Top 15 Steel Coasters - part 1
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So as most of you probably know, I love theme/amusement parks. I have since I was around 8 or so. To date, I've been to 27 parks and ridden 185 coasters. I hope to get that number up to 200 this year. I've even been to one park (considered the best in the world by many) in Europe. Now, some go to theme parks just for roller coasters. That's not really why I go, but for conversation sake, that's what most want to know about. I will admit that coasters are generally the big draw at parks, as they aren't usually the same rides you can find at a fair. And a lot of people would assume that the bigger or faster coasters are the best. Any coaster enthusiast would tell you that's false. I've been on the tallest coaster in the world, and it doesn't do much. It's at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. It launches you to 128 MPH, shoots you straight up a 456 foot tall hill and you come back straight down, and the ride is over. They spent 25 million bucks on that one-trick pony. Fun? Yes. Frightening? No. Worth the usual 2 hour wait? Absolutely not. No. There are much better coasters out there worth a wait like that. A 12 second ride is not. Rides are good for different reasons. Today I focus on the best steel coasters that I've ridden. Please note that I've only been to 2 parks west of the Mississippi. However, I've been to most parks east of there. (Just a few left for me to visit, mostly small parks and the non-Disney parks in Florida.) So without further ado, here's the countdown.
15. Afterburn at Carowinds (Charlotte, NC)
So this coaster opened in 1999. It may be 15 now, but it's one of the best inverted coasters out there. In fact, most of the best inverted coasters (where you hang below the track) were made before the year 2000. The newer ones are bigger and faster, but they are more spread out, have less g-forces, and are generally kind of boring. This one is only 113 ft tall, goes 62 MPH, has 6 inversions, and is less than 3000 feet long. Originally named Top Gun: The Jet Coaster when Paramount owned the park. Like the best inverts, the elements come quickly one after the other with little time to catch your breath. Carowinds is located on the NC/SC state line, and this coaster is on the South Carolina side.
14. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast at Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, MO)
Opened in 1998 to celebrate the horrible Batman & Robin film, this coaster has a twin at Six Flags Over Texas that opened the same year. This is a launched coaster (70 MPH) made by the same company that made Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion. It is also what is called a shuttle coaster. That means it isn't a complete circuit. It goes up a large steep hill at the end of it's course and then does the whole course again back to the station. You used to be launched forward then do the whole thing backwards, but in 2012 (when I rode it), the cars were reversed to launch you backwards. That means halfway through the ride, you get to stare straight down 175 feet feeling weightless for a second. And there's LIMs near the top of that hill that make sure you go all the way to the top of it. Really odd feeling. The ride has one strange inversion that you go through twice. It's called a top-hat, and I can't really explain it. Just watch the video.
13. Millennium Force at Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH)
Cedar Point is known as the roller coaster capital of the world. (Although Six Flags Magic Mountain in California has more coasters these days.) It's located on a peninsula in Lake Erie, and the park has 16 coasters. The second most in the world. They tend to like to break records with the coasters they build too. This one was no exception. Opened in 2000, it was the tallest and fastest coaster when it was built. It's since been eclipsed, even in the park it dwells in. However, it's still a rush of a ride. It goes 93 MPH, with a 300 foot drop at an 80 degree angle, and it's one of the longest coasters (in track length, not time) out there at over 6500 feet long. Plus you get a great view of Lake Erie as you climb the 310 foot hill. It was made by a popular ride/coaster company called Intamin, who builds all those huge drop tower rides that opened in the late 90s/early 2000s and also build the very popular Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion. In fact, that coaster is this ride's sister coaster. Different track layout, but the same designer/model. This was also one of the first coasters to use the cable lift system instead of the chain lift. You'll notice it goes up much faster and quieter.
12. Mystery Mine at Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, TN)
Dollywood is a great example of a theme park. And one that's kept up it's themeing very well over the years. It's got a downhome country charm to it, and the rides are themed well too, which is something modern parks outside of Disney and Universal don't really get into. It's costly and most parks would rather just spend more money on a bigger coaster than have a good coaster with themeing. Dollywood rejects that, and they are all the better for it. Mystery Mine is themed to a cursed mine. Something about a deadly vulture that caws when disaster is about to strike. The coaster didn't break any records (besides being the first Euro-fighter style coaster in America). It's only 1800 feet long, it's only got an 85 foot drop, only goes 46 MPH, and only has 3 inversions. However, the great themeing makes the ride worthy of this list, and the darkness a lot of the ride is in makes for a few jolting surprises. This video is hard to make out at times, but everything important is shown.
11. Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood (West Mifflin, PA) - that's outside of Pittsburgh
This ride actually started out as one called The Steel Phantom, which was the fastest coaster and had the steepest drop when it opened in 1991. It also had four inversions and was painful as all getout due to the headbanging the shoulder restraints caused. In 2000, it was announced that coaster would close due to complaints about neck injuries and pain. After emails and phone calls complaining about the closing of the coaster (you just can't please some people), the decision was made to modify they ride instead. They would take out the loops, and change the course the ride took after it's second hill (the former record-breaking one, as the second hill goes into Kennywood's ravine) to include fast curves and airtime hills to replace the loops. Once the work was done, the coaster had a drop that was 3 feet longer, it went 85 MPH instead of 80, it was no longer painful because the shoulder harnesses were replaced by lap bars, and the track was 200 feet longer. Oh, and it's apparently one hell of a better ride. (I never rode Steel Phantom.) See for yourself.
10. Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, NJ)
Okay, so at least there's one good reason to go to Jersey, and I'm sure it's the only one. Six Flags Great Adventure is considered one of the best Six Flags parks, and for good reason. It's got a great selection of coasters. This coaster actually opened in 1999 as Medusa, the world's first floorless coaster. Made by the ever popular coaster firm of Bolliger and Mabillard, it featured 7 inversions, a 132 foot drop, and a almost 4000 foot long course, with a top speed of 61 MPH. Most prototype coasters tend to have just a few inversions and be pretty short, so this was actually quite surprising for a new type of coaster. On a floorless coaster, there is no floor between your feet and the track. The station has a portable floor that lowers and goes off to the side once the ride is about to start. It's a gimmick that doesn't really work unless you're in the front seat in my opinion. I didn't pick this coaster because it was floorless, but simply because it's got a great track layout and obstacles. The obstacles were added in 2009 when the coaster was rethemed to Bizarro, which is sort of an alternate universe negative, stupid version of Superman. The track was repainted and on-board audio was added, which made the ride cooler. Sadly the audio is now gone, but this video was taken when the audio (which is a collection of film quotes) was still running.
9. Blue Fire at Europa Park (Rust, Germany)
Europa Park is what you get when you combine Disney World with Busch Gardens. It's beautiful, very well themed, has great coasters, lots of rides for families and kids, and has great food too. It's owned by Mack Rides, which is a ride and coaster company (they made Avalanche and Ricochet at Kings Dominion among other rides), and was built to showcase their custom rides and coasters. This particular coaster was their first to include any loops (which is amazing as it was their 10th coaster). It was opened in 2009, and it includes a launch to 62 MPH in 2.5 seconds, 4 inversions, and only lap bars. It broke no records, but it's one hell of a great ride. Unlike most American coasters, it's themed. It starts with a small dark ride portion and is themed to energy. It's supposed to be like a test of a new clean energy type. The lap bars make it so the loops give great hang-time, which means you feel as if you would fall out if it wasn't there. (Most coasters actually have great centripetal force in loops, so even without harnesses, you'd not fall out.)
Part 2 coming up tomorrow!
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