Sport Today

My last attempt to pique interest and draw more ballots.

Total Number of Ballots = 80
RANK   COASTER NAME      PARK               LOC RIDERS W   L  T  WinPct TiBk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1 Megafobia           Oakwood              UK    10 102  0  0  1.0000
  2 Comet               Great Escape         NY    19 117  1  0  0.9915
  3 Raven               Holiday World        IN    31 116  2  0  0.9831
  4 Wildcat             Hersheypark          PA    28 111  3  4  0.9576
  5 Grizzly             Silverwood           ID     6 109  4  3  0.9526
  6 Roller Coaster      Playland             BC    16 110  5  3  0.9449
  7 Phoenix             Knoebel's            PA    35 108  7  3  0.9280
  8 Serpiente de Fuego  La Feria             MX     7 105  8  5  0.9110 3
  9 Timberwolf          Worlds of Fun        MO    14 106  9  3  0.9110 3
 10 Great White         Wild Wheels Pier     NJ    16 106 10  2  0.9068 3
 11 Texas Giant         SFoT                 TX    28 106 10  2  0.9068 1
 12 Grand National      Blackpool            UK    13 101  9  8  0.8898
 13 Cyclone             Astroland            NY    29 101 13  4  0.8729
 14 Thunderbolt         Kennywood            PA    51 102 15  1  0.8686 5
 15 Cyclops             Big Chief            WI     9 100 13  5  0.8686 2
 16 Georgia Cyclone     SFoG                 GA    25  96 13  9  0.8517 5
 17 Wild One            Adventure World      MD    21  98 15  5  0.8517 4
 18 The Grizzly         Kings Dominion       VA    33  97 20  1  0.8263
 19 Yankee Cannonball   Canobie Lake Park    NH    17  92 16  9  0.8248
 20 Screechin' Eagle    Americana            OH    32  94 19  5  0.8178
 21 Swamp Fox           Family Kingdom       SC    11  91 19  6  0.8103
 22 Giant Dipper        Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk  CA    19  90 18 10  0.8051
 23 Viper               SFGAm                IL    22  88 24  6  0.7712
 24 Hurler              Kings Dominion       VA    23  74 20  7  0.7673
 25 Big Dipper          Geauga Lake          OH    39  88 27  3  0.7585
 26 Cannonball          Waterville USA       AL     2  75 16 24  0.7565
 27 Hurler              Carowinds            NC    18  84 24  9  0.7564
 28 Jack Rabbit         Kennywood            PA    51  86 26  6  0.7542
 29 Cyclone             Lakeside             CO    13  85 26  6  0.7521
 30 Giant Coaster       Arnolds Park         IA     6  82 25  9  0.7457
 31 Zingo               Bell's               OK     8  81 25 12  0.7373 3
 32 Giant Dipper        Belmont Park         CA    25  82 26 10  0.7373 1
 33 Blue Streak         Cedar Point          OH    60  85 31  2  0.7288
 34 Thunderhawk         Dorney Park          PA    27  83 32  3  0.7161 4
 35 Arkansas Twister    Magic Springs        AR     7  78 27 13  0.7161 2
 36 Le Monstre          La Ronde             QU    13  77 29 12  0.7034
 37 Twister             Elitch Gardens       CO     7  77 31 10  0.6949
 38 The Beast           Kings Island         OH    52  77 32  9  0.6907
 39 Cyclone             Pleasureland         UK     9  73 35  9  0.6624
 40 Outlaw              Adventureland        IA     6  73 35 10  0.6610 2
 41 Predator            Darien Lake          NY    15  70 32 16  0.6610 2
 42 Rebel Yell          Kings Dominion       VA    33  73 37  8  0.6525
 43 Hoosier Hurricane   Indiana Beach        IN    20  73 40  5  0.6398 2
 44 Big Dipper          Blackpool            UK    13  71 38  9  0.6398 1
 45 Screamin' Eagle     SFMA                 MO    22  71 39  8  0.6356
 46 Rutschebanen        Bakken               DN     3  69 39  7  0.6304
 47 Thunder Run         Kentucky Kingdom     KY    33  70 41  7  0.6229
 48 Cannonball          Lake Winnepesaukah   GA    11  65 40 13  0.6059
 49 Tornado             Stricker's Grove     OH    17  67 44  5  0.5991
 50 Racer               Kennywood            PA    51  69 46  3  0.5975
 51 Riverside Cyclone   Riverside            MA    23  58 44 15  0.5598
 52 Roller Coaster      Joyland              KS     7  60 47 11  0.5551
 53 Skyliner            Lakemont             PA    23  57 50 10  0.5299
 54 Rutschebanen        Tivoli Gardens       DN     4  54 50  9  0.5177
 55 M.Can.Mine Buster   Canada's Wonderland  ON    14  57 55  6  0.5085 2
 56 Wild Mouse          Blackpool            UK    12  53 51 14  0.5085 1
 57 Comet               Hersheypark          PA    37  57 57  3  0.5000
 58 Judge Roy Scream    SFoT                 TX    30  55 59  4  0.4831
 59 Starliner           Miracle Strip        FL     6  50 54 10  0.4825
 60 Grt Am Scrm Mach    SFoG                 GA    28  51 56  8  0.4783
 61 Rattler             Fiesta Texas         TX    13  49 55 13  0.4744
 62 Racer               Kings Island         OH    52  53 60  4  0.4701
 63 Tornado             Adventureland        IA     8  44 51 20  0.4696
 64 Wildcat             Lake Compounce       CT    12  51 59  7  0.4658
 65 Psyclone            S.F. Magic Mountain  CA    24  50 59  8  0.4615
 66 Wilde Beast         Canada's Wonderland  ON    14  50 60  8  0.4576
 67 Zippin' Pippin      Libertyland          TN     6  48 60  9  0.4487
 68 High Roller         Valleyfair!          MN    12  47 60 11  0.4449
 69 Roller Coaster      Lagoon               UT     9  40 54 18  0.4375
 70 Roller Coaster      Puyallup Fair        WA    11  46 61 10  0.4359
 71 Texas Tornado       Frontierland         UK     9  46 61  9  0.4353
 72 Tree Topper         Upper Clements Park  NS     2  44 63  3  0.4136
 73 Mean Streak         Cedar Point          OH    59  44 66  7  0.4060
 74 Roller Coaster      Blackpool            UK    13  40 68 10  0.3814 1
 75 Cyclone             Williams Grove       PA    11  34 62 22  0.3814 0
 76 Comet Flyer         Whalom Park          MA    16  40 67  6  0.3805
 77 Roller Coaster      Great Yarmouth       UK     7  36 69 11  0.3578
 78 Big Dipper          Camden Park          WV    13  38 73  6  0.3504
 79 Colossus            S.F. Magic Mountain  CA    31  36 72  8  0.3448
 80 Thunder Road        Carowinds            NC    22  36 76  6  0.3305
 81 Scenic Railway      Dreamland            UK     8  30 70 15  0.3261
 82 Jack Rabbit         Seabreeze            NY    14  32 75  7  0.3114
 83 American Eagle      SFGAm                IL    32  34 79  5  0.3093
 84 Dragon Coaster      Playland             NY    16  30 75 10  0.3043
 85 Wild Mouse          Frontierland         UK     7  29 76  7  0.2902
 86 Wildcat             Frontier City        OK     8  24 76 12  0.2679
 87 Vuoristorata        Linnamaki Park       FI     2  25 72  4  0.2673
 88 Thunderbolt         Riverside            MA    22  26 78  7  0.2658
 89 Hullamvasut         Varosliget           HU     1  25 71  0  0.2604
 90 Scenic Railway      Luna Park-Melbourne  AL     3  25 74  2  0.2574
 91 Raging Wolf Bobs    Geauga Lake          OH    38  26 87  4  0.2393
 92 Hercules            Dorney Park          PA    26  23 85  6  0.2281 6
 93 Sky Princess        Dutch Wonderland     PA    15  24 86  4  0.2281 5
 94 Texas Cyclone       SF Astroworld        TX    17  20 87  8  0.2087
 95 Wolverine Wildcat   Michigan's Adventure MI     5  16 86 16  0.2034
 96 Jack Rabbit         Clementon Lake       NJ     7  19 93  6  0.1864
 97 Rolling Thunder     SFGAd                NJ    33  16 94  8  0.1695
 98 Rollo Coaster       Idlewild             PA    18  15 92  8  0.1652
 99 Pegasus             Big Chief            WI     5  12 81  8  0.1584
100 Scooby Doo          Carowinds            NC    21  13 97  4  0.1316
101 Comet               Waldameer            PA    10  12 99  7  0.1314
102 Sea Dragon          Wyandot Lake         OH     8  12 99  4  0.1217
103 Little Dipper       Hillcrest            IL     4  11 98  5  0.1184
104 Beastie             Kings Island         OH    41  10 99  6  0.1130
105 Little Dipper       Kiddieland           IL     4  10 99  5  0.1096
106 Antelope            Gulliver's World     UK     6   8 83  4  0.1053
107 Pegasus             de Efeling           HO     2   9 92  3  0.1010
108 Scooby Doo          Kings Dominion       VA    27  10102  2  0.0965
109 Zipper Dipper       Blackpool            UK    12   7103  8  0.0932
110 Beastie             Australia's Wonderl. AL     2   9 92  1  0.0931
111 Hochschaubahn       Prater Park          AU     1   9 92  0  0.0891 0
112 Anaconda            Walibi-Schtroumpf    FR     1   9 92  0  0.0891 0
113 Ghoster Coaster     Canada's Wonderland  ON    13   7103  4  0.0789
114 Lil' Dipper         Camden Park          WV    13   4110  4  0.0508
115 Underground         Adventureland        IA     3   4 88  0  0.0435
116 Bush Beast          Australia's Wonderl. AL     1   4109  0  0.0354
117 Kiddie Coaster      Playland             NY     1   2111  0  0.0177
118 Zach's Zoomer       Michigan's Adventure MI     4   1113  1  0.0130
119 The Grizzly         Great America        CA    18   0117  0  0.0000
xxx White Canyon        Yomiuriland          JA     0   0  0  0  0.0000
xxx Jupiter             Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JA     0   0  0  0  0.0000
xxx White Cyclone       Nagashima Spaland    JA     0   0  0  0  0.0000
xxx Sierra Thunder      Mirabilandia Park    IT     0   0  0  0  0.0000
xxx Little Dipper       Stricker's Grove     OH     0   0  0  0  0.0000

You know, these results still strike me as so odd that MegaFobia can
still be #1 with only 10 people riding it.  Perhaps these are the 10
voters from Europe who only have voted the few woodies there.
  I know I experience a similar but oposite experince, being from
California and having not ridden many of the great woodies back east
where it seems the majority of these voters hail from, but all of the
California coasters seem rather LOW on the list.  
  I can understand PGA's Grizzly being at the bottom. :)
But with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk coaster being #1 from the west coast
followed by Belmont, then SMFF's Psyclone, then to Colossus, I must
admit I'm confused.

Especially when I see that Lagoon's (in Utah) little tiny coaster is
rated higher than Colossus.  

I'm curious though...is there a way to tabulate these results again,
puting them in order of # of riders on a coaster, just so we can see
where the largest cluster of riders are comming from.

Perhaps a tabulation by region.  Texas and everything west clumped
together, and everything east together, and then Europe.

--
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: You know, these results still strike me as so odd that MegaFobia can
: still be #1 with only 10 people riding it.  Perhaps these are the 10
: voters from Europe who only have voted the few woodies there.
:   I know I experience a similar but oposite experince, being from
: California and having not ridden many of the great woodies back east
: where it seems the majority of these voters hail from, but all of the
: California coasters seem rather LOW on the list.  
:   I can understand PGA's Grizzly being at the bottom. :)
: But with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk coaster being #1 from the west coast
: followed by Belmont, then SMFF's Psyclone, then to Colossus, I must
: admit I'm confused.

:
: Especially when I see that Lagoon's (in Utah) little tiny coaster is
: rated higher than Colossus.  
:
: I'm curious though...is there a way to tabulate these results again,
: puting them in order of # of riders on a coaster, just so we can see
: where the largest cluster of riders are comming from.
:
: Perhaps a tabulation by region.  Texas and everything west clumped
: together, and everything east together, and then Europe.
:
:

Actually, the results have confirmed something I have thought all
along....Mega coasters are generally a waste of wood. Look at these
ratings:
Le Monstre 36
Beast 38
Rattler 61
Mean streak 73
Colossus 79
A. Eagle 83
Hercules 92
Only the Tx Giant is highly rated at 11, and that is a bit high IMHO, it
was very rough this year, almost shook my brains out of my head.

The point being is that mega coasters are usually rough, heavily braked,
and generally not well regarded. It is good to see that my axiom "height
does not make might" is held by the majority of enthusiasts. It look like
the mega woodie fad is over, I say good! keep the record breakers for
steel.

more comments on the results:

Overrated coasters:

Tx Giant
Yankee cannonball (still a fine ride, but a tad high)

Underrated:

Ga Cyclone (this is a great coaster when running well, stand up airtime in
the back)
Wild One (it kicked ***when I rode it in Aug)
Big Dipper Geauga (a true Coaster Classic, great airtime and great trains)
Thunder Run (maybe due to people who rode it when it was rough)
Riverside Cyclone (I hate Morgans too, but 51 is too much of a demotion
for this former top 5)
Judge Roy Scream ( this was very peppy with a fair amount of airtime this year)
Starliner Panama city and Zippin Pippin (these two have some nice airtime
despite the size)
Lake Winnie Cannonball (yes I got married on it so I'm biased, but 48 is
too low, this ride ALWAYS runs well for a small coaster)

Any way, despite these differences of opinion, this is a great poll, by
and large the cream rose to the top...good job Mitch!

****************************************************************
*                                                              *
* Matt Crowther  Atlanta, Georgia                              *
* TWC Meteorologist                                            *
* Storm Chaser                                                 *
* Amu***t Park Enthusiast                                    *
* Beer Fancier                                                 *

*                                                              *
*  my opinions ONLY (no one else would want them anyway)       *                                                        *                                                              *
****************************************************************

: You know, these results still strike me as so odd that MegaFobia can
: still be #1 with only 10 people riding it.  Perhaps these are the 10
: voters from Europe who only have voted the few woodies there.

Well, I live in California and I voted Megafobia as #1.  Don't forget
there were also over 100 ACErs on the UK trip this year that went on it,
and many of them are online.  And in regards to enthusiasts from the UK,
almost everyone I know has been to America to ride coasters at some point,
and many of them on multiple trips.  In fact, some of the members of RCCGB
have been on more US coasters that I have!  And I travel a hell of a lot!

Just defending my UK pals and thier #1 wooden coaster!

--Robb (Happily riding coasters in CA and FL during the off-season!)
Oingo Boingo Secret Society Staff
RCCGB Member
ACE Member
BPB is the best!
"The Gravity Of The Situation"
"it's loud! it's annoying! it's the extended extra-longer supercharged Main Street Electrical Parade!  Please let it die soon!"

Give the SCBB Giant Dipper a try, you may find out why it is the
most highly regarded of the California woodies.

Thanks for your comments,

-Mitch Hawker

(Replying to two different sets of remarks here...)

Of course, I doubt that every one of those ten riders has ridden all
102 of the other coasters, so it might be the case that some of those
102 pairwise votes may only have one or two voters.  If that's true,
then there's still a chance that Megafobia may not be #1 when the poll
closes... but that can only happen IF one or two other voters who have
ridden Megafobia (but haven't voted yet) rank one or more of the other
coasters with low pairwise vote counts higher than it.

It's clear that at least one of the Megafobia riders has US coaster
experience, since there's no other way that 102 other coasters could
have shown up on the same ballots as it.  But it's also possible that
the polling could be skewed by just *one* voter with a large track record
who thinks Megafobia is best.  You'd have to look at the raw data -
the ballots of the ten Megafobia riders - to know what the full story is.

And maybe, just maybe, Megafobia really IS that good.  I'd love to try it
myself - there's a POV video available of it somewhere on the Web (wish
I had the URL handy!) which has me convinced that it *could* very well
be worth its top billing.

[snipping some text out]

Another ride I'd consider underrated is the Dorney Thunderhawk - like
Thunder Run, its ranking may be lower due to past years' performance.
(I only rode it this year; others in the past said it was killed by
mid-course trims, which were either light or not on at all when I rode it.)

-Shawn Mamros

- Andreas

---

Andreas "Goonie" Schildbach

Ride more roller-coasters!

:
: > You know, these results still strike me as so odd that MegaFobia can
: > still be #1 with only 10 people riding it.  Perhaps these are the 10
: > voters from Europe who only have voted the few woodies there.
:
: Just to burst you bubble: I am one of the people who voted for
: Megafobia #1, and I have also ridden many U.S. Woodies. Some of them
: even got into the very top of my list (the Georgia Cyclone and the

: to the Megafobia (this is perhaps because it is the only CCI coaster I
: have ridden so far).
:
: - Andreas

I have not ridden Megafobia, (next year!) but a couple of people with BIG
track records I know rate it # 1....so the ranking is probably pretty
accurate

****************************************************************
*                                                              *
* Matt Crowther  Atlanta, Georgia                              *
* TWC Meteorologist                                            *
* Storm Chaser                                                 *
* Amu***t Park Enthusiast                                    *
* Beer Fancier                                                 *

*                                                              *
*  my opinions ONLY (no one else would want them anyway)       *                                                        *                                                              *
****************************************************************

Of the US  voters on the net who have experienced the ride - they have
also voted it very high in their lists

Yes - Megafobia is a long way away. Yes - its in the UK. Yes - many US
coaster riders havent ridden it but those who have - love it. It is
actually very condescending to say that us UK riders have voted it highly
as its all that we know . Its not as if we dont already have some world
class coasters ( Grand NAtional, Big Dipper, Cyclone etc etc) We ARE not
bragging about the ride because its there . We are bragging because its a
***y good ride.

I am not afaid to admit that my favourite steel coaster is Montu and thats
not in my country. To me its just an excuse to travel and ride another
coaster NOT a chance to have a go at a ride I havent done.

I dont mean to complain - but it really annoys me when the best coaster in
the world I have experienced is trashed by people who have no idea.

Michael Bolton  

I love coasters, and have riden as many as I could, but living in
California, and not being able to afford the outragious travel fees
the airlines want, it rather limits what there is to ride.
Especially where woodies are concerned.  There are only really 5 of them
in California (I think)  None in the accessable Las Vegas area either.
In California, where STEEL seems to reign king, its rather difficult to
compete I guess.

I wouldn't dream of trashing the Megafobia, though I've never ridden
it.

--
Mike Gillooly

I have no personal bias since I didn't vote but if I had then Megafobia
would have scored even more points.  I personally find it very difficult
to rate coasters on a 'best' basis because I enjoy so many different
types of ride so I hate scoring one against another when they each have
differing attributes.  

So far as Megafobia goes - it IS a first class ride and deserves world
recognition as a virtually 'PERFECT' woodie providing a more intense ride
experience than many mega-coasters costing considerably more to build.
It's also probably the most photogenic coaster I've had the privelidge to
climb around with a camera.  It triggers distant memories of the Belle
Vue Bob's.- motion, constant merry motion.

We are lucky to have had it built in the U.K. by a fortuitous association
of CCI, John Wardley, and the courage and foresight of the family owned
small park.

My personal opinion is that it will be seen as a watershed, the catalyst
in the revival of wooden coaster building, especially twisters, in Europe.

There are other parks in the UK that have the space, and after Megafobia
the inclination, to put in an affordable woodie of this class.

Hopefully in the course of the next couple of years we will be adding
many Megafobia siblings to our list of top world woodies and, selfishly,
 I hope that many of them appear here in the U.K.

AlanB, Manchester, England.

Editor
WWG   - The World Wide Guide to:-
        Parks, Roller Coasters, Rides, Technology & Topics.
        http://SportToday.org/
RCCGB - Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain Web pages.
        http://SportToday.org/
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The coaster quite simply has everything - massive air time, speed, good
first drop, loads of turns, great PTC trains, great visual's, great staff
!, great location - everything you'd want in a coaster.  Truly my No1 !
(Woodie !!)  I'll NEVER forget the night riding we had on it back in
September - everything was perfect.  Ahhhhhh, roll on April '97.

Greg P.

To RIDE the BEST, you have to visit the BEST - Blackpool Pleasure Beach !!

                                          A Century of Fun