/10, #87/134
But how would you rank the Intamin launch coasters you’ve ridden? I’d be really interested to know!
