Manta - Sea World Orlando (October 2009)

Despite the fact that flying coasters are not my preference, Manta is the real deal.

Following up that statement leads me into what will be a very positive review concerning the latest and greatest thing to hit central Florida. We were in Orlando this past weekend (I am currently typing up this review from The Marshall House Hotel in Savannah, GA) with our main task being a sub-48:00 minute time in Disney's Race for the Taste 10K. That was accomplished on Sunday morning with a 47:50 in which I was very proud of. On Friday however, our secondary task was completed with two laps on Manta and # 3 ranking in the best new coasters of 2009 poll. It definitely lived up to that ranking.

Like most things in Orlando, Manta is not simply a coaster, it is a total experience. The line weaves in and out of the Manta Ray exhibit and is a 1st class aquarium all by itself. Their is a separate entrance for those only wishing to view the animals, but a large portion of the aquarium itself can be seen through the Manta que line.

I rode the ride once as a walk-on as soon as the park opened, then again at mid-day with about a 20 minute wait. I expect that eventually the lines will get massive as the ride is located very close to the front of the park entrance and has become the new icon at Sea World.

As for the ride itself, it has a number of unique elements despite its flying type. The first drop into the pretzel loop is surpassed only by Tatsu out west. It is much more intense than those inversions located on the various Superman clones. The g-forces provided by this inversion are very strong as you feel like your body is going to be sucked all the way through your seat. Manta also has two zero-g rolls with are taken at just the right speed to feel intense but comfortable.

The most unique feature the ride contains however, is the dip into the water following the mid-course brake run. I recommend the seat on the far ride (the first one as you entering the train) as you can reach down and fell the water as it blasts upward. You do get a little wet but it is a refreshing kind of wet without being drenched. The other seats do not offer this.

In conclusion, Sea World has a definite winner. The coaster is centrally located so it is easy to get pics of. It takes up a large area but walking paths are present directly under numerous parts of the ride. The ride scores somewhere between the Superman clones and Tatsu putting it at a solid 8.5. I will round up to the 9 however, due to the immersive themeing and fun ride experience. It is a can't miss while at Sea World.

Overall rating - 9.

Orlando United Tournament of Champions

I like coasters. I also like anything to do with tournament brackets. The link below combines the best of both worlds through a unique tournament designed to compare the top thrill rides (not just coasters) in Orlando, Florida....ie. the Theme Park Capitol of the World. Please register and log in to vote on your favorites. The registration process is very simple and they do not slam you with spam. The message boards offer some great discussion forums and the site itself seems to be growing rapidly. The match-ups only last for 2-3 days so the tourney moves quickly. Currently, the world's first Dive Coaster (Shiekra) is battling one of the top themed dark rides ever (Hollywood Tower of Terror). Register and vote as soon as possible. http://orlandounited.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=68

Kings Dominion Announces Intimidator-305

Ok I admit it.....I'm excited. I have ridden over 400 roller coasters in the last 3 years and it really takes a good bit to get me excited. Ok, maybe not......but this time I'm REALLY excited. The fact the second Giga Coaster in the U.S is being built a mere 9 hours from my house makes me feel very warm and fuzzy......and excited.

In all seriousness, this is going to be a great ride. The 300 foot drop on Millennium Force is my favorite element on any roller coaster I have ever ridden and this will be virtually identical. I am not happy with the restraints, but this coaster still seems to be a combination of Millennium Force and

Maverick which will make it a superb ride. While a majority of the coaster community seems disappointed that this ride did not top the record breaking stats they were hoping for, I think that Cedar Fair has designed another winner which will make Kings Dominion a destination park. I know one thing....I will be there next summer to find out for myself what this thing can do.

Boardwalk Bullet - Kemah Boardwalk (July of 2009)

I did something different...really different. Having travelled the country and ridden 401 roller coasters, there was still one area that I had not visited.....Texas. After returning from vacation this year, I decided to meet up with a travel group called Theme Park Review and spend 5 days in Texas at a very reasonable price. This was a superb experience that I will discuss in a later post, but the main reason I went was to ride this coaster.

Having two Gravity Group woodies in my Top 10, I had high hopes for this creation and was not disappointed. Now don't get me wrong. The Bullet is very intense and has suffered some ridiculous abuse in the form of Hurricane Ike. No coaster should go through what it has faced. Yet still, the coaster has character and I thoroughly enjoyed my 10 laps in two days.

What is character? Can we give human characteristics to inanimate objects like amusement park rides? Here at Coaster Reviews, we do. To us, the ride is an experience. Some may be smooth, some rough, and some intense. The key thing is that we like rides that give us memories and the Bullet does that.

The first section of the ride is typical Gravity Group intensity with a very twisted track which takes the riders within 30 feet of the water. There are a couple of very intense sections of track which border on roughness. It is common knowledge that the faster this thing goes, the smoother the ride. I think my better rides were the night rides we took following the storm that blew in. I also enjoyed the morning rides but they seemed a tad rougher.

But what the heck, the ride is fun. It has a gorgeous backdrop, a great layout, and some intense airtime segments and laterals. It is not the greatest coaster in the world but still gives an unrelenting ride. That is what a wooden coaster is about......and oh yeah....it has character.

It gets a solid 8 from Coaster Reviews.

Hades Review - Wisconsin Dells (July of 2009)

Hades was arguably the coaster I was looking forward most to riding this entire summer. I currently have 11 coasters which I have given a 10 ranking to and fully expected this Gravity Group creation to make it # 12 and mix up my top coasters. When we pulled into the parking lot, these feelings rose a couple of notches to near certainty.

The park was very crowded but most of the people seemed to be headed for the water park so we got in all the smaller woodies first and then doubled back to Hades hoping the line had shrunk a little. We were wrong as a 45 minute wait awaited us since one train operation is all the park offers on each of its coasters. We ended up getting a next to the back seat ride and off we went for what I hoped to be an unbelievable coaster ride.

I was wrong.

To begin with, the pre-lift hill section is very overrated. It is cool dropping out of the station, but there is not any airtime and the train just seems to meander along to the lift. The drop off the lift hill and through the tunnel is superb. The typical Gravity Group forces are present as you speed under the parking lot, out into the turn around, and back down through the return trip. However, I faced another issue here which totally destroyed the ride experience for me: the lights in the tunnel were on! I could not believe it. I had heard rave reviews about the total blackness and the out of control feelings one faced when navigating the 90 degree banks in pitch blackness. Alas, that was an experience I missed out on.

Finally, we crested the hill exiting the tunnel and dove into a very long curve in which the train jackhammered so violently that I took an instant headache. The jackhammering continued around the entire curve and up into the final section leading to the station. It was among the roughest sections of any coaster I have ever experienced.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. We left the area, finished the other coasters in the park, bought a few souvenirs, and then ambled back to Hades. I decided to wait through the hour long ride again and get another ride near the front of the train to see if the experience improved. I'm sorry to say that it did not.

Still, despite these negatives, Hades is a good coaster. It is by no means one of the top 10 coasters on the planet as it consistently ranks in the Golden Ticket Awards. I think the enthusiasts who continue to rank it so highly rode it many years ago and have not been back to see it in it's current state. It scores a solid 8 but is well below every GCI woodie I have ridden and it ranks at the bottom on the 4 Gravity Group coasters I have been on as well. The tunnel sections are great with that wonderful swooping motion that good woodies have. However, the addition of the lights, the weak pre-lift section, and the horrible curved section drop it a couple of notches in my book.

Shivering Timbers Review - July of 2009

Whew again! I just finished two unbelievable coaster journeys and am need of some serious rest. Guy and myself travelled over 2,000 miles hitting some great parks up the east coast with our main goal of trying out the new Bizarro themed coasters. I will write up that trip as soon as I can find my zip drive with our pictures on it. In the meantime, I'll review the best ride I had on my trip with Julia through the midwest: Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan.

It has been said on my websites previously, but this coaster is one of the most aesthetically pleasing rides in existence. It runs virtually the entire length of the parking lot and is all you see when you first pull in. Unfortunately, it is the only reason for visiting the park as all the other coasters are clones or very poorly designed. Fortunately, Shivering Timbers is good enough to be considered a destination coaster.

The layout is very simple with lots of huge hills and some very strong airtime. This ride is not super smooth like some of the newer woodies out there, but is instead a powerful ride along the likes of Ghostrider out at Knotts or The Beast at King's Island. It is not rough, but the forces it puts on your body are very strong. I rode the back seat once, three times in the middle part of the train, and lastly on the front car. The front is by far the best with both the most airtime and the smoothest ride. The back was good as well but a little rougher, particularly at the bottom of the first hill. In addition to the large hills, there is also a very fast helix at the end of the ride and a section following the turnaround called a "Trick/Track" which is unique to this coaster. It is a very effective element where each side of the track dips at alternate times causing the train to sway back and forth. This is one of the best segments on the ride and fits in well with the other elements.

In conclusion, Shivering Timbers deserves its top 10 ranking among woodies. I rate it as a solid 9 and place it at #18 overall out of my 400 coasters ridden. It is well worth the effort it takes to get to the park.

Theme Park Battles - Cedar Point vs. Magic Mountain

Welcome to another new series here on coasterreviews.net. The other night I was watching Spike's new show "Deadliest Warrior" (a nerd show if there was ever one) and a random thought crossed my mind. Theme park enthusiasts are always ranking coasters and parks so how do some of the parks actually stack up when compared directly with one another? I know that in the past both Cedar Point and Magic Mountain were in a race to see which park could put together the most extreme coaster line-up. Magic Mountain seemed to forfeit their bragging rights when tearing down the Psyclone and taking down Flashback. But, lo and behold, by building the new Terminator ride, they are now up to 16 total coasters which is only 1 behind Cedar Point. However, the question is this: Which park has the best line-up of coasters? This post will compare a coaster from one park with its counterpart from the other park in order to determine........Who is Deadliest!?.....no wait a minute.....I mean....Who is the most extreme!? Please keep in mind this is not an analysis of each park as flat rides, water rides, shows, food, etc are not a part of the evaluations. This post will deal only with the coaster line-up each park possesses.

Hyper/Mega Coasters - Magnum XL-200 (CP) vs. Goliath (MM). Although these coasters fit into the same general category, they are very different. Magnum is the best airtime coaster at CP while Goliath is almost totally devoid of any airtime. However, it does have the "Helix of Death" which is among the most intense elements on any coaster ever built. Despite its age, I still prefer Magnum, particularly as the final ride of the night in total darkness with no trim brakes. Plus, it has a much better view. Edge - Cedar Point.

Inverts - Raptor (CP) vs. Batman- The Ride (MM). While I love the Batman rides (there are now over a half dozen of them throughout the U.S.), Raptor is just a better coaster. It is longer, more forceful, and much more respected among enthusiasts. I like the fact that Batman does not have mid-course brakes which leads to excellent pacing, but I like Raptor better. Edge - Cedar Point.

Stand-Up Coasters - Mantis (CP) vs. Riddler's Revenge (MM). In my humble opinion, this is a simple case of a good stand-up coaster versus a bad one. Riddler's Revenge is much bigger and smoother with some unique elements while Mantis is simply an ear-banger. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Launch Coasters - Top Thrill Dragster (CP) vs. Superman: The Escape (MM). I love both of these coasters as they are both intense yet smooth. Both are themed up well and are normally among the most popular rides at each park. I give the edge to TTD simply because it is taller, faster and contains the Top Hat which is preferable to simply dropping backwards like Superman. In its defense however, Superman was the original Intamin launch coaster that ended up being a direct forebearer to rides like TTD and Kingda Ka. Edge - Cedar Point.

Big Woodie - Mean Streak (CP) vs. Colossus (MM). This took some thought as both coasters were among the biggest and best when they were orginally built and have currently come under attack from the coaster community due to deterioration. However, CP is re-tracking Mean Streak making for a much better ride while MM has simply let one of the two tracks of Colossus rot. This past February, I actually did not feel safe riding it due to the horrid condition of the track. It still offered a decent ride but I have had some outstanding Mean Streak rides despite its supposed roughness. Edge - Cedar Point.

Little Woodie - Blue Streak (CP) vs. Terminator: The Ride (MM). I love Blue Streak. It reminds me so much of the Lake WInnie Cannonball that I had so much fun on when I was smaller. We even rode it 10 consecutive times last September and had a blast. But let's be realistic. Terminator is going to be in the running for Best New Ride this year and will probably be ranked among the top woodies in the world very shortly with its twisted lay-out, on-board sound system, and tunnels filled with mist. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Inverted Boomerang Coasters - Wicked Twister (CP) vs. Deja Vu (MM). This is a very even match-up with two very similar coasters. WT starts with a launch out of the station while Deja Vu pulls you back up to a height of almost 200 feet before dropping you at a 90 degree angle. I like both coasters but prefer Deja Vu because of its immense size and initital drop. It is also a coaster that can be ridden anywhere on the train while WT is much better on either end. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Basket Rides (also known as suspended coasters) - Iron Dragon (CP) vs. Ninja (MM). Hmmmm....two oriental based rides. Both are located in the middle of their respective parks but are beautifully landscaped with trees and water. Both are very similar but the main difference is the way each coaster ends. Ninja simply stops and is pulled up a lift hill to the station. Iron Dragon dives into a mist filled helix over the pond with some pretty intense laterals. Plus everyone knows a dragon could kill a ninja. Edge - Cedar Point.

Mine Rides - Cedar Creek Mine Ride (CP) vs. Gold Rusher (MM). Now I have had some excellent rides on the CCMR particularly during Halloween when the entire ride is blanketed in mist. However, the Magic Mountain version is much faster and longer. It is also spread out on the side of the mountain making it landscaped much better. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Unique/Intense Steel Coasters - Maverick (CP) vs. Tatsu (MM). Wow! These two rides are among the best in the world and neither park has a coaster to match the other so I put them together. Tatsu is the best flying coaster on the planet with the most intense element (Pretzel Loop) that I have ever felt. It is enormous as well standing well over 125 feet tall and seeming much taller at times. Maverick won Best New Ride of 2007 with its dual launches and crazy airtime filled hills along with its steeper than vertical 1st drop. This is so close that the coaster reviews staff does not agree on which coaster is the best. Guy prefers Tatsu, but since I am writing the review, Maverick gets the edge for one simple reason....I had rather sit down than fly on my coasters. Edge - Cedar Point.

Old School steel loopers - Corkscrew (CP) vs. Revolution (MM). This is an interesting comparison. Revolution was the first coaster ever with a veritcal loop while Corkscrew was the 1st coaster ever with three inversions. Both coasters are well maintained and beautiful. Corkscrew is a Cedar Point icon with its twisted inversions directly over the midway. Revolution is also gorgeous flying through the trees and around Tatsu with a great lead up to the loop. I bet that last rise before the inversion scared people to death when this thing was first built. It's a tough call, but Revolution is much smoother now and a much more enjoyable ride. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Sit-down steel coasters - Wildcat (CP) vs. Viper (MM). This is really not even close. Wildcat is a fun little family coaster which has some pretty fast elements but Viper set the inversion record when it was first built. Inversions are not really my thing but Viper is one of the better sit-down loopers I've been on. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Family Coasters - Woodstock Express (CP) vs. Canyon Blaster (MM). I am sad to say I have ridden both...more than once. Woodstock Express is much better because it is longer and much more family friendly with its on board video cameras. Edge: Cedar Point.

Kiddie Coasters - Junior Gemini (CP) vs. Thomas the Tank Engine/Goliath Jr. - Neither park will let me ride either of these so no one gets the point. Edge - Even.

Random Match-up - Gemini (CP) vs. Scream! (MM). I had no other coasters to match these two against so they ended up against one another. It is difficult to compare an older racing coaster with the best capacity in the world that was once the tallest and fastest coaster built against a newer floorless B and M design. Nonetheless it had to be done. Despite Gemini being a fun ride and Scream being built in the middle of a parking lot (with the lines still present in under the coaster), Scream still gets the edge. Edge - Magic Mountain.

Whew! If I have counted correctly, we have now looked at 15 coasters with each park getting the edge on 7 with 1 tie. That leaves the signature coaster from each park which will be the decding vote. The final match up is:

Signature Coasters - Millennium Force (CP) vs X2 (MM). Wow. Both of these coasters currently reside in my Top 10 and each offers soemthing totally unique. If a 300 foot drop at over 90 MPH with over a mile of track is your preference take MF. If you had rather listen to an awsome soundtrack while riding a 4th dimension coaster which drops you over 200 feet at a 90 degree angle face down, then X2 is your thing. There is no wrong answer but readers of the site know that Millennium Force ranks at the top of my list, as well as # 2 in the world according to the Golden Tickets. Edge (and winner) - Cedar Point.

That was a long post but hopefully someone out there enjoyed it. One coaster that was left out was Cedar Point's Disaster Transport which did give them another slight edge when tallying the results. Both parks are great and no enthusiast can go wrong with visting either of them. Check back in a couple of weeks for more Park Battles with two family owned parks containing some of the greatest wooden roller coasters in the world matching up against one another.

Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain - CA

This is a different kind of roller coaster.

Tatsu is without a doubt, the most intense flying coaster ever created. It is far from the standard B and M model they have used at numerous Six Flags parks around the country. This is one of the most creative coasters on the planet and is a definite "can't miss" ride for any enthusiasts.

Having said all of that, let me now say this. Tatsu is not one of my favorite coasters. I totally respect the unique elements and creativity that went into this monster, but I still prefer to sit in my coaster trains, not fly. I like the feeling of airtime more than inversions and in a flying coaster, the inversions are what make them special.

I have three laps on Tatsu with hopefully a few more coming up in October. This past February, the station was virtually empty so we could have ridden it as much as we wanted. However, after putting 10 laps on X2, we were physically unable to take the famous Pretzel Loop on Tatsu more than twice. When you take into account those two coasters plus the helix on Goliath, you have probably three of the most intense coasters on the planet.

So in conclusion, Tatsu grades out as a solid 9 and is by far the best flying coaster I have ever ridden. The argument could be made to give it a 10 as it is the best of its type but, as I said earlier, flyers are just not my thing. One piece of advice. Looking at Tatsu from ground level does not do justice to its immense height. When going up the lift hill while laying face down, it looks as if the train is over 500 feet high. Only people who have ridden it can truly appreciate the size and intensity of this coaster.

Diamondback - Kings Island (5-2-2009)

I made it!! A weekend that had been placed on my calendar 6 months in advance finally came to fruition and was totally perfect.

While riding the newest B and M hyper coaster at the location of one my Top 20 (The Beast) coasters was the main goal of my weekend, I did have a little other unfinished business in the city of Cincinnati: setting a marathon P.R. at the Flying Pig Marathon which is one of the top ranked marathons in the world. My plan was to drive up Friday night, visit King's Island and ride Diamondback on Saturday morning, pick up my running packet and some race gear on Saturday evening, run the race on Sunday morning under 3 hours 50 minutes and make it back home that night in order to sleep and head to school the next morning. Everything worked out perfect.

Now, you are not here to read how I ran a 3:45:47 crushing my P.R. by over 7 minutes, or the great pasta dinner the night before hanging out in downtown Cincy listening to a live band and stuffing my face with carbs for energy the next morning. You want to hear about Diamondback and I will do my best to describe the experience.

To begin with, I really want this to be a good review since I can find virtually nothing detailed so far about this coaster online. If you are interested in making a trip to visit KI, then maybe this will give you some information you can't get anywhere else. If so, tell your friends about the site. Our readership is growing but we are still looking for more activity from enthusiasts like YOU!

Now, on to the coaster. Getting straight to the nuts and bolts, Diamondback scores a solid 9 just like every other B and M hyper I have ever ridden. It has some positives as well as some negatives which are basically divided up into the two halves of the coaster itself. The first half is impeccable. I think the first drop is the best on any B and M coaster. You exit the station and go straight up the lift hill ala Millennium Force but not nearly as quick. The drop is steep and fast and leads into two other unbelievable airtime hills before hitting the hammerhead. The third hill is the best as I counted 8 seconds of airtime on that hill alone. Due to the speed of the train, the hammerhead turnaround seems to be more forceful than the one on Nitro. It is here however, that Diamondback begins slithering toward mediocrity.

When leaving the hammerhead and heading up the next hill, a trim brake kicks in which slows the train noticeably. There is no airtime whatsoever leading all the way up to where the mid-course brake kicks in which brings the train to almost a complete stop. The drop off the mid-course brake area is well below average and leads into another hill and helix before the splash down which is simply another way of slowing the train before cresting the final hill and hitting the final brake run. If you were counting, that is four brake runs in the last half of the ride which totally kills any momentum the first half had built up.

If you are an OCD coaster enthusiast (which I define as having ridden or being dragged along on over 100 coasters) you will probably be disappointed with Diamondback. The general public however, totally loves the ride as it is like nothing in Ohio with its smoothness and perfect first half. If visiting, take advantage of the single rider line which is run perfectly. I was able to get 5 rides in an hour while the normal line seemed to be about a 45-60 minute wait if not longer. The station crew was doing an excellent job of running all three trains so this thing is a people eater. The new open air trains (identical to Behemoth) are an advantage as I was able to get two second row (which are actually the same as front row) seats plus three rides somewhere in the middle. As a single rider you do not get to pick your seat but the shorter wait time is well worth it. I never got near the back but some people said you actually get wet back there on the splash down. I can neither confirm nor contradict that but I did not see anyone get off the train wet.

In conclusion, despite the negatives King's Island is now a destination park. With a world class woodie, a flying coaster, a launch coaster, an underrated sit-down looper, a racer, and the worlds tallest and fastest woodie added to this hyper coaster, it is a park to visit for an entire day or more. If you are on your way to Cedar Point from the south, do not forget to stop in on your way to visit this park. It will be well worth your time.

Final Rating - A solid 9.

Review: X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain (CA)

The ceremony is about to begin! Let me say that if you have ridden the original X but have not been back to Magic Mountain for the upgraded X2, you are missing one of the best rides in the world.

Back in 2006, I took my first trip to California in 7 years and visited a number of theme parks with Magic Mountain being the primary destination. I enjoyed X a great deal as it was totally unlike any coaster I had ridden. However, at the time I was probably around only 50 coasters total so I did not recognize how unique X truly was. I ranked it an 8 and left it out of my Top 20.

Fast forward to February of 2009. After a very disappointing day at Knotts with both Ghostrider and Xcelerator not running, we were hoping for a little more fun at a park I had not had very good experiences at. Magic Mountain had always been crowded with many of the rides down. Not this time. The lines were non-existent, all the coasters were running and X had been upgraded to one of the best coasters in the world.

When riding X2, you get an entire sensory experience. The huge flat screen in the station, the dual loading X cars, the creepy soundtrack (hence the first line of this review) in the station as well, and the fast loading ride ops. All of these things set the mood for the ride experience that is about to come. Once you are loaded (I prefer the inside seat since it seems a little smoother), the sound system begins with a wide range of music starting with Harry Connick (I think) and randomly jumping to artists that vary from Metallica to the Beastie Boys. The experience is totally indescribable.

I will suggest the front seat which gives you an unimpeded view of the 90 degree 200 foot drop at the beginning while going down face first. That is one of the best first drops on any coaster ever. After that, the ride is completely crazy with a total of 3 inversions (I think), a fire element toward the end, and a completely warped ride experience. We were lucky enough to get in 10 rides (yep 10) with the last 9 without having to even leave the station. I have heard that lines are normally in the 2-3 hours range so I believe we hit it on a good day. The ops were not making us walk around the station since the lines were so short. We had a blast riding X2 however we did run into a problem after about 6 laps. We started hurting.

That’s right, pain became a problem. My back and head were both killing me as well as my neck and shoulders. This is not a coaster that people (my age at least) can continually loop. The intensity of the ride makes it great fun for a couple of laps. And despite the ride being smooth, the elements simply make it a coaster that pushes the limits to what a human body can take. From now on, I will be satisfied with a couple of laps each trip.

As it is, X2 scores a 9 and ranks # 11 on my list of all time favorite coasters. It is unique and offers an unparalleled experience. It is without a doubt a destination coaster that no enthusiast should miss. And now, about Tatsu……….

# 1 - Millennium Force.....A Life Changing Experience

By now, regular readers of the site know that Millennium Force at Cedar Point was actually a life-changing experience for me.

Now I know those are very strong words considering that these are just roller coasters, but sometimes we have great experiences when we least expect them. I was simply getting away from some major problems in my life. I had never even heard of Cedar Point back in 2006 much less any of the specific coasters located there. Once I had my first ride on Millie, my life was forever changed and I became a coaster geek.

Please scroll down and read my Millennium Force review for more details of my favorite ride of all time. And there you have it, as I moved toward my favorite rides I discovered that many of these coasters already had detailed reviews leading to shortened down versions of my favorite rides.

Like always, thanks for checking out the site. With coaster riding season beginning again, look for more reviews, pictures, and tips in the upcoming months on coasterreviews.net.

# 2 - The World's Most Famous Roller Coaster

The Coney Island Cyclone is not simply a roller coaster. It is an American Icon and a total experience that no enthusiast (or common rider for that matter) should ever miss.

Without a doubt, it is one of the most famous coasters of all time located in one of the greatest cities in the world. The experience is like no other ride in the world today. Despite being among the most cloned coasters of all time, the original is still unique and ranked way above the others. You can read my very lengthy and detailed review as one of the first posts on this site. If you want a better account of this ride, I recommend that you go there. However, for the purpose of this post, keep in mind that my solitary ride back on July 3rd of 2008 was one of my best total experiences (not just at theme parks) ever.

I will never forget it.

# 3 - The Storm Ride (Dueling Dragons) 2008

What a ride! I will not cover all of the outstanding details as this ride (as well as the next two) have been covered in my reviews of the coasters themselves. Needless to say, this particular ride (on the Ice Dragon) was as good as anything I have ever been on. The Dragons themselves ranked in my Top 20 for a while, in large part because of this ride. The outstanding woodies have taken their place and dropped them slightly out of my top ranked coasters but are still among my favorites. The storm ride was totally out of control with rain beating down me, the wind blowing and lightning flashing every few seconds. Once again for more details please read my ride review of Dueling Dragons.

# 4 - The Beast (Kings Island) Fall of 2008

Some coasters have multiple personalities. They may be good on one, great another, and terrible on yet another. It may depend on the time of day the ride takes place, the seat on the train, or even the time of year. However, no coaster has more of a split personality than The Beast at King’s Island.

The Beast is legendary wooden coaster which is on many peoples Top 20 lists, including mine, due to its speed, length, and strong laterals in its famous double helix. It has also given me quite possible the worst ride of my life in October of 2007 on a cold day at the park’s opening. However, approximately one year later, the wooden legend delivered with a front seat night ride I will never forget.

This coaster has already been reviewed on this site and this particular ride has also been discussed. Let me add to that by saying that riding the Beast at night is an experience no coaster enthusiast should miss. There are no lights on the track and the coaster is almost two miles long. With over five minutes of ride time in the pitch black darkness in the woods of central Ohio, this coaster deserves its high ranking.

The Beast is a destination coaster that is well worth the drive and price of admission. And at night, it is almost unbeatable with my best ever ride that did not contain a lightning storm or a coaster with a soft spot in my heart. Those reviews are coming up but rest assured, I have never had a better coaster ride than this one in my life.

# 5 Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce) 7-3-2008

If there is a coaster that is completely designed to my preferences, it may be Boulder Dash located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT.

To begin with, it is a very smooth riding woodie. Secondly, it has a number of intense moments of airtime located throughout the course. And thirdly, it is build on the side of a mountain. That is not a typo. The lift hill actually takes the train up the mountain where it turns and plunges down toward the lake. On many rides, that contain an awesome first drop, that is the highlight of the ride and little else occurs. That is only the beginning of Boulder Dash.

The specific ride I am thinking of occurred on the night of July 4th in 2008. Julia and myself had already celebrated her birthday the day before by riding the Coney Island Cyclone and driven up to CT. We used the late entry to get in 3 rides on Boulder Dash including our final ride of the night on the very front car with fireworks going off in the background. There are no lights anywhere on the coaster so you are simply flying through the very length ride in the middle of the woods. The front seat of the coaster is by far the best on the train with wind hitting you in the face. The ride seems so much faster, as do most coasters, when riding the front car due to the lack of wind resistance.

In conclusion, the terrain coaster with a well-run station crew placed a ride in the top 5 of my all time rides. I will never forget it.

# 6 - Raven - Labor Day 2007

I will not go into too many details since this ride has been discussed in my review of The Raven. I will say that this little coaster does indeed pack a wallop no matter where you ride it. I actually prefer the back seat because the surprise 60 foot drop in the middle of the course is much more intense back there. However, the ride that falls #6 on the overall greatest rides of all time was our front seat night ride during Labor Day Weekend of 2007.

It was the final ride of the day and we were lucky enough to be in lap mode. We had sprinted around for one last ride and were at the head of the pack of people doing the same. We dove in the front seat line and had a total blast. There are no lights at all on the track so the entire ride was in total pitch black darkness. It was easily our best ride of the day. I only wish we would have had a opportunity to ride The Voyage at night. So far that feat has eluded us. As far as the Raven is concerned however, it is a proven fact that the woodies at Holiday World warm up as the day wears on and the best rides are given toward the end of the day. We can definitely attest to that fact thanks to this wonderful ride on a very well-respected coaster.

The Raven sits solidly at lucky number 13 in my Top 20 and this great Labor Day ride comes in at # 6 overall in my best rides ever.

# 7 - Magnum XL200 - NO BRAKES!!!

I feel that as far as steel coasters go, Cedar Point is the best park in the world. Magnum XL-200 is the ride that started it all back in 1989 as the first ever coaster to crack the 200 foot barrier. It is still a great ride as evidenced by its current top 5 ranking in the Golden Tickets.

I have continued to keep this coaster in my top 20 due to a number of great rides I have taken, the best which was in the fall of 2007. This specific ride took place directly before the park was about to close. For those of you unaware, the ride operators begin to close down certain seats in the middle of the train at the end of the day. They keep the front seats and back seats open in order to keep the weight balanced and each train at least half full.

When this happens, the lower weight on the train allows the mid-course brakes at the turnaround point to not kick in which leads to an insane second half of the ride along the bunny hills. This actually happened to us on this ride (we were toward the front) and the coaster was totally out of control. My legs were actually sore from being forcefully thrown into the lap bar going over each and every hill. It was totally dark, the breeze was nice and cool, the view looking out over Lake Erie was great, and the airtime was some of the most intense I have ever had on a coaster.

That adds up to the #7 ranked ride of my life…..so far.

#8 - Top Thrill Dragster - The Bug Ride (Fall of 2008)

Wow. It has been a while since I have posted anything. Hopefully, the consistent readers we have did not totally desert our site. Thanks to running races on two of the past three weekends and traveling to CA on the other, I have not been on here in a long time. In addition with fantasy basketball season ending and fantasy baseball beginning, my computer time has been spent on Yahoo Sports and CBS Sportsline. Yes, I have more than just one nerd activity; I have multiples!

Anyway, thinking back to my 8th greatest ride of all time brought back an actual audible stream of laughter. The ride took place late one night at the Coaster Capital (Cedar Point) when Guy and myself decided to wait the extra time for a front seat ride on TTD. This is normally an extra 30 minutes or so since the front has a huge line due to the nature of the ride. Out of over 10 rides we had never waited the extra time before so on this particular night we decided that the time had finally come.

Neither of us were prepared for what followed. Being that the ride is only 20 seconds or so, I personally did not think a front seat ride would offer that much more. I was wrong. While the ride goes over 120 MPH, the front seat seems much faster due to the unimpeded air that is totally slamming into your face. That, along with the intense 420 foot 90 degree drop made this a very memorable ride. However, it was the choice I made in choosing my seat that was the key decision that night. For some reason, Guy got in first. I normally enter the trains first while he goes last but on this occasion our roles reversed. By entering first he rode on the side of the train that had lights the length of the track......and bugs!

When we exited, I had maybe 5 or 6 plastered on my shirt due to our high rate of velocity. Guy had hundreds! He had bugs on his face, his glasses, and both arms. It was hilarious and he spent the next 5 minutes trying to clean bug stuff off himself.

Once this task was completed, we decided that we just had one of our greatest ride experiences. TTD is a great ride on any seat but the front takes the intensity up another level. Just don't forget to send your buddy in first!!

# 9 - Volcano-The Blast Coaster (Spring of 2007)

Continuing on with this series, which is very enjoyable to look back on by the way, I decided on Volcano as my 9th greatest ride of all time.

Back in 2007, Julia came out for a couple of weeks during her track break and we took two outstanding trips. The first was to Virgina and back down through the Carolinas to visit King's Dominion and Carowinds. We processed our season passes at King's Dominion and had a great time there. We rode everything in the park, starting off with the now defunct Hypersonic XLC. By mid-afternoon, we had ridden everything with the exception of the Grizzly which had been down due to problems with one of the trains. We had gotten one ride in on Volcano and it instantly became one of our favorite rides. We decided to leave and go grab a bite to eat and then return that night with the intent to finish the park and get a night ride on Volcano.......on the front.

Up until this point in my coaster riding career (I was at a little over 100 total coasters), I really did not prefer one seat to another. I liked the front seat better but was really not that obsessed with waiting the extra time that a preferred seat requires. I had read on a web site however that a front seat night ride on this monster was not to be missed. We decided when we returned we would ride the Grizzly and then wait the extra time for the front seat on Volcano.

The plan went to perfection as the Grizzly was back running and we walked right on it. We then busted it across the park to Volcano and after about a 30 minute wait, we were rolling around the turn about to have one of the best rides I have ever had.

Simply put, the speed on some of these launched coasters is unbelievable when riding the front. Since Volcano is an invert (the track is above the train) then our view was totally unobstructed. We tore out into the night at over 70 MPH, turned the curve around the mountain and then were launched straight up the volcano itself with fire bursting out everywhere. The ride was totally insane through the inversions on its way back into the mountain where we de-boarded. We were both laughing hysterically the entire time.

Our ride on Volcano was silky smooth with the huge adrenaline rush of being launched out of the station, down the dark tunnel, around the bend and then blasted straight up and out of the top of the mountain. Everything else was just gravy after that unbelievable start.

In summary, riding this coaster at night is a must for every coaster enthusiast. The launches, the special effects, the super-slow inversions, and the smoothness make this a unique experience for even the most veteran coaster rider. The good thing is that the next year I got to experience this same identical ride with Guy under the same circumstances. And just like my previous ride, this one was also a "blast".

# 10 - A Night Ride on the Boardwalk

When beginning this series, I could not think of a better place to start than on the # 1 ranked seaside amusement park in the world today: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk featuring the historic Giant Dipper coaster.

The specific ride I am thinking of took place in the summer of 2006. This was my first summer of obsessive coaster riding and the Dipper was actually an afterthought on a day we visited what was then Six Flags Marine World. The day was ridiculously hot as California can be in the middle of the summer, and we were finished a little after lunch. To kill the rest of the day, Julia told me of an old wooden coaster in the area that she remembered riding as a little girl. We googled directions and headed off.

Once we pulled up, I immediately fell in love with the place. It reminded me so much of all those countless hours spent riding the Cannon Ball at Lake Winnie when I was young. We took a ride on the Dipper as well as the other two coasters in the park, the sky ride, and took a stroll down the boardwalk. We saved enough tickets for one more ride on the Dipper and waited until it was completely dark. That is the ride that makes the top 10 of my greatest coaster rides ever.

The station was rocking as the coaster would pull in and the riders would reach up to high five those in line as the train pulled into the station. We ended up sitting somewhere toward the middle of the train since preferential seating is not allowed and rolled into the tunnel heading up to the track. The coaster itself is totally gorgeous at night with running lights along the rails, the beautifully lit up boardwalk, and the sounds of the Pacific Ocean off to your right. I do not remember a lot about the ride, only the sense of serenity this quaint old woodie offered me during a very chaotic time of my life. It seemed that ride lasted for hours (actually only a couple of minutes) with the wind blowing through our hair, the smell of cotton candy, and the typical amusement park sounds not often heard at larger parks. It was simply a great ride and one that I will always remember and cherish as the Dipper sits rock solidly in my overall Top 20.

Now, here is the good news. During Spring Break, we are headed back out there to stay at the Carousel Hotel with the intention of spending a couple of days in the park itself. On our only two visits so far, we have only stayed for a few hours and not really enjoyed all the park has to offer. This year I am going to ride the carousel and toss the rings in the clown's mouth and put up double digits on the Dipper itself. I can only hope that we receive another ride as great as that one on my first visit to Santa Cruz.

A New Series.........

I think most of you know that I like to count stuff. It has been documented in earlier posts about how the staff here at CoasterReviews keeps up with their rides, their books read, and so on. If there is a site to count stuff, we are members.

In light of that, over the next few weeks, I will be counting down the best coaster rides I have ever taken. I received lots of positive feedback from our "Year in Review" post, so it gave me the idea of listing my ten best rides. Now, please understand this is not simply a list of top coasters. Anyone who visits the site can click on the links to the left and see out Top 20 list. No, this is something more......this is the cream of the crop (I hate cliches....sic) as far as solitary rides taken over the past 3 years. There is a wide variety in the types of coasters. They range from sleek, new scream machines to old fashioned woodies. The one thing they all have in common was that they delivered unbelievable rides.

So, when you count up the 334 coasters I have been on and multiply them by 5 (which is the approximate number of total rides I have) you end up with over 1500 total journeys on roller coasters. Of that massive number, the ten that follow are best. Number 10 should be posted later this week. Thanks for reading and Happy Blogging!!

Trip report - Indiana Beach on Labor Day Weekend of 2008

I'm still getting around to posting some of my trip reports from last year. I have reviewed a large majority of the more well-known coasters I have ridden and am now trying to focus on some of the parks themselves as well as the smaller coasters at those parks. Indiana Beach was a wonderful little park that I had listed as must visit destination due to the famous Cornball Express wooden coaster. In addition to their signature ride, IB has two other woodies (The Hoosier Hurricane and The Lost Coaster of Superititous Mountain), a couple of small steel coasters (Tig'r and Galaxi) and a radical new steel coaster called Steel Hawg which features the steepest first in the U.S. I have reviewed it and Cornball already on this site so if they interest you, feel free to scroll down and read the reviews. Cornball was by far the best ride in the park with a solid 9 rating while Steel Hawg garnered a very high 7 due to uncomfortable trains. The Hoosier Hurricane is an fun little out and back design which goes out over the lake. It was great fun to ride at night but is more of a family oriented type ride than a true thrill machine. I still scored it as a solid 8 which is about a point higher than most enthusiasts would probably score it. However, I am a sucker for the forces provided by fun little wooden coasters and this one was lots of fun.

The other three coasters were well below average although for different reason. The Lost Coaster of Superstitious Mountain was a unique ride offering both forwards and backwards facing seats and a strange feel vertical lift. The problem was that we waited 45 minutes on a day in which the park was virtually empty. Terrible capacity makes this average ride lose a point or so. The other two steel coasters are simply for those who want to get the coaster credits. Tig'r is a bobsled type right without any restraints....just a lap belt and Galaxi is a typical carnival type ride with normally a long line. All three of those rides score in the 5 to 6 range as being nothing really special although the Lost Coaster is a must-ride due to the unique features it possesses.

Other rides in the park include one of the most awesome walk-through spookhouses called Dr Frankenstein's Castle. It has a slight upcharge (about 4 bucks a piece) to keep teens from tearing the place apart. The gags inside are great and the path is very long. There are no live people inside to jump out and scare you, just little gags and lots of darkness.

There is also a drop ride which overlooks the lake, a pretty fun shoot-em up ride called Den of Thieves and a beach type area with lifeguards. We paid a little of 20 bucks for an unlimited ride wristband for the late ride session and had no problems doing everything we wanted to do. We also had a great meal at the restaurant overlooking the lake.

Overall, Indiana Beach was a blast. While definitely not dirty, the park was not as neat Holiday World or Beech Bend and lacked a little in atmosphere due to all the rides being lumped together. There is very little walking necessary to get from one area to the next which is another plus. The park itself scores in the high 7 to low 8 range with it being equally good for thrill seekers and families. The Cornball Express is good enough itself for a visit.

Updated Top 20

To start out the New Year, I always like to re-evaluate my favorite coasters based on rides from the past year. I have made some slight changes for this year with the most notable being a bump up of Ravine Flyer II and Goliath to the Top 10 as well as an addition of The Beast in place of the now defunct Ozark Wildcat. You can see the upated list on the left side of the screen as well as on coastergrotto.com by clicking on any of the pics on the left. For February, we are looking at a trip to Knotts, Magic Mountain, and the Santa Monica Pier as well as Six Flags Over Georgia's opening day on the 28th. I think coaster season has officially begun.

Dollywood Trip Report - Winter of 2008.

November and December are not good months for a roller coaster enthusiast. Unless one is fortunate to live in either Florida or California, most other parks are closed for the season. So following my October trip with Guy to Cedar Point and Holiday World, I figure that was it for my coaster riding until my trip out west for New Years. However, thanks to Ms. Rhonda Ledbetter and the Chattooga High School Chorus, I was able to help "chaperone" a trip to Dollywood and take 12 laps on one of my favorite coasters, Thunderhead.

This was my second year in a row to visit Dollywood. This time I had lots of fun mainly wondering around by myself. I got in 4 laps on Myster Mine as well as another ride on the Tennessee Tornado in addition to my Thunderhead rides. The park has the three coasters listed above plus a dark ride/coaster called Fire in the Hole (which scores in the 5 range and is not really worth its own individual review) as well as a Topple Tower, and a couple of fun water rides which are among the best rides in the park. I definitely avoided the few water rides that were working due to the cold weather but feel free to ride them all if visiting in the muggy summer season.

The park was not crowded at all during our visit. I planned on putting up more laps on Thunderhead, which is the main attraction at the park without a doubt, however there were problems with one of the train which led them to run only one train after lunch. When the park opened, the ride was a walk-on and I rode it 7 times in less than an hour. Like many woodies, some of the early rides were a little rough due to the cold weather and the fact that the track was still warming up. Then just when I took a couple of great rides after lunch, the problem came up with the train and wait times went up to over 30 minutes. However, with only 2 previous rides before this trip, I was able to get a better feel for this great woodie and it is still solidly in my Top 10 although I will be the grade back to a very high 9 instead of the 10 I previously ranked it at. The best seat is by far the very front with rides there being silky smooth with massive pops of air.

Four laps on Mystery Mine did not change my opinion of it. It is still a very fun ride which due to the immersive themeing, is best the first time. It is a Disneyesque attraction which loses a little luster after multiple rides. It is a solid 8 and is a great addition to Dollywood.

The Tennessee Tornado is an Arrow sit-down looper which has a great drop through a tunnel and some massive inversions. Readers of this site know my feeling about inversions and the restraints that go with them, so I will not go into details there. However, the TT is fun and worth a couple of spins when visiting the park. It scores in the 7 range.

Other than the Thunderhead, most people visit Dollywood for the shows and the food. I personally have cannot comment on these parts of the park, but they are consistently ranked among the best in the amusement park industry each year.

Overall, Dollywood is a great place to visit with a great atmosphere and one of the best wooden coasters on the planet. Special thanks to the entire CHS Chorus for letting me tag along and ride some roller coasters with all of you as well as Dr. Perry for the great pics you find posted on this review. I had a great, and surprising, weekend trip full of coaster riding and fellowship.

Buffalo Bill's Trip Report and Desperado Update (Also the 1st Coaster Ridden in 2009)

While most parks are still closed for the winter, there are a few parks in California and Florida that are open year around. Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino on the California/Nevada border is one of those year around parks that I normally visit on trips to Las Vegas. Using a coupon from the Vegas Entertainment Book, it is possible to ride twice for $7.00 which is about as a deal as one is going to get in the land of eternal sunshine. Julia and myself took a trip out to the resort on January 2nd and had a great time. One of the restaurants inside the resort was running a special on T-Bones for under 8 bucks so we a good meal plus a couple of coaster rides each.

At Buffalo Bills, there are a number of attractions including a log flume (pretty good by itself but better when the laser guns are working.....they were down for repair this last trip), and S and S Supershot launch tower which offers a great view of the surroundings, a Frog Hopper for the kiddies, and c couple of 3D attractions which I normally avoid like the plague due to headaches. The main attraction however is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters on the planet: The Desperado.

I have reviewed the coaster previously on this site so feel free to scroll down to read it. It is a very fast and intense ride offering different rides based on seat location and how many people are in the train. The main positive is the outstanding view offered of the surrounding desert including the Vegas lights at night and the long line of cars on the freeway. The coaster is simply not placed in an area anyone would think a coaster would be in which makes a fun ride.

At Buffalo Bills, they offer a number of pricing options which can be found on the official website. Wristbands or single ride purchases are possible with discounts for younger children. One warning however. The casino is open 24/7 but the rides have strange hours. Be sure to call before you visit to make sure they are operational. Also, Desperado and the Launch Tower are quickly closed of inclement weather including high winds arise.

In summary, we had another fun trip out to ride one of my special coasters. Too bad I missed the snow (yep snow) on the ground the previous week.