First, here are my top 10 steel coasters out of the 45 I've done.
1. Diamondback- Kings Island
2. Millennium Force- Cedar Point
3. Maverick- Cedar Point
4. Magnum XL-200- Cedar Point
5. Storm Runner- Hersheypark
6. Medusa- Six Flags Great Adventure
7. Raptor- Cedar Point
8. Firehawk- Kings Island
9. Volcano: The Blast Coaster- Kings Dominion
10. Top Thrill Dragster- Cedar Point
I'll start from the bottom up.
10. Top Thrill Dragster, while possessing awesome stats- 420 ft tall with a 0-120 mph hydraulic launch in 4 seconds, is a rather short ride. Most consider it a one trick pony (2 tricks in this case), but it still does a heck of a trick.
9.Volcano at Kings Dominion is a launch coaster as well, but its an inverted coaster with riders below the tracks. It has a great build up to the launches, where there are 2. However, it doesn't just haul ass right out of the station, it slowly glides around a corner and then hits the gas, getting up to 70 mph before tossing you out Kings Dominion's makeshift Volcano at 151 ft high, while turning upside down. Definitely one of the best coaster moments I've experienced. However the layout after is lackluster, only with a few barrel rolls before an 80 ft drop into the brakes.
8. Then there is Firehawk. I really like the flying coaster concept. I've only ridden the Vekoma model as opposed to the Bolliger and Mabillard model (Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Manta at Sea World Orlando are good examples of those), but its still a great thrilling ride. The prone position is certainly a unique way to ride a coaster, and the vertical loop is one of the weirdest loops I've ever done before. The 2nd half really picks up in a variety of forces and pacing with great positive g's in the final helix. It's also a must ride in the front seat.
7. Inverted coasters are also among my favorite designs, but for sheer length and number of elements, Raptor takes the cake for me. Among the necessities is the fact its smooth as glass and does a lot of things- a 137 ft drop taking riders up to 62 mph, 6 inversions- a vertical loop, a 0g roll (a barrel roll on top a hill), a cobra roll (a double inverting element which takes you opposite in which you entered the element), and 2 corkscrews, or 'flat spins' as designer Bolliger and Mabillard calls them. This also shares a trait with Firehawk in that it has great positive G force throughout, especially the loop and the helix at the end. It's also pretty aesthetically pleasing in that striking green and teal color scheme right at the entrance of Cedar Point.
6. Before I get comments on this, let me clarify something. I rode this when it was called and themed as Medusa before it got re-themed and overhauled with sound and visual affects as Bizzaro, so that's my reference in how I view the ride. If and when I go back, I'll put in the current name. Anyways, Medusa- a floorless coaster. For those who are uninitiated as to what a floorless coaster is, its as its name suggests, a ride positioned above the tracks like a standard sit down coaster, but with nothing between your feet and the track. Whereas the inverted coaster has nothing but air there, floorless coasters give the illusion of your feet about to be ground into hamburger while flying along at Medusa's 65 mph top speed. The monster she-demon whips through 7 inversions (similar inversions as Raptor but with a dive loop thrown in the mix), including a 114 vertical loop with awesome hang time. The lateral movements really enhance the floorless design including my favorite 0g roll on a coaster.
5. Some of my friends not so acquainted with coasters may ask me "Mike, Storm Runner is less than half the speed and height of TTD, why is it higher ranked?" My enthusiast friends will probably agree with me here, Storm Runner has a better layout and does more than a simple launch and really tall vertical hill. The launch is far more explosive, a 0-72 mph launch in only 2 seconds. The forces on this thing are incredible. Some know the term 'air time'. Well, to enthusiasts, there are 2 main types, floater air which is more graceful and you say up for a bit, and then there is ejector air where you are pretty much pinned to the restraint. Storm Runner has this in spades when flying over that first hill, and due to the terrain, the drop is longer than the ascent which adds 3 mph from the initial launch. The 3 inversions have nice, tight transistions which make for great pacing. The high banked double up at the end really makes for a great ending as well.
4. Magnum XL-200 is pretty much the epitome of the classic steel coaster. This holds a lot of leeway for me as well for nostalgia as it was my first coaster above the 200 ft mark (my first hyper coaster). I remember riding everything else at Cedar Point with relative ease, but something about 200 ft scared me a lot. I saved the steel monster for last on that first Cedar Point trip, which I now make it a ritual to ride it at night every time I'm at Cedar Point. What can I say about this ride? Hyper coasters are air time speed machines and Magnum delivers the air very well. Towering at 205 ft and racing like a white blur at 72 mph, Magnum really pours on the fun with hill after hill with great air time. The location by the beach is great as well, especially on a clear day. The turn around at the far end is weird at times, designed by Arrow Dynamic's main designer Ron Toomer, which, for those unaware, designed coasters with help of a coat hanger...seriously. The 3 tunnels are pretty great at night as well, being totally pitch black. While the first drop is all kinds of awesome, that 2nd swooping drop is also a pretty neat part of the ride as well.
3. Maverick being this high is a tell tale sign that size isn't everything. This is probably the most relentless steel coaster I've ever ridden. There is hardly a point to catch your breath and its extremely forceful, from the quick pitches as it changes from one banked curve to another, to the air on the 2 main drops that completely pins your shoulders to the top of the restraints, its one wild coaster indeed! The 2nd launch to 70 mph is raw power, but that point of the ride is also why its only 3rd, its an abrupt lax in the pacing and makes the ride feel like 2 distinctly different parts. If it were more of a fluent transition, I'd definitely give it more kudos, but as it stands, its something I lean not to like about it.
2. This was a pretty inevitable coaster to get up this high. Millennium Force is great at what it does, with my favorite first drop on a coaster at 300 ft at an 80 degree angle, getting those sweet looking Intamin trains up to 93 mph. Its more of a speed coaster, where it seems like it always doing at least 45-70 mph through the entire course, even at the crests of hills and over-banked curves. The 4 hills it does have are alright in the air time department, more of a floater type air. The low banked curves also have nice sustained positive g's, but not enough for black outs. The finale of flying past the queue line and making that high banked curve into the brakes is icing on the cake.
1. Diamondback is very deserving of the number 1 spot for me. While it does have some great height and speed on par with Millennium Force, Diamondback, in my opinion, outright steals the show in having a better variety of forces than Millennium Force. It has better air and it transitions from that into the positive g's in the valleys very well. Some of the other entities on it are pretty unique for a coaster of it's type as well- the v-style seating which make the outside seats awesome with more openness, the snake decals on the trains, and of course, that picture perfect splash at the end.
I will keep my wooden explanations down to my top 6 (of 14, really 15 as I count SOB as 2 credits with both loop and no loop), in all honesty, anything lower than 6th on my wood list are ones I couldn't go on as they're all pretty similar and not that worth noting.
1. Beast- Kings Island
2. Thunderhead- Dollywood
3. Lightning Racer- Hersheypark
4. Racer- Kings Island
5. Comet- Hersheypark
6. Mean Streak- Cedar Point
6. While it can be a bit rough, Mean Streak doesn't come off as unbearable rough to me, not after I've ridden the likes of Son of Beast at Kings Island or Kings Dominion's Hurler. Cedar Point has done track work to it over the last few years which helped it immensely. The first half is alright and that first drop is just massive. However, the area this ride truly shines is the 2nd half. The lower elements are smoother and have some great lateral forces as it rounds out the layout before coming to a rest at the final brakes. The wood flying all around with head chopper affects everywhere is a pretty great aspect of the ride as well. A few tunnels here or there could help it.
5. I have to admit, I'm a complete sucker for classic wooden coasters such as Hersheypark's Comet. They represent a simpler time in amusement park history and the ones that are taken care of well still provide the same great thrills they did when they were first enleashed to unsuspecting guests. Comet is no exception, and for a coaster going on 70 years old, it still packs quite a punch with quick turn arounds and great jumps of airtime. Its a treat at night with the string lights laid about the ride and how it flies past the midways as it goes through its finishing maneuvers. It's also one of the best looking coasters as well IMO.
4. Ah, the coaster that re-started the current coaster building spree. This has all the great aspects of Comet but with the added bonus of being a racing coaster. Racer's low speed hops between the big hills are spectacular in the air time department and its always fun with another train to share in the fun. I for one wish Kings Island would put the south side backwards again and repaint it back to its original patriotic colors, but none-the-less, its a fun classic coaster with a great history to boot.
3. Another racing coaster, but that's where the similarities between this and Racer end. Lightning Racer takes all that racing action and twists and turns the layout as much as possible creating the world's first racing and dueling coaster. A dueling coaster is where the two tracks curve around each other creating crossovers and head on passes for more interaction between the two tracks, making for a MUCH more exciting ride than the out and back layout of Racer (and Kings Dominion's Rebel Yell, which I've also ridden).
The trains are that of Great Coasters Inc's Millennium Flyer trains. They differ than most other trains in that each seat is it's own car, making for an articulated train which handles corners and banking better than most other wooden coaster trains, making for a much smoother ride and impressive visuals, a trend quickly catching on with new wooden coaster designs.
2. Dollywood's star wooden coaster takes number 2 on my list, the mighty Thunderhead. Another GCI coaster with the same Millennium Flyer trains as Lightning Racer, this was made about 6 years later when GCI started to really dabble in making their coasters as twisted as possible, which make Thunderhead a pure airtime and lateral machine. Even a drawn out curve may have several changes in banking and drops in between, and while main drops have great air, there are little pops throughout the entire ride, which make the 2 minute 30 second ride a completely relentless and intense experience.
1. And now, my #1 wood coaster and my favorite coaster of all time despite how it might be ranked, The Beast. The world's longest wooden coaster (3rd overall in length) has one of the most unique layouts of any coaster out there. All you can see are the 2 lifts which feed into a course which uses the terrain extremely well, with drops and curves to accentuate the rolling hills near the back end of the Kings Island property. The woods provide adequate hiding as turn after turn after drop leave the element of surprise. The helix is probably the best finale to a ride ever, with that slow 18 degree drop into the upward tilted covered helix, which makes it feel faster than the 55 mph speed which you are going (the ride makes it up to 64.8 mph in the main course). Of course, The Beast can't be mentioned without its defining feature, creating one of the best night ride experiences of any coaster ever. Definitely catch a front seat ride at night and you will NOT be disappointed!
Obviously this list is subject to change as I add more coasters to this list, but overall, this is what I got.
4. Magnum XL-200 is pretty much the epitome of the classic steel coaster. This holds a lot of leeway for me as well for nostalgia as it was my first coaster above the 200 ft mark (my first hyper coaster). I remember riding everything else at Cedar Point with relative ease, but something about 200 ft scared me a lot. I saved the steel monster for last on that first Cedar Point trip, which I now make it a ritual to ride it at night every time I'm at Cedar Point. What can I say about this ride? Hyper coasters are air time speed machines and Magnum delivers the air very well. Towering at 205 ft and racing like a white blur at 72 mph, Magnum really pours on the fun with hill after hill with great air time. The location by the beach is great as well, especially on a clear day. The turn around at the far end is weird at times, designed by Arrow Dynamic's main designer Ron Toomer, which, for those unaware, designed coasters with help of a coat hanger...seriously. The 3 tunnels are pretty great at night as well, being totally pitch black. While the first drop is all kinds of awesome, that 2nd swooping drop is also a pretty neat part of the ride as well.
3. Maverick being this high is a tell tale sign that size isn't everything. This is probably the most relentless steel coaster I've ever ridden. There is hardly a point to catch your breath and its extremely forceful, from the quick pitches as it changes from one banked curve to another, to the air on the 2 main drops that completely pins your shoulders to the top of the restraints, its one wild coaster indeed! The 2nd launch to 70 mph is raw power, but that point of the ride is also why its only 3rd, its an abrupt lax in the pacing and makes the ride feel like 2 distinctly different parts. If it were more of a fluent transition, I'd definitely give it more kudos, but as it stands, its something I lean not to like about it.
2. This was a pretty inevitable coaster to get up this high. Millennium Force is great at what it does, with my favorite first drop on a coaster at 300 ft at an 80 degree angle, getting those sweet looking Intamin trains up to 93 mph. Its more of a speed coaster, where it seems like it always doing at least 45-70 mph through the entire course, even at the crests of hills and over-banked curves. The 4 hills it does have are alright in the air time department, more of a floater type air. The low banked curves also have nice sustained positive g's, but not enough for black outs. The finale of flying past the queue line and making that high banked curve into the brakes is icing on the cake.
1. Diamondback is very deserving of the number 1 spot for me. While it does have some great height and speed on par with Millennium Force, Diamondback, in my opinion, outright steals the show in having a better variety of forces than Millennium Force. It has better air and it transitions from that into the positive g's in the valleys very well. Some of the other entities on it are pretty unique for a coaster of it's type as well- the v-style seating which make the outside seats awesome with more openness, the snake decals on the trains, and of course, that picture perfect splash at the end.
I will keep my wooden explanations down to my top 6 (of 14, really 15 as I count SOB as 2 credits with both loop and no loop), in all honesty, anything lower than 6th on my wood list are ones I couldn't go on as they're all pretty similar and not that worth noting.
1. Beast- Kings Island
2. Thunderhead- Dollywood
3. Lightning Racer- Hersheypark
4. Racer- Kings Island
5. Comet- Hersheypark
6. Mean Streak- Cedar Point
6. While it can be a bit rough, Mean Streak doesn't come off as unbearable rough to me, not after I've ridden the likes of Son of Beast at Kings Island or Kings Dominion's Hurler. Cedar Point has done track work to it over the last few years which helped it immensely. The first half is alright and that first drop is just massive. However, the area this ride truly shines is the 2nd half. The lower elements are smoother and have some great lateral forces as it rounds out the layout before coming to a rest at the final brakes. The wood flying all around with head chopper affects everywhere is a pretty great aspect of the ride as well. A few tunnels here or there could help it.
5. I have to admit, I'm a complete sucker for classic wooden coasters such as Hersheypark's Comet. They represent a simpler time in amusement park history and the ones that are taken care of well still provide the same great thrills they did when they were first enleashed to unsuspecting guests. Comet is no exception, and for a coaster going on 70 years old, it still packs quite a punch with quick turn arounds and great jumps of airtime. Its a treat at night with the string lights laid about the ride and how it flies past the midways as it goes through its finishing maneuvers. It's also one of the best looking coasters as well IMO.
4. Ah, the coaster that re-started the current coaster building spree. This has all the great aspects of Comet but with the added bonus of being a racing coaster. Racer's low speed hops between the big hills are spectacular in the air time department and its always fun with another train to share in the fun. I for one wish Kings Island would put the south side backwards again and repaint it back to its original patriotic colors, but none-the-less, its a fun classic coaster with a great history to boot.
3. Another racing coaster, but that's where the similarities between this and Racer end. Lightning Racer takes all that racing action and twists and turns the layout as much as possible creating the world's first racing and dueling coaster. A dueling coaster is where the two tracks curve around each other creating crossovers and head on passes for more interaction between the two tracks, making for a MUCH more exciting ride than the out and back layout of Racer (and Kings Dominion's Rebel Yell, which I've also ridden).
The trains are that of Great Coasters Inc's Millennium Flyer trains. They differ than most other trains in that each seat is it's own car, making for an articulated train which handles corners and banking better than most other wooden coaster trains, making for a much smoother ride and impressive visuals, a trend quickly catching on with new wooden coaster designs.
2. Dollywood's star wooden coaster takes number 2 on my list, the mighty Thunderhead. Another GCI coaster with the same Millennium Flyer trains as Lightning Racer, this was made about 6 years later when GCI started to really dabble in making their coasters as twisted as possible, which make Thunderhead a pure airtime and lateral machine. Even a drawn out curve may have several changes in banking and drops in between, and while main drops have great air, there are little pops throughout the entire ride, which make the 2 minute 30 second ride a completely relentless and intense experience.
1. And now, my #1 wood coaster and my favorite coaster of all time despite how it might be ranked, The Beast. The world's longest wooden coaster (3rd overall in length) has one of the most unique layouts of any coaster out there. All you can see are the 2 lifts which feed into a course which uses the terrain extremely well, with drops and curves to accentuate the rolling hills near the back end of the Kings Island property. The woods provide adequate hiding as turn after turn after drop leave the element of surprise. The helix is probably the best finale to a ride ever, with that slow 18 degree drop into the upward tilted covered helix, which makes it feel faster than the 55 mph speed which you are going (the ride makes it up to 64.8 mph in the main course). Of course, The Beast can't be mentioned without its defining feature, creating one of the best night ride experiences of any coaster ever. Definitely catch a front seat ride at night and you will NOT be disappointed!
Obviously this list is subject to change as I add more coasters to this list, but overall, this is what I got.
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