Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!
Might as well join in since I've visited enough parks...

I start my rankings with weaker parks I have visited, ones that are behind in their coaster lineups and that I don't see catching up any time soon. Below this is Adventure Park USA - a family entertainment center, not an amusement park proper.

Nickelodeon Universe
This park is going to be at a great disadvantage, being indoor with no room to expand. On top of that, it is a family park, not a thrill park. That said, SpongeBob and Pepsi Orange Streak are very good. Pepsi Orange Streak may be my favorite Zierer coaster, and I can only imagine how much better it was when it was zooming through the Knott's theming instead of the Nickelodeon theming, which does feel a little incoherent.

Valleyfair
One of the weaker Cedar Fair parks coaster-wise, but it still has a few highlights. Renegade is a top-notch wooden coaster with one of the best first drops around. Wild Thing delivers great floater airtime and is extremely smooth. Steel Venom ran its holding brake when I rode it, setting it above the other impulses. Excalibur is unique, an old school Arrow hybrid with one of the best ejector airtime moments.

Valleyfair needs a modern looper badly, ideally a B&M invert, to round out the lineup. I fear Cedar Fair will ultimately consider this park a "family" park and build only smaller rides like Michigan's Adventure. Until then, SpongeBob over at Nickelodeon Universe is Minnesota's best looping coaster.

Dorney Park
Cedar Point on a small scale. You've got an old woodie, an old-school hyper, an invert, a floorless, and an impulse, so the variety is all there. That said, none of them are really that memorable, save for Talon (the invert, with every maneuver finely executed) and Hydra (with the best pre-lift around, the jojo roll). Steel Force, unlike Wild Thing, did absolutely nothing for me upon my first rides. Looking back, though, Steel Force has a superior setting, as Valleyfair is pretty much flat land.

An RMC topper track woodie would be ideal, filling the looper role Laser left behind and the intense woodie role Hercules ultimately failed at filling, but I don't see Cedar Fair investing that kind of money here. Would be happy with a more intense GCI along the lines of Renegade, leaving Thunderhawk to fill the family woodie role like High Roller.

Six Flags America
What sets Six Flags America's coaster lineup above the above three is the quality of what they have. The Wild One and Roar are well cared for, especially for a corporate park. Superman: Ride of Steel has some excellent moments of floater and ejector airtime, and Batwing is superior to a Superman Ultimate Flight clone. In the supporting lineup, Apocalypse has historic value as B&M's first roller coaster, and Joker's Jinx takes its second half much better than Flight of Fear thanks to the lack of the MCBR. I guess Ragin' Cajun serves as the middle ground between the kiddie and the woodies.

Still, Six Flags America would greatly benefit from an RMC Raptor, Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter (Dare Devil Dive as our next hand-me-down, please?), or simply a floorless conversion of Apocalypse. Roar runs really well, and it would be a loss to RMC it after they put so much care into it. I say these three options because I doubt Six Flags would invest that much into this park.


Here we get into the better parks...

Knott's Berry Farm
As this park is in competition with Disneyland, the focus is on theming more than thrills. They have a lot of family coasters, thankfully all solid, with Jaguar being the standout among them taking you through the loop of Montezooma's Revenge. As for the adult coasters, Xcelerator has the best launch I have experienced (though it doesn't do much after that), GhostRider may be California's best wooden coaster with a very long and wild ride, Silver Bullet has the best ending on a B&M invert I have ridden, and Montezooma's Revenge is the classic shuttle loop.

HangTime will be a great addition next year, a more than worthy successor to Boomerang and Corkscrew before it.

Six Flags Over Georgia
Another park that relies on a well-rounded lineup over having a few star coasters. Goliath uses the terrain masterfully, though it is marred by roughness. Mindbender is a timeless terrain looper, possibly better than the Loch Ness Monster. As the original installation, Superman: Ultimate Flight is well-landscaped, placing it above its clones. Being a bigger Six Flags park, Batman is there to round things out. Georgia Scorcher is one of the better stand-ups, relatively forceless, but which translates into a painless ride for a stand-up. Dare Devil Dive is a very good Euro-Fighter, but capacity is terrible for a park of this attendance.

Twisted Cyclone looks to be a great addition to the lineup, however short and small it is, and hopefully this also means the Great American Scream Machine gets all the wood maintenance to itself. Such potential, especially with the buzz bar restraints, and then it's in such rough shape.

Carowinds
Fury 325 and Afterburn are world-class. Fury has a view of the Charlotte skyline to the left as you ascend the lift hill, the honor of crossing state lines, and an unmatched sense of speed. Afterburn is a masterpiece invert, the pacing relentless, the batwing being superior to any cobra roll, and the last corkscrew giving an unreal whip. Intimidator is a solid hyper, my ride on it was nowhere near the overtrimmed dud I was expecting. After that, the lineup is okay at best. Nighthawk is well-landscaped, but rough and slow-loading. Carolina Cyclone has minor historical value as the first four-inversion coaster. Props to Carolina Goldrusher for actually having wood supports like the mine trains I see in the roller coaster games. Vortex is an okay stand-up, not as painful as Apocalypse and Green Lantern.

Carowinds desperately needs a great wooden or launch coaster to round out the coaster lineup and join the elite. Hurler is down there with High Roller and Thunderhawk in regards to wooden coasters - very tame, not much of a step up from Woodstock Express. Their only launch coaster has long since left for South Africa.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg
This park leads with a trio of excellent B&Ms. Alpengeist has the best theming and landscaping on any invert, enough to make up for its rough edges. Apollo's Chariot uses the terrain very well and has a great sense of speed, and Griffon delivers a great visual and psychological experience, on top of having a stunning presence. Loch Ness Monster is one of the best Arrows around, and InvadR is a finely balanced family woodie, performing GCI's twists and turns on a smaller scale. Tempesto is really fun, with the hangtime at the top, but the capacity is pitiful and generates lines longer than warranted.

Eagerly awaiting 2019 for the rumors of the next heavy-hitting coaster. Also would love to see another family coaster. Verbolten is the dud, a watered-down blitz coaster with a lame show building. Eh, it's the only blitz-style coaster in the Mid-Atlantic.

Kings Dominion
Intimidator 305 is my number one coaster. The cable lift flings you into a grand freefall drop into a course that delivers not only a sense of speed, but power. Volcano has one of my favorite launches, enough to make up for the short ride experience. Dominator has a sense of speed most loopers lack. The Grizzly has an excellent setting and a classic layout, delivering one of my favorite night rides. Rebel Yell is a landmark ride with a great view, and Avalanche is a unique family coaster, the only Mack bobsled in the US.

The conversion of Hurler into Twisted Timbers will catapult Kings Dominion into the elite of coaster parks.


And here, we have the elite parks.

Knoebels
Knoebels leads with two gold standard woodies - Phoenix with unmatched (and minimally restrained) airtime, and Twister with powerful laterals and positive G's. Both are meticulously cared for. Flying Turns is absolutely unique, buttery smooth yet out-of-control unlike fellow bobsled Avalanche. Impulse is Zierer's take on the Euro-Fighter, better than the real Euro-Fighters. Black Diamond is a change of pace - part dark ride and part coaster, I'm still counting it as a credit since RCDB does. Even Kozmo's Kurves is a bigger "kiddie" coaster than most kiddies. Not being a corporate park is a virtue here, because otherwise Phoenix would be like Wolverine Wildcat (which I have yet to ride and will not go out of my way to do so) - trimmed and with all restraints.

I don't think I could see any major new coasters added. After they revived the wooden bobsled with Flying Turns, I'd like to see them take on the wooden wild mouse next...

Six Flags Great Adventure
Great Adventure brings the heavy hitters. Kingda Ka is worth a mention just for the bragging rights. El Toro is the modern mega woodie, combining a sense of grandeur in the first half with the out-of-control feeling in the second half, all with Intamin ejector airtime, and all as smooth as wood gets thanks to Great Adventure giving it the care it deserves. Bizarro still sets the bar for the floorless coaster (and Scream is just a sad clone). Nitro is a top-class hyper, with a layout that gives you everything - a mighty drop, strong airtime hills, a great turnaround, and a powerful helix. Green Lantern has a powerful layout, probably too powerful to take standing. Their Batman installation was one of the earliest.

The family lineup is also pretty good, with Harley Quinn's Crazy Train, Runaway Mine Train, Skull Mountain, and The Dark Knight.

Can't really ask for much more. Possibly another launch coaster to complement Kingda Ka. Ideally racing/dueling/otherwise interacting like the long-defunct Lightnin' Loops and Chiller.

Hersheypark
An unbeatable trio of Intamins cements Hersheypark among the elite. Storm Runner is my top launch coaster, combining an explosive launch with some great inversions. Skyrush has the most violent ejector airtime, for better or worse (I err on the side of "better"). Fahrenheit is a step up from the Euro-Fighter style, as the beyond-vertical drop is big enough to really matter and the Norwegian loop is my single favorite inversion. Then, Lightning Racer's fly-bys alone make it a top woodie. Great Bear may be a weaker invert in my book, but its layout is unique. Their family lineup is also excellent, led by old-school woodie Comet and old-school looper sooperdooperLooper.

Weak spots? Wildcat is just okay. Though it is GCI's debut, it is completely outclassed by Lightning Racer just nearby (and Roar at Six Flags America while I'm at it is similar and in better condition). Ideally, RMC should come for it, add a little height, and retheme it to Twizzlers.

Six Flags Magic Mountain
Yes, Magic Mountain may be deficient in other areas (atmosphere and flat rides), and their coaster lineup may stink of quantity over quality in some places, but the quantity alone is unbeatable, and the quality rides are all top-shelf. X2 pushes the limits of intensity, only matched by Intimidator 305 and Skyrush. Tatsu and Riddler's Revenge are the gold standards of flying and stand-up coasters respectively. Twisted Colossus delivers a marathon ride packed with RMC's signature ejector airtime, sometimes topped off by dueling or chasing trains. Revolution is an iconic looper tucked perfectly into the hills (shame that they threw away that view when they slapped on the VR), and Viper is another iconic looper (albeit really rough by modern standards). Ninja is a masterpiece suspended, with a superior terrain layout and the speed needed to get it swinging. Full Throttle has unreal hangtime inside that loop.

Still, no park is perfect, and Magic Mountain has a few duds. Goliath is an absolutely dreadful hyper, weak until that final helix. Apocalypse is just average for a woodie, though it is themed well enough. Green Lantern left me seeing stars.
 
Last edited:
Zachary said:
Cedar Point (UPDATED)
In contrast to Carowinds, this is the best Cedar Fair park I've ever visited. Is this the holy grail of amusement parks? No. Is it a really good park? Yes. Highlights here are Maverick and Millennium Force. Only honorable mentions I have for this park are Blue Streak and GateKeeper. I have yet to ride Valravn, but I suspect it will get an honorable mention when I do. With Steel Vengeance added to their lineup in 2018 though, I think it's easy to say that this park will be gaining another highlight as well.

Valravn is definitely among Cedar Point's top coasters. It is more forceful than either Sheikra or Griffon, and its trains seem to maneuver the track more tightly. It also benefits from a slightly longer layout, and the zero-G role provides a deliciously bizarre feeling of controlled weightlessness that I've never experienced on another coaster. I rank it below Millenium Force but above Maverick and GateKeeper.

Kings Island (UPDATED)
Kings Island is in the same place as Kings Dominion in my book collection-wise. I wholeheartedly believe Kings Dominion to be the better park though. Kings Island has a solid collection, but not a great one. I don't actually have a single coaster here that I consider a highlight-worthy ride. I do however give honorable mentions go to Banshee, Beast, Bat, Diamondback, Flight of Fear, and Racer. I suspect that Mystic Timbers could be the first coaster at this park that I'd throw into the highlight category, but unfortunately I haven't gotten my ride on it yet.

Though I fell in love with The Beast, you're absolutely right- Mystic Timbers is far and away the best coaster at Kings Island. The rapid pacing, relentless ejector air, GCI glass smoothness, and surprisingly close interaction with the surrounding terrain made it one of my all-time favorite wooden coasters. It stands with The Beast as the only KI coaster I'd bother to write home about.

Since those were apparently the only coasters in your impressive review of parks you haven't experienced, I figured I'd give some perspective. Great job Zachary!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
SLC Headache said:
Carowinds desperately needs a great wooden or launch coaster to round out the coaster lineup and join the elite.

Caro had a great woodie, but they decided to rip down Thunder Road to make space for a water slide. It was the only out and back I ever preferred to Rebel Yell.
 
Back from Canada's Wonderland.

Leviathan is the star of the show, having the sense of speed and power Fury has (just less of it since this was B&M's first time building at this scale). Behemoth is best in its class, a hyper with the waterside setting of Apollo's Chariot and the forces and moves of Nitro. Vortex is incredibly powerful for a suspended coaster, the next best thing to the Big Bad Wolf, though showing its age (rougher than Ninja over at SFMM). Minebuster is a solid out-and-back woodie, comparable to Wild One except bigger, with more airtime, but rougher. Wild Beast is KD's Grizzly minus the forest - still a good ride (and smoother than Minebuster), but short of great. Wonder Mountain's Guardian executes the drop track mechanic so much better than Verbolten did, setting it up, and then the drop being big enough to be more than a jerk, but the dark-ride portion was blurry like Voyage to the Iron Reef over at Knott's.

And then there's the duds. Dragon Fire is your standard early-80s Arrow loopscrew. Bat actually didn't beat me up as badly as Flying Cobras did, maybe I got lucky with the restraints. Their Backlot is much rougher than KD's. Time Warp is the dreaded Zamperla Volare. Flight Deck is, hands down, the worst roller coaster I have ever ridden, all of the roughness the Vekoma SLC is infamous for and then some. A shame since the queue is nicely done.

New rankings, best to worst coaster-wise:
SFMM
Hershey
SFGAdv
Knoebels
KD
...
BGW
CW
Carowinds
SFoG
Knott's
...
SFA
Dorney
VF
Nick

In 2019, CW/Caro will surely jump the list. I'd have to get back to SFoG to see if Twisted Cyclone is great or just very good before re-ranking them. The pressure is on BGW to build a new flagship coaster next.
 
SLC Headache said:
Hersheypark
An unbeatable trio of Intamins cements Hersheypark among the elite. Storm Runner is my top launch coaster, combining an explosive launch with some great inversions. Skyrush has the most violent ejector airtime, for better or worse (I err on the side of "better"). Fahrenheit is a step up from the Euro-Fighter style, as the beyond-vertical drop is big enough to really matter and the Norwegian loop is my single favorite inversion. Then, Lightning Racer's fly-bys alone make it a top woodie. Great Bear may be a weaker invert in my book, but its layout is unique. Their family lineup is also excellent, led by old-school woodie Comet and old-school looper sooperdooperLooper.

Weak spots? Wildcat is just okay. Though it is GCI's debut, it is completely outclassed by Lightning Racer just nearby (and Roar at Six Flags America while I'm at it is similar and in better condition). Ideally, RMC should come for it, add a little height, and retheme it to Twizzlers.

Being a long time HP pass holder...I was always disappointed in their selection. They have no 'epic' coaster. And by that they don't really have any longer rides. Most of them are short. They all feature that 1 or 2 elements that make it special, and tend to make up for their lack of length.

They are really underrated in terms of their variety and family friendly lineup.

My personal ranking of HP coasters:
Comet
Great Bear
Skyrush
Lightning Racer (both sides)
Wildcat
Sooperdooperlooper
Storm Runner
Fahrenheight
Trailblazer
Laff Trak
Cocoa Cruizer
Sidewinder (get ride of Vekoma SLC's please)

Wildcat is a seriously underrated coaster. The way it strings elements together, and is relentless after the drop is close to unmatched IMO. It really only has 1 'tall' element after the drop (the first helix), and after that it's close to the ground twists and turns. It makes 50 MPH feel much faster than it really was.

Now I've covered this some in the HP2020 project thread, but I highly doubt that Wildcat will ever get an RMC makeover. I think that Lightning Racer is more likely. The reason: Wildcat is GCI's first ever coaster. Hersheypark is far to loyal to let that happen. What would be most likely is Hershey having GCI come in and do a 'rebuild' of Wildcat with some more modern techniques to aid in the construction.

Yes Wildcat is a tad rough, but it's not as rough as other woodies I've been on (Boulderdash before it's retracking!) but it's not a coaster you want to skip at all. It really forecasted how great GCI was going to be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wombat96 and Nicole
Zachary said:
Kennywood
Another unique (and incredible) Pennsylvania classic. Like Dorney, it has a great base collection, but it needs that one big headliner to really put it on the map. That said, I prefer Kennywood to Dorney. Highlights here are Jack Rabbit, Phantom's Revenge, and Skyrocket. Honorable mentions go to Exterminator, Racer, and Thunderbolt.

Oooooo, I'm going to have to disagree with the 'one big headliner' thing. It's Phantom's Revenge.

And for coaster guys and gals that love history this park is a major must visit because of Jack Rabbit, Racer, and Thunderbolt and their history.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
warfelg said:
Wildcat is a seriously underrated coaster.  The way it strings elements together, and is relentless after the drop is close to unmatched IMO.  It really only has 1 'tall' element after the drop (the first helix), and after that it's close to the ground twists and turns.  It makes 50 MPH feel much faster than it really was.  

Now I've covered this some in the HP2020 project thread, but I highly doubt that Wildcat will ever get an RMC makeover.  I think that Lightning Racer is more likely.  The reason: Wildcat is GCI's first ever coaster.  Hersheypark is far to loyal to let that happen.  What would be most likely is Hershey having GCI come in and do a 'rebuild' of Wildcat with some more modern techniques to aid in the construction.

Yes Wildcat is a tad rough, but it's not as rough as other woodies I've been on (Boulderdash before it's retracking!) but it's not a coaster you want to skip at all.  It really forecasted how great GCI was going to be.
To be fair, Hershey was only my first non-home (KD/BGW/SFA) park visit. I didn't have the coaster experience I have now. I will have to re-evaluate if I throw it into my 2019 PA road trip. The layout does have potential. I've heard Hershey's Wildcat was running better this year, I know SFA's Roar wasn't running as well as I remembered this year.

Since Wildcat, I've experienced rougher wood (cough, SFoG) and weaker wood (cough, Hurler and Thunderhawk).

If Lightning Racer gets the RMC, it needs to retain both stations. A Twisted Colossus treatment would mean either an ultra-marathon ride, or lopping off lots of track to make the double ride a more normal length with the two lift hills.
 
SLC Headache said:
warfelg said:
Wildcat is a seriously underrated coaster.  The way it strings elements together, and is relentless after the drop is close to unmatched IMO.  It really only has 1 'tall' element after the drop (the first helix), and after that it's close to the ground twists and turns.  It makes 50 MPH feel much faster than it really was.  

Now I've covered this some in the HP2020 project thread, but I highly doubt that Wildcat will ever get an RMC makeover.  I think that Lightning Racer is more likely.  The reason: Wildcat is GCI's first ever coaster.  Hersheypark is far to loyal to let that happen.  What would be most likely is Hershey having GCI come in and do a 'rebuild' of Wildcat with some more modern techniques to aid in the construction.

Yes Wildcat is a tad rough, but it's not as rough as other woodies I've been on (Boulderdash before it's retracking!) but it's not a coaster you want to skip at all.  It really forecasted how great GCI was going to be.
To be fair, Hershey was only my first non-home (KD/BGW/SFA) park visit. I didn't have the coaster experience I have now. I will have to re-evaluate if I throw it into my 2019 PA road trip. The layout does have potential. I've heard Hershey's Wildcat was running better this year, I know SFA's Roar wasn't running as well as I remembered this year.

Since Wildcat, I've experienced rougher wood (cough, SFoG) and weaker wood (cough, Hurler and Thunderhawk).

If Lightning Racer gets the RMC, it needs to retain both stations. A Twisted Colossus treatment would mean either an ultra-marathon ride, or lopping off lots of track to make the double ride a more normal length with the two lift hills.

Hershey and GCI have done a good amount of work to retrack Wildcat the last few years.

I think if HP goes RMC it's going to be ground up and not a rebuild.


Also (sorry about the double post) the most underrated thing about Hersheypark for me: Tracer lights on all the woodies, almost all the way around. So old school and so cool.
 
Back from Cedar Point.

The lineup is unbeatable. Millennium Force became my new number one. All the sense of speed and power of Intimidator 305 and much more re-rideable. Steel Vengeance brings RMC's ejector mastery to the grand scale. Maverick showed me what a blitz-style coaster can do, with no dead moments. An absolutely ripping first drop, and whipping Intamin transitions, with great landscaping to top it all off. (I have also gone from hating Verbolten for robbing the Mid-Atlantic of a suspended coaster, to appreciating it for giving the Mid-Atlantic its only blitz-style coaster.)

As for the supporting cast: Magnum XL-200, the original hypercoaster and actually still one of if not my top example of the genre - ejector airtime approaching Skyrush, with less thigh pain. Rougarou may be my top floorless, delivering the intensity lacking in purpose-built floorlesses. Raptor may be my top invert, the intensity of Batman on a bigger scale. Gemini was second only to Twisted Colossus in the fun I had on a twin-track coaster, and is one of the smoothest Arrows out there to boot. Valravn had better maneuvers than Griffon, but ultimately loses due to lesser presentation and those awful vests. GateKeeper is similarly marred by those restraints, but has the first drop (if you sit on the left) and the near-miss elements. Blue Streak is a decent airtime machine, with a very simple layout, and good-enough smoothness for old wood.

Weak spots? Wicked Twister wasn't my thing, the reverse twist was disorienting compared to Steel Venom / Possessed's straight spike. Iron Dragon could otherwise be a great first coaster were it not for the 48" minimum (the VR was at least better than Mind Eraser SFA's). Corkscrew is an unremarkable and janky ride. Cedar Creek Mine Ride is the jerkiest mine train coaster I've ridden. Woodstock Express is just a junior coaster, and a good enough one at that.

New rankings, and predictions:

CP
SFMM (will pull that much further ahead of Hershey with West Coast Racers - don't think I'll be making it out west again soon)
Hershey
SFGAdv
Knoebels
KD
...
BGW
CW (will jump BGW with Yukon Striker)
Carowinds (poised to jump KD and possibly Knoebels with Copperhead Strike)
SFoG (have to re-evaluate as Georgia Cyclone was converted to Twisted Cyclone, and to see if my next Goliath ride isn't as rattly - might jump on par with KD/BGW)
Knott's (will be that much closer to BGW with HangTime - don't think I'll be making it out west again soon)
...
SFA (will pull a little further ahead of Dorney, between SFA converting Apocalypse to Firebird, and Dorney having lost Stinger)
Dorney
VF
Nick (MoA)

I expect SFGAm to be between Carowinds and KD in overall quality. Gam's lineup looks to be well-rounded like SFoG's, as opposed to top-heavy like Carowinds.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: RollyCoaster
Is it okay to double post if the thread was inactive? I've got a new park under my belt: Kings Island. (I thought I hit post on this yesterday)

Kings Island brings the wood. Beast broke the mold. I only rode at night, and the sense of out-of-control speed made it feel faster than the highly controlled sense of speed from the gigas. Mystic Timbers is now my top GCI - an out-and-back that doesn't sacrifice GCI's laterals. The supernatural forbidden forest motif is enhanced by the use of real forest. Racer is well cared for, and the station is better than KD's version. Like Gemini, the split is right at the station entrance, as opposed to the very beginning, so it's easier to get your friends to race with you.

Cedar Fair made great choices with the B&Ms. Diamondback, I was wary of after Intimidator - but it is easily up there with Nitro. Nice secluded setting (in fact, most of the coasters benefit from this). Take the one good hill with endless floater from Wild Thing, and give that on every hill up to the MCBR. Banshee, I was wary of too, but it took what Alpengeist did with grand swooping maneuvers, and did it with steadier pacing and even better moves (the second roll and the pretzel loop). Threading the loop with the lift hill gives them the visual centerpiece that Son of Beast tried and failed to serve as.

The Arrows are classics of varying degrees. Vortex has a powerful first drop that beats the Loch Ness Monster's, but the course before the inversions has some nasty jarring moments. Typical Arrow inversions. Dropping into the corkscrews, as well as the batwing's half-corkscrews, is janky. It deserves a "Blue Hawk" treatment. Adventure Express sets the standard for non-Disney Mine Trains, with solid theming especially for a Cedar Fair park. Bat is noticeably smoother than Vortex CW, but falls behind due to its tricky location, and soon, Yukon Striker interacting with Vortex CW. It also says something that KI has four other coasters better than Bat, while CW only has two, soon to be three, better than their Vortex.

Invertigo is probably the best Boomerang I've experienced. Every other Boomerang I've ridden (except Stinger, RIP) left me feeling "off". Firehawk was noticeably smoother than Batwing and especially Nighthawk, and flying at night (Six Flags closes early) was amazing. But reliability was godawful - I didn't even think I had a chance of making it on as it was announced down for the day. Luckily they got it together just enough so I made it on. Flight of Fear had its queue intact (KD's is destroyed by queue line TVs) and the launch felt more powerful than FoF KD or Joker's Jinx.

In the above rankings, KI is ahead of Hershey, behind SFMM. Firehawk will most likely be surpassed by whatever B&M has to offer, and hopefully we'll still have Batwing (not to mention I didn't get spited by the ride), so I'm not too sad to see it go. Dorney losing Stinger was worse because they don't have a replacement lined up. The park will tie with SFMM if they get a dive, wing, or flying, and beat them if they get a giga.
 
Last edited:
In terms of best collection of roller coasters, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the best amusement park in the world without argument. The thing that blows my mind about MM is that all their major coasters are good-outstanding. That's rare.

But honestly, the way I like to look at this is... WHERE in the States can you do a nice little trip and get the most out of it? Pennsylvania wins hands down, every single time. Hershey, Knoebles, Dorney is such a great setup... And So easy to add onto this with SFGadv, Kennywood and all the small parks in that area. There's so much variety. So many good rides.

Whenever I'm recommending US coaster trips to people, I always say to start with the Hershey anchor!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
Ranking time again:

My only 2019 new park was Kennywood, I wanted to share the excitement of a new roller coaster opening with my father. Excellent terrain usage on all of their applicable coasters. Jack Rabbit and Racer are great family coasters, Thunderbolt is easily one of the most intense classic woodies with the drop right out of the station, though it messed up my dad's neck a bit for the rest of the day. Phantom's Revenge is almost Skyrush level ejector, my dad was afraid he'd fly right out. Steel Curtain's maneuvers set the new standard for the looping coaster, and I hope to see more rides like it. Funny story in line for Exterminator, this nasty old woman was smoking in line and blasting music, and I accidentally stepped on her foot (she was wearing flip-flops). Though they recently closed some of their historic flats, they're still far better at preservation of history than Dorney is. Too bad Sky Rocket wasn't running when I visited.

Rankings updated...
CP
SFMM (West Coast Racers opened since last visit. Possible RMC Raptor will keep it ahead of Hershey.)
Hershey (Candymonium opened since last visit. Looks promising.)
KI (Orion opened since last visit. Looks underwhelming for a giga. RIP Vortex, leaving the park without a traditional sit-down looper. Though Vortex was janky, it left behind great terrain, and I have high expectations for its replacement.)
SFGAdv (2019 visit: Bizarro was rougher than I remembered. Green Lantern was much better than I remembered. I guess I was numbed by the cold weather.)
BGW (tentative ranking based on expectations for Pantheon)
CW (Yukon Striker opened since last visit. Looks better than Griffon. Also, I just learned Minebuster is smaller than Wild One. Weird.)
Kennywood
Knoebels
Carowinds (Copperhead Strike opened since last visit. Not expecting a Maverick here, but it looks to fill the park's launch coaster role nicely.)
SFoG (Twisted Cyclone opened since last visit. Looks to be very short...)
KD (RIP Volcano)
Knott's (HangTime opened since last visit. Thankful Xcelerator wasn't scrapped after its long downtime, but I've heard Ghostrider has gotten rougher and is starting to use its MCBR again)
SFA (didn't gain any ground since converting Apocalypse to Firebird, and Dorney losing Stinger. Firebird's corkscrew is atrocious. Steel Force gave me much better rides in 2019 than in 2017)
Dorney
VF
Nick (MoA)
 
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad