Mitch Hawker's 2010 wooden coaster polls

[B-mac]

The result for 2010's best wooden coaster is out today and the results are rather exciting. My first year in the poll since becoming a coaster enthusiast and my favorite woodies all ranked in the top 100.

El toro tied for #1 with T express
Voyage fell to 6th surprisingly (Matt, I know you're mad at this result)
Phoenix got #4, I haven't ridden it yet but that is making me even more anxious to get out there
The Gwazi's sides ranked rather well (I don't think the MF trains were a factor yet, next year will be different)
Lightning racers placed 27 and 29th
Great White and Hell Cat each placed in the Top 70
and Grizzly @ KD got in the 90's

In news about another Grizzly, the one at CGA was dethroned as the worst coaster this year by anaconda @ Walygator Parc. This ended a fifteen year streak the Grizzly held.

I like these results but I am disppointed by KD's grizzly, which is too much fun for not even breaking the top 90. I grew a lot more respect for it when Clint had the same opinion on it that I had, even though I haven't ridden it in ten years.

So tell me, did you guys like this year's poll? Or is ghere something you just don't agree with?

[ChuckR]

I didn't vote this year but Anaconda wasn't that bad of a ride. I could name quite a few woodies that were a lot worse!

[AV Matt]

The results were skewed by certain T-P-R people. It's not fun anymore if people are going to be dishonest with their rankings just to throw off the math.

The results have always been hit or miss with my personal tastes anyway, so it's pretty meaningless to me.

[ChuckR]

Exactly! Just like how you hate MF and I like it!

[B-mac]

I looked through most of their accepted polls, mine is in there near the bottom, and one guy submitted the same poll three times! I just took a glance through and there were three ballots with the same guy, the same area, and the same preferences and coasters... that's way more than a coincidence. And yes, some people on T-P-R are tools.

EDIT: I also found two identical ballots right next to each other only with different names. and two more ballots just a bit further down that are also the same...

[GADVwow]

Are you saying we wuz ROBBed?

wow, who adoreth Rolling Thunder (not unlike Rich and Sue...)

[dkny6363]

Any poll designed to rate coasetrs needs to include the Russian Judge system... which is take off the lowest and highest scores and average out the middle scores. Keeps out the haters, and the fanboys. It`s cool that some ppl think obvious top 5 coasters are in the 10-20 range... But when someone rates the Voyage 145, Raven 146, and Legend 147... Obviously there is more at play than the quality of the coaster... Thats why I prefer CoasterGrotto over Coaster Fanatics for rankings... The admin guy slahes out scores he see`s as being false for the purpose of bringing down Coaster A`s ranking so Coaster B looks better.

Turning into a rant so i`ll leave it at that.

[B-mac]

Are you saying we wuz ROBBed?

wow, who adoreth Rolling Thunder (not unlike Rich and Sue...)

It wasn't rich and sue, It was some guy from missouri/kansas who likes prowler a lot. All four ballots have prowler and timber wolf on them, just the two of them.

[AV Matt]

Sounds like Swoosh's work, B-mac.

[AV Matt]

Just for funsies, here's my ballot. I used the generator to get started, but with well over a 100 coasters to shuffle around, it got really frustrating, so I copied and pasted the initial ranking into a text document. This made it easier for me to group stuff together into similar rides and arrange them until I was comfortable with the ranking. Beyond the top 30, it seemed very pointless to get into any finer detail, so I went with the top 30 being the A group, then lumped the rest into a B group, C group, D group and lastly the F group.


--Ballot created with WardleysTunnels.org Ballot Generator (wood)--
--avmatt@gmail.com------
LOCATION FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS)
~"Reading, PA, USA"
NAME FOLLOWS THIS LINE (LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS IN Ballot)
~"AV Matt"
RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE THIS LINE AS IS
Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,3
Floating Airtime`___________________________,y,y,2
Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,4
Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,1
Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,6
Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,5
COASTER NAME        PARK                LOC <--Please leave this
The Voyage          Holiday World        IN,y,y,1
My Favorite Steel   Anypark Anywhere     **,y,y,2
Boulder Dash        Lake Compounce       CT,y,y,3
Avalanche           Timber Falls         WI,y,n,4
Big Dipper  (SBNO)  Geauga Lake          OH,y,n,5
Phoenix             Knoebel's            PA,y,y,6
Gwazi-Tiger         Busch Gardens-Tampa  FL,y,n,7
Gwazi-Lion          Busch Gardens-Tampa  FL,y,n,8
Prowler             Worlds of Fun        MO,y,y,9
Ozark Wildcat(SBNO) Celebration City     MO,y,n,10
Thunderhead         Dollywood            TN,y,y,11
GhostRider          Knott's Berry Farm   CA,y,n,12
Shivering Timbers   Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,13
Grand National      Blackpool            UK,y,y,14
Thunderbolt         Kennywood            PA,y,y,15
Ravine Flyer II     Waldameer            PA,y,y,16
Silver Comet        Martin's Fantasy Is. NY,y,n,17
The Legend          Holiday World        IN,y,y,18
Wild Mouse          Blackpool            UK,y,y,19
Cornball Express    Indiana Beach        IN,y,n,20
Coaster             Playland             BC,y,n,21
Texas Giant         SFoT                 TX,y,n,22
Hades               Mount Olympus        WI,y,n,23
Tremors             Silverwood           ID,y,n,24
Cyclone             Astroland            NY,y,y,25
Viper               SFGAm                IL,y,n,26
Dania Bch Hurricane Dania Beach          FL,y,n,27
Raven               Holiday World        IN,y,y,28
Timber Terror       Silverwood           ID,y,n,29
Georgia Cyclone     SFoG                 GA,y,n,30
Kentucky Rumbler    Beech Bend           KY,y,n,31
Zeus                Mount Olympus        WI,y,n,31
Cyclops             Mount Olympus        WI,y,n,31
El Toro             SFGAd                NJ,y,y,31
Evel Knievel        Six Flags St Louis   MO,y,y,31
Blue Streak         Cedar Point          OH,y,n,31
Timber Wolf         Worlds of Fun        MO,y,y,31
Predator            Darien Lake          NY,y,n,31
The Grizzly         Kings Dominion       VA,y,y,31
Rampage             Alabama Adventure    AL,y,n,31
Leap the Dips       Lakemont             PA,y,n,31
Big Dipper          Blackpool            UK,y,y,32
Roar                SF America           MD,y,y,32
Cheetah             Wild Adventures      GA,y,n,32
Renegade            Valleyfair!          MN,y,n,32
Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark          PA,y,y,32
Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark          PA,y,y,32
Twister             Knoebel's            PA,y,y,32
Screechin' Eagle(S) LeSourdsville Lake   OH,y,n,32
Hell Cat            Clementon Lake       NJ,y,y,32
Wild One            SF America           MD,y,y,32
The Beast           Kings Island         OH,y,y,32
Racer               Kings Island         OH,y,y,32
American Eagle      SFGAm                IL,y,n,32
Rebel Yell          Kings Dominion       VA,y,y,32
Thunder Road        Carowinds            NC,y,n,32
Coaster Thrill Ride Puyallup Fair        WA,y,n,32
Thunder Run         Kentucky Kingdom     KY,y,n,32
Yankee Cannonball   Canobie Lake Park    NH,y,n,32
Screamin' Eagle     Six Flags St Louis   MO,y,y,32
Jack Rabbit         Kennywood            PA,y,y,32
Colossus            S.F. Magic Mountain  CA,y,n,32
The Legend          Arnolds Park         IA,y,n,32
Jack Rabbit         Seabreeze            NY,y,n,32
Megafobia           Oakwood              UK,y,y,32
The Boss            Six Flags St Louis   MO,y,y,32
Swamp Fox           Family Kingdom       SC,y,n,32
Excalibur           Funtown USA          ME,y,n,32
Giant Dipper        Belmont Park         CA,y,n,32
Racer               Kennywood            PA,y,y,32
Great White         Wild Wheels Pier     NJ,y,y,32
Giant Dipper        Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk  CA,y,n,32
Cyclone             SF New England       MA,y,y,32
Hoosier Hurricane   Indiana Beach        IN,y,n,32
Lost Coaster of SM  Indiana Beach        IN,y,n,32
Starliner (SBNO)    Cypress Gardens      FL,y,n,32
Grt Am Scrm Mach    SFoG                 GA,y,n,33
High Roller         Valleyfair!          MN,y,n,33
Hurler              Carowinds            NC,y,n,33
Hurler              Kings Dominion       VA,y,y,33
Rollo Coaster       Idlewild             PA,y,n,33
Tornado             Adventureland        IA,y,y,33
Dragon Coaster      Playland             NY,y,y,33
Comet               Hersheypark          PA,y,y,33
Tornado             Stricker's Grove     OH,y,n,33
Cyclone             Lakeside             CO,y,n,33
Roller Coaster      Great Yarmouth       UK,y,y,33
Thunderbolt         SF New England       MA,y,y,33
Skyliner            Lakemont             PA,y,n,33
Le Monstre          La Ronde             QU,y,n,33
Big Dipper          Camden Park          WV,y,n,33
Thunderhawk         Dorney Park          PA,y,y,33
Wolverine Wildcat   Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,33
Blue Streak  (SBNO) Conneaut Lake Park   PA,y,n,33
Cannonball          Lake Winnepesaukah   GA,y,n,33
Outlaw              Adventureland        IA,y,n,33
Kingdom Coaster     Dutch Wonderland     PA,y,n,33
Kiddie Coaster      Playland             NY,y,y,33
Comet               Waldameer            PA,y,y,33
Pegasus             Mount Olympus        WI,y,n,33
Zipper Dipper       Blackpool            UK,y,y,33
Zach's Zoomer       Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,33
Fairly Odd Coaster  Kings Island         OH,y,y,33
Scooby Doo          Kings Dominion       VA,y,n,33
Fairly Odd Coaster  Carowinds            NC,y,n,33
Ghoster Coaster     Canada's Wonderland  ON,y,n,33
Sea Dragon          Jungle Jacks Landing OH,y,n,33
Teddy Bear          Stricker's Grove     OH,y,n,33
Triple Hurricane(S) Cypress Gardens      FL,y,n,33
Lil' Dipper         Camden Park          WV,y,n,33
Comet               Great Escape         NY,y,n,33
Judge Roy Scream    SFoT                 TX,y,n,33
Rolling Thunder     SFGAd                NJ,y,y,33
Wildcat             Hersheypark          PA,y,y,33
Twisted Twins-L (S) Kentucky Kingdom     KY,y,n,33
Twisted Twins-S (S) Kentucky Kingdom     KY,y,n,33
Underground         Adventureland        IA,y,n,34
M.Can.Mine Buster   Canada's Wonderland  ON,y,n,34
The Grizzly         Great America        CA,y,n,34
Roar                SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,n,34
Wildcat             Lake Compounce       CT,y,y,34
Cyclone   (SBNO)    Williams Grove       PA,y,n,34
Twister II          Elitch Gardens       CO,y,n,34
Wildcat             Frontier City        OK,y,n,34
Wilde Beast         Canada's Wonderland  ON,y,n,34
Mean Streak         Cedar Point          OH,y,n,34
Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island         OH,y,n,34
Rattler             Fiesta Texas         TX,y,n,34

[dkny6363]

WOW! way too much info. Wow where to start... you like predator as much as el toro, and more than Lightning racers, Twister, and the Beast?!? Im stuned. lol

I meant to ask you if youve been to Coaster at Playland in B.C. I see by your ranking it is as awesome as it looks.

[AV Matt]

Vancouver's Coaster was top ten the first time I rode it in 2005. It totally blew me away and my friends in attendance felt the same way. CRazy violent airtime and laterals, yet smoother than most brand new woodies. Then when I went back the following year, it was still smooth as glass, but running really slow and it didn't impress at all. I've heard my first experience is how it typically operates. It's old school like Coney Island Cyclone in how it's kind of slow-paced with violent moments instead of non-stop action.

Predator is actually a great, powerful airtime woodie if you can get past its rough edges. In all of my rides, I've only had one that was a bone rattling experience that I didn't enjoy. I actually like it better than El Toro simply because I don't have to be stapled to ride it and it feels more like a traditional wooden roller coaster. That goes a long way for me. But I won't pretend it's not rough. It certainly is; however, that doesn't bother me as long as I can comfortably sit in the seat and experience some great airtime and actually move around in the seat like "the old days".

The Beast really let me down last summer. It used to be in my top ten, but every visit it's becoming harder and harder to love. The bastardized trains are certainly a factor.

After the top 30, it got really hard to separate stuff out. I'm sure I would reorder stuff in the 31-33 range if I were to continue to fine tune it.

[GADVwow]

I really love Coaster.  It's a phare ride, and a fair ride....Carl.

And did someone say WOW?  Several times, even?

[dkny6363]

I once rode predator 17 times without getting off. I don`t think i`ve been the same ever since. Back in the Predator, Viper, Ferris Wheel days.... Before Mind Eraser. lol

[B-mac]

Mean Streak one and done... That ride jack hammered me so badly I though my back was gonna break. It caused me to like Blue Streak a lot more because of how smooth it was, and it even had a good shot of air time. Mean Streak can really screw up your opinions on wooden roller coasters due to how rough it is.

Matt, I guess you didn't have a good experience with Hurler or Grizzly in KD. I haven't been on them in ten years and I still clearly remember my experience of both those rides.

I need to expand my credits list on wooden coasters, i hope I can get the opportunity to go to kennywood and knoebel's during the summer. I know for a fact I will be going to Coney Island and Rye playland in the summer.

now I want to know when the Steel List starts...

[AV Matt]

KD's Grizzly is a great ride. Actually that's another one I probably should have ranked above El Toro. But the way I look at it, if you make it into my top 31 category, you're a great ride. Hurler (both of them) is sometimes fun, but last time it was horrible--worse than Predator ever was for me. I've actually never found Mean Streak to be as rough as people claim, but it's boring. Blue Streak is a great coaster.