rides with the biggest Impact

I would have to say Magnum as well as most people on this thread had said. Magnum forever changed how coasters were being built. Now every park is trying to outdo other parks by creating taller and faster coasters.

There are a lot of good influential coasters listed above, but what about SFGAm's Iron Wolf.
It was the FIRST B&M and it put all other parks and manufacturers on notice that coasters are changing. There have been more changes and different types of coasters and elements over the last 10 years since B&M introduced Iron Wolf.

PointMan said:
"the BAT as an influential coaster!?!

How is that? Has anyone here ever road the Bat? HOw popular are suspended coasters? I strongly disagree that the Bat was an influential coaster. COnsider Switchback Railway, Magnum, Racer, Batman. The Bat doesn't even come close to the impact that any of these coasters have had."

If it wasn't for the Bat's design of suspending trains from the track, there probably wouldn't be a BBW, Top Gun(PKI), Ninja(SFMM), Vortex (PCW), XLR8, and Vampire( I think it's in England). Not to mention the inverted coasters. So I think the Bat had some impact on coaster design.

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Bill Yost a.k.a. THE BEASTmaster
www.geocities.com/byostie

Can you take me higher? (CREED)

I agree, the suspended coaster, while not my favorite, tends to be popular at the parks they are in. For example, ninja at Magic Mountain draws long lines. I also that if the suspended coaster hadn't been invented, the idea for the inverted coaster might not have come about. While there aren't too many suspendeds, inverteds are in just about every major park...

WildOne said:
"Mauchunk Scenic Railroad

I don't think the Mauchunk Scenic Railway was very influential because it didn't influence any coasters after its time. The Coney Island Switchback Railway was the first commercially designed coaster, remember The MCR was really a mine train. Coney Island Switchback Railway is what really jump started the American Amusement Industry. The Mauch Chunk was defunct by the 1850's. The next coaster was the Switchback in 1884 which caused thousands of coasters to be built over the next 30 years. The Switchback Railway was said to have made up its price in ride ticket sales in a very short time. This proved that coasters would be profitable and sparked the fire that we love today.

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www.geocities.com/coasting_ohio for Real/Defunct/mini coasters and parks for RCT

SLFAKE said:
"I was going to say Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsled (being the first of the modern tubular steel tracked coaters), but as someone said about Magnum and the 200' barrier, the same could have be said about the Matterhorn... someone would have probably invented the tubular track at some point in time..
"

The same could also be said about the airplane, the automobile, and the light bulb. In fact all of these probably had more history of gradual development and inevitability than the concept of plastic covered wheels running on tubular steel track. (Though the Wright Brothers' learning how to make banked turns was an astounding leap forward.)

If it wasn't for the Bat's design of suspending trains from the track, there probably wouldn't be a BBW, Top Gun(PKI)....Not to mention the inverted coasters. So I think the Bat had some impact on coaster design.

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I dont think that B&M could have fathomed inverted coasters without the Bat and other arrow suspended coasters. Pretty much what B&M did was take that suspended concept, put trains that were fixed to the track and used inversions. I think B&M's impact was Iron Wolf at SFGAm. That's the one that started a comeback of stand-ups and showed the public that standing up was not a gimmick.

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Steel aint better, wood forever!!

The most important coaster of all was one that I don't even know the name of. It would have been built around 1910. That coaster is whatever coaster John Miller first used underfriction wheels on. Today, there is only Leap the Dips and a few Bobsleds in the entire country that do not have underfriction wheels or some slight variation on the idea. Without the underfriction wheel, coasters just couldn't do what they do.

I'd say Stealth at PGA because Stealth was the first-ever coaster with the passanger in the flying position. No coaster designer had ever tried to attept to design a coaster with the flying position until Vekoma did with Stealth. All you guys can say that Magnum, the Beast, and Batman had the biggest impact, but they will never do what Stealth did: make an unbelivable coaster in a position that was thought to be unmakeable.

ruffryder56 said:
"I'd say Stealth at PGA because Stealth was the first-ever coaster with the passanger in the flying position. No coaster designer had ever tried to attept to design a coaster with the flying position until Vekoma did with Stealth. All you guys can say that Magnum, the Beast, and Batman had the biggest impact, but they will never do what Stealth did: make an unbelivable coaster in a position that was thought to be unmakeable."

But considering that stealth is a vrey new ride, we don't know what its impact is, yet. Right now, it looks promising with the 2 new dutchman being built, and the B&M at Alton, but for right now, we really just don't know, because it is so new.

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Don't touch the watch.

PointMan said:

"What coasters have been influenced by Kumba? maybe wildfire and Tennessee Tornado.

"

Oh yeah, Kumba was not influential at all! All it did was cement B&M as the best steel coaster company of all time (even though intamin is catching up). It also is nothing at all like:

Medusa East and West
S:KC
Wildfire
The new floorless going into that park in Spain.

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Don't touch the watch.

Neil H. said:
"I think that latley, Milenium Force. Remember when it was announced? It blew us all away. And it started the era of the giga coaster.
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RCman4"

Wow you missed both the l and n in that! Although it is the greastest ride on earth, I don't think it has really caused an impact on other rides yet. Older coasters were what made big impacts.

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We are the keepers of the sacred words, Ni!, Peng!, and Nuuuuuwwwom!

Magnum....no questions asked

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Heather Wagner
~*Shut up and Ride it*~

Cedar Point-Americas Rockin Roller Coast

It has to be SROS at SFNE. It was the first coaster we rode after arriving there to work for the summer from Scotland where there are NO coasters. Everything was fine until the train got to the top of the drop and it finally dawned on me what I had let myself in for!