Steel Coaster Poll Results

The results from Mitch Hawker's 2006 Steel Coaster Poll are up. Here are the rankings. I mentioned the poll earlier. I can't really judge the results much, since I haven't ridden anything ranked higher than #24, Excelerator at Knott's. In contrast, I'd been on 7 of the top 30 rides* in the Wooden Coaster Poll, and would agree with the #1 placement of The Voyage at Holiday World..

Just looking at the coasters I've been on (i.e., most of the ones in California and Nevada, plus a few of the generics), the real egregious misplacements would be California Screamin', which I consider fairly mediocre, too high at #46, and Knott's Silver Bullet, which I prefer slightly to its park-mate Excelerator, too low at #110.

I also think Vekoma's generic Suspended Looping Coaster is underrated at #307. I believe it gets docked points for its ubiquity; there are dozens of these things at parks around the world and coaster fanatics get bored with them. My one experience with one was Kong at Six Flags Marine World. It was a fun ride, not uncomfortable, with a layout similar to the more intense Batman: The Ride.

*The three coasters at Holiday World, the Coaster at Playland in Vancouver, the New Mexico Rattler at Cliff's, the Dania Beach Hurricane at Boomer's near Fort Lauderdale, and the GhostRider at Knott's. The oldie-but-goodie Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz comes in at #37. My wooden coaster-riding is more dispersed geographically than my steel coaster-riding, for various reasons, including coincidence. This summer I hope to catch some more of the big parks in the Midwest, including King's Island and Cedar Point, which will help get me a broader view of things.