Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Sorry for double posting, but I told you my opinions were fluid, because the list has changed again after having visited Alton Towers & Thorpe Park in very short succession of each other! I’ll try and keep this post short, and go over the main changes to the top 30 in as much of a succinct way as I possibly can (rides that have moved are italicised). For reference, my current coaster count is 74:
- Mako - SeaWorld Orlando (10/10)
- Icon - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (10/10)
- Wicker Man - Alton Towers: I had what were quite possibly my favourite rides ever on this on my last Towers visit! The rough spot I complained about last time was gone, and I had my first ever back row ride, which was absolutely obscene! The pacing was ballistic, and the ejector airtime was some of the most berserk I’ve ever experienced; it felt like how I imagine Steel Vengeance to be, with the non-stop strong ejector flinging you over what feels like every hill! As much as I rave about the back, though, even my other 2 rides in row 4 were absolutely phenomenal; Wicker Man has definitely grown to be a firm favourite of mine! (10/10)
- The Swarm - Thorpe Park: As much as this has dropped below Wicker Man, let me tell you that that is no slight against Swarm by any means, as I had possibly some of my favourite ever rides on it on my most recent Thorpe visit! I got on the front row for the first time ever, and it was sublime; you really feel like you’re flying along at phenomenal speed in the front! The ride had all of its usual pros, like smoothness, just the right balance of thrill and rerideability (I love Swarm because it’s intense enough for you to get a kick out of riding, but it’s not too intense, if you get what I mean), and those amazing floaty inversions! The last in-line especially is just a phenomenal sensation that I wish could go on forever; I love those negative g’s you get through it! To top it all off, the restraints, while still not my favourite, were not as much of a niggle this time, meaning that the ride is now a 10/10 for me again! The only real reason the ride is below Icon & Wicker within my UK top 3 is because it doesn’t have as much in the way of airtime/negative g’s as the other two, and the restraints also aren’t quite as comfortable, but to be honest, all 3 are fairly close to each other, and a particularly good or somewhat underwhelming ride on any of them could tip the balance in a different direction. But to summarise; I really love Swarm, and it was riding phenomenally on my recent visit! (10/10)
- Mine Blower - Fun Spot Kissimmee (9/10)
- Oblivion - Alton Towers (9/10)
- Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa (9/10)
- SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tampa (9/10)
- Nemesis Inferno - Thorpe Park: Controversially, I’m actually on the team that prefers Inferno to Nemesis! As much as coasters with little to them aside from positive g’s aren’t my absolute favourite rides these days, I’ve got to say that Inferno was running excellently on my most recent Thorpe visit! I rode in row 4, and it was fairly smooth, intense without being too intense (if you get what I mean), and maintained a great sense of speed throughout, so it gets a firm thumbs up from me! (9/10)
- Kraken - SeaWorld Orlando (9/10)
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts - Universal Studios Florida (8/10)
- Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios Florida (8/10)
- Nemesis - Alton Towers: This dropped a tad because it didn’t seem to be running quite as well on my recent visit. I rode in row 7, and it was still fun, but it seemed slightly rougher than my previous ride, and it generally seemed less enjoyable to me than my April ride. To its credit, I think Nemesis is an engineering marvel, its layout and location are wonderfully unique, and if you’re into really intense rides, I think sections of it (most notably the helix) are notably more intense than any section of Nemesis Inferno, but for me, intensity isn’t everything, and I generally find Inferno to be smoother (as much as I’ll stop short of calling Nemesis rough, as I don’t think it is, it’s a somewhat fierce coaster, and showing its age a bit in places), to have a more consistent sense of speed throughout and to be generally a bit more enjoyable. Please don’t kill me, Nemesis fans! (8/10)
- Incredible Hulk - Universal’s Islands of Adventure (8/10)
- Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa (8/10)
- Galactica - Alton Towers (8/10)
- Rock’n’Rollercoaster - Disney’s Hollywood Studios (7/10)
- Rita - Alton Towers (7/10)
- Stealth - Thorpe Park: This one dropped quite a bit, unfortunately. It’s a difficult one to rank, as my front row ride last year was obscenely amazing, but my row 6 ride recently, while fun, just didn’t seem to hit quite like my last ride did. The launch didn’t feel quite as forceful, the airtime didn’t seem quite as strong (although middle of the train could be to blame for that, in fairness), and the ride, while I wouldn’t call it rough, seemed bumpier than my last ride on Stealth, which did detract slightly for me. Still, Stealth is a fun coaster that always provides a rush; those hydraulic launches always provide a raw thrill unlike anything else, and the airtime over the top hat is still really good! (7/10)
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - Universal Studios Florida (7/10)
- Cheetah Hunt - Busch Gardens Tampa (7/10)
- Megafobia - Oakwood (7/10)
- Slinky Dog Dash - Disney’s Hollywood Studios (7/10)
- Avalanche - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (7/10)
- Expedition Everest - Disney’s Animal Kingdom (6/10)
- Runaway Mine Train - Alton Towers: I can sense some judgement coming about the fact that a Mack powered coaster is in my top 30 and only a hair away from my top 25, so I apologise for this being so high, but I’m ashamed to admit that RMT is perhaps the textbook definition of a guilty pleasure coaster for me! Even though I was sat towards the front of the train (in row 7) on my most recent ride, it still felt fast and was still a really fun ride! It has some great helixes and turns, feels fast and fun throughout and although it might not be the most thrilling, earth-shattering ride around, it never fails to bring a smile to my face, and surely that’s what this hobby is all about? The aforementioned smile on my face after riding almost makes me tempted to push it up even higher, but I’m not sure I can quite justify ranking it above something like Everest, so I’m afraid #26 is probably the highest I can get away with… (6/10)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Disney’s Magic Kingdom (6/10)
- Thirteen - Alton Towers: Oddly, this dropped a fair bit in spite of the fact I haven’t actually ridden it since I last posted in here; am I weird, or can riding one ride affect your ranking of another without you needing to even ride it? The ride I’m referring to here is Runaway Mine Train, which jumped a bit; when I rode that on my most recent Towers visit, I thought it was ranked too lowly given my actual opinion of it, and I thought to myself “I actually think I enjoyed that ride on RMT more than my last ride on Thirteen” in spite of the fact that Thirteen was a good couple of spots and a whole point above. So when looking at the rides around it, I unfortunately felt it was reasonable to drop Thirteen from a 7 to a 6 given my recent rides on it and the fact that I found RMT more enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, though, I do like Thirteen; it’s smooth, with some nice twists, turns and pops of floater in the outdoor section, and the indoor section is fun! However, the reason for it dropping is that it’s felt a bit more sluggish on my recent visits, and like it’s had less of that fun floater than previously; on my most recent ride in April 2021 in particular, even the backwards section which is usually surprisingly vigorous felt like it could have used a little extra oomph. That could well be social distancing affecting things, however; I’ll see what it’s like once I can get onto it with a full train again! (6/10)
- Space Mountain Alpha - Disney’s Magic Kingdom (6/10)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Disney’s Magic Kingdom (6/10)
