So far this summer I’ve gone to Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Hersheypark and Disney World, which has brought my count up to 85. New ones for this season were:
- i305
- Twisted Timbers
- Reptilian (formerly avalanche)
- Grizzly
- Anaconda
- Pantheon
- DarKoaster
- Wildcat’s Revenge
- Tron Lightcycle Run
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Space Mountain (Alpha track)
For immersive rides, while I really loved Cosmic Rewind and Tron (though it was just OK during the day, the night ride makes it 10x better) neither beat out Hagrid’s for me.
For conventional coasters, I was glad that i305 lived up to the hype, the camelbacks on Twisted Timbers were nuts, and Wildcat’s revenge was completely awesome in every row I tried.
Pantheon was an excellent ride, but pretty shaky operations really made the experience unpleasant. With two trains it was constantly stacking or loading full trains from quick queue, and most of the time it was running a single train.
DarKoaster was mid.
I grew up in central Florida so I’ve been lucky in having access to the local coasters. I’ve also been to several other theme parks on the east coast. All that to say, I’ve had my fair share of experiences on roller coasters. Hagrid’s is still the best and most unique ride I’ve been on in my life.
That’s a very great list of additions this year though! Here’s to many more :)
Hagrid’s is one of the best “everything in one” ride experiences. Even just basing it as a coaster it ranks very high on my list even if it isn’t in the top 10.