Comments on: Top 11 New Roller Coasters of 2012 – Part 1

By: Mr. STONEking

Mr. STONEking — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:11:53 +0000

Amen to your take on X-Flight! Despite the identity reuse of Geauga Lake's transplant to Kings Island in the form of Firehawk, Great America's installation is one to strike a chord beyond the others you've cited, most of which are transplants. Dollywood's Wild Eagle certainly gets it for location and added height, but there is something quite unique about Great America's. It is the one for 2012. No question about it.

By: The Coaster Critic

The Coaster Critic — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:54:07 +0000

As I wrote in the introduction, I chose to make this year's list North America only though because there are so many coasters opening here. And because most of my readers (80%) are in N.A. I'll do a rest of the World list soon though. From the 'for once' comment, I can tell that you're new to the site. Previous lists have included roller coasters outside of North America. My #1 pick in 2010 was in Shenzhen, China!

By: Phil Jong

Phil Jong — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:20:17 +0000

Why aren't there any European coasters in your top 11 new rollercoasters of 2012? What about Shambhala, The Swarm, OzIris, Wodan Timbur Coaster, the new coaster in Duinrell (the Netherlands), the new coaster in Toverland, Polar Xpress (Legoland Denmark).??

Come on look for once beyond the borders of the United States and Canada..

By: Cade

Cade — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:23:40 +0000

Thank you, Matt.

By: Matt McIrvin

Matt McIrvin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:39:24 +0000

The finish is unusual (particularly for a full-circuit coaster), the way it slams directly into the station brakes out of the last vertical loop, without so much as a turn in between. That's going to look dramatic when you're waiting in line (unless something's obstructing the view).

By: Gearhart

Gearhart — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:05:16 +0000

The folks at SFNE have a great ride coming. I took 7 or 8 straight rides on it after the park closed on it's last day of operation at SFMM and they kept running it for another half hour or so for the fans after I had finally climbed off. Although it was a fantastic experience, it totally kicked my butt to point that I decided to call it good. Definately one of my favorite Vekoma's…though most suck.

By: Mike M.

Mike M. — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 21:25:52 +0000

It's a shame that Vekoma never perfected the design of their Giant Inverted Boomerangs (Deja Vu/Goliath). The added height and vertical drops make the rides much more thrilling then the standard Boomerang. GIBs would be a welcome addition to many of the parks that I've been to.

By: coasterer22

coasterer22 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:57:03 +0000

I'm not suprised Six Flags captured the 11-8 spots… The coaster in this list that I'm most excited about is Iron Shark, as it looks the most unique and interesting out of the five.

By: The Coaster Critic

The Coaster Critic — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:21:31 +0000

Thanks for sharing Matt. I hadn't seen that video. That's one loopy course. I also found a note about Iron Shark having a "backstretch that cantilevers over the water" according to the LA Times Funland Blog.

By: Matt McIrvin

Matt McIrvin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:28:12 +0000

The park's Facebook page put up an animation of the layout with POV (we should ignore the Speed: No Limits theming, I suppose). It looks nice and twisty, unusual in the way it's crammed into the narrow footprint of the pier. The lift is taller than the littlest Euro-Fighters like Spongebob, Rage and Untamed.