Yesterday, favorites Apollo's Chariot, from Busch Gardens Europe, and Disneyland's Haunted Mansion cruised to easy wins. Cedar Point's Raptor upset fellow B&M coaster Nitro, from Six Flags Great Adventure. And Disneyland's Matterhorn rode the votes of anonymous Disney fans to eliminated higher-seeded Mystery Mine, from Dollywood, to the consternation of yesterday's commentators.
As always, I ask you to take a look at the comments below *before* casting your votes. (Early voters, get the campaigning going by submitting a comment.) Thoughtful votes help make this a better tournament.
Today, we start with really, really tall iron, as Cedar Point's Millennium Force takes on Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka.
It's Six Flags versus Cedar Point again in the second match, this time with Six Flags Over Georgia's Goliath facing off against Cedar Point's Magnum XL-200.
Two newer Bolliger & Mabillard coasters vie for your votes in or third match-up today, Six Flags Magic Mountain's flying coaster Tatsu and Busch Gardens Africa's floorless dive coaster SheiKra.
We haven't forgotten Disney fans today. It's an all-California match-up, as California Adventure's California Screamin' takes on the original Soarin' Over California from the same park.
To the comments!
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Can't go wrong with Magnum XL2000 the first Coaster that truly scared me.
Sheikra I hope makes it to at least the elite 8 if not the Final 4, hands down one of my favorite rides around.
Gotta go with Sorin over California Screaming, one of the best themepark experiences you can have.
I would also like to note that, despite what Disney apparently believes, the letter "g" is not illegal in California.
Magnum reminds me a lot of my local hyper, the Mamba, however Goliath looks a lot like Apollo's Chariot. Gonna go with Goliath...but it won't matter cause Millennium Force is gonna whip whichever wins in the next round.
I have never ridden either Tatsu or Shiekra, but I did ride Griffon and voted for it as well. So I am gonna take Tatsu here - it looks like a very fun and unique coaster. In the long run, it won't matter cause neither is in my Final Four.
Finally, California Screamin' may be the 5th longest coaster in the US, and the 8th longest in the world, but Snorin'...errr, I mean...Soarin', for all its faults, is still an entertaining attraction that is accessible to the entire family. I look forward to Soarin' and MF squaring off in a few rounds....if the Disney Army can pull that upset off, they can accomplish almost anything.
I will argue to the death that Soarin' beats Screamin'. The queue line is covered, somewhat themed, and air conditioned (not to mention it features a great intro from Patrick Warburton). The ride can be experienced by all ages. I think the cinematography, despite your objections, is very well done. I don't find the subjects are too far away - I think it just offers a nice panoramic view of the surroundings. And I'm not sure why you dislike the music. Sure, it's generic, but so is most theme park music. If Screamin' takes Soarin', I'll be shocked. If nothing else, Soarin' is innovative and exhilarating, and is the only relatively thrilling ride I can get my mother on.
Millennium will take Ka no problem. MF is near brilliant, while Kingda is pretty much a clone of a ride that also pales in comparison to MF.
I hope Magnum takes Goliath, as Magnum is the best ride at the Point (IMHO).
I do love Sheikra, but it really dies after the first couple of drops. Tatsu should take it.
I went with Tatsu over Sheikra. I think that the Busch vertical drop coasters are overrated. There aren't many B&M flying machines around..I wish there were more.
Went with Soarin over California Screamin. California screamin is pretty generic...especially for Disney. There are several coasters at Magic Mountain and Knotts that provide more "screamin". Soarin at least is an original concept.
Believe it or not, I prefer Magnum. It a little bumpy and rough - but you can feel every mile per hour. In a sense Millenium is so smooth that you don't feel like you are going that fast. It's like going 100mph in a Mercedes compared to 80mph in a Corvette Stingray.
Magnum is a classic, but I feel, that Steel Force in Dorney is the better ride. Being the Hypercoaster homer that I am, I have to go with Goliath.
The third pairing is the hardest. These are both great coasters. However, if I had to ride just one in the day, it would have to be Sheikra. You can't go wrong.
The last group is a joke. These are both overrated and hugely disappointing Disney attractions. On top of Robert's comments on its' flaws, the thing that bothers me the most on Soarin' is that it has cuts. Those stupid cuts make it more obvious that you are watching a cheap movie instead of feeling like you are immersed into a ride. Previous simulators, at least, have a straight throughline for the on-ride film. This does not. It is also barely a ride with the only exciting part being the lift-off. Also, unless your are in the front row, you see a bunch of dangling feet. A poorly designed attraction. Screamin' isn't a great coaster by any stretch of the imagination but at least it is a ride. So, in this pairing it wins by default.
Today's vote caused me much less heartburn.
Although I have never ridden Tatsu, and I love Sheikra, I have been told that Tatsu is the most amazing flying coaster experience - especially at the top of the "magic" mountain. My vote went to Tatsu. (although I love the new floorless Sheikra!)
Millenium was easy. There's no contest here. That coaster is still one of the absolute best.
And little Magnum? That thing holds up after all these years. I think it was built in 1989 and it still gives me thrills, plenty of airtime, a few screams and a HUGE grin on my face. Despite Goliath's awesome ride, Magnum is the one.
I love both Screamin' and Soarin', but Soarin' is just so unique and enjoyable - I went with Soarin'.
Did I mention I'm still angry about Mystery Mine?
I was actually thinking of a tournament solely for those who have been registered for at least one year. Just curious to see the outcome then.
But I am getting interested in having a polling tool that allows me to capture additional information, such as whether you are registered or not, then cross-tabbing that with the results. (Sorry, to go all stats geek on you, there.)
That way, everyone can vote, but I could publish what the results were among registrants/non-registrants, people from various parts of the country, etc.
Frankly, that'd be a PITA to build, but might be worth it once the polls get more votes.
Refusing to vote for the other attractions since I think it would be silly to vote for those that I've never ridden. I'll leave the voting to those that have.
Uh oh. The animosity builds!
This tournament has us all pumped and jittery!
Speaking of Soarin' (& Airplane!), did I mention that I picked the wrong week to stop drinking, smoking, sniffing glue, and taking amphetamines?
Full Disclosure: I picked it over Soarin' because I figured the coaster freaks would boost it's prospects. Looks like I was wrong.
If today's battles hold I will be a somewhat ugly eight out of twelve. But, in my defense, I did pick Mystery Mine over the Matterhorn.
Yeah, right! Let me tell ya about the lines belonging to a little attraction called "Soarin'"
90 minutes of waiting for about 35 seconds of fun.
Okay ... I'm bitter.
PS Don't look now, but Goliath is making a big push in the final minutes of the game.....
For this round, MF was a no brainer for me over Kingda Ka. MF is still my all around favorite ride at Cedar Point and when I make my annual (or so) trek there and stay on site, it is the ride I run to for the early-entry-into-CP-for-onsite-guests benefit, so I can ride it 2, 3 (or sometimes 4) times before the general public starts filling up the line.
Magnum was a great ride initially, but it really needs some work. Goliath, on the other hand, gives me lots of that airtime that I really crave.(Although I really wish Six Flags would stop using the same name for completely different coasters at different parks. Goliath at La Ronde (similar to Georgia's Goliath [four across seating] but an out and back with possibly the best airtime ever [note to James Rao: it's like taking the first two hills of Mamba and making 10 of them in a row]), Goliath at Magic Mountain (2 across seating, taller, different layout), and Goliath at Fiesta Texas - which is Batman The Ride with a different name. (Why decide to call it something different at this park? Sure they did at La Ronde, but then the names mostly in French at that Montreal park...) My vote went to Goliath.
I gave props to Tatsu. Having ridden two clones of Six Flags Superman Ultimate Flight, and thinking, ehh... I wasn't expecting much. Tatsu is what a flying coaster should be. Especially since as you go up the lift hill, MM's mountain is dropping away from you making the peak an incredible distance from the ground below (170 feet staring straight down vs 106 on SUF). Shreika was great initially, then bested by Griffon.
Finally Soarin' vs Screamin'. I agree that Screamin' disappointed and I figured the universal appeal of Soarin' would push it forward - hence my vote.
I'm ready for today's match ups!
(Thanks Robert for the tournament again, for considering ways to improve it for loyal TPI readers, and for the site in general. It is my only RSS feed at work.)
Someday....
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