[arby]

While I stopped ranking coasters, I love wooden coasters so this piqued my interest and I dug up my old list and updated it. I can't believe I've been on 42 wooden coasters so far. Here's my top 15:

El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure
Phoenix - Knoebels
The Voyage - Holiday World
ThunderHead - Dollywood
Lightning Racer - Hersheypark
Wild One - Six Flags America
Cornball Express - Indiana Beach
White Lightning - Fun Spot America
Jack Rabbit - Kennywood
Raven - Holiday World
Thunderbolt - Kennywood
Hoosier Hurricane - Indiana Beach
Blue Streak - Cedar Point
Leap The Dips - Lakemont
Thunder Run - Kentucky Kingdom

[tarheel1231]

Got back from Cedar Point and we may go back later tonight. I hate to admit this, but I enjoyed Millennium Force.... more than Fury325. Raptor is awesome so it just goes to the tippy top of my list. What I'm more embarrassed to admit is that I didn't enjoy Magnum, and when I tightened my seatbelt, it punched me in the stomach. Still a classic though, and it's hard for me to kick it out of my top ten, but it just wasn't as great as the seven year old me remembered. Maverick was fun, but if wasn't the end-all be-all coaster some are making it out to be. Top Thrill was also fun, but like others have said, it's more of a thrill ride than a coaster. Gatekeeper was about what I expected it to be. Those harnesses are evil though. There's not nearly enough breathing room. It's still a fun ride, but Thunderbird looks to be the king of the wing coasters. My new top ten looks something like this:

1. Raptor (CP)
2. Millennium Force
3. Fury325
4. Afterburn
5. Maverick
6. Goliath (Georgia)
7. Mindbender (Georgia)
8. Griffon
9. Top Thrill Dragster
10. Verbolten

[RollerBee]

Sinner! We need to Carowinds-ise you again and wash your sins away.

Glad you had fun, take any pictures?

[shane235]

^^ Raptor?!?? I am so confused now...
Raptor made 25/68 for me, but I don't know, to me, inverts have become so common, and they are everywhere, so they have kind of lost their spark of originality to me. I know that it is just a matter of opinion, but I was actually a tad disappointed in Millie. I thought Fury and Maverick were way better.

Anyway, keep an eye on that fence of coasters... maybe something new will pop up *cough* Valrvan *cough*.

[tarheel1231]

My reasoning for putting Millennium Force higher than Fury is because Millie feels more intense. The bottom of that first drop was almost forcing me to put my hands down, and the turns actually pulled some decent g's. And I know the inverts kind of fuse together after you've ridden so many, but the helix and Raptor smack are what solidified Raptor as my no. 1. Maverick was almost "lacking" something. It had amazing airtime, forceful rotations and a forceful launch. Automatic #1, right? For me, Maverick lacked that "wow" factor. It has its "wow" moments, but the ride itself is not a cohesive amazing ride. It still made it into my top five, but Maverick for some reason didn't pack as much of a punch as I had anticipated. Maybe it's a case of some elements outshining the others and making the rest of the ride lackluster in comparison, but Maverick didn't pack the same energy through the entire course as it did in some elements. I will say though that Maverick has the best first drop of any ride I've I've ever been on.

[coasterbruh]

Riding a coaster after a period of time is like having sex with a long lost partner. You think its the best you've had because its been so long but after a while...you realized it wasn't better than slice bread...right guys?

Once you come back to carowinds and [s]have sex with[/s]...I mean ride Fury 325 again...you may feel different. Part of the reason why I don't have a list. I can produce a list of my worst coasters faster than I can my best...

[RollerBee]

^Hmm, someone remind me to bring sanitizing wipes next week.

[tarheel1231]

I just think that Millennium Force does a better job of being a giga coaster. Not that Fury does a bad job, I think it's a Jack of all trades when it comes to the elements gigas can have, but the feeling of speed on Millennium Force is what put it over the top for me. Fury has the better drop though. I enjoyed being ripped down on Millennium Force, but Fury has that awesome eternal plunge into nothingness. I'll ride Millie again today and I'll be at Carowinds for the Max Cannon Coaster Classic to ride Fury again, but my opinion for now is that Millennium Force is the winner.

Doesn't matter though, Raptor is #1.

[EDIT] I'm going to try to get on Magnum again today. It's rough but it just feels wrong taking out of my top ten. So even if I don't enjoy, I may just give it an honorary #10 spot. It is the ride that started my love of bigger, taller, faster coasters.

[tarheel1231]

Got back from Cedar Point and we may head back later. We rode Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister, Rougarou, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and Mean Streak. Rougarou is probably my least favorite of the Cedar Point B&M's as it still bangs your head quite a bit and it's harder to lean with the turns like on Raptor or Maverick. It wasn't too exciting. If you've never ridden Rougarou before, I'd at least take a spin on it, but it's not something I feel that I'd have to ride if I returned to the park.

I'm sorry for the double post, but I have to rant about how awful Mean Streak was. I read all of the reviews about it being unbearably rough or painfully slow, and I figured since most of the reviews focused on one aspect or the other, I figured the ride would either be slow or incredibly rough. It was both. The trims on the first drop are possibly the loudest and hardest hitting trims on any ride I have been on. The underwhelming drop was followed by what was the worst jackhammering I have ever experienced. The ride didn't really hurt the outside of my body, I'd say it actually hurts less than Hurler. But the jackhammering. My brain flew into my skull over and over. When we hit the MCBR, I cried "why is there more?!!" for the entire train to hear. The ride meandered around the rest of the course, sending my brain crashing into my skull several times. I felt that I was going to regurgitate my lungs. I have been able to tolerate every coaster I've ridden. Through all my travels, I've never actually hated a ride, not even Carolina Cobra or Corkscrew. But Mean Streak is the first coaster I've truly come to hate. I don't even want the park to RMC it. I don't want to see the structure in the park to remind me that I ever rode this monstrosity. Kill it with fire and build an RMC from the ground up. You can bribe me with all of the churros you want, but you will never, ever, EVER get me back on Mean Streak.

[arby]

When we hit the MCBR, I cried "why is there more?!!"

LOL! I think that was my exact same reaction. MORE!?! Really?

I do think it has a decent layout, though, and topper track or iBox could make it a good coaster for CP.

[tarheel1231]

So I rode Millennium Force yesterday in the back seat to see if I actually liked it better than Fury. That ride actually SOLIDIFIED my opinion that Millennium Force is the better ride. There was ejector air all the way down the drop followed by bone-crushing positive g's and incredible speed. There was strong, sustained floater all the way down the first air hill followed by two more intense overbanks. I think I got flojector air over the second air hill followed by another high speed turn and airtime REALLY close to ejector. The ride ended after one more intense overbank. Millennium Force almost took my #1 title but Raptor will keep that spot for the incredible ferocity it has through every element. Still, I am incredibly happy to have Fury 30 minutes away from my house. I just think that Millennium Force is the more intense ride.

[Jonathan]

Having ridden both many times I certainly don't share your opinion but I understand how you might feel that way. A lot of people think Millennium Force is overrated and boring but I have always been a big fan. I don't like it as much as Fury but it does have a better sense of speed and that first overbank is really intense. I've come close to graying out in it before.

I'm also a big Raptor fan, but it's nowhere near one of my top coasters. I think it might be my third favorite invert though behind only Nemesis and Montu. I love the first drop (back right seat is awesome) and how it combines a big loopy first half with a tight intense second half that is more reminiscent of the Batman rides.

[ColetD]

So this is stupid and random, but our window at the Comfort Inn faces Frugal McDoogal(?) and I can't believe how much traffic they have with people going in and out of that place. It almost makes me want to go in just to see what the fuss is all about.

[RollerBee]

Ain't it a wine and beer warehouse? I ain't never been, if you go maybe you should do a trip report!

[Jonathan]

Yes it is. Pretty impressive selection from what I recall.