Dave's Coaster Favorites

Kumba - My favorite steel coaster [Busch Gardens, Tampa FL]

Zoom! A B&M masterpiece, smooth as glass and a pretty darn twisted ride. The first half of the ride contains five disorienting inversions in quick succession, while the second half contains two interlocked corkscrews, a station fly-by, a dark tunnel, and a high-positive-G helix. I rode this coaster *52 times* in one day in March 1995. It took four years until they built Medusa for me to have a similar coaster within driving distance.

Images (from the old "gboro" FTP site):

Medusa - Not quite Kumba, but a close second [Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson NJ]

I rode Medusa, the new B&M "floorless" coaster in June 1999. While the layout is very similar to Kumba I still have to give it a 2nd-place finish after Kumba. Kumba has palm trees, a better camelback-heartline, a nice station fly-by with a dive into a tunnel, a tighter helix finale, and a loop encircling the lift hill. Medusa has floorless trains, a better approach into the cobra roll, a better approach to the corkscrews, and is only an hour away from home!

Nitro - A B&M Masterpiece [Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson NJ]

Nitro at Great Adventure is a smooth B&M Hypercoaster with a nice steep drop, interesting layout, plunging dive drops, and a traditional bunny-hop airtime finish.

The Comet - My favorite domestic wood coaster [Great Escape, Lake George NY]

The *very best* in wooden-coaster riding is only a few hours from NYC. It's not the biggest, fastest, or longest. But it has *everything* a good coaster needs - thrills, lateral G forces, surprise drops, plenty of "airtime" (negative G-forces), and great pacing with no boredom anywhere except or a lackluster first drop! This coaster was built in 1949 at Crystal Beach, Ontario. When that park was closed in 1989, the steel structure lay rusting in piles until the owner of Great Escape bought the whole thing for $150,000. The park then spent over $3.5 MILLION to completely restore the ride to absolutely top-notch condition, with new track, station, trains, and modern safety controls & braking systems. Try it out, you won't be disappointed!

Images (from the old "gboro" FTP site):

MEGAFOBIA - My favorite imported wood coaster [Oakwood Leisure Park, Wales]

So far, the BEST twister woodie I've ridden! Twists, turns, Massive airtime, and a fantastic pace. Kudos to Custom Coaster Int'l for crafting this masterpiece. Now how about an even better version within a few hours' drive of Philadelphia?

Rampage - not quite Megafobia, but a close second [Visionland, Bessemer AL]

I rode Rampage in May 1999. This almost-clone of Megafobia is in a cute new park near Birmingham Alabama. It was a very good ride, but it didn't seem to have the tightness and crispness of Megafobia, which is a bit wilder in every respect. Because Rampage is slightly larger than Megafobia the drops and curves have been opened up just a little bit more. It also seems that there were fewer "rough" track transitions. Still a very fun ride though! Plus, it's only a 2 hour flight away. I'd probably get to Alabama again before I get to Wales.

Other Favorites

Wood:

Steel: