Congratulations to the finalists that our Theme Park Insider newsletter readers nominated to compete for our Best Roller Coaster honor in the 21st annual Theme Park Insider Awards.
El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure
Expedition Everest, Disney's Animal Kingdom
Fury 325, Carowinds
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure
Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion
Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure
Manta, Seaworld Orlando
Maverick, Cedar Point
Revenge of the Mummy, Universal Studios Florida
Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
Twisted Colossus, Six Flags Magic Mountain
X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain
If you haven't voted in all the categories yet, these remain open for your vote:
We will announce the winners in the 21st annual Theme Park Insider Awards on January 1, 2022.
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Everest? Really? How does a ride when the main attraction don’t even work get on this list. I’m sorry, I know Disney Fan will come out with their pitch folks but when you say best coaster, there is nothing that Disney can offer that I would be considering thrilling. Sure the themes are nice, but I’m really curious how many Disney fans have even gone to another theme park. I know a ton of folks who are dedicated die hards, time share and pass holders and none one them has ever heard of El Toror, Fury, etc.
Personally, I still love Rock n Roller Coaster....
I was really hoping I'd be able to vote for VelociCoaster, but after going to ride it last month it's top five but falls short of dethroning Maverick as my #1. Having ridden all these, here's how they rank on my personal list:
Maverick - #1
El Toro - #3
Jurassic World VelociCoaster - #4
Fury 325 - #5
Steel Vengeance - #6
Intimidator 305 - #7
Twisted Colossus - #8
X2 - #14
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure - #33
Manta - #47 (surprised this made it but not Tatsu)
Expedition Everest - #64
Revenge of the Mummy - #73
The one I'm most surprised not to see here is Lightning Rod at Dollywood, but I guess it's unreliable enough that a lot of Dollywood visitors haven't yet gotten a chance to ride.
Lightning Rod made the cut last year, so I wonder if people didn’t like the changes this year.
AJ …. you , like me, are one of the few who have ridden both Maverick and Velocicoaster, and interesting to see you also agree, that Maverick just shades VC. I have only met a couple of people at IOA who claim to have ridden Maverick, but neither had ridden either enough times to form an opinion. As you might expect with a place like IOA, most people in-line have no idea what Maverick is !!
For me, of those in the list I have ridden, Fury still reigns supreme. With Maverick, Steel Vengeance, VC and I305, making up my personal top 5.
I haven't been to Cedar point in forever, so can't compare Maverick, but was just at IOA and although I LOVED VC, Hagrid's just has a fun factor that's hard to beat.
I've been on all the coasters on this list except Twisted Colossus (because I hate going to that park so I haven't been there since before it was built), but my #1 is Twisted Timbers at KD which is not on the list.
velocicoaster is (hopefully) a 2022 excursion, but el toro and maverick still take the 1 and 2 spots for me. love twisted colossus and a new favorite for me is railblazer and great america -- really looking forward to the new RMC raptor at magic mountain.
Obviously different people have different expectations but #1 is Velocicoaster for me, then miles down the list is..
#2 Fury
#3 Steel Vengeance
#4 Maverick
#5 El Toro
******Am I the only one who wouldn't put I305 into my top 20?
I'm much more GP than enthusiast, but the enthusiast vloggers (Coaster Studios, Midway Mayhem, Coaster Kings, Canobie Coaster) seem to agree that Velocicoaster is less intense but more enjoyable than Maverick. That being said, it comes down to personal preference. I value theming/environment/views as much as elements.
There was a time when I’d get to Cedar Point annually, but since Maverick opened, I’ve only been there 3 times (and I think this Summer I need to add a 4th).
There is just something about Maverick that is truly amazing, and for being 15 years old it still sits firmly in the Top Class. Last time I was there (in 2015), we had a Fast Lane pass, and rode Maverick several times before a rain storm ruined the rest of the day. We never got a chance to go on Gatekeeper (which was the newest at that time), but the fact that Maverick is still in the running for best roller coaster, tells me that I shouldn’t be disappointed with the decision to get a few rides on that with the time we had.
I’ve only ridden Velocicoster once, and it was incredible, but I think I’d need to ride it a few more times to be able to thoroughly review and compare it to the likes of Maverick.
But as far as first time shock value goes, I don’t think anything can top X2 for me…
Also, I agree with Madvaz on the shock of Expedition Everest making the cut. Wow !
But possibly more shocked that AJ has Mummy ranked only as #73.
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Dang, this was tough! My four favorites were all in the running - Everest, Hagrid’s, Mummy and VelociCoaster. As much as I love the first three, and as many times as I’ve said that Hagrid’s offers the most joy in one single ride, I have to give top coaster marks to VelociCoaster. It’s truly intense, the barrel roll over the lake is amazing, and it gets bonus points for the humorous pre-show and a line that was stunningly efficient just a few months after opening.