Do you like coasters that launch you at high speeds, or traditional coasters that bring you up the lift hill slowly? Wood vs metal?
My only claim to fame is riding Kingda Ka (tallest coaster… is it still the tallest), don’t know that much about coasters except that they’re fun!
Nothing beats the feeling of slowy getting pulled up for me. Fear and Adrenaline building up more and more until you finally get to set free is what it’s all about for me. A quickstart is nice, but can’t compete due the lack of “teasing”?
The best example I could quickly think of for what I mean is this bad boy right here. Pure helplessnes as you’re just dangling there on 90 degrees while criminally slowly being dragged up ~50 meters into the air. And being kept in that position for what feels like eternity before finally getting let loose. Pure perfection. 🤤
i can’t tell if I’m on a community about rollercoasters or some erotic fetish LOL
ok but seriously I take your point. that feeling, especially when the coaster is at the top of the lift hill and is almost… going… to… disengage!
hahaha I am “glad” it wasn’t just me feeling that way typing it all out :D
Ohhh yes, how could I forget about that! Add well made belts into the mix and you truly feel like you’re in actual danger, close to slipping out and getting yeeted off the ride Ü
I’ve wanted to ride one of those skyloops so bad. There is only one in the US that I’m hoping I can get to before anything happens to it. Maurer hasn’t built one of these since 2015.
Huh, TIL there’s more of these Ö
I hope you get your chance to get on one! Ü
I love a good punchy launch. The kind that really hits you. The kind where your face moves back.
Maaan, at this point I’ll take any roller coaster. It has been way too long! It seems like whenever I’m at a location with an opportunity to ride one, no one else is interested, or fate conspires against me.
Ride it by yourself. I honestly have had some of the best days just going to a park by myself as weird as I thought it was at first.
You can lap coasters when you’re alone with single rider lines
I wish we had more single rider lines in the US. Universal is one of the few parks that consistently use them. Six Flags tried (and some may still have them) but, for the most part, they can’t manage them well at all.
All kinds, and the more kinds a park has, the better.
I’m trying to become more of a rollercoaster connoisseur, but it’s been slow going since the pandemic. So this answer will probably change as I experience more types, but since Incredible Hulk is my fave coaster in the world I’m gonna go with launchers!
For me they all have their place. I really enjoy traditional wooden coasters a lot, especially when they are run and maintained the way they were meant to be (Phoenix at Knoebels is one of the best examples) but even the new generation wooden coasters from Gravity Group (and GCI when they don’t add steel) are absolutely incredible (Voyage at Holiday World, Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer, Mystic Timbers at Kings Island)… but then you pivot over to steel coasters and it’s a whole different experience that I enjoy just as much… With Kingda Ka you don’t really notice the height because of the launch (but let’s face it, the launch is what that ride is all about) whereas lift hill coasters at 300ft have a whole different meaning to height even though they are 100ft shorter than Kingda Ka.
I guess I’m getting long winded to say that the variety of experience is what makes this hobby fun. If every coaster was the same, from the same manufacturer, etc, it just wouldn’t have as much depth to it. Each category has it’s own variety but when you add additional categories with their own varieties it just opens the world up so much more.
And, yes, Kingda Ka is still the tallest coaster – for not. There are rumors that Cedar Point’s new version of Top Thrill Dragster could beat it and there’s also Falcon’s Fury under construction in Saudia Arabia that will claim the record when complete.
Certainly agree with you about the variety aspect.
I think this became clear to me when I rode Ride To Happiness earlier this year. I thought I knew what a spinning coaster was, but then Mack comes along and completely blows away my expectations! Its amazing that ride manufacturers are able to keep coming up with new experiences to keep us on our toes.
I’ve not been on it yet but I hear the same stuff about Time Traveler over here in the US.
The one thing that I’ve found is how much fun even the family coasters can be. Merlin’s Mayhem at Dutch Wonderland is a small S&S invert that blew me away… It’s insanely short but it’s incredibly fun.
My dad used to be a roller coaster operator (when he was a teen), and he says that wooden ones can be rougher on you (b/c wood rots and stuff); in comparison metal doesnt rot, and they can put anti-rust on it. just my 2₵
Not exactly the case. Wooden coasters can actually outlast a steel coaster if it’s properly maintained. Unfortunately, at least in the US, the problem is that most parks don’t care enough to maintain the wooden coasters. There are shining examples of what a wooden coaster should be like (Phoenix at Knoebels, Mystic Timbers at Kings Island, any of the woodies at Holiday World or Kennywood) but they are the exception to the rule sadly.
The biggest thing is that wooden coasters are fairly easily to replace wood on while replacing steel can be more complicated.
I think every type has its own charme. Zadra is wild, Ride to Happiness insane, Tarons and Karachos launches are great …
I really love hypercoasters from Intamin and B&M, and B&M inverts. Sustained floater is definitely my favorite type of ride force
If it wasn’t for the hard OTSR’s (aka Horse Collars) that nearly all B&M inverts (and sit-down/floorless) have I would like them A LOT more. Banshee is absolutely amazing… and B&M’s hyper restraints are incredible as well.
