People paid $1 to ride up on the incline (motorized track), then the engines were removed, and they were
sent back down the main track, with just gravity to push them along. Think of this in terms of roller coaster
stats:
Track length: 40 miles
Max. Speed: >100MPH
If anybody builds a coaster of that length, with that speed, tell me. Anyway, in 1870 the coal miners found a
shorter railway, using tunnels and steam engines. This left the Much Chuck Railway to be used
exclusively for pleasure rides. A hotel and restaurant were even built on top of the mountain, and people
would eat lunch before starting back down. (Not wise, IMHO). This 'ride' continued to operate until the 1930's
with an exemplary safety record.
Haverhill Downs:
Haverhill was the American incarnations of the French slides. These were built inside buildings (often
associated with roller-rinks) and consisted of getting into a toboggan sled with other riders, being pushed
into an elevator that was hoisted to the top of the building, you then pushed yourself out of the elevator and
onto a series of rollers. These rollers made a figure 8 path that sent you rolling quickly back and forth across
the rink, until you landed on the ground floor, next to the elevators. Ride cost: 5 cents per ride 6/25 cents.
These operated in late 19th century early 20th.
La Marcus Thompson Switchback railway:
Built is 1890,the switchback railway was the early true "roller coaster". It was built of wood, on a wooden
structure. The ride consisted of riders climbing up a flight of stairs to board the
coaster car, which was then pushed out of the station, so it went down a hill and over a few bumps until it ran
out of momentum at the other end. Then the riders would exit, and walk up a second flight of
stairs, while workers hoisted the car back up to the top of a second station, where a switch track put it in line
with an identical course in the opposite direction, the riders got back in and rode back to the first station. On
the early rides, the focus was more on sightseeing, than thrills. Thusly, the coaster cars, were a long bench,
facing out sideways, and the ride traveled at 6 MPH. It wasn't too long before someone made a U-shape
version of this that did not involve the
mid-course switchback, lastly a hoisting mechanism was added. At first these were cable ropes, and then
the familiar chain lifts. The ride we know as the roller coaster was born.
Scenic Railways:
Keeping with the original purpose of the ride, sightseeing, and the low speeds soon people got tired of just
seeing people, so the rides were built with dioramas on the sides, to make people think they were traveling
through exotic lands. Some even used crude automata. For these rides, the seats were turned to face
forward. A noticeable feature on this ride is that the brake is built into the train and not the track, and a skilled
brakeman rides with the riders, and controls speed as well as stops the train. This line of rides, grew to be
the Dark Rides.
Out and backs/ Figure 8's
Soon, track mounted brakes were developed, and the riders were sent in a train, without a staff member
controlling the speed, all brakes were then controlled by an attendant in the station. The out-and-back was,
and is still the most common type of wooden roller coaster. This is because they involve a simple layout, and
are relatively cheap to make. These were soon followed by Figure 8's which followed an 8 shaped pattern to
allow for more turns in the ride. An early example of a figure 8 exists at Lakemont Park, in Altoona, PA. This
ride is currently undergoing restoration, and we may be able to ride it in a few years. Twisters soon followed,
including the savage Traver rides. A Traver coaster was known for it's steep, curving drops and banked track,
little or no track , except brake run and lift on a Traver ride was straight. Sadly, no example of a Traver coaster
has survived/ Loop-the-Loop: Take Two
In 1898, another person tried the loop-the-loop design. Named the Flip-Flap Railway. This ride used a true
circle loop, rather than the clothoid loops used today. The ride had one problem, however, the forced in the
loop were so strong, they snapped riders necks. Not discouraged, the built the Loop-the-loop, this time with
an oval loop. Although the ride was all right from a safety standpoint, it was bad from a profit standpoint. A low
capacity ride, 4 people per 5 minutes, and bad memories of the Flip Flap Coaster kept this one out of the hall
of fame, as it were. It soon dropped out of existence.
John Miller and "safety"
John Miller was a famous coaster designer from the 1920's. He also made great strides in roller coaster
safety, including the up-stop wheel system that insures that coaster cars can't leave the track, anti-rollback
devices, and other safety devices. He is also known for his great coasters, such as the Screechin' Eagle, KW
Jack Rabbit, KW Racer and others.
Wood Coaster Mania:
Inventors try to do anything possible with wood. some worked out better than others. For example the Racing
coaster, leap-the-gap coasters (never saw a rider until the missing section was filled in), Virginia Reels
(coasters with small round tubs that could rotate as well), Ticklers (or pinball, coasters, place the round car at
the top of an inclined ' pinball' layout and let it fall, never the same ride twice) The more steady earners
however were the out-and-backs, figure 8's and Twisters.
Coaster building flourished from the turn of the century through the Roaring 20's, with an estimated 2,000
coasters in the USA alone. Every park of some size had a coaster. While these were not as intense as todays
rides, imagine having one in every major city. Sadly, this trend did not last too long, and the Great
Depression, as well as World War II, made it seem like the roller coaster fad had ended, with coasters being
demolished at an alarming rate. We came to the brink of roller-coasters being a novelty item, found in
obscure parks, or only a memory or legend to most of us.
Steel Coasters / Disney
In 1955 Disneyland opened, and the theme park era was on. While theme parks are often cited as the main
reason traditional parks are
failing, Disney helped bring a new form of the roller coaster to the national spotlight. Matterhorn Mountain,
built in 1959, it is the first tubular steel coaster, made by Arrow. The ride did not do any loops or anything
fancy, just a gradual series of dips through a mountain. This also made an unofficial line of demarcation,
immediately steel coasters were for theme parks, and wood coasters were for traditional parks.
John Allen's Racer
The 1960's were a real bad time for wood coasters. Most parks were either dismissing the coaster as a fad,
or clamoring to buy a steel one, often along the lines of Zyklons or Galaxi's.
But amidst all this John Allen kept coaster building alive by building small to medium size coasters for small
parks.
This changed in 1972 when John Allen's Racer opened at Kings Island. This was a bold move on Kings
Island's part, by showing that the wooden roller coaster was a part of the theme park experience. This
coaster is often cited for the rebirth of the wooden coaster.
Today, wood coasters have grown taller (160'), longer (7,000'+), and faster than their turn of the century
counterparts, and with
interesting designs by CCI, will be around for quite sometime.
Corkscrew:
In 1975 Arrow designed the first successful inverting roller-coaster, the Corkscrew. This ride features 2
inversions and little else, as the emphasis on the ride was more for the novelty value of going upside down.
Some parks have added a vertical loop or two to the ride. Shuttle loops (Loop-the-loop take 3)
This time they finally got it right. With steel track construction, upstop wheels, and high capacity trains, Arrow,
and Intamin were able to produce shuttle loop coasters that worked. These coasters, which were purely
designed for the novelty of going upside down became quite popular
Revolution:
The first looping continuous circuit looping roller coaster. This single loop coaster was the basis for several
other coaster designs. We next had double loops, triple loops, and multi-elements
(combinations of corkscrews, loops, and other elements that have since been invented)
Suspended Coasters:
First tried in 1982 at Kings Island, this Arrow proto-type ride had it's trains hanging down from the track to give
the effect of flying. This Kings Island prototype did not work well, but Arrow proceeded to produce several
working models. The features of a suspended coaster are cars that are free to sing to the side, as well as no
loops. Stand-Up Coasters:
Coasters designed to be ridden standing up. Originally meant as a novelty ride, making fun of the "do not
stand up" signs posted on several coasters. The first successful example is the King Cobra at Kings Island.
Inverted Coasters:
This design also uses cars that hang down from the track, but these cars are rigidly attached, and cannot
swing to the side, this allows for inversion elements.
Launched Coasters:
In the mid to late 1990's, coaster designers started experimenting with Linear Induction Motors, and Linear
Synchronous Motors as ways of eliminating the traditional lift hill. These coaster pack more
thrills into less space. They can usually launch a train from 0-50 in 4 seconds.
Floorless Coasters:
Our newest coaster play toy, these look like traditional
multi-element coasters, except the chairs sit high off the track, and the cars have no floors. Makes for a very
open feeling.
2.4 Roller Coaster Clubs
========================
Joining a coaster club is a great way to meet other people that share your interest in coasters. Many clubs offer newsletters with industry news and events where you can enjoy ERT.
2.4.1 American Coaster Enthusiasts - ACE
----------------------------------------
The American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization that was
established to promote roller coasters, and their preservation,
documentation, and information. The annual fee is $50 for an
individual. The
rate for a couple is $65. (ACE has a very loose definition of couple -- two
people living at the same address.) Family memberships (3 people at the same
address) are $70. Additional family members can be added for $5 each. Membership
includes four high-quality Rollercoaster! magazines a year and
bi-monthly
newsletters called ACE News.
Get-togethers include an annual convention and usually two or three conferences. In many cases these
events coincide with the opening of a new
roller coaster and they almost always will feature some Exclusive Ride Time.
Several parks provide free or discounted admission to ACE members.
The ACE application is available from a few places on the internet. You can
get it via ftp (in postscript format) from from elvis.rowan.edu as /pub/Coasters/ace_appl.ps.
You can also get it from ACE Web Site at
and you can now sign up online.
If you don't have ftp, World Wide Web, or a postscript printer, you can send
e-mail to ACE membership director at bpeters@aceonline.org
The slowest way is to write to:
5800 Foxridge Dr, Suite 115
Mission, KS 66202-2333
USA
Phone: (913) 262-4512
If you use something other than ftp or World Wide Web, it may take a few
weeks for the membership directory to process and send the form, so be patient.
2.4.2 Mid-Atlantic Coaster Club - MACC
--------------------------------------
The Mid-Atlantic Coaster Club is a fairly good sized regional club. It is
based out of the Virginia area, but members are welcomed from any state.
There is a monthly newsletter called The Front Seat which keeps
members up
to date on club activities, etc.
Among these activities is the annual Screamfest convention, usually held in
early Spring, as well as a late summer event called the Summer Send Off. As
usual, the highlight of these events is the exclusive ride time
available
only to club members.
The annual membership fee is only $15 for an individual, and $25 for a couple ($5 for each additional
member at the same address). For non-US and
foreign members, see the MACC web site for more information on
pricing.
For membership, please send a check (payable to Steve Thompson) to the following address:
Steve Thompson
7532 Murillo Street
Springfield, Virginia 22151
ATTN: MACC
You can also sign up online at the MACC web site:
2.4.3 Western New York Coaster Club - WNYCC
-------------------------------------------
The Western New York Coaster Club (WNYCC) is a fairly good sized regional
club. It is based in the Buffalo/Rochester area, but there are many members
from just about every state.
Meetings are held in various areas of western NY state. There is a monthly
newsletter called the Gravity Gazette that keeps members up to date on club
activities. The Gravity Gazette centers around articles written by the members themselves, giving a very
intimate, inclusive feeling to the newsletter.
Among these activities are an annual Coasterfest (usually on Memorial Day
weekend). As with events of other clubs, you can expect to get in some exclusive ride time. Most of the time
there is *at least* one dinner included in the registration fee.
The annual membership fee is only $15 for an individual and $20 for a household. Household membership
includes all persons living at the same
address.
The membership address is:
Mr. Rick Taylor
WNYCC Membership Director
4731 Forest Grove
Ft. Wayne, IN 46835
Or via email at: wild_coastr_rider@juno.com
You can also sign up and get information from the WNYCC web site:
2.4.4 European Coaster Club - ECC
---------------------------------
Coaster clubs are not confined to the U.S.! There is a club in the United
Kingdom with a bi-monthly newsletter, which keep tabs on all the coasters
across "the pond", as well as in the US. There has actually been quite a
bit going on in Europe and the U.K.
The European address is:
European Coaster Club
PO Box 2098
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 9YG
England
For US memberships:
European Coaster Club
PO Box 8994
Cranston, RI 02920-0988
USA
The membership rate, payable in check, postal order, or International money
order to FIRST DROP is:
U.K.: £18.00
Europe: £20.00
USA and Canada: $35.00
Rest of the world: £25.00
Corporate: £45.00 (UK)
£50.00 (Europe)
£65.00 (Rest of the World)
Additional family members (at same address) are £4.00 (UK, Europe) each, and $5.00 per person (USA /
Canada).
The ECC web site is at
2.4.5 National Amusement Park Historical Association - NAPHA
------------------------------------------------------------
NAPHA Is a non-profit organization formed in 1978 to preserve and display
items of amusement park memorabilia (past and present), document park history, enable people with
common interest in parks to meet and exchange
ideas, and in the future, to open the Amusement Park Historical
Society.
Membership per year is $40.00/individual or family, $40.00 for
corporate
membership (USA), and $35.00 for the institutional membership
available to
libraries, historical societies, museums, schools and other similar accredited organizations. International
rates are $55.00 individual or family,
$55.00 for corporate memberships, and $45.00 for institutional
memberships.
Check or money order can be made payable to ``N.A.P.H.A.'' Membership includes
6 newsletters/year, park discount tickets, regional meetings and gatherings,
and conventions all over the world.
For membership, write to:
National Amusement Park Historical Association
P.O. Box 83,
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056
The NAPHA web site is at
application.
2.4.6 National Carousel Association - NCA
-----------------------------------------
The National Carousel Association is a non-profit organization
dedicated to
the appreciation and conservation of the hand-carved wooden carousels. This
group is not really coaster-related, but an item of nostalgia which may be
of interest to readers.
The NCA's annual membership fee is $35.00 (Canadian and foreign
members, add
$6 for postage). Membership benefits include the quarterly magazine, the
informative Merry-Go-Roundup, a biennial census report of existing carousels
and a biennial membership listing. Memberships are based on the
calendar year
(January - December) with members receiving all publications
regardless
of the month in which they join.
Inquires for more information on the organization, or for membership requests, should be sent to:
National Carousel Association
P.O. Box 4333
Evansville, IN 47724-0333
Visit the NCA web site at
2.4.7 COASTER ENTHUSIASTS OF CANADA - CEC
-----------------------------------------
The CEC is a non-profit organization of persons interested in
Amusement &
Theme Parks, County Fair Grounds, and World's Fairs. They are
interested in
their construction, history and day to day running. The rides are the particular interest of this group, especially
roller coasters. They like to
know about their manufacturers, construction, and history; plus
collect photos,
brochures, postcards, books, and video tape.
Yearly trips, called "Scare-Me Tours", are planned to Canadian & American
cities to visit their parks and ride the best coasters. A typical total is 20
to 40 coasters.
Inquires for more information on the organization, or for membership requests, send an email to
ak621@chebucto.ns.ca
at
2.4.8 Coaster Zombies - CZ
--------------------------
Coaster Zombies are dedicated to Roller Coaster and Theme / Amusement Park
Lovers Worldwide. Coaster Zombies Club was formed to give those who travel
to distant places and go out of their way to experience Roller
Coasters a
forum of support and fellowship in which members are able to have a good time,
share views with each other and experience our favorite Amusement Parks in a
positive and upbeat manner.
There are usually several CZ events, called Invasions, each year. Invasions
usually include ERT and a meal.
Regular Membership is $15. per person. All membership periods start on Jan
1st and end December 31st.
Inquires for more information on the organization, or for membership requests, write to:
Coaster Zombies
P.O. Box 12
Arlington VA 22210-0012
or via email at steelforce@aol.com
The Coaster Zombies web page is at
2.4.9 Great Ohio Coaster Club - GOCC
------------------------------------
The Great Ohio Coaster Club is a non-profit, social organization for the simple
enjoyment of the roller coaster and amusement parks. It is based around the
Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown area but members are from all over Ohio plus 13
other states. To keep gatherings and events friendly the membership is limited
to 200 members. As of November, 1997 there were 79 active members.
Membership dues are $20.00 individual, $30.00 couple. Jon Blakemore President,
Ed Learner Vice President, Rosemarie Kusold Membership Director, Jack Stephan
Treasurer, and Brian Derbin secretary.
2.4.10 WildWest Coaster Club - WWCC
-----------------------------------
The official club for roller coaster lovers in the Southwestern US. Initially, the
club will provide members with a bi-monthly newsletter. Additionally, various
events will be scheduled each year. Membership cost is $15 for one year. Additional
members, at the same address, will be $1 each. A special Charter Membership rate of
$25 for two years is also available. Contact can also be through the Internet at:
WildWestCC@AOL.com
Make check or money order payable to WildWest Coaster Club
Send to:
WildWest Coaster Club
PO BOX 610721
DFW TX 75261-0721.
The web page for the WildWest Coaster Club is at:
2.4.11 Obsessed Roller Coaster Enthusiasts - ORCE
-------------------------------------------------
Obsessed Roller Coaster Enthusiasts is a rather new club. They started accepting
members on October 25, 1998. ORCE is different from other clubs in that there is
no cost to join. As the club grows over the next few months,
conventions will be
planned. Club benefits include a subscription to the club newsletter, admission
to club meetings at parks from coast to coast, park discounts, park maps & a lot
more!
The ORCE web site is at
2.4.12 Roller Coaster Club Of Great Britain - RCCGB
---------------------------------------------------
Founded in 1988 the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain aims to Unite Roller
Coaster enthusiasts from all over the world, help preserve Roller Coasters
endangered with closure, promote the enjoyment and safety of Roller Coasters and
rides, raise awareness of new Roller Coasters and rides, assist and encourage
parks & manufacturers to create and build, new, more daring, and exciting rides.
The Club organises regular visits to major U.K. parks with exclusive ride sessions
on rollercoasters and social events. Plus trips to parks in mainland Europe and
America. Publishes a bi-monthly newsletter 'AIRtime' and a yearbook. Makes annual
'Awards of Excellence' to parks and coasters. Offers special discounts on coaster
books, videos, clothing etc. Rounds off the year with a fun filled 'End Of Season
Ball'.
Membership of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain runs for 12 months
commencing at the beginning of February each year.
Membership fees for the period from Feb 1st.1998 to Jan. 31st.1999 are:-
(in POUNDS Sterling)
U.K. 20.00
Europe 22.50
World 25.00
Additional members can be registered for an additional 2.50 per person providing that they reside at the
same
address as the lead member. Additional members are entitled to all the same Club benefits as the lead
member
but will not receive the magazine or year-book.
To join in the fun with The Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain
Write to:
Andrew Hine,
Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain,
P.O. Box 235
Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB10 OSY, England.
E-Mail rccgb@aol.com
The RCCGB web site is at
2.4.13 The Florida Coaster Club - FCC
-------------------------------------
Florida Coaster Club Mission Statement:
"To bring together people who share the love and thrill of riding roller coasters. To
travel near and far in quest of the ultimate coaster ride...
We are in search of THE ENDLESS SUMMER OF ROLLER COASTERS!" Benefits include a quarterly
newsletter, discounted coaster trips, and perks from parks.
Single membership - $15.00/year.
Double membership - $20.00/year for two people in the same household. Out & Back membership -
$25.00/year for individuals outside of the USA.
Write to:
Florida Coaster Club
P.O. Box 320181
Cocoa Beach, FL 32932-181
Phone: 954-792-0981
Fax: 407-784-4602
The executive board members can be reached via email at
FLCoasters@aol.com
Kimber Lynch, Director
ken Lynch, VP Operations
Johnny "Zoom", Graphics
The FCC Web Site is at
2.5 Books on Roller-Coasters
=============================
2.5.1 Guide to Ride and Guide to Ride Update - often considered THE roller coaster directory, Guide to Ride
lists every major coaster operating in North America as of 1991, the Update is meant to be kept along with
the book and brings it up to 1995. Rumor has it they are working on a Guide To Ride 2000. Guide to Ride is
a publication of the American Coaster Enthusiasts and may be ordered from their website at http://www.aceonline.org.
2.5.1.1 Guide to Ride 2000 - A full update, accurate through the end of 2000.
2.5.2 The Amusement Park Guide - by Tim O'Brien often considered the park enthusiasts bible. A detailed
listing of every major and a lot of minor parks in the US. An excellent resource. Available in bookstores and
through the author.
2.5.3 The Incredible Scream Machine by Robert Carmel - considered the ultimate reference work on the history
of the roller coaster. It goes all the way back to the origins of the roller coaster, clear up to the late 1980's. A
lot of great photographs and interesting reading. Unfortunately it is also out of print. I am working on
obtaining a copy for myself, when I find a contact, I will pass it along.
2.5.4 Roller Coasters - Todd Throgmorton. A general history, checklist and general reference work on roller
coasters.
2.5.5 White Knuckle Ride - Mark Wyatt - a coffee table book full of great photographs of great coasters.
2.5.6 The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion - Steve Urbanovich. Another general introduction, reference work
on roller coasters.
2.5.7 Roller coasters - David Bennet - Yet another general reference book on roller coasters. Commonly found
in bookstore budget bins.
2.5.8 The American Roller Coaster - Scott Rutherford - A very good
book, with great historical information, and many wonderful
photographs.
These and other coaster books may be available from
Gunther Hall, LTD
P.O.Box 140
Alton Bay, NH 03810
(603)875-2248
Call for a price list.
2.6 Magazines
=============
2.6.1 Rollercoaster! - ACE's quarterly magazine. Features literary works on older coasters and amusement
parks, and information on far off coasters. Available to ACE members as part of their membership.
2.6.2 ACE News - ACE's newsletter, a magazine in itself. This is where ACE details the latest news in
coasterdom, as well as coaster event coverage. Also available to ACE members as part of their
membership.
2.6.3 Amusement Today - An excellent monthly newspaper about the
amusement park industry, worldwide. A lot of information on new developments and rides, as well as
information on the business side.
Currently $35/year write to:
Amusement Today/PO Box 5427/ Arlington, TX 76005
2.6.4 First Drop - An excellent magazine covering international coaster news. Arguably one of the best available.
It comes to ECC members as part of their membership.
2.6.5 Amusement Business - For the hard core coaster fan, this is THE industry standard weekly news
magazine for the entire amusement
industry. (Including concerts, sporting events, amusement parks, almost anything to do with entertainment
venues) This one is pricey with an annual membership costing over $100. So many packages are available
I'd suggest contacting the following for information:
Amusement Business, Subscription Dept, po box 5022, Brentwood TN 37024
2.6.6 A word on Inside Track.
Inside Track *USED* to be an excellent monthly newsmagazine for the amusement park industry. In fact it
*USED* to be very highly
regarded. However no one has seen an issue out of them in well over a year. Not that this stops the
unscrupulous editor from collecting and retaining subscription fees. They even have a website promising a
bigger and better magazine. Until I hear otherwise, I would strongly suggest avoiding this one. All of the
readers who lost their money to a No Refund Policy urge you to stay away.
2.7 Coaster Software
====================
Lately some entertainment software has come out for us coaster craved people in the off-season.
2.7.1 Coaster! - This out of print edutainment package encouraged users to use a CAD like interface to design
their own roller coaster, then a 3d-like viewer module let you ride your coaster, which was then rated by a
panel of 'coaster fanatics'
2.7.2 Theme Park - Still available from Bullfrog Software. This took Coaster a step further, lets give you a
Sim-City style interface and encourage you to design your own park.
2.7.3 Roller Coaster Tycoon - A big advancement on Theme Park. Lets let you keep your sim-city interface and
let you still design your own parks, but now lets allow for a very realistic coaster construction module. The
level of detail in this game is AMAZING! 14 different styles of coasters, scenario mode, and more entice you
to a coaster game built by a coaster fanatic for coaster fanatics to play. This was released in the Spring
of 99, and an add-on pack "Added Attractions" (Corkscrew Follies, US Market) was released in November 99, allows more rides, more features, more scenarios to keep us busy this off season. By Hasbro. Further, in September of 2000, a 2nd add-on packwas released called "Loopy Landscapes" adding even more coaster designs, scenarios, flat rides and other features to the mix.
2.7.4 Theme Park World (Sim Theme Park (US Market)) - This is the next entry in the coaster game war. Not yet
released. I will report back after I get my copy. This sequel to Theme Park is expected out in November 99.
2.7.5 Ultra Coaster - This game allows you to design coasters in 3D,
with a track and train style similar to that of the Vekoma and Arrow
loopers. You have full freedom of design, and the physics are quite
good. Can be purchased for $20 from
Literally hundreds of user-created tracks are available on the
internet, mostly on Tyler Eaves' site:
2.7.6 -Jet Coaster Dream 1 & 2 (Dreamcast) - These two games are
similar in concept to Ultra Coaster, although the physics and building
capabilities are not as well developed.
2.7.7 Roller Coaster Factory - A budget-ware game which allows you to design and ride coasters using a very crude interface. Leave this one at the store even if it is only $9.99
2.7.8 3D Ultra Thrill Ride - An edition of the Sierra 3D Ultra Pinball series, this one set in Hersheypark.
2.8 Coaster Videos
===================
For those that like to watch coasters on TV, a variety of coaster videos are available.
Chiefly:
THE RRC VIDEO PROJECT
=====================
This series started totally by accident in 1998. Mark McKenzie
decided to videotape his massive 12 parks/12 days coaster trip as a souvenir. Them he gave folks he met
along the way copies of it. Those folks convinced Mark to sell it on RRC. It was a smash hit. With a
professional editing and presentation, this will truly have you in the coaster spirit. In fact the 1998 edition has
already sold out.
In 1999 Sean Flaharty released the official Coastered 99 to rave reviews. Also that year Robb and Sarah Alvey released their first Home Movies, which totally raised the bar on RRC coaster movies to a new high standard.
In 2000 Robb and Sarah Alvey released a 2000 version, and is considered that standard by which RRC videoa are judged.
Other videographers include Tim Melago, Sue Barry, and Rob Vaccaro.
Several RRC'ers have made their own videos over the years. Watch for ads to pop up on RRC.
2.9 FTP Site
============
Posting binaries such as images, is not welcome on RRC, so courtesy of Ken Denton, we offer an FTP site
at
ftp://elvis.rowan.edu/pub/Coasters
This is an academic server so please limit your usage to after hours. EST. We are happy to report that this site is back in operation!
2.10 Other Coaster Goodies
==========================
Coaster Calendar
Roller Coaster Calendars for 2001 amay be obtained through Nancy Stillwagon at:
Gunther Hall, LTD
P.O.Box 140
Alton Bay, NH 03810
(603)875-2248
This year she has two available, one is a tribute to Crystal Beach Amusement Park, and another is a limited edition run by ACE member and phtographer John Fydyk.
Coaster Souvenirs
Most enthusiasts want some tangible memento of that big coaster ride on whats-hot-now. Popular items are
t-shirts, pins, patches, and postcards. However anything the park sells that has a park of coaster logo on it is
fair coaster souvenir material. Please be aware that not all parks sell coaster souvenirs.
Rec.roller-coaster Buttons
As with any club, rrc'ers like to be able to spot each other at
amusement parks. One inexpensive popular way of doing that is with an official RRC button. These are on
sale at a nominal cost by Chris Lucht. Just go to http://www.rrcpage.com and pick one out.
Part 3: Roller coaster Statistics and Lists
3.1 Roller Coaster Designers
============================
Wood:
Current:
Custom Coasters International
Great Coasters International
Roller Coaster Corporation of America
Intamin AG (What don't they build)
Coaster Works!
Vekoma
Past:
John F. Pierce
Michael Black
TOGO (Still into steel coasters)
International Coasters, Inc
John Allen
Harry C. Baker ***
Oscar Bitler
Bill Cobb
Charlie Dinn
Carl Fehr
T.M. Harton ***
Frank Hoover
International Amusement Device
Vernon Keenan
Edward Leis
Arthur Loof ***
Lorenz & Williams
John Miller
James Mitchell
George Moran
National Amusement Device
Charles Paige ***
Fred Pearce ***
Prior and Church
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters - (Still makes trains)
Don Rosser ***
Herb Schmeck
Amandus Sink
Curtis Summers
LaMarcus Thompson ***
Harry Traver
Aurel Vaszin
Andrew and Ed Vettel
Steel
Arrow Dynamics
Bolliger and Mabillard
Intamin
MACK
OD Hopkins
Schwarzkopf
SDC Corp
Pinfari
TOGO
Vekoma
Zamperla
Zierrer
Wisdom
Miler
Soquet
Preston
S&MC - Defunct
3.2 Roller Coaster Records
==========================
This section being reprofiled.
3.2 Coaster Records
3.2.1 - Overall Records
3.2.1.1 - Height
1) 318ft - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
2) 310ft - Millenium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio, USA (S)
3) 255ft - Fujiyama, Fugaki Highlands Park, Japan (S)
4) 235ft - Goliath, SF Magic Mountain, California, USA (S)
5) 218ft - Son Of Beast, King's Island, Ohio, USA (W)
3.2.1.2 - Longest Drop
1) 306.77ft - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
2) 310ft - Millenium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio, USA (S)
3) 255ft - Goliath, SF Magic Mountain, California, USA (S)
4) 235ft - Fujiyama, Fugaki Highlands Park, Japan (S)
5) 225ft - Desperado, Buffalo Bill's Casino, Nevada USA (S)
3.2.1.3 - Speed
1) 95mph - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
2) 92mph - Millenium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio, USA (S)
3) 84mph - Fujiyama, Fugaki Highlands Park, Japan (S)
4) 80mph - Desperado, Buffalo Bill's Casino, Nevada, USA (S)
5T) 78mph - Goliath, SF Magic Mountain, California, USA (S)
5T) 78mph - Son of Beast, King's Island, Ohio USA (W)
3.2.1.4 - Angle of First Drop
1) 85 - Ultra Twister, SF Astroworld, Texas USA (S)
2) 80 - Millienium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio USA (S)
3) 78 - Big Boom, ??? , Japan (S)
4) 70 - Superman: Ride of Steel (3),SF DarienLake, New York USA;
SF New England, Massachusetts USA; SF America, Maryland USA (S)
5) 65 - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
3.2.1.5 - Length
1) 8,133ft - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
2) 7,700ft - The Ultimate, Lightwater Valley, UK (S)
3) 7,400ft - The Beast, King's Island, Ohio USA (W)
4) 7,032ft - Son of Beast, King's Island, Ohio USA (W)
5) 6,595ft - Millenium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio USA (S)
3.2.2 - Steel Coasters
3.2.2.1 - Height
1) 318ft - Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spaland, Japan (S)
2) 310ft - Millenium Force, Cedar Point, Ohio, USA (S)
3) 255ft - Fujiyama, Fugaki Highlands Park, Japan (S)
4) 235ft - Goliath, SF Magic Mountain, California, USA (S)
5) 215ft - The Big One, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, UK (S)
3.3 ACE Coaster Classics
========================
A word on ACE Coaster Classics from their website:
The concept of Coaster Classics was developed during a period when changes in the design, equipping,
and operation of wood coasters threatened to erase these time-honored experiences and rituals. ACE
awards Coaster Classic status to coasters that still adhere to these principles that allow riders to safely
experience the thrill of the classic wooden roller coaster ride. To be eligible for Coaster Classic status, the
coaster must meet the following criteria:
The coaster must use traditional lap bars that allow riders to
experience so-called airtime, or negative G's (that sensation of floating above the seat!!). Individual, ratcheting
lap bars do not meet this requirement.
The coaster cannot use bucket seats or seat dividers. Instead, Coaster Classics allow riders to slide from
side-to-side.
Coaster Classics allow riders to view the upcoming drops and thrills. Coasters with headrests on every seat,
or the majority of seats, restrict this view and are not eligible for Coaster Classic status. On Coaster
Classics, riders are free to choose where they sit. Some parks' operating procedures assign seating; these
coasters are not eligible for Coaster Classic status.
Current Coaster Classics are:
Beastie. Paramount's Kings Island, Kings
Mills, OH USA
Big Dipper. Six Flags Ohio; Aurora, OH USA
Big Dipper. Camden; Huntington, WV USA
Blue Streak. Conneaut Lake Park;
Conneaut Lake, PA USA
Comet. Waldameer Park, Erie, PA USA
Cyclone. Lakeside; Denver, CO USA
Cyclone. Astroland; Brooklyn, NY USA
Cyclone. Williams Grove; Williams Grove, PA USA
Ghoster Coaster. Paramount's Canada's
Wonderland, Toronto, Canada
High Roller. Valleyfair!; Shakopee, MN USA
Hochschaubahn. Prater park; Vienna, Austria
Hullamvasut. Vidam park; Budapest, Hungary
Jack Rabbit. Kennywood; West Mifflin, PA USA
Kiddy Coaster. Playland; Rye, NY USA
Leap the Dips. Lakemont Park; Altoona, PA USA
Lil Dipper. Camden; Huntington, WV USA
Little Dipper. Hillcrest; Lemont, IL USA
Little Dipper. Kiddieland; Melrose, IL USA
Roller Coaster. Joyland; Wichita, KS USA
Roller Coaster. Pleasure Beach; Great
Yarmouth, Norfolk UK
Roller Coaster. Playland; Vancouver, BC Canada
Roller Coaster. Blackpool Pleasure
Beach; Blackpool, Lancashire UK
Roller Coaster. Western Washington Fair;
Puyallup, WA USA
RolloCoaster. Idlewild Park; Ligonier, PA USA
Runaway Coaster. Rotunda Amusement Park,
Folkestone, England
Rutchebanen. Bakken; Copenhagen, Denmark
Rutschebanen. Tivoli Gardens; Copenhagen, Denmark
Scenic Railway. Dreamland; Margate, Kent UK
Scenic railway. Luna Park; Melbourne, Australia
Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster.
Paramount's Carowinds, Charlotte, NC USA
Scooby Doo. Paramount's King's Dominion,
Doswell, VA USA
Sea Dragon. Wyandot Lake; Powell, OH USA
Skyliner. Lakemont; Altoona, PA USA
Teddy Bear. Stricker's Grove, Ross, OH USA
Thunderbolt. Kennywood; West Mifflin, PA USA
Vuoristorata. Linnamaki Park; Helsinki, Finland
Zach's Zoomer. Michigan's Adventure,
Muskegon, MI USA
Zipper Dipper. Blackpool Pleasure Beach;
Blackpool, Lancashire UK
3.4 Amusement Today Top Coasters Poll
=====================================
The Top 25 Wooden Coasters, as selected by Amusement Today readers:
1) Texas Giant - Six Flags Over Texas
2) Raven - Holiday World
3) Rampage - Visionland
4) Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure
5) Comet - The Great Escape
6) Phoenix - Knoebels
7) Beast - Paramount's Kings Island
8) Cyclone - Astroland (Coney Island)
9) Georgia Cyclone - Six Flags Over Georgia
10) Megaphobia Oakwood (UK)
11) Thunderbolt - Kennywood
12) Wildcat - Hersheypark
13) Ghost Rider - Knott's Berry Farm
14) Timber Wold - World's of Fun
15) Cyclone - Riverside
16) Giant Dipper - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
17) Grizzly - Paramount's Kings Dominion
18) Mean Streak - Cedar Point
19) Viper - Six Flags Great America
20) Coaster - Playland (Canada)
21) Wild One - Six Flags America
22) Jack Rabbit - Kennywood
23) Grand National - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (UK)
24) Great White - Wild Wheels Pier
25) Big Dipper - Geauga Lake
The Top 25 Steel coasters as voted by Amusement Today:
1) Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point
2) Montu - Busch Gardens Tampa
3) Steel Force - Dorney Park
4) Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Williamsburg
5) Kumba - Busch Gardens Tampa
6) Raptor - Cedar Point
7) Desperado - Buffalo Bill's Casino
8) Mind Bender - Six Flags over Georgia
9) Mamba - World's of Fun
10) Superman:Ride of Steel - Six Flags Darien Lake
11) Steel Phantom - Kennywood
12) Shockwave - Six Flags over Texas
13) Nemesis - Alton Towers (UK)
14) Raging Bull - Six Flags Great America
15) Big Bad Wolf - Busch Gardens Williamsburg
16) Medusa - Six Flags Great Adventure
17) Mindbender - Galaxyland (Canada)
18) Top Gun - Paramount's Carrowinds
19) Incredible Hulk - Islands of Adventure
20) Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Williamsburg
21) Dueling Dragons - Islands of Adventure
22) Viper - Six Flags Magic Mountain
23) Steel Eel - SeaWorld San Antonio
24) Texas Tornado - Astroworld
25) Batman The Ride - Six Flags Great America
3.5 Mitch Hawker's 2000 Internet Wooden Coaster Poll
===============================================
FINAL RESULTS: 2000 Internet Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster Poll
Tonnerre de Zeus, Shivering Timbers, and Megafobia are 1-2-3
for the second year in a row, GhostRider and Boulder Dash finished very
close together at #4 and #5, while Rampage and Tremors finish
out this year's closely contested top seven. Ten new for 2000 rides
placed in the top 45.
Surprising? - former #1 Comet finished 9th, four spots below previous
low.
Among the top five head-to-head: TdZ was preferred 7-3-1 over ST,
8-1-2 over Megafobia, 10-3-1 over GR, and 7-3-1 over BD among those riders
who had ridden both. ST was preferred 8-5-1 over Megafobia, 26-17-2 over GR,
and 22-17-3 over BD. Megafobia was preferred 7-6-1 over GR and 6-4-1 over BD.
GR was preferred to BD 19-17-3.
You may see all the head-to-head comparison numbers by downloading the
spreadsheet from the website http://www.hitchhikers.net/users/wcoaster
It is obvious how greatly personal preferences vary (or maybe how much
wood coasters can vary from day to day) when it is noted that
all but one coaster in the top thirty had at least one rider prefer it to
Shivering Timbers.
Our polltakers' favorite steel roller coaster came out 8th in the poll.
One way that could be interpreted is that the majority of riders of those
seven woodies that placed ahead of it would rather ride that woodie than
any steel coaster they have ever ridden. It is actually a little more
complex than that, but (e.g.) Tonnerre de Zeus won its' matchup with
"My Favorite Steel" 11-0-1.
I think that is remarkable considering the relative cost to the parks of
the steel rides (up to 8 times the cost of a woodie) and the fact that
some woodies still in the top 25 were designed in the 1950's, 1940's, and
even 1920's and are undoubtedly being compared to $20 million steel rides
that have been built in the last year or two.
The following results are presented in a tabular format showing 1994
through 2000 placements, giving a better feel for trends and consistencies
in the poll. When viewing this chart, one should expect a coaster's rank
to drop slightly from year to year due to additional coasters debuting in
the poll. Special attention should be paid to the RIDERS column as the
fewer the number of riders, the greater the margin of error.
Symbols:
# - no riders or no riders numerically ranked this coaster that year.
R#- <3 rider/raters (greater margin for error). (R is the Rank)
Rt- Coaster tied for rank R
S - coaster SBNO or in storage, not included in the poll that year.
x - not included on the ballot that year due to error on my part.
- - coaster was not yet built.
n - coaster new or rebuilt this year.
f - years that Wild Mouse was at Southport.
The 1993 results are not included in this chart due to the low number
of ballots received and other differences in the poll that year.
72 persons took the poll in 1994 & 1995, 104 in 1996, 130 in 1997, 141
in 1998, 150 in 1999 and 223 this year.
Total Number of Ballots = 223
Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 37.6
+--------------------------------------------- 2000 Rank
| +---------------------------------------- 1999 Rank
| | +----------------------------------- 1998 Rank
| | | +------------------------------ 1997 Rank
| | | | +------------------------- 1996 Rank
| | | | | +-------------------- 1995 Rank
| | | | | | +--------------- 1994 Rank
| | | | | | | '00POLL
V V V V V V V COASTER PARK LOC RIDERS
1 1 2 2 - - - Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 15
2 2 1 - - - - Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 92
3 3 3 1 1 - - Megafobia Oakwood UK 20
4 5t 7 - - - - GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 86
5n - - - - - - Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT 68
6 8 4 - - - - Rampage Visionland AL 57
7 4 - - - - - Tremors Silverwood ID 27
8 7 6 4 3 2 - Raven Holiday World IN 107
9 5t 5 3 2 1 1 Comet Great Escape NY 62
10 10 13 13 7 9 6 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 73
11 9 12 9 9t 6 4 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 122
12 12 11 5 4 3 3 Coaster Playland BC 34
13 11 9 16 S S S Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 8
14 18 26 11 8 - - Timber Terror Silverwood ID 31
15n - - - - - - The Legend Holiday World IN 94
16n - - - - - - Mega Zeph Jazzland LA 15
17n - - - - - - The Villain Six Flags Ohio OH 110
18 47 23 8 - - - Stampida Port Aventura ES 3
19n - - - - - - Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA 72
20 14 10 6 9t 8 2 Texas Giant SFoT TX 78
21n - - - - - - Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA 70
22# 16# - - - - - Aska Nara Dreamland JP 2
23 15 14 12 9t 15 8 Cyclone Astroland NY 70
24 13 - - - - - Twister Knoebel's PA 101
25 17 16 22 18 19 9 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 71
26 22 25 30 21 18 44 Screechin' Eagle(S) Americana OH 56
27 21 - - - - - Roar Marine World CA 47
28 24 17 15 15 10 7 Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 14
29 19 15 21 12 12 14 Grand National Blackpool UK 30
30 20 34 40 24 37 - Viper SFGAm IL 91
31 25 29 27 35 29 31 Riverside Cyclone SF New England MA 82
32n - - - - - - Hurricane Myrtle Bch Pavilion SC 20
33 30 - - - - - Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 66
34n - - - - - - Dania Bch Hurricane Dania Beach FL 8
35n - - - - - - Robin Hood Six Flags Holland NL 6
36 23 27 26 27 20 21 Cyclone Lakeside CO 49
37 29 22 - - - - Excalibur Funtown USA ME 42
38 36 21 24 14 4 12 Wild One SF America MD 67
39 27 18 14 5 - - Wildcat Hersheypark PA 119
40 34 24 17 17 7 10 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 144
41 28 20 19 16 13 - Cyclops Big Chief WI 49
42 32 - - - - - Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 68
43 26 19 10 6 5 13 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 65
44 35 30 18 S S S Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 8
45n - - - - - - The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO 47
46 70 70 58 32 34 33 The Legend Arnolds Park IA 28
47 45 42 31 19 17 29 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 57
48 39t 28 - - - - Roar SF America MD 60
49 33 33 28 - - - Zeus Big Chief WI 50
50 44 38 25 S S 18 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 59
51 31 - - - - - Silver Comet Martin's Fantasy Is. NY 44
52 42 39 41 25 26 28 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 143
53 50 54 47 41 56 30 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 100
54 49 36 20 13 - - Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 56
55 41 31 43 30 31 20 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 71
56 46 32 23 20 21 15 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 106
57 63 69 73 67 58 116# Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 28
58 55 56 52 39 54 35 Zingo Bell's OK 26
59 58 46 29 23 16 26 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 96
60 38 49 32 22 23 16 Big Dipper Six Flags Ohio OH 117
61 39t 43 38 28 22 19 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 37
62 51 51 42 29 11 11 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 163
63 37 40 33 26 24 24 Hurler Carowinds NC 46
64 71 68 56 49 49 45 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO 74
65 54 41 - - - - Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 78
66 53 37 - - - - Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 78
67 52 45 39 40 28 23 Le Monstre La Ronde QU 26
68 68 52 45 44 27 17 The Beast Kings Island OH 146
69 132 55 78 S S S Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 7
70 43 35 35 45 36 52 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 27
71 48 44 44 35 38 25 Arkansas Twister Magic Springs AR 22
72 66 47 36 31 40 34 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 99
73 59 53 53 46 50 36 Racer Kennywood PA 143
74 62 64 50 52 59 47 Skyliner Lakemont PA 76
75 56 61 69 60 72 49 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 78
76 65 75 49 42 45 53 Outlaw Adventureland IA 40
77 57 71 74 71 75 112# Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 3
78 89 79 91 86 79 68 Thunderbolt SF New England MA 79
79 61 57 57 50 48 39 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 41
80 73 72 48 53 51 93 Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 21
81 60 48 55 48 32 118# Cyclone Pleasureland UK 17
82# 69# # # # # # White Canyon Yomiuriland JP 2
83 86 77 65 59 47 48 Roller Coaster Joyland KS 24
84 74 60 46 43 41 32 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 61
85 64 103 79 S S S Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 7
86 72 73 34 37 25 22 Rutschebanen Bakken DK 3
87 75 85 66 54 54 43 Racer Kings Island OH 147
88 67 59 67 68 55 76 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 20
89 94 94 61 S S S Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 10
90t 81 86 71 69 61 71 Zippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 22
90t 91 88 82 73 87 64 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 48
92 79 65 62 61 53 92 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 25
93 83 63 54 62 43 96 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DK 5
94 85 90 68 58 57 59 Comet Hersheypark PA 125
95# 76# # # # # # White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JP 2
96# 77# # # # # # Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JP 2
97 80 62 60 38 42 41 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 107
98 84 67 77 66 65 65 Tornado Adventureland IA 40
99 78 80 76 72 68 40 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 77
100 90 78 80 63 67 63 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 76
101 99 91 102 87 97 69 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 57
102 95 66 64 34 30 - Cannonball Waterville USA AL 19
103 97 81 90 76 60 82 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 30
104 93 84 70 64 88 66 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 50
105 96 89 84 80 70 61 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 53
106 100 93 81 51 62 38 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 34
107 98 92 83 77 84 94 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 11
108 87 76 75 65 74 70 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 48
109 88 58 51 46 14# - Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 38
110 104 87 101 73 73 51 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 52
111# 113 120 63 - - - Tomahawk Port Aventura ES 2
112 106 96 89 89 80 62 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 53
113t 116 117 98 S S S Leap the Dips Lakemont PA 64
113t 107 105 105 99 89 67 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA 56
115 105f 108f 97f 95f 44f 54f Wild Mouse Southport UK 12
116 109 109 94 84 78 56 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 43
117# # 102# # S S S Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 2
118 115 97 104 82 77 57 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 41
119 103 99 85# 91 91 x Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AU 4
120 110 111 110 92 108 75 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 88
121 119 121 108 97 90 83 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 43
122# 111# 98# 114 94 82 99 Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 2
123 114 74 59 33 33 27 Predator Darien Lake NY 71
124 120t 113 92 78 69 55 Big Dipper Camden Park WV 35
125 108 104 109# 90# 53# 102# Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 3
126 117 110 100 83 101 73 Wildcat Frontier City OK 26
127 112 107 96 88 118# 119# Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 14
128 118 106 99 85 86 78 American Eagle SFGAm IL 103
129 101 - - - - - Wild Wild West Warner Bros. Movie W DE 6
130 120t 95 107 98# 103# 100# Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 7
131 125 119 117 100 85 91 Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 29
132 123 122 116 101 83 102 Pegasus de Efteling NL 5
133 122 101 95 81 71 60 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 113
134n - - - - - - Thunder Eagle Race World TN 11
135 137 112 86 79 81 46 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 90
136n - - - - - - Son of Beast Kings Island OH 92
137 124 83 87 55 35 50 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 47
138 131 128 122 114 95 111 Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AU 4
139 102 100 93 57 76 74 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 100
140 126 114 113 109 - - Pegasus Big Chief WI 50
141 136 132 120 108 96 85 Comet Waldameer PA 40
142 127 118 115 106# # # Hochschaubahn Prater Park AT 3
143 130 130 125 S S S Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 7
144 141 129 118 111 100 86 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 83
145 144 124 124 104 93 81 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 50
146 133 123 106 105 # - Antelope Gulliver's World UK 7
147 128 126 121 103 98 79 Beastie Kings Island OH 116
148 92 135 129# 107# 111# 110# Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AU 3
149 138 136 123 113 107 87 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 24
150 143 134 126 115 102 89 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 42
151 140 131 127 119 99 114 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 84
152 139 140 131 110 105 77 Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 10
153 135 115 103 73 66 42 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 162
154 146 141 133 117 - - Underground Adventureland IA 32
155 142 133 128 102 104 84 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 29
156 134 12
112 56# - - Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 24
157 129 116 111 96 92 72 Raging Wolf Bobs Six Flags Ohio OH 119
158 148# 125 88 # 39# # Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 3
159 145 139 134 116 106 113 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 11
160 150 142 132 118 110 88 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 33
161 149 138 130 112 109 80 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 20
162 147 137 119 93 63 58 Hercules Dorney Park PA 98
163 151 143 135 120 112 90 The Grizzly Great America CA 65
The following three coasters had no riders take the poll this year.
#n - - - - - - Medusa Six Flags Mexico MX 0
#n - - - - - - Magnus Colossus Terra Mitica ES 0
#n - - - - - - Regina Tobu Zoo JP 0
# # - - - - - Montezum Hopi Hari BR 0
# # # x x x x Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0
The following coasters are gone but not forgotten:
- - 8 7 S S 5 Twister Elitch Gardens CO
- - 50 37 S S 37 Wildcat Elitch Gardens CO
- 82 82 72 70 64 115# Texas Tornado Frontierland UK
69 132 55 78 S S S Thunderbolt Coney Island NY
Below, I have listed the 2000 results in more detail.
The columns listed are: RANK, COASTER NAME, PARK, LOC (two letter
abbreviation of state, province, or country), RIDERS (number of polltakers
who indicated they rode each coaster), W (head to head wins versus other
coasters), L (losses), T (ties), WinPct (winning percentage), and TiBk
(tiebreaker..head to head preferences between those coasters tied).
Special attention should again be paid to the RIDERS column when viewing
the results. In general, the rankings of those coasters with more riders
will be more likely to truly reflect the general sentiment about a coaster.
There is a * in place of a rank for coasters with <3 riders.
A blank
line has been inserted where > (2/#coasters) WinPct gaps exist.
The program was run twice. Once excluding "My Favorite Steel" to get
the results for the woodies so that they would not be affected by it,
and once including it so it could be placed amongst the woodies.
Total Number of Ballots = 223
Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 37.6
RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 15 161 0 1 0.9969
2 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 92 160 1 1 0.9907
3 Megafobia Oakwood UK 20 157 2 2 0.9814
4 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 86 158 4 0 0.9753 19
5 Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT 68 158 4 0 0.9753 17
6 Rampage Visionland AL 57 157 5 0 0.9691
7 Tremors Silverwood ID 27 153 5 1 0.9654
* My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere ** 171 156 6 1 0.9601
8 Raven Holiday World IN 107 153 7 0 0.9563
9 Comet Great Escape NY 62 152 9 1 0.9414 22
10 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 73 152 9 1 0.9414 15
11 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 122 151 9 2 0.9383
12 Coaster Playland BC 34 148 10 2 0.9313
13 Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 8 142 11 5 0.9146
14 Timber Terror Silverwood ID 31 145 13 2 0.9125
15 The Legend Holiday World IN 94 143 14 3 0.9031
16 Mega Zeph Jazzland LA 15 143 15 2 0.9000
17 The Villain Six Flags Ohio OH 110 142 16 2 0.8938
18 Stampida Port Aventura ES 3 78 8 3 0.8933
19 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA 72 140 19 3 0.8735
20 Texas Giant SFoT TX 78 139 20 2 0.8696
21 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA 70 139 20 3 0.8673
* Aska Nara Dreamland JP 2 124 16 12 0.8553
23 Cyclone Astroland NY 70 138 23 1 0.8549
24 Twister Knoebel's PA 101 137 23 2 0.8519 20
25 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 71 136 22 4 0.8519 19
26 Screechin' Eagle(S) Americana OH 56 133 25 4 0.8333
27 Roar Marine World CA 47 129 25 6 0.8250
28 Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 14 130 27 3 0.8219
29 Grand National Blackpool UK 30 128 27 6 0.8137
30 Viper SFGAm IL 91 128 31 3 0.7994 24
31 Riverside Cyclone SF New England MA 82 128 31 3 0.7994 18
32 Hurricane Myrtle Bch Pavilion SC 20 125 32 2 0.7925
33 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 66 126 32 4 0.7901
34 Dania Bch Hurricane Dania Beach FL 8 94 23 8 0.7840
35 Robin Hood Six Flags Holland NL 6 115 29 8 0.7829
36 Cyclone Lakeside CO 49 124 34 4 0.7778 14
37 Excalibur Funtown USA ME 42 125 35 2 0.7778 5
38 Wild One SF America MD 67 122 35 5 0.7685
39 Wildcat Hersheypark PA 119 122 36 4 0.7654 51
40 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 144 123 37 2 0.7654 43
41 Cyclops Big Chief WI 49 120 36 6 0.7593
42 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 68 121 38 3 0.7562
43 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 65 121 39 1 0.7547
44 Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 8 115 39 6 0.7375
45 The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO 47 114 40 6 0.7313
46 The Legend Arnolds Park IA 28 115 41 6 0.7284
47 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 57 112 47 3 0.7006
48 Roar SF America MD 60 111 47 4 0.6975
49 Zeus Big Chief WI 50 111 48 3 0.6944
50 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 59 108 51 1 0.6781
51 Silver Comet Martin's Fantasy Is. NY 44 109 52 1 0.6759
52 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 143 108 52 2 0.6728
53 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 100 106 52 3 0.6677
54 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 56 106 54 2 0.6605
55 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 71 104 53 3 0.6594
56 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 106 104 53 5 0.6574
57 Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 28 94 52 15 0.6304
58 Zingo Bell's OK 26 98 58 5 0.6242
59 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 96 100 60 2 0.6235
60 Big Dipper Six Flags Ohio OH 117 98 59 5 0.6204
61 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 37 98 60 2 0.6188
62 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 163 99 61 2 0.6173
63 Hurler Carowinds NC 46 98 61 3 0.6142
64 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO 74 97 61 2 0.6125
65 Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 78 95 60 5 0.6094
66 Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 78 95 61 4 0.6063
67 Le Monstre La Ronde QU 26 93 61 6 0.6000
68 The Beast Kings Island OH 146 91 60 11 0.5957
69 Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 7 84 55 20 0.5912
70 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 27 87 67 7 0.5621
71 Arkansas Twister Magic Springs AR 22 87 68 5 0.5594
72 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 99 88 69 5 0.5586
73 Racer Kennywood PA 143 89 71 2 0.5556
74 Skyliner Lakemont PA 76 88 71 1 0.5531
75 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 78 88 73 1 0.5463
76 Outlaw Adventureland IA 40 81 70 11 0.5340
77 Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 3 73 64 21 0.5285
78 Thunderbolt SF New England MA 79 84 75 3 0.5278
79 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 41 83 75 4 0.5247
80 Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 21 77 74 9 0.5094
81 Cyclone Pleasureland UK 17 80 79 1 0.5031
* White Canyon Yomiuriland JP 2 70 71 11 0.4967
83 Roller Coaster Joyland KS 24 71 82 7 0.4656 11
84 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 61 73 84 3 0.4656 7
85 Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 7 65 76 18 0.4654
86 Rutschebanen Bakken DK 3 67 79 6 0.4605
87 Racer Kings Island OH 147 70 85 7 0.4537
88 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 20 68 84 8 0.4500
89 Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 10 65 81 13 0.4497
90tZippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 22 65 85 10 0.4375 5 5
90tWilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 48 60 79 13 0.4375 5 5
92 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 25 66 86 8 0.4375 4 2
93 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DK 5 61 81 13 0.4355
94 Comet Hersheypark PA 125 68 90 4 0.4321
* White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JP 2 59 81 12 0.4276
* Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JP 2 58 82 12 0.4211
97 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 107 66 92 4 0.4198
98 Tornado Adventureland IA 40 63 90 9 0.4167
99 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 77 63 92 7 0.4105
100 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 76 62 93 6 0.4037
101 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 57 54 87 7 0.3885
102 Cannonball Waterville USA AL 19 56 96 8 0.3750
103 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 30 58 99 4 0.3727
104 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 50 48 90 14 0.3618
105 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 53 55 102 5 0.3549
106 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 34 55 102 3 0.3531
107 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 11 52 104 4 0.3375
108 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 48 47 96 6 0.3356
109 Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 38 51 107 3 0.3261
110 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 52 49 108 5 0.3179
* Tomahawk Port Aventura ES 2 23 53 6 0.3171
112 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 53 47 113 0 0.2938
113tLeap the Dips Lakemont PA 64 45 112 3 0.2906 14
113tRollo Coaster Idlewild PA 56 44 111 5 0.2906 14
115 Wild Mouse Southport UK 12 42 111 7 0.2844
116 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 43 40 111 9 0.2781
* Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 2 2 62 69 0.2744
118 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 41 41 114 5 0.2719
119 Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AU 4 35 109 14 0.2658
120 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 88 41 117 4 0.2654
121 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 43 39 118 3 0.2531
* Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 2 34 110 8 0.2500
123 Predator Darien Lake NY 71 38 120 4 0.2469
124 Big Dipper Camden Park WV 35 35 118 7 0.2406
125 Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 3 34 116 6 0.2372
126 Wildcat Frontier City OK 26 32 118 11 0.2329
127 Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 14 33 118 8 0.2327
128 American Eagle SFGAm IL 103 36 123 3 0.2315
129 Wild Wild West Warner Bros. Movie W DE 6 29 111 12 0.2303
130 Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 7 27 114 17 0.2247
131 Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 29 31 127 2 0.2000
132 Pegasus de Efteling NL 5 25 117 10 0.1974
133 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 113 29 128 5 0.1944
134 Thunder Eagle Race World TN 11 28 126 5 0.1918
135 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 90 27 129 6 0.1852
136 Son of Beast Kings Island OH 92 27 132 3 0.1759
137 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 47 25 130 5 0.1719
138 Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AU 4 19 123 16 0.1709
139 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 100 22 131 9 0.1636
140 Pegasus Big Chief WI 50 21 136 5 0.1451
141 Comet Waldameer PA 40 21 135 4 0.1438
142 Hochschaubahn Prater Park AT 3 19 132 5 0.1378
143 Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 7 18 133 7 0.1361
144 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 83 19 139 4 0.1296
145 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 50 17 139 6 0.1235
146 Antelope Gulliver's World UK 7 12 118 10 0.1214
147 Beastie Kings Island OH 116 18 141 3 0.1204
148 Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AU 3 9 134 15 0.1044
149 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 24 12 141 8 0.0994
150 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 42 11 135 6 0.0921
151 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 84 12 146 4 0.0864
152 Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 10 8 139 11 0.0854
153 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 162 10 148 4 0.0741
154 Underground Adventureland IA 32 7 146 9 0.0710
155 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 29 9 147 4 0.0688
156 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 24 9 148 3 0.0656
157 Raging Wolf Bobs Six Flags Ohio OH 119 8 151 3 0.0586
158 Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 3 5 141 6 0.0526
159 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 11 5 148 5 0.0475
160 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 33 3 154 3 0.0281
161 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 20 2 154 3 0.0220
162 Hercules Dorney Park PA 98 1 156 5 0.0216
163 The Grizzly Great America CA 65 0 161 1 0.0031
The five coasters below had no riders take the poll this year.
* Regina Tobu Zoo JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Magnus Colossus Terra Mitica ES 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Montezum Hopi Hari BR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Medusa Six Flags Mexico MX 0 0 0 0 0.0000
I also ran the program using only this year's riding experiences. These
results are not very meaningful as there are MANY pairings of coasters
that no rider had ridden both of this year. As you can see, our poll
respondants had ridden an average of 18.5 woodies this year. That sounds
good until it is realized that when there are only about 1/2 as many ride
experiences it causes there to be an average of less than 1/4 as many people
who had ridden each pair of coasters (this year vs. ever).
As an example of how this can affect the results, see that GhostRider has
moved ahead of Shivering Timbers. A person might assume that means that
riders preferred GR to ST this year...that is not the case as ST
still won the direct comparison. However, ST had fewer riders this year
and was compared to fewer coasters resulting in a lower WinPct and two 0-1
losses.
Therefore, I want to be very clear that the following results based on
only 2000 ride experiences have a much greater margin of error and are only
included here because they may be of some limited additional interest.
It is fair to say from these results that Rampage must have run very well
this year and the west coast Grizzly did not. It is also fair to say that
the people who indicated they had ridden Screechin' Eagle and Devil's Coach
this year could not have actually done so.
Total Number of Ballots = 223
Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 18.5
RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Rampage Visionland AL 18 109 0 4 0.9823
2 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 70 122 2 1 0.9800
3 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 46 117 2 1 0.9792
4 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 4 69 2 1 0.9653
5 Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT 67 119 5 0 0.9597
* Stampida Port Aventura ES 1 17 1 0 0.9444
7 Tremors Silverwood ID 17 106 5 3 0.9430
8 Raven Holiday World IN 95 119 9 0 0.9297
9 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 30 107 8 1 0.9267
* My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere ** 136 119 7 7 0.9211
10 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 81 113 10 0 0.9187
11 Comet Great Escape NY 26 94 8 1 0.9175
12 Coaster Playland BC 6 87 8 1 0.9115
13 Timber Terror Silverwood ID 17 100 11 3 0.8904
14 Megafobia Oakwood UK 5 21 2 2 0.8800
15 The Legend Arnolds Park IA 9 84 11 3 0.8724
16 The Villain Six Flags Ohio OH 109 110 17 2 0.8605
17 The Legend Holiday World IN 94 108 16 4 0.8594
18 Viper SFGAm IL 41 87 13 8 0.8426
19 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA 71 98 20 2 0.8250
20 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA 69 97 21 2 0.8167
21 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 48 93 22 6 0.7934
22 Mega Zeph Jazzland LA 15 84 21 6 0.7838
23 Excalibur Funtown USA ME 21 85 21 7 0.7832
24 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL 51 91 26 4 0.7686
25 Cyclone Astroland NY 22 72 21 5 0.7602
26 Twister Knoebel's PA 80 90 26 7 0.7602
27 Hurricane Myrtle Bch Pavilion SC 20 79 24 3 0.7594
28 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 26 77 23 6 0.7547
29 Riverside Cyclone SF New England MA 62 88 28 6 0.7459
30 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 3 21 7 2 0.7333
31 Wild One SF America MD 38 84 31 2 0.7265
32 Grand National Blackpool UK 5 27 8 7 0.7262
33 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 75 86 31 5 0.7254
34 Dania Bch Hurricane Dania Beach FL 8 62 21 15 0.7092
35 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 28 79 31 6 0.7069
36 Robin Hood Six Flags Holland NL 5 43 18 2 0.6984
37 Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 5 27 11 4 0.6905
38 Texas Giant SFoT TX 23 67 30 16 0.6637
39 Roar Marine World CA 31 70 33 11 0.6623
40 The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO 47 75 38 7 0.6542
41 Wildcat Hersheypark PA 67 75 40 4 0.6471
42 Silver Comet Martin's Fantasy Is. NY 13 51 27 5 0.6446
43 Hurler Carowinds NC 17 64 34 6 0.6442
44 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 15 52 28 4 0.6429
45 Zeus Big Chief WI 20 59 32 4 0.6421
46 Cyclone Lakeside CO 4 48 25 8 0.6420
47 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 64 76 41 8 0.6400
48 Roar SF America MD 38 72 42 3 0.6282
49 Cyclops Big Chief WI 20 57 33 5 0.6263
50 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 24 65 37 9 0.6261
* Zingo Bell's OK 1 5 3 0 0.6250
* Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 1 23 15 0 0.6053
53 Outlaw Adventureland IA 16 58 37 8 0.6019
54 The Beast Kings Island OH 94 71 50 5 0.5833
55 Skyliner Lakemont PA 34 60 42 9 0.5811
56 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 33 56 43 8 0.5607
57 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 73 64 50 9 0.5569
58 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 110 67 56 5 0.5430
59 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO 42 61 52 6 0.5378
60 Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 54 63 55 7 0.5320
61 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 16 47 41 14 0.5294
62 Big Dipper Six Flags Ohio OH 84 65 58 5 0.5273
63 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 39 55 49 9 0.5265
64 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 14 57 51 8 0.5259
65 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 10 37 36 6 0.5063
66 Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 57 59 59 6 0.5000 4
67 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 5 43 43 6 0.5000 0
68 Racer Kennywood PA 74 58 61 4 0.4878
69 Thunderbolt SF New England MA 55 57 60 5 0.4877
70 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 29 53 59 3 0.4739
71 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 16 47 55 4 0.4623
72 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 33 42 55 12 0.4404
73 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 31 43 58 8 0.4312
74 Racer Kings Island OH 97 51 72 5 0.4180
75 Le Monstre La Ronde QU 4 31 49 14 0.4043
76 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 11 27 44 9 0.3938
* Tomahawk Port Aventura ES 1 4 8 6 0.3889
78 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 18 36 64 13 0.3761
* Roller Coaster Joyland KS 1 14 24 0 0.3684
80 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 62 43 77 4 0.3629
81 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 32 35 65 7 0.3598
*t Wild Mouse Southport UK 1 0 2 5 0.3571 0
*t Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 1 2 4 1 0.3571 0
84 American Eagle SFGAm IL 40 32 64 9 0.3476
85 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 20 31 65 12 0.3426
86 Screechin' Eagle(S) Americana OH 3 23 46 3 0.3403
87 Tornado Adventureland IA 16 32 66 5 0.3350
88 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 14 32 67 4 0.3301
89 Cannonball Waterville USA AL 6 23 52 6 0.3210
90 Comet Hersheypark PA 66 34 77 7 0.3178
91 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 17 28 68 8 0.3077
92 Leap the Dips Lakemont PA 33 32 75 4 0.3063
93 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 14 25 66 14 0.3048
* Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 1 2 14 14 0.3000
95 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 14 27 68 7 0.2990
* Zippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 1 11 26 0 0.2973
97 Arkansas Twister Magic Springs AR 5 20 54 6 0.2875
98 Predator Darien Lake NY 28 26 73 11 0.2864
99 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 12 23 62 4 0.2809
100 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 9 24 71 10 0.2762
101 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 28 29 85 4 0.2627
102 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 5 8 28 6 0.2619
103 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 16 25 78 5 0.2546
104 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 44 26 86 7 0.2479
105 Son of Beast Kings Island OH 91 26 96 6 0.2266
106 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA 15 22 80 4 0.2264
107 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 65 26 95 5 0.2262
108 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 32 20 80 8 0.2222
109 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 15 16 70 9 0.2158
110 Thunder Eagle Race World TN 10 15 72 10 0.2062
111 Comet Waldameer PA 13 18 83 8 0.2018
*t Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 2 8 32 0 0.2000 0
113tWild Wild West Warner Bros. Movie W DE 3 11 44 0 0.2000 0
* Cyclone Pleasureland UK 2 3 20 5 0.1964
115 Underground Adventureland IA 16 17 81 5 0.1893
116 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 38 19 95 2 0.1724
117 Big Dipper Camden Park WV 8 14 79 6 0.1717
* Pegasus de Efteling NL 1 1 7 1 0.1667
119 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 8 10 63 6 0.1646
120 Beastie Kings Island OH 70 16 105 6 0.1496
121 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 22 10 89 7 0.1274
122 Pegasus Big Chief WI 18 7 66 6 0.1266
123 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 108 14 107 2 0.1220
124 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 8 9 84 6 0.1212
125 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 15 8 88 8 0.1154
126 Raging Wolf Bobs Six Flags Ohio OH 88 12 110 5 0.1142
* Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 2 0 7 2 0.1111
* Wildcat Frontier City OK 2 4 42 2 0.1042
129 Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 5 5 71 6 0.0976
130 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 14 8 91 4 0.0971
* Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 1 3 46 0 0.0612
132 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 52 5 108 4 0.0598
133 Hercules Dorney Park PA 36 3 108 2 0.0354
134 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 8 2 70 0 0.0278
135 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 4 1 57 1 0.0254
136 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 3 0 49 1 0.0100
* Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 1 0 1 0 0.0000
* Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 1 0 2 0 0.0000
* Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AU 1 0 4 0 0.0000
140 The Grizzly Great America CA 27 0 112 0 0.0000
The rest of the coasters had no polltakers ride them this year.
* Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Rutschebanen Bakken DK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Montezum Hopi Hari BR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Magnus Colossus Terra Mitica ES 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Hochschaubahn Prater Park AT 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AU 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AU 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Medusa Six Flags Mexico MX 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Aska Nara Dreamland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Regina Tobu Zoo JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* White Canyon Yomiuriland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Antelope Gulliver's World UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
For an explanation of the tabulation algorithm and much more about this
annual poll, visit the website http://www.hitchhikers.net/users/wcoaster
3.5.1 Mitch Hawker's 1999 Internet Steel Coaster Poll
===============================================
FINAL RESULTS: 1999 Internet Steel Tracked Roller Coaster Poll
115 ballots were received. The respondants averaged riding 56 of
the 209 steel coasters (and groups of coasters) on the ballot.
A difficult decision was made to exclude coasters that had less than
three riders take the poll from the official results. However, results
that do include the 27 coasters that only had 1 or 2 riders are also
provided for those interested in what those few riders thought of those
coasters. This minimum rider number for inclusion will likely be
increased in future years.
Although this poll's main purpose was to gauge opinions on steel
coasters, the result that first catches the eye is that of the category
"Favorite Wood Coaster" which placed first overall, preferred to the #1
steel coaster "Superman - Ride of Steel" 22 to 9 among those that listed
a
preference. Remarkable, especially considering that many people expressed
their reason for not participating in this steel poll as due to their
preference for the wooden rides.
New steel coasters fared very well at #'s 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12 ... with
the non-inverting steel rides faring especially well.
The top six are closely grouped with with head-to-head results as
follows: SRoS was preferred 12-11 over Montu, 18-5 over Hulk, 18-11 over
Apollo's Chariot, losing 2-3 to Nemesis and winning 10-4 over Raging Bull.
Montu ended 20-15 v. Hulk, 19-12 v. AC, 4-5 v. Nemesis, 12-7 v. RB.
Hulk ended 11-2 v. AC, 3-0 v. Nemesis, 4-11 v. RB.
Apollo's Chariot 1-6 v. Nemesis, 10-5 v. RB.
Nemesis 2-2 v. Raging Bull.
All the head-to-head information may be downloaded in spreadsheet form
from http://www.hitchhikers.net/wcoaster
Anonymized copies of all 115 ballots may also be viewed at the website
(those who ask the eternal r.r-c question "what are your favorite
coasters?"
can see 115 lists of favorites in one place).
The columns listed are: RANK, COASTER NAME, PARK, LOC (two letter
abbreviation of state, province, or country), RIDERS (number of polltakers
who indicated they rode each coaster), W (head to head wins versus other
coasters), L (losses), T (ties), WinPct (winning percentage), and TiBk
(tiebreaker..head to head preferences between those coasters tied).
Special attention should again be paid to the RIDERS column when viewing
the results. In general, the rankings of those coasters with more riders
will be more likely to truly reflect the general sentiment about a coaster.
A blank line has been inserted where > (2/#coasters) WinPct gaps exist.
Coaster names that begin with * are among the 27 removed from the official
results due to not having at least 3 rider/raters.
The program was run twice. Once excluding "Favorite Wood Coaster" to get
the results for the steelies so that they would not be affected by it,
and once including it so it could be placed amongst the steelies.
Total Number of Ballots = 115
Average # Steel Coasters Ridden = 56.0
RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere ** 97 165 2 2 0.9822
1 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags Darien L NY 39 162 2 3 0.9790
2 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL 58 163 3 2 0.9762
3 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL 50 160 4 1 0.9727
4 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA 47 161 4 3 0.9673
5 Nemesis Alton Towers UK 15 160 4 4 0.9643
6 Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL 33 157 4 4 0.9636
7 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL 59 158 8 2 0.9464
8 Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB 9 151 5 9 0.9424 3
9 Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL 49 154 8 3 0.9424 2
10 Steel Force Dorney Park PA 59 157 10 1 0.9375
11 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH 83 155 9 4 0.9345
12 Top Gun - The Jet Coa Paramount's Carowi NC 18 150 8 6 0.9329
13 Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES 4 103 7 3 0.9248
14 Olympia Looping Traveling DE 5 141 6 13 0.9219
15 Mamba Worlds of Fun MO 28 151 13 1 0.9182
16 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA 62 153 13 2 0.9167
17 Medusa Six Flags Great Ad NJ 49 150 16 0 0.9036
18 Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL 48 148 15 2 0.9030
19 Volcano, The Blast Co Paramount's Kings VA 38 150 15 3 0.9018
20 Raptor Cedar Point OH 77 149 18 1 0.8899
21 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks ** 89 145 21 2 0.8690
22 Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX 44 142 20 5 0.8653
23 Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA 44 141 20 5 0.8645
24 Rock `n' Roller Coast Disney MGM Studios FL 28 135 19 6 0.8625
25 Bullet Flamingoland UK 6 135 20 7 0.8549
26 EuroStar Traveling DE 3 123 17 12 0.8487
27 Great Bear Hersheypark PA 50 139 24 3 0.8464
28 Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 10 130 23 9 0.8302
29 Mantis Cedar Point OH 74 137 27 4 0.8274
30 Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Geo GA 21 133 27 6 0.8193
31 Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA 30 128 27 8 0.8098
32 Steel Eel Sea World Of Texas TX 20 131 32 1 0.8018
33 Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN 21 128 29 8 0.8000
34 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV 45 130 33 5 0.7887
35 Big Bad Wolf Busch Gardens Will VA 74 130 36 2 0.7798
36 Texas Tornado AstroWorld:SF TX 27 127 34 6 0.7784
37 Avalanche Blackpool P.B. UK 17 125 33 10 0.7738
38 Top Gun Paramount's Great CA 25 128 37 3 0.7708
39 Colossal Fire Dragon Lagoon UT 7 122 33 10 0.7697
40 Exterminator Kennywood Park PA 35 120 34 8 0.7654
41 Montezooma's Revenge Knott's Berry Farm CA 40 126 39 3 0.7589
42 Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN 13 114 35 8 0.7516
43 Oblivion Alton Towers UK 10 114 38 15 0.7275
44 Dragon Mountain Marineland Theme P ON 16 111 42 12 0.7091
45 Scandia Screamer Scandia Family Fun CA 21 111 45 10 0.6988
46 Gemini Cedar Point OH 82 116 50 2 0.6964
47 Chang Six Flags Kentucky KY 43 114 51 3 0.6875 11
48 Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA 48 114 51 3 0.6875 5
49 Space Mountain Disneyland CA 48 112 52 3 0.6796
50 Greezed Lightnin' AstroWorld:SF TX 32 110 51 6 0.6766
51 Thunderation Silver Dollar City MO 7 106 50 7 0.6718
52 Steel Phantom Kennywood Park PA 65 107 53 8 0.6607 28
53 Laser Dorney Park PA 60 108 54 6 0.6607 18
54 Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA 38 107 54 7 0.6577
55 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 27 106 55 7 0.6518
56 Roadrunner Express Fiesta Texas:SF TX 24 103 54 9 0.6476
57 Big One Blackpool P.B. UK 13 97 54 13 0.6311
58 Vortex Paramount's Canada ON 26 102 59 5 0.6295 8
59 Viper Six Flags Over Geo GA 38 101 58 7 0.6295 5
60 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere ** 46 102 60 5 0.6257
61 Steeplechase Blackpool P.B. UK 17 98 57 12 0.6228
62 Vortex Paramount's Carowi NC 27 97 60 8 0.6121
63 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA 75 101 64 3 0.6101
64 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 11 92 57 14 0.6074
65 Iron Wolf Six Flags Great Am IL 53 99 63 6 0.6071
66 Top Gun Paramount's Kings OH 58 98 63 6 0.6048
67 Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 84 99 64 5 0.6042
68 Canyon Blaster Grand Slam Canyon NV 40 98 65 5 0.5982
69 Mr. Freeze Six Flags Over Tex TX 30 94 63 9 0.5934
70 Shockwave Drayton Manor UK 9 90 60 16 0.5904
71 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland CA 49 95 65 8 0.5893
72 El Cascabel La Feria Chapultep MX 8 87 61 15 0.5798
73 Alpina (Himalaya Bahn Traveling DE 4 69 50 14 0.5714
74 Bobsled Seabreeze NY 17 87 65 13 0.5667
75 Matterhorn Disneyland CA 52 89 69 10 0.5595
76 Fav Jet Star II Any Park Anywhere ** 14 85 69 11 0.5485
77 Vortex Paramount's Kings OH 62 89 74 5 0.5446
78 Fav Loop. Star/S.Arr. Any Park Anywhere ** 45 88 74 4 0.5422
79 Greased Lightnin' Paramount's Great CA 23 89 75 4 0.5417
80 Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA 48 87 76 5 0.5327 20
81 Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 78 89 78 1 0.5327 12
82 Vortex Paramount's Great CA 22 85 78 4 0.5210 6
83 Adventure Express Paramount's Kings OH 57 84 77 6 0.5210 5
84 Space Invader Blackpool P.B. UK 16 81 75 12 0.5179
85 High Speed Thrill Coa Knoebels PA 48 77 78 11 0.4970
86 Sooperdooperlooper Hersheypark PA 60 79 81 6 0.4940
87 Fav Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 77 79 85 4 0.4821
88 Runaway Mountain Six Flags Over Tex TX 37 77 83 6 0.4819
89 Avalanche Paramount's Kings VA 58 77 86 5 0.4732
90 Vampire Chessington UK 8 70 83 10 0.4601
91 Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL 55 74 89 5 0.4554
92 Ultra Twister AstroWorld:SF TX 33 73 89 5 0.4521
93 Ultimate Lightwater Valley UK 9 60 80 24 0.4390
94 Drachen Fire (SBNO) Busch Gardens Will VA 51 71 92 5 0.4375
95 The Chiller-Batman Six Flags Great Ad NJ 51 67 90 10 0.4311
96 Run-A-Way Mine Train Six Flags Over Tex TX 43 69 94 3 0.4247
97 Desert Storm Castles N' Coaster AZ 5 51 73 18 0.4225
98 Excalibur Valleyfair! MN 25 64 91 12 0.4192
99 Fav City Jet/Jumbo V Any Park Anywhere ** 13 61 88 17 0.4187
100 El Diablo Port Aventura ES 4 37 54 3 0.4096
101 Fav Windstorm Any Park Anywhere ** 45 63 95 8 0.4036
102 King Cobra Paramount's Kings OH 62 64 97 6 0.4012
103 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere ** 69 63 102 3 0.3839
104 Viper Six Flags Darien L NY 42 61 100 6 0.3832
105 SkyRider Paramount's Canada ON 26 59 98 8 0.3818
106 Great American Scream Six Flags Great Ad NJ 60 62 103 3 0.3780
107 Fav JS III/Jumbo Jet Any Park Anywhere ** 30 56 102 8 0.3614
108 Shockwave Six Flags Great Am IL 54 55 104 9 0.3542
109 Jaguar Knott's Berry Farm CA 38 54 103 10 0.3533
110 Manhattan Express New York, New York NV 33 53 103 10 0.3494
111 Anaconda Paramount's Kings VA 62 54 106 8 0.3452
112 Fav Jet Star Any Park Anywhere ** 42 53 110 5 0.3304
113 Shockwave Paramount's Kings VA 61 50 108 10 0.3274
114 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ 55 52 111 4 0.3234
115 The Chiller-Robin Six Flags Great Ad NJ 48 47 107 13 0.3204
116 Le Cobra La Ronde Parc Amus QC 7 37 92 19 0.3142
117 Carolina Cyclone Paramount's Carowi NC 30 46 108 12 0.3133
118 Demon Six Flags Great Am IL 54 49 112 7 0.3125
119 Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere ** 69 46 113 7 0.2982
120 Excalibur-N AstroWorld:SF TX 19 41 109 16 0.2952
121 Orient Express Worlds of Fun MO 32 46 115 6 0.2934
122 Dragon Adventureland IA 21 43 116 7 0.2801
123 Joker's Revenge Fiesta Texas:SF TX 24 41 114 10 0.2788
124 Le Vol D' Icare Parc Asterix FR 8 35 107 19 0.2764
125 Fav Zyklon Any Park Anywhere ** 36 41 117 8 0.2711
126 Demon Paramount's Great CA 27 42 119 7 0.2708
127 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere ** 77 43 121 4 0.2679
128 Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere ** 67 43 121 3 0.2665
129 Double Loop Geauga Lake OH 38 40 121 7 0.2589
130 Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR 12 34 112 15 0.2578
131 Red Devil Ghost Town in the NC 10 35 116 12 0.2515
132 Goldrusher Paramount's Carowi NC 31 37 121 8 0.2470
133 Mr. Freeze Six Flags St. Loui MO 25 33 118 14 0.2424
134 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere ** 83 37 124 7 0.2411
135 Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA 38 37 124 5 0.2380
136 Dragon Fire Paramount's Canada ON 29 36 123 6 0.2364
137 Joker's Jinx Six Flags America MD 29 33 121 11 0.2333
138 Poltergeist Fiesta Texas:SF TX 17 35 124 4 0.2270
139 Dahlonega Mine Train Six Flags Over Geo GA 40 31 131 4 0.1988
140 Gold Mine Drayton Manor UK 8 26 127 11 0.1921
141 Ripsaw Knott's Camp Snoop MN 25 28 134 6 0.1845
142 Runaway Train Six Flags Great Ad NJ 58 27 134 6 0.1796
143 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings OH 43 25 131 8 0.1768
144 Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point OH 80 26 137 5 0.1696
145 Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA 45 25 136 6 0.1677
146 Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere ** 58 24 138 6 0.1607
147 River King Mine Train Six Flags St. Loui MO 43 22 136 7 0.1545
148 Gold Rusher Six Flags Magic Mo CA 43 22 139 7 0.1518
149 Mayan Mindbender AstroWorld:SF TX 30 21 139 6 0.1446
150 Gouderix Parc Asterix FR 9 12 132 24 0.1429
151 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH 79 20 142 6 0.1369
152 Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere ** 23 19 141 6 0.1325
153 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere ** 36 18 142 8 0.1310
154 Fav Flitzer Any Park Anywhere ** 25 18 143 7 0.1280
155 Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO 39 18 141 5 0.1250
156 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings VA 51 17 144 6 0.1198
157 Batman The Escape AstroWorld:SF TX 32 16 144 6 0.1145
158 Steamin' Demon Great Escape Fun P NY 32 15 148 4 0.1018
159 Quantum Loop Seabreeze NY 12 12 144 8 0.0976
160 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 59 13 154 1 0.0804
161 Fav Arrow Shuttle Any Park Anywhere ** 54 10 153 5 0.0744
162 XLR-8 AstroWorld:SF TX 32 10 153 4 0.0719
163 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 79 11 155 2 0.0714
164 Trailblazer Hersheypark PA 62 8 152 6 0.0663
165 Viper Six Flags Great Ad NJ 51 5 159 2 0.0361
166 High Roller Stratosphere Tower NV 20 4 160 1 0.0273
167 Santa Monica West Coa Pacific Park CA 18 3 161 2 0.0241
168 Windjammer Knott's Berry Farm CA 34 1 166 0 0.0060
169 Flashback Six Flags Magic Mo CA 42 0 168 0 0.0000
* Tornado Parque de Atraccio ES 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Lethal Weapon Pursuit WB Movie World D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Space Center Phantasialand D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Colorado Adventure Phantasialand D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Schweizer Bobbahn Heide Park D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Grottenblitz Heide Park DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Big Loop Heide Park D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Swiss Bobsleigh Run Europa-Park D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Fujiyama Fujikyu HighLand JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *MoonsaltScramble Fujikyu HighLand J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *LinearGale Kourakuen J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Orochi Osaka Expoland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Pyrenees Parque Espania JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Mad Cobra Suzuka Circuit JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Bandit Yomiuri Land J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Surf Coaster Hakkeijima Sea Par J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Titan Space World J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Venus Space World J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Hayabusa Summerland J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Big Thunder Mountain Tokyo Disneyland J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland J 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Big Boom Nasu Highland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Eagle's Fortress Everland KR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Vogel Rok Efteling N 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Lisebergbanan Liseberg S 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Jetline Tivoli Gr"na Lund S 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Euro-Stat Europa-Park D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Euro-Mir Europa-Park D 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Monte Makaya Terra Encantada BR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Turbine (aka sirocco) Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Colorado Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Revolution Bobbejaanland B 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Airrace Bobbejaanland B 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Thunderbolt Dreamworld A 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Tower of Terror Dreamworld A 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Millennium Fantasy Island UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere * 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Mach 3 Flamingoland U 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tornado M & D's UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *Crazy Loop Pleasure Island U 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* *X:\No Way Out Thorpe Park U 0 0 0 0 0.0000
Below are the results including even the rides that had only 1 or 2
riders take the poll.
Total Number of Ballots = 115
Average # Steel Coasters Ridden = 57.2
RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Euro-Mir Europa-Park DE 2 150 2 2 0.9805
2 Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere ** 97 188 4 2 0.9742
3 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags Darien L NY 39 180 4 4 0.9681 12
4 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL 58 181 5 2 0.9681 11
5 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL 50 173 5 2 0.9667
* Mach 3 Flamingoland UK 1 130 5 0 0.9630
7 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA 47 169 5 4 0.9607
8 Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL 33 162 5 4 0.9591
9 Nemesis Alton Towers UK 15 184 6 6 0.9541
10 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL 59 177 10 2 0.9418
11 Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB 9 168 7 10 0.9351
12 Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL 49 166 10 4 0.9333
13 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH 83 174 11 5 0.9289
14 Top Gun - The Jet Coa Paramount's Carowi NC 18 163 10 6 0.9274
15 Steel Force Dorney Park PA 59 162 13 1 0.9233
16 Olympia Looping Traveling DE 5 164 7 15 0.9220
17 Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES 4 104 7 4 0.9217
* Euro-Stat Europa-Park DE 2 136 8 11 0.9129
19 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA 62 161 15 2 0.9101
20 Mamba Worlds of Fun MO 28 166 16 1 0.9098
21 Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL 48 161 17 2 0.9000
22 Volcano, The Blast Co Paramount's Kings VA 38 167 19 3 0.8915
23 Medusa Six Flags Great Ad NJ 49 154 19 0 0.8902
24 Raptor Cedar Point OH 77 166 22 1 0.8810
25 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks ** 89 162 24 3 0.8651
26 Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX 44 160 23 5 0.8644
27 Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA 44 158 23 6 0.8610
28 Rock `n' Roller Coast Disney MGM Studios FL 28 138 20 6 0.8598
29 Bullet Flamingoland UK 6 150 22 7 0.8575
30 EuroStar Traveling DE 3 135 18 13 0.8524
* Revolution Bobbejaanland BE 1 28 5 0 0.8485
32 Great Bear Hersheypark PA 50 146 27 3 0.8381
33 Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 10 140 26 9 0.8257
34 Mantis Cedar Point OH 74 144 30 4 0.8202
35 Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA 30 132 30 8 0.8000
36 Steel Eel Sea World Of Texas TX 20 143 36 1 0.7972
37 Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN 21 132 32 8 0.7907
38 Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Geo GA 21 142 37 6 0.7838
39 Big Bad Wolf Busch Gardens Will VA 74 144 40 2 0.7796
40 Texas Tornado AstroWorld:SF TX 27 141 38 6 0.7784
41 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV 45 143 39 5 0.7781
* Vogel Rok Efteling NL 1 27 8 0 0.7714
43 Colossal Fire Dragon Lagoon UT 7 137 37 12 0.7688
44 Top Gun Paramount's Great CA 25 133 40 3 0.7642
45 Exterminator Kennywood Park PA 35 121 35 8 0.7622
46 Montezooma's Revenge Knott's Berry Farm CA 40 139 43 5 0.7567
47 Oblivion Alton Towers UK 10 126 40 17 0.7350
48 Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN 13 116 40 8 0.7317
49 Avalanche Blackpool P.B. UK 17 136 46 13 0.7308
* Bandit Yomiuri Land JP 1 96 38 0 0.7164
* Lisebergbanan Liseberg SE 1 95 40 0 0.7037
52 Scandia Screamer Scandia Family Fun CA 21 125 49 13 0.7032
53 Gemini Cedar Point OH 82 130 54 4 0.7021
54 Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA 48 126 55 5 0.6909
55 Greezed Lightnin' AstroWorld:SF TX 32 122 55 8 0.6811
56 Laser Dorney Park PA 60 123 58 8 0.6720
* Titan Space World JP 2 85 39 11 0.6704
58 Chang Six Flags Kentucky KY 43 122 60 4 0.6667
59 Dragon Mountain Marineland Theme P ON 16 114 54 13 0.6657
60 Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA 38 115 57 7 0.6620
61 Space Mountain Disneyland CA 48 120 61 4 0.6595
62 Thunderation Silver Dollar City MO 7 108 55 7 0.6559
63 Roadrunner Express Fiesta Texas:SF TX 24 113 60 11 0.6440
* Jetline Tivoli Gr"na Lund SE 1 86 48 0 0.6418
65 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 27 118 64 13 0.6385
66 Steel Phantom Kennywood Park PA 65 112 64 9 0.6297
67 Vortex Paramount's Canada ON 26 104 64 5 0.6156
* MoonsaltScramble Fujikyu HighLand JP 1 83 52 0 0.6148
69 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere ** 46 104 65 5 0.6121
70 Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 84 113 70 9 0.6120
71 Steeplechase Blackpool P.B. UK 17 109 67 15 0.6099
72 Viper Six Flags Over Geo GA 38 107 67 10 0.6087
73 Big One Blackpool P.B. UK 13 101 63 13 0.6073
74 El Cascabel La Feria Chapultep MX 8 100 65 15 0.5972
* Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland JP 2 86 54 25 0.5970
76 Top Gun Paramount's Kings OH 58 106 72 7 0.5919
77 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA 75 107 73 6 0.5914
78 Alpina (Himalaya Bahn Traveling DE 4 80 54 15 0.5872
* Big Thunder Mountain Tokyo Disneyland JP 2 84 56 25 0.5848
80 Iron Wolf Six Flags Great Am IL 53 104 75 7 0.5780
* Schweizer Bobbahn Heide Park DE 1 19 14 0 0.5758
82 Vortex Paramount's Carowi NC 27 102 74 9 0.5757
83 Matterhorn Disneyland CA 52 100 73 13 0.5726
84 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 11 98 72 15 0.5703
85 Mr. Freeze Six Flags Over Tex TX 30 99 74 12 0.5676 10
86 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland CA 49 100 75 10 0.5676 8
87 Shockwave Drayton Manor UK 9 97 72 18 0.5668
88 Greased Lightnin' Paramount's Great CA 23 102 79 6 0.5615
89 Canyon Blaster Grand Slam Canyon NV 40 100 79 6 0.5568
90 Bobsled Seabreeze NY 17 93 75 13 0.5497
91 Fav Loop. Star/S.Arr. Any Park Anywhere ** 45 98 82 8 0.5426
92 Fav Jet Star II Any Park Anywhere ** 14 90 81 13 0.5245
93 High Speed Thrill Coa Knoebels PA 48 90 82 12 0.5217
94 Vortex Paramount's Kings OH 62 93 86 6 0.5189
* Lethal Weapon Pursuit WB Movie World DE 1 18 17 0 0.5143
96 Vortex Paramount's Great CA 22 87 83 4 0.5115
97 Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 78 95 92 3 0.5079
98 Fav Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 77 93 92 8 0.5026
99 Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA 48 89 90 6 0.4973
100 Adventure Express Paramount's Kings OH 57 88 89 7 0.4973
101 Avalanche Paramount's Kings VA 58 88 92 5 0.4892
102 Sooperdooperlooper Hersheypark PA 60 85 90 9 0.4864
103 Space Invader Blackpool P.B. UK 16 88 94 13 0.4846
* Colorado Adventure Phantasialand DE 2 65 70 10 0.4828
105 Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL 55 81 99 8 0.4521
106 Runaway Mountain Six Flags Over Tex TX 37 79 97 7 0.4508
107 Vampire Chessington UK 8 76 95 12 0.4481
108 Ultimate Lightwater Valley UK 9 68 88 24 0.4444
109 The Chiller-Batman Six Flags Great Ad NJ 51 70 93 11 0.4339
110 King Cobra Paramount's Kings OH 62 75 101 8 0.4293
111 Run-A-Way Mine Train Six Flags Over Tex TX 43 75 103 6 0.4239
112 Desert Storm Castles N' Coaster AZ 5 51 74 18 0.4196
113 Ultra Twister AstroWorld:SF TX 33 74 104 6 0.4185
114 El Diablo Port Aventura ES 4 37 55 3 0.4053
115 Fav City Jet/Jumbo V Any Park Anywhere ** 13 66 103 17 0.4005
116 Fav Windstorm Any Park Anywhere ** 45 69 107 9 0.3973
117 Drachen Fire (SBNO) Busch Gardens Will VA 51 71 110 5 0.3952
118 Excalibur Valleyfair! MN 25 65 105 13 0.3907
119 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere ** 69 71 116 6 0.3834
120 Viper Six Flags Darien L NY 42 63 105 6 0.3793
121 SkyRider Paramount's Canada ON 26 60 103 8 0.3743
* Venus Space World JP 1 44 75 0 0.3697 0
* Hayabusa Summerland JP 1 44 75 0 0.3697 0
124 Shockwave Paramount's Kings VA 61 61 112 12 0.3622
125 Shockwave Six Flags Great Am IL 54 63 115 10 0.3617
126 Great American Scream Six Flags Great Ad NJ 60 63 118 4 0.3514
127 Fav JS III/Jumbo Jet Any Park Anywhere ** 30 60 118 10 0.3457
128 Jaguar Knott's Berry Farm CA 38 57 115 11 0.3415
129 Manhattan Express New York, New York NV 33 54 109 10 0.3410
* LinearGale Kourakuen JP 2 25 83 62 0.3294
131 The Chiller-Robin Six Flags Great Ad NJ 48 50 110 14 0.3276
132 Fav Zyklon Any Park Anywhere ** 36 56 121 10 0.3262
133 Anaconda Paramount's Kings VA 62 55 121 9 0.3216
134 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ 55 53 116 5 0.3190
135 Fav Jet Star Any Park Anywhere ** 42 56 125 6 0.3155
136 Le Cobra La Ronde Parc Amus QC 7 38 97 19 0.3084
137 Demon Six Flags Great Am IL 54 53 125 8 0.3065
138 Demon Paramount's Great CA 27 52 125 9 0.3038
139 Carolina Cyclone Paramount's Carowi NC 30 47 123 13 0.2923
14
Orient Express Worlds of Fun MO 32 51 128 6 0.2919
* Space Center Phantasialand DE 2 31 85 13 0.2907
142 Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere ** 69 49 128 8 0.2865
* Tower of Terror Dreamworld AU 2 16 41 1 0.2845
144 Joker's Revenge Fiesta Texas:SF TX 24 43 119 10 0.2791
145 Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere ** 67 50 132 3 0.2784
146 Excalibur-N AstroWorld:SF TX 19 42 124 17 0.2760
147 Le Vol D' Icare Parc Asterix FR 8 36 110 19 0.2758
148 Dragon Adventureland IA 21 44 132 7 0.2596
149 Double Loop Geauga Lake OH 38 43 133 8 0.2554
150 Mr. Freeze Six Flags St. Loui MO 25 37 123 14 0.2529
151 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere ** 77 45 138 5 0.2527
152 Goldrusher Paramount's Carowi NC 31 40 133 9 0.2445
153 Joker's Jinx Six Flags America MD 29 35 124 11 0.2382
154 Red Devil Ghost Town in the NC 10 36 130 13 0.2374
155 Dragon Fire Paramount's Canada ON 29 36 126 6 0.2321
156 Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR 12 35 134 15 0.2310
157 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere ** 83 40 143 8 0.2304
158 Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA 38 38 140 6 0.2228
159 Poltergeist Fiesta Texas:SF TX 17 35 138 5 0.2107
160 Dahlonega Mine Train Six Flags Over Geo GA 40 34 143 5 0.2005
161 Gold Mine Drayton Manor UK 8 28 135 11 0.1925
162 Ripsaw Knott's Camp Snoop MN 25 30 148 7 0.1811
163 Runaway Train Six Flags Great Ad NJ 58 29 148 7 0.1766
164 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings OH 43 26 137 8 0.1754
165 Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point OH 80 28 153 6 0.1658
166 Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere ** 58 27 153 7 0.1631
167 Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA 45 25 143 6 0.1609
168 Gouderix Parc Asterix FR 9 15 136 24 0.1543
169 River King Mine Train Six Flags St. Loui MO 43 24 152 8 0.1522
170 Gold Rusher Six Flags Magic Mo CA 43 24 153 8 0.1514
* X:\No Way Out Thorpe Park UK 2 17 113 7 0.1496
172 Mayan Mindbender AstroWorld:SF TX 30 22 144 7 0.1474
173 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere ** 36 23 162 10 0.1436
174 Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere ** 23 24 161 7 0.1432
175 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH 79 22 158 7 0.1364
176 Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO 39 20 148 5 0.1301
177 Fav Flitzer Any Park Anywhere ** 25 20 157 8 0.1297
178 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings VA 51 18 150 6 0.1207
179 Batman The Escape AstroWorld:SF TX 32 17 150 6 0.1156
180 Steamin' Demon Great Escape Fun P NY 32 17 162 5 0.1060
181 Quantum Loop Seabreeze NY 12 12 147 8 0.0958
* Surf Coaster Hakkeijima Sea Par JP 1 11 112 0 0.0894
* Big Loop Heide Park DE 1 3 31 0 0.0882 0
* Airrace Bobbejaanland BE 1 3 31 0 0.0882 0
185 Fav Arrow Shuttle Any Park Anywhere ** 54 12 173 6 0.0785
186 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 59 14 176 2 0.0781
187 XLR-8 AstroWorld:SF TX 32 11 167 6 0.0761
188 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 79 13 177 3 0.0751
189 Trailblazer Hersheypark PA 62 9 167 7 0.0683
190 Viper Six Flags Great Ad NJ 51 6 165 2 0.0405
191 High Roller Stratosphere Tower NV 20 4 165 1 0.0265
192 Santa Monica West Coa Pacific Park CA 18 3 179 2 0.0217
193 Windjammer Knott's Berry Farm CA 34 1 183 1 0.0081
194 Flashback Six Flags Magic Mo CA 42 0 185 1 0.0027
* Crazy Loop Pleasure Island UK 1 0 13 0 0.0000
* Swiss Bobsleigh Run Europa-Park DE 2 0 47 0 0.0000
* Thunderbolt Dreamworld AU 2 0 58 0 0.0000
* Eagle's Fortress Everland KR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Big Boom Nasu Highland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Mad Cobra Suzuka Circuit JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Pyrenees Parque Espania JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Orochi Osaka Expoland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Fujiyama Fujikyu HighLand JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tornado Parque de Atraccio ES 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Millennium Fantasy Island UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Grottenblitz Heide Park DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Monte Makaya Terra Encantada BR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Turbine (aka sirocco) Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tornado M & D's UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Colorado Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
Below are the results based only on 1999 riding experiences.
I also ran the program using only this year's riding experiences. I don't
think the results are very meaningful as there are MANY pairings of
coasters
that no rider had ridden both of this year. Only about 3/5 as many ride
experiences causes there to be an average of less than 1/3 as many people
who had ridden each pair of coasters (this year vs. ever).
Therefore, I want to be very clear that the following results based on
only 1999 ride experiences have a much greater margin of error and are only
included here because they may be of some limited additional interest.
Total Number of Ballots = 115
Average # Steel Coasters Ridden = 32.1
RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Bullet Flamingoland UK 1 100 0 0 1.0000
* Olympia Looping Traveling DE 2 58 0 1 0.9915
* Euro-Mir Europa-Park DE 2 57 0 2 0.9831
4 Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere ** 72 171 4 4 0.9665
5 Nemesis Alton Towers UK 9 136 3 5 0.9618
6 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL 34 153 6 1 0.9594
7 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL 46 148 7 3 0.9462
8 Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB 5 91 1 9 0.9455
9 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags Darien L NY 38 161 7 5 0.9451
10 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH 45 150 8 2 0.9438
11 Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL 32 152 9 2 0.9387
12 Mamba Worlds of Fun MO 12 120 7 4 0.9313
13 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA 46 154 9 8 0.9240
14 Top Gun - The Jet Coa Paramount's Carowi NC 17 134 11 1 0.9212
15 Dueling Dragons-Fire Islands of Adventu FL 45 145 13 0 0.9177
* Dragon Khan Port Aventura ES 2 60 3 6 0.9130
17 Steel Force Dorney Park PA 32 146 13 3 0.9105
18 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL 34 143 12 5 0.9094
19 Raptor Cedar Point OH 44 145 14 2 0.9068
20 Medusa Six Flags Great Ad NJ 47 149 15 3 0.9012
21 Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 4 111 11 4 0.8968
22 Dueling Dragons-Ice Islands of Adventu FL 43 138 16 2 0.8910
23 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA 44 150 21 2 0.8728
24 Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN 6 125 19 2 0.8630
25 Volcano, The Blast Co Paramount's Kings VA 30 145 21 8 0.8563
26 Rock `n' Roller Coast Disney MGM Studios FL 23 127 22 1 0.8500
* Euro-Stat Europa-Park DE 2 45 4 10 0.8475
28 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks ** 70 150 25 5 0.8472
29 Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX 28 131 23 6 0.8375
30 Great Bear Hersheypark PA 26 126 24 3 0.8333
31 Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA 22 123 23 7 0.8268
32 Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA 22 135 27 4 0.8253
33 Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Geo GA 20 131 31 4 0.8012
34 Exterminator Kennywood Park PA 33 124 35 1 0.7781
35 Steel Eel Sea World Of Texas TX 19 125 34 8 0.7725
36 Mantis Cedar Point OH 42 118 33 7 0.7690
37 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR 3 81 24 6 0.7568
38 Space Mountain Disneyland CA 21 117 37 3 0.7548
39 Top Gun Paramount's Great CA 13 107 33 10 0.7467
40 Gemini Cedar Point OH 44 116 38 6 0.7438
41 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV 18 110 36 12 0.7342
* EuroStar Traveling DE 2 40 13 6 0.7288
43 Montezooma's Revenge Knott's Berry Farm CA 25 112 40 11 0.7209
44 Big One Blackpool P.B. UK 9 94 35 9 0.7138
* Space Mountain Tokyo Disneyland JP 1 61 25 0 0.7093
46 Drachen Fire (SBNO) Busch Gardens Will VA 3 67 22 24 0.6991
47 Colossal Fire Dragon Lagoon UT 4 81 33 9 0.6951
48 Ultimate Lightwater Valley UK 3 66 27 9 0.6912
49 Big Bad Wolf Busch Gardens Will VA 45 115 50 6 0.6901
50 Texas Tornado AstroWorld:SF TX 18 103 44 9 0.6891
51 Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA 23 103 44 10 0.6879
52 Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN 11 105 46 7 0.6867
* Big Thunder Mountain Tokyo Disneyland JP 1 58 28 0 0.6744
54 Chang Six Flags Kentucky KY 20 97 45 10 0.6711
* Bandit Yomiuri Land JP 1 14 7 0 0.6667
56 Laser Dorney Park PA 29 102 49 12 0.6626
57 Viper Six Flags Over Geo GA 20 96 47 17 0.6531
58 Dragon Mountain Marineland Theme P ON 6 70 34 14 0.6525
59 Vortex Paramount's Canada ON 6 57 32 5 0.6330
60 Matterhorn Disneyland CA 27 95 55 8 0.6266
61 Canyon Blaster Grand Slam Canyon NV 16 94 56 8 0.6203
62 Avalanche Blackpool P.B. UK 9 76 45 10 0.6183
* Thunderation Silver Dollar City MO 1 53 33 0 0.6163
64 Adventure Express Paramount's Kings OH 24 83 50 10 0.6154
65 Space Invader Blackpool P.B. UK 9 76 46 9 0.6145
66 Roadrunner Express Fiesta Texas:SF TX 18 95 58 9 0.6142
67 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland CA 26 93 59 7 0.6069
68 Steel Phantom Kennywood Park PA 34 90 57 8 0.6065
69 Steeplechase Blackpool P.B. UK 9 72 45 11 0.6055
70 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere ** 45 98 67 4 0.5917
71 Top Gun Paramount's Kings OH 22 82 56 5 0.5909
72 Greezed Lightnin' AstroWorld:SF TX 17 87 59 9 0.5903
73 Iron Wolf Six Flags Great Am IL 31 87 58 17 0.5895
74 Vortex Paramount's Carowi NC 16 83 57 6 0.5890
75 Scandia Screamer Scandia Family Fun CA 11 83 58 8 0.5839
76 Vortex Paramount's Kings OH 24 79 56 8 0.5804
77 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA 46 95 70 4 0.5740
78 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 19 92 68 13 0.5694
* Titan Space World JP 2 15 11 3 0.5690
80 King Cobra Paramount's Kings OH 23 73 55 15 0.5629
81 Ultra Twister AstroWorld:SF TX 17 82 65 9 0.5545
82 Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 31 82 65 11 0.5538
83 Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA 22 77 61 14 0.5526
84 Mr. Freeze Six Flags Over Tex TX 21 82 66 11 0.5503
85 Shockwave Drayton Manor UK 3 55 45 7 0.5467
86 Fav Jet Star II Any Park Anywhere ** 6 73 59 21 0.5458
87 Runaway Mountain Six Flags Over Tex TX 24 70 68 15 0.5065
88 Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL 30 74 75 8 0.4968
89 Fav Loop. Star/S.Arr. Any Park Anywhere ** 24 73 75 6 0.4935
90 Oblivion Alton Towers UK 8 59 62 19 0.4893
91 Fav Mouse Any Park Anywhere ** 55 81 85 9 0.4886
92 Bobsled Seabreeze NY 5 55 58 14 0.4882
93 Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA 21 65 71 13 0.4799
94 Avalanche Paramount's Kings VA 29 74 87 8 0.4615
95 Vortex Paramount's Great CA 9 59 72 10 0.4539
96 Whizzer Six Flags Great Am IL 28 68 83 9 0.4531
97 Sooperdooperlooper Hersheypark PA 27 64 79 5 0.4493
98 Greased Lightnin' Paramount's Great CA 13 61 77 7 0.4448
* Le Cobra La Ronde Parc Amus QC 2 11 14 1 0.4423
100 High Speed Thrill Coa Knoebels PA 33 64 85 13 0.4352
* El Diablo Port Aventura ES 2 28 37 4 0.4348
* MoonsaltScramble Fujikyu HighLand JP 1 9 12 0 0.4286
103 Run-A-Way Mine Train Six Flags Over Tex TX 26 61 83 9 0.4281
104 Red Devil Ghost Town in the NC 3 37 56 11 0.4087
105 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ 42 62 96 10 0.3988
106 Fav JS III/Jumbo Jet Any Park Anywhere ** 16 52 88 22 0.3889
107 The Chiller-Batman Six Flags Great Ad NJ 38 57 95 11 0.3834
108 Manhattan Express New York, New York NV 17 49 88 22 0.3774
109 Fav Windstorm Any Park Anywhere ** 34 54 95 18 0.3772
110 Jaguar Knott's Berry Farm CA 24 57 97 8 0.3765
111 Fav Jet Star Any Park Anywhere ** 26 58 100 12 0.3765
112 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere ** 55 58 103 9 0.3676
113 Excalibur Valleyfair! MN 6 43 83 20 0.3630
114 Shockwave Six Flags Great Am IL 27 51 95 14 0.3625
115 Viper Six Flags Darien L NY 29 55 102 9 0.3584
116 Le Vol D' Icare Parc Asterix FR 4 35 65 3 0.3544
117 Great American Scream Six Flags Great Ad NJ 40 56 105 4 0.3515
118 Fav Zyklon Any Park Anywhere ** 26 50 102 14 0.3434
119 Double Loop Geauga Lake OH 14 48 94 4 0.3425
120 Orient Express Worlds of Fun MO 6 32 73 18 0.3333
121 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere ** 16 44 100 23 0.3323
* Vampire Chessington UK 1 20 41 0 0.3279 0
* X:\No Way Out Thorpe Park UK 1 20 41 0 0.3279 0
124 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere ** 59 51 113 9 0.3208
125 Anaconda Paramount's Kings VA 32 49 111 9 0.3166
126 Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR 4 31 76 5 0.2991
127 Demon Six Flags Great Am IL 30 44 111 8 0.2945
128 Goldrusher Paramount's Carowi NC 13 39 99 7 0.2931
129 SkyRider Paramount's Canada ON 5 25 64 5 0.2926
130 Demon Paramount's Great CA 14 39 100 7 0.2911
131 Joker's Revenge Fiesta Texas:SF TX 16 34 98 20 0.2895
132 Carolina Cyclone Paramount's Carowi NC 12 36 98 11 0.2862
133 Shockwave Paramount's Kings VA 27 42 115 11 0.2827
134 Mr. Freeze Six Flags St. Loui MO 12 30 88 13 0.2786
135 River King Mine Train Six Flags St. Loui MO 13 32 90 7 0.2752
136 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings OH 19 28 91 21 0.2750
137 Dragon Adventureland IA 5 34 98 7 0.2698
138 Runaway Train Six Flags Great Ad NJ 35 41 118 7 0.2681
139 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere ** 46 39 115 9 0.2669
140 Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere ** 42 38 116 11 0.2636
141 Batman The Escape AstroWorld:SF TX 18 37 113 5 0.2548
142 Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere ** 40 34 116 14 0.2500
* Excalibur-N AstroWorld:SF TX 2 23 88 15 0.2421
144 Ripsaw Knott's Camp Snoop MN 6 28 100 11 0.2410
145 The Chiller-Robin Six Flags Great Ad NJ 33 35 122 10 0.2395
146 Joker's Jinx Six Flags America MD 28 32 118 13 0.2362
147 Poltergeist Fiesta Texas:SF TX 16 31 114 10 0.2323
148 Gold Rusher Six Flags Magic Mo CA 19 29 110 12 0.2318
149 Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA 18 32 116 6 0.2273
* Venus Space World JP 1 4 14 0 0.2222 0
* Hayabusa Summerland JP 1 4 14 0 0.2222 0
152 Dahlonega Mine Train Six Flags Over Geo GA 20 28 124 8 0.2000
153 Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO 12 19 104 5 0.1680
154 Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere ** 12 22 119 5 0.1678
155 Cedar Creek Mine Ride Cedar Point OH 40 20 127 9 0.1571
156 Outer Limits: Flight Paramount's Kings VA 25 24 141 5 0.1559
157 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 44 22 141 6 0.1479
158 Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere ** 35 19 145 11 0.1400
159 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH 38 19 135 5 0.1352
160 Gold Mine Drayton Manor UK 3 11 105 12 0.1328
161 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere ** 37 18 146 6 0.1235
162 Steamin' Demon Great Escape Fun P NY 18 14 129 8 0.1192
163 Fav City Jet/Jumbo V Any Park Anywhere ** 4 13 108 3 0.1169
164 Dragon Fire Paramount's Canada ON 5 8 73 3 0.1131
165 Gouderix Parc Asterix FR 5 10 117 11 0.1123
166 Fav Flitzer Any Park Anywhere ** 11 12 136 11 0.1101
* LinearGale Kourakuen JP 2 7 81 6 0.1064
168 Fav Arrow Shuttle Any Park Anywhere ** 21 14 144 7 0.1061
169 Mayan Mindbender AstroWorld:SF TX 18 11 137 8 0.0962
170 Trailblazer Hersheypark PA 21 11 129 5 0.0931
171 Quantum Loop Seabreeze NY 4 8 100 2 0.0818
172 High Roller Stratosphere Tower NV 13 6 139 11 0.0737
173 XLR-8 AstroWorld:SF TX 18 8 142 6 0.0705
174 Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA 19 7 146 5 0.0601
175 Viper Six Flags Great Ad NJ 40 8 157 2 0.0539
176 Santa Monica West Coa Pacific Park CA 5 2 127 10 0.0504
* Surf Coaster Hakkeijima Sea Par JP 1 1 19 0 0.0500
178 Flashback Six Flags Magic Mo CA 15 3 153 3 0.0283
179 Windjammer Knott's Berry Farm CA 22 3 160 2 0.0242
* Swiss Bobsleigh Run Europa-Park DE 2 0 26 0 0.0000
* Alpina (Himalaya Bahn Traveling DE 2 0 26 0 0.0000
* Pyrenees Parque Espania JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Mad Cobra Suzuka Circuit JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Orochi Osaka Expoland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Fujiyama Fujikyu HighLand JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tornado Parque de Atraccio ES 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Lethal Weapon Pursuit WB Movie World DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Space Center Phantasialand DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Colorado Adventure Phantasialand DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Schweizer Bobbahn Heide Park DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Big Boom Nasu Highland JP 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Eagle's Fortress Everland KR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Vogel Rok Efteling NL 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Lisebergbanan Liseberg SE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Jetline Tivoli Gr"na Lund SE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Grottenblitz Heide Park DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Big Loop Heide Park DE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Monte Makaya Terra Encantada BR 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Turbine (aka sirocco) Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Colorado Walibi Wavre BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Revolution Bobbejaanland BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Airrace Bobbejaanland BE 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Thunderbolt Dreamworld AU 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tower of Terror Dreamworld AU 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Millennium Fantasy Island UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* El Cascabel La Feria Chapultep MX 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Mach 3 Flamingoland UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Desert Storm Castles N' Coaster AZ 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Tornado M & D's UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
* Crazy Loop Pleasure Island UK 0 0 0 0 0.0000
3.6 Coming Attractions
======================
It's really early to talk about next year's coasters, but here is the
start!
New Wooden Coasters for 2001!
1) Cornball Express - Indiana Beach - CCI
2) Unnamed - Wild Adventures - CCI
New Steel Coasters for 2001!
1) Nitro - SF GrAdv - B&M Hyper
2) ? - SF America - Vekoma Flying Dutchman ('Stealth')
3) Deja Vu - SF Magic Mountain - Vekoma Super Invertigo
4) X - SF Magic Mountain - Arrow 4th Dimension Coaster
5) Titan - SF over Texas - Gionavala Hyper
6) Hypersonic XLC - Kings Dominion - S&S Thrust Air 2000
7) X-Flight - Six Flags World of Adventure - Vekoma Flying Dutchman
3.7 Standing But Not Operating Coasters
=======================================
Standing But Not Operating Coasters
Big Dipper. 1925 Pearce out-and-back wood. Chippewa Lake Park; Medina, OH
Comet. 1946 IAD twister wood. Lincoln Park; N. Dartmouth, MA
Jack Rabbit. 1910 out-and-back wood. Idora Park; Youngstown, OH
Wildcat. 1927 Schmeck/PTC twister wood. Idora Park; Youngstown, OH Drachen
Fire, 1991 Arrow Dynamics Multi Element, Busch Gardens
Williamsburg, Willaimsburg, VA