Rides that you.. like

[Mark9]

You know I've just realised, we don't have a topic discussing what rides we actually like. Sure we talk about each indiviual ride at Thorpe Park and to a lesser degree Alton Towers and Chessington, but what about all those little rides that you may have ridden that have been virtually ignored.I'll start the ball rolling with five of my favourite non UK Merlin rides. 1. Superman de AceroA lot of discussion about Floorless coasters always centres about the non event of the floorless aspect if you aren't in the front row. Well that mattered so little to me as Superman is one of those perfect rides that is virtually ignored, and yet is absolutely brilliant and my favourite rollercoaster. With a mix of fantastic air time on that first drop, brilliantly intense inversions and a zero g roll that has yet to be matched, fantastic thrills and yeah the floorless coaster is defunct but no one ever comments on the amount of freedom you have as you rides. Legs as far up as possible, just you and the track in front with no obstructions. Fantastic ride!2. Blue FireAbsolute classy ride. It single handidly shows Intamin that this is how you do a smooth, thrilling launch coaster which lasts longer then a sneeze. A mix of air time, inversions and excellent hand/head choppers, Blue Fire is sheer Mack class. I'm so glad they've sold two more of there megacoasters, they are excellent.3. Mondial CaprioloThe most thrilling flat ride I've ever ridden. From the ground it looks like a souped up Booster. I hate Boosters, over-rated, slow loading pieces of boring nothingness. The Capriolo is on a whole different level and had me shouting expletives as I just couldn't believe what the ride was capable of. It's hard to describe as you really have to go on it to fully, sort of understand why its such a beast. Worth finding at fairs.4. G'Sengte Sau(The only pic I had =()Gerstlauers first attempt at a rollercoaster and remains my favourite ride they've built so far, G'Sengte Sau shares many traits with my other favourite ride, it's surprisingly under-rated. From its little layout and hidden away themed beauty its a wonderful attraction. Hidden away in Germany, it may not have the Intamin and B&M'ness of other German parks, Tripsdill is definitly worth a visit.5. Black MambaSeen as the natural successor to Nemesis, Mamba's hype seems to have died down since it opened. It's a shame because its a great ride. Like a snake wriggling through the bushes, the layout takes you through caves, up through buildings and through the over-growth. The theming on Mamba is the most impressive part. It's scale is unmatched by most rides in Europe.So there's just a few of my favourites. What are yours?

[James6]

Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris, physically my favourite ride in the world, without question. Phenomenal.Robin Hood at Walibi Belgium, phenomenal Woodie with a load of airtime, a great layout and is also quite smooth. Weird restraints though.Challenge of Tutankhamon at Walibi Belgium, physically one of the best dark rides I've ever been on, look it up on Youtube and you'll see why.Agreed on the Mondial Capriolo, great rides Only rode one a couple of weeks ago. Inferno at Terra Mitica, ridiculously short but I really did enjoy this ride.

[Kevin]

1: Dragons Fury - ChessingtonFor those of you that know me.. don't think this is for obvious reasons!I am maybe someone who is a lot less of an enthusiast nowadays I have moved into the operational side of theme parks, however I do still really enjoy everything about Dragons Fury, but on top of that I think the theme is fantastic. I absolutely adore the ride itself, it always gets my pulse racing and I would consider the ride to be close to flawless. Having worked on this as my main ride for a year, I do still really really enjoy this ride however many times I rode it during season, even though it may still have issues with block shutdowns and the like, but it's such a wild and energetic coaster. As well as this, I really enjoy the whole area itself - I know it may not be suited for someone of my age but I really love Land of the Dragons. But maybe that's just my hours of working in it for a year, who knows.2: Euro Sat - Europa ParkOut of this world, and with the ride theme that's no pun intended. I love the theme of this ride and how its 'out of control' feel is such a thrill. The music is awesome, the theming from the queue all the way through the ride and even to the exit is outstanding, something of sheer awesomeness.3: Thirteen, Alton TowersMaybe new ride syndrome but this is one fantastic ride. It isn't something that is meant to be thrilling, but if you see it as a family roller coaster then it is absolutely wicked. The theming within the queue isn't that great, but once past bag room I was absolutely astounded, Merlin actually bothering?! I was pleasantly surprised with the fast moving queue and then when we boarded, it did feel like a bit of a laugh and to be fair, it was a bit of an up down up down etc ride but when you went into the crypt, I was amazed! Great idea, and from there onwards it showed what you can do with a roller coaster when you think things though.4: Alexander Dennis Enviro400 Hybrid (TFL Route 94)Great bus, great acceleration and very quick tunraround speed. Loving the new ones on the 94.5: Class 158/159, South West TrainsVery comfortable, very fast!Sorry, I ran out of good rides.

[Jared A]

For G'Sengte Sau POV's. Here's the full HD mounted POV that I filmed earlier this year. We did Mammut too, so feel free to take a look at the others we've done. Here's G'Sengte Sau POVMy Coaster Favs (not in order)1. Expedition GeForce (Me and my friend Laura up the top of the lift hill)2. Mammut (That's me in the white top)3. Rage (During on ride filming in August)4. I Speed5. Air

[Deleted Users]

Top 5 Non - Merlin Rides:1. Bizarro - Six Flags New England:If it wasn't for this one ride, then I would have considered Six Flags New England a complete disaster of a park. It's pretty clear that it's retheme is extremely lazy, with nearly all of the effects broken after less than 2 years when I visited. The queue and batching were pretty awful as well but the ride was so good that I was too busy having fun; long, ridiculous amounts of airtime, no trims until one of the final hills, etc. I can see why this has been voted top on multiple polls for about 5 years.2. Tower of Terror - WDWI love everything about this ride, from the immersive, ridiculously detail to the random drop sequence. I seem to be the only one who like the 5th Dimension scene as well 3. Tatsu - Six Flags Magic MountainAgain, appalling operation by Six Flags but amazing ride.4. Terminator: Salvation - Six Flags Magic MountainJust a lot of fun.5. The Simpsons Ride - Universal Studios LAThe amount of work that went into this ride is insane.

[Tom]

For G'Sengte Sau POV's. Here's the full HD mounted POV that I filmed earlier this year. We did Mammut too, so feel free to take a look at the others we've done. Here's G'Sengte Sau POV

Cobra anyone? ;)If you knew me you'd understand my love for Disneyland. (The original one)1.

It may not look it, but really smooth. Gives a great amount of airtime and surprising amount of force on the loop. Also the launch is great despite looking slow! Oh and the music is amazing, without the music this ride isn't as good as it could be! The layout is completing different from anything else, and includes a launch as well as lift hill!I also like every other ride in both Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure. But yes, California Screamin'. Just yes.

[Benin]

Revenge of the Mummy - FloridaThis is how to do a dark-ride-coaster hybrid... Great theming at the start with subtle little details... Granted the backwards section isn't long (or of any length in fact), but the launch up-hill and the coaster portion (and roof on fire) provide an extremely fun and enjoyable ride that made me want to go on again and again...Top Thrill DragsterQuite possibly the BEST accelerator in the world... Lap-bars, seat-belts, an amazingly tall structure and some awesome SFX (and a grandstand, take THAT Stealth), give this ride an excellent atmosphere... And when it's the first ride to make me nervous in years and then cause me to be extremely pumped up afterwards for 30 minutes, just shows how amazing this ride is...The BeastAhhhhh Wooden coasters are always fun, as are rides that you can watch from various areas of the park... But this ride goes against all reason... You only see the first (of two) lift hills on this, and then you get treated to 5/6 minutes of a very fast jaunt in the woods, picking up speed continuously over long downward straights... In the back and front this is amazing, and when you add pitch black night into the equation, it truly is stunning...Tonnere de ZeusAnother Wooden coaster, but this isn't nicknamed "Ton of Air" for no reason... Beautiful setting against the lake and again you don't see that much of the main bulk of the ride from the pathways/queue, just the ending and the brakes (of excessive stoppage and DOOM)... It's just an insanely fun ride that you will not spend in your seat 90% of the time...

[AdamY]

Manta - Sea World OrlandoManta is absolutely lush. It's a fantastic layout and smooth as glass, and it helps that B&M's Flyer is probably my favourite model by my favourite manufacturer. Not only that, the surrounding rocks, waterfalls, pools and aquariums give the ride a stunningly beautiful setting to run through. True 5-star ride.Jurassic Park River Adventure - Islands Of Adventure, Universal Orlando ResortJPRA is another great all-rounder. The opening 'tour' portion is exceptional, with lush vegetation, brilliant dinosaur animatronics and mist and smell cannons as well! The added element of thrill at the end is great too, and I like the sudden change of themeing to the more industrial 'backstage' look.Pirates of the Caribbean - Magic Kingdom, WDWDo I really need to explain this one? Absolutely stunning atmosphere, fantastic fun ride. Perfect in every way.Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain - Disney's Animal Kingdom, WDWWonderful coaster, combined with 5-star storytelling and themeing. Every inch of the queue is detailed, thought-out and aged to perfection. Beautiful art litters every surface. Weathered signs and posters cover the walls, and random little trinkets hang from ceilings and sit atop the shelves. Combine that with a thrilling coaster, and Disney have another winner. We won't mention the Yeti, eh?Amazing Adventures of Spiderman - Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando ResortI love Spidy! Everyone called it the world's best dark ride before Forbidden Journey opened, and rightly so! It's a brilliant adventure from the moment you step into the building, combining a great story told through the news reports on TV with an amazing ride full of thrills, brilliant 3D film and fantastic real props and effects like the fire jets and thick green smoke.I could add a whole other list for shows, restaurants ect, but maybe I'll save it for later

[A-Kid]

drop and the last bit mainly. Its so Gracefull, yet so Fast and theres so much Freedom. The queue atmosphere is epic, as was the early 2000's music.Oh and just to piss on UK parksThis is how loud music should be and how fast a queue should move. Maverick:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj_tAk1_qq8 to find a video that discribes how aggressive it is is hard. It beats the **** out of you, but its so fun. Rita's first corner X10 = every corner. Its ****ing funny. Again queue line atmosphere is epic and you know what? The queues actually move unlike any UK ride.Atmosphere:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi3Gk3I3pW4Then theres Dragster. Again amazing. Awesome station atmosphere that gets you pumped for a break down. 2/3 times I did it I was stuck on it. One sitting in the car for 15 mins, one on manual going backwards. Still awesome. It was cool hearing the voice of someone my dad went to six form with, Republica's lead singer. Twister:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPtDqPiknaEThis is ****ing awesome even if it hurts your legs. Notice the pumping atmosphere again that is set.Lets jump out of Cedar Point now, and lead ourselves the the dump that was Waldameer, PA out the back of the trailer park near the graveyard. (Litrally it is like that). The park where the entrance is a hole in a fence.But it does hide this awesome beast. So it was worth being shot.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usl83zmoCQEThis the the best video I could find that discribes the rides pace. Ignore the screaming and you will survive. Maybe.

[Cjw]

Harry Potter and The Forbidden JourneyWhat can I say about this ride that hasn't already been said? It's spiderman's older brother, being somewhat similar in what it does but using more advanced technology. It's utterly fantastic, added more to by me being a long time potter fan. It also eats queue, loading is incredibly fast for what it is and the queue has so much to look at it's very hard to get bored in it. Also-butterbeer. Greatest drink ever.Kraken.Front row on this coaster is INCREDIBLE. B&M's floorless coasters single handily justified in one coaster.Euro-MirUtterly bonkers Europa Park coaster. Beats the UK spinners by a country mile. Also, the funkiest lift hill in all of existence. Expedition EverestAmazing Facade, Amazing queue and a pretty good ride to boot. Montu.Best layout on a B&M inverter. I prefer this to Nemesis.

[Coasterfreck]

It was very hard to pick but here is my curent top five1. Bluefire - Europa Park2. Manta - Sea World Orlando3. Kraken - Sea World Orlando4. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park Germany5. Enigma - Newpleasurewood hills

[Luke_A]

Here's my favourite 'Funfair' type of ride, it's a Tivoli Re-Mix (an inverting orbiter). Now if any of you know of Vortex at Adventure Island, it is a similar design to that, other than it is more intense and inverts you and has OTSR's. I always ride the one that comes to my local fair a few times or more. You can get 2 different models of it, a 4 arm version or a 6 arm version-this is much more intense. ^_^Here is a video of Stanley Gamble's 'Extreme' Re-Mix orbiter. (the ride starts from about 3:00mins)

It is quite hard to walk when you initially get off of one of these things because they pull so many G's-that's why I love them so much!I've not ridden any coasters outside of the U.K yet, so I can't really say any favourites out of them yet

[AstroDan]

In no particular order, here are five of the best for me:Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the most incredible and immersive theme park ride I have been on. With an unrivalled queue line experience, a great ride experience - it's quite simply, amazing. Kumba. I expected something like Dragon Khan, which is decent but not mindblowing. Kumba put Dragon Khan to the sword. A brilliant coaster - old skool and exciting. With better landscaping than it's brother in Spain, this is a top coaster and one of the very best ever built.There's something about Blue Fire. It's possibly the great theming, it's possibly the awesome trains, it's possibly the fact that a company that had never built a launched or looping coaster before just blew everything out of the water, it's possibly because it's at Europa-Park which in itself is enough. But you know what, this is an amazing coaster. It's not "intense" - but it's unrivalled int erms of "fun" for me and that last inversion... just wow. The dark ride portion pre-launch is nicem too.Troy. Well - it's a cracking coaster. Fast paced, long, exciting. For a park that frankly nobody cared about before to install this - one of Europe's best wooden coasters - is amazing. Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom). It's one of those coasters that you frankly expect nothing of. At all. The closest thing to this is Eurosat - another great dark coaster. But here, a pretty old Disney classic offers a raw coaster experience like no other. There's even airtime. Totally blew all my pre-conceptions out of the water. Sure, Paris' is prettier - but track and train, this was absolutely brilliant.

[Benin]

What follows is the Best Tower Ride Ever...Mystery Castle at Phantasialand has:- An amazing fully theme queueline WITH actors (Sorry Saw, you're not the first)- An amazing throughput- An amazing amount of airtime- An amazing evil German voice yelling MYSTERY CASTLE at you- An amazing soundtrackAnd that's it... It's sheer bliss and full of WANT...

[NickD]

Tonnere de ZeusAnother Wooden coaster, but this isn't nicknamed "Ton of Air" for no reason... Beautiful setting against the lake and again you don't see that much of the main bulk of the ride from the pathways/queue, just the ending and the brakes (of excessive stoppage and DOOM)... It's just an insanely fun ride that you will not spend in your seat 90% of the time...

Have also rode this what seems like years ago, remember it having an absolutely quality steep drop! Sends you flying.

Here's my favourite 'Funfair' type of ride, it's a Tivoli Re-Mix (an inverting orbiter). Now if any of you know of Vortex at Adventure Island, it is a similar design to that, other than it is more intense and inverts you and has OTSR's. I always ride the one that comes to my local fair a few times or more. You can get 2 different models of it, a 4 arm version or a 6 arm version-this is much more intense. :rolleyes:Here is a video of Stanley Gamble's 'Extreme' Re-Mix orbiter. (the ride starts from about 3:00mins)

It is quite hard to walk when you initially get off of one of these things because they pull so many G's-that's why I love them so much!I've not ridden any coasters outside of the U.K yet, so I can't really say any favourites out of them yet

These things are absolutely Lethal! Have blacked out on these a few times before now.

[AstroDan]

- An amazing evil German voice yelling MYSTERY CASTLE at you

Unless there's a long queue and you get the short setting, which we named "Misery Castle". No voice, no half shot and bounce at the start. Just lights out - up - and bounce down. Utter pants.On the standard/longer cycle it's great though, not quite up there with TOT for the overall experience, but they did a very good job on Mystery Castle!

[Benin]

Another one to add to my list...Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood...Sure it looks like a green version of the Big One... But it damn well ain't the Big One I can tell you... Firstly, the second drop is LARGER than the first, and plummets down the side of the cliff the parks sits on underneath one of their Wooden coasters...Then this second picture describes what happens in the second half...There is actually a stupidly high amount of airtime on this... Possibly more than Tonnerre de Zeus and others... It was quite frankly such a suprise and doesn't get much respect as it deserves...To Kennywood and Morgan!

[Luke_A]

Right, I don't usually do reviews of individual rides, but I feel that this ride needs to added to my list of "exceptional rides" Mondial Capriolo-2Xtreme.So tonight I went to the annual Milton Keynes halloween and fireworks funfair, which is on for around 2 weeks annually. The ride line up at this fair is really quite special, with names such as:Rock Rage-KMG Inversion12Tango-KMG TangoDrop Zone-Fabbri 140ft Drop Tower (same as Detonator but taller)Extreme-Tivoli 6-Arm ReMix OrbiterStar FlyerEnergy Storm-Street Fighter (similar to KMG Freak Out)Reverse BungeeAnd of course Walter Murphy's 2Xtreme-Caprioloand that's to name a few... there was no Enterprise this year, which was no loss in my eyes Anyway, onto the Capriolo.From afar 2Xtreme looks nothing special, although it certainly looks the part with new LED lighting and a massive green star on the counterweight poking out into the sky with lightning bolts going down the main arm. Some may say it looks like a glorified booster/speed, as it does look similar in some ways, the ride experience however is completely opposite to that of a booster.The ride was kinda struggling to get many riders early in the evening, allowing me to have a ride on one side all by myself, with 2 people on the other side. Once seated your restraints are locked in the same way as on any Mondial ride, and pin you at the hip and legs instead of the body, giving some nice movement. The floor drops and the ride starts with a rather calm swing, gradually getting higher and higher as it goes backwards and forwards, (think Rush) The swings actually felt more powerful than Rush's, giving some good hangtime when near the top, and a kind of 'kick' when the direction changes! The swing then reaches full height and your left upside down for a period of a about 5 seconds... All while that massive fan roars above or below you.The brakes then release off the gondola leaving it to swing insanely, leaving you barely any time to notice your flying back down to earth, either flying face-first or up to the sky when you fly through the station area, pinning your body and head right into your seat. This happens about 6 times, sometimes though, at the top of the tower the brakes on the gondola will activate making you fly through the station upside down, This is the most intense ride manoeuvre I have ever experienced, pulling around 5G. From then on the ride ends with a few more swings, feeling ever more powerful...(image from ukrides)The Capriolo flies right in there as my No.1 fair ride. It's experience is 100% unique and is almost like Mondial took the booster and turned it into this awesome machine with the Intense edge that Mondial rides have, putting the KMG Speed at No.2 and The Tivoli ReMix at No.3. ^There you can see, it pulls +5G and -1G, and takes approximately 12 hours to put up! It's also 160ft in height&is the only ride of it's type in the UK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACYk5vknbuw

And that's all, Luke.

[Mark9]

Just a few to add to the listShock is wonderful. Everyone judges the X Car on the awful G Force at Drayton Manor, but the other three types I've ridden have been wonderful rides. Shock is full of intensity, speed and THAT CORNER. Brilliant ride.Manta is just beautiful and scenic. Intense, fun and glidey. Love it.The best B&M inverter in the world. Anyone that hates those long drawn out 'American' rides, needs to try this out. Won't be disappointed.

[Benin]

WAT NO HUNTIK?!!!!!!!!!

[GladiatorFanKyle]

My top five are

Rock rage - owned by graham sedgwick it's a bloody amazing ride! Probably the best experience I've ever had in my life!

Danter's AIR - owned by abie danter. It's so much fun! A must ride!

Gladiator - owned by buwalda + kriek it's so much fun the height is scary at first but you are so pinned in you feel safe!

Shambhala - such an amazing ride! I loved it! Awesome airtime and a beautiful ride!

Furius Baco - a lot of people hate this ride but I ADORE it! I love it so much! It's so funny!

[OldFarmerDean]

Top 5 (flat rides)

Danter's Air

Rush

Maelstrom

Rameses Revenge or Ripsaw (depending on which is ran on a better setting - normally rameses when it's actually open)

Samurai

[Coaster]

Bump!

My top 6 rides are:

1. Valhalla

2. Big One

3. Wild Mouse

4. Grand National

5. Megafobia

6. The Smiler