Date Ridden: Summer of 2006. Times Ridden: 3 in the very front, middle, and very back seats.
OK, when you visit Beech Bend, this is the reason you are going if you an enthusiast. It has been a couple of years since I rode this and the layout is very difficult to remember. However, I do remember the superb laterals, the smooth ride, and above all else the comfortable seats. I even remember the smell of the wood since this thing was so new at the time we rode it. I also remember making the comment to Julia that I hoped Beech Bend kept this beauty up as wood coasters sometimes do not age well if neglected.
That being said, the term "mini-Thunderhead" comes to mind when thinking of this coaster. The similarities are definitely there between the Rumbler and Dollywood's famous coaster, however this coaster does have its own personality. It is easily one of the top 20 woodies I have ridden (out of around 70) and offers everything a good woodie should. There is not a huge amount of airtime but the laterals more than make up for it and the re-ride capabilites are very high. You will not get abused or come off the coaster sore, you will only be laughing and running around the que to get back in line. We rode 3 rides on a day the park was virtually empty and I regret it to this day. We could have ridden this thing 10 times an hour and if I ever get back up to BB I vow to do so.
As it is, the Rumbler does an excellent job of doing exactly what it was designed to do: be fun!!!
Overall Score - 9 (Superb)
Check out the video below for some awesome on-ride and off-ride footage from Opening Day.
Date Ridden: January of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: 12(including 10 this past January....8 of those consecutively at park opening).
Other than Goliath at SFOG, Montu is the closest of the top 10 Golden Ticket coasters (ranked # 7) to my place of residence....only a mere 7 hours away!! When riding it twice in 2007, I remembered a fun ride that I thought on par with Raptor and the Batman rides I've been on. After my 10 rides in 2008 however, I think Montu beats those out as well as Alpengeist, Silver Bullet, and most other inverted coasters (coasters in which the track is above the seats) due to its variety of unique elements.
Montu offers a number of unique experiences including the near miss with the temple ruins at the beginning coming out of the first trench, the batwing dive below ground and the super fun zero g roll early in the ride. The problem with Montu is that it suffers from "Florida-itis" which is a disease caused by overuse of trim breaks leading to a boring 2nd half. However, if you catch Montu on a day (or maybe simply just one ride) in which the mid-course trims do not kick in, then you are in for a wonderful ride. Fortunately, this happened to us.
About mid-way through our 8 early rides, we jumped on somewhere around the middle of the train and the ops stopped everything to let 4 dignitaries (they were older people dressed in BG gear) on the 2nd row. They were all laughing with their guide, who looked to be a Busch executive in suit and tie, not one of those guides waving a flag for tour groups to see them by. This particular ride was our best of the day because as we crossed the mid-course breaks, they did not kick in and the train zoomed into the 2nd half.
At this point I could see Montu prove its status as a Top 10 coaster. The 2nd half was much more forceful and the corkscrew out of the final trench was really intense but not the slightest bit uncomfortable. If they ran this thing all the time in that manner, it would get even better scores. That was virtually a perfect ride. I also highly recommend any front seat ride as they offer undisturbed views of the Egyptian-styled theme the coaster is built around.
I think this is the best coaster at BG (not my favorite but the best paced) and the # 2 coaster in Florida behind only Kraken at Sea World. As far as design is concerned, Montu is right up there with Apollo's Chariot as one of the best I have ever ridden. It has great theme, a super fast station crew, and a well paced layout. I loved every minute of it and look forward to subsequent rides in January each year.
Overall Score - 9 (Would be a 10 without the mid-course breaks).
Date Ridden: Summer of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: Three with our best ride being in the very back seat this past summer.
OK, this ride is pretty good.
Scratch that.......it is really good. Coaster enthusiasts use the term "airtime" to describe the sensation one feels on a coaster when they come up out of their seat. This usually occurs going down a hill or sometimes going over the crest of one. Or on rides like Holiday World's Voyage and El Toro, it occurs virtually the entire ride.
For those of you unaware, El Toro is the new breed of wooden coaster made from pre-fabricated wood. The wheels are oversized and run on nylon (thats right...nylon) so there is no metal touching metal. That leads to a super-smooth ride more comfortable than most steel coasters offer. Add in the fact there are no screws or nails in the structure (only pre-made joints) and you have a very unique ride. And oh yeah......El Toro is the 2nd highest and 2nd fastest wood coaster in the world.
Highlights of the ride include an elevator lift cable instead of a traditional chain lift, an awesome first drop, an insane drop going down into the twister segment of the layout and some super laterals on 90 degree banked turns. El Toro is the complete package as far as coasters go. It comes in at # 4 on the Coaster Reviews site with one of the few perfect scores.
Date Ridden : June of 2007 on our Top 10 Coaster Trip and June of 2008. Times Ridden - Three with one being in the third from the front seat and two in the very back seat.
Nitro was our first stop on our trip up the east coast this past June and was not a disappointment. The weather was horrible when we got there at park opening but within a couple of hours all the rides were up and running. We got two rides in on this B and M monster that day and were very satsified with the experience. Of the four great B and M hypers I've been on (Nitro, Apollo's Chariot, Goliath and Behemoth), Nitro is the most forceful/intense. I like Apollo's Chariot more for the style in which it is themed and Goliath in Georgia more for pure airtime but the big sweeping turns of Nitro, the camelbacks at the end, and the signature hammerhead turn make Nitro a worthy ride of any coaster enthusiast.
I would have liked to have gotten a few more rides on either trip but time was our enemy both times so we had to be satisfied with only the three listed above.
I did notice this past year that Nitro is beginning to show its age a bit. The seats that I sat in had lots of horrid looking water spots (I guess or something worse) and the t-shaped lap bars in the back seat were missing huge chunks of foam as if someone had taken a bite out of them. I only hope that my home park in GA will upkeep their B and M hyper a little better.
I still cannot say that any part of the ride itself was a disappointment. Nitro delivers a great ride for those of you who like these super-smooth state of the art thrill machines.
Overall Score - 9 (Superb)
Ride the # 3 ranked steel coaster in the world below.
Date Ridden: Summer of 2008 (Opening Season). Times Ridden: 22 including 20 in one day with 3 rides in the front seat.
One of my favorite parts of being an OCD theme park/coaster nerd is watching new rides being built. This past year was great with Behemoth going up in Canada, Farenheit at Hersheypark, and best of all, RF II in Erie, PA. With the Golden Tickets coming out in September, allow me to look into the future and forecast RFII as Best New Ride of 2008.
Lets look at the competition a little more closely.
Behemoth is out. While a great ride, it is a full step below the two major contenders. Intamin won the award last year with Maverick. Farenheit is a similar ride that will appeal to basically that same group of voters. The Gravity Group won the year before with the all-mighty Voyage and believe it or not, this ride may be just as good.
Do not miss the front seat. The view one has when topping the lift hill and staring up the coast of Lake Erie is among the most beautiful views on any ride at any location. Virtually every part of the ride is outstanding with the highlights being the dash across the highway, the extreme floater airtime on the way back through the tunnel and the 90 degree bank which is taken much slower than on the Voyage making it a better element.
The only negative that I discovered in my 22 rides was the lackluster ending. The speed had slowed considerably by the time the train reached the final bunny hills and it just crawled over them giving no air to speak of before the violent ending on the brake run. It seemed like the speed had slowed but then coming off the final small hill it sped up just enough to give a big jolt there at the end when the final brakes hit.
This finale is what keeps the ride below woodies like Boulder Dash, Phoenix, and Thunderhead. Waldameer Park, however, has a definite winner on their hands as long as they take care of their baby. As much trouble as they went through to get this thing built, I'm thinking they will.
Date Ridden: Summer of 2007-2008 Times Ridden: 6 total with 1 in the front, two in the back and three in other cars in the middle of the train.
AC was the final coaster on our Golden Ticket Top 10 (minus the overseas coaster- GeForce) Coaster Tour of 2007. We were excited about the new and highly touted Griffon but headed straight to AC to get our pics that we needed and ride our final Top 10 ride. While the coaster definitely did not disappoint, it was lacking a little after already riding Agawam's Superman, Cedar Point's Millennium Force and the likes. It is virtually impossible to review this coaster without comparing it to its B and M brethern Nitro and Goliath at SFOG. The three rides are so similar that even a non-enthusiast would have no problems determining that they were created by the same designer. I feel that Nitro gives the more forceful ride, Goliath has a little more air, and AC is by far themed the best of the three. BGE simply does an amazing job in upkeep and working their rides into the gorgeous surroundings. AC is definitely not an exception.
I love B and M hypers as they are the equivalent of sitting in a comfortable recliner in your living room and riding a coaster. As a coaster enthusiast I respect these types of rides and will continue to rank them highly. However, sometimes its fun to get on a good old-fashioned woodie and take a beating from one side of the car to the next (I still don't like my head or neck bashed however....for that reason inverts and loopers are usually lower down on my rankings...see Maverick review).
Like most B and M's there is a great deal of floater air on this ride with the front being the best seat for visuals and the back being a little better for air. The final drop before the station is my favorite as it gives something to look forward to at the end of the ride.
And did I mention the beautiful landscaping? Riding AC is an absolute blast due to the comfort of the trains and the scenery. Just don't expect a great deal of intensity from the # 5 steel coaster in the world according to the Golden Tickets. I'll still ride it any day. It's a wonderful ride and gives BGE a trio of 9's and a definite stop on the road for any coaster enthusiast.
Despite it's lack of intensity, I will say in closing that this giant purple ride is among the best designed coasters in the world. It, along with Montu, are so silky smooth that they are almost boring. While it may sound insane to call a 200 foot ride or an invert with 7 inversions boring, we here at Coaster Reviews are in agreement on this fact. If Apollo's Chariot were not quiet so smooth and offered a little more intensity it might receive a perfect score from us. As it is, it will just have to be satisfied with a very high score and the title of Best Designed and Smoothest ride. Not a bad consolation prize.
Date Ridden: June of 2006 and 2007. Also October of 2007 and June of 2008. Times Ridden: 12 total
Writing this Raptor review gives me a chance to look back with a great deal of nostalgia to my first ever visit to the Coaster Capitol back in 2006. I knew nothing about coasters and was amazed when Guy drug me past this ride to go get on Millennium Force during ERT. I thought he was crazy as I watched people yelling and screaming out over the midway riding this big green monstrosity.
He assured me we would ride it later and I'm glad he took me to Mille first. That was, undeniably, a defining moment in my life. However, this is a Raptor review so let's not shed tears for that great first ride on Millennium Force which I spent an hour writing up. This is about one of the top inverted coasters in the country so it deserves its own props.
If my memory of coasters stats serves me correctly, Raptor was a landmark coaster for B and M. I think it was on of their first inverted coaster (Batman - The Ride was first I believe) with an opening date of sometime in 1993/94. I also believe that this was the first coaster to feature a cobra roll inversion and let me tell you, that thing is seriously intense. Many of the modern B and M's feature that silky smooth feeling but Raptor has some extremely intense moments. Sitting in the back and being whipped through the inversions is intense beyond belief.
Raptor has aged well and is one of the most popular rides at Cedar Point due to its location at the park entrance. I have found that it is a coaster to close down the night on since it is so convenient to the parking lot. One fact to be aware of is the sudden stop as the train pulls into the block breaks at the end of the ride. The jolt you will get there is about as quick a stop as on any coaster I've ridden to date.
Raptor deserves the numerous accolades it receives. I would recommend riding it later in the day as it is extremely crowded in the morning when the gates open. Wait a little later and enjoy your chance to "Kick the Sky".
Date Ridden : April 2007 Times Ridden : 1 (Front car) Silver Dollar City created an interesting ride by combining the old water coaster, Ripsaw Falls, with the new technology of a launched coaster. I was extremely pleased after I finished the ride as it contained minimal restraints (seat belt and lap bar), a great launch and some great airtime hills. The ride is also quite long if you count time in the train....the hydraulic system used to lift the car onto the track (or maybe slide it sideways is a better way to put it) in order to prepare it for the launch is the only such element I have seen on a coaster. There is a nice viewing area of the launch (mainly elderly people and young children....SDC is not exactly a thrill seekers destination) and the recording of the hick yelling "Watch out for that Nitrogylcerin!!!" really made me smile.
Not for long though, because we evidently did NOT watch out for that Nitroglycerin and were launced out and over the first hill with a gorgeous view of the Ozarks. It's difficult for me to remember much of the rest of the ride. There were some laterals and a few hills then the train meets the lift hill in the middle of the ride which is another unique element. The part of the ride following this though is very short and it ends back at the well-themed loading station.
We wanted to ride again but unfortunately the ops were only running one train. We waited about 45 minutes the first time for the front car and it was going to be about another hour or so for another ride as the line had grown back into the queing area so we skipped it. We were on limited time with Celebration City still to visit and then a three hour drive to our "point of origin". The trains were also being dispersed about every 5 minutes which is fairly long. So we went back and got another few rides on Wildfire, which was a walk-on, before leaving the park.
If you get a chance, SDC is a great day of amusment park riding with this ride, Wildfire (a B and M sit-down looper), the Giant Swing, and a fun "shoot-em up" water ride based on a flooded prison. And whatever you do, do not forget to add on the pass for Celebration City and ride the Ozark Wildcat which is by far the best ride in Branson. Thanks and good luck to all!!!
Date Ridden : June of 2007, Septemeber of 2008 and June of 2008. Times Ridden : 9 including 4 during Joe Cool ERT from 10:30 PM until 11:30 PM. Rode twice in the front, three times in the back and the rest of the time scattered throughout the train
In looking over the specs of this ride, I laughed at the people who called it a family ride just because it was not a typical Cedar Point record breaker. Looking at the elements and the restraints I told Guy it had the possibility of being a neck banger. After our first ride we agreed that was the case. I took two hard shots to the neck during the inversions and he was debating on even coming back later that night for the ERT. However, toward the last part of the ride I noticed that (riding tip coming up) if a rider puts their elbows against the back of the car, puts their hands in the restraints and pushes just a little, it causes the restraints around the neck area to lay a little more flat against the neck and stopped all problems of neck-banging. This fact got him back on the ride (he is more of a coaster nerd than I am) and made
riding Maverick a lot more pleasant.
The reason I feel for the ride being uncomfortable is the sheer intensity of it. There is only the slight pause in the underground tunnel and then you are off again. It is an amazing ride that I will to continue to enjoy as much as possible when I visit Cedar Point. It is definitely in their top 5 coasters at the park but my experiences place it on par with Raptor and under Millie, Maggie and TTD. Any ride that you have to work at to be comfortable loses a point in my book.
Just a note to families and other members of the general public who want to ride a coaster at CP but are scared of Millie or TTD: this one is wilder than both of them...don't think for a moment there is anything tame about Maverick. Get ready for a wild ride on the Golden Ticket winner of the Best New Ride of 2007.
Date Ridden: June of 2008. Times Ridden: Once in the very back outside seat and once in an inside seat in the very middle.
OK, first of all this is a very good ride. The people of Toronto now have a signature ride at one of the best landscaped Cedar Fair parks in existence. Both times I rode the line was backed up all the way outside the que and into the midway but with superb station operation the wait was less then 45 minutes each time. I give them huge props for that.
Also, with this being a B and M you know what you are going to get. You will have floater air (in abundance), comfortable trains and a smooth overall ride. However, despite the huge size, Behemoth falls a bit short of its brethern (AC, Goliath at SFOG and Nitro). Let me explain.
My very first ride was in the back seat and was a huge disappointment. Don't get me wrong, the ride was still good but I expected a little more intensity particularly on the numerous hills. Airtime was in short supply and this thing was so smooth it did not even seem fast at all. A couple of weeks later, I was able to make it back up here and decided to apply my "Hypercoaster Theory" to Behemoth. On a number of steel hyper/mega coasters I have surprisingly found the very middle of the train to give a surprisingly good ride. We rode this in the very middle on one of the final trains of the night and I was impressed. The floater air lasted for what seemed like several seconds going down each hill. Julia loved it and placed it in her Top 10 out of over 200 ridden. Me? That ride was very good mainly due to the fact of the night-time setting.
People in Canada, be proud of what you have. Especially in comparison to the other coasters at CW, this thing seems like the greatest ride ever built. To you enthusiasts out there, unfortunately it's not. It's smooth, big, and fun but not one of my most memorable experiences. More props to our friends from the north however. You guys definitely have the good side of Niagara Falls. Our view from the 27th floor of the Sheraton was sensational.
But I digress. Behemoth simply seems to be step below the three B and M hypers I have ridden so I have to score it a point lower.
Date Ridden: Summer of 2006 and Spring of 2007. Times Ridden: 4 with once in the front, once in the back, and twice in the middle portion of the train.
This version of the Giant Dipper is a wonderful and quaint old woodie with a gorgeous backdrop located right along the Pacific Ocean down in Santa Cruz, CA. My first time out here was totally unexpected. Julia and I had spent half a day at what was then 6 Flags Marine World and were ready to go somewhere else. We had intended on a full day there but the weather was really warm and there was not much there other than the floorless coaster, Medusa. We checked the distance and decided it would be nice to make the trek up to the boardwalk and walk around at night. She told me about an old woodie that she had ridden as a little girl so I was excited about it.
We didn't have but a couple of hours so we bought some tickets instead of the wristband. We each rode the other coasters as well as two rides on the Dipper itself. I was hooked from the beginning.
What makes this ride so much fun? Well, the opening drop down into the tunnel taking you to the lift hill was a unique experience for me. At the time, I was well under 100 coasters so this was a different way to begin. The Dipper does not contain a hint of roughness. It is a smooth ride with small pops of airtime and some nice laterals. The ride itself probably scores more in the 8 range but I always like to take into account the setting of any coaster and this one gets a full point bump thanks to its locale. Our night ride on the very front was a great experience.
The station is a great experience. As the train enters from finishing the course, it is possible to high five the people waiting in line as they lean over the track. If you have been there you know what I mean. If not, it is tough to describe as it is not dangerous at all and loads of fun.
If you are a lover of woodies and are in the vicinity you should not miss the Giant Dipper. I have since gotten another couple of rides as we are sometimes in the Santa Cruz area and stop in to get a quick ride since entrance to the park is free. We are hoping to get down there (or I should say up there I guess) and stay a couple of days to fully enjoy everything the park has to offer. This is definitely not the tallest or fastest, is not made of pre-fabricated wood, does not threaten to eject you from the train into the ocean beyond, but is still superbly maintained and a wonderful coaster experience.
Times Ridden: 11 Date Ridden: Numerous times between the summer of 2006 and fall of 2007. I travel out west a great deal from here in GA and each time I take the road from Vegas to LA I always stop in and take a spin on Desperado. The entertainment book in Vegas usually has a number of buy one ride and get one free so Julia and myself usually take a whirl on it for $3.25 a ride. That's as good a deal as you are gonna get for rides in Vegas. We will continue to stop in there on our treks across the desert since it is by far the top coaster in the Vegas area.
Desperado is a wonderful hypercoaster with an outstanding view and tons of ejector airtime. I have personally taken my 11 rides on perhaps 6 or 7 different trips and have found the coaster delivers different rides depending on the day. I have had almost unbearable rides in the front of the train and super-smooth rides in the back which goes against everything I have experienced in my coaster travels. Most coasters(particularly hypers) offer smoother rides in the front and more intense rides in the back. There are also times the coaster seems to be going much faster than on other days. I am sure the desert heat plays a large part in the wide range of rides available on this scream machine. I have had many 9's and maybe even a couple of 10 rides on it and the coaster itself does have a special place in my heart.
There is one thing about Desperado that you are guaranteed to get. You will get an exciting ride. Many B and M hypers offer such a smooth ride that intensity is lacking. On Desperado, regardless of how it is running on any particular day, you will get a wild ride. The first drop and the camel backs going across the parking lot are unbelievable fun and offer extreme airtime bordering on ridiculous.
Take a trip out to Primm if you are ever in the Vegas area. The food is great, the rooms are cheap, and Desperado is the best coaster in Nevada.
Overall Score - 9 (Rounded up from a mid-level 8).
Date Ridden - May 2007. Times Ridden 2 (Front and back seats).
Dollywood's Thunderhead is two time Golden Ticket Winner for Best Wooden Coaster on the Planet. I can understand why.
We visited on a packed day only a couple of weeks after the new Mystery Mine had opened. It was hot and humid so we only stayed for about half the day. I was able to get in two rides on Thunderhead and they were obviously the higlights of my day. Both rides I took gave great rides with abundant floater air all over the track. The fly-through is a wonderful element which adds excitement to the ride while waiting in the que (although I only waited about 10 minutes for each of my rides). It's also a fun element while riding since you can see it in time to get prepared to make faces or yell things at the people in line (not that I did that. :).
With its numerous crossovers (I think Dollywood claims 30 something) the ride is smooth yet out of control as you never really know where you are on the course. The scenery is beautiful (trees, hills, and flowers in the Great Smoky Mountains) and the station ops do a great job of pumping up the riders before releasing the train. Overall this is an outstanding ride which deserves its numerous awards. Dollywood is only a couple of hours from my house so I'm looking forward to getting back up there and riding this coaster some more. Its intense enough to satisfy any coaster enthusiast yet smooth enough to take the family on. Make a trip to Dollywood, ride the other coasters once or twice (including the Mystery Mine) and then spend as much time as possible on this beauty. It will be worth it.
Overall score - 10 (rounded up from a mid level 9)
Date Ridden: July of 1999 (twice), July of 2006 (twice), and July of 2007 (6 times in every car imaginable) Total Rides : 10
Ghostrider has been an interesting ride for me. I rode it way back when it was first built before I got into roller coaster riding on an obsessive basis. I picked it back up twice in 2006 and got in 6 good rides in 2007 so I feel that I know this coaster very well. What do i think? Ghostrider is without a doubt the best woodie I have ridden west of Branson, Missouri.
Some have called Ghostrider nothing but a rough and mis-treated piece of typical Cedar Fair wood. I don't really like to use the term rough....I think intense fits better. There is no doubt that you will take a beating. You will be thrown side to side...you will be thrown into the lap bar....and you'll be thrown virtually all over the city of Buena Park as you weave through the structure. However, you do have to remember that you are not on a state of the art pre-fab woodie like El Toro or some super-smooth steel hyper coaster.
Ghostrider is fast, intense, and includes a feature element which I think is necessary for a coaster to obtain a high score. The Voyage at Holiday World has the triple down, El Toro at Great Adventure has the first drop, Thunderhead at Dollywood has the fly-through station and Raven (once again at Holiday World)has the surprise 60 foot drop in the middle of the woods. Ghostrider has the drop following the MCBR that absolutely tosses you all over the place, particularly when you are alone in the car because your girlfriend/riding partner has said that she has had enough after two rides.
This is as good as it gets out west for woodies.
As a footnote, Knotts has supposedly done some retracking on Ghostrider over the past few years to help smooth it out a little. I noticed a difference from 06 to 07 as the ride seemed a little easier on the back this past year. I still love and always will love this ride. Ride up front or in the middle for a slower and less intense ride, ride toward the back at night for the most intense and in my opinion best ride. It's my favorite ride at Knotts.
Date Ridden: July 3rd, 2008. Times Ridden: 1 in the ? seat.
I am a front seat rider.
For me, a ride on a coaster is more than just the forces the ride provides. It is an entire sensory experience that includes touch (airtime or the lack thereof), smell (the fresh wood of a new woodie or the aroma from the cheaply made theme park food), sound (the screams from participants on other rides or the conversations going on in the train I'm in), the taste (a bug flying in my mouth going down Millennium Force Hill) and finally the sights one sees whether it be the ocean on an old seaside woodie like the Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz or Belmont or the Swamp Fox at Myrtle Beach or even the drop toward the lake coming out of the woods on Boulder Dash. Visuals are important to me, so after reading so many online reviews stating the intensity and insanity of the back seat oc the Cyclone and comparing them with my desire to ride the front seat when I entered an empty station after paying my 8 dollars in cash ("No Credit Cards", stated the ticket taker with a look of disgust as I handed him my Visa. "Cash only....Cash only!!!) I went with my instincts and chose the seat I desired....I picked the ________ seat. (Answer later in the review.)
Despite many comments to the contrary, the Cyclone is NOT rough. It contains no jackhammering, is kept meticulously clean, and is adored by the workers and riders alike. While without a doubt it offered me the most insanely violent ride I have ever taken, it is an experience I would not trade for anything in the world.
After exiting my ride, my girlfriend expected me to run down, buy the wristband, and begin to go into marathon mode as I have done in the past. But amazingly, I couldn't. Or rather simply didn't. Here is why.
No, I was not sore from the beating or afraid of a violent death being tossed onto the Coney Island Beach. This grand old ride had just delivered the ride of my life and I was sentimentally afraid (laugh if you want, call me scared, whatever) that another ride would somehow lessen the experience. My intentions were to get in one ride, eat a hotdog at Nathan's (highly recommended), then decide whether to pay for a re-ride or purchase the wristband. My GF only wanted 1 ride as this was her 200th coaster (it actually became my 301st...just missed a landmark there). Amazingly, I chose neither of those options choosing instead to take away with me a memory of the greatest coaster ride I had ever had. I bought the onride photo proving that despite my bravado I could NOT keep my hands up the entire ride...my left arm went down to grab hold on the FIRST drop. I was not scared or felt in danger, it simply went down on its own and grabbed the seat in front. No other coaster has ever done that to me before. I bought a key chain, a magnet for my fridge at home and a t-shirt commemorating my experience. I did my part to help keep this grand old ride in existence.
Following this last trip, I have now ridden 322 coasters with close to 70 of them woodies. Millenium Force ranks # 1 based on what it did for me a little over 2 years ago. The Cyclone ranks # 2. It delivered an experience better than any of my 12 rides on the Voyage, my back seat ride on El Toro, my first ever ride on Dragster, and my 50 consecutive rides on Goliath on Opening Day at SFOG. Heck, it was better than any other ride I'.ve ever had. I was virtually standing up in the well-padded train on every single hill. On every turnaround, I knew what was coming but it was still shocking nonetheless. This coaster is totally insane, out of control, and impossible to explain unless you have ridden it. Words, videos, ratings, reviews, or pictures do not do this ride justice. I recognize that by leaving with only one ride, I may never get another on this legendary coaster but I'm ok with that...........because I chose the back seat.
Date Ridden: Summer of 2006, 2007 and 2008. Also in the fall of 2007. Times Ridden: 25 in every seat at least once.
Millennium Force is my favorite ride for a number of reasons.
To begin with, let me take you back in time to the summer of 2006. I had just gone through (and was still going through to be honest) the most difficult time in my life. I am a person of stability and that stability was yanked out from under me like a dirty old rug. I was not doing anything but staying at home in my log cabin at the foot of Lookout Mountain in Georgia when an old friend from high school who had heard about my problems sent me an email stating that he was planning a solo trip to what he called "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World" in a place called Sandusky, OH.
I had only ridden about 20 coasters in my life (taking dates to 6 Flags in Atlanta or up to Lake Winnie to the ride the Cannonball) and had never heard of it. I told him I didn't want to go, so
then he called....and called......and called. He wouldn't take no for an answer.
I finally gave in and slept virtually the entire 12 hour ride up to Ohio while he drove and sung along to some old school Run-DMC. He was excited since it was something he had been thinking about doing for over 5 years but his children were not yet old enough. He had gotten "permission" from the family to take me off to "clear my head". I, who definitely needed my hed cleared, had ridden the local coasters but was not aware of what I was getting into.
The next thing I remember is what became the greatest coaster moment of my life and a ride that led to a new hobby of visiting theme parks all over the country. That moment was going up the unbelievably fast elevator cable lift to the top of the famous (so I now know...at the time I had no clue what Millennium Force was and had never heard of an elevator lift) Millenium Force hill while a slight mist was falling during early ride time on a Thursday morning in June. Before I knew it, we were there...(I remember staring out at Lake Eerie and then looking up and seeing we were at the top). I looked over at my friend and asked if we were already at the top.....and then we dropped...and dropped.....and dropped. I had never even been on a hyper coaster before. I was actually more excited about riding Raptor but my buddy insisted that we go here first. I remember the drop with rain pelting me in the face. I remember the huge banked curve and blacking out slightly (I always do). I remember the underrated head choppers as you go around Millennium Island as the train zooms by the support posts.
And I remember speed. An unbelievable amount of speed which is how the ride is built. MF offers different rides depending on where you are sitting but no matter where I ride, it is still my favorite ride in the world. The front offers the unbelievable view of going down the drop. The back offers the sensation of being not just pulled but completely THROWN over the 310 foot hill. But for some reason, I prefer the middle of the train that seems just as fast and offers some surprising airtime over the large hills scattered throughout the course. However, please don't assume that MF is built for airtime. It is not and that is why there are people who dislike it. The forces it offers are awesome but abundant air is not one of them. When riding it, you are going to get a smooth, fast and comfortable ride that you will never forget.
This past summer (2007), we did a crazy thing. We made the long trek to Agawam with the goal of riding the coaster Millennium Force is most often compared to: another Intamin hyper-mega coaster named Superman: Ride of Steel. Following an all night ride and a journey over the GW Bridge in NYC, we arrived with approximately 90 minutes to ride ROS. We then left at park closing, drove a second all-nighter (about 8 hours) to arrive at Cedar Point just in time for ERT. After 7 rides on Superman and 4 rides on MF in less than 12 hours we were able to make a comparison between the two. And guess what? They are both great. One can make an argument for or against either ride but for me personally, Millennium Force will always rank # 1 thanks to that cold dreary ride in 2006.
Welcome to Coaster Reviews! Here you will read detailed descriptions of some of the best (and worst) coasters in the world today.
I'm Shane Tucker, an educator in Summerville, GA and this is the web blog I've been saying I was going to build. Roller coaster riding became an obsession of mine in June 2006. I have since ridden over 400 coasters and hope to share some of my experiences, rides and crazy coaster-related trips with anyone who happens to stumble onto this site.
Please send along any requests (rides, parks, etc.) that you may have or feel free to leave us a comment.
Thanks again and enjoy!!
(Check out my ride list and Top 20 by clicking the picture above.)
The Coaster Reviews Staff
Coaster Reviews Photographer/Editor - Guy Chambless (Check out Guy's Ride List and Top 20 by clicking the picture above.)
Photographer/Significant Other - Julia Beavers (Check out Julia's Ride List and Top 20 by clicking the picture above.)
How Coaster Reviews rates coasters.
When rating coasters, Coaster Reviews uses a very subjective rating scale. Each coaster is rated on many factors but the overall ride experience is weighed the most heavily. While super-smooth coasters such as Apollos' Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe and Montu at Busch Gardens Africa are among the best designed coasters in the world, they do fall short of ride experiences such as the Cyclone at Coney Island. Coasters are given a score between 1 and 10 with 7 being the score of an average adult coaster. Most smaller family coasters will score in the 5 range with junior coasters (I have ridden way too many of these) scoring in the 3 range. Keep in mind, however, a great ride experience can boost a score substantially.
Current Top 20 Coasters
1 - Millennium Force - Cedar Point
2 - The Cyclone - Astroland
3 - The Voyage - Holiday World
4 - El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure
5 - Superman Ride of Steel - Six Flags New England
6 - Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce
7 - Ravine Flyer II - Waldameer Park
8 - Goliath - Six Flags Over Georgia
9 - Phoenix - Knoebels
10 - Thunderhead - Dollywood
11 - Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point
12 - X2 - Magic Mountain
13 - The Raven - Holiday World
14 - Volcano - The Blast Coaster - King's Dominion
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