Roller Coasters, Rides and Theme Parks!

[Brad]

Harry Potter Escape Form Gringotts is the best ride I've ever been on by miles. Not strictly a coaster I guess though, but the combination of actual car movement (it does move along rails, not just pistons jiggling you about) combined with the setting and the amazing 3d was incredible.

[QualityChimp]

I think, primarily, it has to be a smooth ride. The likes of X in Six Flags Magic Mountain is an amazing concept, but feels like being bashed with a cricket bat.

Secondly, it has to thrill you in some way. Seeing that first drop on a gigacoaster like Goliath, swooping for ages around Montu, the vertical drop on Oblivion, the sheer speed of a launched coaster like Kingda Ka or the multi-sensory experience of something like The Mummy.

They're all benchmarks for me, which I can't help but compare others to.

There are a couple of rides in Germany that are supposed to be great - Expedition GeForce in Holiday Park and Silver Star in Europa Park. Anyone ridden those?

[dataDave]

I was surprised you'd not been to any parks in Singapore, [MENTION=1482]dataDave[/MENTION], then did a search and there were only five in the list and four of them are closed! Universal Studios is the only one left! Some good rides there though, it looks like.

Universal Studios is a waste, as far as I'm concerned. Their Battlestar Galactica roller-coaster wasn't bad, but I wouldn't put it in my top 10. They've closed it down now anyway.

Their Transformers 3D Motion Master 'ride' is supposed to be the bollocks, I'd never list that as being a roller-coaster though.

[wakka]

Actually those 3D rides are incredibly good now, instead of being in a static auditorium they blend 3D graphics and a car moving on a track. It's a far cry from the old school simulators you can still clamber into in some arcades. The only one I've tried was Spiderman in the Japanese Universal, blew my mind though (and I say that as a huge fan of extreme actual roller coasters).

Brad mentioned Escape from Gringotts up there, which I believe is similar type of ride, as is Transformers - really need to try both!

[Anpanman]

Me & the wife aren't into them but the daughter is, we took her to USJ last year, Back to the Future and Spiderman were OK (daughter loved them) but the queues are too long - two hours for one ride!

This year we went to Nagashima Spa Land on the busiest week of the year, much nicer place overall, the water park is ace. The only massive queues seemed to be for the new Acrobat ride (because one of them wasn't working) and a couple of the water slides as they only allow one to go down at once.
Hotel and food was fantastic - but beware tattoo wearers are banned!

Next year I think she wants to go to USJ again to do Harry Potter but we are trying to talk her out of it.

[QualityChimp]

You need to take her on the EDF ride!

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[Anpanman]

Hooray!

Forgot, USJ was two years ago, last year we went to a park in Himeji.

[QualityChimp]

Anyone been on that new Wicker Man ride at Alton Towers yet?

[wakka]

Hadn't seen that, looks interesting. I've never been a massive woodie guy though (oo er etc). I'd love to go to Alton Towers but living in London it's simply too far for a day out.

Think I need another trip to Thorpe Park, but I'm not massively enthused about their latest rides. Derren Brown's Ghost Train looks reasonably interesting - and it'll be my first VR ride - and then there's Walking Dead The Ride, which is a reskinned X:/No Way Out.

I thought their last coaster, The Swarm, was disappointing to be honest. A bit something and nothing and lacked the thrills of their stronger designs, particularly the classic Nemesis Inferno.

Have you tried Galactica at Alton QC? I enjoyed Air but as it was low to the ground, the views weren't great. A VR version sounds really cool.

[QualityChimp]

Hadn't seen that, looks interesting. I've never been a massive woodie guy though (oo er etc). I'd love to go to Alton Towers but living in London it's simply too far for a day out.

I quite like woodies when they are smooth. Being new, this one should be quite nice at the moment.

Think I need another trip to Thorpe Park, but I'm not massively enthused about their latest rides. Derren Brown's Ghost Train looks reasonably interesting - and it'll be my first VR ride - and then there's Walking Dead The Ride, which is a reskinned X:/No Way Out.

Stealth is always nice, but it always reminds me that it's nowhere near as big as Kingda Ka!
Derren Brown's Ghost Train could be good and it's getting some good reviews:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jul/07/derren-brown-ghost-train-thorpe-park-behind-the-scenes-interview

X has always been a rubbish ride. You always wonder what the hell that was all about!

I thought their last coaster, The Swarm, was disappointing to be honest. A bit something and nothing and lacked the thrills of their stronger designs, particularly the classic Nemesis Inferno.

Last time I went to Thorpe was when Inferno opened. I'm the other way round to you where AT is nearer than TP.

Have you tried Galactica at Alton QC? I enjoyed Air but as it was low to the ground, the views weren't great. A VR version sounds really cool.

I went to AT for the first time in yeeeeears for a stag do a few months back and had a great time.
Smiler is really intense. I've done a lot of coasters and that was a bit much for me.
Galactica was really cool, actually. Air was a bit bland, tbh, but this adds an extra element. It can mess you up though, because you're eyes are telling you you're doing one thing and your body is going elsewhere!

[wakka]

Yeah, good point about smoothness of woodies (talking about coasters, honest) it makes all the difference.

You'll not have ridden Saw at Thorpe since you've not been for a while - that's a decent ride, I like it. It's not particularly long but it's a lot of fun, an dunusually for Thorpe, which generally is like a high budget funfair, it has some fairly good theming. Stealth is loads of fun as you point out. I've never been on Kingda Ka

X is a load of crap, yeah. Can't believe they've brought it back. It was shut for donkey's years, I thought it was going be shut down. Sadly it lives and that's what we got this year. X. Again!

Would love to try the Smiler - surprised any coaster would be too intense for you as I know you're a fan, what tipped you over the edge?

[vanpeebles]

The Big Dippa
The Rockaboutarlower
Fammydodds Mam
Zaki’s Cab
The Chimpy Chower

[Neon Ignition]

The original incarnation of Space Mountain. Sheer love

[QualityChimp]

Would love to try the Smiler - surprised any coaster would be too intense for you as I know you're a fan, what tipped you over the edge?

It's just crazy tight and ends up a bit stomach churning.
Great ride and is well worth going on, but I just didn't fancy going on it several times in a row.

[Gradius]

I’m quite a big rollercoaster fan and would love to travel a bit further afield to ride some of the better ones.

Blackpool has a new ride called Icon. It opened a couple of weeks ago and has received some rave reviews.

https://youtu.be/adMiU7ox3b0

At Cedar Point (probably home to the worlds best set of rollercoasters) they have just converted the Mean Streak wooden coaster into Steel Vengeance hybrid coaster. It’s said to have more airtime than any other coaster in the world.

https://youtu.be/JVKK4QxWSNo