The Coaster Critic's Blog

Recent Theme Park News Stories - Transformers, Terminator, & More
Since I've been busy working on Coaster Portal, I've missed a few news stories. Here's a recap of the biggest stories from the past month or so:

Gravity Group Launches Blog & Podcast - Gravitycast
The Gravity Group, acclaimed wooden roller coaster designers, recently launched their blog and podcast known as Gravitycast. If you're not familiar with their coasters check out my reviews of The Voyage, Hades, and Ravine Flyer II. They're all amazing and all three are in my Top Ten. Gravitycast looks to be more than just a place for the designers to post updates (which would be enough for coaster geeks out there like myself), they've essentially opened up a conversation with the fans. Read more at: Coaster Portal

Magic Mountain to Announce Details of the Terminator Coaster
UPDATE 10/23 - Six Flags Announces Details of the Terminator Coaster.

The LA Times Funland Blog has information on the new GCI Terminator wooden coaster coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2009. Six Flags is expected to make an official announcement later this week. I still think it's a little odd that a Terminator-themed coaster wouldn't be a steel coaster, but Six Flags is likely looking for that fun, family friendly ride that will have wider appeal. Plus, Magic Mountain could use another woodie as they only have the old racing coaster, Colossus. Read more at the LA Times Funland Blog.

Universal Announces Transformers Ride for 2011
Also on the LA Times Funland Blog, are a few details confirming the rumored Transformers ride. Universal will build a dark ride that sounds similar to the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and Curse of Darkastle at Busch Gardens Europe. Read more about those rides on my Top 3 Dark Rides post. One major difference with the Transformers ride will be that this ride will built many years lafter those rides and will benefit from enhancement in high definition 3D technology. Not only that, but it will feature two-story tall robots going at it all around you. Universal will build the ride at the Universal Hollywood park as well as the Universal Singapore park. Sorry East Coasters. Read more at The LA Times Funland Blog.

Dollywood Cancels 2009 Attraction - Adventure Mountain
We may have one of the first 2009 projects to fall victim to the struggling economy. Recently, Dollywood had to unannounce their 2009 attraction known as Adventure Mountain. They sight the economic downturn as the reason for putting the ride on hold. I give them credit for coming out with a statement rather than just sweeping the project under the rug. Read the full announcement.

What do you think of this news? Leave a comment below.

Hurricane Ike's Storm Surge Floods Kemah Boardwalk
Obviously the safety of the people of Texas and their homes comes to mind first when you see the devastation on that Hurricane Ike left on the Texas coastline. Hurricane Ike also destroyed countless businesses. The Kemah Boardwalk is located on the Galveston Bay between Galveston and Houston. Kemah was hit with a devastating 17 foot storm surge. There are some pictures of the damaged amusement park on a message board on ThemeParkReview:



In 2007, the park opened a wooden coaster from the acclaimed Gravity Group in 2007, called the Boardwalk Bullet. Reviews of the roller coaster were mixed, but Kemah Boardwalk is the only amusement park in Houston area, so the Bullet is a pretty important ride. A video from Houston's KHOU includes an interview with the park's general manager. In the interview the GM seems hopeful and certain that the park will be rebuilt soon. Enthusiasts on TPR hope that when they do rebuild, the park can correct the issues that have been affecting the Boardwalk Bullet's ride. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families affected by Ike.

To help the victims of Hurricane Ike donate at RedCross.org.
Check out the message board thread at ThemeParkReview for more photos.

Ravine Flyer II An Impressive World-Class Wooden Coaster
I'd been excited for Ravine Flyer II since I learned about it last winter. It's the product of 15 years of work, planning, and local politics. The Gravity Group designed hybrid woodie was my top pick for the new coasters opening in 2008. The New York Times even quoted me when I dubbed it the "Sleeper Hit of 2008". So needless to say I was looking forward to getting to Waldameer Park in Erie, PA to see if Ravine Flyer II was as good as expected. Ravine Flyer's climb seems exceptionally slow, which is by no means a negative. This gives riders time to take in the breath-taking view of Lake Erie towards the top. I felt like I was looking out onto an ocean. You can even make out waves breaking on the coast. Park owner Paul Nelson told me that at dusk a mist comes in off the lake that greases the tracks making Ravine Flyer II even faster. Just as riders admire the view with 'oohs and ahhs' their attention is snapped back to the drop below as the trains dives down off of the hill its situated on. The train just rose 80 feet, but the opening hill is a 115 foot drop that banks gently at the bottom. There's a great pull over the crest in the back seat and the hill feels much longer back there.

Out and Back - Down the Ravine & Over the Highway
At the bottom, the train immediately flies through the first tunnel with surprising speed. Then up into the arched bridge over the highway with a short pop of air. In the banked, twisted turn around (similar to a section on Hades) the train climbs a hill that seems to momentarily sap some of the rides energy, but its followed by another great drop and a trip back across the highway.

The Twisted Section - Speed, Airtime, & 90-Degrees!
The rest of the ride is non-stop speed and thrills with no letting up whatsoever. Much like Gravity Group's Voyage, Ravine Flyer II is seemingly possessed or like the energizer bunny for a nicer analogy. It's jam-packed with pops of air and banked turns. Nelson explained that this is Gravity Group's secret to success as it keeps the rides initial energy going. There are nearly no sections of just flat track anywhere. The highlight of the second half is the 90-degree banked turn to the right. It's shorter than sections on The Voyage, but still exciting. The train seems like it could've continued on for longer, but the brake run finally puts the beast to rest.

Early videos of Ravine Flyer II looked fun, but they don't really do the speed and intensity of this ride justice. It's much faster than it looks on video. And though you get thrown around a bit on the turns, I couldn't find a moment of roughness on the whole ride. Gravity Group has done it again. Congratulations to Waldameer Park! For their persistence they've got a world-class woodie that's built to last and will thrill thousands for years to come.

RFII flies its way into my Top Ten landing as the 8th best of the nearly 160 roller coasters I've ridden and the 5th best wooden coaster. It has also received my 7th '10'. If you're anywhere near Erie, get to Waldameer. Final Rating 10 (Superior)

Robb Alvey from ThemeParkReview has made a great video covering this amazing ride. Check out this great video of Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park:

Confirmed Roller Coasters & Rumors for 2009
Kings Island will be getting a B&M hyper coaster for 2009. Construction has been pretty apparent even though no official announcement has been made. The layout which first appeared in First Drop magazine last November looks great. It will ride off into the woods behind the Tomb Raider ride, much the way The Beast does.

There's an area being cleared that looks like where the station and a water splash section will be built. The water splash will act to slow the trains down at the end of the ride like on Griffon and SheiKra. So far this new unnamed project is tied for my favorite '09 coaster with Manta. More at ScreamScape. Image courtesy of ScreamScape.

California Gets Two New Woodies
California's Great America in Santa Clara, CA announced a new wooden coaster for 2009 months ago. No details have surfaced. Rumors suggest it will be a GCI, but it is not known if it will be a clone of an existing ride or a custom installation.

A Terminator wooden coaster (?) was not officially announced, but alluded to at a conference by the Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro. More on the Terminator coaster...>>>

Holiday World Mysteriously Clearing Space
Last month on the HoliBlog, Holiday world teased fans with a picture of a clearing with survey stakes in it. Could there be a new coaster coming to the park? Maybe an entire new holiday-themed section like New Year's Day, St. Patrick's Day or dare I say a Valentines Day. For now we'll just have to wait.

Dollywood's Up to Something
Dollywood's been clearing land in the area behind the park known as the Wilderness Pass. The clearing can been seen from the train ride that winds its way around the Smoky Mountains that the park backs up to. Check out this video below of the clearing:

Orlando Offers Two Impressive New Attractions
Orlando will be the place to be in 2009. The new B&M flying coaster Manta will have riders flying face down over water. It was officially announced last month by SeaWorld Orlando. More on Manta...>>

Universal Studios' Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's main distinction will be the on-board cameras that will allow riders to download a video of their ride and post it on the Web. HRRR will also feature a number of elements and inversions. More on Rip Ride Rockit...>>>

Record Breaking Coaster Coming to Germany
A new S&S launch coaster will be the speed king, for the moment. While Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka tops out at a blistering 128 mph, Ring°Racer will push the envelope even further with a top speed of 134 mph (217 km/h). This speed demon will be at Nürburgring a famous motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany. More on Ring°Racer...>>>

China's First Wooden Roller Coaster - Fireball
Fireball will be China's first wooden coaster and it looks awesome. Designed by Gravity Group, Fireball will be on a peninsula at Happy Valley near Shanghai. (pictured right)

What do you think of these new coasters? Do you know of any 2009 rumors or confirmed coasters? Leave a comment below.

The Voyage's Triple Down in the Dark | Coaster Moments

After a rapid fire opening featuring hills, airtime, tunnels and a twisted turnaround, The Voyage like Happy Gilmore, has only just begun. The train slows considerably at the mid-course brake run and typically after brake runs most roller coasters can't live up to the intensity of their first halves. That's not the case with this Gravity Group monster. Immediately after the brakes, just as you let your guard down, you dive into INSANITY.

The train has slowed to a crawl as it creeps back into another tunnel. The dark cool tunnel contrasts greatly with the summer heat and bright sun above ground. Suddenly, the train takes a short dip. Then it drops again down a slightly larger hill. And then the bottom literally drops out from under you in pitch black darkness. The succession of drops are perfectly executed and really take you by surprise. My ride in the second car from the back was the best.

After the insane airtime, the train heads back to surface and completes its circuit with a surprising amount of speed and intensity so late in the ride. If you haven't made it to Holiday World, go now! It's a nice park and Voyage is amazing. Read my full review of The Voyage.

Elements like the triple down, put The Voyage in my Top 10 Coasters list as well as the top ten lists of pretty much anyone that's ridden it. What do you think of The Voyage at Holiday World? Leave a comment below. Photo Credit: Theme Park Review

Ravine Flyer II @ Waldameer Park | On Ride Video
Waldameer' Park's Ravine Flyer II is my pick for the sleeper hit of 2008. It was designed by the Gravity Group. They've produced the 2007 Golden Ticket winner Voyage as well as the greatly underrated Hades at Mount Olympus. Ravine Flyer II will feature a 120 foot first drop, 10 moments of air time, 6 tunnels, 10 cross overs, a 90 degree turn, a view of Lake Erie, and a 165 foot bridge over a highway. In my opinion, Ravine Flyer II is the coaster that's most likely to become a classic out of the class of '08.

Check out this onride video of Ravine Flyer II:

Hades' Subterranean Masterpiece | Memorable Coaster Moments
Hades is a vastly underrated wooden coaster at Mt. Olympus Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The park boasts 7 Greek themed roller coasters, with Hades as the park's signature ride. Hades definitely lives up to its namesake as the god of the underworld and its #4 on the my top 10 wooden coasters list. Hades starts with one of the best ride openings out there. Even before the lift hill you're treated to airtime hills, twists, and turns. Then, after climbing the 13-story lift hill, you look down to see your 140 foot drop at a steep 65-degrees and a tunnel that you won't likely forget.

The next thing you know you're in complete darkness. You can't even see your hand in front of your face and it's not like the dark tunnels on The Voyage that are fairly brief, this truly is a journey. As you tear through the dark at 70 mph the train banks and dips as it tries to throw you around like a rag doll. You can't see a thing, but I could've sworn I saw some red eyes down there. It's completely insane! Did I mention that this coaster lived up to its name?

As you start to see light breaking through at the other end, you realize that the train is not right side up. You climb up the wall and ride along it, but because of the darkness and speed you can't even tell. Its one of the most disorienting things I've experienced. Check out this pic from the tunnel with the lights on. You come down from the wall and rise up into the turn around point.

Read about the trip back through the darkness and my full Hades review with an onride video. Have you ridden Hades? What did you think? Leave a comment below.

Waldameer's Ravine Flyer II Taking Shape
Loyal reader, Judy sent in these great photos of Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park in Erie, PA. Among other things, the wooden roller coaster designed by Gravity Group will have a 165 foot bridge over a four lane highway. Check out this slideshow of construction photos of Ravine Flyer II:

Mitch Hawker's Wooden Coaster Poll Results
The best wooden roller coasters of 2007 look a lot like the best from 2006. Mitch Hawker's Internet Coaster Poll is arguably the most accurate coaster poll around. The ballots take into account votes based on mutual rides. On the ballots riders must rank the coasters they have ridden and then their ballot is put up against someone else that has ridden the same coasters. The mutual rider comparisons bring more merit to Mitch's poll. This year, Mitch received over 700 ballots from all over the world.

I'm not too surprised to see The Voyage reclaim its spot at the top. I'm just glad that I got to ride it last year since it's becoming to be known as the best wooden coaster on the planet. Check out my complete review of The Voyage here.

Pennsylvania-based Great Coasters International has designed the most coasters in the top ten. Including Troy at Toverland which was good enough to debut this year at number 4. I've ridden 6 of the Top Ten which isn't bad considering I haven't ridden any coasters outside of the U.S.

2007 Top Ten Best Wooden Roller Coasters
1 The Voyage at Holiday World (Indiana) Gravity Group (1st '06)
2 El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey) Intamin (3rd '06)
3 Thunderhead at Dollywood (Tennessee) GCI (7th '06)
4 Troy at Toverland (Netherlands) GCI (New in '07)
5 Balder at Liseberg (Sweden) Intamin (2nd '06)
6 Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce (Connecticut) CCI (5th '06)
7 Phoenix at Knoebels (Pennsylvania) Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (4th '06)
8 Tremors at Silverwood (Idaho) CCI (6th '06)
9 Hades at Mount Olympus (Wisconsin) Gravity Group (7th '06)
10 Thunderbird at PowerPark (Finland) GCI (38th '06)
Complete 2007 wooden roller coaster poll results with all 178 coasters.

See 2006's results for both steel and wooden coasters here. Soon, voting for the steel coaster poll will begin. No matter how many coasters you've ridden, you should submit a ballot. Every vote counts!

What do you think of the 2007 wooden coaster poll results? Have you ridden Troy, Balder or Thunderbird? Leave a comment below. Image courtesy of CoasterImage.

Ravine Flyer II Could Be the Sleeper Hit of 2008
I have to admit I've been sleepin' on Waldameer's 2008 addition. While it's not breaking news, it is definitely newsworthy. Waldameer Park, located in Erie, Pennsylvania, is building a Gravity Group wooden terrain roller coaster called Ravine Flyer II. Gravity Group is my favorite wooden coaster company. They've produced the 2007 Golden Ticket Winning Voyage as well as the greatly underrated Hades at Mount Olympus.
Look for Gravity Group to continue their success with Ravine Flyer II. It features an out and back terrain layout with some twister elements. Highlights include a 120 foot first drop, 10 moments of air time, 6 tunnels, 10 cross overs, a 90 degree turn, a view of Lake Erie, and a 165 foot bridge over a highway.

For the official virtual ride, check out this onride Ravine Flyer II video from Waldameer. It's complete with the ride's six tunnels unlike the amateur video below. Plus it's narrated by park's general manager.


Ravine Flyer II

I also found this slide show with construction photos set to 'Breath' by Breaking Benjamin (great song!) on YouTube.

Any thoughts on Ravine Flyer II? Leave a comment below.

Voyage Takes Top Wooden Coaster at 2007 Golden Ticket Awards





At the 2007 Golden Ticket Awards, Holiday World's Voyage has over taken Dollywood's Thunderhead in its second year in existence. This isn't too surprising and is well deserved. Check out my full review of the insane and intense marathon that is The Voyage including an onride video.

While I have my own Top 10 Wooden Coaster list, I don't have a problem with the 2007 GTA's list for the most part. It's interesting to note that 7 out of 10 of the coasters aren't at major theme parks. You've got to go a little off the beaten path away from the Six Flags and Disney parks to ride a world-class woodie. Proudly, I've ridden 9 out of 10 of this year's GTA winners.

What's the Deal with Raven?
I really don't understand enthusiast's love for Holiday World's Raven. It's a pretty good coaster at best, but it's elevated to a level that I don't think it quite deserves. I'd put Holiday World's Legend which was bumped out of the list by El Toro over Raven. El Toro will continue to climb year after year as more enthusiasts get back to Six Flags Great Adventure and ride it. It HAS to move it, it's just too good.

Below is the complete Top 10 Wooden Coasters:
*= Coasters that I've ridden.

Golden Ticket Awards - Top Wooden Coasters
1 The Voyage* - Holiday World
2 Thunderhead* - Dollywood
3 Phoenix* - Knoebels Amusement Resort
4 Boulder Dash* - Lake Compounce
5 Hades* - Mt. Olympus Theme Park
6 Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure
7 Raven* - Holiday World
8 Beast* - Paramount's Kings Island
9 El Toro* - Six Flags Great Adventure
10 Lightning Racer* - Hershey Park

What do you think of the 2007 Golden Ticket Award's top wooden coasters? Are there any woodies that you think should be in the list? Can you explain Raven's popularity? Leave a comment below. Picture courtesy of CoasterImage.

New Wooden Coaster Coming to Houston Area
The Gravity Group will be bringing their magic to the Kemah Boardwalk (south east of Houston, TX). The Boardwalk Bullet will be one of the few wooden coasters joining the Class of 2007. While this will only be the Gravity Group's third roller coaster their first two, Hades and Voyage, have made quite an impact in the industry. Voyage and Hades placed in the top 5 wooden coasters of the 2006 Golden Ticket Awards. And in the top 10 wooden coasters in the Internet Roller Coaster Poll, with Voyage taking the top spot. Not to mention, they're both in my highly coveted Top Coasters list. It's safe to say Gravity Group is off to an amazing start.

After the loss of Six Flags AstoWorld in 2005, this is great news for coaster enthusiasts in that part of Texas. If Gravity Group's former success is any indication of what we can expect from Boardwalk Bullet, Texans should be in for quite a treat. Can lightning strike three times?

Do you have plans on visiting Kemah Boardwalk? Leave a comment below.

Check out this video of the Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah:


Photos courtesy of CoasterPhotos.com.

Mitch Hawker's Internet Roller Coaster Poll Results
The results for Mitch Hawker's Roller Coaster Poll have been posted. Information about how Mitch's poll works can be found here. Basically on the ballot you indicate all of the roller coasters that you've ridden and then you rank them. The results are based on which coasters were ranked higher than other coasters by riders who had ridden them both.

2006 Best Wooden Roller Coasters
The big news for the wooden roller coasters was The Voyage's debut at number 1. It's a great ride and deserving of the top spot. To me, it's no surprise that all three of Intamin's prefabricated coasters (Balder, El Toro, & Colossos) are in the top ten. After riding El Toro, I have seen the future. It will be interesting to see if El Toro moves up even higher next year. It opened late in the season and that might have had some effect on people getting to ride it.

2006 Top Ten Best Wooden Roller Coasters
1 The Voyage at Holiday World (Indiana) Gravity Group
2 Balder at Liseberg (Sweden) Intamin
3 El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey) Intamin
4 Phoenix at Knoebels (Pennsylvania) Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters
5 Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce (Connecticut) Custom Coaster International
6 Tremors at Silverwood (Idaho) Custom Coasters International
7 Thunderhead at Dollywood (Tennessee) Great Coasters International
7 Hades at Mount Olympus (Wisconsin) Gravity Group
9 Aska at Nara Dreamland (Japan) Intamin
10 Colossos at Heide Park (Germany) Intamin
Complete wooden coaster poll results.

2006 Best Steel Roller Coasters
Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England deservedly took the top spot for the steel coasters. Surprisingly though, the steel coasters were dominated by foreign entries. This contrasts greatly with the Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today's poll had only one non-U.S. coaster in its top ten as Expedition GeForce landed at seventh. On Mitch's Internet Poll it narrowly missed the top spot.

I'm happy that I don't see Kingda Ka or Top Thrill Dragster. They made the list, just not the top ten. They're fun, record breaking thrill rides, but shouldn't be placed among the best roller coasters in the world in my opinion. It's good to see my favorite designers Bolliger & Mabillard with six out of the ten coasters. I've ridden three of the four U.S. entries and none of the international coasters. It looks like I've got some traveling to do.

2006 Top Ten Best Steel Roller Coasters
1 Superman: R.O.S. at Six Flags N.E.(Mass.) Intamin Hyper Coaster
2 Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park (Germany) Intamin Mega Coaster
3 Nemesis at Alton Towers (UK) B&M Inverted Coaster
4 Goliath at Walibi World (Netherlands) Intamin Mega Coaster
5 Katun at Mirabilandia (Italy) B&M Inverted Coaster
6 Millennium Force at Cedar Point (Ohio) Intamin Giga Coaster
7 Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey) B&M Hyper Coaster
8 Black Mamba at Phatasialand (Denmark) B&M Inverted Coaster
9 Pyrenees at Parque Espana (Japan) B&M Inverted Coaster
10 Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia (Georgia) B&M Hyper Coaster
Complete steel coaster poll results.

What do you think of Mitch's Internet Poll? Do you think the Golden Ticket Awards or Mitch's Poll are a better indicator of the best coasters in the world? Leave a comment below.

Hades: A Trip to Hell and Back
In Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the underworld. Hades, the roller coaster, more than lives up to it's name. It boasts the single most impressive tunnel section I've ever experienced. The tunnel's not only long, it's a white knuckle journey through a terrifying pitch black abyss.

Mt. Olympus, located in Wisconsin Dells, WI, is a smaller theme park with several go-kart tracks and an array of water slides. In the past decade, the park has expanded and started to add more coasters. Everything is Greek-themed with coasters like Zeus, Cyclops, and even a rare water coaster called Dive to Atlantis. Since it's a smaller park, I enjoyed discounted admission off of an already reasonable entry price, free parking, and shorter lines. On the other hand, Mt. Olympus won't be winning any awards for park operations anytime soon.

"They Don't Pay Me Enough to Smile"
The 'Hades experience' starts with a station that you have to climb three stories to reach. After your hike, you're greeted with a sparse station, just large enough for the queue and the train. There's no theming and indifferent ride ops that are unfriendly and don't speak to you. One thing I always look for in a world-class coaster is a raucous station with enthusiastic, efficient ride ops and a D.J. that hypes you up as you leave and greets you upon your return. You won't find any of that on Hades. Luckily, the ride itself makes up for the operations shortcomings.

One of the Best Openings Around
Thanks to the elevated station your ride starts with a short drop from the very beginning. You better have your hands up or be ready to hold on tight, the opening has a few pops of air, twists and turns, and more speed than you'd expect from such that short drop out of the station. Some fans have called this opening a microcosm of the entire ride and I agree. There's plenty of action pre-lift hill. Then, you start your 13-story climb. The big drop is fairly steep for a wooden coaster at 65 degrees and all you see is a hole below as the track dives below the parking lot.

The Subterranean Masterpiece
The next thing you know you're in complete darkness. You can't even see your hand in front of your face and it's not like the dark tunnels on The Voyage that are fairly brief, this truly is a journey. As you tear through the dark at 70 mph the train banks and dips as it tries to throw you around like a rag doll. You can't see a thing, but I could've sworn I saw some red eyes down there. It's insane! Did I mention that this coaster lived up to its name? As you start to see light breaking through at the other end, you realize that the train is not right side up. You climb up the wall and ride along it, but because of the darkness and speed you can't even tell. Check out this pic from the tunnel with the lights on. You come down from the wall and rise up into the turn around point.

The columns around the turn around section are a great touch. You crest a hill and drop back down near the highway that passes the park, rise up a shorter hill and drop back down into the tunnel. The ride back is less eventful, but still very dark. As you exit two back-to-back airtime hills follow. Next, you reach the finale, which is the weakest part of the ride. I remember a bit more roughness than the rest of the ride. Finally, you reach the brakes. As the train re-enters the sub par station, the cold ride ops release you and your on your way.

Basically, Hades missed a 10 rating because of the rougher finale, single train operation, the sparse station, and those terribly uninterested ride ops. You'd think Mt. Olympus would have their best people working their main attraction, but I hope that wasn't the case with Hades. At one point I saw these two foreign-born, (I'm guessing Eastern European) ride ops sitting on the floor of the chatting to one another as the train hurled into the station. I was glad to see that the station's brakes were automated, but it was just a little unnerving to watch their lack of attentiveness. Aside, from these negatives that actual ride on Hades is top-knotch and enough to push it all the way up to number seeven on my Top Coasters list. Get to Wisconsin Dells for Hades and Avalanche and you won't regret it! Final Rating - 9.5 (Excellent-Approaching Superior)

Check out this roller coaster video of Hades. It starts with the action-packed section BEFORE the lift hill. Also, when the screen is pitch black as you fly through the tunnel there's a lot of dipping and banking going on. It's a wild ride. You can see the tunnel with the lights on in this Hades roller coaster video.

Ever ridden Hades or been to Mt. Olympus? What was your experience like? Leave a comment below.

Thunderhead Edges Out The Voyage for Second Straight GTA Title
Thunderhead won top honors at Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards for the second year in a row. But the real surprise, to me at least, is that The Voyage shot all the way to the second spot nearly taking first in its very first year in existence. That's impressive, and it must mean that a lot of those well-traveled enthusiasts made it out to Santa Claus, IN. It's good to know that I wasn't the only one who ventured way off the beaten path to visit Holiday World.

The Voyage and Thunderhead offer quite different rides. Thunderhead is more of a fun-for-the-whole family type of coaster where you get off no worse for the wear. The Voyage on the other hand is an intense, white knuckle adventure. It will be interesting to see if The Voyage will over take Thunderhead next year as not all riders will prefer its intense 1.2 mile trip over Thunderhead's fun twists and turns. Congrats to Dolly and the coaster designers (Great Coasters International). They're going to have find room for another Golden Ticket on Thunderhead's entrance sign.

Boulder Dash and Hades Tie
It's funny that Hades and Boulder Dash are tied at 3rd. I had a hard time placing those two coasters in my Top Ten Coasters. It's really tough to say which I prefer. Hades has an amazing opening. Boulder Dash has a stronger finish. Riding at insane speeds through a pitch black tunnel is crazy. Flying down a mountain and through the woods is almost just as thrilling. Both coasters offer pretty unique and very thrilling rides.

Phoenix
Phoenix at Knoebels deservedly rounds out the top 5. It's not one of my personals favorites, but it's packed with airtime and has been a perennial fan-favorite for years. If you haven't been to Knoebels it has a lot to offer for a smaller park. It's coasters and the park itself are a great change-up compared to the modern corporate parks out there.

Below is the complete Top 10 Wooden Coasters:
*= Coasters that I've ridden.

Golden Ticket Awards - Top Wooden Coasters
1 Thunderhead* - Dollywood
2 The Voyage* - Holiday World
3 Boulder Dash* - Lake Compounce
4 Hades* - Mt. Olympus Theme Park
5 Phoenix* - Knoebels Amusement Resort
6 Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure
7 Raven* - Holiday World
8 Beast - Paramount's Kings Island
9 The Legend* - Holiday World
10 Lightning Racer* - Hershey Park

Voyage Lives Up to the Hype
Another trip and another extremely hyped coaster. This time I traveled more than 700 miles for two parks, but mainly for one new beast of wooden coaster, Voyage. Luckily, I wasn't let down. It rained on and off all day at Holiday World which must have helped with the lines. At times Voyage was nearly a walk-on!


The Trip Out (Hills, Air, & Tunnels)
My first ride was in the back seat of the 2nd car from the back. It's fun watching the trees get smaller and smaller as you climb the long, slow lift hill. The first drop is good, though I couldn't really tell it was that much steeper than most other woodies as advertised. There's some nice floater air on the next hill, a bit less on the next hill then you drop into the first of many tunnels. With temperatures in the upper 80s, the tunnels were noticably cooler in comparison to the sections on the surface and the longer tunnels were very dark. Another hill and another tunnel followed by a short hill and another short tunnel. The trip out could have felt repetitive, but it's not at all.

The Twisted Turn Around
Next you enter the twisted section at the turn around point. It's packed with highly banked turns, two at 90 degree banking and some sections that have small 'banked hills or bumps'. This part of the ride is fun in the front and pretty darn rough in the back of the train. The 90 degree curves are great. You feel like your head might skim the wood and they definitely take riders by surprise. Some of those banked hills are what I believe other enthusiasts are worried about aging poorly. They are kind of rough right now, in the future they could be really jarring. After the exciting twister section, you dive back into a short tunnel and up into then back up to the surface where you hit the MCBR (mid-course break run).

An Adventurous Trip Back
The train slows considerably at the MCBR and typically after break runs most coasters can't live up to the intensity in their first halves. After Voyage's break run things get really interesting. Immediately after the breaks, just as you let your guard down, you dive into INSANITY. The 'triple down in the dark' is awesome. The bottom literally drops out from under you in pitch black darkness. In my ride in the 2nd car from the back this section was the best. On other rides in different locations it wasn't half as cool. After that you make your way back to station with more short humps (that I guess are supposed to help add to that world-record airtime total). There are also several swooping turns that give you a kind of sailing side to side motion, especially in the front. This section is less intense that the turnaround, but you still have tons of speed. You rise up over the lift and dive into a short tunnel right next to the station. Most rides would be over by now, but not Voyage. You've still got another tunnel and a few more crazy turns.

Voyage = Not for the Faint-Hearted
This has been one of the toughest coasters for me to rate and place in my Top Ten. Mainly because of Voyage's roughness and intensity. Normally something this agressive would never get a perfect rating from me. You get thrown and flung every which way on your "1.2 mile trip". Holding your hands up is a battle. Is it TOO rough? At times it felt like it, but then I got off briefly exhausted, but not physically beat up. Then I kept finding myself back on another train 10 minutes or so later. It was really weird, like an abusive relationship I couldn't get out of. I rode it 3 times in an hour then two more before I left the park. I normally butcher rough woodies like Predator at Six Flags Darien Lake. You shouldn't need football pads or body armor to ride coasters. On the other hand Voyage's re-rideability was amazing. The roughness must be just at my threshold or the mile long adventure is fun enough to balance out the intensity. Voyage is now my top rated woodie passing Boulder Dash. It recieves one of my few 10's and lands at #5 on my Top Ten. Final Rating - 10 (Superior)

Check out this roller coaster video of The Voyage. Aside from the music, it's a pretty good video.


What do you think of Voyage? Do you have plans of visiting Holiday World? Leave a comment below.

I've returned and recuperated from my trip to Holiday World and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Voyage was awesome as advertised and has pushed into my Top Coasters list. Holiday World was a nice, smaller park I can see why it has the reputation it does with the coaster enthusiast community. And while Kentucky Kingdom lived up to its dubious reputation, I've got a shot glass with "Kentukcy Kingdom" to prove it, it's not a bad little park. Full Voyage coaster review and a trip report to come.

In less than a week my coaster odyssey will take me to arguably the most highly anticipated coaster of the season. Namely, Voyage at Holiday World. Holiday World? You ask. It's a small-ish park in southern Indiana that had humble beginnings as Santa Claus Land. When it opened in 1946 it was a Christmas-themed park it was the first theme park in the world. Take that Disney!

Over the years it has added other holiday-themed sections and became Holiday World. Today there's a Halloween section with two renowned woodies (Raven in particular), a 4th of July section, a water park, and a new Thanksgiving section that features the massive Voyage. It's a hybrid (steel structure and wooden track) wooden coaster that touts some pretty amazing stats and is getting great early reviews by enthusiast on sites like ThemeParkCritic. We'll see if this baby is all it's cracked up to be in just a few days.

The Next Big Thing
Holiday World near Evansville, IN has reputation of being a great family park as well as park that pleases the coaster enthusiast community. With renowned woodies like Raven and Legend, this small park has already made a mark. For 2006, Holiday World may make quite an impact with the addition of Voyage a massive woodie that looks to once again please both audiences.

The stats are staggering:
An unprecedented 24 seconds of total airtime over a 1.2 mile track, eight underground traverses, two 90-degree banked turns, and a total ride time of 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

But even more important, early reviews of Voyage are good to ecstatic. Personally, I've never been more impressed by an on-ride video. This coaster looks massive and most of all fun. Hopefully, I can make it to Holiday World this season for my own take on this park and possibly one of the best woodies in years.