Coaster that exceeded your expectation? [long]

Definitely PR for me too. I knew it had a unique layout, and I had heard that it had a few bunny hops and a double down (whatever that is) some where. Also heard a bit about the drop through the Thunderbolt. I was not ready for the huge drop into the ravine (which seemed a lot scarier than a normal drop on flat land) and I was NOT ready for the intense ejector that this thing attacks you with, on the back stretch.

My other surprise was Apollo. I had never ridden a hyper and AC was my first. It was closed early in the morning, so I was riding Alpie and, while it's a good coaster, I wasn't really having all that much fun on it. Once AC opened, I decided, "Okay, I'll see what these big non-looping coasters everyone's talking about are." After my first ride, I thought, "That was decent. I suppose I'll try it again." After my second ride, I thought, "That was pretty good." 15 rides later I was convinced. AC is still my #1 (only beating PR because it hurt Fabio) over MF, S:RoS SFNE, Nitro and countless others.

-----------------
A rollercoaster? What's that?

I knew Raven and Legend would be amazing, and hell, I even planned for
them to become my two favorite coasters. But, even with expectations that
high, they still were even more than I had imagined. Just unbelievable.
Now, I usually hear negative hype about coasters, and I'm expecting
something so horrible and then when I get off I'm wondering where the bad
part was at.

Son of Beast: I thought this would be horrible, but I absolutely loved it,
and it's one of my favorite woodies (there is an exception to every rule,
and I am an exception to the SoB sucks rule).

Twisted Twins: I expected nothing from these two, but they were running
great SRM morning.

Mean Streak: Definitely not a Top 10 or anything like that, but I didn't
find the ride painful, and I even rode it again.

Grizzly: When I visited PKD in 97 and 98 (it was closed in 99), I didn't
find Grizzly to be very good. But, in 2001, something had obviously
changed. I only had one ride on it in the back seat before I left the park,
and that is unfortunate, because it was awesome.

Swamp Fox: Hurricane what? I was pumped to ride the Hurricane in 2001, and
wasn't expecting much out of Swamp Fox, but it was easily the better of the
two for me. Great airtime on this ride, and a true classic.

That's all I can think of for now.

-------------
|| Jonathan Hawkins ||
http://www.starcoasters.com
Top Gun: TJC flights - Approx. 287 (101 in 2002)

For me it was the Dania Beach Hurricane. I had never been to a park of that sort before, and I wasn't expecting Hurricane to be the awesome, airtime machine it really is:). DBH will always be one of my favoirtes.
-------------
Kara (car-uh)
641 Laps
238 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer, making kids cry all day long

Road Runner Express, the family coaster, at WoA went above expectations.

Granted, the ride isn't the greatest thrill out there, but I came off the ride with a smile from ear to ear.

Lightning Racer totally exceeded my expectations. I went in thinking it would be a decent ride. It ended up being my favorite woodie and easily one of the best rides I've ever been on. Wildfire at SDC was also a surprise. It was very fast, intense, and the first drop is amazing. Thunderation, also at SDC, was another pleasant surprise. The helix into the tunnel is extremely intense. It's hard to believe it's only a mine train coaster.

-----------------
06/11/02
Photos from Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure were added plus some other small updates:
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/rollercoaster2/index.html

Blue Streak, Cornball Express, and Gemini are the ones that stand out most to me, Cornball being the most surprising. Seeing it being called a "family coaster" on their site kind of got me expecting something mild, but man was I wrong.

-----------------
HuKeD oNN fonickS dusinT wOrK"[;.

Magnum really blew me away. I still cant understand why everyone says its rough. I used to be afraid of heights, not anymore.

-----------------
It was only a fantasy, the wall was too high, as you can see, no matter how he tried he could not break free, and the worms ate into his brain.- Pink Floyd "Hey You"

California Screamin' and Ghostrider definitely exceeded my expectations the first time I rode them. I still cannot get enough of either one of them.

I definetly agree with California screamin'. I love rides with music and besides that there's a great launch and a great loop. Those bunny hills blew me away the most. They gave some great airtime. The helix at the end is very cool too. The best thing about it, no headbanging. I'd stil like the OTSRs off. But yeah, awesome ride.

-----------------
"Excitement, Adventure. A Jedi Craves Not These Things."

I never really try to go into new coasters with expectations, but there are always preconceived notions and opinions from other enthusiasts, so there are some coasters that absolutely surprised me.

1. Gemini (CP)- I hadn't heard too much about this coaster before I rode it last summer. I heard that it was "fun", but nothing beyond that. The great pops of air, and extreme headchoppers blew me away. It's my 3rd favorite coaster at the park after Raptor and Millenium Force.

2. Rugrats Runaway Reptar- Sure it's supposed to be a "family" coaster, but this thing can move. Some good laterals, and insane footchoppers. This thing suprised the heck out of me. I guess I should expect that out of a "family" coaster at PKI.

3. Cornball Express- I know it's been praised to death, but I never expected that little coaster to be so great. The airtime and laterals are so insane, but the fact that it comes from a coaster billed as a "family" coaster is the surprising thing. The way it keeps speed through the entire course and hits the brakes so hard shows you the engineering brilliance at CCI.

That's about all I can think of now. Raven and Legend go without mention because I don't think anyone can possibly expect what those coasters deliver.

-----------------
swOHman a.k.a. Brian
"Don't Look Back"

How could I have forgotten Demon at SFGAm, I used to really dislike the coaster, but I rode it in the back seat and it probably has the best first drop in the park.

-----------------
Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!

PR definately exceeded my expectations when I first rode it last year shortly after it opened. I didn't expect much for some reason, and all the hype was off this coaster after Kennywood announced it would be an "add on" to the Steel Phantom's first 2 drops. I was dissipointed as were a lot of other people but when I rode it, it blew me away. The ejector air during the 2nd half of the ride is awesome. I haven't been on any other hyper with more extreme air, although as it sounds, S:ROS at NE has more air. Definately a "sleeper" out there, and I expect it to be ranked in many of the new top 10 lists in years to come.

*** This post was edited by KPGuy on 6/19/2002. ***

In order from 4 to 1 countdown, coasters that exceeded my expectaitions:

[4]Excalibur-would a CCI ever let you down? No, but I wasn't to impresed by what I saw, the layout didn't really impress me and I had seen wilder woodies in my day. So, why not take a spin? Who would give up a ride on any CCI? Tried, result? AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about twisted, the head chopper and quick turns mixed with airtime and all were the best, it is no wonder the Legend was such a success. A wooden terrain twister is definentely my favorite type of woodie after riding Excalibur.

[3]Venus-Did you think Senyo could design another world class looper without Schwarzkopf's help? I din't think so either, but then I was wrong again. Venus was the most out of control steel coaster I have ever ridden, and it still holds that reign in my book. The laterals and intensity on this cyclone can only be topped by a woodie. I never thought a steel would be able to whip me around like this and have yet to find a challenger.

[2]Pyreenes-after riding multiple B&Ms and already being treated to Orochi, 4 Batman clones including Diavlo, Top Gun, and Raptor I didn't really expect something new or that different. Dang, was I fooled 6 times, form the half pikes, to the out of place helixes, to the unexpected. The entire ride blew me away. Orochi has my favorite vertical loop and the best cobra roll I have ever felt. It knocked Raptor and Top Gun out of the air for good. That midcourse helix is so awsome especially that high up.

[1]Boulder Dash- never thought I'd get this much fun from a moderate out and back coaster, mabye some good airtime but that was all I was expecting. The terrain ended up producing numerous massive drops, what can be called a triple up, the best laterals, and a mountain that turns a 115 foot tall cresting into a 145 foot twisted plummet. The airtime was frenzy on the run back to the station and the double bounce is a real treat. You also don't expect the last drop to be ther largest of the final run.

-----------------
Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

The Coaster at PNE surpassed every one of my small expectations. Ron Anderson always talks about this ride. Sometimes to the point of insanity, but he is right. It is the biggest gem I have yet to find that still doesn't get any kudos from the coaster community at large. I guess that is mostly due to its geopgraphy. Too bad, but hey............... I get to ride it!
-------------
We are opening for Kings X!

--Cyclops!!!!!!! -- I wonder what "the drop" was like before they removed the last car from the train.
--Top Gun (PKI) -- it looked really short, but like Raven, it delivers. I'll take it over any inverted
--Shivering Timbers. I rode the Timbers when it was about a week old, so you can understand my shock
--Thunderhawk -- I thought I was the only one.
--Big Dipper (SFWoA) -- violent airtime
--Mr. Freeze (SFStL) -- I rode it just to count it, but really enjoyed it
--Viper (SFGAm) -- what a surprise
--Sooper Dooper Looper -- fun, fun, fun
--Raven (before it was so famous)
--Disaster Transport -- it's just fun. I wish tthey'd double the length.
--CP Wildcat -- surprising fun
-------------
-Matt in Iowa
193 coasters ridden -- #1 Shivering Timbers -- 40 Laps

---

Lord Gonchar said:

Glad to see some other Thunderhawk lovers here. If they'd just lose those trims after the first bunnyhop at the end, it'd be "world class". Until those are gone it's stuck at "very good".

the worst part about that is those trims werent always there. when cedar fair took dorney over they trimmed both thunderhawk and hercules to death, killing one of them(hercules), and just slightly hindering the other(thunderhawk). but yes i do remember the days when those trims were not there, can u said A-I-R T-I-M-E! those trims feel so out of place on the ride too. your coming up on the bunny hops and ur gaining speed and just as it starts to get good, the trims kick in. such a let down. and i have to agree to, thunderhawk is a classic. not the biggest or baddest, just simply pure fun.

---

X was one that definately lived up to my expectations. In fact it surpassed my expectations by a lot. I never thought it would be a scary as it was going down that first drop in the front seat, just watching the ground come closer and closer and then a flip.

-----------------
My Top 5 Coasters: 1)X; 2)Deja Vu; 3)MF; 4)Goliath; 5)X-Flight

Magnum. CP built it in 1989, the same year that I graduated high school. I was at The Point for physics day, prom and again a few weeks after that. I knew that it was going to be a great ride, but it was even better than I expected. Hats off to Phantoms Revenge and Millennium also. The lift on MF gets the adrenaline going right away. I hope to be able to make a trip to SFMM and try the X someday, that looks like a great ride.

-----------------
The worst day at Cedar Point is better than the best day at work.

SRoS @ SFNE, this year and last year surprised me! Yes, it surprised me even AFTER I'd ridden it 8 times! I raved about it all last summer to my online coaster friends, and then when I got on this yera, I thought "It can't be as good as I've been saying" and and damn, this sucker blew me away! I was so surprised, it was BETTER than what I'd been telling my friends it was like. This ride, o baby this ride is insane.

-----------------
Why ride rough coasters when you can ride smooth ones?

I think most of the rides at Cp still suprise me even though I've grown up with them. A lot of others suprised me though too.

Apollos Chariot- didnt think B&M could make a good hyper.Thought they were just good at loopers.

Big Bad Wolf- expected an Iron Dragon but it's way more than that.

Volcano: The Blast Coaster- This one tops my list for coaster that exceeded my expectation. I just got so caught up in the hype for Hypersonic that I didn't even care for this ride before I rode it. But after riding it, it exceeded my expectation by far. We got to ride it 3 times that day, and once while it was heat lighting, that was pretty kool. (Hypersonic didn't live up to my expectation but I still like it just a tad better than Volcano.)

-----------------
Top 5:
5) S:ros Sfdl 4) Raptor 3) Apollos Chariot 2) Magnum 1) Millennium Force