We’re definitely overdue an update on this old classic. Since my original guide in 2020, Fantawild have opened at least another dozen parks and I’ve managed to bring my total up to an almost absurd 25 individual Fantawild park visits. They’ve also diversified in their styles of park a fair amount since the original trilogy of themes, which is exciting, and there are plenty more interesting and unique attractions to spotlight as their dark ride game has gone from strength to strength.
Rather than expanding on the original ranking in the same style which only looked at a handful of attractions each, I figured I’d try take a similar approach to the old Happy Valley/Six Flags ranking posts (both also overdue an update). This means separating each park that I’ve visited into two main categories – the coaster rankings for the coaster fans, and the dark ride rankings for the dark ride fans. Check those posts for a list of all the rides that can be found at each.I’ll aim to flesh out the review section for individual attractions over time as well.
Overall Resort Ranking
Now let’s combine the scores and see how the results turned out. When it comes to multi-gate resorts I figured it makes sense in most cases to base it on the best score of any individual park at that location. Having more next door is at best a bonus, at worst a distraction. This should highlight which locations have the most overall appeal right now, and we’ll look at a bit of location logistics along the way again for good measure.
Well somewhere had to come last and it’s poor old Tai’an today. It just so happens to be the oldest Fantawild park that I’ve visited, and potentially that’s still operating, as something weird is going on in Shantou. I actually really liked this park, it had a very chill atmosphere and a great setting with the Taishan Mountain backdrop that the city is predominantly famous for. I’ve spent more time than not being stressed out in Adventure parks over the years, usually because there’s something better to do that day, so visiting one as a standalone gives an opportunity to take it in a bit more.
There’s nothing special in the lineup, just the standard Dino Rampage, headbashing Suspended Looping Coaster and Mine Train combo, which is why there’s very little appeal against any other parks in this list. However I did manage to combine it with a morning at Sun Tribe, another park with plenty of Chinese dark ride intrigue and more bad coasters, so that’s something to look out for. If that’s sold it to you in any way, Tai’an is best visited from nearby Jinan, which itself is only 90 minutes from Beijing by train and found along the common Beijing – Shanghai route.
The only other solo Adventure park I’ve visited is Shenyang, under much different circumstances. Everything else I wanted to ride in the city was closed, so popped in for a half a day and didn’t really pay it much attention to be honest. Just a tick box exercise, while wishing I was somewhere else, but it does the job it needs to.
Based on images alone, Tai’an wins this by a mile, but Fantawild Adventure Shenyang has a couple more dark rides on offer to try and compensate. As for what else is nearby, the main draw for visiting the city would still be the Hotgo resort, although half of it remains unopened. Shenyang is half a day away from Beijing, in the opposite direction of the rest of the country, so not ideal.
This also feels harsh as it was another great day out and, for being the most city-centred of almost any Fantawild park, managed to hide it rather well. For any coaster fan it’s an easy skip and while home to a couple of very good dark rides, there’s just better options throughout the chain to experience the same, and more. The unique card up Qingdao’s sleeve is the interactive Chicken Fight Back, but it’s not going to change lives.
Qingdao has multiple small Sunac parks within a mall, but not much else of interest on the theme park front. It’s also several hours of detour off of any major Beijing – Shanghai route, so a bit of an ask, unless you’re also into beer or movies. Quite a pretty city for Chinese standards though with a cleaner, coastal feel, as seen from the waterfront Ferris Wheel.
Figures, of all the multi-gate combos this often feels like the least remarkable one. A lot of that is down to the headline wooden coaster being a bit disappointing, but the combo puts you in an awkward spot. There’s slightly too much to do across both parks in one day due to likely awkward time slots on some of the major dark and show rides. While Jungle Trailblazer is still the main draw for Oriental Heritage, you probably don’t want to miss Jinshan Temple Showdown over in Dreamland.
Location-wise this also checks out, as it’s a good few hours in any direction from other major theme park destinations and even more off route from your average Chinese city hotspots. I day-tripped it from Shenzhen, which was far too long, but it’s probably best done from there or Guangzhou.
I was intrigued to find out what the ‘Oriental Legend’ brand specifically brought to the chain, especially as it was the only one at the time of my visiting. Turns out not much, this is essentially an Oriental Heritage park with a near identical lineup to the Changsha park and as such it doesn’t have any specific draws when compared to other locations. Just a great standalone theme park with good, clean Fantawild fun.
Speculation suggests the park name needed to differentiate from another nearby Oriental Heritage in Anyang that never opened, but as of 2025, Fantawild have opened a new park with the Oriental Legend name and it does now carry some differences. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.
It’s located almost exactly between the cities of Handan and Anyang and can therefore be reached from either. Both of these cities are on the train line from Beijing to Zhengzhou (hosting two more Fantawild parks) and then onto Xi’an, so a reasonable stop off / halfway point from a major tourism route.
This pains me, but we can’t argue with the numbers and my love for Silk Road Dreamland is highly specific to the fact that it’s a uniquely branded Fantawild park with two unique dark rides in Legendary Dunhuang and Silk Road Saga Also a bit of a cheat entry, these two parks don’t form part of the same resort and are found at opposite ends of the city of Jiayuguan. But let’s be realistic, if you’ve come this far, what else are you going to do in Jiayuguan?
The location is only for the most dedicated of souls. It’s about 8 hours by train from the nearest theme park or well established tourist destination in Xi’An. I opted to fly from there instead and it’s a pretty interesting area for other things, while also being very unlike the rest of China. It’ll knock a few days out of your itinerary at least.
I’m not sure what the specific intention around the Wonderland brand is yet, with this being the only one for now. The park has a playful mix of styles from across their portfolio, old and new. The key takeaway from me was that the ‘old’ has all been lovingly updated and brought into their modern era of technology and showmanship, such as on the remake of the Wizard Academy dark ride. The headline coaster is one of the strongest in the chain for me, but it’s also at Six Flags now, so that’s no doubt going to influence some decisions.
Xuzhou is a bit of a stretch from any major city, but is another that falls rather neatly on the Beijing – Shanghai route. In terms of Fantawild parks specifically, it’s also on a line between Huai’an to the east and Zhengzhou to the west, both of which are yet to come on this list, so there’s a good dose of variety to pick up between those three.
Tied with the above on numbers, I’ll give this park a bonus point for personal bias. Changsha seems quite middle of the road on both the coaster and dark ride fronts, within the chain. But let us not mistake middle of the road here for not being an amazing theme park in its own right. It beat out the Handan park by just one spot in both categories, while having the same headline attractions of Magic Gallery and a Vekoma Space Warp, there’s just a little more going on in the supporting lineup.
Changsha is quite centrally located and convenient for a more ‘advanced’ Chinese theme park route. It’s not likely to be on many lists for most people’s first couple of visits but it puts you within striking distance of a number of big names inthe coaster world and a couple of intrigues in thedark ride world. There are also two more Fantawild parks in nearby Zhuzhou which can comfortably be reached by car from Changsha as well.
This placing highlights again just how bad a lot of the coaster lineups are at these parks, as Jingzhou still has absolutely no specific draw other than on pure count inflation. The dark rides are doing all the heavy lifting here, with Battle of Red Cliffs being the real reason to visit, it was for me at the very least. There’s also a good number of other classics here to tick off at the same time though. The main thing to watch at this park, in my experience, is how sparse and inconvenient the timeslots for all the major attractions can be.
If you cut a line straight from West to East, Chengdu to Shanghai, you’ll find this park just left of the centre. Jingzhou itself is best reached from Wuhan, particularly onwards to Chongqing and Chengdu itself, where you can find plenty more theme parks, Fantawild and otherwise.
#10 FT Wild Land (#11 on coasters and #12 on dark rides)
A fascinating anomaly of a park for now, home to both a unique dark ride and very good Vekoma thrill coaster, and the only Fantawild to bear this name so far. All of that could change in the future however. Regardless, FT Wild Land is a very pleasant park with some impressively themed areas and buildings to be explored, with a bit of a twist on the more regular Fantawilds. I like it a lot.
Taizhou (not to be confused with a different Taizhou to the north of Shanghai) is south of Ningbo and can reasonably be done as a day trip if already visiting Ningbo for other Fantawild parks. They’ve also opened a Boonie Bears Bay park within Taizhou if you want to stay over.
Tied on points with the above but I’ll give it the edge for having two parks for the price of one (and a half-ish, for a two park ticket). With Fantawild this often comes with the caveat that you can’t speedrun most of their parks to full completion due to timeslots and big shows, so 2 days is always the recommendation if you want to soak it up, or don’t plan to visit many other parks with the same attractions. Dreamland is all about the dark rides, the best of which usually outshine the Oriental Heritage offering. But over there you’ve got a unique Jungle Trailblazer and one of the better ones at that. Solid all round resort for what is fast becoming a bit ‘old school’ Fantawild.
One of the closest resorts to the Chinese theme park hot spot that is the Shanghai area. I’ve always found the nearby city of Nanjing to be a great stopping off point, from which you can comfortably hit this park, some major Sunacparks, Dinoconda, even a Glorious Orient park. The possibilities are endless.
A more complete Oriental Heritage experience with a slightly worse (in my opinion) Jungle Trailblazer, it was the first Fantawild I truly fell in love with for the aesthetics. Where Wuhu requires you to visit two gates, Jinan packs both a woodie and the best dark ride of the era into one condensed experience. This particular park, also the original of it’s type, appears to be treated well by the chain, receiving a number of additions to the lineup since opening, which isn’t that common overall.
This might be driven by a rare close proximity to local competition in the slightly infamous Quangcheng Euro Park not far up the road. There’s also now a decent Sunac park on the other side of the city with more wooden rollercoaster goodness and Jinan is a good stopping point or crossroads towards the north for a number of parks we’ve already seen, while only being 90 minutes out of Beijing.
Technically another tie with the above, but I’ll give it half a point for being the only Dino Kingdom (for now). This one still falls into the ‘not really worth it for the coasters’ category, but the rest of the park more than makes up for it with at least 3 (for now) unique dark rides. It’s also just a great all round experience, they really went all in on the theme, as the local region is famous for fossil discovery, and there’s dinosaurs antics to look at everywhere.
Zigong is in a seemingly growing hotspot for theme parks, Fantawild ones in particular, all located around the city of Chengdu. It’s now possible to daytrip three different variants that all opened within the last 5 years and though there was a recent major coaster loss, there’s quite a bitof competitionnearby too. And pandas.
#6 Oriental Heritage Mianyang(#16 in coasters and #1 in dark rides)
The last park on the list entirely carried by dark ride lineup, which just so happened to come out on the very top of that list. While not interesting in the slightest, at the very least there’s 4 coasters for the count here, tied most with any Fantawild. As one of the more recent and refined versions of Oriental Heritage parks, there’s plenty else to keep you entertained however.
As with the above, Chengdu is your main base for this park, Dino Kingdom and now Oriental Legend Ziyang.
The current flagship brand of the era has plenty going for it, even if the storytelling is a little hard to digest for a theme park. Anything with a Fighter Jet in it has the best steel coaster Fantawild can offer right now, and potentially best coaster full stop if all the woodies have significantly slipped since opening. Then some of these latest dark ride projects are technically brilliant, they’ve really outdone themselves in many ways.
Huai’an is reachable by train from Nanjing, which itself is served well from Shanghai and a good hub for many other theme parks in the region. It’s also reasonably well positioned on a route up toward Beijing, not a million miles from Fantawild Wonderland and there’s another couple of interestingparks for dark rides closer by.
Thinking about these next two a little more in the context of a top 5, I’m going to go against my own ‘only based on the best score’ rule and mark them down for their neighbour parks as they both came rock bottom of the list on their own. As such the Adventures really don’t add much of anything other than a niggling urge to try and rush both parks in a day for maximum value and coaster count, or settle for what will feel like a comparatively subpar experience that’s nothing more than an intrigue for a second day.
The true breadth of the resort also lives and dies on the performance of the Jungle Trailblazer, which is debatable these days, with a seemingly established pattern of deterioration. And you can ride it elsewhere. But if it hits, it hits hard.
Zhuzhou was mentioned above in the Changsha advice, a fairly central location for a China trip a little more off the beaten path. You can complete the original trilogy of Fantawild brands with relative ease from this city.
When averaged, these tie with Zhuzhou and that seems fair as they are essentially cloned resorts, the only two of their specific combination in the country. Strengths here for me in a slightly better Jungle Trailblazer that’s also a Fantawild exclusive layout (provided it still runs well). Weakness in having the lowest ranked park for both categories next door. It’s almost best left ignored, but go on, you may as well suffer it and do it better than I did.
Zhengzhou is another very central location, just positioned further north. Bit of a trek from Beijing but serves Xi’an quite well as a stopping off point. As with Zhuzhou you can get a third type of park in the area with relative ease, as Oriental Legend Handan is the next nearest Fantawild by train.
Ningbo is one of the superior Glorious Orient parks in terms of lineup, both within and next door. The park also includes Hangar Breakout, the smaller and more nimble of the war-themed 4D motion-based dark rides. And then it has an Oriental Heritage, with all the staples.
It sounds pretty perfect now I’m talking about it and is the main reason I broke my own rules on the two above. Shame I’ve had the worst experiences of any Fantawild here and that I can personally vouch for the wooden coaster being a bit brutal these days. But the strength of Ningbo is that it won’t live or die on your experience with Jungle Trailblazer, as this is the only resort with another top tier coaster to back it up.
It’s also the closest resort to Shanghai, though in a bit of an awkward spot, the wrong side of a massive stretch of water in Hangzhou bay. The namesake city of Ningbo is actually pretty far away too, at around 90 minutes by Didi, or a slightly shorter, cheaper and more complicated combination of train and Didi. It takes a bit of dedication, but is probably worth giving a couple of days for what should be the most comprehensive Fantawild experience right now.
I do love an anti-climax. Five years on I’ve ended up crowning the same winner. If Ningbo is the most comprehensive resort then this park remains the most condensed Fantawild experience going.
Whilst I’ve loved seeking out all their other attractions across the country since, I don’t think anything quite compares to this particular combination of unique dark ride discovery and insane wooden coaster. As a huge fan of both, this still represents the purest essence of Fantawild for me and though I sincerely hope otherwise, we may never see one like this again.
As before, the only problem with this park being different to all the rest is that it’ll make you want to try another one. And that remains a good thing.
Still not really near anything else worthwhile in the theme park world. Though it tops the list, Nanning probably shouldn’t be your first port of call in China. The nearest sensible city is Guangzhou, and there’s plentygoingon in that region, so it works best on a southern trip of some description.
We’re definitely overdue an update on this old classic. Since my original guide in 2020, Fantawild have opened at least another dozen parks and I’ve managed to bring my total up to an almost absurd 25 individual Fantawild park visits. They’ve also diversified in their styles of park a fair amount since the original trilogy of themes, which is exciting, and there are plenty more interesting and unique attractions to spotlight as their dark ride game has gone from strength to strength.
Rather than expanding on the original ranking in the same style which only looked at a handful of attractions each, I figured I’d try take a similar approach to the old Happy Valley/Six Flags ranking posts (both also overdue an update). This means separating each park that I’ve visited into two main categories – the coaster rankings for the coaster fans, and the dark ride rankings for the dark ride fans. Then we’ll combine the scores, figure out some convoluted system for how the multi-park resorts are affected, and highlight which locations have the most overall appeal right now. Plus a bit of location logistics again for good measure.
Start with the basics, the signature dark ride of the Adventure parks was always Dino Rampage. The very first Fantawild had one of these and it kicked off a series of many 4D motion-based dark rides being staples of future parks throughout the country. Crude, but effective, I wasn’t a fan at first. Since becoming such a stan of their later work however, I appreciate this one on new levels. It’s worth experiencing either as a piece of history at this point, or for the pay-off of Dino Rampage 2.0, if you want to really geek out about it.
Same as above, but with two simulator attractions for the price of one. Crazy Idioms is a more modern overlay of Space Journey, which may have also been rolled out to some other places by this point. Not necessarily an upgrade though.
#22 Fantawild Adventure Shenyang – Dino Rampage, Space Expo, Boonie Bears Theatre, Space Journey, Boonie Bear Adventure, Sky Sailor
Same as above, but with a Boonie Bear takeover. Again, the shooter is an overlay which appears to have happened a few times, but they also got the revolving theatre added, which has a few different decent films worth tracking down in your travels.
#21 Fantawild Adventure Jiayuguan – The Silk Road, Wizard Academy, Boonie Bears Theatre, Space Journey, Boonie Bear Adventure, Sky Sailor
As a long time advocate for the unique attraction, much of my later love for Fantawild has come from learning that they do in fact have their fair share of them. The external opinion has always been of this machine-like mass-produced ‘just another Fantawild park full of clones’ situation, but the individuality and creativity has always been in there to at least some extent. Even I was guilty in the early days of thinking once you’ve done one of each brand, you’ve done them all.
The Adventure park in Jiayuguan has a dark ride specifically tailored to its region, in The Silk Road. In terms of timelines it seems like it was developed directly alongside Chinese Opera Express which uses the same huge vehicles and ride system, but I find the theme of this one so much more engaging. Being a later adventure park they also got a Wizard Academy, the successor of Dino Rampage, though there’s plenty more of those to come.
These parks were seen as the gold standard when I first started visiting them, but I’m not sure if it’s true with the early ones. Being built next to existing Dreamland parks that actually did a little better on the dark ride front did them no favours and in terms of coasters there wasn’t much between the two brands of this era. It’s more of the surface level aesthetic that these parks really nailed and I think it resonated with the national audience, a true Chinese feel that went on to see Oriental Heritage become the longest serving brand in the chain.
Legend of Nuwa is considered the headline act in most cases, the third generation of 4D motion-based action. The supporting lineup includes robot arm dark ride Devil’s Peak which probably sneaks in as my personal favourite here for the atmospherics, along with several other long story-telling dark rides and simulators such as Dragon King’s Tale, Chinese Opera Express and Bridge to Love, which make it hard to do the adjacent parks in the same day.
#18 Fantawild Wonderland (Xuzhou) – Wizard Academy 2.0,Boonie Bears Theatre, Boonie Bear Adventure,River of Tales, Adventures in Dragon Palace, Let’s Fly
For the most recently built Fantawild park I’ve visited, this actually falls surprisingly low. The most exciting thing here for me was Wizard Academy, a name we’ve seen many times before but instead here they decided to lovingly remake one of their old classics with new technology, new scenes and even a new wizard, with plenty of throwbacks to the original. Love to see it.
The rest of the lineup is rather common. Though this marked my first experience with Adventures in Dragon Palace, and this one has the best entrance from it with the moving dragon, I’ve since stumbled across it many more times. The rest is of the same modern quality that ties up with other recent parks, from the Boonie Bear shooting dark ride to the River of Tales boat ride.
Interesting how these line up slightly ahead of their neighbour parks. I think the one-two punch of Jinshan / Whitesnake and Qin beats out the best of their other, newer gate in terms of dark rides. This is where it will get muddy for the final results as they both perfectly compliment each other as a resort, filling the gaps. But you need two tickets and, reasonably, two days.
The Qingdao park is a weird outlier because it’s the only Dreamland that doesn’t have a second gate. It’s one of the most inner-city builds of any Fantawild and presumably has no room for expansion, so they threw it one weird extra bone over the above two in Chicken Fight Back, a seemingly unique shooting dark ride based on an earlier franchise from Fantawild Animation, before the bears took over.
Much as I think Magic Gallery is the best thing ever, this park still feels a bit Oriental Heritage-lite. While the park saw many debut versions that substantially improved on their earlier iterations, from the boat rides to the shooting rides and even more elaborate simulators, for me it lacks a second hard hitter. It paved the way for greatness.
It’s also weird that this lineup looks rather shallow to me now, as it was pretty peak at the time I experienced it. This park in particular, my first encounter with Magic Gallery, mere weeks before covid hit and I was kept away from Fantawilds from over 3 years, when I had just properly fallen for them… it holds a special place for leading to such an obsession. But that obsession has led me to seek out all of the other incredible lineups and I think, most importantly, unique attractions. And that’s where I’m going have to draw the distinction in ranking these at some point. Again, much as I love Magic Gallery, we can’t escape that it’s in other places too. Sort of.
#12 FT Wild Land (Taizhou) – Forest Drifting, Realm of Warriors, Let’s Fly, Finding Merlion, Bullseye
This park really hit me out of nowhere with it’s dark rides, as I hadn’t done my research properly and was very pleasantly surprised with what I encounted on the day. I think it really set me down the specific path of making sure I got every unique Fantawild dark ride under my belt because it proved how much I, and probably the world, were sleeping on the assumption that it’s all only a bunch of clones.
Forest Drifting is simply joyous and magical, bringing new special effects to the Fantawild arsenal that I hadn’t seen before. Realm of Warriors is by now a 4th generation 4D motion-base dark ride, following on from Legend of Nuwa and, at least to me at the time, an entirely unique story of one at that. Even the flying theatre here is actually excellent, as it’s full of fantasy and dinosaurs rather than the overplayed wonders of the world nonsense.
The early Oriental Heritage parks that didn’t get built next to a Dreamland managed to get a Jinshan Temple Showdown all to themselves, instantly raising them a level above the others. Beyond that these have a near identical lineup, notably only missing Dragon King’s Tale. They’re pretty iconic within this space.
#9 Oriental Heritage Jingzhou – Battle of Red Cliffs, Magic Gallery, Legend of Nuwa, Boonie Bears Theater, The Tune Tour, Bridge to Love, Let’s Fly
I put Battle of Red Cliffs at the forefront here because it’s another one-of-a-kind. It directly replaces Chinese Opera Express in ride system and theme, and the unique storytelling does it so much more justice. Paired with Magic Gallery we’ve already got a killer combination going on here, though the rest is standard Oriental Heritage fare.
I didn’t know what to think of Glorious Orient at first. It was the first new big brand that came along after my obsession with Fantawild truly began and expectations were perhaps set immeasurably high. Some of the steps up in technology are astounding but the wartime theme of the place takes a little getting your head around, over the whimsical mythology I’ve come to know and love.
Zhiyuan x2 is so visually striking and takes their boat ride systems to a whole new level. The storytelling actually hits really hard in places and provides some excellent moments. Railroad Warriors is I guess the hotly anticipated 5th generation of the 4D motion-based dark ride, their most iterated vehicles in history. It flows and is timed with an insane level of precision and more than any other version before it really plays on a true combination of physical scenery and screens, making it by far the most accomplished of them to date.
Besides that, the shooter and the flying theatre are nothing special, and it’s just not my vibe. And I’m not sure where that leaves it, as it’s a head vs. heart scenario, but I do know that the Huai’an park didn’t receive the full Glorious Orient roster.
These two manage to play out like ultimate compilations of the dark rides of their generation. It seems perhaps in ‘completing’ their resort alongside an existing Adventure park, everything on offer was thrown at them as a last memento, rather than any of the halfway-mismatched lineups above. The only real downgrade is Wizard Academy over Legend of Nuwa, but they didn’t even get any of the filler stuff like the early flying theatres, simulators or boat rides. Sadly I can’t also speak for the quality of upkeep on these rides as of today, they are getting pretty old for Chinese theme park standards and that scares me slightly. In their heyday though, what a lineup.
The Glorious Orient here also has Hangar Breakout, yet another motion-based dark ride based on the disturbing themes of war, but with smaller vehicles. So Fantawild have two, new, excellent versions now, and I’m fairly sure these have been rolling out to the latest Boonie-specific parks I haven’t yet managed to visit. Can’t wait to see how they transition to a happy story again. Still, an incredible top three from a technical perspective, and for being unlike any other park in the world.
#4 Fantawild Dino Kingdom (Zigong) – Deep Down, Dino Rampage 2.0, Mystic River, Jurassic Journey, Let’s Fly, Bug Zapper
Oh no, now we’re in the danger zone. Deep Down did things to me, deep down. It may well have the best scene of dark ride horror in the entire theme park landscape. I thought this ride system was dead for Fantawild and didn’t even know what I was getting into at this park until the moment I clocked a model of the vehicle outside the entrance, and screamed in delight. This is what they do to me these days. It might be my new favourite.
But we’re not done with this park. They also brought Dino Rampage back to life with new technology, new media and a bigger, badder dino. As with the Wizard Academy remake, this just makes me so happy that their ‘older’ properties are looked back on fondly and with respect, as they bring them into their new golden age. That’s not done by a chain that doesn’t care. Mystic River brings more dinosaurs, this time to their boat ride system. It’s a little ropey, but they also have the best (dinosaur) version of their flying theatre here, and a solid shooter. And some Boonie Bears that might make you cry.
#3 Silk Road Dreamland (Jiayuguan) – Legendary Dunhuang, Silk Road Saga, Legend of Nuwa, Tune Tour, Bridge to Love, Chinese Opera Express
So Deep Down happened, the supposed rebirth of the enhanced motion dark ride system that really got my motor running. Nope. I’d been obsessing over this park particularly, among many, for ages, because literally no one has been. It’s the most remote bit of Fantawild theme parking you can possibly think of (until the one in Hami opens) and, as we saw in the previous part, the coasters are absolute trash so no one even takes a second glance here. Except me.
Two things weighed heavy on my mind. 1, it’s the only Silk Road branded park in the chain, that’s exciting and needs to be ‘ticked off’ for my own completion. 2, what is this Legendary Dunhuang? I think it’s a unique dark ride, but it could be anything. It’s a dark ride, it’s an enhanced motion vehicle ride, the only one they made between the original Qin Dynastys and Deep Down. The only one with this theme. So for the second time in four months I was discovering this mid-queue and screaming. And then with all manner of superlatives did I fall in love with the rest of the ride experience. It might be my new favourite.
But we weren’t done with dark ride discoveries for this park. Silk Road Saga? What’s that? I had thought the Fantawild robot arm ride system was also dead, but it’s here, in a different form, with an extra seat on the cars, a circular station and an entirely different style of storytelling. Sure it amounted to a lot more of a ‘flying theatre in front of several screens’ type experience compared to the original, but it appears to be the only one and I still loved it’s own unique charms. I’ve seen at some point that they sold this system to somewhere else in China but never managed to find it again, the rabbit hole is endless. The rest of the park plays out like a basic Oriental Heritage, not that that’s a bad thing.
5 years after winning my original list, Fantawild Asian Legend still stands alone as something pretty special. While the Finding the Merlion simulator, potentially it’s weakest attraction, has found its way into other parks throughout the country, the rest of the South East Asian twists on their popular ride systems have remained unique. There’s just no other park on this list with this many exclusives so it’s always going to tick a lot of boxes towards completion. Even the flying theatre manages to play well to the strengths of the park by being a compilation video of what it represents, rather than arbitrary sights. Then, when you’re all Jinshan Temple Showdowned-out, Hero of Malacca offers the only equivalent it ever received. Meeting in Ha Long Bay is a refreshing delight compared to the operatic counterpart, as is Rama and Sita over the omnipresent Nuwa.
I really want to return here, even though they rarely add much over time, if only just to document it better and re-experience a couple of the favourites with more experienced eyes. It’s been 6 long years and though my main fear is that the place has deteriorated, there were signs back then that they were putting the effort in to look after it. We’ll see.
I’ve struggled so much with the ranking of the top 5, they’re all winners in my eyes. Mianyang threw another curveball at me, casually strolling into what should have been just another Magic Gallery, my supposed favourite dark ride. It turns out there’s an almost entirely different version, as a reader once pointed out to me long ago, and it’s essentially just as outstanding. This one plays on the same basic concept, with a different protagonist, and throws in an actual motion-base for the trackless vehicles to drive onto in the ‘flying theatre over the painting’ section. So, all the tricks of the big players at play.
What I do know is that pairing that with White Snake’s Fury is, probably, the best top two of any park here for me. Plus you’ve got one of the most modern Nuwas, which seem to move a lot more violently, and an insanely facelifted classic in the return of Rumble under the Sea. I feel like it’s the most well rounded example of the most iconic Fantawild park so far.
So quickly, for the dark ride fans, because this has gone on long enough, what’s the logistics?
Chengdu has become a bit of a hub in recent years, though the city doesn’t directly host a Fantawild itself. From here you can comfortably day trip both Oriental Heritage Mianyang and Dino Kingdom in Zigong. Plus they’ve recently opened an Oriental Legend in Ziyang, which is even closer, and looks like it can place well on this list with more new and unique attractions.
Beyond that it’s back to basic old Ningbo, sadly. Having both Glorious Orient and one of the highest ranked Oriental Heritage parks, they’ve just got such a depth of lineup in one spot that’s reachable from Shanghai. It’s the obvious choice.
Lastly, Changsha plays host to a well rounded roster, with Oriental Heritage in the West and then the Zhuzhou resort combination of Adventure and Dreamland very close by. Just an hour out by train is also another park I haven’t yet visited, Boonie Bears Land in Yichun, might be something special there too.
We’re definitely overdue an update on this old classic. Since my original guide in 2020, Fantawild have opened at least another dozen parks and I’ve managed to bring my total up to an almost absurd 25 individual Fantawild park visits. They’ve also diversified in their styles of park a fair amount since the original trilogy of themes, which is exciting, and there are plenty more interesting and unique attractions to spotlight as their dark ride game has gone from strength to strength.
Rather than expanding on the original ranking in the same style which only looked at a handful of attractions each, I figured I’d try take a similar approach to the old Happy Valley/Six Flags ranking posts (both also overdue an update). This means separating each park that I’ve visited into two main categories – the coaster rankings for the coaster fans, and the dark ride rankings for the dark ride fans. Then we’ll combine the scores, figure out some convoluted system for how the multi-park resorts are affected, and highlight which locations have the most overall appeal right now. Plus a bit of location logistics again for good measure.
Wish me luck.
Fantawild Park Ranking by Coasters
#24 Fantawild Adventure Zhengzhou – Stress Express, Terror Twister, Mount Tanggula, Spiteful worm
#24 Fantawild Dreamland Xiamen – Stress Express, Terror Twister, Mount Tanggula, Spiteful worm
Tied in dead last we have these two parks, which demonstrates an interesting overlap in time periods for the Adventure and Dreamland brands. Both opened within a year of each other and both received exactly the same coaster lineup, while their dark rides are a whole different game. The reason these sit in last is that you have to suffer not one, but two large and terrible thrill coasters. Boomerangs are bad enough, but I absolutely despise Sky Loops these days. The best in the park for both is the mine train and even they ride comically poorly. For added insult to injury, they also contain a worm coaster that adults can’t ride. Not a strong start.
The only other park that, like the above, operates two large scale abominations, but I’ll take the SLC (which is also a rare, China exclusive layout) over the Sky Loop any day. Plus no spiteful worm.
#22 Fantawild Dreamland Wuhu – Golden Whirlwind, Puppy Coaster
Not much going on here. Golden Whirlwind is a bit of an anomaly for the chain, the only Sameco looper they ever installed and it’s not good. At the time of my visit, it was just that and a worm that you couldn’t ride. Looks like they’ve since added a Puppy Coaster, so they’ve had a bit of an upgrade.
Classic combo of SLC, mine train and one you can’t ride. It’s a real shame that both of the Jiayuguan parks have the same ride type as their headline coaster.
These aren’t much of an upgrade, but a mine train AND a puppy? At least we’re back into +3 territory. Shame about the worms.
#16 Oriental Heritage Mianyang – Grand Showman, Pine Tree Rocket, Puppy Coaster, Water Coaster, Spiteful pedal
These were the unfortunate Oriental Heritage parks of the chain that were seemingly not deemed worthy of a world class headline coaster, unlike most of the others. Instead they got just another SLC, but it’s the rare layout again. Pine Tree Rocket is the first of many family Vekoma coasters on the list, Puppy is always a plus, although this one is in name only, and a worm is always a spite. Also the first pedal-powered children’s coaster that we can’t ride and are ending up everywhere just to annoy. The other one I’m considering a minus here is the water coaster, which is just a ridiculous ordeal to have to put yourself through for a questionable +1. Too wet.
#15 Oriental Heritage Jingzhou – Grand Showman, Pine Tree Rocket, Puppy Coaster, Spiteful pedal
It has taken us to about halfway through the list to reach ‘respectable’ territory, which is a shame as at least some of the parks above are amazing in almost every other aspect. There’s no rollercoaster here in Zigong that’s going to actively try and hurt you, but the headline is a Vekoma SFC which, while enjoyable, is only a filler attraction at other Fantawild parks and also pretty common worldwide these days. Turbo Dino is another family Vekoma, this time some junior boomerang fun, but we’ve got them at home (Paultons in my case). Dino Dash is cute.
#13 Oriental Legend Handan – Flying Dragon, Sky and Earth, Puppy Coaster, Water coaster
The first of the headline coasters to get excited about, Flying Dragon is a modern Vekoma sit-down thrill coaster, Fantawild’s go-to since 2019. The layout is solid, being a lift-hill version of Formula at Energylandia, one of the pioneers of this design style, but also with an extended finale section. Sky and Earth is a unique family coaster for Fantawild, and Chinese exclusive as a family layout. +1 for the puppy, -1 for the gross water coaster, you know how it goes now.
Celestial Gauntlet is the same Vekoma as above, with a better aesthetic. Big Top is proof that the SFC headling in Zigong is only a secondary coaster elsewhere. That still being a solid ride in its own right, and the lack of a water coaster, edges Handan out by one spot.
#11 FT Wild Land (Taizhou) – Invincible Warriors, Pine Tree Rocket, Puppy Coaster
Invincible Warriors is a so far unique Vekoma thrill coaster, the Renegade model. I’d rate it slightly stronger than the predecessor layout on this list and it also lives in one of my favourite themed areas of any Fantawild, so that’s nice. Outside of that we’ve got another Vekoma Junior and a Puppy. All good here.
The first of the big woodies, and the least impressive. Fantawild had an incredible run of installing Gravity Group creations called Jungle Trailblazer, which changed at least my life for the better. We can fall back on the specific rankings here for more detail, but it’s a shame this one didn’t meet expectations. It still kicked ass, in places. Galaxy Express is another Vekoma SFC, a good second place. There’s no other filler here, for better or worse.
The next of the Jungle Trailblazers was built twice, at the next two parks. I feel I need to mention here that all of the wooden coaster rankings in this list need to be taken with a pinch of salt as I can only base things on when I personally experienced them. Ningbo’s was the last in the set for me (when it should have been the first) and a good number of years after it first opened. It rode extremely aggressively, but in a way that demonstrates it was already past its prime, in dire need of some good maintenance work. I’ve since received reports that this may be the case across the chain (and Chinese woodies in general), with the roughness outweighing the underlying thrill. There was a golden age for these incredible specimens and sadly we may already be past it. Elsewhere in the park we’ve got a Boomerang, which is a shame, and the first of the indoor mine trains for the list, which are interesting for some light (dark) theming.
#8 Oriental Heritage Jinan – Jungle Trailblazer, Stress Express, Night Rescue, Space Vehicle, Spiteful worm, Spiteful pedal
Same woodie, Boomerang and indoor mine train from above but they’ve also added a family coaster from Jinma since I last visited so it’s an extra +1. Along with 2 things you can’t ride instead of 1. So it looks like the highest count of any Fantawild on paper, but only ties it with Handan and Mianyang thanks to their water coasters.
#7 Fantawild Wonderland (Xuzhou) – Cloud Shuttle, Pine Tree Rocket, Puppy Coaster
Back to Vekoma, and this is the most recently built Fantawild I have currently visited. They were somewhat put on the map for western enthusiasts for this particular coaster, as it shares the layout with Six Flags Great Adventure’s new Flash coaster which opened the following year. Of course I rode Cloud Shuttle and then subsequently skipped the chance to go to SFGAdv this year (yay, clones). It’s pretty awesome, with some very special sensations, particularly in the stall element. Round it out with a Vekoma Junior and a Puppy and you’ve got a good day out.
The strongest Fantawild Vekoma for me so far has been installed at every Glorious Orient park to date, it’s the signature for the theme with the aircraft carrier station launch combo and custom train decoration. Round it out with a Vekoma Junior and a Puppy, but with different names and trains, and you’ve got a good day out. Capacity is horrendous though, so make sure you’re the first one on it for the day.
As above, but it doesn’t have the pedal-powered thing to annoy.
#4 Oriental Heritage Wuhu – Jungle Trailblazer, Stress Express, Land of Lost Souls
I think the first of the truly exceptional woodies trumps the most exceptional Vekoma for me, and that begins in Wuhu. This is the only other unique Trailblazer and it packed some serious punches. Grouped with another boomerang and indoor mine train combo, it’s your classic Oriental Heritage coaster lineup and as good as they get.
#3 Fantawild Dreamland Zhuzhou – Jungle Trailblazer, Stress Express Unique to Fantawild, but a clone of Fjord Flying Dragon, one of China’s first big names in the wooden coaster scene. It is (was) incredible as a lengthy layout packed with everything I love about this style of ride, and near perfect. Shame about the boomerang.
As above, but paired with the far superior Vekoma SFC and it looks like they’ve since added a weird kiddy spinner so it beats out Nanning on two counts now. Unless you can’t ride it. Best bang for your buck on Fantawild coasters. Unless the woodie destroys you.
That’s it for the coasters. I guess if they’re all you care about we can take a quick look at logistics here.
Ningbo is the obvious answer, sadly, as I’ve got a bit of a love hate relationship with that particular resort. For having both the best of the Vekomas in Fighter Jet, and a Jungle Trailblazer in two adjacent gates it’s the highest ranked one-two coaster punch in the chain, something which every single individual gate currently lacks. Even if the woodie might kill you these days, you might love it. Ningbo is also one of the closest to Shanghai and the highest density theme park region of the country. Though the Fantawild is nowhere near either city and a bit of a pain to get to, it’s China, logistical pain is to be expected.
Wuhu is similarly positioned not too far from Shanghai, potential day trip material with faff or a solid stop-off point along a route. Next best option for giving a woodie a try. The rest would have to be built into a more bespoke itinerary, but let me know if you ever need advice on that. As for the next best Vekoma, it’s in America…
Beyond that, I think this list just highlights Fantawild aren’t your go-to chain for coasters in the country. Your next best can be ridden in the U.S. under more or less duress and this is why I probably started off on the wrong foot with these parks many years ago. They’re about much, much more. Which leads us nicely into part 2.
While trawling through the Parks & Trip Reports page checking for dead space it struck me that there’s no love on here for good old Thorpe Park. Having lived less than an hour away from it since birth and having gone to the place far too much already, obviously I’ve never written a trip report about it.
R.I.P.
From having family focus and a farm to becoming the nation’s thrill capital, Thorpe has seen quite a change over the years. Sadly my first visit (the one where I didn’t ride anything anyway) took place in the midst of this transition so I never got to experience the park when it had dark rides and stuff. There’s also been an unhealthy dose of remove the good and install the bad more recently and I could spend a while moaning about that, but there’s enough of that around already.
Today I’ll just have to cast history aside and talk about rollercoasters again. There’s only 78 of them, I won’t keep you long.
2025 update – last year was a massive year for the UK coaster scene and Thorpe Park in particular, with the opening of Hyperia. It’s had me visiting multiple times again, something which hasn’t been happening for many, many years now, so I guess it’s pretty obvious where it stacks up…
#8 Flying Fish
Struggling for pictures here, but there’s only one place to start this list. Runaway Train at Chessington was one of the first major attractions I ever rode and this Fish is just the same thing in a field with none of the effort.
#7 X:\ No Way Out/X (not confusing at all)
Ooh, struggling to pick what comes next. I think it’s this although I always enjoyed the onride atmosphere whether it was in backwards mode or rave mode (awful, awful queue). As a coaster it never really gets going thanks to the multiple block sections and we would often use the time spent on these discussing how one could utilise these to improve the experience. Surprisingly I haven’t yet actually seen the real life attempt at this, in the form of The Walking Dead: The Ride. I have now, it’s awful. Circa 2018 I still held a Thorpe only annual pass because it was dirt cheap and I liked to pop in for a couple of hours when the opportunities arose. They held an introductory event for passholders but the retheme failed to open to the public on that day. So they invited us back several months later for an ‘even more special’ introductory event. And it failed to open again. The same year I noticed that I couldn’t even blitz the park on a mid week September visit (i.e. empty) without queueing what I would personally consider to be extortionate amounts of time (i.e. 20 minutes) and I haven’t been back untilHyperia.
#6 Colossus
This is a shame, because the ride is (was) a legend. No points for creativity on the layout itself, but the way they blended this huge, record breaking coaster into the landscape is totally admirable. I used to like the ride a lot. It provided me with my very first inversions (all 10 of them) and I remember a time when doing back to back laps of the thing to close out the day was an exciting prospect and something to be proud of. Now it’s just there, steadily getting less interesting as hundreds more of the same model get thrown up around the world without a second thought. I have no desire to ride it any more because a) it’s not that good and b) it’s not that special. Stop me please, I’m moaning about clones again, but this is one of the reasons why – status. Colossus was a big name in the UK, even just being a rollercoaster that your average person knows by name is an achievement in itself. It broke records, set standards, had an identity. Then China builds a couple more of the same – oh no, it’s not unique any more but it’s alright, I’m the only man who actually experiences this sacrilegious act. Oops, watch out, there’s one in Italy. And then this daft idea happens and I’ll say no more.
#5 Stealth
From one British icon to another, I won’t mention the fact that this one got cloned too. It bothers me less because you’d hardly call this a layout and it’s become a bit of a ride type in its own right – a way of making things go very high and nothing else. Aside from the lightning quick duration of the ride I have to admit that the sensation of launches on their own don’t particularly excite me any more. It’s my own loss, I’ve just ended up doing a fewtoomany and the impact just isn’t as prominent as it once was. Once that’s gone, there’s nothing much left of Stealth. A bit of an ‘nnnnnngh’ into shoulder restraints over brake fins and the sound of someone’s makeup bag exploding into the car around you. Unlike Colossus this ride still has presence though, and I appreciate that. The strong thematic experience of the whole Amity area with the seemingly endless Big Bob on WWTP radio loops, the existence of Tidal Wave and side plot of ’50s drag racing might just be the most quality thing about Thorpe Park.
#4 Saw: The Ride
Despite it being the first rollercoaster I really followed the construction of, I took basically no pictures of this once it opened. All I’ve got is this terrible one that wouldn’t even pass as ‘artsy’. There may be some twisted reason as to why I did follow this one, beyond the fact that I was old enough to have free reign of the internet and it was being built at my local park. I was also a fan of the Saw franchise. Mmm… torture porn. I was talking about status above and things just stick in your mind about some rides. 1) There was a BBC Radio 2 talk show about how inappropriate the branding of this ride was. The arguments amused me to no end and I just enjoyed the fact that it was getting attention. 2) Based on hearing this my Dad decided to start telling me to stop riding these rollercoasters because the forces aren’t good for your brain (1000 later he still does! Sorry). 3) It made my cousin cry. This type of stuff helps a ride to become a legend in it’s own right and the fact that it has both retained the brand and remained uniqu- “Excuse me.” “Wait, what?” There’s one in Australia? Oh it’s alright, I haven’t done that one yet and err… it has a different theme.” “Hypocrite.” -as an attraction means that Saw: The Ride still interests me. It’s far from the best of coasters but I do enjoy the dark ride elements and on the days when the train decides not to slow down in the second half of the layout it packs a particularly violent punch.
#3 Swarm
Aww, I like Swarm. Everyone says it’s boring and bleak and while standing in the queue I’ve literally seen guests playing a game of cards on it mid ride in mock fashion (I hope) of the apparent forcelessness. To illustrate that point better than I ever could, here’s a man in sunglasses. Mr. ‘Launches don’t excite me’ over here actually sees stars on the sustained turn around the water so doesn’t personally see the logic. The near miss elements are cool in the right seat and the inversion over the station is, well, it’s good to watch. Sometimes there’s fire! and the year they turned the back seats around (brave it backwards) was a stroke of genius. I laughed uncontrollably from start to finish on this version, had a ridiculous amount of fun and miss it deeply.
#2 Nemesis Inferno
Another UK park, another B&M invert near the top. It’s no wonder I used to consider it one of the most consistent ride types in the world (don’t worry, just like everything else I’ve since put myself off that idea too). Inferno feels like the most complete rollercoaster package in the park, partly thanks to the quirky little pre-lift dive through the volcano but mostly just from the fact that it’s the most quality piece of hardware at Thorpe. There’s a flow and grace to these that you’ll struggle to find anywhere else in the country and it seems to be getting more forceful as the years go by – ageing like a good cheese. Personally I’ve never been offended by the whole Nemesis branding comparison because I’m not overly attached to the original and in my eyes they’re definitely not worlds apart as an onboard experience. I view this one just for what it is and it’s a cracking coaster.
#1 Hyperia
Yes, the latest and greatest from Thorpe Park comfortably took the crown for me. Upon visiting in opening year, it quickly blew me away with the power of it’s initial innovative elements, although the second half of the already short ride left a little to be desired. Having gone back a couple times since in 2025, the ride has only improved, with rumours swirling around new wheel compounds or other methods to make the train run reliably run faster, or at least not get stuck in one of the valleys as it had been doing a little too regularly. In any case, I’ve experienced a noticeable extra kick to the final two hills that follow the (already no longer functioning) splash section and trim brake. While this still results in a ride that leaves you wanting more, because it’s just so damn short, every element now hits, and hits hard, and I love it for that.
Bonus Round
One of my favourite rides in the park isn’t actually a rollercoaster and I wanted to give a shout out to Detonator. Whenever I spent a cheeky hour in the park it was Swarm, this, Inferno, this, leave. Buzzing. Now it’s Hyperia, this, Inferno, leave. I’m not big on flat rides but I am a sucker for drop towers. With the majority of my hobbying life now dominated by a lack of butterflies in the stomach on even the most vicious of airtime, a top tier drop tower can still have that gorgeous effect on me and this is a prime example, right on my doorstep. This little Fabbri absolutely destroys most of the much more significant towers I’ve ridden throughout the world. They’re all heartless, soulless and comparatively forceless. Whether Thorpe are playing the ticking time bomb soundtracks, mindgames over the microphone or running it in absolute silence (none of these now, the new theme is bad) it still gets my nerves going. It cheats, supposedly, it kicks the car downwards rather than leaving things to pure freefall, and that makes all the difference. Why can’t they all do that?
After a turbulent couple of years for the travel industry, 2022 was suitably huge to make up for it all. Things all kicked off with a first time trip to Florida in March, the most obvious of all theme park destinations and one I had been dreaming of since as far back as I can remember. Mere months later we were back in the USA once more, on the roadtrip of a lifetime, ticking off more major parks and coasters than ever before.
These two trips back to back did begin to stir an inevitable realisation into the foreground of the hobby. I am beginning to ‘run out’ of fresh experiences when it comes down to what’s widely considered the ‘world’s best’. It’s a thought that is equal parts humbling and terrifying. Having come so far feels like a tremendous achievement and there’s still plenty more I want to see and do, so will continue to make the best of it in whichever ways I can.
With such a strong first half of the year, there was a noticeable wind-down towards the end of 2022. A quick traditional weekend jaunt to France in the summer, followed by a few days to and from Denmark at the end of August saw out the remainder of the international travel. Closer to home there were still a couple of minor establishments to visit, but I almost feel obliged to keep a couple of these left in the tank for a (non-)rainy day at this stage.
And so, with all that going on, how do the figures stack up?
Rather well. A record 242 new rollercoasters beats out 2019s best efforts and puts the steady climb of a trajectory back on track for where it was in the pre-covid era. I’m honestly not sure that this figure can ever be reached again, but it’s certainly not impossible. Park-wise, there were 55 new establishments visited, a four year high that is still, somehow, yet to come anywhere close to the all-time high of 2018. The most important number for me remains the amount of days spent visiting parks and making this hobby happen in any way, in any given year. A total of 48 of these made up 2022, tied with 2019 and marking a significant step back into normality.
Now that quantifying everything has made me infinitely happier, let’s talk about some highlights.
By the slimmest of margins this year, God Damn Iron Gwazi reigns supreme. There were several very close contenders, some more surprising than others, along with a good many potential big names that simply fell by the wayside. Nothing else quite had the power and potency of this new for 2022 creation however and the style of ride experience is right up my street. The coaster developed a bit of a character for itself too, over our visits, which always helps. RMC back on top again and not a Gravity in sight, let’s save that particular discussion for another time though.
Favourite Dark Ride in 2022
Honourable mentions – Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney’s Hollywood Studios), Volkanu (Lost Island) & Stalen Monsters (Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum)
With a visit to dark ride capital of the world Florida on the table, this list could have been endless amongst all the incredible experiences Disney and Universal have to offer. The honourable mentions instead chooses to name two of the big guns and two respective highlights of trips with other focuses that had small scale attractions punching well above their weight.
But the biggest gun of all is virtually untouchable. Rise of the Resistance was beyond anything I had ever dreamed of on a technical level. While I don’t think I had the opportunity to pay it as much attention as it deserved (due to the circumstances of the park in which it is situated) and therefore didn’t quite develop the emotional attachment to the attraction that I was also desiring, the sheer magnitude of achievement here cannot go unrecognised. It’s insane. Disney back on top again and not a Fantawild to be seen, we’ll blame a certain country for that.
Favourite Park in 2022
Honourable mentions – Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, Kennywood, Kings Island & Knoebels Amusement Resort
This pains me, I have a spreadsheet to tell me exactly this type of thing and yet I keep looking at the numbers to find something doesn’t add up. So, for the second year running, I’m awarding this one to a park that was a revisit. All the remaining contenders have caveats. While the attraction lineup at IoA is astounding, it’s a stressful place to simply get around. Whilst I adored Kennywood, we had our own personal issues going on that day and it doesn’t quite sit right. Though I fell in love with Knoebels, the visit was a little brief. Kings Island was pretty special too, but too intense.
Tivoli Gardens was just as magical as the first two times I visited and provided me with an inescapable homely vibe almost instantly. It has a bit of everything and everything about the place is just right. It’s fantastic to see how it’s continuously being rejuvenated throughout it’s long and rich history and I’d happily go back at any time, even with nothing to gain.
Speaking of gains, the fun one. The celebration of the ridiculous lengths I go to for this hobby. A lot of it went wrong this year to be fair, and some days were pretty grim. This particular day was completely chill though, cheap too, and everything went to plan, while still being silly. Eerily identical establishments sandwiched two other visits, one with a bit of bonus redemption and it was all just to break up a casual drive through four separate countries on the way to Denmark.
I seem to always be talking about how the UK failed to spark my interest in so many aspects and today is going to be no exception. I was never particularly enthralled with any of the wooden coaster offerings we have back home as they never showed me what made this seemingly antiquated construction material so special. It was old, it bounced around a lot, it wasn’t very good.
It fell to Great Coasters International to be the first company to introduce me to what highly enjoyable wooden rollercoasters are really all about and for a good couple of years they managed to establish themselves as my favourite wooden coaster manufacturer. Today I’d say that I potentially get more excited about riding a new woodie than I do a steelie and that’s not just because they’re outnumbered by about 25 to 1 in this modern age, substantial credit goes to this lot. The company built their first layout in 1996 and quickly developed into one of the key players in modern wooden rollercoaster design. It’s a very niche market these days dominated by only 3 or 4 names and as things currently stand, GCI have remained the most traditional of the bunch – building on their signature twister style layouts and relentless pacing. Traditional is all you need sometimes and they still top my list for all-time favourite woodie, though sadly as I have travelled further and experienced more, the consistency hasn’t quite always been there. As we near the end of 2022, I’ve ridden a total of 25 coasters from GCI, with only 4 left to go that are currently operating worldwide and a couple more under construction. Hopefully the full set will not elude me forever, but for now I’d say that’s more than enough to sink my teeth into for one of these lists.
#25 Wildcat – Hersheypark, USA
The aforementioned first build in 1996 was here in home state Pennsylvania and as this is the one that started it all I feel I can’t judge Wildcat too harshly. Plus, it’s now deceased, shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. It’s reasonably tall, fast and long, but mostly uneventful – they had to learn from something. Big swooping curves form the majority of the layout and sadly I have no recollection of any interesting transitions or airtime.
#24 Roar – Six Flags America, USA
Still in the early days, this ride hasn’t yet been treated to the manufacturer’s signature rolling stock (the Millenium Flyer) and that fact, combined with style of the layout, makes Roar almost unrecognisable as one of their creations. Aside from the big swooping curves, there’s big traditional airtime hills in here, though again they don’t really do anything. I can’t think of any other GCI that’s been made since to have a hill shaped anywhere close to that, probably with good reason. Shallow and powerful is much more their forte.
#23 Wicker Man– Alton Towers, England
I was initially very excited that after over 20 years we were going to get a modern woodie so close to home, from a manufacturer that I believed I could count on to deliver a quality experience. As the construction developed it began to look a little underwhelming and when the day finally came to ride it, I was left with nothing but mild disappointment. Most people love the Wicker Man and I wish it every success, but I’ve seen and felt what GCI can do and this does none of it. Though it certainly looks the part, there’s just no energy in this tiny layout and I stand by what I said in the introduction. Nothing wooden in this country excites me. Hopefully by the time we reach the end of the list you’ll see why. It has been improving steadily over the last couple of years as the tracking deteriorates ever so slightly, so that’s a good thing.
#22 Great Desert-Rally – Happy Valley Chengdu, China
With the bottom 3 out of the way we now enter a large cluster of almost inseparable experiences. I will say that everything from here on is at least a decent ride worth multiple laps so try not to focus on the negatives too much, I’m just better at talking about them. Great Desert-Rally began with the promise of much greater things, taking a fast and powerful first drop similar to a certain European cousin. It then spends far too long in this bit, up high, sapping all the momentum from the ride and the remainder is a little underwhelming.
#21 Thunderhead – Dollywood, USA
As easily one of my favourite parks in the world, oh how I wish Dollywood had even a mid tier GCI. Sadly the ride clings in desperation to a pointless claim, something along the lines of ‘most corners in the world’ and that’s about as interesting as it sounds. There really isn’t a whole lot else going on here.
#20 Thunderbird – Powerland, Finland
Two thunders in a row and it takes a significantly powerful memory to be able to tell these apart. It took 10 years for GCI to go continental, bringing Thunderbird to Europe and I’m sure that was an amazing moment. The layout tries, tries to do more than corners. There’s that hill in the picture that acts like a second drop and a little section of straight bunny hills that don’t really deliver.
#19 Gold Striker – California’s Great America, USA
Gold Striker was aggressive, almost in the wrong sense. It gave me a headache on my first lap but I persisted and grew to respect it, to a degree. Offride I love the design of this one (Santa not included), the way the queue sits inside the intimidatingly loud starting sequence. Later on you climb some stairs towards the station where once again the train comes roaring past in very close proximity at a defeaning pace. The signature station flythrough is subverted with these moments and you get a lot more time to appreciate it while you wait. Onride it’s more of the above. I just found myself willing it to do a little more.
#18 Invadr – Busch Gardens Williamsburg, USA
The ingredients of what makes GCI special are beginning to fall into place and I believe I can pinpoint this as the first ride in the list with notable kinks in the corners, something I assumed would always be a part of the manufacturers recipe. These unusual track shapings provide a satisfying moment of unexpected airtime as you either enter or exit a turn and would serve to elevate all of the aforementioned big swoopers by giving them a moment of significance. After all, that’s what you need to stand out in a list like this. Invadr was small, fun and punchy. Things are starting to get exciting.
#17 Troy – Toverland, Netherlands
Most notable to me for being my 200th coaster, I’ve always found this one a little underwhelming in the grand scheme of things. Take that first drop for instance – it doesn’t really go anywhere. Just a big swooping turn (here we go again) into some more swooping turns. The transitions start to liven up a little at this point in the list and Troy does have a good bit of kick to it. I just can’t tell you where or when. I find it’s a particularly good ride at providing the illusion of being more aggressive than it actually is.
Wildcat clearly wasn’t enough for Hersheypark and only 4 years later they ended up with not one, but two more GCIs. This time it was a racing coaster with two tracks intertwined in a spectacular tangle of timber. The racing element certainly enhances things for me, though I still found the layouts lacked a little definition. One side was running slightly better than the other (I couldn’t say which, but it was winning every time without fail) and my favourite moment was the surprise airtime hill in a shed. More of that please.
#14 White Lightning – Fun Spot America #13 Heidi The Ride – Plopsaland de Panne, Belgium #12 Wilkołak – Majaland Kownaty, Poland
I can only really separate these three on theming. The two in Europe are owned by the same park chain, share the same layout (albeit mirrored) and they both rode exactly the same – a welcome change to the standard GCI styling with a lot more straights, a lot less corners and a lot more airtime hills. The one in America is the original of the design and has nothing going for it on a visual level whatsoever. They’re very good for the size, but with so little speed to play with there’s a distinct lack of aggression. Which is fine, for a family coaster. For what it’s worth I preferred the look of the one with the werewolves.
#10 & #11 Joris en der Draak – Efteling, Netherlands
The ones that started it all for me remain a relative highlight. During my first two visits this was a real standout experience although the most recent lap we had was far from ideal. Fire breathing dragon aside (RIP), these exhilarating racing coasters throw so much at you in a short space of time and simply deliver bags of fun. The soundtrack is addictive and should be sung on any racing attraction in the world because it perfectly sums up the experience, as does the theming in the station with the cheers and jeers. A proper package.
#9 El Toro – Freizeitpark Plohn, Germany
While still comparatively a baby, this little GCI has that extra spice that defines the manufacturer for me. A relentless feel from start to finish, with a good mixture of twisty bits and bumpy hills. It’s amazing how such seemingly minor changes can make a huge difference to the overall experience.
#8 Renegade – Valleyfair, USA
A well above average woodie experience from GCI, again with a relentless feel, a good mixture of elements and just a little bigger than the above. The signature twisted s-bend drop was a bit of a let down, looking far better visually than it actually rode. It faced some very stiff competition in the week that it was experienced, but can’t really complain about the rest of the layout.
#7 Prowler – Worlds of Fun, USA
And here’s just one example of that competition. It was unhealthily hot on the day that we happened to experience Prowler and I could barely tell what was going on. From sticking to the seat in a semi-comatose state to the ride breaking down under the stress a few minutes later, I have fleeting memories of surprisingly intense laterals, an interesting layout and a solid all round package propping this ride up amongst the greats.
#6 Wodan – Europa Park, Germany
The sinister statues in the station alone should put this ride in the top half, but it’s the aggressive start and unpredictable ending that really did it for me. While the middle section loses pace for a short while, I always found myself laughing uncontrollably with joy by the time the train hit the brakes.
#5 Kentucky Rumbler – Beech Bend, USA
What a curveball, I expected very little out of this ride and it delivered on every count. It was declared a ‘top 5 GCI’ at the time of riding and that just about holds, even after the rest of the trip was done. Relentless rumbling, with a design that’s much more killer than filler, even the double-cornered first drop is unpredictably wild and puts Renegade’s attempt to shame
#4 Jungle Dragon – Happy Valley Chongqing, China
I went in to this one expecting something on par with the #1 in this list and subsequently left disappointed. Fortunately I have come to appreciate it a lot more looking back on the experience, it was still a monster. It had all the ingredients to be truly special – the sheer size and the location on the hillside, the queueline even has a lift to take you up to the station, so there was plenty to play with. It ended up a mixed bag though. As though paying homage to the days of Wildcat, a lot of the terrain was used for large swooping corners off the side of the hill and they didn’t really deliver. What made the ride was the straight airtime sequences, which were amongst GCIs very finest for getting me out of that seat again and again.
#3 Mystic Timbers
I went into this one thinking my better days with GCI were well behind me. Instead it was like a warm welcome home, exactly the type of stuff I enjoy most out of this type of ride. A low to the ground, wild romp through the forest with airtime all over the place. By the end of the day the train was tearing itself apart from the track and making noises not heard before, which is of course a good thing. On top of all that, the theming package gives this attraction bags of character and the shed shall forever remain a legend of the industry.
#2 Wood Coaster – Knight Valley, China
Now we enter the God tier. Stupidly huge, overgrown and built into the side of a mountain, ride location simply doesn’t get better than this. Wood Coaster goes on forever, never stops being aggressive and is just about perfect in every way. I can’t believe this ride exists, I can’t believe how much I went through to experience it and I still can’t believe how much it gave me in return.
#1 Python in Bamboo Forest – Wanda Nanchang, China
But if there’s one ride to beat that, it has to be the snake, just. While the views might not be as spectacular, the experience is even longer and contains more airtime moments than there are grains of sand in the universe. GCI must have thrown absolutely everything they have at these marvellous creations and it really couldn’t be more apparent. I can’t wait for the day when another park attempts something of this magnitude again.
Within a single decade, Rocky Mountain Construction have established themselves as the boys to beat when it comes to making the best rollercoasters money can buy. Their rides are seemingly tailored to what enthusiasts like myself enjoy the most – a blend of powerful airtime, interesting elements and minimal gimmicks. They began their days by converting and revitalising older wooden rollercoasters in certain parks – removing the track, leaving the structures intact and using their unique steel rails to create a brand new and vastly more experimental experience. Since then, several ‘ground up’ installations have been built, which tend to use the same system, though also having a layer of wood underneath the rails in order to replicate the classification of a wooden rollercoaster, just ones like you’ve never seen before. While they haven’t really branched out into specific ride types other than the recent single rail Raptor model, the label ‘RMC’ itself is by far the most consistently rewarding in the world right now. I believe they have also played an important role in demonstrating to more casual guests how the most fun coaster in the park doesn’t have to be the biggest and fastest. It should be something repeatedly enjoyable rather than just a scary experience to try once for a laugh, and I’ve already witnessed dedicated followings and numerous marathons first hand. As of this 2022 update I’ve now experienced 17 out of a total 23 operating RMCs, with half of the remainder being cloned layouts, so there’s only really three left out there for me now – a harrowing thought.
#17 Jersey Devil Coaster (Six Flags Great Adventure, USA) – We begin with the aforementioned Raptor model. Admittedly I’ve only done the two of these, but that does encompass both of the layouts that exist in the world right now, which is enough to know that I’m not a fan of sophomore design. The prototype was a marvel for the industry, I’d never seen anything quite like it before and it brought a completely fresh style to the table. Taking the hardware and then running with nothing but a remit of ‘taller, longer, faster’ led to a ride that lost the spirit of the single rail. There’s no reason this couldn’t just have been a regular two rail RMC other than for a bit of short term marketing. It also rode poorly and had restraint issues. It’s the worst RMC, but it’s still world class.
#16 Goliath (Six Flags Great America, USA) – More records were up for grabs here, with an early installation of the ground-up wooden coaster design. Goliath was huge, as the name suggests, but for all that height it doesn’t do a whole lot to back it up. It’s a compact and succinct layout that introduces a lot of RMCs early hits, most notably the stall element, and this makes it a quintessential experience that just doesn’t have enough going for it when stacked up against the rest.
#15 Outlaw Run (Silver Dollar City, USA) – It was on this trip that I learnt that ‘wooden coasters like you’ve never seen before’ might not stand the test of time for RMC, in their current form. The most aggressive of the bunch has already received extensive re-tracking to the point at which it can no longer be classified as a wooden rollercoaster. Outlaw Run, the very first of these, is suffering from similar issues. The wheel seats were a dud for me, due some rather headache-inducing tracking and the front of each car was definitely the place to be. There are some amazing elements in this layout and the setting is to die for, but it’s once again very short and I don’t really rate any of the inversions, particularly the final two, which are a rare miss.
#14 Wildfire (Kolmården, Sweden) – Talking of wooden rollercoasters like you’ve never seen before, how about this monster? This was the first RMC in Europe and the first one I rode (eventually). I was already aware of the hype surrounding the manufacturer at the time and though an amazing ride in its own right, it didn’t quite live up to the exceedingly high reputation. At the time of riding, I couldn’t pinpoint the spark that was missing from Wildfire but having since ridden other RMCs it’s blantantly obvious – other than the first drop it lacks any of the characteristic airtime moments that punctuate the other special elements on offer. The combination of the two is the literal definition of these rides for me and if you only have one half of that, you’re going to come up short. The other nitpick I have is though it is marketed as the greatest wooden rollercoaster in the world (and it isn’t), I didn’t think it rode like a woodie at all and I have since confirmed (further down the list) that RMC are capable of generating this feeling in a good way, and (further up the list) a bad way.
#13 Joker (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, USA) – I struggled to get the most out this comparatively baby RMC due to poor operations on the day. It has all the classic fun elements throughout along with airtime in greater quantities than Wildfire, but no definitive moments that stand out quite as much.
#12 Railblazer (California’s Great America, USA) – This (almost) unique looking attraction is nothing short of ridiculous. As we’ve already seen, the Raptor model uses just one rail and trains that straddle the track with single file seating. Railblazer takes the whole layout from start to finish at a ridiculous pace and contains several intense airtime moments. The downfall is that it’s just really short and it may have been slightly elevated for me by being both a completely fresh experience and only riding in the back row at night for every lap.
#11 Twisted Cyclone (Six Flags Over Georgia, USA) – This is where we hit RMC’s true mix of elements at its prime. What this ride does is as good as its wicked and timber brothers, only the layout feels half the length and leaves you wanting more. My favourite part is the immensely intense hill out of this magical element that you don’t even see coming from the back row.
#10 Untamed (Walibi Holland, Netherlands) – Europe’s 2nd RMC after what felt like a very long wait. I didn’t find it to be the most intense of their creations and it contains noticeably weaker sections than any of the below. Untamed still gives an amazing, lengthy ride that delivers a lot of incredible moments. My head says it’s objectively better than the next ride in the list, but my heart just won’t let that happen at this point in time. It lacked a little character.
#9 Lightning Rod(Dollywood, USA) – Aww. I wanted this ride to be the best thing ever, but it wasn’t. Expectations may have let me down slightly as I thought it was going to be one of the bigger RMCs feat. quad down, but it’s actually short and the legendary quad down is 50% of the ride. I have been led to believe that the initial launched lift has been toned down and that I may not have experienced the rod in all it’s glory. If true, I sincerely hope there comes a day where this can happen. As I found it, the first half is a little too underwhelming for what follows and then just when it gets absolutely amazing, it ends.
#8 Wicked Cyclone (Six Flags New England, USA) – This was another case of not getting as much time to appreciate the ride as I would have liked (thanks again Six Flags), so it’s harder to big it up. Contrary to the above, Wicked Cyclone feels like just the right amount of length and the way it flows and bounces between the mixture of inversions and airtime is simply beautiful. In particular, the surprise wonky hills hidden inside the structure are some of the best in the business.
#7 Storm Chaser (Kentucky Kingdom, USA) – Somehow Storm Chaser almost manages to be forgettable in such a lineup. By no means is it to be underestimated though, even with the understated grungy look, it has big bad airtime and a satisfying raw power to the other key moments of the layout. I found it to be the best of the weather related ones by the tiniest margin and that’s all down to personal preference really – more aggressive airtime.
#6 Zadra (Energylandia, Poland) – The first RMC in Europe to go over 200ft and earn classification as one of the ‘big boys’ that get rated the world over as the absolute best of the best. It’s not hard to see why, this monster has a piece of everything that makes these rides so special, is insanely fast paced and delivers amazingly throughout a satisfying length of layout.
#5 Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point, USA) – And here’s the OG ‘big boy’, literally regarded the best rollercoaster on the planet by an overwhelming majority. I agree that it’s just so damn good, but Steel Vengeance didn’t have that killer instinct I was hoping for, to tip it over the edge. Chuck in a handful of moments that try to hurt me, make the inversions more interesting and you’ve got the best in the business. For now, this is as far as it goes.
#4 Twisted Timbers (Kings Dominion, USA) – As we enter the top tier, things get truly intense. I had Twisted Timbers down as a variable performer after our first visit, but more recently it seemed to be out to prove a point and was holding absolutely nothing back. Mere days after the revelations on Steel Vengeance, this one definitively demonstrated to me that it’s just more my cup of tea. It’s insane, it hurts and it has all of that killer instinct. And that’s exactly what I’m looking for in my RMCs.
#3 Iron Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa, USA) – God Damn Iron Gwazi. The new American monster is so wild and full of extremities at every level. Unlike the above, and it’s biggest rival over at Cedar Point, it’s not the biggest airtime machine but it makes the best use of the fast paced approach by being packed full of killer manoeuvres. Several of these elements stepped up the manufacturer’s creativity and range of sensations another notch. As if that was even possible.
#2 Hakugei(Nagashima Spa Land, Japan) – This is nothing short of a beautiful creation. It was never quite as wild as some of those that came before, but it was a consistently incredible ride at all times of day in all parts of the train, even in the direst of situations. Hakugei has perhaps the most to offer, of all RMCs, in its combination of both length and power. The resultant layout probably has the closest to perfect mix of elements, from someone who over-analyses these things to the point of detraction. It did lack character for me and maybe has one zero-G too many so that, combined with not being the most intense, holds it back from the top spot.
#1 Twisted Colossus (Six Flags Magic Mountain, USA) – Still the king and I’m as much surprised as you probably are. Using pain as the measure for intensity (in a good way), no other RMC has come close to hurting my legs (and neck?!) with airtime as much as Twisted Colossus did. The out of control feeling exiting the high-five element hasnt been matched either, in a ride type that starts to feel a little calculated and clinical the more you delve into it. In a list where several coasters suffer from the feeling of hitting the brakes and wanting more, you hit the brakes on this ride, then you get more. The easy way. In a list where several coasters just didn’t quite hit the mark with everything they could throw at me, every single moment counts on this ride, to the point of physical duress. The simple knowledge that there’s more fun to come while creeping up the second lift hill is easily enough to keep me happy, but the interaction between the two trains during the layout adds an extra special layer to this mind blowing experience, truly setting it apart from the rest.
Bolliger & Mabillard are great at gifting me list topics. With a narrow portfolio of ride types that almost all happen to be large thrill coasters they become instantly relatable, comparable and it’s easy to know where you stand with them. I’d better pace myself before I run out of posts on such things.
Characterised in their own words by ‘the straight vertical drop with riders facing down’, the Dive Coaster has had an interesting presence in the industry over the years. It began life at Alton Towers in 1998 with the highly famous Oblivion and has since taken form in various different shapes and sizes, both larger and smaller. Within a couple of years a mirrored clone of the original was bizarrely built on the side of a cliff in Taiwan, but it took a full 7 years for the product to start shifting more seriously when the Busch Gardens parks decided to change the style somewhat – from intimidating and mysterious to imposing crowdpleasers with inversions, splashdowns and even bigger track and trains.
China, much as I love it, wasn’t one for setting any industry trends in those days and soon said “we’ll have a couple of those cloned as well”, but the 2010s found new ground in the birth of the mini version. Europe put fear and theming back on the agenda in conjunction with tighter manoeuvres and the smaller trains, suddenly the order book for Dive Coasters was more full than it had ever been. It felt like Cedar Point marked a turning point in how enthusiasts (or perhaps just me) viewed these creations, with Valravn making silly boasts about the tallest, fastest and longest (of a specific manufacturer and model), only breaking those statistics by miniscule amounts and clearly just for the sake of easy marketing, while not doing anything more interesting with the design or layout. Suddenly the attitude became “oh no, not another dive” and though the last 5 years has seen the population of these double, the spark of excitement for them seems to be fizzling out.
Again that could just be me, I’m up to 12 out of 16 on the checklist with only 3 unique layouts left to try and feel like I’ve already seen everything that they have to offer. Hopefully Cedar Fair can still surprise me, but in the meantime let’s have a look at how the rest stack up.
#12 Valravn – Cedar Point (USA)
And here we are, the turning point itself. Valravn was a massive let down in all regards. The cars being a narrower eight-across rather than the usual ten for a Dive coaster that’s well in excess of 200ft tall had me believing, for a brief moment, that it would be nippier than other North American brethren. It was not, combining all of the worst aspects of the relative sluggishness that comes with a coaster of such scale with a jarringly unpleasant rattle that also made it the roughest and least entertaining of it’s type.
#11 Oblivion – Alton Towers (UK)
Hmmm.. apologies to all the Oblivion fans still out there, the original just doesn’t do it for me any more. Part of the blame can be laid on the park, who have managed to strip the attraction of all its atmosphere over the years. We can’t play the audio any more, we can’t show the queueline videos any more and we can’t use the holding brake as much. All that’s left is a big drop, which is admittedly still one of the best for doing what it does, and then the brake run. I like it enough, but it’s almost at flat ride status.
#10 Western Regions Heaven – Happy Valley Chengdu (China)
While I admire the aesthetic here, the layout leaves a lot to be desired. It borrows nearly all the features from the bigger brothers including the mid-course brake run, but this in particular seems entirely unjustified against both the pacing and the reduction in height (plus Happy Valley one train operations) to then just enter some uninteresting corners, the not overly spectator friendly water feature and end.
Similar issues on a different scale. I absolutely love the theming, preshow and presentation package of this coaster and I would have thought the short layout would lend itself to being potent and pacy. It somehow doesn’t though (space saving helix?) and the actual ride just isn’t punchy enough to seal the deal for me.
#8 Oblivion: The Black Hole – Gardaland (Italy)
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (the predictability of the ride type is beginning to kick in), the forces weren’t strong enough on this mid-sized installation. The theming didn’t land very well with me either, but overall it looks great, the views were spectacular and I admire the attempted airtime hill.
#7 Diving Coaster – Happy Valley Shanghai (China)
The first of the giants in the list. Truth be told there’s very little separating these few, and even the ones that came before. If there’s one word I’d use for these Dive Coasters it’s ‘solid’. As a Happy Valley resident this one was again plagued with operational issues that bothered me. The big drop is serious business, but the mid-course brakes were biting a little too hard (on the only train on track) for the second half to deliver in equal measure. Hold that thought.
#6 SheiKra – Busch Gardens Tampa (USA)
It’s fine, absolutely fine. Nothing more than that though. I think the only thing that puts this one above the previous clone in the list is the presentation of the splashdown area, which is particularly gorgeous. It’s amazing how much the Chinese park missed the mark on that feature when plonking it down in their own space and a true testament to how lazy cloning attractions can be.
#5 Griffon – Busch Gardens Williamsburg (USA)
It’s fine, absolutely fine. Nothing more than that though. I think the only thing that puts this one below the following clone in the list is the fact that the restraint put grease on my jeans. A mark that still remains today as a memory of better times.
#4 Draken – Gyeongju World (South Korea)
Oh, and the queue. This Korean cousin had a really nice exterior buliding, queueline and even a bit of storyline. It was also an absolute mission to get a ride on this one at all, making the reward feel all the greater.
#3 Dive Coaster – Chimelong Paradise (China)
Still holding that thought? Good. My original experience with the big boy edition remains my favourite. It didn’t stop at all on the mid course brakes and therefore had a much more powerful second drop, which was further enhanced by a tunnel and misters. Chimelong did a really good job of integrating this layout into the surroundings and operate it surprisingly well, two things I can’t say for that other Chinese one with the lazy name.
#2 Krake – Heide Park (Germany)
This sea monster taught me that these rides could have pace. While the larger versions have an impressive sustain in their drops, that’s the only real trick up their sleeve and they spend the rest of the time wandering around in a cumbersome fashion. Even with the risky use of an early splashdown, this one still delivers effectively in each subsequent element (however few there may be) and that airtime hill is the best of the bunch. Even though it’s amongst the smallest, Krake was also another long overdue masterclass in intimidation factor – just look at it (granted, that sky helps). Heide Park surpassed all my expections with this one and raised the standard by which I measured the genre. Oh, and it has a great soundtrack too.
#1 Valkyria – Liseberg (Sweden)
This marked the second time the Dive Coaster game changed for me. With a much more significant layout (and no pause for thought on any brake runs) Valkyria absolutely blasts its way through the course, providing several forces along the way that I previously believed these rides weren’t even capable of producing. Construction began at the aforementioned time when I thought I was over them and foolishly I didn’t even have faith in my own favourite park to pull off anything special with the hardware. They did of course, in spectacular fashion. I now love Liseberg even more for it. And no, I won’t hear a word against the vests. We can save that discussion for the Wing Coasters.
I was impressed with how solid the rollercoaster selection is at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. A common trend among larger amusement parks is having a glaringly disparate gap in quality between the one or two headline attractions and the large quantities of what I would call ‘filler’ for an enthusiast. You’re more than likely in this hobby to come across a lot of clones and experiences that aren’t unique to a park, so it’s refreshing to experience a lineup such as the following.
#9 Grover’s Alpine Express Due to its location, the smallest coaster in this park is often the first ride to open for the day, making it easy pickings for adding +1 to the count. While it is twinned with a ride at the other Busch Gardens park, at least the Zierer Force 190 is reasonably hard to come by.
#8 Tempesto The number of Premier Sky Rocket IIs in the world is growing at quite a rate and this is one of the newer installations, so it was a little disappointing to see it built here. It filled a very limited niche in the lineup when it was built, now nullified, by having both forwards and backwards direction of travel, and now multiple launches are already covered better multiple times elsewhere in the park. The main reason it’s a popular ride type to buy is most likely the tiny footprint and compact layout that still provides a high thrill level to the average guest. Sadly Tempesto has the worst restraints available for this model of ride the form of ‘comfort collars’. The restricting nature of these shoulder straps make the experience more of a chore, rather than something to enjoy.
#7 Loch Ness Monster Though it has somewhat legendary status as a classic ride of an earlier era, in todays terms Nessie isn’t a coaster I would describe as exciting. Arrow loopers can often lean towards being rough and ready due to their interestingly shaped track transitions and older technology, but this particular installation posed no issues to me whatsoever. In fact it was a rather amusing experience with a big square helix in a shed and a smaller second lift that seemed rather out of place. The interlocking loops are a great off-ride spectacle, it’s just that the layout itself has very little to offer.
#6 Griffon The other clone in the park comes in the form of this B&M dive coaster. It isn’t Busch Gardens fault however, as the other version arrived much later at a park in Korea, nor is it their fault that I happened to ride that version first. These are always solid fun, with a ride experience that generally centres around their one or two massive vertical drops. The drops themselves provide a well sustained out of the seat moment but due to the sheer size of the track and trains the remainder of the layout can often feel a little slow and meandering. Griffon is no exception to this, but it is a good looking ride – the well positioned splashdown section provides an impressive off-ride experience as well.
#5 Invadr I’ve found that GCI are at their best when their rides are huge so that they can really make the most of the relentless sensations they are capable of creating. Invadr is small for its type and yet still manages to pack a certain punch, though perhaps nothing on the scale of an equivalent sized Gravity Group, but it still means that Invadr is worth several laps of good fun. One of the features I enjoy most about these rides is the unpredictable forces that come out of their unusually shaped corner transitions. On certain GCIs these have been nowhere to be found, but they were back and in plentiful supply within the layout here. The ride looks great from outside the entrance, but leaves a little to be desired in the barren landscape that surrounds the majority of the track.
#4 Alpengeist B&M inverts used to be one of my favourite ride types. The first few that I encountered were all smooth, stupidly intense and offered well varied layouts so I was firmly of the belief that you could’t go wrong with one of these. I did eventually stumble upon a few that didn’t meet any of the above criteria. It turns out it is possible for some to ride rather poorly, lack intensity or have the monotony of repeating the same elements, in order. Alpengeist suffered mainly from the first of these. On the day I experienced it, this did ride poorly, particularly towards the back of the train and in the outside seats (usually the most enjoyable positions) with an unpleasant rattle that, although perfectly tolerable, detracted from the performance somewhat. The layout is very refreshing, with the huge swooping downwards spiral that turns far more than your average first drop and the following unique inversion sequence. After the mid course brake run however, the ride ran out of steam to the point of hilarity. We couldn’t help but laugh when Alpengeist was almost travelling at a walking pace through the final turns that dangle your feet over the fake snow trenches carved into the landscape. Speaking of the landscape, the attention to detail in the theming of this ride is wonderful and I really did appreciate the overall aesthetic it provides. It’s a shame the hardware couldn’t match that standard on this occasion.
#3 Apollo’s Chariot The main aim of most hyper coasters is to provide you with a plentiful supply of large hills and a great deal of speed with which to experience them. In an ideal world, these hills will be trying to kick you up out of your seat and the B&M train design for these rides has an almost unrivalled sense of openness and freedom which can only enhance that sensation. Apollo’s Chariot pulls this off a fair few times, but sadly not quite every hill is a hit. The strongest moment of the ride turned out to be the exit of the mid course brake run which angles back to a steep drop much faster than any of the camelback sections of track and provides a great surprise moment of ejection for riders.
Another challenge in designing rides of this scale is keeping things interesting in between the signature hills, finding a good way to transition from one element to another. Most notable in this layout is the turnaround, which is a very long, flat, banked corner that offers nothing to riders other than a means to get them and the train facing in the right direction to head back to the station. Moments like this always bug me as it feels like wasted potential and one of my most sought after characteristics of a ride is that it doesn’t give you any time to stop and think. That corner aside, Apollo’s Chariot is one of the better B&Ms hypers that I have ridden and although the frequency is just a little too low for my liking, in the moments it does deliver, it delivers well.
#2 Verbolten I have to admit that I was surprised to walk away from Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2019 with Verbolten as my favourite ride in the park. This attraction is usually billed as somewhat more of a family-thrill adventure as opposed to the many taller and faster offerings that surround it, but the ride experience contains a good number of factors that set it apart from the rest of the lineup for me. The queueline, station and overall theming is on the same level as the strongest examples in the park with particular little details like the number plates on the trains all having unique references to elements of the current ride and in one case, the retired ride that once operated where Verbolten stands today.
Beyond the station, the ride has the most extensively themed coaster section of any in the park with a large show building containing the most significant portion of the layout. The train initially takes you wandering into the forest before hitting the first launch, which thrusts you into this building with a surprising amount of gusto. It’s completely dark inside to begin with and you cannot see that the launch track ends in a hill and corner transition that provided me with wickedly fierce and out of control airtime moment before it navigates some tight corners with strong positive forces. The building begins to light up with various themed effects around you as the train continues its journey into an apparent dead end!? Verbolten is one of few rides in the world with a section of drop track. The train comes to a complete stop and one of (I believe) three sequences begins with the lighting and scenery again, one of which, pays homage to the ride’s predecessor ‘Big Bad Wolf’. The train and track section drop together in unison with a gleefully powerful moment of surprise airtime, usually only enhanced by the anticipation and reaction of unsuspecting riders around you – a real crowd pleasing scare element.
The ride picks up a pace again as you leave the building from here and enter a second launch track. My main gripe with the layout comes here in that it doesn’t use this multi launch aspect (usually one of my absolute favourite elements on any ride) to any significant effect. All the energy is immediately sapped from the train again by a single uphill section into the next trick. The trick itself involves crossing a bridge that appears to be collapsing beneath you and a significant drop follows, leading you into some final turns back towards the station, unfortunately again with somewhat less vigour than the immensely strong first half of the ride. Overall I loved Verbolten. It’s a very special attraction and it stands out as the most complete ride experience package in the park and is certainly, so far, the best ride Zierer have ever made.
#1 Pantheon
New for the 2022 season, after a particularly agonising series of delays, Busch Gardens Williamsburg finally opened their Intamin multi-launch coaster. We had known this was coming ever since the previous visit in 2019 and, for various obvious reasons, it took 3 years both for us to visit again and for the park to be able to construct and sign off the attraction. It was wholly worth the wait as by sheer merit of the ride type alone, Pantheon slots comfortably into position as best coaster in the park, the headliner. The comfort of the trains, the modern quirky elements and the moments of serious airtime all blend together into a world class coaster experience, and one that is exactly the sort of thing that keeps me on my travels.
The ride was full of pleasant surprises, but also had its fair share of minor flaws. The very existence of the initial launch and inversion had managed to escape my knowledge and gave Pantheon a very strong start, reminiscent of another world-beating Intamin. From this moment it does get a little messy and convoluted however, with a very abrupt change of pace followed by the signature triple launch section. This segment undoubtedly provides some fantastic moments, the bursts of acceleration over what is essentially a speed bump and the weightlessness of that intimidating vertical spike, but I find it’s hard to gel with the flow of the overall experience with all this starting and stopping going on. This also comes at the price that once the ride does get fully going and takes all the biggest, hardest hitting elements, it then hits the final brakes very suddenly. None of that can take away from the power of the top hat, beyond vertical drop and banked airtime hill however, which all seal the deal on a spectacular package. My surprise favourite moment in fact came from the backwards launch when seated in the front row. The violent nature with which this chucks you over the mid-launch hill is very special and unlike anything else I’ve experienced.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg already had a very impressive lineup, but it just got even better.
At last we reach the end of this 50 year series. Things have come an extremely long way from Gold Rusher in 1971. It’s not an entirely happy ending though. Of course with a worldwide pandemic going on, rollercoaster construction took a significant downturn with around 40% less opening across the planet compared to the previous year. There were still a surprisingly high quantity of new builds in historical terms however, matching the same sort of numbers we were seeing just a decade ago. The hardest hit were some of the most major projects which would have been planned out for several years, with many either deciding or being forced to defer and this is also evident in the overall quality of the lineup today.
The other issue here is that I barely even have 10 rides to my name that were built in 2020. Both the travel restrictions and recency of the builds mean I simply haven’t had the chance to seek enough of these out. In fact it’s a good thing that I have dragged this series on so long now, with just under a week until I ride my first new for 2022 coaster, as I wouldn’t even have been able to fill the list back when this idea all started.
#10 Erdbeer Raupenbahn – Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Koserow/Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Zirkow (Germany)
You know it’s a desperate situation when the list begins with a children’s coaster, the ubiquitous Wacky Worm no less. We haven’t started with something of this scale since 1996. These strawberry flavoured worms are particularly fine examples of the model and we had a great and memorable day riding four of them at different Karls parks in Germany over many, many miles.
#9 Hummel Brummel – Schwaben Park (Germany)
I’d be half tempted to put the next two behind the worm, but I have to at least acknowledge that they offer a rarer experience in the grand scheme of things. I didn’t get the point of Hummel Brummel and I’d also struggle to call it a rollercoaster with the way it behaves. Better stop talking about it before I do myself out of a cred.
#8 Roller Ball – Wiener Prater (Austria)
And while these are a bit more legit, they’re just so dull. Controlled braking at every turn sucks the life out of what very little movement is going on anyway. I think inherently there’s nothing to be done for them without introducing another dimension, but other rides have those anyway.
#7 Max + Moritz – Efteling (Netherlands)
Disappointing, for Efteling, I have to say. While it was nice to see the comeback of the Mack powered coaster, I feel like nothing was done here to progress it forwards in any way, with some very lacklustre layout design and not even what appeared to be good attention to the way that this pair duels. Instead it relies solely on the charms of station theming and onboard audio, which are undeniably the saviours here.
#6 Volldampf – Erlebnispark Tripsdrill (Germany)
This goat paid plenty of attention to interaction in the way that it weaves through the layout of the adjacent suspended coaster and even bursts through it’s roof at the end (not that there was a roof at my time of riding). I rather enjoyed the more linear approach to the junior boomerang design here, favouring those humps and bumps, particularly in the backwards direction, over drawn out turns.
#5 Wakala – Bellewaerde (Belgium)
This ride had such a sense of fun to it, from the catchy dispatch theme to the way it teasingly accelerates up the second lift hill. There’s plenty going on here, from weird and wonky track elements to the tricks at the end with a reverse spike and switch track. A real crowd pleaser and another fine example of Gerstlauer continuing to nail these lower-key installations.
The dawn of the Vekoma Suspended Thrill Coaster conjured up many dreams of a world entering a new age, one in which we no longer had to live in fear of their dreaded Suspended Looping Coaster. This first example wasn’t quite pitched at the same level of extremity however and seems more suited to bridge the gap between their increasingly popular family model and infamous classic death machine. The lap bars are highly welcome of course and it has some decently forceful moments, though the inversion sequence is rather repetitive and struggles to let the ride break away from that meandering feeling.
#3 Vertika – La Récré des 3 Curés (France)
It was great to see a new Eurofighter layout appear out of nowhere and put this little known French park on the map for us. It did leave me wondering why lap bars aren’t default on these models now as we certainly know they are possible. Aside from that minor misfortune, Vertika is a great and re-rideable coaster with a well rounded selection of elements.
#2 Gesengte Sau – Wiener Prater (Austria)
One of the finest Gerstlauer Bobsled creations to date combines a fun and quirky theme with a stacked compact layout full of everything you could wish for from one of these. A true gem in an overwhelmingly underwhelming lineup of coasters at Wiener Prater and a real surprise hit.
#1 F.L.Y. – Phantasialand (Germany)
And so Vekoma are getting their first win since 1992, once again spurred on by the surroundings. While this was nowhere near as effective of a ride layout as I had hoped it would be, I can’t deny the sheer spectacle of F.L.Y., nor how much I enjoyed witnessing the technology at play. The way the trains transition themselves from loading to flying and vice versa is totally inspired and I have to admit it somewhat blew my mind. I’m glad the boundaries have been pushed, but I think the limiting factor here was the setting. Being yet another heavily themed Phantasialand multi-launch coaster left no room for the types of elements I love to see on other flying coasters and so we basically got Taron again, in a less comfortable format. What a glowing review for the best coaster of the year (for now), had to end the series in style!
It’s interesting that in the absence of any of the familiar manufacturers we’ve seen at the business end of this series, Vekoma and Gerstlauer were doing all the heavy lifting. The two safe bets for the year however were the big B&Ms, Candymonium and Orion. Though I already have experience with loving the layout of Forest Predator, the fact that it has backwards seats could be totally game changing. I still can’t quite believe that I had planned to ride Launch Roller Coaster during a trip in 2018 and it has taken until now, of all years, to actually open. These S&S air launchers with actual layouts are usually the bomb. It’s hard not to remember the time when speculation said that Pitts Special was a layout extension for Junker and not a coaster in it’s own right. Need to see what that’s all about. Shred the Sewers snuck up out of nowhere, can’t say no to an Intamin launch coaster with the added bonus of that indoor interaction. Texas Stingray was the only wooden coaster able to open as far as I’m aware, good old GCI. The construction of West Coast Racers was the reason I missed a different GCI during my visit to Magic Mountain, so more than double the revenge to have there with these exciting looking racing coasters. Wrath of Zeus is yet another of these amazing looking Vekomas that I will always have my doubts about now, but it won’t stop me from trying.
I’m sure plenty of that lot would make a reasonably solid 10 to be fair, I’ll be sure to revisit this particular list at some point, along with any others that might see a significant change in the years to come. It’s been fun.
