Kumba

DantheCoasterman said:
Welp. There you have it. You're the only one. ;)

Good. I like to go against the grain.

Far from the only one. All dive coasters are "fun" at best. Scorpion is better. Calling Griffon vastly better than SheiKra is like saying a C is a much better grade than a C-.

Yeah, because God forbid a coaster is just fun. ;)

Count me as another person who doesn't see what all the excitement is with the B&M dive machines. At BGT I would for sure put Gwazi, Kumba and Montu ahead of Sheikra.

It would be interesting to see what the ridership numbers are for BGT's coasters. I feel like there might be some surprises.

Lord Gonchar said:
Yeah, because God forbid a coaster is just fun. ;)

I didn't even think Sheikra was fun, so it's got that against it, too. I just didn't like it at all.

Montu is my hands down favorite at BGT. I love the batwings instead of the cobra rolls on every other invert. I also love how it dives underground. Although I would rank Sheikra second at BGT. I really enjoyed it. And although I really enjoy both, I like Sheikra slightly better than Griffon as Griffon basically does the same thing twice and the viewing public can't even see the second dive whereas Sheikra's is right on the midway. I also like the theming around Sheikra.

Like the "bump" on Kumba prior to the cobra roll being the *gotcha moment* - I find the tiny airtime hill on Griffon to be it's special surprise. I would also give SheiKra a C- like Matt, but for me Griffin is a solid B. Plus it's in the most beautiful park in N. America...that never hurts.

Never said there was anything wrong with being "just fun". I just don't get why dive coasters are raved about when there are a thousand other coasters out there that are just as "just fun".

The one thing I will say about SheiKra is that it's a beautiful structure in a beautiful setting. The theming and architecture are really cool to look at. Other than diving under the bridge though, Griffon is vastly inferior in that department. Seems like BGE could do so much more to make their ride more integrated into the scenery and not just be a giant blue B&M with a big splash pool. I'm a sucker for cool theming, what can I say?

Haven't been to Tampa since SheiKra, but if I could only ride one coaster on my next trip to Williamsburg, it'd probably be Griffon.

Oddly enough, I think I'd choose that because it's 'just fun' - and that's actually a great way to describe it. So often it's, "This ride has great air" or "This ride is a classic" or "The such-and-such element is outstanding" - it's refreshing to say a ride is "just fun."

In it's purest form, I think that's what it's all about. I'm not sure why I enjoyed Griffon so much, but I did. It was just fun to ride. It makes me smile just to say that.

Nice to see being fun can get you to #15.

Andy, you're not alone. I finally rode Griffon last year, and I found Sheikra to be a better ride. They're very similar, obviously. Maybe I jut have a thing for red track. Also I got multiple rides on Sheikra, but only one on Griffon. That may play into my feelings too.

Actually, now that I think about it, that is exactly why I like Sheikra and Phoenix and a bunch of my other top coasters. They all have outstanding single elements, but it's more an overall fun factor from start to finish. Actually, I think mentally I penalize coasters that are done with the good parts after the first 10 seconds (Gio hypers, I'm looking at you).

I haven't been on Sheikra yet, but Griffon is one of my favorite coasters of all time. Like Gonch said, I can't quite say why I like it so much, except that it's just fun... and really scary. lol

obxKevin said:
Kumba is one of my all-time favorites. Shame on me for not noticing the rails have been painted.

I LOVE that coaster!!! :)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 3000 :)

Shh, don't let Raptor hear you say that. Course, I heard through the grape vine that it already feels bad because of your feelings for Silver Bullet. :)

I call some of my favorite rides "just a fun ride" in a similar sense. But to me, SheiKra and Griffon are fun rides in the sense that a typical mine train coaster is a fun ride. It doesn't do much to excite me or stand out over about 400 of the "just fun" roller coasters I've been fortunate to have ridden, but it's amusing like a tilt-a-whirl when it's convenient.

But hey, we're all different. I don't fault any of you for your opinions. Ride on. :)

I like turtles.

I prefer the ninja variety.

I can respect this entire conversation up until the (200ft tall, 90 degree drop) dive machine to mine train comparisons.

That seems a bit far-fetched...

Not at all to me. The B&M dive machine drops are so controlled. If you got catapulted over them, I would love them. The stupid holding brake ruins the thrill of dropping for me personally. I find a drop tower light years better. There is no sense of danger to me on Griffon, SheiKra or Oblivion. It's so controlled. My favorite sensation on a roller coaster is being in the back of the train and getting flung over the top of a huge drop. It's why I don't care for the front seat on many rides as you don't get that experience in the front. Seeing the track doesn't do much for me. And I love me a good mine train. Just plain fun. :)