RCCA isn't just the worst manufacturer. They were a scam. They offered low costs for large scale models, but they had the worst build quality possible. Once you signed with them, it was all over. What made them even shadier was they'd make several shell corporations so the main RCCA company NEVER got sued, which by the way is illegal to do. ElToroRyan has some good videos on them.
@@abigailbarber9806 I don't think RMC would be able to give Son of Beast the Iron Horse treatment, due to its extremely janky supports. HOWEVER, I do see a possibility of them trying their shot on remaking Son of Beast and make it even better. Maybe make the loop non-inverting? maybe add some barrel-roll down drops on the main drops? Probably making a new inversion on the layout? Something like if the Zero-G stall and the Lagoon Roll had a polarizing child? Who knows?
@@hsc894 ....why not. They were able to iron horse Texas Rattler and they were both built by RCCA. I'm sure the supports were just as janky on Rattler. I remember as a little kid ridding Texas Rattler and thinking how rough that ride was. I can only imagine riding it now with a likely much less pain tolerence.
Intrestingly Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard worked for Giovanola before they founded their own coaster company. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they just wanted to get away from their colleagues and finally build something ood. I am glad they did. ;-)
@WaterishDog I wouldn't call it a knock-off if it is the same people, just working for a different (in this case their own) company. Would you call the "Olympia Looping" a knock-off Schwarzkopf, because it looks like your typical Schwarzkopf transportable looping coaster but was built by BHS? Well, Anton Schwarzkopf was still involved, just not his own company, which had gone bankrupt by that time. The box spine was designed by B&M (the two engineers working for Giovanola) and was later heavily used by B&M (the company founded by those two former Giovanola employees). But seeing you call them Bland and Mediocre makes me wonder how many of their coasters you have ctually ridden, if any.😂
I've actually read that Cedar Point was at least in conversation with Togo to build Magnum before Arrow but exchange rates moved before anything was set in stone to where it was much cheaper to stick with an American company.
why? togo made great coasters in japan. many us issues were even lark related. i also know alot abt the togo mega coaster as i was lead on viper for 3 seasons 96 thru 98. Aska way if u need any answers.
My 10 year old, a coaster enthusiast in the making, is always super interested in closed attractions. His eyes lit up one day when we were in the station of El Toro and I told him it used to be the station to one of the worlds worst coasters. The kids gonna be an engineer, I wish I thought like he does at his age.
My home park is Hopi Hari in Brazil, and Montezum is the biggest coaster in the country. It's a little frustrating, because it has a really great layout, but it was never fully retracked. Nowadays, Montezum is so rough that when I rode the wooden coasters of Canada's Wonderland, they were all "pretty smooth" to me lol
@@marrojas6064 Firewhip is our only inverted coaster. It was the first "standard" SLC model and it runs rough lol. Nowadays it is a little better, because the park bought the new Vekoma trains.
I only got to ride Bandit and Ciastre Express from the RCCA portfolio. Bandit, when still called Wild Wild West, was a just bit on the rough side (and being the only wooden coaster in Germany many people thought it had to be that way) when it opened, but it got bad pretty quick. And Coaster Express... it's like a torture chamber. You sit there in pain and wait for it to be over - either by finally reaching the brake run or you passing out. Calling it a "once in a lifetime" experience is true, though not in a good way.
The Rattler was one of my favorite rides and I absolutely loved the helix at the end. I'm sad it's gone although Iron Rattler is fun. I wish it was made better in the first place so it could have lasted :/
4:14 almost made me spit out my drink - I didn't expect that even knowing your sense of humor. Also, those Zamperla Thunderbolts always looked like such great rides but I've only ever heard terrible things about them.
The Rattler was one of my favorite rides and I absolutely loved the helix at the end. I'm sad it's gone although Iron Rattler is fun. I wish it was made better in the first place so it could have lasted :/
Because of videos like this if I get to Germany or Spain for coasters I'd perversely want to experience the surviving RCCAs almost as much as Expedition GeForce or Shambhala
I've ridden Bandit @ Movie Park and it's not as bad as I expected. It's just a rough woodie with a boring layout. I've heard way worse things about the ones in Spain though.
I also have ridden Bandit at Movie Park Germany and it wasn't too bad in terms of roughness but it's basically a poor man's viper at SFGAm. Pretty much if someone ate Viper and barfed it out you get Bandit. Lol.
They basically cheaped out on a lot of stuff, rushed construction, cut every corner they could find just so they could save money, like the greedy bastards they are, and ultimately got away with it in the end.
I rode Ultra Twister at both Great Adventure and Astroworld. It was a great ride. As for Son of Beast, I rode it both with a loop and without. I remember riding with a loop and I rode it 8 times in an hour. Without a loop, I rode it once and I was done. I love costers and those are the only two that I rode that you brought up. Great channel!
I’ve acutally heard quite a few good things about many PAX coasters, notably how a number of them have incredibly violent airtime moments due to their janky track profiling.
@phantafan7965 Rode the one we have in Fantasiana in Austria a lot as a child (it was my first coaster after all), and yes, it was indeed insane in terms of airtime. And it even was quite smooth when I first rode it like 15 years ago - but when I was there last year, it had become quite rough. This year is its last season before it gets replaced by a Mack Big Dipper coaster.
Ok, I've been wanting to make this comment (/rant) on a *lot* of coaster RUclips channels for a long time, and now I have the excuse -- Dinn mostly made good to amazing coasters. A lot of the kids who are doing RUclips nowadays weren't around in the '90s and as such don't know some of the backstory here, but the short version is that Dinn made excellent coasters that frequently got ruined by terrible rolling stock. The long version -- back in the late '80s, PTC tried to compete with Morgan's new wooden coaster trains by introducing their own trailered wooden coaster trains. These are infamously among the worst wooden roller coaster trains ever built, and basically totally ruined every wooden coaster that they were run on for any length of time. Guess who was building wooden roller coasters right when PTC was pushing these? Yep, Dinn. Today, there's exactly one wooden coaster in the world that still runs them, and it's the Dinn that's by far the roughest -- Predator. The parks that had the good sense to change trains quickly and then retrack were left with mostly good-to-great coasters (with two notable exceptions). You know those infamous awful B&M trains that Psyclone ran? Those were commissioned because by 1991 everyone realized the PTC trailered trains were so bad that they were a death sentence for a coaster, and were thus scrambling for any alternative. Also, the period that's known as "that time when they all got rough at the same time" happened to be right when Premier Parks was going on their "buy all of the parks, maintain none of them" spree. If you were around then, you know they managed to make almost every single wooden coaster at every park they bought run terribly by 2000. Texas Giant, in particular, was a major victim of this; it was widely reported at the time that a major maintenance project on that coaster got cancelled by Premier in 2000 because they didn't want to spend the money on something they didn't think would create a return on the investment, and it was about three years later when that coaster really went to hell. Let's do a rundown of some of their rides: I'll start by admitting that Mean Streak and Raging Wolf Bobs were exactly what you claim them to be in this vid. RWB ran quite smoothly after they *finally* switched it to standard PTC trains and retracked it... which happened right before it closed, but it was a boring layout from the start. This is partially because the park asked Dinn to build a re-creation of a coaster that had run in that park many years ago, but it doesn't fully excuse it. Mean Streak was a far better ride before the trims were added (it was also smoother then, since the fan-turns had enough lateral forces to pin the wheels to the outside rail, so it didn't shuffle like it did in its later years), but make no mistake, it was never good. Hercules was probably never going to be great, but it's hard to know given that it ran those awful trailered trains. The rest? Timberwolf is quite good, and in the early '90s, was considered one of the best wooden coasters in the world. Wovlerine Wildcat was hobbled with the trailered trains for a very long time (far longer than most), and as you note, has a pretty solid layout. Predator *still* runs those awful trains to this day, but has a pretty solid layout. Thunder Run isn't ever going to be anyone's favorite wooden coaster, but it's decent. Georgia Cyclone was consistently top 20 in polls in the '90s, and was generally considered to be the best Cyclone -- yes, even better than SFGAM's Viper. Excellent coaster, until it became a victim of Premier's mismanagement. Psyclone was supposedly good in its early years; I never rode it in those years myself, so I can't verify that. I've also heard from multiple sources that it was messed up *bad* by the L.A. Earthquake, and never rode the same after that. Texas Giant won every "best wooden coaster in the world" poll prior to 1997 (when it was reprofiled for the worse, although it was still very good for several more years) for a reason. If you go back and read reviews of Ghostrider from the year it opened, you'll see one ride that it's compared to most consistently -- Texas Giant. It took freakin' *Ghostrider* for a wooden coaster to finally approach Texas Giant's intensity. Texas Giant when it was running well was one of the most intense two or three wooden coasters ever made; it never seemed to lose any speed at all, and even though it looks like Mean Streak in the first half, it didn't ride like it at all, with *fast* upwards turns that had tons of laterals followed up by straight drops that, in the back, had great airtime. The second half after the midcourse break run was just totally insane the whole way, with the best run of twisted bunny hills ever on any wooden coaster that isn't The Voyage. If you never got to ride Texas Giant in its glory days of 1990-1996, man, you missed out. And, finally, The Beast. Legendary. Seven for ten is one heck of a record -- short of Gravity Group, I don't think there's another wooden coaster manufacturer in history with a track record that good. Certainly not one that only lasted for four years. Also, Togo did get one thing right in North America -- Ultra Twister was good.
Actually, it seems the trailered trains were replaced on Predator in 2010 by PTCs that used to run on The Voyage. But yeah, it is a good point to consider the damage those trains may have caused.
Thank you for finally providing a thoughtful explanation for what exactly happened to the state of wooden coasters during a specific historic period which, I think, helped to tarnish their reputations. I spent my youth riding wooden coasters in the 60's and 70's and have been completely baffled by the complaints of roughness I see online from today's riders. Your comments have cleared up a lot of my questions. By the way, I may be crazy but I seem to remember "buzz bars" on ALL the trains when I was a kid. We kept ourselves in by hanging on (sort of.)
Rode Predator earlier this summer and they've done some retracking and it was actually pretty good. In Darien Lake's current lineup, it might be their best coaster. It's still 'rough" but like a proper wooden coaster rough, not assault and pain. One of only a couple there I'd care about riding again.
Was Georgia Cyclone good? I remember it as the scary wooden roller coaster in the park but I did ride it. Then I came back later and it was just rough.
I have a soft spot for Titan, my first coaster anywhere near that scale back in 2003. I used to completely grey out twice on every ride, and I loved it. Mr Freeze edged it out for my # 1 at the time.
I love living near Cedar Point because I have every option. I can ride SteVe for airtime, Maverick for intensity, Millennium Force for speed, and Raptor for inversions.
Windjammer was my first looping coaster, i was so terrified of montezooma’s revenge around the corner. the ride was so intimidating… the entrance sign, the noise, the fact that you really couldn’t see the ride launch so i picked windjammer. It was terrible but I conquered my fear on it and I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
I rode Desert Storm simply because I was desperate to ride anything during my time going to school at Arizona State. I was expecting pain and not much else given the janky place it is at couldn't possibly have good maintenance... but what's shocking about DS is that it actually rides relatively smoothly and the loops are forceful. Nothing amazing, but definitely smoother than your average Arrow even.
its not smoother than an arrow, the only difference is the lap bars make it more comfortable. Its the same with Schwarzkopf rides, they have just as bad transitions as Arrows but get praise as being much smoother. Still a good ride but that second loop is the jerky as hell.
U of A student here, rode Desert Storm during my day up on Phoenix back in September. Basically everything you just said is true. No roughness, just jankiness, but it doesn't hurt too much. Nothing crazy but it is still pretty fun, and those loops are way more intense than they look!
@@sniffinguncajoe1609 I agree but honestly I didn't have super high expectations for it and instead appreciate its uniqueness. My friend and I still had a great time riding it 6 times in a row, and most surprisingly, we were feeling totally fine after.
I say again, Canada's Wonderland could replace Time Warp with a second SLC and it would still be an improvement. If nothing else, I guess RCCA's remaining coasters seem like good RMC makeover candidates.
Thier is nothing more menacing then waking up at king island campground to the sound of the son of beast chain lift and just seeing a towering wooden structure dominating the skyline. Glad I still got my on ride photo from when I was 11 riding that thing.
Bandit at Movie park isn't that bad anymore it used to be extremely rough but the park retracks some parts every offseason and it's defently rideable and I de enjoy it, it's pretty fun in the back.🙌🏼 But I still think RCCA is a good choice for the number 1 spot😂🙌🏼
First things first: PAX coasters are AMAZING! Totally bonkers, wicked fun and absolutely wild! Especially their "small" Wild Train models offer the most fun you can have on a coaster. If you have Giovanola as an "dishonorable" mention you should also give a shout out to Premier RIdes. The have done some very questionable things. Did you know that the RCCA rides (SOB, etc.) were designed by Stengel? He might be a coaster god with steel, but he should never ever have touched wood. Where are the Chinese manufacturers? You could fill your entire list with them.
Stengel also designed El Toro. And we all know it nowhere near any RCCA abomination. Stengel only provide the calculations for RCCA, how it use is up to RCCA. And they use it poorly.
@@bocahdongo7769 Stengel did design, layout and dynamics for SOB, Coaster Express (Parque Warner Madrid), Magnus Colossus (Terra Mitica) and Wild Wild West (formerly Warner Bros. Movie World, Germany). While the latter is a Cyclone-clone, the others are suffering from drawn out layouts that are just not right for a Woodie. El Toro and Colossos were specifically designed for airtime, because the newly invented track technique allowed it. You´ll notice that all of these coasters don´t have any laterals, which are so vital for a good wooden coaster. Stengel´s whole design ethos was to reduce laterals to its bare minimum.
The thing about those chinese manufacturers is they are more known for ripping off others than being bad rides. I havent heard their rides are actually bad
@@AirtimeThrills Check out these videos for a short glimpse into atrocities against metal: ruclips.net/video/DAQCQ56rkrA/видео.html ruclips.net/video/XzxoZfNVEVM/видео.html
Premier is producing some decent coasters these days, though. Their cookie-cutter Sky Rocket II model is, I think, a good, fun design. It's sort of becoming the modern counterpart to the Vekoma Boomerang, but I am actually not complaining about that.
I grew up riding Desert Storm, and it's a difficult ride to describe. The launch station is waaaayy above the ground, which is already a bit of an oddity if you aren't used to it. It's definitely not a ride I'd recommend for people who aren't big on more intense coasters. It has two inversions over (what feels like at least) a relatively short and compact track distance so the G forces can get pretty rough. Which isn't necessarily bad or good, depends on your tastes. The BIGGEST issue with Desert Storm imo is the old coaster car style over the shoulder strap headbanging. If you're a shorty like me it's brutal. However, this also depends on when you go. I remember riding when I was really young, and it was great! Then I rode when I was an older teen, and the maintenance was clearly lacking, so it was painful and awful. But the last time I rode a few years ago the paint on the track had visibly been redone recently, and they must have done some work because it was a lot smoother. Tbh Desert Storm to me rides like an old Arrow. You get the chunky 90s era shoulder restraints that, under the right conditions, knock your head around like a pinball. The ride feels huge with those long trains and tall launch station (again similar to an old Arrow), and these factors combined with the intensity of the layout makes for a ride that can be everywhere from pretty fun in a hardcore thrill seeking way to feeling like you just willingly got punched in the head repeatedly. I want to see one of these types of channels do a deep dive into Castles n Coasters generally SO bad. Me and other people growing up in AZ I think will always think fondly of seeing the Desert Storm hill on the side of the freeway and begging the parents to pull over. Mini golf in heat stroke inducing weather, those weird bumper boats they have (had? are those gone yet) that are like gas engine powered and so loud and smell awful and break constantly, the log flume that feels cheap but super fun, the drop tower that's genuinely still the scariest I've been on (be it because of the height or the overall sense of low maintenance standards in the park, you decide), the magic carpet ride that some teen ride operator always run on the most sadistic cycles to make you vomit (aka like the fucking best ride at the park), Patriot and the weird mess of awful transitions and jolty track it is, all the bootleg Disney spray paint art around the park, the arcade that actually houses some pretty rare cabinets like the first three original Mortal Kombat games? I could go on. Someone needs to make this so I don't sound so insane when I try to describe this park to people who've never been.
I live in switzerland and i've ridden Bandit. I could ride the park's SLC 9 Times in a row (I did that) without pain. After i got of Bandit, i think i broke my back
Lots of people trash SOB but in its opening year and even the second year it was a pretty spectacular ride. People complain about how rough it was but I really don’t think it was that bad. Was sorry to see its issues and understand completely why it had to go. Wish Kings Island would have had it built by a better company.
I've ridden one Zamperla and one Hopkins, both kiddie coasters. They are fine kiddie coasters. The Zamperla (Dragon at Canobie) is probably the coaster I've ridden the most times in my life because my daughter has often insisted on marathoning it. The Hopkins is an unusual kiddie terrain coaster at Story Land, the Polar Coaster. It is basically a series of switchbacks down a hill followed by a helix, but it's got cute and well-done theming, with an "ice cave" station and a train that looks like a walrus. There's an observation platform on top of the station if you want to watch it go.
Desert Storm at my home park, Castles N Coasters is my 1st looping coaster and my 1st extreme coaster I ever ridden. And after riding it 75 times since 2020, I can say it’s a good ride and the inversions, especially the 2nd loop are intense, front and back row and the 1st drop in the back row. Recently, I went to Six Flags Mexico and after riding Medusa Steel Coaster (my 1st RMC) and Superman El Ultimo Escape (my 1st hyper coaster), they are more intense especially the airtime hills, they are awesome, but desert storm still is an awesome ride and has great positive G forces and laterals. The park recently put some new wheels for some the trains and it runs a little smoother. Will be going to Castles N Coasters sometime and record some footage
Yesterday I went to Parque Warner Madrid and all the rides were amazing except for the last ride of my visit… Coaster Express. It’s the last ever RCCA and the park knows that it’s horrible. It immediately needs to be RMCed
Dragon at Adventureland was quite good (for an Hopkins). The worst part were the little dips before the lifthill... RCCA build some of the worst coasters ever. Coaster Express is very high on my sh*t-list. :D
You should do a video on coasters that surpass their stats; so rides that are much better than they seem compared to just looking at their height, length, speed, and inversions
Texas Giant used to beat you up pretty good, but I miss having a large rough woodie in my home park. New Texas Giant is good but a little bit lack luster after riding other RMCs
I GOT TO RIDE CLIFFHANGER IN 2009. Had no idea it was going to be it's last season, not from the area but just happened to be at the park visiting family. I was pretty new to the whole coaster thing at the time so it's hard to to remember anything about the actual ride itself. If memory serves it was kind of like a reasonably well maintained arrow looper. Little rough at some transitions but not knock-your-socks-off rough or anything. (disclaimer; six flags STL was my home park growing up; and we have Ninja. so...my perception of acceptable roughness is probably a little skewed) But the setting was amazing, I definitely remember that. Even tho I only had like 4 other coaster creds at the time, I remember the setting absolutely made this ride stand out. That's what made it such a unique experience and the only thing I do remember really clearly.
Zamperla thunderbolt model at OWA is ok imo. “Cliffhanger” was called “Red Devel” for most of its life. The drop was after a right turn out of the station then into a vertical loop, lap bars only. Then slow helix and then lift hill. Not too much to it.
It might be my childhood talking but i love super flight at playland cuz it was one of two upside down coasters and it usually had a shorter line than the dragon coaster
Hi Chris! I’ve rode Desert Storm at Castle’s and Coaster’s while in Arizona. I was expecting a crappy force less ride, but the lap-bar restraints and forceful inversions saved the ride. Above Average ride for where it’s located. In comparison, I found it better than Wild Thing at Valleyfair. I have to be honest, this is the only reason to go to this park.
Cliffhanger AKA Red Devil Rollercoaster was one of my 1st 10 Credits, as far as the experience goes, I would've sworn that it was a Arrow and not a bad Arrow more along the lines of Loch Ness Monster but the location on the side of the Mountain made it awesome to Pre-Teen me lol.
I rode Predator back in August and it was nowhere near as rough as people make it out to be. I'm not saying it was great, just that it was a decent ride. I got 3 rides on Rollin' Thunder at OWA and liked it. Once again, not saying it was great but definitely not garbage.
Wow. I worked on thunder run during the summer of 2015. Never rode it but I remember some people calling it boring. Interesting to see it’s manufacturer on the list.
I've been on Cliffhanger at NC once! It was a little janky and bumpy, in my opinion it's like a slightly bumpier version of Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood!
So Cliff Hanger, or as I knew it Red Devil, was a short but fun coaster. It was unique for where it was built as it was on the side of a mountain and you star with the drop hill. If I remember, and I rode it twice once in it's first year and once in it's third or fourth as a kid, it ran very smooth. It was overall nice short and sweet and for a park the size of Ghost Town it was perfect. In truth the fact they had a coaster that wasn't just a kiddie coaster is amazing.
The one Zamperla I've been on (Klondike Gold Rushed at Wild Waves, one of their Wild Mouse coasters) is so rough I'm surprised there aren't ambulance chasers camped out at the ride exit. Not that it matters much anyway since the ride has been SBNO for several years. They do have some pretty good flat rides though.
Grew up in Phoenix and rode Desert Storm a few times. Was my first looping coaster so i have a soft spot for it. It definitely rattles a lot and its certainly weird, but the loops pull some good Gs and the last helix is pretty intense too. Having it weave over palm trees and mini golf is pretty cool. And the view from the top of the lift is pretty nice. Definitely not a world-class coaster by ANY means but its alright. Im impressed they managed to fit such a big coaster in a tiny plot of land!
I've been on opposite ends of the extreme regarding this list: I loved "Ultra Twister" when it was at SFGA (and honestly, I didn't mind "Viper") ... but "Hercules" at DP? Dear G*d! ... my back hurts just *thinking* about that coaster!
I recently learned that Lake Compounce's Wildcat, while it was originally a PTC, had its structure completely rebuilt with new wood in 1985 by... the Dinn Corporation. This maybe explains some things.
Phoenix was relocated piece by piece from San Antonio to Pennsylvania. So was Wild One at Six Flags America. Wildcat was a ground up rebuild, giving them the opportunity to F it up.
I actually enjoyed Bandit at Movie Park, it is indeed rough but not as uncomfortable as a SLC. The worst manufacturer I can imagine is SBF Visa - similar to Zamperla, but cheaper. The spinning wild mice with OSTR like "Viking Rollercoaster" at Energylandia are complete garbage - boring and painful.
I’ve ridden desert storm in Arizona. The ride is only insane positive and lateral forces but it’s smooth for the most part other than janky transitions.
That Volaire style is the most painful ride ever designed. Hero, at Flamingo Land, UK. It shakes you to pieces and the the only intensity is gained through holding on for dear life like you're falling out...
Indiana beach may be buying the trains from mega zeph for silver commet, they also may buy the jester and have it moved to fantasy island. It would be nuts if that ride ran again
So I got a chance to ride Dragon at Adventureland by Hopkins, I was super young at the time admittedly and don’t remember too too much but also I was super young and I absolutely loved it. Rough, if I remember correctly, but not unbearably so. Definitely the 3rd best coaster in the park at the time when I went, but good enough to help a young child fall in love with coasters
Thunder Run, at least the first half, is amazing; it gives extremely strong floater airtime, almost ejector! Ride in the second to back seat for the smoothest experience.
I agree after riding Desert storm 75 times and back row is awesome, and patriot lol. Other coasters I ridden is Medusa Steel Coaster and Superman El Ultimo Escape in Six Flags Mexico. As much as I love Superman and Medusa in Mexico, Desert storm is still a great ride
Can confirm with Dinn and RCCA. I actually don't mind Goliath at SFMM, so Giovanola wouldn't be on my list. Wonder how Zamperla is going to handle Top Thrill Dragster.
thank you for not including pax on this list. anyone who thinks pax made bad coasters has probably never ridden one of their coasters ive ridden wild train and formule 1 at parc saint paul. janky, sure, but oh the airtime on formule 1 had to be ridden to be believed.
I've ridden cliffhanger in north Carolina when it was red devil. The trains were trash. They are pieces of sheet metal with hand rails welded on. Loop wasn't rough but it's lackluster.
It’s kinda sad that I’m a coaster enthusiast yet I don’t even have 100 coasters under my bracket yet!😭 I’m a diehard coaster fan and dream to build them once I graduate. Anyways, HUGE fan dude keep doing what you’re doing!
My credits are as follows: Everything at six-flags over Georgia including Georgia cyclone and ninja, everything at Dollywood, everything at sea world Orlando except icebreaker, everything at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and Everything at Legoland Florida. And I’m only from Alabama!
Rode when it was called red devil back in the day. One person in station doing dispatches. Only at the controls. No one even checked bars that if I remember correctly were only lap!
I did not ride dragon but my friend did and he said it’s ok till the loops. The loops make you feel like your skull is going to be cracked like an egg. Then the helixes are not as bad but your head is still bouncing around like crazy.
My understanding is that the Dinn Corporation used cheap Georgia Pine that was just too soft for the forces. The weaker wood combined with the extreme heights for the 80s & 90s lead to coasters that aged poorly.
My gf and I did ride Hopkins Desert Storm last year. Itight not been the greatest but far from terrible in fact we rode it twice. We also rode Patriot which is another Hopkins coaster at the same park and for a smaller coaster it was intense.
I rode Red Devil/Cliffhanger as a little kid in the 90s on a family trip. My step sister had her restraints stuck closed and they had to send our train through again for three total laps. I wish I could of gone back but I know that place won't open again. I have photos somewhere in a box and I'm sure a vhs lost in a closet.
RCCA isn't just the worst manufacturer. They were a scam. They offered low costs for large scale models, but they had the worst build quality possible. Once you signed with them, it was all over. What made them even shadier was they'd make several shell corporations so the main RCCA company NEVER got sued, which by the way is illegal to do. ElToroRyan has some good videos on them.
If your competitor is something like Dinn (which also build big woody), you'll definitely need to do way more miles to compete.
King Island try sue RCCA Judge say KI choice wrong that why lost $20 million can't send refund.
They were con artists
@@christophereichorn7918 English please?
Special place in the afterlife for the board and owners of RCCA
"Or a place where Kim Jung Eun sends his enemy" That was hilarious
I didn't even know North Korea had an amusement park (or anything else the world would consider to be happy).
@@mitchellries256 They have multiple Amusement Parks, even a pretty big Waterpark
@@AnotherSwissRUclipsUser Are we still talking about North Korea or is it possible you're getting it mixed up with South Korea?
@Michael Teti Wow. I didn't think he could fit into it.
@Michael Teti Wow. I am so scared now.
Still wish we could’ve seen Son of Beast stick around long enough for the RMC treatment
Same
@@abigailbarber9806 I don't think RMC would be able to give Son of Beast the Iron Horse treatment, due to its extremely janky supports. HOWEVER, I do see a possibility of them trying their shot on remaking Son of Beast and make it even better.
Maybe make the loop non-inverting?
maybe add some barrel-roll down drops on the main drops?
Probably making a new inversion on the layout? Something like if the Zero-G stall and the Lagoon Roll had a polarizing child?
Who knows?
@@hsc894 ....why not. They were able to iron horse Texas Rattler and they were both built by RCCA. I'm sure the supports were just as janky on Rattler. I remember as a little kid ridding Texas Rattler and thinking how rough that ride was. I can only imagine riding it now with a likely much less pain tolerence.
That would be legendary.
@@hsc894they could make the supports steel but don’t make the loop non inverting the loop was the main purpose of the ride
Glad rcca is on here cause if wasn’t, my life would’ve been a lie
Yes rcca is the worst manufacturer of all time.
Giovinola is basically Budget B&M
with shallower drops
i have no idea how true but good says it cost 30 million … IN 2000….. they could’ve just got a b&m
@@maincoasters shhhhhh
Intrestingly Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard worked for Giovanola before they founded their own coaster company. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they just wanted to get away from their colleagues and finally build something ood. I am glad they did. ;-)
@WaterishDog I wouldn't call it a knock-off if it is the same people, just working for a different (in this case their own) company. Would you call the "Olympia Looping" a knock-off Schwarzkopf, because it looks like your typical Schwarzkopf transportable looping coaster but was built by BHS? Well, Anton Schwarzkopf was still involved, just not his own company, which had gone bankrupt by that time.
The box spine was designed by B&M (the two engineers working for Giovanola) and was later heavily used by B&M (the company founded by those two former Giovanola employees). But seeing you call them Bland and Mediocre makes me wonder how many of their coasters you have ctually ridden, if any.😂
@@OklahomaCoasterFan This comment is so bad omg
I've actually read that Cedar Point was at least in conversation with Togo to build Magnum before Arrow but exchange rates moved before anything was set in stone to where it was much cheaper to stick with an American company.
It probably wouldn’t have been terrible. Togo built some great Hypers in the 80s.
@@triple7marc it would’ve been a lot like bandit probably
I know togo is going to be high on the list
See togos in Japan are great. The ones here. Not so much
@@coastersandcars facts, well at least what’s left of them
And Skylines gonna be right next to it
why? togo made great coasters in japan. many us issues were even lark related. i also know alot abt the togo mega coaster as i was lead on viper for 3 seasons 96 thru 98. Aska way if u need any answers.
My 10 year old, a coaster enthusiast in the making, is always super interested in closed attractions. His eyes lit up one day when we were in the station of El Toro and I told him it used to be the station to one of the worlds worst coasters. The kids gonna be an engineer, I wish I thought like he does at his age.
Sounds like my nephew. A genius in the making! He's 7 but sure acts like he's 14. Lol. Kids right? Wish I was young again! 🤣
Based and Coaster Pilled.
Sounds like me but I’m 12
@@jameson_coasterlover3411 sounds like me but I’m 4
Back when I was 12 I wanted to become a mechanical engineer............ Obviously that didnt happen since I comment on RUclips videos for a living
My home park is Hopi Hari in Brazil, and Montezum is the biggest coaster in the country. It's a little frustrating, because it has a really great layout, but it was never fully retracked. Nowadays, Montezum is so rough that when I rode the wooden coasters of Canada's Wonderland, they were all "pretty smooth" to me lol
I’m from the UK and I remember seeing Montezum in a book about groundbreaking rollercoasters, also take car of Thunderlooper (Katapul now) for us!
@@amroge8703 sure! Haha Katapul is considered by many (myself included) as the best coaster in Brazil hahah
@@vitorricci And what about Firewhip??
And also it is the only wooden coaster in Latin America after the closure of the woodie at Chapultepec, what a shame.
@@marrojas6064 Firewhip is our only inverted coaster. It was the first "standard" SLC model and it runs rough lol. Nowadays it is a little better, because the park bought the new Vekoma trains.
Tbh I think that Togo is the worst in America, but Corp. Is the real worst for me.
I do have to thank the Dinn Corporation for Mean Streak. Without it, Steel Vengeance wouldn't exist.
RCCA should have build more coasters for RMC to convert IR is a top tier RMC imo
Yeah Same With Many Other Great RMCs
I only got to ride Bandit and Ciastre Express from the RCCA portfolio. Bandit, when still called Wild Wild West, was a just bit on the rough side (and being the only wooden coaster in Germany many people thought it had to be that way) when it opened, but it got bad pretty quick. And Coaster Express... it's like a torture chamber. You sit there in pain and wait for it to be over - either by finally reaching the brake run or you passing out. Calling it a "once in a lifetime" experience is true, though not in a good way.
Man I'm glad RMC made Rattler a true masterpiece from the monstrosity it was. 🙌
My 2nd least favorite coaster out of 499 turned into my 2nd favorite
The Rattler was one of my favorite rides and I absolutely loved the helix at the end. I'm sad it's gone although Iron Rattler is fun. I wish it was made better in the first place so it could have lasted :/
4:14 almost made me spit out my drink - I didn't expect that even knowing your sense of humor. Also, those Zamperla Thunderbolts always looked like such great rides but I've only ever heard terrible things about them.
I agree, they look like a ton of fun but after that first ride i wanted to burn it to the ground
I agree, that was one of the funniest things he's said
@@AirtimeThrills I'd still try it, I see potential in the layout
Timberwolf is a decent Dinn
I hope Zamperla grows like vekoma did. And even if top thrill 2 was to be a bit rough, the lap bars would save you from headbanging
Can you imagine two of the worst coaster manufactures collaborated on a single project?
White Canyon at Yomiuriland
Me: Oh crap
That might actually make a good coaster though 🤔 2 negatives make a positive
reminds me of vekoma & rcca cooperation on robin hood in walibi holland
@@cringer8107 I need to know more about that, but I can't find anything related to both Vekoma and RCCA.
Do you have a source ?
@@keiths4419 It didn't and it was removed to make way for a certain infamous project.
@@keiths4419 if RCCA is involved, no matter how many negatives there are, none of them even come close to making a positive
The Rattler was one of my favorite rides and I absolutely loved the helix at the end. I'm sad it's gone although Iron Rattler is fun. I wish it was made better in the first place so it could have lasted :/
Because of videos like this if I get to Germany or Spain for coasters I'd perversely want to experience the surviving RCCAs almost as much as Expedition GeForce or Shambhala
YES!
I've ridden Bandit @ Movie Park and it's not as bad as I expected. It's just a rough woodie with a boring layout. I've heard way worse things about the ones in Spain though.
Magnus Colossus and Terra Mitica generally look great, emphasis on *look*
I also have ridden Bandit at Movie Park Germany and it wasn't too bad in terms of roughness but it's basically a poor man's viper at SFGAm. Pretty much if someone ate Viper and barfed it out you get Bandit. Lol.
@@pardinensis boring layout or boring profiling? The Coney Island Cyclone and Viper at SFGAm have the same layout but are highly regarded.
I agree with the number one spot, since RCCA is the one manufacturer which actually cut off budgets while risking safety.
They basically cheaped out on a lot of stuff, rushed construction, cut every corner they could find just so they could save money, like the greedy bastards they are, and ultimately got away with it in the end.
Just like everything in America.
i love skyline attraction ! i've never ride one though, but their ideas are really fresh, they try to make something new, i hope they will continue
I'd never heard of Dinn before but all you needed to say was one word - Psyclone.
What a horribly painful ride.
I rode Ultra Twister at both Great Adventure and Astroworld. It was a great ride. As for Son of Beast, I rode it both with a loop and without. I remember riding with a loop and I rode it 8 times in an hour. Without a loop, I rode it once and I was done. I love costers and those are the only two that I rode that you brought up. Great channel!
I’ve acutally heard quite a few good things about many PAX coasters, notably how a number of them have incredibly violent airtime moments due to their janky track profiling.
Their janky layout looks like Intentionally made to be instead of a drawback
like RMC did
Especially their Wild trains are said to be insane.
@phantafan7965 Rode the one we have in Fantasiana in Austria a lot as a child (it was my first coaster after all), and yes, it was indeed insane in terms of airtime. And it even was quite smooth when I first rode it like 15 years ago - but when I was there last year, it had become quite rough. This year is its last season before it gets replaced by a Mack Big Dipper coaster.
Ok, I've been wanting to make this comment (/rant) on a *lot* of coaster RUclips channels for a long time, and now I have the excuse -- Dinn mostly made good to amazing coasters. A lot of the kids who are doing RUclips nowadays weren't around in the '90s and as such don't know some of the backstory here, but the short version is that Dinn made excellent coasters that frequently got ruined by terrible rolling stock.
The long version -- back in the late '80s, PTC tried to compete with Morgan's new wooden coaster trains by introducing their own trailered wooden coaster trains. These are infamously among the worst wooden roller coaster trains ever built, and basically totally ruined every wooden coaster that they were run on for any length of time. Guess who was building wooden roller coasters right when PTC was pushing these? Yep, Dinn. Today, there's exactly one wooden coaster in the world that still runs them, and it's the Dinn that's by far the roughest -- Predator. The parks that had the good sense to change trains quickly and then retrack were left with mostly good-to-great coasters (with two notable exceptions). You know those infamous awful B&M trains that Psyclone ran? Those were commissioned because by 1991 everyone realized the PTC trailered trains were so bad that they were a death sentence for a coaster, and were thus scrambling for any alternative. Also, the period that's known as "that time when they all got rough at the same time" happened to be right when Premier Parks was going on their "buy all of the parks, maintain none of them" spree. If you were around then, you know they managed to make almost every single wooden coaster at every park they bought run terribly by 2000. Texas Giant, in particular, was a major victim of this; it was widely reported at the time that a major maintenance project on that coaster got cancelled by Premier in 2000 because they didn't want to spend the money on something they didn't think would create a return on the investment, and it was about three years later when that coaster really went to hell.
Let's do a rundown of some of their rides:
I'll start by admitting that Mean Streak and Raging Wolf Bobs were exactly what you claim them to be in this vid. RWB ran quite smoothly after they *finally* switched it to standard PTC trains and retracked it... which happened right before it closed, but it was a boring layout from the start. This is partially because the park asked Dinn to build a re-creation of a coaster that had run in that park many years ago, but it doesn't fully excuse it. Mean Streak was a far better ride before the trims were added (it was also smoother then, since the fan-turns had enough lateral forces to pin the wheels to the outside rail, so it didn't shuffle like it did in its later years), but make no mistake, it was never good. Hercules was probably never going to be great, but it's hard to know given that it ran those awful trailered trains. The rest?
Timberwolf is quite good, and in the early '90s, was considered one of the best wooden coasters in the world.
Wovlerine Wildcat was hobbled with the trailered trains for a very long time (far longer than most), and as you note, has a pretty solid layout.
Predator *still* runs those awful trains to this day, but has a pretty solid layout.
Thunder Run isn't ever going to be anyone's favorite wooden coaster, but it's decent.
Georgia Cyclone was consistently top 20 in polls in the '90s, and was generally considered to be the best Cyclone -- yes, even better than SFGAM's Viper. Excellent coaster, until it became a victim of Premier's mismanagement.
Psyclone was supposedly good in its early years; I never rode it in those years myself, so I can't verify that. I've also heard from multiple sources that it was messed up *bad* by the L.A. Earthquake, and never rode the same after that.
Texas Giant won every "best wooden coaster in the world" poll prior to 1997 (when it was reprofiled for the worse, although it was still very good for several more years) for a reason. If you go back and read reviews of Ghostrider from the year it opened, you'll see one ride that it's compared to most consistently -- Texas Giant. It took freakin' *Ghostrider* for a wooden coaster to finally approach Texas Giant's intensity. Texas Giant when it was running well was one of the most intense two or three wooden coasters ever made; it never seemed to lose any speed at all, and even though it looks like Mean Streak in the first half, it didn't ride like it at all, with *fast* upwards turns that had tons of laterals followed up by straight drops that, in the back, had great airtime. The second half after the midcourse break run was just totally insane the whole way, with the best run of twisted bunny hills ever on any wooden coaster that isn't The Voyage. If you never got to ride Texas Giant in its glory days of 1990-1996, man, you missed out.
And, finally, The Beast. Legendary.
Seven for ten is one heck of a record -- short of Gravity Group, I don't think there's another wooden coaster manufacturer in history with a track record that good. Certainly not one that only lasted for four years.
Also, Togo did get one thing right in North America -- Ultra Twister was good.
Actually, it seems the trailered trains were replaced on Predator in 2010 by PTCs that used to run on The Voyage. But yeah, it is a good point to consider the damage those trains may have caused.
Thank you for finally providing a thoughtful explanation for what exactly happened to the state of wooden coasters during a specific historic period which, I think, helped to tarnish their reputations. I spent my youth riding wooden coasters in the 60's and 70's and have been completely baffled by the complaints of roughness I see online from today's riders. Your comments have cleared up a lot of my questions. By the way, I may be crazy but I seem to remember "buzz bars" on ALL the trains when I was a kid. We kept ourselves in by hanging on (sort of.)
Togo built terrible coasters even in Japan. They didn't know how to build roller coasters, only seeking to make a profit from their lack of efforts.
Rode Predator earlier this summer and they've done some retracking and it was actually pretty good. In Darien Lake's current lineup, it might be their best coaster. It's still 'rough" but like a proper wooden coaster rough, not assault and pain. One of only a couple there I'd care about riding again.
Was Georgia Cyclone good? I remember it as the scary wooden roller coaster in the park but I did ride it. Then I came back later and it was just rough.
I wonder if Zamperla will redeem itself going forward with TT2 and any other future Cedar Fair projects with their lightning launch model.
0:58
Yeah we people who prefer intensity feel drowned out by all the airtime junkies. Titan's my favorite at my home park for that reason.
Hey, same! Titan was my childhood coaster! Was my favorite for 20 years before I branched out!
Anime pfp moment
I have a soft spot for Titan, my first coaster anywhere near that scale back in 2003. I used to completely grey out twice on every ride, and I loved it. Mr Freeze edged it out for my # 1 at the time.
@@OklahomaCoasterFan Ah you mentioned the 2 coasters that were closed the last time I went. XD
I love living near Cedar Point because I have every option. I can ride SteVe for airtime, Maverick for intensity, Millennium Force for speed, and Raptor for inversions.
Windjammer was my first looping coaster, i was so terrified of montezooma’s revenge around the corner. the ride was so intimidating… the entrance sign, the noise, the fact that you really couldn’t see the ride launch so i picked windjammer. It was terrible but I conquered my fear on it and I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
The coaster that got me into the topic was Bandit at Movie Park. It's a bad ride, but man, conquering that fear is something you won't forget.
I rode Desert Storm simply because I was desperate to ride anything during my time going to school at Arizona State. I was expecting pain and not much else given the janky place it is at couldn't possibly have good maintenance... but what's shocking about DS is that it actually rides relatively smoothly and the loops are forceful. Nothing amazing, but definitely smoother than your average Arrow even.
its not smoother than an arrow, the only difference is the lap bars make it more comfortable. Its the same with Schwarzkopf rides, they have just as bad transitions as Arrows but get praise as being much smoother. Still a good ride but that second loop is the jerky as hell.
U of A student here, rode Desert Storm during my day up on Phoenix back in September. Basically everything you just said is true. No roughness, just jankiness, but it doesn't hurt too much. Nothing crazy but it is still pretty fun, and those loops are way more intense than they look!
Tucson resident here. Desert Storm pulls some Gs in the loops, but it's otherwise kind of dull.
@@sniffinguncajoe1609 I agree but honestly I didn't have super high expectations for it and instead appreciate its uniqueness. My friend and I still had a great time riding it 6 times in a row, and most surprisingly, we were feeling totally fine after.
Skyline compact looping coaster is the exact same ride I would build in Coaster Tycoon 3 to beat scenarios
skyline be building the micro corkscrews irl 💀
I say again, Canada's Wonderland could replace Time Warp with a second SLC and it would still be an improvement.
If nothing else, I guess RCCA's remaining coasters seem like good RMC makeover candidates.
Thier is nothing more menacing then waking up at king island campground to the sound of the son of beast chain lift and just seeing a towering wooden structure dominating the skyline. Glad I still got my on ride photo from when I was 11 riding that thing.
Bandit at Movie park isn't that bad anymore it used to be extremely rough but the park retracks some parts every offseason and it's defently rideable and I de enjoy it, it's pretty fun in the back.🙌🏼
But I still think RCCA is a good choice for the number 1 spot😂🙌🏼
Skyline helped with wicker man at alton towers?! That's one of my favourite rides
You are 100% right about Texas Tornado, that is actually why they look like that
Togo junky=“rmc sucks cause they don’t slam your head” me “so you’re telling me you love big apple coaster”
First things first: PAX coasters are AMAZING! Totally bonkers, wicked fun and absolutely wild! Especially their "small" Wild Train models offer the most fun you can have on a coaster.
If you have Giovanola as an "dishonorable" mention you should also give a shout out to Premier RIdes. The have done some very questionable things.
Did you know that the RCCA rides (SOB, etc.) were designed by Stengel? He might be a coaster god with steel, but he should never ever have touched wood.
Where are the Chinese manufacturers? You could fill your entire list with them.
Stengel also designed El Toro. And we all know it nowhere near any RCCA abomination.
Stengel only provide the calculations for RCCA, how it use is up to RCCA. And they use it poorly.
@@bocahdongo7769 Stengel did design, layout and dynamics for SOB, Coaster Express (Parque Warner Madrid), Magnus Colossus (Terra Mitica) and Wild Wild West (formerly Warner Bros. Movie World, Germany). While the latter is a Cyclone-clone, the others are suffering from drawn out layouts that are just not right for a Woodie.
El Toro and Colossos were specifically designed for airtime, because the newly invented track technique allowed it. You´ll notice that all of these coasters don´t have any laterals, which are so vital for a good wooden coaster. Stengel´s whole design ethos was to reduce laterals to its bare minimum.
The thing about those chinese manufacturers is they are more known for ripping off others than being bad rides. I havent heard their rides are actually bad
@@AirtimeThrills Check out these videos for a short glimpse into atrocities against metal:
ruclips.net/video/DAQCQ56rkrA/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/XzxoZfNVEVM/видео.html
Premier is producing some decent coasters these days, though. Their cookie-cutter Sky Rocket II model is, I think, a good, fun design. It's sort of becoming the modern counterpart to the Vekoma Boomerang, but I am actually not complaining about that.
I grew up riding Desert Storm, and it's a difficult ride to describe. The launch station is waaaayy above the ground, which is already a bit of an oddity if you aren't used to it. It's definitely not a ride I'd recommend for people who aren't big on more intense coasters. It has two inversions over (what feels like at least) a relatively short and compact track distance so the G forces can get pretty rough. Which isn't necessarily bad or good, depends on your tastes.
The BIGGEST issue with Desert Storm imo is the old coaster car style over the shoulder strap headbanging. If you're a shorty like me it's brutal. However, this also depends on when you go. I remember riding when I was really young, and it was great! Then I rode when I was an older teen, and the maintenance was clearly lacking, so it was painful and awful. But the last time I rode a few years ago the paint on the track had visibly been redone recently, and they must have done some work because it was a lot smoother.
Tbh Desert Storm to me rides like an old Arrow. You get the chunky 90s era shoulder restraints that, under the right conditions, knock your head around like a pinball. The ride feels huge with those long trains and tall launch station (again similar to an old Arrow), and these factors combined with the intensity of the layout makes for a ride that can be everywhere from pretty fun in a hardcore thrill seeking way to feeling like you just willingly got punched in the head repeatedly.
I want to see one of these types of channels do a deep dive into Castles n Coasters generally SO bad. Me and other people growing up in AZ I think will always think fondly of seeing the Desert Storm hill on the side of the freeway and begging the parents to pull over. Mini golf in heat stroke inducing weather, those weird bumper boats they have (had? are those gone yet) that are like gas engine powered and so loud and smell awful and break constantly, the log flume that feels cheap but super fun, the drop tower that's genuinely still the scariest I've been on (be it because of the height or the overall sense of low maintenance standards in the park, you decide), the magic carpet ride that some teen ride operator always run on the most sadistic cycles to make you vomit (aka like the fucking best ride at the park), Patriot and the weird mess of awful transitions and jolty track it is, all the bootleg Disney spray paint art around the park, the arcade that actually houses some pretty rare cabinets like the first three original Mortal Kombat games?
I could go on. Someone needs to make this so I don't sound so insane when I try to describe this park to people who've never been.
I live in switzerland and i've ridden Bandit. I could ride the park's SLC 9 Times in a row (I did that) without pain. After i got of Bandit, i think i broke my back
Lots of people trash SOB but in its opening year and even the second year it was a pretty spectacular ride. People complain about how rough it was but I really don’t think it was that bad. Was sorry to see its issues and understand completely why it had to go. Wish Kings Island would have had it built by a better company.
I've ridden one Zamperla and one Hopkins, both kiddie coasters. They are fine kiddie coasters. The Zamperla (Dragon at Canobie) is probably the coaster I've ridden the most times in my life because my daughter has often insisted on marathoning it.
The Hopkins is an unusual kiddie terrain coaster at Story Land, the Polar Coaster. It is basically a series of switchbacks down a hill followed by a helix, but it's got cute and well-done theming, with an "ice cave" station and a train that looks like a walrus. There's an observation platform on top of the station if you want to watch it go.
Desert Storm at my home park, Castles N Coasters is my 1st looping coaster and my 1st extreme coaster I ever ridden. And after riding it 75 times since 2020, I can say it’s a good ride and the inversions, especially the 2nd loop are intense, front and back row and the 1st drop in the back row. Recently, I went to Six Flags Mexico and after riding Medusa Steel Coaster (my 1st RMC) and Superman El Ultimo Escape (my 1st hyper coaster), they are more intense especially the airtime hills, they are awesome, but desert storm still is an awesome ride and has great positive G forces and laterals. The park recently put some new wheels for some the trains and it runs a little smoother. Will be going to Castles N Coasters sometime and record some footage
Yesterday I went to Parque Warner Madrid and all the rides were amazing except for the last ride of my visit… Coaster Express. It’s the last ever RCCA and the park knows that it’s horrible. It immediately needs to be RMCed
Dragon at Adventureland was quite good (for an Hopkins). The worst part were the little dips before the lifthill...
RCCA build some of the worst coasters ever. Coaster Express is very high on my sh*t-list. :D
Calling it now before the video starts: Pinfari, RCCA, and TOGO will be on this list somewhere.
You should do a video on coasters that surpass their stats; so rides that are much better than they seem compared to just looking at their height, length, speed, and inversions
Texas Giant used to beat you up pretty good, but I miss having a large rough woodie in my home park. New Texas Giant is good but a little bit lack luster after riding other RMCs
I GOT TO RIDE CLIFFHANGER IN 2009. Had no idea it was going to be it's last season, not from the area but just happened to be at the park visiting family. I was pretty new to the whole coaster thing at the time so it's hard to to remember anything about the actual ride itself. If memory serves it was kind of like a reasonably well maintained arrow looper. Little rough at some transitions but not knock-your-socks-off rough or anything. (disclaimer; six flags STL was my home park growing up; and we have Ninja. so...my perception of acceptable roughness is probably a little skewed)
But the setting was amazing, I definitely remember that. Even tho I only had like 4 other coaster creds at the time, I remember the setting absolutely made this ride stand out. That's what made it such a unique experience and the only thing I do remember really clearly.
Zamperla thunderbolt model at OWA is ok imo. “Cliffhanger” was called “Red Devel” for most of its life. The drop was after a right turn out of the station then into a vertical loop, lap bars only. Then slow helix and then lift hill. Not too much to it.
It might be my childhood talking but i love super flight at playland cuz it was one of two upside down coasters and it usually had a shorter line than the dragon coaster
Hi Chris! I’ve rode Desert Storm at Castle’s and Coaster’s while in Arizona. I was expecting a crappy force less ride, but the lap-bar restraints and forceful inversions saved the ride. Above Average ride for where it’s located. In comparison, I found it better than Wild Thing at Valleyfair. I have to be honest, this is the only reason to go to this park.
Cliffhanger AKA Red Devil Rollercoaster was one of my 1st 10 Credits, as far as the experience goes, I would've sworn that it was a Arrow and not a bad Arrow more along the lines of Loch Ness Monster but the location on the side of the Mountain made it awesome to Pre-Teen me lol.
I really like Thunderbolt at Luna park. Never really felt like it was an uncomfortable ride. I rode it numerous times in a row and still had fun.
Son Of Beast providing a smooth ride: Well Thought-Out Logical Arguments and Websearches
RCCA Ruining The Smoothness: The Infamous Autocorrect
Zamperla is literally doing Top Thrill 2
I rode Predator back in August and it was nowhere near as rough as people make it out to be. I'm not saying it was great, just that it was a decent ride. I got 3 rides on Rollin' Thunder at OWA and liked it. Once again, not saying it was great but definitely not garbage.
Haven't ridden Rolling Thunder, but I totally agree about Predator.
0:14 my guy really got the Jurassic park camera rollin
Wow. I worked on thunder run during the summer of 2015. Never rode it but I remember some people calling it boring. Interesting to see it’s manufacturer on the list.
I've been on Cliffhanger at NC once! It was a little janky and bumpy, in my opinion it's like a slightly bumpier version of Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood!
So Cliff Hanger, or as I knew it Red Devil, was a short but fun coaster. It was unique for where it was built as it was on the side of a mountain and you star with the drop hill. If I remember, and I rode it twice once in it's first year and once in it's third or fourth as a kid, it ran very smooth. It was overall nice short and sweet and for a park the size of Ghost Town it was perfect. In truth the fact they had a coaster that wasn't just a kiddie coaster is amazing.
4:54 Fujiyama is actually incredibly rough near the end with some super wonky track. But at least it was interesting and 80% of it was good
I'm actually a big fan of Togo despite them making bad coasters in America
Oh the country
I really love the Volare, it is sooo nice if you are just a bit under tension so your head does not shake it is funny
The one Zamperla I've been on (Klondike Gold Rushed at Wild Waves, one of their Wild Mouse coasters) is so rough I'm surprised there aren't ambulance chasers camped out at the ride exit. Not that it matters much anyway since the ride has been SBNO for several years. They do have some pretty good flat rides though.
I loved Mean Streak - Steel Vengeance is truly awesome - but I loved riding Mean Streak for a couple of hours - no lines and I liked it.
Grew up in Phoenix and rode Desert Storm a few times. Was my first looping coaster so i have a soft spot for it.
It definitely rattles a lot and its certainly weird, but the loops pull some good Gs and the last helix is pretty intense too.
Having it weave over palm trees and mini golf is pretty cool. And the view from the top of the lift is pretty nice.
Definitely not a world-class coaster by ANY means but its alright.
Im impressed they managed to fit such a big coaster in a tiny plot of land!
Same here lol
I've been on opposite ends of the extreme regarding this list: I loved "Ultra Twister" when it was at SFGA (and honestly, I didn't mind "Viper") ... but "Hercules" at DP? Dear G*d! ... my back hurts just *thinking* about that coaster!
I recently learned that Lake Compounce's Wildcat, while it was originally a PTC, had its structure completely rebuilt with new wood in 1985 by... the Dinn Corporation. This maybe explains some things.
(Dinn also rebuilt Phoenix and The Wild One, which seem to get nothing but praise, so this is something of a cheap shot)
Phoenix was relocated piece by piece from San Antonio to Pennsylvania. So was Wild One at Six Flags America. Wildcat was a ground up rebuild, giving them the opportunity to F it up.
Zamperla might start to redeem themselves with top thrill 2
RCCA: Really Crappy Construction from America
I actually enjoyed Bandit at Movie Park, it is indeed rough but not as uncomfortable as a SLC. The worst manufacturer I can imagine is SBF Visa - similar to Zamperla, but cheaper. The spinning wild mice with OSTR like "Viking Rollercoaster" at Energylandia are complete garbage - boring and painful.
I’ve ridden desert storm in Arizona. The ride is only insane positive and lateral forces but it’s smooth for the most part other than janky transitions.
That Volaire style is the most painful ride ever designed. Hero, at Flamingo Land, UK. It shakes you to pieces and the the only intensity is gained through holding on for dear life like you're falling out...
Rcca is a good call. I think they call it “the rattler” because it shakes and rattles all the way through the course. Bandit = band-aid.
Time Warp (then Tomb Raider) gave my 6’4” friend a mild concussion. I emerged unscathed, but very cranky.
4:17 THAT SENT ME HARDER THAN MAGNUM'S TRIANGLE HILLS LMFAO
3:14 ok this has nothing to do with the video but that cloud on the left looks like north america
Indiana beach may be buying the trains from mega zeph for silver commet, they also may buy the jester and have it moved to fantasy island. It would be nuts if that ride ran again
Pax looks amazing
So I got a chance to ride Dragon at Adventureland by Hopkins, I was super young at the time admittedly and don’t remember too too much but also I was super young and I absolutely loved it. Rough, if I remember correctly, but not unbearably so. Definitely the 3rd best coaster in the park at the time when I went, but good enough to help a young child fall in love with coasters
Whenever coaster enthusiasts go to North Korea, Kim jong un makes them ride inertia airplane car
Thunder Run, at least the first half, is amazing; it gives extremely strong floater airtime, almost ejector! Ride in the second to back seat for the smoothest experience.
Desert Storm is legit for what we have available here in PHX.
I agree after riding Desert storm 75 times and back row is awesome, and patriot lol. Other coasters I ridden is Medusa Steel Coaster and Superman El Ultimo Escape in Six Flags Mexico. As much as I love Superman and Medusa in Mexico, Desert storm is still a great ride
Something you should know. Zamperla are redoing the Volare coaster which is going to be unveiled at IAAPA next month
Can confirm with Dinn and RCCA. I actually don't mind Goliath at SFMM, so Giovanola wouldn't be on my list. Wonder how Zamperla is going to handle Top Thrill Dragster.
thank you for not including pax on this list. anyone who thinks pax made bad coasters has probably never ridden one of their coasters
ive ridden wild train and formule 1 at parc saint paul. janky, sure, but oh the airtime on formule 1 had to be ridden to be believed.
Grew up in phoenix. I do not have fond memories of desert storm at all. I just remembered it being extremely rough and not much else.
Though I’m not sure if this is a thrill ride
Or where kink John un sends his enemies
Me: *O K A, Y. G E T I N*
I've ridden cliffhanger in north Carolina when it was red devil. The trains were trash. They are pieces of sheet metal with hand rails welded on. Loop wasn't rough but it's lackluster.
It’s kinda sad that I’m a coaster enthusiast yet I don’t even have 100 coasters under my bracket yet!😭 I’m a diehard coaster fan and dream to build them once I graduate. Anyways, HUGE fan dude keep doing what you’re doing!
Same here. Truth be told, I've only ridden 16 coasters but I love them so much! You're not alone buddy
My credits are as follows: Everything at six-flags over Georgia including Georgia cyclone and ninja, everything at Dollywood, everything at sea world Orlando except icebreaker, everything at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and Everything at Legoland Florida. And I’m only from Alabama!
@@TwipoGamez_ That's cool I got everything at Seaworld Sa and Fiesta Texas 🥲
As someone who works in the industry my recommendation for you is start working at a park now, you learn so much just as a ride op.
@@shackatk the closest one to me is six flags over Georgia which is an hour and a half away
Rode when it was called red devil back in the day. One person in station doing dispatches. Only at the controls. No one even checked bars that if I remember correctly were only lap!
Video idea; coasters that work with take advantage of the terrain the best!
Glad you didn't put Arrow on there.
I did not ride dragon but my friend did and he said it’s ok till the loops. The loops make you feel like your skull is going to be cracked like an egg. Then the helixes are not as bad but your head is still bouncing around like crazy.
My understanding is that the Dinn Corporation used cheap Georgia Pine that was just too soft for the forces. The weaker wood combined with the extreme heights for the 80s & 90s lead to coasters that aged poorly.
My gf and I did ride Hopkins Desert Storm last year. Itight not been the greatest but far from terrible in fact we rode it twice. We also rode Patriot which is another Hopkins coaster at the same park and for a smaller coaster it was intense.
Yeah Desert Storm wasn't bat at all
From one of the videos I saw on The Texas Tornado, the loop looks so weird because it was originally too big, so they had to shrink it.
Pretty sure RCCA is why I have chronic back pain… when I was young and dumb, I thought I would try to pull a Don Helbig with Son of Beast.
Thanks for the dinner reminder
Ur late
I know I know
I rode Red Devil/Cliffhanger as a little kid in the 90s on a family trip. My step sister had her restraints stuck closed and they had to send our train through again for three total laps. I wish I could of gone back but I know that place won't open again. I have photos somewhere in a box and I'm sure a vhs lost in a closet.