Dollywood was my first as well and I felt it was the best ride there. Really excited to have one closer.
Project 2025/Caldera: Rapterra (Launched B&M Wing Coaster)
- Thread starter horsesboy
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Dollywood's was my first one as well, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Then last year I got to ride Gatekeeper. Also really fun.
I would always turn my nose up at Gatekeeper until my girlfriend (who generally doesn’t like coasters) and friend said it was their favorite ride, now I have a newfound appreciation for it. Wings really are crowd-pleasers.
gate keeper was my first wing and i was pleasantly surprised by it when i rode so im really excited to see where this is gonna end up in my top 5 cause as much as i love grizzly im a sucker for launches and theming.
Wings > Floorlesses imo. I'd rather ride the 3 wings I've done than probably every floorless except maybe SKC and even then Thunderbird is more fun than all the floorlesses imo. It's just so fun to soar along the side of the track with nothing above or below you. The near-misses just make them even better and I can't wait for X-flight in June. People crap on Wild Eagle, I'm like "ummm it's a wing coaster on mountains? No it's not the best B&M I've done but it's on mountains."
See below...
This. Without a near-miss element, it'll be a member of KD's supporting cast - all fine rides KD should be proud of but not to the level of Twisted Timbers and P305. With a near-miss element (and otherwise light theming comparable to GateKeeper), this will tie with Twisted Timbers. With heavy theming, this will be in the class with P305.
^Me trying to figure out how people rank rides before riding them.
Before it's even built
^Me trying to figure out how people rank rides before riding them.
I think there's a great chance track has been produced by now. Just checking Google Streetview captures over the years, track can generally be seen outside of the plant a year or more in advance of the ride's opening (ex. Candymonium track can be seen in April of 2019).
Hoping someone nearby can get photos soon, it's been a while since I've seen any update from there.
Lmaoooo this ride is not reaching TwT/I305 levels no matter the level of theming
If we're being real, it's probably gonna be the most popular ride and favorite of the GP. It's not fun when one of your co-workers says "oh you think that ride is one of the best in the world? Well I like "supporting coaster X" more?" At which point the conversation is worthless abort, and talk about whatever sports highlight was on TV last year.
Has there ever been a guest survey of the most popular coaster at KD. My hunch is it would be I305, despite some misgivings, though maybe Dominator or FoF could win that out.
Not every coaster needs to be, or should be, a full-on assault with slamming forces and whip transitions. I'm starting to prefer rides with more graceful and drawn-out elements.
I would put money on it that outside of enthusiasts, I305 and TT are NOT crowd favorites. Right now I'd say KD lacks a general crowd pleasing coaster.
I’d argue that Dominator and TT, and to a lesser extent Racer and Reptilian, fit squarely in the camp of crowd pleasing coaster.
This is exactly the sense I get from talking to non-enthusiast friends.
Volcano... May not have been the most reliable or even the best layout. But between the launch and inverting rollout, it's hard to find anyone that didn't like it.
This wing seems like an homage - it's got a launch, inverting elements, and B&M usually make a pretty smooth tracking coaster in general. So we'll see what happens, but my guess is it'll be a crowd-pleaser
This wing seems like an homage - it's got a launch, inverting elements, and B&M usually make a pretty smooth tracking coaster in general. So we'll see what happens, but my guess is it'll be a crowd-pleaser
Was talking to people at work about local parks, TT seems to be the favorite at KD, if they've visited since it was built. Otherwise, it was Volcano.
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