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ElloCoaster Poll 2019 edition is up!


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This is not my poll, but I do love these head-2-head type polls as I feel they are more accurate than popularity polls as representing how well-liked a roller coaster really is (plus this method is great at revealing hidden gems at parks that never get any attention). So I figured I would post about it yet again.

The ElloCoaster basically replaces the old Mitch Hawker polls, which ended in 2013 for some unknown reason (I fear something bad may have happened). This year, ElloCoaster boasts a new poll: THE STEEL POLL IS FINALLY HERE!

Here is a link to the ballots for wood and steel:

http://www.ellocoaster.com/the-ballot

Note that coasters RCDB lists as kiddie on the steel poll don't count. Granted, this is a bit odd since Great Pumpkin Coaster is listed as "Family" for some reason, but Wilderness Run (formerly Junior Gemini) at Cedar Point is listed as kiddie (and thus not in the poll).

I'll also give a tip for this poll- especially for the steel part. My suggestion is to use Control+F and look up the parks you have been to, and then mark all the coasters you have ridden in those parks. Then when you have done this for all your parks, delete the coasters you have not ridden and then begin your rankings. I imagine most people are gonna be deleting well over 2,000 steel credits they don't have.

BTW, here is what my personal ballot looks like- my entire wood Ballot (have only ridden 10 Woodies even counting Racer as 2), plus my Top 10 Steel (out of 27 that counted towards this year's ballot):

WOODEN COASTERS

1. The Voyage @ Holiday World

2. The Beast @ Kings Island

3. Mystic Timbers @ Kings Island

4. The Legend @ Holiday World

5. The Raven @ Holiday World

6. The Racer (Blue) @ Kings Island

7. Blue Streak @ Cedar Point (Blue Racer ran so well over Red IMO in 2019, there was a big enough gap that Blue Streak sneaks between them!):P

8. The Racer (Red) @ Kings Island

9. Hoosier Hurricane @ Indiana Beach

10. Woodstock Express @ Kings Island

STEEL COASTERS (Top 10 out of 27 Ridden that Operated in 2019)

1. Steel Vengeance @ Cedar Point

2. Maverick @ Cedar Point

3. Millennium Force @ Cedar Point

4. Magnum XL-200 @ Cedar Point

5. Diamondback @ Kings Island

6. Raptor @ Cedar Point (Surpassed Banshee and others with some epic rides a month or so ago)

7. Banshee @ Kings Island

8. Top Thrill Dragster @ Cedar Point

9. GateKeeper @ Cedar Point

10. Valravn @ Cedar Point

BTW, here are some things I am looking forward to in this poll:

-Where will Steel Curtain, Copperhead Strike, Yukon Striker, and MAXX Force end up ranking as these are the new-for-2019 coasters?

-How will Vortex rank in its only year on this poll (should give a good idea how loved/hated the ride really was)?

-Will Wildfire @ Kolmarden defend its title as the #1 wooden coaster from last year? Or will El Toro or some other coaster steal the title?

-What steel coaster will win best steel coaster 2019? (My guess is: Steel Vengeance @ Cedar Point!)

-How will the B&M Gigas, Fury 325 and Leviathan, rank- as to give us a realistic expectation for how Orion may do in 2020?

-What rides will be "MOST SUCK"?

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Well, the Ellocoaster Poll results are in! Here is a link to the results page- there is a full top 25 for both wood and steel, as well as downloadable Excel files for the full results:

http://www.ellocoaster.com/poll-results

Now, to answer the questions I asked above first...

#1- The best new ride of 2019 is...Untamed at Walibi Holland (it ranked 22nd overall of 921 ranked steel coasters)! Wow, I forgot that one. Zadra @ Energylandia didn't get enough votes, but would have beaten Untamed if it did. Best new in North America is...Hagrid @ Universal Orlando! Wow, I forgot that one too. I guess being more of a family coaster didn't hurt it all, it placed 71st out of 921 steel coasters. Of the coasters I did list above, Yukon Striker ranked highest at 79th with Copperhead Strike right behind it in 82nd. The only new for 2019 wooden coaster that got enough votes this year was Kentucky Flyer, so it was the year's best new woodie by default.

#2- Vortex placed 422nd out of 921 coasters, so a little above mid pack- it mainly beat a lot of wild mice, kiddie coasters, and Vekoma Boomerangs and SLCs as well as a bunch of smaller Arrow Loopers and Corkscrews. It was the lowest rated non-kids coaster on the steel poll at Kings Island.

#3- Could Wildfire @Kolmarden Zoo defend its title...NO! Wildfire actually drops to 5th! The coasters that beat it were...#4 Outlaw Run...#3 The Voyage...#2 El Toro (SFGadv)... and the new #1 is...Lightning Rod at Dollywood! LR has been getting rave reviews since it opened in 2016, so it will probably win more polls like this in the future, but the other coasters in the Top 5 could make a charge in the next few years.

#4- The winner of the all-new steel poll is...STEEL VENGEANCE. (My prediction was spot on, but I imagine no one is suprised) Taron, Helix, Hyperion, and Fury 325 round out a elite Top 5 of the first Ellocoaster steel poll.

#5- Fury 325 was ranked #5, as said right above. Leviathan was a bit further back, at #27- which is still great considering there were 921 coasters on the steel list that had enough votes to get ranked. As for other gigas: Intimidator 305 was #21 (2nd only to Fury 325 among the Gigas), Millennium Force was #35, Steel Dragon 2000 was #51, and Red Force was #158 (if you count that among the Gigas, it is more of a Mini TTD). I would say Orion has a great shot at at least being Top 50 in the world when it opens in 2020.

#6- The MOST SUCK (ranked 921/921) steel coaster is... Grand Exposition Coaster at Silver Dollar City, apparently. It's a kiddie coaster. Viking Coaster at Energylandia is a Wild Mouse that was ranked very low as well. Of the "large" coasters, T3 at Kentucky Kingdom appears to take the cake ranking at 906th and still being clobbered by numerous kiddie coasters, wild mice, other SLCs, Boomerangs, etc.

As for "most suck", on the wooden side we have a ride related to a defunct one at KI...RCCA's (the makers of Son of Beast) Coaster Express at Parque Warner Madrid has the disgrace of finishing 174th out of 174 wooden coasters ranked.

And finally, here is how all the coasters at Kings Island did:

STEEL (of 921 Ranked)
*****
Diamondback- 52nd, 94.74 win % (#4 B&M Hyper, #6 if you count the 2 B&M Gigas)
Banshee- 72nd, 93.12
Flight of Fear- 214th, 79.99
The Bat- 235th, 77.45
Backlot Stunt Coaster- 361st, 64.65
Invertigo- 400th, 60.85
Adventure Express- 404th, 60.49
Vortex- 422nd, 58.25
Flying Ace Aerial Chase- 771st, 26.78
Great Pumpkin Coaster- 858th, 16.54

WOOD (of 174 Ranked)
*****
Mystic Timbers- 13th, 90.27 win % (Top Rated GCI!)
Beast- 48th, 69.25 (Good but controversial- it ranked about the same in the old Mitch Hawker polls too)
Blue Racer- 120th, 29.94
Red Racer- 122nd, 29.41
Woodstock Express- 165th, 6.14

Note: The wooden coasters tend to have much lower win% because there are a lot more kiddie steel coasters for those to "beat up on", versus kiddie wooden coasters.

For the full results, I would suggest downloading the excel files. You can even sort them this year- look up what the best rides by each manufacturer were, by year, etc. that way.

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