TTF Euro Coaster Poll 2011-12

[Nightfall]

So TTF, you've said that a Vekoma mine train ride with decent theming but a god awful, dull layout is better than the most interesting, unique and plain old insane ride in the poll.

I'm guessing you haven’t actual been on Colorado Adventure then? CA's layout flat out rocks, it’s the theme that can be dodgy in places. You’d be surprised just how intense it can be.

Just for the record though I did try and save the Ultimate. I didn’t want it to go out just yet either. But this was a very strong group. Even with the old rating system it would have only just skimmed through.

[AstroDan]

Round 2, Group 4
Voting Time for this round is 3 days (c72 hours). The top FOUR ranked coasters will qualify for the Semi Finals.

There are 10 coasters in this group. To vote, you need to rank each in order of preference from 1st  (best) to 10th (least favourite). Please remember that when voting, your user name and voting habit will be visible by the poll administrators and may be published on the forum. Both myself (poll co-ordinator) and Chris (poll technical admin) will be monitoring all voting during the poll. Keep an eye out on http://www.facebook.com/towerstimes for updates to start/end times of voting rounds, too!

1st placed coaster is awarded 10 points, 2nd is awarded 9 points etc.

Please inform yourself via the RCDB website for the relevant coaster, which will give you specs and photo's. You can also search Youtube and watch a ride Point Of View (POV) video, otherwise known as an 'onride' video! But remember, these videos often do rollercoasters, particularly those partially or entirely indoors, an injustice.

GROUP 4:

Colossos
Intamin, Wooden Coaster
Heide-Park, Germany


Superman
B&M, Floorless Coaster
Parque Warner, Spain


iSpeed
Intamin, Blitz Coaster
Mirabilandia, Italy


Winjas Fear & Force
Maurer Sohne, Spinning Coaster
Phantasialand, Germany


Eurosat
Mack, Sit Down
Europa-Park, Germany


Lisebergbanan
Schwarzkopf/Zierer, Sit Down
Liseberg, Sweden


El Toro
GCI, Wooden Coaster
Freitzeitpark Plohn, Germany


Thunderbird
GCI, Wooden Coaster
PowerLand, Finland


Knightmare
Schwarzkopf/Zierer, Sit Down
Camelot, UK


Daemonen
B&M, Floorless Coaster
Tivoli Gardens, Denmark


VOTING OVER.

[John]

I have absolutely no idea where to even begin with this group.

[James6]

How are these so difficult?!! :P Mainly because there isn't really any "stand-out" onesLi

1. Lisenbergnan (or however it's spelt :P)

Looks absolutely incredible nestled amongst the terrain, speedy, long, and exciting twists. Seriously looks amazing

2. El Toro, this GCI really does look amazing. Even then it's still surprising it ended up so high on the poll this year. Still, looks packed with twists and airtime.

3.  Colossos, never really heard a bad thing about any Intamin Pre-Fab, and is just so huge and airtime filled

4. iSpeed, such quick fast transitions and it's nice to see an Intamin launch coaster with a real layout!

5. Eurosat

Can't wait to try this in the summer, but it gets such mixed reports I couldn't put it much higher.

6. Thunderbird

GCI's amaze me, so it's no surprise this got a good rating

7. Winjas Fear and Force

A pair of coasters I also can't wait to ride in a few months, and as awesome as they look, at the end of the day, they are still spinners.

8. Superman

Looks to be a generic B&M.

9. Knightmare

Hear that it's really good, but looks hideous and a rough.

10. Daemonen

Meh. All I can think to describe it really.

[John]

Looking at things a little more constructively, I've been on Colossos, Knightmare, Sat and Winjas (in order of preference). 

That leaves Superman, iSpeed, Lisebergabanana, El Toro, Thunderbird and Daemonenenen.  Again I've put them in a rough order of preference (subject to change), but I don't really know where they'd slot in around the ones I've actually done.  More POV viewing needed I think.

[AstroDan]

1: iSpeed
I have to vote for this, simply as it looks about the closest ride to Maverick in Europe. It looks like a more thrill style version of Blue Fire, albeit with worse trains/restraints. Cannot wait to ride this.

2: Eurosat*
Probably the one and only fanboy vote I have made so far in the poll. It probably isn't right up here, but I bloody love this coaster. The music, the exposed nature of the trains, the aggressive ride - adorable.

3: Superman
In 3rd place purely on others reviews. I did not rate Kraken, but apparently this is a different ball game... I won't keep sending it through though, this is probably the last time. Hopefully come next year I will have been on this.

4: El Toro
Again, not sure if this is really as good as is being made out in recent Hawker polls. However, it looks relaly, really good fun - and for such modest size!



5: Colossos* - it is awesome. But not as awesome as I had expected with the height.
6: Thunderbird - looks awesome. But not awesome enough here.
7: Lisebergbanan - I really want to ride this! But sadly, it's not going anywhere for me in this group.
8: Knightmare* - I love this coaster! But it's not enough to qualify.
9: Daemonen - credit for packing so much into so little space. But with Superman in the group... meh!
10: Winjas Fear & Force* - I do love Winjas, especially Fear! But sadly it's not doing it in this group!

A VERY HARD CHOICE HERE!

[Joe Koopa]

This was a tough group but not a particularly good group as such. I've also not ridden any coasters in this group, both limiting riding bias and making it harder for me to choose.

Ah well, my votes -

#10 - EuroSat: *awaits hate from Europa Park fanboys* I fail to see the big deal here. It looks alright, maybe (like with many enclosed coasters) you have to ride it to appreciate it.
#9 - Knightmare: Looks a good coaster. I can't comprehend the fuss about these Schwarkopf (incorrect spelling, I assume) coasters.
#8 - Winjas: Looks an excellent family coaster, but an excellent family coaster deserves no higher than this really.
#7 - Lisebergbanan: Judging from POV's it looks... slow and dull. I'm giving it the benefit of a doubt placing it this high, to be honest.
#6 - Daemonen: Looks brilliant, especially for such a compact coaster.
#5 - Thunderbird: By the looks of things, it's GCI conforming to high standards, once again.
#4 - El Toro: The same as above could be applied here, also. Only this coaster has a slightly better layout.
#3 - iSpeed: Would love to ride this coaster, it looks like the Intamin equivalent of Blue Fire. Anyone who rides it seems to laud it.
#2 - Collosos: A tough competitor for the top spot. An Intamin airtime machine that just so happens to also be a woodie. I wantz...
#1 - Superman: Looks like a superior parallel of Dragon Khan, one of my favourite coasters.

[Sam]

I have absolutely no idea where to even begin with this group.

Dæmonen in tenth place...? :P

1. Colossos
It's like a really good genre film, that's only designed to do one thing. And that thing is to deliver the airtime. In buckets. Or spades.

2. El Toro
"OMG lol wtf he put teh Toro @ number 2???" This is entirely based on its surprising insanely high ranking on Mitch Hawker this year!

3. Superman
Lots of inversions? Lack of a pre-drop? Being the only saving grace of a failing Spanish park? This sounds like a job for Superman!

4. iSpeed
Seems to go on for too long, based on a POV I wouldn't rate it this high, but people who have been on it rave about it. Jeremy and Jared in particular.

5. Knightmare *
Classic Schwarzy goodness, from an age where men were men, and Japanese parks could add expensive coasters without a care in the world! Damn you 90s Japan recession!

6. EuroSat *
I love Sat and wish I could rank it higher, sorry Sat.

7. Lisebergbananananananananananananananana
I find it very apeeling.

8. Winjas
Yes I am ranking it this low, stop whinjing!

9. Thunderbird
It looks great, but doesn't have the stink of excellence needed for this round.

10. Dæmonen
No. You're not allowed to merge those two letters together. I won't have it.

[Ritadz]

Wow, this is a hard group!

1) iSpeed
Awesome coaster, POVs don't do it justice, fast transistions and inversions plus a bit of floater airtime.

2) Superman
Asuming it rides similar to Dragon Kahn, it looks like a great coaster.

3) El Toro
Looks crazy

4) Deamonen
Looks like a fun little coaster

5) Collosus
Looks pretty insane, and gets rave reviews by enthusiasts

6) Eurosat:
Looks like a great dark coaster, i think it deserves to go through, but this is a pretty tough group.

7) Thunderbird

8) Liseberg

9) Winjas

10) Knightmare

[John]

Some time later - here we go!

1.  Superman - looks absolutely spectacular.  I couldn't care less how formulaic it is, it's the only big B&M floorless in Europe and I've heard great reviews of it.

2.  Colossos.  Near as makes no difference a hypercoaster, and practically rides like a steel coaster.  Brilliant ride.

3. iSpeed - I think my lack of enthusiasm towards anything Intamin has affected my ranking of this a little.  It's probably fantastic, and I hope to find out for myself fairly soon, but it just doesn't excite me as much as it probably deserves

4.  Lisebergbanana - Could this be the best custom Schwarzkopf ever made?  It looks completely mad, which is always great to see in a coaster.

5.  Knightmare - OK so it's ugly as sin but I really don't care about theming when a ride is this damn good.  Psycho drop and huge positive gs FTW.

6.  El Toro - Not as good as the otherEl Toro, but still seemingly a sublime ride if MH2011 is anything to go by.  Look forward to finally seeing what all the fuss is about GCIs this year!

7.  Thunderbird - Another epic looking GCI that wasn't even on my radar before this poll but it's top 15 on Hawker so maybe I should have heard of it. To be honest I can't choose between this and El Toro so I've just gone off Mitch Hawker positions - sue me.

8.  Eurosat - I've never quite understood the hype behind this.  It's not a bad ride by any stretch but it's only my #4 coaster at EP so isn't close to a top 20 here IMO.  If you're looking for a space themed coaster with a long spiral lift Mir is by far the better ride IMO.

9.  Daemonenenen - they packed a lot into this tiny ride, but it just doesn't do enough to be worthy of a top 20 place.  It's basically B&Ms version of G-Force.

10.  Winjas - I love these spinners, but realistically they're outclassed here.

[Pennywise]

Well, this really is a weak group, compared to the last. Well... I say weak, but the quality of the rides here is fairly consistent, and it's simply a case of there not being any which particularly jump out of the screen at being fantastic. It'll certainly be interesting to see the results from this group!

10. Eurosat - Doesn't look like a bad coaster in the slightest, in fact, it looks like good fun. However, whilst this group doesn't especially have any coasters that stand out to me as being incredible, it doesn't have any which strike me as being poor and / or looking out of place at this stage of the competition. I do feel bad about placing it last though.

9. Winjas Fear & Force - A prime example of a bad coaster made good by theming of the highest quality. Unfortunately that alone isn't going to get it through this round, but it certainly means that this particular attraction appeals to me a fair bit. Certainly one that I intend to ride in the future.

8. Daemonen - Easily a contender for the blandest B&M in existence, but B&M nonetheless. Certainly, I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to have a ride on it, and I may well have ranked it higher if judging for ride experience alone, but it's sheer blandness is off-putting.

7. Thunderbird - It's cute, I'll admit, and a prime example of a family coaster. But now that we're into the slightly more serious stages of the competition, it needs more than that. This isn't an extreme thrill coaster, it doesn't have outstanding theming, and it's duration is slightly on the short side... and thus I'm unable to rank it higher.

6. El Toro - Pretty much the same deal as with Thunderbird, only slightly better based on the air-time hills towards the end which look brilliant! The same flaws are present, however, and (whilst good) I don't believe it worthy of progression.

5. Knightmare - One of the few coasters in the UK which I'm yet to ride, and it certainly looks like a good one! I'll admit, reluctantly, that it's utterly hideous in terms of colour scheme and is at a theme park which will undoubtedly be shut down before I have the opportunity to visit... but that certainly doesn't detract from this. Looks to be packed with air-time, and an all-round enjoyable experience.

4. iSpeed - As I've mentioned all too frequently throughout this competition thus far, launch coasters aren't generally my thing... but if you were... This does look like a coaster with an awful lot going for it, in terms of layout, and I wouldn't begrudge it a place at the next stage of the competition and, what with it being a launch coaster, that probably means that it's worthy of my vote.

3. Superman - This coaster really does frustrate me. Such an incredible layout, but literally nothing bar steel in sight. I genuinely have never seen such a phenomenally outstanding lack of theming, and for that reason I hate to debate with myself whether I wanted to see Superman progress. But, at the end of the day, it reminds me of Kumba in terms of layout, which is no bad thing.

2. Lisebergbanan - The most unique coaster remaining in the competition now, following The Ultimate's departure... and it would be an awful shame if this went the same way. To construct such a coaster around the surrounding landscaping is quite the feat, let alone making it as insane and intense as this appears to be! Hopefully it'll be making an appearance at the next stage.

1. Colossos - That first drop looks absolutely incredible! It's something which I'd really like to ride, but perhaps for that reason alone, because the layout which follows really isn't as impressive as it should be, it's all very by-the-numbers. That being said, I wouldn't have placed it first if it didn't look like phenomenally good fun, and it's undoubtedly worthy of the next stage.


Having now ranked all the coasters, I've only just come to the realisation that I haven't ridden any of them! This is the first group thus far whereby that has been the case. :P I suspect that it will be an increasingly common trend, considering that I probably haven't ridden any of Europe's finest. Ah well. :P

[SpinballEdders]

1. Colossos - Looks like an amazing woodie, and its at a merlin park!

2. Lisebergbananananananananana - looks amazing and it looks like a silky smooth coaster, the theme is pretty cool as well

3.El Toro - Sure it doesn't look as good as its Great Adventure Cousin, but for its size, it still looks like it packs a punch.

4.iSpeed - Damn that is fast!

5. Superman - Looks like a fun floorless coaster, Although the 2nd half is just another B&M

6.Thunderbird - another small and great GCI woodie, although it doesn't really compare to the above coasters

7.Daemonen - Unique layout, but that's about it

8. Eurosat - Hard to judge since I haven't ridden it, my opinion could be different If I rode it though

9.Knightmare - looks dangerous and not as good as Lisebegbanan

10.Winjas - Meh, Fury looks better

[Blaze]

Righty then, this could be interesting...

1. Lisbergbanananananananananana
Curvier than Holly Willoughbooby, and just as hawt

2. Knightmare
Most people will think I'm being silly, but this really is a superb pakage. Shame about where it is.

3. El Toro
Oh, my, god! I'd rank this higher than any other woodie on the continent right now. Insanely good

4. Thunderbird
Another mental GCI. Hadn't heard of it before the poll, but I'm now a very big fan.

5. Colossus
And this isn't too far behind. Simple layout is more than made up for be the sheer airtime this has.

6. iSpeed
One of the worst names in history, but it's am excelent coaster that I feel bad about placing outside the top four, but it feels like there's a little something missing, especailly after the MCBR.

7. Eurosat
One of the best indoor rides around, a brilliant piece of work

8. Superman
*see opinion of most B&M coasters* Good, but doesn't do much for me.

9. Winjas
As great as the theming, the special features and the effort put in is, the coasters themselves are both nothing special.

10. Daemonen
Absolutely nothing here pleases me in the slightest.

[AstroDan]

I think Eurosat is suffering from the fact that it's an indoor coaster, and from POV's a lot of indoor coasters look poor (as often, they are shot with the lights on).

Alas, part of the deal I guess, but if there was one of the non Silver Star/Blue Fire combo that I would have loved to see in at least the Semi, it would have been Eurosat. Doubt it will happen now!

[Nightfall]

Oh great, I'm going to get branded a fan boy once again for my ratings in this round 
Not that I understand the term fan boy in this case. The reason I am a fan of these rides is because I rode them and found them damn good. But no I must be a fan boy because the rides in question are at Europa Park and Phantasialand. But starting off with a ride I haven’t been on...

1) iSpeed:
Do want to ride! :yes:
iSpeed looks absolutely incredible. My one hope for the new rating system is that it finally receives the credit it deserves. Besides a decent name and lacking the perfect engineering of Mack’s Blue Fire this ride has everything. I think it stands side by side with Nemesis as one of Europe’s few genuinely great rides.

2) Eurosat: # 7
Nice picture Dan
I’m surprised Eurosat doesn’t get more support from The Ultimate’s fan base. Although I haven’t been on The Ultimate every description I’ve ever heard seems to suggest a very similar experience to Sat, albeit taking place over a greater distance and not in the dark. Eurosat is a mental ride. I don’t blame some for not liking it (hence its lower MH ranking) but personally I love it!

3) Winjas Fear then Force: # 8
Now when I rode Winjas earlier this year I really was expecting a regular spinner with a few interesting gimmicks. What I wasn’t expecting was an interesting and dynamic ride that not only I loved but also my whole family. I could go on about everything I liked but I already have so there’s no need to repeat it.

4) Thunderbird:
If I didn’t know Troy is even more insane I’d be rooting for this as one of the best Wooden coasters in the competition. It’s a great looking ride. I did debate if this should be above both Eurosat and Winjas but I found the above two to be complete experiences more than just a coaster.

5) El Toro:
Another great GCI. I only rate El Toro lower than Thunderbird because the layout doesn’t seem to flow as well. Given the ride’s name this could be the point.

6) Colossos:
I’ve always felt this ride is slightly overrated. Watching videos I can’t really see what’s so special about it. Speed and height is all very well but I prefer the look of the modern twister designs.

7) Superman:
I always find it such a shame that those parks which can afford a B&M spend so much on the coaster they have no funds to improve its surroundings. Superman looks to be a good ride but nothing mind-blowing.

8] Lisebergbanan: # 17
Having ridden Lisebergbanan I found it rather enjoyable. However I do feel it has gained too much of a cult states for being the last great Schwarzkopf. It’s good but calling this an amazing coaster then turning around and claiming that Eurosat and Winjas look terrible is just laughable. I’ve ridden all 3: Eurosat & Winjas left deep and lasting impressions on me, Lisebergbanan was fun but nothing mind blowing.

9) Knightmare:
I have similar thoughts about this as Lisebergbanan. It looks good but I feel it would be a lot less popular if Schwarzkopf were still around.

10) Dæmonen:
I’d like B&M to try a compact ride like this again. I think it’s a good ride with interesting ideas but the space restrictions feel too much like a compromise rather than an opportunity for something more interesting.

[CF1]

1) Superman
1) I Speed (also a first for me)
3) Thunderbird
4) Lisebergbanan
5) Eurosat
6) El Toro
7) Colossos
8) Daemonen
9) Knightmare
10) Winjas

[Dylan]

The top three in this round are difficult to call.

1. Superman*
This became my #2 coaster when I rode it in 2009. It has a bland setting, but the queue line is nice. Ride is forceful for a B&M Floorless.

2. Colossos*
Had I not have ridden El Toro (US version) this would probably be my #1 wooden coaster, lots of ejector airtime and a nice pace. Great ride.

3. iSpeed
This looks really good and get's great reviews. Hope to ride in the summer.

4. Thunderbird
Looks nice a long, well paced layout. Really impressive considering I hadn't heard of it until this poll.

5. El Toro
Again looks like great fun, if a little short.

7. Daemonen
Very short B&M Floorless, but seems to pack a lot in.

6. EuroSat*
Nice retro dark coaster, with some crazy intense spots.

8. Winjas Fear & Force*
Love the lifts and the trick track elements of these coasters. Apart from that though they are very average.

9. Lisebergbanan
This is probably ranked too low here, but I dunno, it doesn't seem that exciting.

10. Knightmare
Again, probably ranked too low here, but out of all the coasters in this group, this appeals to me the least!

[Mattmash]

Probably the hardest round for me to vote in yet, mainly due to it including both my 'fanboy' coasters   I almost didn't vote at all, so that I wouldn't contribute to their demise :P  Both of their fates already seem to be sealed though, so what the hell...

10.  Daemonen - Nothing that really appeals to me about this, it just all looks a bit bland.

9.  Winjas* - My favourite spinners but just can't cut it in this round for me.

8.  Lisebergbanan - Really wish I could rate this higher, would love to ride it.

7.  El Toro - Looks great fun for sure, although I feel it's 7th place in Mitch Hawker may have been a little high, I prefer the look of some of the larger GCIs.  Would love to ride it for myself to find out though.

6.  Eurosat* -  Love, love, love!  Under the old system this probably would have got a fanboy vote from me and although I did consider putting it first here, I don't think it has a prayer of qualifying so I will give it my more realistic position :P

5.  Thunderbird - Like many others, I didn't know a great deal about this coaster until this poll, just the fact there was a GCI in Scandinavia somewhere.  It looks pretty damn amazing to be honest and maybe even a rival to Troy!  Would certainly have no complaints if it made it through this round.

4.  Knightmare* -  Bit of a fanboy vote, although I do genuinely rate this coaster very highly and it's still in my top 10 steel.  I love the layout, it just gets better and better as it goes on.  From the amazing physcho drop, to intense helixes and then the awesome end section up into the brake run.  A truly classic Schwarzie.

3.  Superman - Whilst I normally wouldn't find a B&M floorless so appealing, I have heard nothing but good about this particular one.  Looks fast and actually quite intense, and I can't help but love the fact it has an airtime hill instead of the usual MCBR!  Can't wait to ride it in August.

2.  Colossos* - Didn't quite live up to my (massively) high expectations when I rode it but it was still a top class coaster.  Some great floater airtime and very smooth apart from Gerstache helix.  This is the sort of ride I could happily sit on all day.

1. iSpeed - This is probably my most wanted coaster in Europe right now and the closest thing we have to the mighty Maverick.  As others have mentioned, my only slight concern would be the nasty OTSRs in combination with the snappy transitions.  I have heard lots of great reviews though, roll on August

I'm sorry Sat

[AstroDan]

I think Sat is the next Big Thunder and Ultimate. Old system = winner, new system = loser!!

Boo hiss.



Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[Nightfall]

Well it was always going to happen. Despite the new system being fairer it still skews the votes towards safer options. So under the new system B&Ms will always do well because they look awesome and even if you haven't been on them you can guaranty you'll like it. However family rides and dark rides are at a major disadvantage because it's impossible to tell what they're really like.

In part this caused the Ultimate's downfall. Serious question: Who would honestly vote for it if they hadn't been on it or read so many hyped reviews?
I know I wouldn't. It's a terribly designed coaster but it just goes to show that so many wrongs does eventual end up making something right.
Of course all the people that went on it and hated it didn’t help either...