I tend to run through hobbies like nobody's business and my current flavor of the month (in addition to board games) are Roller Coasters. Now I'm certainly far from a hardcore enthusiast, but I do have almost 70 roller coasters under my belt so I thought it would be fun to explore them. If there's one thing I love doing on this blog, it's doing Top 10 lists...
Before we begin, a few caveats. I tried to rank these as pure roller coasters, so you won't be seeing heavily themed rides like Expedition Everest or some of the other Disney rides close to my heart. Also, as usual, these are rides I have personally ridden and as such many will be missing as I can be a pansy about certain rides.
Before we begin, a few caveats. I tried to rank these as pure roller coasters, so you won't be seeing heavily themed rides like Expedition Everest or some of the other Disney rides close to my heart. Also, as usual, these are rides I have personally ridden and as such many will be missing as I can be a pansy about certain rides.
#10: Ravine Flyer II
The only true wooden roller coaster on my Top 10 (you'll see what I mean by that a bit later...) is Ravine Flyer II, tucked away at the small Waldameer Park in Erie, PA. I typically don't like wooden roller coasters because a lot of them make you feel like you are in a blender and I don't find that particularly enjoyable. Ravine Flyer is a relatively smooth woodie, however, and offers an enjoyable experience.
This ride gives you everything a wooden coaster is supposed to: it's fast throughout, plenty of airtime moments, and feels borderline out-of-control at points. It has a couple of really cool elements in the bridge over the highway (twice!), a 90° banked turn, and a beautiful view of Presque Isle and Lake Erie before the first drop.
Stats:
Height: 80 ft.
Drop: 118 ft.
Speed: 57 mph
Inversions: 0
This ride gives you everything a wooden coaster is supposed to: it's fast throughout, plenty of airtime moments, and feels borderline out-of-control at points. It has a couple of really cool elements in the bridge over the highway (twice!), a 90° banked turn, and a beautiful view of Presque Isle and Lake Erie before the first drop.
Stats:
Height: 80 ft.
Drop: 118 ft.
Speed: 57 mph
Inversions: 0
#9: Volcano, The Blast Coaster
You will probably notice on this list that I have a penchant for inverted roller coasters, and here is the first of the list. It's notable that several other inverted coasters just missed out on the Top 10. Alas, Volcano at King's Dominion, makes it onto the list because it combines two of my favorite elements on roller coasters: Inverted seating and launches.
While Volcano is missing the traditional "Big Drop", it has two forceful launches culminating in flying vertically out of a volcano and flipping multiple times 150 feet in the air. The inversions are somewhat slow and you feel the shift in your seat as you hang a little longer than is comfortable, but that's part of the thrill! This is one of the more unique coasters on the list and in the country, so it almost had to make the list.
Stats:
Height: 155 ft.
Drop: 80 ft.
Speed: 70 mph
Inversions: 4
While Volcano is missing the traditional "Big Drop", it has two forceful launches culminating in flying vertically out of a volcano and flipping multiple times 150 feet in the air. The inversions are somewhat slow and you feel the shift in your seat as you hang a little longer than is comfortable, but that's part of the thrill! This is one of the more unique coasters on the list and in the country, so it almost had to make the list.
Stats:
Height: 155 ft.
Drop: 80 ft.
Speed: 70 mph
Inversions: 4
#8: Gatekeeper
I'll be honest, I was terrified of Gatekeeper when I went to Cedar Point a few years ago. This was at the beginning of my roller coaster resurgence and I had to really force myself to get in line for this beast, and I'm glad I did.
Gatekeeper was my first (and only) wing coaster, which really changes the dynamic of the ride. It's a bit unnerving to be hanging off the side of a roller coaster track without anything below you, but it's a thrill. The slow inversion at the top of the lift hill is a little jarring, but after the drop everything is just silky smooth and fun. Lots of inversions, near-misses on the towers, and a super long layout makes this ride a must do in a park full of great coasters.
Stats:
Height: 170 ft.
Drop: 164 ft.
Speed: 67 mph
Inversions: 6
Gatekeeper was my first (and only) wing coaster, which really changes the dynamic of the ride. It's a bit unnerving to be hanging off the side of a roller coaster track without anything below you, but it's a thrill. The slow inversion at the top of the lift hill is a little jarring, but after the drop everything is just silky smooth and fun. Lots of inversions, near-misses on the towers, and a super long layout makes this ride a must do in a park full of great coasters.
Stats:
Height: 170 ft.
Drop: 164 ft.
Speed: 67 mph
Inversions: 6
7: Montu
Hey look! Another inverted coaster! Color me surprised! All kidding aside, Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa is just a wonderful beast of a coaster. It's designed by B&M (my favorite manufacturer, as you'll probably see), and has a lot of the hallmarks of their design. The ride combines good speed, a really fun layout, cool elements, and forceful inversions, which is all an enthusiast can really ask for.
The additional theming from Busch Gardens isn't too extensive, but the fact that the ride goes into several trenches with near-miss elements really helps bring some excitement to the ride. Downside to this coaster? You can see across the street to a drug store from the top of the lift hill which kills the immersion just a smidge.
Stats:
Height: 150 ft.
Drop: 128 ft.
Speed: 60 mph
Inversions: 7
The additional theming from Busch Gardens isn't too extensive, but the fact that the ride goes into several trenches with near-miss elements really helps bring some excitement to the ride. Downside to this coaster? You can see across the street to a drug store from the top of the lift hill which kills the immersion just a smidge.
Stats:
Height: 150 ft.
Drop: 128 ft.
Speed: 60 mph
Inversions: 7
#6: Griffon/Sheikra
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Ok, I'm totally cheating here, but they are almost identical rides. See also, Valravn at Cedar Point (which I have not ridden yet). If you put a gun to my head and made me choose, it would probably be Griffon because it's 5 feet taller and has an extra inversion (also I've ridden it close to 50 times...), but it's really a coin-flip.
Both Griffon and Sheikra are 200-ish foot tall B&M dive coasters that feature a pretty remarkable 90° drop at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa, respectively. They are kind of a one trick pony, but they do their one trick really well. If you have any room in your harness and go hands up, you will literally float in your seat for the full drop which is very unsettling but a cool sensation. The best touch of these rides is the holding break that puts you over the edge for 5 seconds or so just to build anticipation for that insane drop. There are only 3 of this type of ride in the country, so if you can get on one, I'd definitely take the chance.
Stats: (Griffon/Sheikra)
Height: 205/200 ft.
Drop: 205/200 ft.
Speed: 71/70 mph
Inversions: 2/1
Both Griffon and Sheikra are 200-ish foot tall B&M dive coasters that feature a pretty remarkable 90° drop at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa, respectively. They are kind of a one trick pony, but they do their one trick really well. If you have any room in your harness and go hands up, you will literally float in your seat for the full drop which is very unsettling but a cool sensation. The best touch of these rides is the holding break that puts you over the edge for 5 seconds or so just to build anticipation for that insane drop. There are only 3 of this type of ride in the country, so if you can get on one, I'd definitely take the chance.
Stats: (Griffon/Sheikra)
Height: 205/200 ft.
Drop: 205/200 ft.
Speed: 71/70 mph
Inversions: 2/1
Well that wraps it up for this portion of the list. Stay tuned next time for the second half of the list where I break down #5-1. Hopefully this has been an interesting read!