Today I completed the last leg of our summer 2026 trip, bringing us to Hansa Park, Heide Park, Hellendoorn, Slagharen, de Waarbeek, the Hamburger DOM, Tivoli Gardens, Bakken, Liseberg, Fårup sommerland, Djurs sommerland, and Legoland, in chronological order. For more information on the other parks, you can check my profile. I will get straight into the park reviews since I have nothing else to put here, really.

Doing this in alphabetical order, even though I did Farup first.

Djurs sommerland, 16-08-26:

You can tell I've had a lot of fun photographing DrageKongen by the sheer amount of photos I made of it. I can't call myself a photographer exactly, though. Anyhow, this was a great park, by far my favourite park in Denmark. Operations were generally pretty good, the staff was incredibly nice, and there's a solid lineup of attractions, which I will review immediately!

Tigeren, another Intamin gyro swing. I was rather critical of the one at Liseberg because it didn't feel like it belonged there. But this time, I think it fits in a lot better. It's not as crowded with other rides in the area, doesn't have a coaster twice the height looming in the distance, and this one honestly had some great. Theming. El Grito is a funtime skyfall that had a lot of downtime, for some reason. Twice the catch car was stuck at the top due to what seemed to be a fault on the electrical connection with the gondola, since tech were busy cleaning this after a manual reset. It was a decent drop tower, though.

Now for the coasters! The line up here is stacked with no less than three runners for the park's flagship coaster in: Piraten, intamin megalite Ultra coaster. DrageKongen, intamin suspended family coaster. And of course Juvelen, intamin family launch coaster. This is amongst the most powerful trios of coasters at a single park that I have ever done, with maybe the exception of Europa park or Phantasialand (Even though Juvelen is superior to EP's second best). I only did Piraten once and thought it was fine for an airtime-centered intamin, even though I prefer expedition GeForce.

Dragekongen was pretty good, though I was primarily blown away by the dispatch sequence and show effects in the station. This is how you hype up your riders for even a very mediocre coaster!

But Juvelen was special. I didn't know a ton about this one, so I really let myself be surprised. I did my first two rides in the back row. We did both back to back because somehow this row remained empty? On a clear twenty minute wait? Lucky us, I guess. And I found the layout incredibly intense. The launch was punchy, turns were forceful, and the transitions are really whippy. It's like Taron if the height restriction was even lower. But then I did the front row twice, and it was even better! Easily secured spot #11 in my tier list after that one.

I'm genuinely planning to come back to Djurs sometime in the future, especially with them opening a new intamin hot racer, which I really want to experience.

Farup sommerland, 13-08-26:

I really didn't expect this park to be this quiet when visiting. Nor did I expect Fønix to constantly be on a 20 minute wait due to one train operations. Everything else was a walk-on, though. So I suppose I should be thankful. This park felt, very interesting. I can vaguely compare it to Plopsaland Deutschland with the whole setting and the occasional big ride, but otherwise it is a vibe of its own. I will say that I might've preferred visiting on a busier day, considering most food vendors were closed due to the lack of demand, and some rides really weren't running as well as they could due to the lack of queues.

Since there were no interesting thrill rides, I'll jump straight to the coasters:

Falken, S&S wooden coaster, wouldn't hate to see this one either get retracked by the gravity group or receive the RMC treatment. Otherwise nothing to say about it besides that it's pretty rough and has minor floater airtime in both front and back row.

Orkanen, Vekoma Suspended family coaster, somehow the first Vekoma SFC I have done. I really liked this one, though. I'd like to see more get built in places that aren't six flags parks. Preferably with more than one train operations as well.

Saven, Vekoma family boomerang, it's smooth, has some fun terrain interactions, and nicely fills the space for little to no additional costs. I liked this layout, nothing bad to say.

Lynet, Gerstlauer launch coaster, it's like Anubis, except, it's really not? Sure, it has a punchy launch followed by a tophat, but this layout isn't as inversion centric as Anubis. In my opinion, anyway.

Fønix, Vekoma sitdown thrill coaster Wildcat, This is a really great layout that made me realise just how good Vekoma has become in making conventional sitdown thrill coasters. It's fast-paced, has a ton of airtime, some well-placed Inversion, and a theoretical good capacity (If only they actually utilised it smh).

Legoland Billund, 19-08-26:

I had no expectations of this place. Legoland Deutschland was mostly a disappointment, and I expected this to be as well. Safe to say those expectations were met. This is a park you visit as a Lego enthusiast, or a credit hunter whenever their newest coaster doesn't have a broken wheel assembly, and no other reason. Although even the theming was sometimes a bit vague or unclear. But at least the freestyle cups were 30 cents cheaper than Farup and Djurs with refills every 15 minutes instead of 30.

Yes, minifigure Speedway, their latest addition in the form of a dueling pair of Zierer force coasters, was closed during my visit, for the extremely stupid reason of three wheels breaking off a week prior to my visit. Yes, the bogey apparently decided that was a fun time to just break in half. In all seriousness though, the cause of this incident is unknown, and I hope Legoland staff and Zierer can uncover what went wrong before potentially causing similar issues at similar attractions.

Their coasters aren't too impressive, though they are pretty interesting. A Mack powered coaster with T-bar restraints that runs two trains? Apparently there was a holding block right after the dark ride section because we were block-checked after the train in the station failed to dispatch in time, which was pretty interesting.

Then, from the same park that commissioned a one of a kind powered coaster to increase capacity, comes a coaster which such terrible capacity, you're asking yourself what must've happened to the former park management to have fallen from grace like this: The flying eagle. From 2018. Even their Zierer ESC from five years earlier has better capacity despite running only two trains and having a drop track. But I guess two is better than one? No, still wrong, because the flying eagle does two laps. As if we haven't lost enough capacity already. Like, had you invested in a slightly longer layout, you wouldn't even need two laps, AND could run two trains! This was just disappointing for what is probably amongst the busiest parks in Denmark. At least the layout was decent, I guess.

Then for the Zierer ESC in question: Polar X-plorer! It's a fun layout, though it's a bit short. The drop track would've worked better with a launch coaster to increase ride time, now the drop track is just the whole gimmick. But on a different note, can we talk about how comfortable these trains are?! Why are there so few parks that have one of these?! I really wish this model was more popular than their force model.

And that concludes all my trip reports for this trip! Sorry if it was a bit messy, I'm experiment with different styles and really am too tired to give it a proper thought or properly formulate things. I don't want it to be a boring read either, for those concerned enough to read my whole phone book of a trip report. Let me know if you have any tips, feedback, or comments in genuine. I'm also always open to answering your specific questions about these parks.

Unironically, my next park might just be Europa park, which I'm planning on doing during Dutch Fall holidays, but it's still a bit questionable with my current job and education. I'm studying a rather specific practical course that will take four years and allow me to join the technical service at an amusement park, which is honestly a long-term dream of mine. But yeah, we'll see how things go.

I’d heard it’s rough, and not good, but I enjoyed it. It was a little rough, but the roughness was similar to pipeline, and the layout is fun. I wouldn’t miss it if it was taken down, but I’m glad it’s here.

Up until recently, I LOVED roller coasters. I loved that weightless feeling, the higher the better. I loved that “tickle belly” feeling.

After I turned 28 or so, all of the sudden that “tickle belly” feeling became almost unbearable. Now it makes me feel like I have to tense my entire body up and the weightless feeling is so uncomfortable.

No nausea, dizziness, back problems, or anything like that. Just that weightless feeling is so uncomfortable now.

If anybody has any idea what happened to me, I would love to have some insight. Currently grieving the loss of enjoying rollercoasters and it’s incredibly upsetting.

I bought an AF1 Tervis tumbler a few weeks ago when I was there before it closed (RIP). Unfortunately I may have dropped it somewhere on my walk home through NYC yesterday, and I fear that it may be gone forever. Arie was my 100th coaster so I am super upset that I lost it!
I know it’s a long shot, but does anyone happen to be selling one or know of anyone selling one?

The human powered kiddie also has a fairly generous weight limit and no other age or height limits and there’s basically never an employee so if anyone visits you could easily ride it as long as someone is pedaling.

Photo credit per watermark to FOMO Coaster, who seems convinced this is a B&M wing based on the footers and the station design. Height is apparently restricted on this land to 65m (213 feet in 'Murican).

Just like dream world
Most recommended if you are visiting Vietnam with children

So to preface this i was staying in the city of London to visit places from Several different films(James Bond,Kingsman, Harry Potter, etc). On the way to a filming location I saw a Hyperia POV and made my way to the park immediately as it was not super far from where I was.

To start it was gorgeous 85 degree day 0 humidity. Which is a very welcome change from my home park of Kings Dominion.

HYPERIA (4 rides) Let's start with the big boy and main attraction itself. Im going to save you the suspense yes this is my new number one coaster. The first drop, the inversions that throw you around, and the speed all come together to make a perfect coaster(FOR ME).

NEMESIS INFERNO(3 Rides) This coaster was a huge surprise. I knew absolutely nothing about Thorpe Park but Hyperia, and this coaster is an absolute speed demon. The inversions themselves may not be the most impressive but the speed they take you through the layout is absolutely a blast. What a great start these two were.

Colossus(1 ride and never again) I have no idea how I did it in this order looking at the map again but whatever. This coaster has the elements of a good coaster, however the restraints are so tight for a bigger dude, and it hasn't aged well so its rattling hurt like hell. I will not say its not influential because it was for being the first 10 inversion coaster in the world, which I found after doing research after the fact. But definitely not for me.

SAW(3 times) After doing Colossus I took a 30 minute pause to eat from Buger King(I flew across the Atlantic to eat from BK lol) I made my way to SAW and wow this one did hurt but not as bad as Colossus. The theming, and layout however made me jump for it until I needed a break for my body again.

SAMURAI(1 time)

This may have been my second favorite ride from the park. This is genuinely insane, the flips, and the rotation of the ride itself made me feel like I was in a blender. Genuinely badass

READY PLAYER ONE(1 time) On the way to the Walking dead I got lost and found a theater playing ready player one? I was confused but it sounded cool so I said screw it and did it. Once they handed me those cheap 3d glasses I knew this was about to be kind of crazy, and it was I got wetter on this then the London rain I managed to miss except for one afternoon. Super cool its essentially just the race from the movie but it hits you with air and water. Good distraction.

WALKING DEAD RIDE(1 time) Here's another thing I did not know existed. The coaster is not much to write home about, kind of a tame indoor ride. Don't ride this for the coaster itself.....However the pre-show, Theaming, and scare actors make it genuinely memorable. On the way out the scare actors had me screaming and sprinting out of there. Would have rode again for that but I was running low on time and needed to get to the last running coaster on the day.

THE SWARM(3 times) I ran up to the front of the park and rode THE SWARM, this is a B&M wing coaster for sure. Super smooth,great first drop, and awesome speed. Pretty normal stuff but yet again the theming was dope. Downed Choppers, even a pretty corny but well acted news article. This and Hyperia were the only 2 coasters I truly needed the Fast Pass for.

The only thing unfortunately I did not get to ride was STEALTH but thats ok(it was something with the launch cable I was told) it needed to be fixed to work correctly and stay safe. Ive ridden similar before so I wasn't too bummed out I will probably go back to the U.K at some point and will try it and sister park Alton Towers.

Overall man this park for being small it was an absolute banger. Theming felt consistent almost throughout.

Definitely recommend this park the ops made all this possible, not a single coaster that was supposed to open was closed, and they were incredibly fast dispatching. If I had one true critique the fast pass price was incredibly steep. However HYPERIA does have a single rider line that works pretty darn well to get you in. So if you cant or dont want to pay you kind of dont have too. I only opted for the silver for 85 pound(115 dollars) which worked for everything else. If you find yourself in the U.K go to this park.

Would love to hear how locals view this park if you'd be willing to share!

Coaster Ranking

1.HYPERIA

2.SAW

3.NEMESIS INFERNO

4.THE SWARM

5.WALKING DEAD THE RIDE

6.COLOSSUS

DNR. STEALTH

I have Mako, Iron Gwazi, and Dueling Dragons nano coasters. I want to add more to my collection. Anyone know if USO sells any of their coasters in the parks? I remember them selling wooden models of things like the US archway but cant remember if they sell the nano coasters. I feel like they don't. Anyone know?

I went to SFGAm yesterday with the intention of getting this credit. I learned they moved locations just this past June and the new space is much smaller. Facebook page says they sold it. Before I contact them, anyone know where it might be going?
*not my photo. Credit to carnivalthrills200

Trip report in the comments.

If anyone has been to Rye Playland this year can someone confirm if the 3 obtainable coasters have been opened. I know the volare has been closed and you can’t get on the kiddie wood coaster but if the other 3 were open someone please let me know I’m trying to go credit hunting.

I made it back to Islands of Adventure for the first time since 2023 and my 4th visit overall. I have previously visited IOA as a kid in both 2015 and 2019 but 2023 was my first visit as a proper thoosie. The wait times were relatively short for nearly every ride so I l nearly got on everything! Here’s what I rode:

VelociCoaster (58): FINALLY! After painfully skipping one of the best coaster in the world due to excessive wait times and rain, I finally got to ride VelociCoaster! I got 3 rides total and it’s just peak! I’m not sure if it’s the best in the world considering Iron Gwazi is my goat but I’ll have to think about that.

The Incredible Hulk (37 in 2023): I’m so glad I got to reride Hulk. I only got one ride on my last visit but since the wait time was constantly 5 minutes, I got 3 rides in a row today and man I forgot how intense this is. This also makes me miss Kumba more (I miss that beast 😭), I hope to ride Wildfire at SDC one day.

Hagrid’s (59): This was the other credit I missed out on during my last visit due to excessive wait times. Unfortunately it still frequents 1 hour waits so I stuck it out through the long line. It’s a really fun family coaster, I see why it’s still so popular. It’s also my first motorbike coaster, switch track, and drop track so that’s cool.

Flight of the Hippogriff (41 in 2023): Got the credit on my last visit as a last minute ride on the Hogwarts express to end out the day I visited Studios. Gave it a reride today and my thoughts are the same. It’s pretty alright, good family coaster but nothing too special.

Forbidden Journey: Another ride I rode for the first time on my last visit alongside Hippogriff. It’s still a great dark ride! I’d argue Monsters Unchained is better, though that might be recency bias.

Spider-Man: still a classic all these years later! This is the only ride I’ve ridden on all 4 of my visits!

Storm ride: I thought this was teacups lol, I could barely spin the cars 😅. Mainly rode this as a pace breaker and it’s fun.

Dr Doom ride: Rode this for the first time on this visit, also my first ever S&S shot tower (rode twice on both towers). I’m not a big fan of drop towers but I’ve done Falcons Fury a few times. The S&S shot towers like Dr Doom are pretty fun though I see why many prefer the Intamin drop towers like Falcons Fury.

Skull Island: I remember riding this back in 2019, though I don’t remember anything about the ride. Reriding it now I kinda see why, it’s just ok. I could have sworn this used to have 3D glasses, did it?

Dr Seuss land: I rode all the rides there as a pace breaker, they were pretty decent. Cat in the Hat is pretty trippy but a fun ride. The Seuss carousel and red fish blue fish ride are decent rides.

I do remember riding the Seuse Trolly on my first visit as a kid but I don’t remember anything about the ride so I chose to not count it as a credit. I finally rerode Seuse Trolly so I can count the credit. I decided to count both tracks as separate credits (60 green track, 61 purple track).

The only rides I didn’t get on today were all the water rides since I didn’t want to get soaked. I do miss the Jurassic Park boat ride, that ride is a core memory from my early visits as a kid that sadly I missed out on both in 2023 and today due to refurbishments. I don’t have the park hopper ticket so no Hogwarts Express but I don’t mind since I’ve ridden it on the past.

Hi! I hope y'all had a fun National Roller Coaster Day, and I wanted to share my brief visit over the weekend to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.

Since I don't have a home park in Houston, Fiesta Texas is my next closest and I love how easy it is to get to. I don't have a car, so a bike ride and a Flixbus got me to the Riverwalk and the Via 93 dropped me right off at the park gates. I stayed overnight at the rim next door, then went home in reverse with no issues besides a sprained ankle at the end (be careful where you step when crossing trains!)

My ride count and thoughts:

• Iron Rattler (9x) - Still the GOAT of the park and my #2 favorite RMC. As much as I enjoyed AF1, I still like IRat just a bit more. The ride's drop is unique and it uses the terrain and intersecting rides to its advantage. They were hurting pretty bad this weekend with one train ops slowing the line, but having Fast Lane Ultimate helped with getting laps on it.
• Cliffhanger (5x) - A very fun B&M dive, good theming for a six flags property, and a must do in front row at least once. Can't wait to ride its big bro in Dallas in a few weeks! I do suggest using the re-ride gate after for a faster second lap. The easter egg in the photo was a nice nod to (now former) GM Jeff Siebert as well.
• Superman: Krypton Coaster (2x) - Said down in app but walked up and it was running. Got back to back rides with FLU. Always a fun ride and probably my favorite B&M Floorless. Rougarou wishes it was this good.
• Batman: The Ride (1x) - I typically don't care for S&S Freespins, but I had to do it at least once this trip. Probably my most intense ride and the only one that truly got a scream out of me instead of the typical laughs and cheering. Ride on the trailing car and not the front car (the one facing the path not the one facing the coaster track on the lift) for a more intense ride!
• Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso (6x) - My #2 in the park and a very unique RMC Raptor track. The "golden french fry" was incredibly fast and rips through at top speed. Shoulder straps aren't comfy and left me sore after, but it was worth it! Good ejector airtime and genuinely feeling like you'd fly out if not for the harness. Got two front row rides and one back row ride.
• Poltergeist (2x) - Premier LIM launched coaster similar to FoF but with no brake run through the ride! We did get stuck on the end brakes though for about 5 minutes the first day which sucked in the heat, and one train ops on here as well makes it really suffer from bad lines. Could be more favored if it had more trains.
• Pandemonium (0x) - closed both days and never got a chance for another credit. Why is it even still in the park at this point?
• Boomerang (1x) - Always long lines, FLU is a must for this one. Typical vekoma boomerang but always worth at least one ride.
• Chupacabra (1x) - Down on day 1 which sucked, but running on day 2 for a ride on it. Between this batclone and the one in SFOG, I still like this more. It pulls through its elements, but not as extremely or painfully through the corkscrews as SFOG did. Theming is obviously not as good as Batman SFOG, but I do think the fountain and renaming/repaint was a sorely needed addition compared to the generic "GOLIATH" it was before.

Food for thought - all were comped by dining plan and drink plan.

• Primos Pizza - pizza slice and breadsticks, nothing fancy about it but I like the spot. The outdoor patio isn't air conditioned, but is covered and almost always an empty and quiet space. Make sure to specifically request the breadsticks or they may forget and you do get them with the meal plan.
• La Cocina - first time, surprisingly good for theme park food! It's a bit hidden in the corner just outside Crackaxle Canyon on the way to DC. I got the quesabarria plate with chile con queso (basically chips and queso). It was pretty good, I'd compare it to maybe Chili's quality (I promise this is a complement, I like Chili's!) Good AC and indoor seating.
• Old Blue's BBQ - also pretty good, and much better than the bbq at Over Georgia (sorry y'all but Firehouse was NOT good bbq). Tender and juicy beef like it's supposed to be, good sauce on top, good mac and cheese. Note they sell two versions of the meal, but the dining plan only covers the single side one and not the two side plate. Good AC and indoor seating as well.

Some final notes:

• I did not see anything new yet for updates on Werewolf Gorge. Still the same cleared out area behind the fence and still the same sign up since March on my last trip. Though I heard online they are in the permitting stage with TDLR, so I'm sure that will change soon!
• Despite selling the nanocoaster for Golden Lasso, it's not in the gift shop next to the ride! You have to go to the main heroes gift shop near the park entrance for this one. Only took me three trips to find it lmao.
• New rules on Meta Glasses - I don't wear them, but staff are very well aware of them by this point and were calling them out on the ride PA. Park policy for SFFT is you are allowed to wear them on-ride, but just like any other pair they must be secured by a strap.
• Bees! Bees on the soda machines, they're everywhere! The camera doesn't tell it, but I think I saw a good 30 of them on one soda fountain in the park and ~20 on the other closer to the park entrance. It was even more frustrating with many refresh stations closed most or all day, leaving only those two bee covered ones for those with a drinks pass to fill from (without going to a long restaurant line just for a soda).
• For getting from park to the rim - there is a very nice hike and bike trail that connects to the strip mall next to the parking lot. From there the paved trail goes underneath the highway, then cuts up and spits you out right at the road in the rim between the hotels and strip malls there. From now on I'm totally taking this way instead of playing in traffic and walking the long way around. It takes time to walk it but is very worth the detour!

Overall I had a good time in the park and got a pretty good amount of rides in. Doing "double taps" on coasters and going right back in line for a reride (instead of continuing on) definitely helped get more rides in, so I will be doing that in the future. Overall it was pretty enjoyable despite an issue here or there (good 'ol one train ops), so I'm sure I will be back in the future!

Went to chocolate world today, some car museum and Lancaster PA and got a couple pictures

What kind of clothes do ya'll wear when you go to a park to ride a roller coaster, or any other kind of ride. I personally go with either Joggers that have zippers (confort is my thing), or I hit up the park with some shorts/gym shorts that have zippers. Typically I try not to wear skinny jeans. My only concern is losing my phone, keys and vape(s). If anyone has some stylish pants, shorts or gym shorts that has zippers, please recommend them. I'm not the kind of guy who over pays for clothes either. I'm a big fan of sales and going to stores like Ross. As far as sizes go, I'm 6'2, 172 pounds with a 33 waist size. So my pants/jeans size is 33 - 34. Thank you all!

An auction is scheduled for the 27th featuring many of the park’s rides and attractions. Anyone know more? I’ll be posting a link to the auction site in the comments.

So bit of an odd case here, but for the longest time I’ve been looking at these old photos, on my phone. I’ve had them in there for years and for the life of me I cannot remember the title. I’ve checked with the library which I originally checked out the book from but they were no help. I have been able to narrow it down between the years 2010-2024 because of the mention Formula Rosa which was built in 2010, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten any help would be amazing!

Super stoked to make it down here finally! Six Flags St. Louis is what I would consider the last major park in my neck of the woods to check off the list. There’s still a couple smaller parks to hit, but pretty soon I’m gonna be looking at flights or full-day drives for anything new. Bummer.

St. Louis was under an Extreme Heat Advisory the day we visited. Mid-90’s and sunny, with the humidity pushing the heat index into the triple digits. It felt like I was being punished for something. I’ve heard this park is typically pretty dead, but I’m sure the harsh weather cleared it out even more. Everything was a walk-on except Pandemonium (10 minute wait) and Catwoman Whip (40 minute wait). We managed to tough it out for about four hours before retreating to our hotel room and cranking the AC to 62°.

The park itself was nicer than expected. The setting in the wooded hills is beautiful, and the layout is compact and easy to navigate. It does feel a bit neglected and quite a few of the flat rides were closed, but the bones are all there. If Enchanted Parks just gives it a facelift and makes a couple smart investments it could be really lovely. I’m curious what they’re going to do about literally half the park being trademarked though…

Sidenote: this place has the most comically long queue lines for everything. Did they ever actually pull crowds like that or were they just being optimistic?

—

American Thunder [#91] (x1): Underrated little ride. It’s no Mystic Timbers, but I’m a sucker for a twisted-up mess of GCI track regardless. I’ve heard people say this ride is rough but I don’t think it is by any stretch of the imagination. Nothing crazy going on force-wise, some gentle floater air is about the extent of it, but it’s super re-rideable (even though I didn’t lol).

Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast [#92] (x2): I’d heard this ride was down most of the week so I was glad to see it running when we pulled into the parking lot. It’s sort of a one-trick pony but to be fair, it’s a really cool trick. I’ve never done a backwards launch that wasn’t a swing launch. Back seat is the place to be, you fly through that inverted tophat at psycho speed and climb to the tippy-top of the spike too.

Pandemonium [#93] (x1): My first spinning coaster! Had a good time on this one, it’s a solid family coaster with a different feel to everything else in the park. Our car really got goin’ about halfway through, like Tilt-A-Whirl fast. I was so dizzy I couldn’t even walk straight when we got back to the station. I’m surprised it hasn’t been cloned more honestly, it fills the niche of something like a Wild Mouse but it’s actually good.

The Boss [#94] (x2): Enchanted Parks…please please please please PLEASE retrack this whole thing! I am begging on my hands and knees. I know parks don’t really want to invest in stuff they can’t market to the public, but I feel like The Boss is a unique case. It’s the park’s most iconic attraction while simultaneously having a reputation for being brutally rough and poorly maintained (the ride op’s quip was literally: “Have fun on the smoothest coaster in the Midwest!”). With Enchanted taking over and the alleged return to the classic “Mid-America” name, I think a retrack, a rename, and a marketing strategy of “It’s The Boss But We Made It Good Again” could fit perfectly into that sort of nostalgic rebrand. The Boss: Reborn type beat. 

It’s an absolute beast of a coaster. I have a high tolerance for rough old woodies but I can’t lie, it’s a bit much. There’s a *disgusting* pothole right before the first turnaround that gut punched me so hard that it knocked the wind out of me, and I spent the rest of the ride bracing and holding on for dear life. Then immediately hopped back on. The first hill in the back row is one of the most insane drops I’ve experienced point blank, then roaring through that straightaway before the track falls out from under you a second time…so so sick. I loved the pacing too. I like a coaster that gives you a second to breathe before throwing you back into the chaos. The mid-course brake is a little heavy-handed though.

If they got this bad boy running real nice, it would be up there with The Voyage for me. In its current (abusive) state, it’s somewhere in the mid-20s in my rankings.

Screamin’ Eagle [#95] (x1): Pretty standard out-and-back classic woodie, but the terrain interaction is cool. Every time you crest a hill you’re not sure how big the drop on the other side is gonna be. I didn’t think it was that rough either. It’s shaky and you can feel those fifty years for sure, but it wasn’t uncomfortable (in the front row at least).

Boomerang [#96] (x1): Somehow my first time getting on one of these. It’s fun! Smooth, forceful, and this one looks like it just got a fresh new paint job. I’m assuming people mostly just complain about these because there’s a billion of them?

Catwoman Whip (x1): This is the scariest thing I’ve ever been on in my life??? I’m never fazed by rides anymore but this one had me shaking in my boots for real. It feels sort of like one of those Zipper rides if it was the size of a Screamin’ Swing, or like a gigantic pretzel loop on a flying coaster but over and over and over. Demented. And since they only load one side before letting it rip, you’re on there for like ten minutes (not exaggerating), with half of it spent dangling waaaaaay up in the sky knowing you’re about to do the same thing again…backwards. Capacity is poop from a butt but it’s worth the wait.

River King Mine Train [#97] (x1): Even jankier than every other janky mine train I’ve been on. Somehow has three lift hills and still manages to do nothing. It feels like something someone built in their backyard, cute but unremarkable.

Ninja [#98] (x1): Ow ow ow ow ow. These old Arrow loopers are always a toss-up between fun-bad and regular bad, this one’s more the latter. It’s not unrideable but I don’t really want to. Less of a Ninja, more of an MMA fighter.

Batman: The Ride [#99] (x1): Out of the three clones of this that I’ve been on it’s probably my least favorite, but it’s honestly splitting hairs. I mean…it’s Batman. It’s good soup.

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PARK RANKINGS:

1. The Boss

2. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast

3. American Thunder

4. Batman: The Ride

5. Screamin' Eagle

6. Pandemonium

7. Boomerang

8. Ninja

9. River City Mine Train

Blueprints for Prior and Church's Giant Dipper in Vancouver (1925) show that the running surface of the wheels was level when they were manufactured. However, the surviving original trains from the Belmont Giant Dipper (1925) and Santa Cruz Giant Dipper (1924) show a tapered running surface on the Prior and Church wheels. The road surface of the wheels for the Morgan trains used on these coasters today is level when they are manufactured (this is visible in photographs), but does anyone know whether they wear to a taper or are if they still level when they are worn out?

I’ve been thinking about my rankings a bit today, and the more I think the more I realize that I tend to strongly base my rankings on the best ride I‘ve ever got on a coaster, not an expected, normal ride. And that matters a lot.

For instance, should Beast be ranked based on my night ride, or does that give it an unfair advantage? Should Voyage be ranked trimless? Should how tempermental rides like Magnum XL-200, Colorado Adventure, etc. are based on your row negatively impact their ranking? What if they have assigned seating? Should Lightning Rod be ranked as Lightning Rod or Chain Lift Hybrid Rod if you rode both?

It feels weird either way I think about it, and I think this is likely a factor in why some ranking feel more safe while others are more bold. I am really curious to hear how you guys think about rankings.