Intamin or B&M

[McSalsa]

True- once you've ridden a handful of a company's rides, you get a "general idea" what to expect from them. Though there are always the "oddballs" (An Arrow looper from the '80s with super smooth transitions, for example) . And the bigger sample size you have, the better...Unless you decide you truly hate a coaster builder, which can happen after even ONE of their coasters sometimes...

[Gplez90]

Im going with intamin on this one. Ive always loved intamin because their coasters are so unique and each intamin ride is different than the next (minus the stratas, inverted impulses). With B&M, once you ride one type of their ride (invert, floorless, sit down etc.) you pretty much know what to expect from the rest. Some are longer, faster, and taller than others, but they pretty much have all the same elements. Regardless, i absolutely love both, but im gonna have to choose innovation over reliability on this one.

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[The Interpreter]

INTAMIN is a registered trademark. As such, it should always be capitalized...

[fanofFirehawk]

DON'T SHOUT terpy!

a fan being devarious...

[The Interpreter]

Why would I shout "terpy?"

Terpy, variously, duh.

[Tuskin]

This is a tough choice for me. I choose Intamin though, solely because I have rode more Intamin than B&M coasters. However, I do enjoy both thoroughly.

[thedevariouseffect]

One cannot simply be me..Many have tried, but always ends in failure

[The Interpreter]

This is a tough choice for me. I choose Intamin though, solely because I have rode more Intamin than b&m coasters. However, I do enjoy both thoroughly.

B&M is a trademark of a Cedar Fair coaster vendor. As such, it is always capitalized here.

[Tuskin]

I got Terped .... dang-it. I got everything capitalized but missed B&M .. doh.

[Maverick44]

Intamin!

[jcgoble3]

Can we not have this debate again and just leave this thread in the pre-Banshee era where it belongs?

[Maverick44]

Haha sorry I was scrolling through old polls! I had to put in my 2 cents lol

[Arrow]

Sorry, but I can't go with either. But I will go with a third option! I completely forget the name though... I know it starts with "A"....

If only there were something on here that showed me what....

[rhyano]

Intamin...

[Hmrapp]

I feel this is a coaster enthuasist age old question, and truly has no definitive answer. Both manufacturers are innovative, brilliant and bright in the industry and have provided some breathtaking thrills throughout the amusement park world. The aesthetics of B&M’s have always struck me. Something about their perfectly symmetric steel track and the way the spine interacts with the narrow, parallel rails. The recent B&M’s front plazas are just gorgeous and stunning (Fury 325, Banshee, Thunderbird, Leviathan). The name... Bolliger and Mabillard sounds so professional and strikes fear into any non-seasoned manufacturer. The sounds of B&M’s are heaven to the ears. Each coaster has it’s diverse noise it creates throughout traversing the circuit, whether it’s the loud, jar rattling roar of Raptor or the endless WHOOOOSH of Banshee. Yes, B&M’s can be slightly lackluster (Rougarou, Apocalypse, Raging Bull) yet, there are far too many amazing and G-force packed B&M’s (Fury, Kumba, Behemoth)  to accuse “B&M’s of being forceless”. The consistency and capacity of B&M’s are often regarded as top tier of the coaster spectrum. There’s truly no reason to completely despise B&M.

 

Intamin is a similar yet different manufacturer. In a metaphorical sense, Intamin is the father of a run away child (Claude and Walt originally worked under Intamin until they branched off to form B&M). Intamin coasters seem more intimidating and in your face. Their steep lift hills found on Millennium Force and Intimidator 305, their blazing fast accelerations found on Formula Rossa, Kingda Ka, and Top Thrill Dragster, and steep vertical lifts found on coasters such as Fahrenheit make even the most seasoned enthusiasts shudder. Intamin trains sit lower on the track giving yourself and increased perception of speed. Innovation is in Intamin’s blood. Millennium Force and Superman the Ride have led to the B&M hypers models. Intamin stretches far from coasters as well. The manufacturer is infamous for its drop rides and water rides. 

 

I firmly believe that this is pure personal preference and no manufacturer is better than the other. Hopefully, this debate continues to rage for years to come. Thoughts?

[JubJester]

10 hours ago, Hmrapp said:

I firmly believe that this is pure personal preference and no manufacturer is better than the other. Hopefully, this debate continues to rage for years to come. 

First off, you worded your thoughts extremely well. This last statement I strongly agree with. It's just based on preference. 

I think the two company's are completely different in many aspects, and then are similar in several ways. Which is better than them being extremely similiar.

[VekomaRulz]

It's a tough choice for me, I looked at my top 10 steel coaster list:

1. Millennium Force
2. Nitro
3. Diamondback
4. Raptor
5. Banshee
6. Maverick
7. Montu
8. Talon
9. Dueling Dragons: Fire
10. Dueling Dragons: Ice

8 B&M coasters vs 2 Intamin coasters, even if I add in El Toro since it would make my top 10 combined wood and steel, it is still 8 vs 3 so I have to go with B&M. 

[Xdog42]

I Always liked B&M more, I have always liked Floater airtime over Ejector and I feel B&M has more quality and more diversity. Another thing that draws me to B&M is the design/style of its track, to me, it just looks so sleek and nice. Intamin's track isn't ugly but I feel like B&M track is more "Pleasing to the Eye".

But like stated earlier in other posts from members, I don't feel like one is Truely better, they both offer different things which make them nice. I"ll make a small stupid analogy. Think of an amusement park for ex Cedar Point as "the bread" of a PB&J sandwich and Intamin as the peanut butter and B&M as the jelly. They both are nice separately and some people will prefer a Peanut Butter sandwich over a Jelly sandwich Vice versa. But the thing is that they both go well together and usually combine into a better end product.

So what I'm trying to say is that Intamin and B&M are both good companies and a park can have all Intamin and still be good or have all B&M and be good, But the thing is that they both bring different things to coasters in general and is nice if a park has a mixture of both (also usually brings a superior park, for ex. Cedar Point> Six Flags MM or Six Flags GreatA, one has a good mix of B&M and Intamin, while in the other parks B&M dominates Intamin rides (in number).

*Hopefully you guys can understand my ridiculous analogy.

[spooky21]

B&M for me, I do like both but B&M is just a better coaster. I loved my first and only ride on Maverick, I got on Top Thrill Dragster and got to where you staged and they shut the ride down for 5mph "high winds" so I was pulled back into the station. I think Millennium Force is a overrated coaster big time, Diamondback is way better and even Magnum xl-200 is a better ride. Intamin has more down time from what I've seen and heard as well.

[McSalsa]

Well, having finally made it to Cedar Point this year (and I made it twice!), I have finally been on a few Intamin roller coasters, so now I can weigh in more on this topic.

Intamin currently dominates the top of my coaster rankings, with Maverick currently #1 and Millennium Force at #2 (out of 31 coasters so far). None of their coasters I have been on so far were even close to bad- TTD is short but crazy intense, and Wicked Twister packed far more of a punch than I was expecting from the POV videos. Also, unlike B&M, Intamin makes more than just roller coasters. They made Kings Island's iconic Eiffel Tower, Drop Tower, Congo Falls, White Water Canyon, Viking Fury, and I am sure probably even more. Their rides tend to push boundaries and they are always eager to break new ground, but this has a major drawback: Intamin's coasters and rides are known to have reliability issues, especially rides like Top Thrill Dragster. One my first ever visit to Cedar Point, I had 3 of them break down in a row while I was in line, it was not until my 4th attempt to ride a Intamin- Millennium Force at night- that I was successful, and I thus had to wait until my 2nd trip (which wasn't even planned as we surprisingly won a contest) to get the other 3 Intamin coasters there under my belt. Add in the accidents, and the sadly too often need re-designs of rides AFTER construction and even opening, and I can see why parks have moved away from building their rides.

...especially when their main competitor in the steel coaster market is B&M, a company with a perfect safety record and great ride reliability and capacity. Not to mention B&M can also dish out thrilling rides, and their rides are usually ADORED by the GP, aka the people who make parks the most money. Most enthusiasts also enjoy them, myself included, as can be seen by Fury 325's recent victories in both the Amusement Today Golden Tickets and the fact it tops the Coasterbuzz Top 100 as of right now. Just like Intamin, I have yet to find a B&M I didn't enjoy, even Rougarou which I ranked lowest among them I liked quite a bit- granted I have not ridden B&M's one model that usually gets mixed to bad reviews, the stand-up (never rode Rougarou as Mantis). I do still prefer Intamin's on-ride experience, but B&M is not far behind, and with all other factors included I can see why Cedar Fair loves to build B&M's so much these days.

Though TBH I agree with Xdog42 on the aspect of the 2 companies products co-existing well. Cedar Point is a great example of this, as the 2 companies made pretty much every major steel coaster for the park since 1994, adding to the PTC Woodie and Arrow Coasters that were already there and building Cedar Point into the monster park it is today. Though that will change in 2018 as Cedar Point's streak of B&M's and Intamins ends with RMC coming in with Steel Vengeance, the first major coaster not from either of these companies since...1991's Mean Streak, which is what is being turned into Steel Vengeance. Odd how that's worked out.

[matthew0813]

I love intamin. They make amazing rides and my #2 fav ride is maverick 3 being millennium force, but you gotta give 1 to fury 325. Just wow, I cry to wish I can ride it by thinking about it.

Bolliger and Mabillard for the win brothers.


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[goettablitz]

I love both!  My top 10 is:

1. Voyage, 2. Maverick, 3. Montu, 4. Fury 325, 5. Lighting Rod, 6. Kumba, 7. Millennium Force, 8. Thunderhead, 9. Phantom's Revenge, 10. Mystic Timbers.

 

What you might notice from my top 10 is I like variety.  I don't want any park to have to many rides from any one manufacturer.  I like different experiences and when you buy most of your rides from any one manufacturer they kinda start to feel the same IMHO.