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My Favorite Steel Coasters, Page Two
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Page published 11/30/01
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#6
Right, my number five steel coaster was a coaster I avoided riding whenever
possible, due to its extreme headbanging. This is Flight of Fear (formerly
known as Outer Limits: Flight of Fear) at Paramounts Kings Dominion and
Kings Island. Two very nicely themed, launched, in-the-dark coasters with a
maze of turns and inversions just were not fun due to that headbanging. For
2001, the removal of the over-the-shoulder restraints finally gave coaster
enthusiasts the rides these coasters were designed to give! They're now fun
and smooth. Now we can appreciate the darkness, the speed, the surprises,
and the mystery. What was a very uncomfortable ride has become a first-rate
coaster!
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#7
Easily my favorite Arrow suspended coaster, Top Gun (right), at Paramount's Kings Island is my idea of a suspended non-looping coaster. It's got a great drop to start out the ride. As an added "treat", the structure under the cars on the lift abruptly ends at the top of the lift, further exposing riders to the sudden height! That first drop leads into a wonderful curve which swings the cars high above the station. The second drop takes the ride into a series of ground-hugging curves that just accentuate the speed. While the ride is short, it ends with as much fury as it begins, finding the cars swinging wildly onto the brake fun. This is another ride I can never ride enough times.
Photo by Robert Nungester
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#8
Thunderation (left), the mine train at Silver Dollar City in Missouri, is my favorite mine train. This is an exceptional ride, starting with a long, descending approach to a spiral that gets faster and tighter. By the time the train gets to the lift in the middle of the ride, it has dropped riders over 80 feet, and is probably approaching 60 miles per hour. This is a very rare mine train! It features tunnels, a real race through the woods, drops into ravines, and more. Finally, after a long lift, it takes a single 80 foot plunge into a wooded ravine, only to climb up an impossible curve into the brake run. As though all of this was not enough, considering the wonderful piece of hilly land the park had available, Silver Dollar City has turned around some of the cars in each train so that some riders get to experience the whole ride backwards!
Photo by Robbie Hooley
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#9
Space Mountain (right), at Walt Disney World in Florida, is a ride I always thoroughly enjoy! I really like everything about it. I appreciate the structure, the theming, the sense of adventure. I like the simulated launched beginning, and the long twin lift hills (this is 2 coasters in one structure). While sections of the ride remind me of a Wild Mouse, the sudden twists and drops in the dark make this a very invigorating ride. From the queue line to the ride's ending to the exit, this makes for a total experience.
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#10
Finally, Adventure Express (below) at Paramount's Kings Island, fills out my
top ten steel coasters. This is another mine train, set on the edge of some ravines. It utilizes the ravines nicely, featuring a quick plunge shortly
after departing the station. The ride includes several very nice tunnels, and builds up to some very exciting speeds after the first lift. The ride romps through the ravines, popping in and out of tunnels, sports a rather twisted layout, and at times (at least), includes nice theming with great mist effects in a "volcano" tunnel. Riders feel like they've been enveloped in that mist. I love Adventure Express. It's one of my favorite rides at Kings Island. After-dark rides are a must! The ride's shortcoming is in the ending; after a nicely themed tunnel over the 2nd lift, the ride ends! There should be more after that lift.
Photo by Chuck Nungester
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Honorable Mention: The Great Bear, Hersheypark (left). While this is usually the least-liked B&M coaster by enthusiasts, due to my unique tastes, it's my favorite B&M! This coaster comes closest to satisfying my coaster desires than anything else B&M has created. This inverted ride has the usual B&M features, including 4-abreast seating. For me, it's the placement of the ride that makes this one special. Riders depart the station mere feet above the flume ride's reservoir, sometimes mere feet above hydroplaning flume ride boats! The top of the lift features an unexpectedly fast helix. The first drop is very good, and the rest of the ride, while including typical B&M inversions, also offers some very unique water-skimming effects. The ride is built above the creek, above numerous other Hersheypark rides and attractions, and is also fairly mild, one of the things I like about it. I don't mind intensity, but I don't like B&M's interpretation of intense. I really do like The Great Bear.
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