Essential coasters for the newbies, part 2

Okay, so I've ridden everything I said I would never ride since asking for advice on this, so....

Give me ALL suggestions as to coasters I should ride! :) Perhaps I will shoot for a goal of 100 coasters by age 31! My dad will likely live in Florida by the time next summer rolls around, so what are must rides on the way down to Florida/IN Florida in particular? Just this year, I rode 26 new coasters, so it's not a ridiculous goal. What do you fellow coaster junkies have for me? *** Edited 8/21/2008 2:37:56 AM UTC by bunky666***

Umm how old are you now? 100 coasters is not that lofty of a goal. I am 24 and have 57 under my belt. (24 were from this year alone. I have been busy.) And anyway, why are you relying on us to tell you what to ride? There is this handy dandy thing called the roller coaster database that should help you more than we ever could.

Tremors
Timber Terror
SCBB Giant Dipper
Puyallup Coaster
PNE Coaster
Belmont Dipper

Heck, my daughter's six and she has 65 credits (and that's nothing compared to some Buzzers' kids, I know.)

I'd love to be able to experience all that new stuff, there's not much better than an inaugural (or "credit") lap on something you've been wanting to ride.

The useful feature on rcdb that you'll find helpful is the "parks nearby" thing...it tells distance and direction, but a mapquest window or atlas will help with routes. Carowinds, Dollywood, Lake Winnie, and SFoG would make a nice extended trip down here if you're taking the western route....once you make Orlando, everything in FL is well-known and well-marked. Of course, if you prefer the easterly route, there's SFA, KD, and BGW.

Again, I will stress, go to parks, not after coasters. You need to go to Florida, Disney World, UO/IOA and BGA/SWO are must dos at some point.

Also, try to hit up some smaller parks that have a good solid old out and back coaster as their anchor. Those can be a lot of fun too.

Look at the golden tickets or favorite coasters people have rode. This topic could go on forever and some people may argue since it seems like an argument of the best coasters.

Aren't we grumpy, hoffman? I KNOW about the RCDB, HAVE known about it for awhile. However, I don't want to waste time going on stuff that stinks! I don't love coasters just for credit. And I'm 29 right now, but I didn't start really riding coasters until approximately senior year in high school, and didn't REALLY get into them until the past year or so. I was scared of a lot of them. LOL

WILLDOG, you know, I never even thought to check out Golden Ticket winners. I can't believe it! LOL That WOULD be easy, huh?

Check out Mitch's roller coaster poll. It's essentially an enthusiast poll, so whether or not all of us agree with the results, it's a pretty good average of what you're looking for.

Steel Poll Results '07

Wood Poll Results '07

Ah, Mitch's coaster poll...helps a little bit. Many of the rides are ones I've already been on or they're in Europe or halfway across the country, but I saw three or four that I could add and likely be proud to do so. :) Thanks, BB!

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bunky666 said:
... However, I don't want to waste time going on stuff that stinks!..

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I have to say that going on stuff that stinks will give you a better perspective as why other stuff doesn't stink. Education by experience is not a waste of time.

Ride everything you can, when you can. Let your opinion of what is stinky or not develope that way. Don't just go by what people say here.

I'm not saying be a credit whore. Just be open to try them all. If you don't like a certain coaster, you don't have to go back to it. And you will have something to back up your opinion.

Sorry, not out to blast you. There has been good advice here (RCDB/Mitch's/Golden Ticket) to send you on your way.

I partially dissagree with Touchdown. Go for the rides first. When that gets old, mix in other things parks have to offer to break things up. After a while you find a balance.

Clear as mud? ;)

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WildThingNative said:Ride everything you can, when you can. Let your opinion of what is stinky or not develope that way. Don't just go by what people say here.

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Excellent advice....and it applies to SO much more than amusement parks and coasters. Opinions can vary widely, so judge for yourself. But yeah, in relation specifically to the subject at hand, using Mitch's poll will give you a good starting point for what you might consider "don't miss" type of rides... :)

Of course, here's the part where I shamelessly recommend Holiday World. (But hey, it's my home park.) Given your love of El Toro, you just shouldn't pass it up. The Raven is quite possibly the most perfectly-paced coaster I've ever been on. It's a flawless symphony. (Just wish it was about 30 seconds longer!) The Legend gives the stongest laterals I've experienced (so far) and then there's The Voyage. It's near impossible give a good summary of this ride. Every time I go on it, it surprises me. Even in the same seat, each ride is different. Incredible speed and rediculous airtime. Amazingly intense, but not overpowering. It makes the other two coasters seem like a warmup and that's saying quite a lot.

And though it's not on the way to Florida, I have to suggest you visit Worlds of Fun sometime. It's a sister park (in the most literal sense) to Dorney. They only major difference is that Dorney has Hydra while WoF has a Boomerang. WoF is getting Prowler(CGI Woodie) in 2009 though! Otherwise they are ride-for-ride near identical. Given your Dorney love, I really think you'd like WoF. (I did!) But then again, you could get the "been there done that" feeling too.

Touchdown sez: ...go to parks, not after coasters.

Wildthingnative sez: I have to say that going on stuff that stinks will give you a better perspective as why other stuff doesn't stink. Education by experience is not a waste of time.

Two very excellent points and pieces of advice. I heartily concur :)

So start with Great America's Grizzly. ;)

Yeah, not to be a "me too," but I agree that being something of a credit whore has changed my perspective on what's crap and what isn't. I hated Phoenix at Knoebels the first time I rode it, made all the worse partly because many people had told me how much they loved it, and partly because they had named a Phall Phunphest after it. I'm definitely a sucker for a smooth flight whilst securely strapped into my seat (hence half of my top 10 is B&M), which is just about the opposite of Phoenix.

But since I've started actively keeping a list of coaster credits, I'm now willing to try anything at least once. And that means I approach wooden coasters differently: I go in expecting it to be rough and jarring, and if it's not -- like Ravine Flyer II -- bonus!

Or in the case of Phoenix, I anticipate that I will spend most of the ride standing straight up, with the buzz bar shoved into my pelvis, and that the toes of my shoes will be ripped up by the seat in front of me; so I'm no longer surprised by it and can instead focus on enjoying the ride. I guess you could say the Phoenix was an acquired taste for me. :D See, kids, sometimes peer pressure is a good thing.

Aside from which, Knoebels is just a great atmosphere and has some really cool flat rides. Whereas Waldameer I thought was "meh," but holy crap do I love Ravine Flyer II! *** Edited 8/21/2008 3:38:25 PM UTC by birdhombre***

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bunky666 said:
...However, I don't want to waste time going on stuff that stinks!

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Just because some of us like something quite a bit doesn't mean you will like it at all. Some people think Millennium Force is the greatest thing ever, while I could care less if I ever rode it again (IMO it stinks). And I think WDW's Space Mountain is one of the best coasters ever built, but many enthusiasts think it's lame.

Getting suggestions is useful, but you really need to research rides and parks and make an educated guess based on your experiences as to whether you will enjoy them. :)

^Seabreeze's Bobsled made my GTs as well....thanks Matt! :)

Didn't hurt that we rode in Usain Bolt's Jamaican 'sled...LOL. They're all essential...;)

I definitely would say look at Mitch's before Golden Tickets. It tends to be much more reflective of the general opinion of the community (for a variety of mathematical reasons).

coast2coaster.com is also a good resource and I know Gonch did a similar thing, but it has his own personal trips on it.

Basically, if you take coast2coaster and mitch's poll and map out the top 50 wood and steel, you'll have a great "to do" list for the next few years.

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ApolloAndy said:
coast2coaster.com is also a good resource and I know Gonch did a similar thing, but it has his own personal trips on it.

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coast2coaster seems focused on mapping coaster locations and pushing to RCDB's database. I have parks mapped out - with links to their official sites (and my pics, if applicable). I tend to be more park minded so that made more sense to me. The map includes pretty much everywhere you'd want to go in North America (and some places you probably wouldn't) - even if there's no coaster there. (yes, amusement parks, FEC's and the like can exist without a coaster :) )

I suspect either could be a good resource for trip planning.

Some people tend to work better with the visual info that a map gives as opposed to the database text info that you get from a "parks nearby" search on RCDB. The map gives some perspective, I think. And using google maps lets you see aerials of the parks as you find them on the map. To me, it's a tool that works on many levels.