Since I did an entry regarding the most underrated roller coasters, it’s only right that I do one for the most overrated as well. In no ranked order, here they are:
- California Screamin/Incredicoaster, California Adventure: Let me start by saying that this is a solidly fun ride. I like the launch on the water, some of the drops are fun, and the loop through the Mickey Mouse head/ears is cool as well. That being said, I feel like this ride is pretty highly hyped, especially by the GP. It’s definitely unique, and rides pretty smooth(or at least it did when I was last at California Adventure in 2009) but overall, it’s nowhere near a top coaster. I haven’t been on it since it got the “Incredicoaster” retheme, but I’m not sure it would change my opinion.
- Coaster, Playland PNE: this ride is a classic wooden coaster that delivers a good time, and it has those cool retro open-air trains (no, not GCI Millenium Flyer trains, but actually what that design tried to emulate, this ride is that old). It has decent pacing, and is a good credit to pick up if you happen to be in Vancouver (I can’t say the same about the rest of the rides in the park haha), but I still can’t believe it is ranked in the Amusement Today top 50 wooden roller coasters.
- Cyclone, Luna Park : Read my review of roller coasters in New York below for more information on this one. I’m thoroughly convinced the Cyclone would be known as a decent-good wooden coaster but not much more if it wasn’t located in Coney Island.
- Ghost Rider, Knott’s Berry Farm: I’m probably going to get a lot of flack for this one, but that’s fine. Granted, I haven’t been on Ghostrider in about 10 years, and I’ve heard it has been retracked and had new trains put on since then. Still, of the 3 times I went on it, I found the ride to be rough, with a decent but not great layout, and only a few moments of really great airtime. I’d say that it is one of the top 50 wooden coasters, but at being ranked #13 is ridiculous in my opinion, when rides like Raven and Legend are ranked lower.
- Lightning Racer, Hershey Park: I’ve been on both sides of Lightning Racer a few times, and I really never understood the appeal. The first twisting drop is fun, there are a few moments of good airtime, but to me this is a 6/10 ride that I found to be very rough, and nowhere near as good as it was hyped to be, just like Ghostrider.
- Nitro, Six Flags Great Adventure: In my opinion, probably the most overrated steel coaster in existence. I’m not sure why, but I’ve just gotten some incredibly weak rides on Nitro; I should say that I’m a sucker for cool settings on coasters, something Great Adventure isn’t exactly known for. The first drop does give a lot of airtime, and I like the first hammerhead turn(which was really unique at the time Nitro opened, but is on a lot of B+M hyper and giga coasters now), but I can’t believe that this ride is still considered a top 10 coaster, when smaller hypercoasters are more fun than it (see Goliath at La Ronde, Apollo’s Chariot, and Intimidator at Carowinds), and its physical stats, which used to be one thing the ride relied on (it was the tallest ride in the park for 4 years when I was growing up, and thus gave bragging rights), are increasingly less impressive compared to similar rides.
- Roller Coaster, NY, NY, Las Vegas (overrated by the GP only): This ride is just so visually impressive, and at 203 feet tall, it must be awesome, right? Wrong. This ride is one of the roughest i’ve been on, and other than a few inversions that give some good hangtime, it’s really not too fun. When I last rode it in 2015 it was also around $13 to ride, and I can’t even imagine how much it costs now. Fortunately, this coaster is universally hated by the coaster community, as are most Togo creations.
- Silver Bullet, Knott’s Berry Farm (again, overrated by the GP only): The coaster community considers Silver Bullet to be an okay, but essentially forceless invert that is generally considered one of B+M’s weakest creations. I really can’t remember much from my rides on it (a testament to its lack of intensity) other than a decent cobra roll. For whatever reason, the GP goes crazy for this thing, and every non-enthusiast I’ve met from Southern California that goes to Knotts thinks it’s a great ride.
- Thunderhead, Dollywood: Let me preface this by saying that Thunderhead is a very good wooden coaster; I would say my best rides on it have been in the 8.5-9 range, while my worst are about a 7-7-5. That being said, this was the #1 wooden roller coaster in the world at one point, and I rode it a year after it was built, and I still didn’t get the hype, and don’t now even though it has dropped to #10. The first drop is one of the best twisting drops I’ve been on, and I love the station fly-by element, but overall, this ride just comes off as good-very good, and nowhere near a “world beater” type ride like any of the RMCs, Boulder Dash, El Toro, or Voyage.
Coaster Castaway 