Your Least Common Opinion?

[Sabretooth78]

One time I was at Cedar Point, one of the operators on Valravn seemed to have a particular axe to grind against Fury. I forget exactly what happened, but he saw my Leviathan t-shirt and started loudly proclaiming that it was far superior to Fury. He continued this with every other guest he saw with some non-Fury coaster t-shirt.

I'm not one to shy away from controversial opinions myself. In the coaster world:

• Grizzly is the best coaster at Kings Dominion. Two words: Phoenix vibes. (caveat: I-305/Pantherian wasn't running, but also, see below.)
• Millennium Force doesn't come close to cracking my top 5 even at Cedar Point. Maybe not even my top 10. Fight me.
• Ride of Steel at SF America beats Ride of Steel at SF Darien Lake, hands down. Far smoother and better illusion of speed.
• In fact, Viper and Predator are more solid in overall experience than Ride of Steel, unless you enjoy 12 minute dispatches on 1-train ops.
• On the topic of Intamin hypers, they kind of stink. Their strength instead lies in launch coasters like Maverick, Cheetah Hunt, Pantheon, etc., which I do rank favorably despite their shortcomings.
• I didn't hate Time Warp.
• Sure, The Shed is corny, but I like it. Tell me you'd rather sit in 120° heat index on the brake run. More parks should do "post-ride engagement" like that.

I could probably think of many more if I gave it time...

 

[MackMan]

Okay I just came back from Emerald Park and I rode my first Vekoma STC. Hot take, it is better than a lot of B&M inverts and I feel will rocket above B&M in the market in the future. The ride feels butter smooth, good forces, good layout, elements flow well into each other, and the ride even has a great mix of forces (positives, laterals, airtime pops).

After riding three neo Vekomas, I would say the other manufacturers should be weary. Vekoma are producing seemingly reliable, smooth, and brilliant products. For smaller parks Fianna Force would be a godsend. It would easily be the #2 at Thorpe for me, better than Nemesis at Alton. Such a fun layout with good length.

 

[Trax]

So, I've had some time to let all the impressions of the Giga-Trip sink in, and I think I can deliver some new unpopular opinions:

1) Leviathan is the best Giga-Coaster*. It does more than Fury when it's going fast + has better airtime moments. (*I couldn't do I305/P305/Pantherian!)
2) The Voyage is a below average wooden coaster and does not deserve the hype at all. It isn't even the best wooden coaster in the park. It has the weakest floater airtime I've ever experienced, it's rough and you just want it to be over at some point. Gosh, never was I so dissapointed in a coaster. I guess it gets the hype from the untrimmed night rides that people can get once a year.
3) Candymonium might be the worst B&M Hyper. Gosh, once it could be fun, it just gives you the trimm of hell.
4) Apart from the Cobra Roll (which is insane), Alpengeist is fairly forceless, borderline boring.
5) Lightning Rod has been neutered so much, it is just boring (and rough) for most of it. The last 2 drops of the quad down are ok-ish, but nothing special.
6) Twisted Cyclone @ SFOG is actually one of the better RMCs. Very comfy and simply fun, with a great flow. Doesn't feel forced like some others
7) Twisted Timbers is easily the worst RMC, with unpleasant transitions, unnessecary turns and overall trying to do way too much. Gosh, this thing hurts, but not in the good way a ride like Arie Force One does.
8) The airtime on Skyrush isn't half as crazy as people make it out to be. It is nice ejector, but the only crazy moment is that "kink" durin the first drop. It is a decently fun ride, but not the "craziest airtime ever!!111oneeleven" machine many people claim.

 

[James F]

Old Intamin OTSR Restraints are better than the vest restraints. To me there less restrictive and allow me feel the forces, hence why I prefer Stealth to Storm Runner.

Ride to Happiness isn't the best coaster in Europe nor the best coaster in Belgium or even the best Mack. It's inconsistent, rattley and has a couple of deadspots. I still think it's impressive, but find it a tad overrated.

Valravn is the best coaster at Cedar Point outside of the big four (Top Thrill 2, Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick).

Candymonuim is one of the best B&M hypers and I would say it's equally as good as Wildcat's Revenge.

Icon is better than most enthusiasts give it credit for, if it was in a far away, harder to reach location it would be rated alot more favourably.