TOC2 Round 1: Vertical Lift Coasters

[Chris]

Now it's time for the good stuff! We're about to start filling in the other half of the Round 2 bracket! Today's poll is a battle of vertical lift coasters, as Universal Studios Florida puts Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit up against HersheyPark's Fahrenheit and Dollywood's Mystery Mine.

Remember to vote for your FAVORITE coaster of the three, and the two rides that get the highest vote totals will advance to Round 2 to take on SheiKra and X2.



*This poll will remain open for three days, closing on Monday, December 21, 2009.

[lilteezy]

Hollywood rip ride rockit!!!!!

[Chris]

Hollywood rip ride rockit!!!!!

You know honestly, up until recently I would have definitely voted for Rockit - but I gotta say - that ride suffered more than others in terms of what happens when the new ride hype wears off. It's a good coaster. I like it a lot. There's several rides that I'd pick a ride on Rockit over, but there's a whole lot of other rides that I would take before it.

I voted Mystery Mine. I love the theming. I love the ride. I love the hokey dark ride portion, and I especially love the second lift. The lightning to darkness is compelling, and the fireball, especially if you ride early in the day when the gas is still fully charged is just downright uncomfortable. The 95º drop is one of the best coaster drops you'll find, and what follows are two of the smoothest, fastest inversions out there. Mystery Mine dominantes that entire corner of the theme park. The only thing it can be compared to is the Tower of Terror - and that's something you'd never, ever be able to say for any other park, but Mystery Mine absolutely is Dollywood's Tower of Terror.

[CreditCrazy]

I voted for Fahrenheit; looks like a really fun ride with great air-time.

HRRR looks really average to me...I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but there doesn't seem to be anything on it that makes it 'omfg awesome'.

Mystery Mine's theming looks incredible, and I'd love to ride it, but I have NOT heard good things about those Euro-Fighter trains, and just the ride itself looks uncomfortable.

[slipknot1119]

hollywood ripride rockit is amazing i don't care what anyone says it is awesome . when you got music blasting in your ears and that rush you get it is just awesome , and that ride you feel g's like no other and how the lap bar was designed is awesome you feel like you are gonna lift out of the seat . this ride deserves a vote don't listen to people who have never ridden any of these rides you should not vote unless you have at least rode one on the list!

[Chris]

hollywood ripride rockit is amazing i don't care what anyone says it is awesome . when you got music blasting in your ears and that rush you get it is just awesome , and that ride you feel g's like no other and how the lap bar was designed is awesome you feel like you are gonna lift out of the seat . this ride deserves a vote don't listen to people who have never ridden any of these rides you should not vote unless you have at least rode one on the list!

"Don't listen to people who haven't ridden these rides" - my vote is the only one of them you've ridden is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit? I've ridden all three, more than once each. If people should only listen to one person's opinion to help pick their vote according to your logic, shouldn't it be mine?

I voted for Fahrenheit; looks like a really fun ride with great air-time.

See, with Fahrenheit... I was left kind of feeling "that's it?" It's very smooth, but it really does not have a lot in the way of forces at all, and it really doesn't have a lot of airtime. The steaper drop - steaper than Mystery Mine, Maverick, etc - did not feel any steaper. In fact, it did not feel as steap as Mystery Mine's to begin with thanks to that nice surprise twist midway down the drop in the dark.

HRRR looks really average to me...I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but there doesn't seem to be anything on it that makes it 'omfg awesome'.

Rockit is above average. Great even. But it does have a lot of new ride hype and a LOT of bugs that need to be worked out before its really even rideable. For what it's worth, the non-inverting loop is most definitely that "omfg awesome" moment you're looking for.

Mystery Mine's theming looks incredible, and I'd love to ride it, but I have NOT heard good things about those Euro-Fighter trains, and just the ride itself looks uncomfortable.

Mystery Mine is pure Dollywood. The theming is everything you'd expect from the park, but pushed to an even higher level. The story is wonderful, and the way you're integrated into that story is something even Dollywood has never really done. Really makes one hopeful for things to come from them. The trains are really not bad at all. Mystery Mine has a few clunky spots in the first half of the ride, but the inversions - the part you'd expect to get headbanging in, are perfectly glass smooth. You'll be very surprised.

I'm also a huge fan of Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge - another Gerstlaurer Eurofighter. I found it too to be very smooth - and I'd imagine being 100% protected from the elements always, it will continue to run well for a long time.

Trust me - the first time I rode Mystery Mine, I was scared to death that it was going to bash my skull in. I've heard the same things as you about the Eurofighters around Europe. Totally not the case. I've also since riding Mystery Mine heard certain whiney ACE fanboys complain to no end about Mystery Mine. Defnitely not true. Keep in mind that there are some fanatics out there so bad that they will rate a ride as "rough" if the park refuses to allow them to bring a personal camera on board or skip to the front of the line. Absurd. True. Sad. And the worst thing is it takes a great new coaster and brands it with a bad name at a young age that will be forever tough to shake.

[Kylarey]

I voted Mystery Mine here, and not solely because it is my favorite coaster of all time. I have learned, as a short person, that some of the quick turns in the first half are a little easier on the ears and neck if you lean your entire chest forward on the restraint. The two vertical drops are integrated perfectly into the track design, as well as the theming, and the two vertical lifts are perfect placed and timed. The wait time at the bottom gives you just the right amount of anticipation and anxiety - just enough time to go, "Am I really sure I wanted to get on this?" I've actually heard people at the bottom of the first lift say, "Oh, we're not going up that. We're going to go backwards in a second." The inversions after the second drop are perfectly smooth, and the hangtime at the end is something I have never gotten on any other inversion. Altogether, my only complaint with this ride is that it is too short!

[Tomas]

Really close poll, I like that. I voted Rockit, but I can say it was a really difficult choice. Mistery Mine seems to be an extremely fun ride with its great theming, and Fahrenheint, ohh I have an obsession about this ride and want to ride it so badly haha, the drop SEEMS to be really good, but thats not all, it also has a really interesting layout with some nice elements, and if as Chris said it is also smooth, then we have a great coaster.

But I still voted Rockit. Why? because I found it to be a unique ride, and not only for the different songs. Basically its major elements, non inverting loop and treble clef, are unique to the ride and give you a really fun sensation, you have to experience them to know what I am talking about. Of course, the issues it has make it a difficult ride to love, but I try to see that as a problem with the designer and not with the coaster itself.

[Chris]

I voted Mystery Mine here, and not solely because it is my favorite coaster of all time. I have learned, as a short person, that some of the quick turns in the first half are a little easier on the ears and neck if you lean your entire chest forward on the restraint. The two vertical drops are integrated perfectly into the track design, as well as the theming, and the two vertical lifts are perfect placed and timed. The wait time at the bottom gives you just the right amount of anticipation and anxiety - just enough time to go, "Am I really sure I wanted to get on this?" I've actually heard people at the bottom of the first lift say, "Oh, we're not going up that. We're going to go backwards in a second." The inversions after the second drop are perfectly smooth, and the hangtime at the end is something I have never gotten on any other inversion. Altogether, my only complaint with this ride is that it is too short!

Roller Coaster (formerly Manhattan Express) at NYNY Hotel & Casino, as well as the former Viper at Six Flags Great Adventure (now long gone) had elements that would give you such hang. The problem is you were being punched in the skull throughout it. Very unpleasant. For another modern ride that has it, try Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach. When I first saw this thing I thoguht it was going to beat the hell out of me. I couldn't believe how smooth every bit of it was. Not a single spot of head-banging, and some fantastic hang time upside-down. You'd probably like it.

BTW - steepest drop in the country too, and cleverly, the drop is trimmed through the negative banking so you're not SLAMMED into the drop like you are on other rides.

[goofywdw]

HRRR Was my 100th coaster! But I didn't vote for it...
It's a good coaster with some great tech aspects but I don't think I would find it on my top 10 if I was decisive enough to make one.