I think Bubbles 1 was possibly referring to the comment made in the post before by Benin about the Huracan ride in Belgium being the best themed ride of 2013. But still agree Bubbles1 should wait until construction has finished.

Sorry for any confusion, I actually did mean the pillars, at first it didn't really work for me. It seemed a little too monolithic for me, but looking at the pictures posted afterwards I withdraw it. Seeing the track through both pieces makes it a lot more exciting

B&M

Beach Cam

Construction Cam

Keyhole Cam

Yes, yes, we all want to go to Cedar Point and ride Gatekeeper.

Shame it'll be the only thing worth riding at the park eh?

Should stop looking at this topic in the early morning, always always see those webcams at night (and therefore nothing)

Should stop looking at this topic in the early morning, always always see those webcams at night (and therefore nothing)

Darn Americans being several hours behind us!

Speaking of the cams, am I the only who thinks that, whilst they show some key features of the ride, they don't show them off very well? I'm absolutely loving the looks of this and following construction, and I still think this ride will look amazing, but those cams make everything look a bit...underwhelming.

That has gone up so quickly. At this rate I'm expecting soft openings before The Smiler opens. Also, I didn't realise these signs were new additions when I last went. Constant warnings in the queue are not enough in America!

In Six Flags news, Iron Rattler is shaping up to be completely bonkers.

That transition on the drop looks actually pretty crap...

Like, eh?

Nice pano here of "Iron Rattler"

Whilst linking this picture I took a glance at it's wiki page and found the quote below rather interesting, one of those "I never knew that" moments....

The Rattler was constructed by Roller Coaster Corporation of America.
When the coaster debuted on March 14, 1992, it was the tallest and
fastest wooden coaster in the world, with a height of 179 feet (55 m), a
first drop of 166 feet (51 m) and a top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h),
outdoing its then rival, Mean Streak at Ohio's Cedar Point.
John Pierce stated that the original design plans kept changing as
Gaylord insisted on having the tallest wooden coaster in the world.^[3]
It held this title until 1994, when The Rattler's first drop was
drastically shortened from 166 to 124 feet (51 to 38 m), resulting in a
reduction of its top speed from 73 to 65 miles per hour (117 to 105
km/h).

Looks awful...

I'm starting to think you're not a fan...

Why is it orange? Does look somewhat ghastly.

I'm starting to think you're not a fan...

I'm really not of these hybrid style coasters (see also, Outlaw Run and that other one... I forget it atm)...

They just look aesthically awful and generally unsafe... I also don't get the whole "OMG LOOK WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH A WOODEN COASTER" when well, quite frankly, it's not a wooden coaster in a real sense, just a mass of steel track put on top on some wooden supports to make it look like one...

Things like Voyage and Hades look miles better than these ones, which seem to just be loved because they look 'mental'... Where in mental does not equal a good ride... I think it's the inversions which really put me off, as they just look tacked on because INVERSIONS MAKE RIDES BETTER...

GCI supremacy...

I just want to know who this "Gaylord" is that the Wiki quote mentions Sorry but I couldn't help but giggle!

I'm really not of these hybrid style coasters (see also, Outlaw Run and that other one... I forget it atm)...

Texas Giant?

I see your point but it's not like they're pushing it as a wooden coaster....(taken from the official site)

Six Flags Fiesta Texas announces plans to unveil its newest addition

and structural landmark as the highly anticipated hybrid coaster Iron

Rattler will make its’ dashing debut next spring at Six Flags Fiesta

Texas.

The Iron Rattler will be a unique technological marvel combining a

classic wooden support structure with modern track and rails crafted of

steel, allowing for unprecedented smooth and swift over-banked turns

and inversions never before experienced on either a traditional steel or

wooden coaster. Utilizing state-of-the-art Iron Horse Track™©® the

innovative Iron Rattler will provide four over-banked turns, the most

of any hybrid coaster today, and will be the first to deliver an

inverted barrel roll for an awe-inspiring adventure in and around the

surrounding 100-ft. quarry wall setting!

Yay for Theme Park Review supremacy!

The Mitch Hawker poll results are out and it's not all bad. Expedition Ge Force has been voted the worlds top steel roller coaster (somehow), followed by lots of American and Chinese rides. But then what gets interesting is Shambhala is 6th beating the hotly tipped Skyrush, iSpeed is 8th and in joint 9th is Katun, Maverick and the excitingly named Mega-Lite in China. Then follows Nemesis at 12th. The first time it has been out of the top ten and beaten by a fellow Inverter, however with the American/Chinese supremacy that TPR has a liking to, for Nemesis to be that high is a good result. As for the other Uk/European rides of interest:-

13. Piraten

15. Blue Fire Megacoaster

31. Black Mamba

34. Oz'Iris

37. Dragon Khan (Major fall for Khan)

43. Superman de Acero

45. Monster

48. Speed Monster

53. Shock

58. X-Flight

68. The Swarm

76. Silver Star

78. Anubis: the ride

82. Winjas Fear

87. Wild Eagle

98. Winjas Force

111. Stealth

113. Raptor (At Gardaland)

114. Heize Faht

116. Furius Baco

118. Krake

119. Oblivion

123. Nemesis Inferno

124. Daemonen

127. Speed: No Limits

130. Air

132. Tornado (At Bakken)

143. Formule X

144. Big Thunder Mountain (Paris)

145. Dragons Fury

146. Divertical

148. Abismo

149. Euro Mir

157. Tarantula

170. G'Sengte Sau

173. Rita

179. Kanonen

185. Saw - The Ride (OUCH)

196. Colossus

200. Thirteen

202. Vampire

218. Ultimate

228. Salama

230. Steeplechase

235. The Big One

246. Sonic Spinball

253. Avalanche

278. Cobra

279. Shockwave

326. Caligostro

344. G-Force

359. X:/ No Way Out

360. Sequoia Adventure

365. Goudurix

Poll results here:- http://www.ushsho.com/detailedsteelrollercoasterpollresults2012.htm

So there we have it. According to the coaster world The Swarm is the second best B&M wing-rider, second best UK roller coaster and the best roller coaster at Thorpe Park. Not such a great showing for Merlins other coasters (Krake, Raptor, Saw the Ride and Thirteen) all being lower then expected. I've got a big congratulations to Dragons Fury though, for a Maurer spinner, 145 isn't something to be sniffed at, particularly when you look where the other spinners ended up in the poll.

Farcical poll or absolute proof of quality.. you decide?

I love their random ways of putting some clones together and others not...

MEGA-LITES EVERYWHERE!

Fluch #51 though, YAY!

Never really a fan of these sorts of polls, but that's a different story.

Certainly some interesting results. Must admit I'm somehwat surprised by Swarm's high rating, but even more surprised that X Flight has come in as the top wing rider!? Certainly out of all the ones there are, it looked one of the weakest ones. How on earth Stealth is rated as the 3rd best coaster in the UK is beyond me?

Good to see some rides, such as Dragon's Fury, do well also - definitely think many underrate it at times. As for two Mirabliandia coasters in the Top 10 - someone take me to Italy please?

200. Thirteen

TH13TEEN is the ultimate theme park thrill ride - every ride you've ever dreamed of in one

Well I don't understand this at all then. It's almost as if we've been lied to?!

As much as I like reading these polls, they are utter nonsense. As TPR seem to hold so much sway and they have a vendetta against European rides the whole thing is skewed. One of the most complete coasters I've ridden is Big Thunder Mountain at DLPR (not in the top 100 and next to Dragons Fury(!)) and Oz'Iris is stunningly good (entering at a lowly 34), they are both patently better than a lot of the stuff above them.

Goudurix coming plum last as the worst coaster in the world though? That I can agree with whole heartedly.

Goudurix coming plum last as the worst coaster in the world though? That I can agree with whole heartedly.

I don't, but that's because of Sequioa Adventure...

Just one question...

X flight beat the swarm...

Huh.

Don't think anyone here has ridden, it may well be so. From POV's I doubt it but unless you've done both it's hard to say it is wrong. Wild Eagle though? Surely not!

How is Furius Baco even on the list, let alone above Oblivion etc?!

Don't think anyone here has ridden, it may well be so. From POV's I doubt it but unless you've done both it's hard to say it is wrong. Wild Eagle though? Surely not!

To be fair, I think only a handful on here (5 at most) have even been on a Wing-Rider other than Swarm...

#TheExperiencedPercent

Again though, it's all US bias really and whatever TPR's flavour is... This whole 'experienced' riders issue annoys me as well, which I why I couldn't ever give a toss about ANY coaster listing aside from the only one that matters, my own...

Green Lantern First Flight isn't last? Never have I wanted to get off a coaster more than when riding that thing.