Mitch's coaster poll

I love Entamin's cookies.

Their brownies are better.

Regarding I305, I think it's stellar. So I'm ecstatic that it ranked so highly in the poll, as otherwise I just couldn't justify liking it as much as I do.

ApolloAndy said:
I'm surprised that S:RoS SFA (51) placed so much lower than RoS DL (24). Is the setting at DL better? For sure. Is the ride experience that much better? Not in my book.

I didn't vote, but DL's is nowhere near as intense, fun, and enjoyable as SFA's. It's no contest.

I guess SFA's right turn off the drop makes all the difference.

I actually agree with Mike Gallagher. SFA's is seriously nuts. That third hill is still one of the best airtime hills in all of coasterdom.

As crazy as it sounds, I didn't think DL's was even close.

If anything the two should be flipped in the rankings and then SFA's bumped up a few spots.

I suspect the low ranking stems from the bad rep (undeserved at that) SFA has with people.

^SFA *did* deserve the bad rep...but that was 10 years ago. Time to let it go...LOL!

edit: A "bad" RoS still blows the ever-loving DOORS off most any other coaster out there IMO. All three have permanent spots in my top-10...

7 of the top 10 and 11 of the top 15 roller coasters weren't in the United States, I guess we are more quantity over quality when it comes to roller coasters?

I haven't ridden DL's, but I just can't get my head around one SROS being leagues better than the other. To relate, I've been on three BTRs and found them just about equal experiences. I can't imagine a ride on a fourth being considerably better or worse than the three I've been on.

So what's the difference? Is DL's slower for some reason?

No idea. But I remember being decidedly underwhelmed by DL's after having ridden SFA's the year before.

For the record, I just got back to SFA last year and still loved theirs. Maybe I need to give DL's another go.

But the gap in the poll makes me wonder as well. Why are both perceived so differently? Maes me think there has to be something there.

^I found the one at SFA to be very poorly maintained and oddly rough. I guess it's also when we ride a ride, what state it's in, etc.

Example, GA Cyclone was a top ride in 1990, just ok in 1993 and when I rode it in 2007, it was slow and a fight to not get hurt... American Eagle on the other hand, is a top 10 woodie today - but in the 1990's was slow and horribly (painfully) rough.

I can verify that I much prefer oG's Batman to the other 4 I've ridden. I never thought much of the Batmen till I rode oG's and I rank it much higher than the other 4. It's weird, I know, but it's true.

As for Sfa's Supes, even on an off day it was great. I go to that park just for that and the wood. But like bill said the park is much better than it was ten years ago.

ApolloAndy said:
I love Entamin's cookies.

The lemon coconut cake is better than some roller coasters out there.

The SROS twins spend too much time on the ground going in circles. Never cared much for either one nor found one better than the other, and I've been to both parks at least three times each to give them a fair chance (including a couple of times with Gator who never ceases to have an amazing ride on them). Phantom's Revenge blows them all away.

I'm a little nostalgic for the Darien Lake ride, because it was a hint of what was possible with Millennium Force, and Intamin's platform overall (insert guest ejecting joke here).

I've been holding back in this conversation, but I agree with AV Matt here. I don't "get" the Rides of Steel. WAY too much flat, not changing elevation parts for me to get excited about. Phantom is one-hundred times better, in my opinion.

I've never been to DL though. The park doesn't seem worth the drive for me considering I've already rode Superman at SFA.

When I am at SFA, Wild One is where all of the action is. :)

Phantom is undoubtedly better than either cloned ROS.

There's probably a couple handfuls of rides that are equal to or better than the ROS rides.

I don't uderstand why Phantom doesn't get more love. It's the best steel I've ever been on.

I've only had a couple rides on DL's version, but man, those were some fantastic rides.

A few things about Phantom's Revenge that may work to its disadvantage...

First, it frequently has a long wait. Even when it doesn't have a long wait, it has a long line.

Second, it is annoyingly short.

Third, it is actually more violent than the return run of Magnum XL-200. So the same people who de-rate Magnum for its violence will tend to de-rate Phantom's Revenge for the same reason, if they have any objective consistency of taste.

Someone mentioned that it makes sense that the BIG coasters at the BIG parks would rank high...remember that this poll, like the wood coaster poll, employs an algorithm which is intended to reduce the influence of sheer exposure on a ride's ranking. That's why these polls don't routinely put Millennium Force and The Beast at the top of the list just because they're in the highest-attended seasonal parks in the United States.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Maybe that's why Phantom is my #2 steel...because Magnum is my #1 steel.

Consistency of taste.