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Your Top Ten Coasters

1) El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure
2) Maverick, Cedar Point
3) Raptor, Cedar Point
4) Skyrush, Hershey Park
5) Nemesis, Alton Towers
6) Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park
7) Boulderdash, Lake Compounce
8) Shambhala, PortAventura
9) Troy, Toverland
10) Batman: The Ride, Six Flags Great Adventure

Here is my new list!
 
Yep, after Junket, my current top 10 has changed once again with a quick re-jig! Including a new number one! ;)

1. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park
2. Nemesis, Alton Towers
3. Shambhala, PortAventura
4. Montu, Busch Gardens Tampa
5. Blue Fire, Europa Park
6. Anubis, Plopsaland De Panne
7. Kumba, Busch Gardens Tampa
8. Karacho, Tripsdrill
9. Troy, Toverland
10. Silver Star, Europa Park
 
Time for the post Liseberg update:

1] Helix (at night) - Liseberg
2] Manta - SeaWorld Orlando / Helix - Liseberg
3] Nemesis - Alton Towers
4] Blue Fire - Europa Park
5] Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa
6] The Smiler - Alton Towers
7] Expedition Everest - Disney Animal Kingdom
8] Wodan Timburcoaster - Europa Park
9] Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - Universal Studios
10] Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa
 
Forgot to update this since I went PortAventura:

1)Nemesis, Alton Towers
2)Shambhala, PortAventura
3)Oblivion, Alton Towers
4)Dragon Khan, PortAventura
5)Wild Mouse, Blackpool Pleasure Beach
6)The Smiler, Alton Towers
7)Grand National, Blackpool Pleasure Beach
8)Shockwave, Drayton Manor
9)Air, Alton Towers
10)The Antelope, Gulliver's World Warrington

First, I'm not as traveled as some on the forum so I suspect many of these rides will not make the list when I (eventually) start traveling.

Nemesis tops Shambhala as it's a great ride in any seat whereas, aside from the front row and back row, Shambhala is just a good coaster here.

Wild Mouse tops The Smiler because it's deadly fun. Simple as.

Shockwave is in there surprisingly as I like the quite unique riding position it offers, even if the layout is a bit dull.

The Antelope is there too as it was my first real coaster and it's amazing <3
 
Post-Junket, it's time for another revision. Yes, I know Junket was four months ago, but I just haven't got around to updating my top 10 until now.

1. Shambhala, PortAventura
Smooth, lots of airtime, photogenic, and the views from the top of the lift hill are simply stunning. If you can, go as close to the front as you can get - the front is easily the best place to ride it.

2. Blue Fire, Europa-Park
As a package, Blue Fire is so, so difficult to beat, My favourite launched coaster. I don't know whether or not the last inversion was a mistake, but it seals the coaster off with perfection.

3. Nemesis, Alton Towers
It's twenty years old now, but it's still a brilliant coaster. Far left seat on row 1 late at night is right up there with the best possible coaster experiences I've ever had.

4. Wodan, Europa-Park
My favourite wooden coaster. It's just so unbelievably relentless for the entire duration of the ride, and back in April, it was the fastest I've known it. Completely bats**t crazy ride!

5. Monster, Walygator
I didn't expect much from Walygator, but I was pleasantly surprised that the park was in relatively good order - the recent investment in the park's paid off. Its main attraction, a second-hand B&M invert at the back of the park, has an interesting method of keeping people out of the ride area. It's called a hedge, and it's about a foot tall. If that. :p When I went, operations were pretty poor, with just one train in operation, and they didn't even batch people into the bays until everyone on the train that had come into the station had left the exit platform! Despite that, it's a cracking ride. It doesn't stop giving up until the end, and I think my favourite bit is probably on the exit of the second half of the cobra roll. Back in April, when I was there with Slaphead, Hils and Mike, we did the other coasters in the park, plus a few other rides, and then just whored Monster for a couple of hours. Well, the other coasters weren't all that great, so why not? :p

6. Oz'Iris, Parc Astérix
The attention to detail in the queue line is superb. The ride itself is pretty well-paced, too, and was very re-rideable. Throughput was surprisingly good, and the single rider queue was used efficiently by the ride staff. Just a shame that the staff didn't seem to do much to stop queue-jumping, although that's more of a comment on the park itself as a whole.

7. Silver Star, Europa-Park
Two years ago, this was top of my top 10 list. It's now down in seventh. This is due to other new coasters being better, and others improving for me over time as well. I also think that it was to do with the fact that the ride rendered me speechless for a good few minutes after I got off it for the first time. Still, there's no discounting the fact that it's a damn good ride, and it's visible from a few miles away. Playing 'Spot Sylvia' on the autobahn/train when travelling to EP's great fun, too. :p

8. Oblivion, Alton Towers
Yes, it's short. Yes, it's a bit of a one-trick pony. But it still packs a mighty punch, towering over X-Sector. Throughput may be a bit poor on the ride thanks to some interesting health & safety rulings, but this doesn't matter too much, as it hardly ever has a large queue anyway!

9. EuroSat, Europa-Park
Another mad coaster, I used to dislike it because it was rough (probably because it was boiling hot in the middle of August when I first went on it, and the dome felt like a sauna). Now, however, I like it in spite of any roughness it may have. It's fast, crazy, and the trims are rarely on. Just make sure you brace for the final brakes, as they're very harsh. :p

10. Alpina Blitz, Nigloland
I found Nigloland to be a relatively charming park when I visited in April, and with a brand-new Mack coaster, it's definitely a park on the up. The baggage system used is very intuitive, and means that guests don't faff around on the ride platforms. Also, a very interesting system is used to allow disabled guests to access the ride. Basically, there's a sort of bridge-type thing which extends from either side of the track and goes over it, giving level access to the station on either side. Given that the exit goes over the track via steps and a bridge, and then via steps under the queue line, this was a necessity. The ride? It's a lot of fun. Seeing the same trains as Blue Fire on a non-inverting ride is odd, but they're brilliant trains. It's compact, yet gives a good amount of airtime, and is quite intense in places. I can see this model of coaster being very popular, and would love to see one appear in the UK at some point.
 
After Europa Park:

1. Nemesis
2. Tonnerre de Zeus
3. Blue Fire
4. OzIris
5. Wodan
6. Incredible Hulk
7. Expedition Everest
8. Black Mamba
9. The Ultimate
10. Oblivion
 
Post-California:

1. Nemesis (Alton Towers)
2. Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa)
3. Shambhala (PortAventura)
4. Expedition GeForce (Holiday Park)
5. X2 (SFMM)
6. Wodan (Europa Park)
7. Hulk (Universal's Islands of Adventure)
8. Blue Fire (Europa Park)
9. Tatsu (SFMM)
10. Xcelerator (Knott's Berry)

Xcelerator seems a strange choice, but it just edges in ahead of Apocalypse (SFMM) due to the massive improvement lapbars make to a coaster like that. If I'd ridden TTD and it was anything like Xcelerator I suspect it would have been up near the top.
 
Nothing else is going to jump in this year so:

10 - Fluch von Novgorod
9 - Top Thrill Dragster
8 - Tonnere de Zeus
7 - The Beast (Kings Island)
6 - Revenge of the Mummy (Florida)
5 - Oz'Iris
4 - Katun
3 - Blue Fire
2 - Helix (new entry)
1 - Nemesis
 
Slight update after visiting Liseberg at the weekend:

1. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure
2. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park
3. Helix, Liseberg
4. Apollo's Charriot, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
5. Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion
6. Shambhala, PortAventura
7. Alpengiest, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
8. Oz'Iris, Parc Asterix
9. Nemesis, Alton Towers
10. Montu, Busch Gardens Tampa

I've got to admit that Helix comes very close to my second place. I was hoping that Balder may threaten my top 10 yet is was slightly disappointing. Blue Fire just drops out with the addition of Helix.

:)
 
1. Nemesis - Alton Towers
2. Kumba - Busch Gardens FL
3. Montu - Busch Gardens FL
4. The Hulk - Universal IOA
5. Wodan - Europa Park
6. Black Mamba - Phantasialand
7. Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios FL
8. Expedition Everest - Disney's Animal Kingdom FL
9. Blue Fire - Europa Park
10. Oblivion - Alton Towers

It's hard to remember some of the coasters in Florida, but the ones included I remember well and that I loved them. Rides like Kraken and Sheikra I know I enjoyed, but didn't blow me away. I may have placed Wodan too high, the only other wooden coasters I've ridden are those at Blackpool, that said, Wodan's speed completely took me by surprise.

Oblivion makes it simply because the drop I never tire of.

Hopefully in time I can return to Florida, and even travel a bit more in America, and visit some of the other parks in Europe like Port Aventura and Parque Warner.
 
I recently got around to working my list out. My approach was to list all the parks I’ve visited and all the coasters I’d been on at them, then compare two at a time to determine which I’d prefer to ride if I could be teleported straight to the station of either (and overlooking as much as possible the fact that I get to ride some much more frequently than others).

The resulting list is probably somewhat changeable towards the bottom, but I’m pretty happy with 1-7. I know it’s not what some enthusiasts would choose but I’m not looking for extreme layouts with no other merits. The mad coasters that top quite a few lists have to be something very special for me to rate them highly. EGF for example is down in 7th because although it’s an excellent piece of ride engineering, the station area is poor and I’ve only ever seen it run one train with separate seat belt and lap bar checks.

You’ll notice that most of my top rides are complete packages; well presented and operated rides that put a big grin on your face and ooze quality from queue entrance to station exit. As a result I make no apologies for the Mack bias. The Mack Mega/launch coasters I’ve had the privilege of riding set the benchmark for modern coaster design in my opinion, and as ridiculous as this might sound, few other things in life have ever given me the same feelings of freedom and nothing else being important that I’ve briefly experienced while riding Blue Fire and Helix. We may not think about it much, but surely for many of us that’s a huge aspect of why we enjoy this hobby.

So, from 1 to 10:

Helix – Absolutely the new classic that Liseberg were aiming for. Maybe not extreme enough to win the Mitch Hawker poll, but an incredible achievement and a true joy to ride.

Blue Fire – Mack showing the world how to make a superb looping coaster on their first attempt. Possibly the most complete coaster ever built?

Nemesis – Still top of the coaster pile in the UK 20 years on. A ride that Merlin will probably never beat.

Oz’Iris – An unusual layout for a B&M invert, beautifully presented and keeping things interesting right to the end.

Wodan – What was a good coaster two years ago is now barely recognisable. A relentless delight with a fantastic queue to boot.

Alpina Blitz – More small parks need this layout (*cough* Drayton *cough*). Short but sweet, and very re-rideable.

Expedition GeForce – A great layout (glossing over the twisty middle section) that shows what Intamin are occasionally capable of. Just needs some Plopsafication to raise the overall standard.

Smiler – Does it belong here? From a build quality perspective definitely not, but despite its many flaws it’s pretty much what Towers needed; a long, fun, intense coaster that largely keeps its many inversions interesting.

EuroSat – Wild, unrelenting and charmingly dated, with a huge appetite for crowds. I’ll be very nervous when EP finally refurbish it, lest they ruin it.

Ultimate – A terrible coaster if I’m being honest, but an unforgettable experience as you hammer through the woods and over those insane crests. Every lap is as close to an adventure as coasters get.
 
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My list right now. May change in a couple of weeks after the pre-south mini meet.

1. Nemesis
2. Smiler
3. Air
4. Ultimate
5. Oblivion
6. Enigma
7. Thirteen
8. Rita
9. Sonic Spinball
10. Twister
 
I have my top 10 written down somewhere, but I can remember my top 5! My full list will change after DLP next week though. :)

1/ Wodan
=2/ Oblivion
=2/ Nemesis
4/ Blue Fire
5/ The Swarm
 
I've had a recent reflection on my top ten resulting in one change. It is now as follows:

1. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure
2. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park
3. Helix, Liseberg
4. Apollo's Charriot, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
5. Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion
6. Wodan, Europa-Park
7. Shambhala, PortAventura
8. Alpengiest, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
9. Oz'Iris, Parc Asterix
10. Nemesis, Alton Towers

Wodan just gets better and better each time I ride it and despite having ridden it a fair amount in the last 12 months it is still always one of the coasters I would most like to ride at any given time. The difference in speed since it opened is astonishing. It's hard to judge it against coasters you've not ridden for quite some time but I think sixth is about right.

Montu drops out. Top ten may have to be revised again after I return to Florida and memories of coasters are refreshed.

:)
 
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1. Colossus
2. Stealth
3. Manta
4. Rock n rollercoaster
5. Wild Mouse (Blackpool)
6. Revolution
7.Swarm
8. Grand National
9. Nemesis
10. Oblivion
 
Well that's erm, different! Each to their own of course but I must ask, what makes you rate Revolution above The Swarm, Nemesis and Oblivion?

:)
 
I certainly wouldn't rate Manta as the only worthy top ten coaster from Florida over that line up.
 
Rob said:
Well that's erm, different! Each to their own of course but I must ask, what makes you rate Revolution above The Swarm, Nemesis and Oblivion?

:)
Click to expand...
For some reason or another I can remember being more intense but when I go back to Towers in the next week or so Nemesis and Oblivion will probably jump up above Revolution
 
Bump to this thread, to update my list based on my 2015 SFMM visit:

1. Nemesis (Alton Towers)
2. Twisted Colossus (SFMM)
3. Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa)
4. Shambhala (PortAventura)
5. X2 (SFMM)
6. Expedition GeForce (Holiday Park)
7. Wodan (Europa Park)
8. Tatsu (SFMM)
9. Blue Fire (Europa Park)
10. Hulk (Universal's Islands of Adventure)

Twisted Colossus straight up to second. Pretty much my perfect thrill ride - glass smooth, incredibly intense with heavy ejector and floater airtime, insane inversions and great pacing and length. No doubt after my second ride that it had to displace similar airtime coasters such as Shambhala and EGF due to what else it offers.

Also decided that I no longer like or enjoy B&M sitdown loopers, hence Hulk dropping to last in the list.
 
Updated top 10
1. Nemesis
2. Shambhala
3. Oblivion
4. Grand National
5. Swam
6. Revolution
7. Expedition Everest
8. Stealth
9. Colossus- Thrope
10. Megafobia
 
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