That place was probably the reason I love parks today. Blue Streak was my first "big" coaster, and we used to ride it all day. It's crazy that I find myself missing that place anytime that it's mentioned.
Lmao. NO2h, your comment cracked me up coz its funny and true. I grew up in PA, and went there a few times about 40 yrs ago. I liked the tall rug slide. I heard about the owner being a P.O.S. and he had to sell it. The new owner got rid of many rides, and refurbished many of the other rides, and they tried to make a comeback, but after re - opening for 1 season a few yrs ago, they gave up and closed it down. They had many neighbors and other volunteers who cleaned the place up and removed old shrubs and trees and re- planted all new trees and fixed up the plants and gardens. I could be wrong, and maybe you can help clear things up for me. But, i heard that the coaster caught on fire, and they rebuilt that section and fixed the track. I forget if it burned down before or after they rebuilt it, and then it burned down and they said tear it down for good. Thanks.
@@glenpolen5562 Yeah. Rumor is that the new owner wanted it gone to make some sort of development but couldn’t since the park was declared a historical site. But he got around it anyways by basically setting up the park to fail. Blue streak burning down was supposedly an accident but I don’t know many people who actually believe that.
Wooden roller coasters have more give than steel coasters. They're noisy and feel like they're alive. I love Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure the most, as there is a lot of floater airtime. Sit in the back, and you get ejector airtime on the first drop.
@@kagome122885 I love it too, it's really the only great coaster we have here in Michigan, but it was enough to make me fall in love with roller coasters
Blue Streak was the most sketch coaster I ever rode. Even as a kid riding it in the late 80s it was sketchy. It's crazy that I actually miss it though. I would head to Conneaut once a year to reunite with the coaster that began my love of coasters. The first "big" coaster I ever rode. Now it's gone. I have great memories of that place with my friends and family.
FINALLY! Someone else recognizes how shit that coaster is, the restraints are a joke...so much ejector airtime that it feels legit unsafe and the jerkiness kills your neck. EDIT: Apparently you're not talking about the Cedar Point one...still my point stands.
The retracking done on goldstriker absolutely fixed it, it’s SO smooth now and running super well! I went to CGA (which is my home park) like 20-30 times this year and marathoned goldstriker getting an amazing ride every single time
It's smooth in the first 1/3rd and last 1/3rd, but the middle is very rough. It's not terrible in the front, but in the middle-to-back I have to hold on to brace myself, when Id normally keep my hands up above my head
Never ride it before this year, but on my many rides this year I have found it to be sufficiently smooth to reride over and over, and I am pretty sensitive to roughness (I'm 63 years old). It does give me a headache after about 4 rides, due to the nature and resonant frequency of the remaining roughness, so I have to take a brief break. However, for me, reride-ability and comfort figures highly into my own personal ranking for coasters, and this one is in my top 20 of almost 200 ridden. The seat cushions are soft and ample, so that helps. Definitely hold up the lapbar while riding to get best airtime. Last visit, I counted 12 discreet moments of solid airtime, equal to GhostRider and more than Apocalypse, which only has about 9 relatively weak moments. It's a terrific ride.
I rode Thunderhead in June of this year and it was INSANELY smooth, the entire thing. My absolute favorite wooden coaster. I rode that thing at least 10 times in a single day and never had a bad ride, front center and back. They were great rides!
Thunderhead is hilarious because the transition from old track to new track was so huge. Went from a jackhammering mess to a flying carpet. It always managed to be just bearable for me, as by the time I was ready to talk out the ride went into the new track.
@@deancornett4432 It's definitely a great ride. Rode it a bunch when I was at Dollywood earlier this year. But yeah if the whole ride was like the first half it would be unbearable.
According to my cousin, who’s the attraction manager at Dollywood, there are two sections of Thunderhead still needing to be retracked: the area of track in front of the station and the turnaround into the fly-through station, and a section he called ‘sector 453’. So they are planning on fixing the roughness.
Thunderhead wasn't that bad IMO. The Beast at KI was horrible before the retrack. It blows my mind that people praise that ride but complain that Thunderhead is too rough
Big Updates. The Beast after the 2022 retrack is amazing! Grizzly had a major retrack overhaul during the winter, including rebuilding the lift hill , can't wait to ride it this summer. MineBlower at Fun Spot Kissimmee is getting RMC Ibox retracking! Great American Scream Machine was fun, rode it a few weeks ago. The last quarter of the ride coming back to the station was a bit janky but I was kinda like that's ok.
Rest in Peace Blue Streak, you were an awesome ride. I marathoned that ride once, 6 times in a row. Airtime was nice and you learn to stop caring about the roughness after a while.
Great video! I've ridden Son of Beast and the Beast. I rode on Son of Beast in 2001 about a year after it opened and didn't think it was too rough. I've ridden the Beast a lot of different years and never thought it was too rough. It's nice to hear about the improvements on it. Ive thought for years the Racer was rough and thought of it as a one and done ride for the trip anytime I rode it.
@@miked509 They did a retracking as well as a beautiful paint job on The Racer for the 50th anniversary season at Kings Island. That roller coaster is JUST WONDERFUL.
@@timothykaczmarek5871 Yeah that sounds great. I haven't ridden it in a few years. I had always thought of it as a one and done ride and have heard others say the same.
I rode Son of Beast in 2002 and 2004, and that was the ROUGHEST wooden roller coaster I ever rode. It was worse than the original Rattler and Mean Streak.
Love seeing comments from people who had a soft spot for Blue Streak. That was my mom's first coaster when she was a kid, and me and my brother's first coaster, too. Started my love for coasters, but I was terrified every time I rode that ride lol. My mom passed away recently and we spread her ashes at Conneaut. The piles of Blue Streak wreckage were still there, walked around most of the layout, pretty insane to see. Helped myself to a piece of the ride that I keep out on display now.
I miss the Blue Streak at CLP and I despise what was done with the park (don't get me started on Cedar Fair and Geauga Lake). As for my roughest, Son of Beast is the only coaster to give me chest pains. Mean Streak was like riding in an earthquake. Coney Island Cyclone beat me to a pulp.
Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake was the roughest I have ridden, but somehow I loved it for that. I was young, and it was fun seeing your friends get bashed around on it.
Hades 360 was the biggest surprise of my coaster road-trip this year. It definitely was rough, but that may have enhanced it for me. A night ride on Hades 360, especially the section under the parking lot, is unbelievable. Top 5 coaster for me.
Hurler at Kings Dominion was the roughest roller coaster I've ridden. Thank goodness RMC fixed the whole thing. The roughest ride I've ridden that's currently operating is Wildcat at Lake Compounce.
Ah yes, the Blue Streak at CLP. I think that coaster is the very reason I have a high tolerance for wooden coasters. My aunt used to have a cabin that was a short walk away from the park, so I spent many summers riding it. Of course, it was only during the years that the park actually opened since they had so many years of dealing with bankruptcy. RIP!
Hi Ian, i grew up in PA. My parents took me and my sister there about 40 yrs ago. We liked it. It wasnt KENNYWOOD PARK, but still fun. I heard about the p.o.s owner. Then the new owners tried getting it up and running, but it didnt do well its first season, and they closed it for good. I liked the coaster. It wasnt the jackrabbit, But still fun. Lol. I heard the new owners really tried to make it work. Did they have a GOFUNDME PAGE? I heard they had some type of donation that the neighbors contributed to. The neighbors and volunteers cleaned the park. Refurbished rides, made the plants and gardens nice, and took out old trees. They added more benches. Lol. I liked the coaster, but did they re fix it and then it burned in a section so, they scrapped it? Thanks.
@@glenpolen5562 the people who were running conneaut park, before the guy who currently owns it, really did a good job. They turned a profit for a couple consecutive years and even began adding attractions. They put all kind of work into the small water park and I’m pretty sure that’s how they achieved the profit. It was probably the most popular part of conneaut lake park during those years. I was expecting them to eventually fix up buildings and pathways. I really don’t know why they decided to sell to the current guy but I would assume he just wanted the lakeside land for whatever business he wants to put there.
@@iangraham6351 Hi Ian, i forgot all about the waterpark that they put in. Thanks for reminding me. I did hear they did good with it. Great comment buddy, Thanks. I hated swimming in their lake. The dam rocks on the bottom sucked. Killed my feet. I know it is a great Fishing spot. Im not sure if the big white hotel is still there or not. It used to be big time back in the days . I think VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE stayed there. I heard that it was haunted. I think i even watched a ghost hunting show about it a few yrs ago. Did you hear anything about it being haunted.
Grizzly at Kings Dominion got refurbished last year (2023) on the 1st half of the ride. It is smooth enough to cause you to let your guard down, and then...WHAM! WELCOME TO PAIN TOWN!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought this. I thought they said they were doing MOST of the ride. I guess they didn’t. Ride still sucks as of August 2024.
The roughest wooden Coaster of all time to me is Mean Streak. You never know how long that coaster really was until you get whiplash after the 2nd hill lol. Seeing this list makes me want to give so much love to Kennywood for keeping their old-school woodies buttery smooth after all these years.
As someone who rode both mean streak, and blue streak, blue streak was 100 times worse than mean streak. Blue Streak is the most sketch coaster I've ever been on. Even when I was a kid, that coaster was sketchy, and that was in the late 80s.
I'm with you. Mean Streak wasn't terribly bad in the front, but the back was a different story. I was begging to get off when I reached the midcourse, and while the airtime provided a little relief from the roughness, there wasn't enough of it to redeem the ride.
Mean streak was my roughest coaster ever, actually the worst coaster I have ever ridden. If you have ever snapped a flyers ride and you get the seat rest to slam into your back, do that about 79 times a minute for the duration of the prime ride time on Mean Streak. I never wanted off a coaster as bad as I wanted off of Mean Streak.
I've always described Hades as an endurance test, but in a good way. While it is rough, the incredible variety of forces it provides (especially the great airtime of varying length and intensity) make it worthwhile.
I rode it twice in 2019, and it definitely was a jackhammering experience. It's fun, but you can't ride it again and again without a break, it's too much.
I went to Dollywood for my first time this year, and as much as I absolutely adored Thunderhead (so much so that it's still in my top ten), I can agree that it's pretty rough. While I could stomach three consecutive back row rides on it, it's definitely a difficult ride to marathon (especially if you're dehydrated) in the state it's currently in. Like you said, a little bit of retracking on the first half would do wonders for it.
What it will just be rough in four years I first visited Dollywood and wondered why I had a headache it was rough then and now even in some retracked sections
Only three rides stand out to me as super rough: 3. Thunderhead (2021) - Jackhammering through the entire layout. Called it ‘thump your head’ afterwards. Rode it again this year and the second half was much smoother. 2. The Beast (2021) - I have a lot of respect for this coaster but my god. After the first drop it bounced all the way to the brake shed. It definitely needed that retracking. 1. Grizzly (KD) (2022) - What an awful coaster. Not only is the layout boring and stupid but whenever it goes above 10 miles per hour it just knocks you around like you’re in a dryer. Currently stands as my least favorite coaster. Surprised to see Renegade on here, got a few rides on it last month and thought it ran pretty well. Great video!
my no 1 roughest coaster is also a woodie, it's bandit at movie park germany (2010), it was so incredibly painful i swear it could leave guests with a hernia. For steel coasters it's Draken at Energylandia, I know it's a kiddy coaster but it's so incredibly rough it genuinly leave you in pain. I was crying of laughter on how painful it was. I have heard that the wildmouse there is worse, glad i didnt ride that. For the bigger it'd be the original SLC Condor, but they recently got new restraints so it isn't as bad, but it still hurts my back. Limit at Heide Park does not have these new restraints yet so you get backpain and headbanging. I think if you'd make a steel variant of this list it's gonna be filled with arrow and vekoma coasters ngl.
Good topic. Me and my family seem to have a special love for wooden coasters. What's funny is that we also rode Renegade this year but we had a different experience. We didn't find it that rough and it made it into all of our top 20. I wonder if we just caught it on a good day. We did find High Roller (the other ValleyFair woodie) to be absolutely terrible and extremely rough. I do agree Outlaw at Adventureland is getting rough and I hope now that the park is owned by Palace it will get some of the love the old Kennywood woodies got. Because when it was smoother I thought it was a hidden gem. Love your channel. Thanks for all the content!
Just the fact that Chris experienced all this deserves a like. No video needed, but much appreciated, of course. I've ridden 12 woodies so I guess I'll rank them from smoothest to roughest: 13. Lightning Rod - Not much of a woodie anymore, but if you want to count it, here you go. Very smooth. (roughness: 1) 12. Cannon Ball - Now THIS is how a PTC should feel! Despite being over 50 years old, it still runs very smooth. (roughness: 2) 11. The Racer - Apparently they retracked this recently, and it shows. Sucks that the ride auto-staples you, though. (roughness: 2) 10. Mystic Timbers - When you aren't thinking about the roughness on a woodie, you know it's smooth. (roughness: 2) 9 & 8. Woodstock Express (KI and Carowinds) - They're pretty comparable. They shake but run slow so it's not nearly as bad as it would be if it were a full-size woodie. (roughness: 3) 7. White Lightning - It got a bit rougher, but not enough to make it any less enjoyable. (roughness: 3) 6. Thunderhead - Definitely some roughness, but the couch seats help. (roughness: 5) 5. The Beast (2022 retrack) - It's VERY bouncy in a few sections, but otherwise is decently smooth. Props to KI! (roughness: 5) 4. Hurler - Quite rumbly. Definitely takes away some of the fun. (roughness: 6) 3. Mine Blower - Actually gives me a headache now. Very fun otherwise, however its roughness is the reason I prefer White Lightning. (roughness: 7) 2. Scream Machine - This was 2021 before they closed it for the retrack. Hopefully that makes it better because this ride is terrible. They trimmed it so hard the airtime is minimal, and it still runs rough. It could be so much better, look at The Racer! (roughness: 9) 1. Cheetah - Roughness that felt illegal. Roughness that would've had lasting effects had I been 20 years older. Roughness that felt like the train would fall off the tracks. Sad, because it seemed to be fun if it wasn't rough. RIP Cheetah, but also good riddance! (roughness: 10)
Oh ok this will be a fun video to watch. I love listening to other enthusiast picking on coaster haha and the roughest wooden coaster I have been on was Wolverine wildcat but the titan track part was good
Correct! The Beast retracking is incredible. I used to skip this ride and now I can ride 3 in a row. The trick is also to not sit in a car on top of a wheel.
I rode Gold Striker about a month ago and it was still super rough. The first drop was completely smooth but the rest of the ride was just as rough as I remember, if not more so. I don't understand the people who think it's smooth now. Did we even ride the same coaster?
I've only ridden a little over 60 coasters but I know the pain Great American Scream Machine gives very well. I rode it around in 2017 when I was around 12 years old and it made me cry because it hurt so bad!
Nice list! For me, the most painful experience ever on a wooden coaster was on Ghostrider before the re-track. At some point along the way, the jackhammering caused a nerve to pinch in my back. I was in so much pain that I had tears in my eyes when the train rolled back into the station. What a contrast from the early '00s when it was my #1 wooden coaster.
The only two wooden coasters that come to mind for roughness to me are Racer at Kings Island in 2018 (the retrack did make it a lot smoother) and KD's Grizzly. That darn near snapped my spine.
I've heard Gold Striker was bad before. But 2021 was fantastic, and this season it was running better than it ever had before. I think it just shows how intense the coaster is. It's already getting some of it's rough spots back, not terrible at all, but you can start to feel them again. It just runs so aggressively. I compare it to Voyage's spaghetti bowl and return trip. It's just straight, pedal to the metal speed, airtime, and intensity.
Lake compounce is my home park. Wildcat is absolutely awful. The first drop and pullout are miraculously fine, but after that, it's terrible. The retracking didn't help it at all, I think it made it worse actually. I would suggest riding it once for the credit and then never again.
When I was a kid, I thought Renegade (Valleyfair) was the roughest thing ever, and didn't like it... I got re-rides and it's much better, even though the roughness was probably the same Also if you want a back row experience without the pain, do row 11, it's the same but smoother
Speaking of Kennywood, Racer is getting repainted and it’s getting some retracking! We take such good care of our ancient woodies, although Thunderbolt was rough a few years back but it was addressed and fixed.
5 more years and we get to celebrate Racer turning 100! 2 years until sections of Thunderbolt turn 100. It's crazy and wonderful to think that we'll almost have 3 century old coasters - depending on how you count Thunderbolt's reworking in the 60's.
The retrack of the Grand National has it running acceptably, it’s never going to be butter smooth (conversions aside) but it did show up how rough Big Dipper has become, I would hope for a 100th anniversary retrack but they’re open so late and then so early in the year now (weekends only for a lot, but Feb to Dec) there’s not enough time.
Awesome video! Although I’ve not ridden most of the coasters on the list, based off of general opinions in the coaster community, I agree with your points. However, I rode Thunderhead earlier this year and though it was very smooth, given that it’s a gci from 2004.
I can confirm that the new Titan track on Predator at Darien Lake has made the ride WAY more enjoyable. It's still bumpy but far from "painful" like it was before
I'm so glad I stumbled on your channel looking at Knoebels rides, I'd somehow never heard of Kennywood before now! Next time we head to Pittsburgh I know where we have to stop, 100 year old wooden coaster sounds like a must-ride.
Regarding Psyclone at Magic Mountain: 1. It already had a strike on it for being a Dinn creation. 1a. Which is odd because Charles Dinn was responsible for creating The Beast (how he got that right and his other projects wrong, I don't know). 2. Ah yeah, the ONLY time B&M ever associated with a wooden coaster (those bulky fiberglass trains). But hey, it was early in their career so .... they did what they could. 3. Northridge Earthquake did damage the structure and afterwards, trim brakes were added which slowed the ride significantly. In fact, they would have to wait until a full train was loaded (2 x 2 x 6) so the train would have enough momentum to complete the course.
My home park is SDC and Outlaw Run is absolutely on my do not ride list because the first drop almost breaks my neck every time. The Boss as SF STL and Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun are also a big NO for me. I could ride the Voyage and Legend at Holiday World repeatedly and never get tire of them.
Nice vid! I have to agree, Hades360 to-this-day is by far the roughest coaster I've ever been on. I felt like I was in a car accident afterwards. I see no need to ride it again! That being said, I found the Beast to be not-so-bad...riding at night was amazing.
goldstriker is pretty smooth now because it got retracked in April. When I went during the time it was getting a retrack, the ride was down for an extended amount of time. the first time I got back on I immediately noticed the difference on the bottom of the first drop. it’s seriously feels like it’s running way too fast now
@@glenpolen5562 I think it’s a good thing because when the ride warms up it’s hauling like it used to back in 2013. but I’m not sure if the ride was designed to be going as fast as it is now
@@bobhunks4231 Hi Bob, ya, improvements for making it faster is one thing, but if it is so fast that it makes you uncomfortable and if it might be unsafe, then that isnt a good thing.
Man, Six Flags St. Louis deserves some love. The Boss was the last truly major coaster built for the park. They need to do us all right and give it the RMC treatment.
@idkwhattoputhere I mean, yeah it’s a coaster, but since Batman, Mr. Freeze and The Boss it’s been that mediocre coaster and flat rides. Nothing setting out to break records or be different in any sort of way.
I remember riding Thunderhead when I was 17 and loving the hell out of it. I am dying to go to Dollywood for a reride. My husband generally hates woodies because of the rattle. I love woodies because there are generally no inversions. It’s a struggle. I had to sweet talk him onto Texas Stingray when we were in San Antonio this year.
I’ve marathoned Renegade many times this season. The only rough section I really notice is the bottom of the first drop, though I tend to tolerate roughness more than others. It’s definitely smoother in the front of the train but the back is so much better it’s worth the extra roughness.
Great American Scream Machine was my favorite as a kid back in the 70's and 80's, but the last several years I was only able to tolerate it once a year. I've ridden it several times this year since the retrack and it is running much better.
Just came here to see if The Beast was on your list :) I just came back from Kings Island and just like you I was super thrilled to experience this legendary coaster but I got so beat up I could not enjoy any of the ride. I wish it could be RMC’d that would be such an awesome ride!!
I live in Albuquerque! The New Mexico Rattler was the only rollercoaster I had been on! But I visited Magic Mountain last month and WOW I can't wait to visit more park and ride all the rollercoasters! Also a huge fan of your channel now ha!
I think some of this has to do with expectations changing over time. If you put me on a wooden coaster and it feels smooth as a steel coaster, I'm not going to be thrilled. My favorite coaster personally is the grizzly at Kings Dominion and that has a lot to do with how rough it is.
Grizzly isn't that rough in the front, I rode it last year and I have it as number three in the park. I love the setting and it has some great pops of air up in the front
I go to Holiday World every year, and I agree, usually the Legend was the rough coaster that I rode to "check it off the list", but the last couple years, it's been noticeably smoother and is SO much more enjoyable for it!
Legend is my number two at Holiday World and one of my favorite wooden coasters over all. I just love all the well executed laterals it has especially that helix. The only ride that has better laterals IMO is the Coney Island Cyclone but that's for one reason: no seat divider and they let you ride alone, sliding all over the place while also getting airtime is an absolute blast
I wanna ride the Beast. I heard that the owner of the Blue Streak park burned it on purpose. Ouch! People say Minebuster and Wildebeast are rough. They are 41yrs old. I love them.
The Beast was given over 2,000' of new track, and the first drop reprofiling. If you've never rode it before, you'd really never know it was ever that bad. Except for that covered straight track section, where it still jumps around, it's not rough at all.
@@taylordixon5871 it's not rough at all compared to how it was before the retracking. I mean.... its a wooden coaster. They're all a little rough. That's what makes them so special. Woodies feel alive.
Wildcat at compounce is a home park and it's torture. I grew up going on it, and genuinely enjoyed it. It was rough but nothing too bad. It had buzz bars. I hadn't been to compounce in about 10-15 years, and within that time, to my pure horror,,,it had been retracked and is the most painful ride I've ever been on
I live in Florida, so sadly I haven't gotten to experience many wooden coasters, but I rode the OG Gwazi (both sides) in it's last year of operation. Man, Gwazi beat the hell out of you, my knees and hips in particular. It was awful
Yep.😌I’m a Floridian as well.😌I only got to ride the lion side of the OG Gwazi. 🥺But woof!😌Talk about rough.😝Though lion Gwazi was smooth as silk compared to that hell-beast Anaconda from King’s Dominion.😝
@@ChibiProwl my last ride on OG Gwazi was tiger side. Kid you not, we stalled on the lift hill and had to walk down the ride back to the station. After getting off, I went to the lion side and it proceeded to kick my ass. That was my last ride on Gwazi
I’m really surprised Twister from Knoebel’s and Ravine Flyer II from Waldamere haven’t been mentioned. Both were very rough this year and absolutely man handled me. Both are really great coasters but I couldn’t get over how rough they were.
@@AirtimeThrills it was a teeth chattering ride this year. I think RF2 was more rough but I was still surprised at how rough Twister was considering how smooth Phoenix is.
Just to be clear, the first few hills are pretty great and actually decently smooth. When you go into the banked turns, it’s jackhammer city and the second half generally felt extremely rough.
Hurler at Carowinds (June 2022, in the front row), made me question whether or not it was ever actually designed or just thrown together with scraps from other coasters. I’d compare the experience to when you hit a speed bump going too fast and don’t expect such a harsh jolt, but sustained throughout the second half of the ride. My brother was in the row behind me and described me as a “bobble head”, and that is exactly how I felt. The next day I rode Great American Scream Machine and it was awesome! Great layout, good airtime, quite smooth.
Monstre at La Ronde with the yellow train is straight up dangerous because of how rough it is (but again, only the yellow train, red train and green train are way better, somehow)
Tale of two Cyclones: The Psyclone at Magic mountain was truly painful. It would hurt you with all the track discontinuities. The Coney Island Cyclone was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't smooth, but it didn't have the broken track feeling of some of the bad coasters. I think it was smoother than the subway I took to get there.
I attended Holiwood nights this year (thanks for your recommendation!). Raven was by far the bumpiest ride in the park. It was a one-and-done for me. Legend on the other hand was running great. I marathoned it 10x in a row without leaving my seat at the end of the day. Voyage was (of course) the star of the show, but it was certainly a rough ride (in the very best way). It's the only car-crash simulator I'm willing to marathon.
Believe you me, before SFoG introduced Twisted Cyclone, Georgia Cyclone was so much rougher than great American scream machine. I was only 11 (2001) when I rode it and that bone rattling memory has stuck with me to this day. I tried again a few years after the first experience and it was identical. Glad it’s gone lol.
It's a shame you didn't get to ride the beast this year when you visited, because it wasn't open yet, but the Beast is now SUPER smooth. Actually so smooth is lost some of its anger through the woods. Thanks to the ride being silky smooth now there is actually a line to ride it.
I rode Great American Scream Machine in the late 90s several times in a row and loved it but I was also 12. Fast forward to riding it in 2009 and it absolutely destroyed my back, and was hurting for several days afterwards. A friend of mine rode it a few years ago and ended up dislodging a kidney stone!
Combine your coaster and baseball interest and do a “What Local Player is like Every Park’s Coaster” series. like “What Red is like each coaster at Kings Island”. You did this for SRS one time but would be cool to do this for your main channel.
Haha yeah i thought gagne was a good example of an RMC. Not sure how that works with other players. Bellinger and gallo are coasters that suck 85% of the time but have 1 great element
Top three roughest rides I’ve ever had…3. Son of Beast….2. Mean Streak…1. Great American Scream Machine. All three were very rough woodies when I rode. Glad to see 2 of these gone. Great American Scream Machine either needs Titan tracking or RMCing (which won’t happen) or tear it down.
I just moved to DC and made my first ever visit to SFA in late June, and I'm surprised to learn from this video that Roar was retracked for this season because it stood out as the roughest woodie I've ever ridden. I'm going back next weekend, and might try again, but I rode the back last time and now I'll only ride the front. If that's how it is after a retrack then God help us all because it's clearly a lost cause of a coaster.
I think we need a sequel for steel coasters as well
I wonder how many Vekoma SLC's would be on that list.
@@ajfrommillay3766 yes
Yes definitely
@@MrBrian-pr9pd Yes indeed!
Cough**vortex at carowinds
All of Conneaut Lake Park felt like a safety hazard. That's what made it so special.
That place was probably the reason I love parks today. Blue Streak was my first "big" coaster, and we used to ride it all day. It's crazy that I find myself missing that place anytime that it's mentioned.
Lmao. NO2h, your comment cracked me up coz its funny and true.
I grew up in PA, and went there a few times about 40 yrs ago.
I liked the tall rug slide.
I heard about the owner being a P.O.S. and he had to sell it. The new owner got rid of many rides, and refurbished many of the other rides, and they tried to make a comeback, but after re - opening for 1 season a few yrs ago, they gave up and closed it down.
They had many neighbors and other volunteers who cleaned the place up and removed old shrubs and trees and re- planted all new trees and fixed up the plants and gardens.
I could be wrong, and maybe you can help clear things up for me.
But, i heard that the coaster caught on fire, and they rebuilt that section and fixed the track. I forget if it burned down before or after they rebuilt it, and then it burned down and they said tear it down for good.
Thanks.
@@glenpolen5562 Yeah. Rumor is that the new owner wanted it gone to make some sort of development but couldn’t since the park was declared a historical site. But he got around it anyways by basically setting up the park to fail. Blue streak burning down was supposedly an accident but I don’t know many people who actually believe that.
@@No2hISwear WOW, THAT SUCKS. Its all about the mighty $$ BIG BUCK $$. I hate when stupid idiots ruin a good thing. Thanks for your reply.
I'd say the same about mount olympus
I will always prefer wooden coasters, I like the roughness, the noise the aesthetics, the engineering feat that they are, it's all so beautiful.
Wooden roller coasters have more give than steel coasters. They're noisy and feel like they're alive. I love Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure the most, as there is a lot of floater airtime. Sit in the back, and you get ejector airtime on the first drop.
@@kagome122885 I love it too, it's really the only great coaster we have here in Michigan, but it was enough to make me fall in love with roller coasters
And a lot of wooden roller coasters have the most extreme airtime.
I love both but I prefer steel since the are able to go upside-down and I love how smooth they are while still feeling very thrilling
well said!!
Blue Streak was the most sketch coaster I ever rode. Even as a kid riding it in the late 80s it was sketchy. It's crazy that I actually miss it though. I would head to Conneaut once a year to reunite with the coaster that began my love of coasters. The first "big" coaster I ever rode. Now it's gone. I have great memories of that place with my friends and family.
FINALLY! Someone else recognizes how shit that coaster is, the restraints are a joke...so much ejector airtime that it feels legit unsafe and the jerkiness kills your neck.
EDIT: Apparently you're not talking about the Cedar Point one...still my point stands.
The retracking done on goldstriker absolutely fixed it, it’s SO smooth now and running super well! I went to CGA (which is my home park) like 20-30 times this year and marathoned goldstriker getting an amazing ride every single time
It beat me up pretty good in August, and I like my wooden coasters a little wild and rough
I was surprised to see this, but this year was the first time I rode it.
It's smooth in the first 1/3rd and last 1/3rd, but the middle is very rough. It's not terrible in the front, but in the middle-to-back I have to hold on to brace myself, when Id normally keep my hands up above my head
also, it wasn't so bad in May and June, but in August and September it's noticeably worse
Never ride it before this year, but on my many rides this year I have found it to be sufficiently smooth to reride over and over, and I am pretty sensitive to roughness (I'm 63 years old). It does give me a headache after about 4 rides, due to the nature and resonant frequency of the remaining roughness, so I have to take a brief break. However, for me, reride-ability and comfort figures highly into my own personal ranking for coasters, and this one is in my top 20 of almost 200 ridden. The seat cushions are soft and ample, so that helps. Definitely hold up the lapbar while riding to get best airtime. Last visit, I counted 12 discreet moments of solid airtime, equal to GhostRider and more than Apocalypse, which only has about 9 relatively weak moments. It's a terrific ride.
I rode Thunderhead in June of this year and it was INSANELY smooth, the entire thing. My absolute favorite wooden coaster. I rode that thing at least 10 times in a single day and never had a bad ride, front center and back. They were great rides!
Lol because I did the exact same thing
Thunderhead is hilarious because the transition from old track to new track was so huge. Went from a jackhammering mess to a flying carpet. It always managed to be just bearable for me, as by the time I was ready to talk out the ride went into the new track.
My little girl makes me ride about 20 times every time we go. The new track really helps it flow at the end.
@@deancornett4432 It's definitely a great ride. Rode it a bunch when I was at Dollywood earlier this year. But yeah if the whole ride was like the first half it would be unbearable.
Gives me hope for the future at least
According to my cousin, who’s the attraction manager at Dollywood, there are two sections of Thunderhead still needing to be retracked: the area of track in front of the station and the turnaround into the fly-through station, and a section he called ‘sector 453’. So they are planning on fixing the roughness.
Thunderhead wasn't that bad IMO. The Beast at KI was horrible before the retrack. It blows my mind that people praise that ride but complain that Thunderhead is too rough
Big Updates.
The Beast after the 2022 retrack is amazing!
Grizzly had a major retrack overhaul during the winter, including rebuilding the lift hill , can't wait to ride it this summer.
MineBlower at Fun Spot Kissimmee is getting RMC Ibox retracking!
Great American Scream Machine was fun, rode it a few weeks ago. The last quarter of the ride coming back to the station was a bit janky but I was kinda like that's ok.
Rest in Peace Blue Streak, you were an awesome ride. I marathoned that ride once, 6 times in a row. Airtime was nice and you learn to stop caring about the roughness after a while.
Great video! I've ridden Son of Beast and the Beast. I rode on Son of Beast in 2001 about a year after it opened and didn't think it was too rough. I've ridden the Beast a lot of different years and never thought it was too rough. It's nice to hear about the improvements on it. Ive thought for years the Racer was rough and thought of it as a one and done ride for the trip anytime I rode it.
Racer was running great this year
@@AirtimeThrills That's great! I didn't know that!
@@miked509 They did a retracking as well as a beautiful paint job on The Racer for the 50th anniversary season at Kings Island. That roller coaster is JUST WONDERFUL.
@@timothykaczmarek5871 Yeah that sounds great. I haven't ridden it in a few years. I had always thought of it as a one and done ride and have heard others say the same.
I rode Son of Beast in 2002 and 2004, and that was the ROUGHEST wooden roller coaster I ever rode. It was worse than the original Rattler and Mean Streak.
Love seeing comments from people who had a soft spot for Blue Streak. That was my mom's first coaster when she was a kid, and me and my brother's first coaster, too. Started my love for coasters, but I was terrified every time I rode that ride lol. My mom passed away recently and we spread her ashes at Conneaut. The piles of Blue Streak wreckage were still there, walked around most of the layout, pretty insane to see. Helped myself to a piece of the ride that I keep out on display now.
Thats great you were able to get a piece of it
I miss the Blue Streak at CLP and I despise what was done with the park (don't get me started on Cedar Fair and Geauga Lake). As for my roughest, Son of Beast is the only coaster to give me chest pains. Mean Streak was like riding in an earthquake. Coney Island Cyclone beat me to a pulp.
Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake was the roughest I have ridden, but somehow I loved it for that. I was young, and it was fun seeing your friends get bashed around on it.
Seeing how Grizzly is now gonna be retracked by the Gravity Group, it’s in good hands
Hades 360 was the biggest surprise of my coaster road-trip this year. It definitely was rough, but that may have enhanced it for me. A night ride on Hades 360, especially the section under the parking lot, is unbelievable. Top 5 coaster for me.
Hurler at Kings Dominion was the roughest roller coaster I've ridden. Thank goodness RMC fixed the whole thing. The roughest ride I've ridden that's currently operating is Wildcat at Lake Compounce.
Ah yes, the Blue Streak at CLP. I think that coaster is the very reason I have a high tolerance for wooden coasters. My aunt used to have a cabin that was a short walk away from the park, so I spent many summers riding it. Of course, it was only during the years that the park actually opened since they had so many years of dealing with bankruptcy. RIP!
Hi Ian, i grew up in PA. My parents took me and my sister there about 40 yrs ago. We liked it. It wasnt KENNYWOOD PARK, but still fun.
I heard about the p.o.s owner.
Then the new owners tried getting it up and running, but it didnt do well its first season, and they closed it for good.
I liked the coaster. It wasnt the jackrabbit, But still fun. Lol.
I heard the new owners really tried to make it work. Did they have a GOFUNDME PAGE?
I heard they had some type of donation that the neighbors contributed to.
The neighbors and volunteers cleaned the park. Refurbished rides, made the plants and gardens nice, and took out old trees. They added more benches. Lol.
I liked the coaster, but did they re fix it and then it burned in a section so, they scrapped it?
Thanks.
@@glenpolen5562 the people who were running conneaut park, before the guy who currently owns it, really did a good job. They turned a profit for a couple consecutive years and even began adding attractions. They put all kind of work into the small water park and I’m pretty sure that’s how they achieved the profit. It was probably the most popular part of conneaut lake park during those years. I was expecting them to eventually fix up buildings and pathways. I really don’t know why they decided to sell to the current guy but I would assume he just wanted the lakeside land for whatever business he wants to put there.
@@iangraham6351 Hi Ian, i forgot all about the waterpark that they put in. Thanks for reminding me. I did hear they did good with it.
Great comment buddy, Thanks.
I hated swimming in their lake. The dam rocks on the bottom sucked. Killed my feet.
I know it is a great
Fishing spot.
Im not sure if the big white hotel is still there or not.
It used to be big time back in the days .
I think VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE stayed there.
I heard that it was haunted. I think i even watched a ghost hunting show about it a few yrs ago.
Did you hear anything about it being haunted.
@@glenpolen5562 That fire was arson plain and simple. And that bastard owner knew it. I hope HE burns in hell like that ride did.
Recent memory: Grizzly, for sure.
Ancient memory: the original Texas Giant
Grizzly at Kings Dominion got refurbished last year (2023) on the 1st half of the ride. It is smooth enough to cause you to let your guard down, and then...WHAM! WELCOME TO PAIN TOWN!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought this. I thought they said they were doing MOST of the ride. I guess they didn’t. Ride still sucks as of August 2024.
I know I'm late to the party, but Beast is running SO much better this year! 👍
The roughest wooden Coaster of all time to me is Mean Streak. You never know how long that coaster really was until you get whiplash after the 2nd hill lol. Seeing this list makes me want to give so much love to Kennywood for keeping their old-school woodies buttery smooth after all these years.
I didn’t think Mean Streak was rough. It was incredibly boring.
I never really had a ROUGH ride on MS
Chris Maxwell I agree pretty much my thoughts
As someone who rode both mean streak, and blue streak, blue streak was 100 times worse than mean streak. Blue Streak is the most sketch coaster I've ever been on. Even when I was a kid, that coaster was sketchy, and that was in the late 80s.
I'm with you. Mean Streak wasn't terribly bad in the front, but the back was a different story. I was begging to get off when I reached the midcourse, and while the airtime provided a little relief from the roughness, there wasn't enough of it to redeem the ride.
Mean streak was my roughest coaster ever, actually the worst coaster I have ever ridden. If you have ever snapped a flyers ride and you get the seat rest to slam into your back, do that about 79 times a minute for the duration of the prime ride time on Mean Streak. I never wanted off a coaster as bad as I wanted off of Mean Streak.
As much as I do love Hades I’ll admit it does run really rough! But I don’t let that get in the way of the amazing ride experience
I've always described Hades as an endurance test, but in a good way. While it is rough, the incredible variety of forces it provides (especially the great airtime of varying length and intensity) make it worthwhile.
I rode it twice in 2019, and it definitely was a jackhammering experience. It's fun, but you can't ride it again and again without a break, it's too much.
I went to Dollywood for my first time this year, and as much as I absolutely adored Thunderhead (so much so that it's still in my top ten), I can agree that it's pretty rough. While I could stomach three consecutive back row rides on it, it's definitely a difficult ride to marathon (especially if you're dehydrated) in the state it's currently in. Like you said, a little bit of retracking on the first half would do wonders for it.
What it will just be rough in four years I first visited Dollywood and wondered why I had a headache it was rough then and now even in some retracked sections
I first visited in 2012 and it was rough
Only three rides stand out to me as super rough:
3. Thunderhead (2021) - Jackhammering through the entire layout. Called it ‘thump your head’ afterwards. Rode it again this year and the second half was much smoother.
2. The Beast (2021) - I have a lot of respect for this coaster but my god. After the first drop it bounced all the way to the brake shed. It definitely needed that retracking.
1. Grizzly (KD) (2022) - What an awful coaster. Not only is the layout boring and stupid but whenever it goes above 10 miles per hour it just knocks you around like you’re in a dryer. Currently stands as my least favorite coaster.
Surprised to see Renegade on here, got a few rides on it last month and thought it ran pretty well. Great video!
The Beast is a lot smoother now. Not completely smooth, but better.
my no 1 roughest coaster is also a woodie, it's bandit at movie park germany (2010), it was so incredibly painful i swear it could leave guests with a hernia. For steel coasters it's Draken at Energylandia, I know it's a kiddy coaster but it's so incredibly rough it genuinly leave you in pain. I was crying of laughter on how painful it was. I have heard that the wildmouse there is worse, glad i didnt ride that. For the bigger it'd be the original SLC Condor, but they recently got new restraints so it isn't as bad, but it still hurts my back. Limit at Heide Park does not have these new restraints yet so you get backpain and headbanging. I think if you'd make a steel variant of this list it's gonna be filled with arrow and vekoma coasters ngl.
Good topic. Me and my family seem to have a special love for wooden coasters. What's funny is that we also rode Renegade this year but we had a different experience. We didn't find it that rough and it made it into all of our top 20. I wonder if we just caught it on a good day.
We did find High Roller (the other ValleyFair woodie) to be absolutely terrible and extremely rough.
I do agree Outlaw at Adventureland is getting rough and I hope now that the park is owned by Palace it will get some of the love the old Kennywood woodies got. Because when it was smoother I thought it was a hidden gem.
Love your channel. Thanks for all the content!
Just the fact that Chris experienced all this deserves a like. No video needed, but much appreciated, of course.
I've ridden 12 woodies so I guess I'll rank them from smoothest to roughest:
13. Lightning Rod - Not much of a woodie anymore, but if you want to count it, here you go. Very smooth. (roughness: 1)
12. Cannon Ball - Now THIS is how a PTC should feel! Despite being over 50 years old, it still runs very smooth. (roughness: 2)
11. The Racer - Apparently they retracked this recently, and it shows. Sucks that the ride auto-staples you, though. (roughness: 2)
10. Mystic Timbers - When you aren't thinking about the roughness on a woodie, you know it's smooth. (roughness: 2)
9 & 8. Woodstock Express (KI and Carowinds) - They're pretty comparable. They shake but run slow so it's not nearly as bad as it would be if it were a full-size woodie. (roughness: 3)
7. White Lightning - It got a bit rougher, but not enough to make it any less enjoyable. (roughness: 3)
6. Thunderhead - Definitely some roughness, but the couch seats help. (roughness: 5)
5. The Beast (2022 retrack) - It's VERY bouncy in a few sections, but otherwise is decently smooth. Props to KI! (roughness: 5)
4. Hurler - Quite rumbly. Definitely takes away some of the fun. (roughness: 6)
3. Mine Blower - Actually gives me a headache now. Very fun otherwise, however its roughness is the reason I prefer White Lightning. (roughness: 7)
2. Scream Machine - This was 2021 before they closed it for the retrack. Hopefully that makes it better because this ride is terrible. They trimmed it so hard the airtime is minimal, and it still runs rough. It could be so much better, look at The Racer! (roughness: 9)
1. Cheetah - Roughness that felt illegal. Roughness that would've had lasting effects had I been 20 years older. Roughness that felt like the train would fall off the tracks. Sad, because it seemed to be fun if it wasn't rough. RIP Cheetah, but also good riddance! (roughness: 10)
Oh ok this will be a fun video to watch. I love listening to other enthusiast picking on coaster haha and the roughest wooden coaster I have been on was Wolverine wildcat but the titan track part was good
Haven’t watched yet but Grizzly at Kings Dominion and Thunderhawk at Dorney Park
Correct! The Beast retracking is incredible. I used to skip this ride and now I can ride 3 in a row. The trick is also to not sit in a car on top of a wheel.
Row 17 was a blast.
I Always ride row 17. Unless I'm with friends who want to ride up front. Although, front row at night is pretty epic.
Spike, night time ride 20+ years ago for me was epic. Something I still have stuck in my head.
I rode Gold Striker about a month ago and it was still super rough. The first drop was completely smooth but the rest of the ride was just as rough as I remember, if not more so. I don't understand the people who think it's smooth now. Did we even ride the same coaster?
I've only ridden a little over 60 coasters but I know the pain Great American Scream Machine gives very well. I rode it around in 2017 when I was around 12 years old and it made me cry because it hurt so bad!
Well after the retrack it’s much better thankfully 😅.
Beast 2021 was HORRIBLE. Beast 2022 on the other hand was AMAZING. So glad they fixed it up!
7:30 When was the last time you rode Apocalypse and how was it? I rode it a month ago in the back and the side to side shake was very violent.
Apocalypse is always kinda borderline rough for me. Last time was dec 2022
Hmm, ya I thought after the 7 months of new woodwork it'd be smoother, but not in the back.@@AirtimeThrills
As a Darien Lake home parker, I love Predator it has like 5 ejector moments in the back & it's smooth!
Nice list! For me, the most painful experience ever on a wooden coaster was on Ghostrider before the re-track. At some point along the way, the jackhammering caused a nerve to pinch in my back. I was in so much pain that I had tears in my eyes when the train rolled back into the station. What a contrast from the early '00s when it was my #1 wooden coaster.
Im really glad i missed GR's bad period. I didnt ride between 2010 and 2017
Mean Streak was ghastly by the end. We used to call it the "bad chiropractor"
The Beast was very smooth and great when I rode it in July of this year.
I rode it in June and I thought it was fine too. But I’ve ridden Wildcat at Lake Compounce and now everything feels smooth.
Yea because they retracked it this year
I heard it was retracted this year
There is still a few spots that need a re-track. The last sharp right that is before the second lift hill should be redone.
@@AdamSmith-gs2dv I knew that it was retracked and therefore was going to be smooth but I was impressed by how good the retracking was.
The only two wooden coasters that come to mind for roughness to me are Racer at Kings Island in 2018 (the retrack did make it a lot smoother) and KD's Grizzly. That darn near snapped my spine.
I've heard Gold Striker was bad before. But 2021 was fantastic, and this season it was running better than it ever had before. I think it just shows how intense the coaster is. It's already getting some of it's rough spots back, not terrible at all, but you can start to feel them again. It just runs so aggressively. I compare it to Voyage's spaghetti bowl and return trip. It's just straight, pedal to the metal speed, airtime, and intensity.
Lake compounce is my home park. Wildcat is absolutely awful. The first drop and pullout are miraculously fine, but after that, it's terrible. The retracking didn't help it at all, I think it made it worse actually. I would suggest riding it once for the credit and then never again.
When I was a kid, I thought Renegade (Valleyfair) was the roughest thing ever, and didn't like it...
I got re-rides and it's much better, even though the roughness was probably the same
Also if you want a back row experience without the pain, do row 11, it's the same but smoother
Speaking of Kennywood, Racer is getting repainted and it’s getting some retracking! We take such good care of our ancient woodies, although Thunderbolt was rough a few years back but it was addressed and fixed.
5 more years and we get to celebrate Racer turning 100! 2 years until sections of Thunderbolt turn 100. It's crazy and wonderful to think that we'll almost have 3 century old coasters - depending on how you count Thunderbolt's reworking in the 60's.
@@gylentia13 yep. Cant wait for Racer to turn 100. I consider Tbolt a 1968 coaster. But yes the entire ravine section from the Pippin will be 100
The retrack of the Grand National has it running acceptably, it’s never going to be butter smooth (conversions aside) but it did show up how rough Big Dipper has become, I would hope for a 100th anniversary retrack but they’re open so late and then so early in the year now (weekends only for a lot, but Feb to Dec) there’s not enough time.
Big dipper was HELL- I had such high hopes for this legendary coaster but they were crushed as soon as we went through that first hill
Awesome video! Although I’ve not ridden most of the coasters on the list, based off of general opinions in the coaster community, I agree with your points. However, I rode Thunderhead earlier this year and though it was very smooth, given that it’s a gci from 2004.
This seems to be a polarizing one
I can confirm that the new Titan track on Predator at Darien Lake has made the ride WAY more enjoyable. It's still bumpy but far from "painful" like it was before
I'm so glad I stumbled on your channel looking at Knoebels rides, I'd somehow never heard of Kennywood before now! Next time we head to Pittsburgh I know where we have to stop, 100 year old wooden coaster sounds like a must-ride.
Regarding Psyclone at Magic Mountain:
1. It already had a strike on it for being a Dinn creation.
1a. Which is odd because Charles Dinn was responsible for creating The Beast (how he got that right and his other projects wrong, I don't know).
2. Ah yeah, the ONLY time B&M ever associated with a wooden coaster (those bulky fiberglass trains). But hey, it was early in their career so .... they did what they could.
3. Northridge Earthquake did damage the structure and afterwards, trim brakes were added which slowed the ride significantly. In fact, they would have to wait until a full train was loaded (2 x 2 x 6) so the train would have enough momentum to complete the course.
My home park is SDC and Outlaw Run is absolutely on my do not ride list because the first drop almost breaks my neck every time. The Boss as SF STL and Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun are also a big NO for me. I could ride the Voyage and Legend at Holiday World repeatedly and never get tire of them.
As of 2020 both those HW woodies were running awesome. Raven was a running the worst
Outlaw Run - odd numbered rows only is the trick. Avoid those wheel seats and you’re good to go.
I wanna like Grizzly because the first drop has ejector but I always ride in defensive mode fs
The only coaster I ever came off of in pain was Mean Streak.
Roughest I’ve experienced was Mean Streak in 2009. Knocked the wind out of me lmao.
Damn I’m surprised Mean Streak wasn’t on here!!
Nice vid! I have to agree, Hades360 to-this-day is by far the roughest coaster I've ever been on. I felt like I was in a car accident afterwards. I see no need to ride it again!
That being said, I found the Beast to be not-so-bad...riding at night was amazing.
Blue streak was incredibly rough when I rode it as a kid back in the 80s. I loved it and miss it to this day though.
You have to experience the Montezum in Brazil, it's a RCCA rough as hell.
Pain doesn't define the experience.
goldstriker is pretty smooth now because it got retracked in April. When I went during the time it was getting a retrack, the ride was down for an extended amount of time. the first time I got back on I immediately noticed the difference on the bottom of the first drop. it’s seriously feels like it’s running way too fast now
Hi Bob. Thanks for the info. You said that its running way to fast now.
Is that a good thing or bad? I mite be goin there next season.
Thnks,
Glen
@@glenpolen5562 I think it’s a good thing because when the ride warms up it’s hauling like it used to back in 2013. but I’m not sure if the ride was designed to be going as fast as it is now
@@bobhunks4231 Hi Bob, ya, improvements for making it faster is one thing, but if it is so fast that it makes you uncomfortable and if it might be unsafe, then that isnt a good thing.
6:05 Agreed, I rode this in 2019 and it was smooth and gave great airtime, Now its been completely neutered.
Man, Six Flags St. Louis deserves some love. The Boss was the last truly major coaster built for the park. They need to do us all right and give it the RMC treatment.
@idkwhattoputhere I mean, yeah it’s a coaster, but since Batman, Mr. Freeze and The Boss it’s been that mediocre coaster and flat rides. Nothing setting out to break records or be different in any sort of way.
LETS GO NEW UPLOAD
I remember riding Thunderhead when I was 17 and loving the hell out of it. I am dying to go to Dollywood for a reride. My husband generally hates woodies because of the rattle. I love woodies because there are generally no inversions. It’s a struggle. I had to sweet talk him onto Texas Stingray when we were in San Antonio this year.
I’ve marathoned Renegade many times this season. The only rough section I really notice is the bottom of the first drop, though I tend to tolerate roughness more than others. It’s definitely smoother in the front of the train but the back is so much better it’s worth the extra roughness.
I definitely felt the jackhammer throughout the ride, the worst of it seemed to be in the middle
Rode Grizzly a few weeks ago and is was fairly rough...Didnt think it was anywhere near as bad as Mineblower though.
Great American Scream Machine was my favorite as a kid back in the 70's and 80's, but the last several years I was only able to tolerate it once a year. I've ridden it several times this year since the retrack and it is running much better.
Just came here to see if The Beast was on your list :) I just came back from Kings Island and just like you I was super thrilled to experience this legendary coaster but I got so beat up I could not enjoy any of the ride. I wish it could be RMC’d that would be such an awesome ride!!
I just rode Roar at Six Flags America this past Saturday and i thought it was pretty smooth, they did do some retracking
I agree with all of these, thunderhead is higher on the list for me though.
Great video as always! You had all of my worst wooden coaster rides on your list except one. I’m surprised that Mean Streak didn’t make the list!
Mean streak jiggled me around but i never felt it was overly rough tbh
I live in Albuquerque! The New Mexico Rattler was the only rollercoaster I had been on! But I visited Magic Mountain last month and WOW I can't wait to visit more park and ride all the rollercoasters! Also a huge fan of your channel now ha!
I think some of this has to do with expectations changing over time. If you put me on a wooden coaster and it feels smooth as a steel coaster, I'm not going to be thrilled. My favorite coaster personally is the grizzly at Kings Dominion and that has a lot to do with how rough it is.
Expectations sure..also pain
Grizzly isn't that rough in the front, I rode it last year and I have it as number three in the park. I love the setting and it has some great pops of air up in the front
I go to Holiday World every year, and I agree, usually the Legend was the rough coaster that I rode to "check it off the list", but the last couple years, it's been noticeably smoother and is SO much more enjoyable for it!
Legend is my number two at Holiday World and one of my favorite wooden coasters over all. I just love all the well executed laterals it has especially that helix. The only ride that has better laterals IMO is the Coney Island Cyclone but that's for one reason: no seat divider and they let you ride alone, sliding all over the place while also getting airtime is an absolute blast
@@AdamSmith-gs2dv It's become my #2 at Holiday World as well since becoming smoother, though my favorite parts are the hills at the beginning
Great American Scream Machine before the retracking felt like a trainwreck itself. Huge improvement and way less rough. Definitely try it
I'm curious what a top 10/15 smoothest wood coasters would be like.
My video about surprisingly smooth coasters covers a lot that would be on that list
10:01 anything that Mount Olympus can do to help, please do.
See 9:06
Fix the final turn on Pegasus!
The layout for Psyclone at MM was great, but so rough! That was the 1 coaster I knew would be on this list, lol
I wanna ride the Beast. I heard that the owner of the Blue Streak park burned it on purpose. Ouch! People say Minebuster and Wildebeast are rough. They are 41yrs old. I love them.
The Beast was given over 2,000' of new track, and the first drop reprofiling. If you've never rode it before, you'd really never know it was ever that bad. Except for that covered straight track section, where it still jumps around, it's not rough at all.
I don't agree. Call me dainty, but I rode it in May 2022. No thank you. Too rough for me. But I also did not enjoy The Voyage either.
@@taylordixon5871 it's not rough at all compared to how it was before the retracking. I mean.... its a wooden coaster. They're all a little rough. That's what makes them so special. Woodies feel alive.
@@Spike-sk7ql That's a beautiful way to put it. I wish I could feel the same for them.
Agree with most! Predator was also one of the worst experiences I've ever had on a coaster. The only one I'd add might be Raging Wolf Bobs.
Spot on for thunderhead. It is ridiculous how rough it is. People defend it for what I don't know.
The video I wanted and needed! Thanks Chris!
Skyliner definitely could use some maintenance but the ejector airtime in the front seat is awesome
Wildcat at compounce is a home park and it's torture. I grew up going on it, and genuinely enjoyed it. It was rough but nothing too bad. It had buzz bars. I hadn't been to compounce in about 10-15 years, and within that time, to my pure horror,,,it had been retracked and is the most painful ride I've ever been on
I live in Florida, so sadly I haven't gotten to experience many wooden coasters, but I rode the OG Gwazi (both sides) in it's last year of operation. Man, Gwazi beat the hell out of you, my knees and hips in particular. It was awful
Yep.😌I’m a Floridian as well.😌I only got to ride the lion side of the OG Gwazi. 🥺But woof!😌Talk about rough.😝Though lion Gwazi was smooth as silk compared to that hell-beast Anaconda from King’s Dominion.😝
@@ChibiProwl my last ride on OG Gwazi was tiger side. Kid you not, we stalled on the lift hill and had to walk down the ride back to the station. After getting off, I went to the lion side and it proceeded to kick my ass.
That was my last ride on Gwazi
@@kingpiniv yep, lion side kicked my butt too.
I’m really surprised Twister from Knoebel’s and Ravine Flyer II from Waldamere haven’t been mentioned. Both were very rough this year and absolutely man handled me. Both are really great coasters but I couldn’t get over how rough they were.
Ive never gotten anywhere near a rough ride on twister, but RF2 yeah that was borderline list-worthy
@@AirtimeThrills it was a teeth chattering ride this year. I think RF2 was more rough but I was still surprised at how rough Twister was considering how smooth Phoenix is.
I hate saying it, but I agree about "Twister"; it's a big reason why that coaster is my least-favorite at Knoebels.
Just to be clear, the first few hills are pretty great and actually decently smooth. When you go into the banked turns, it’s jackhammer city and the second half generally felt extremely rough.
Hurler at Carowinds (June 2022, in the front row), made me question whether or not it was ever actually designed or just thrown together with scraps from other coasters. I’d compare the experience to when you hit a speed bump going too fast and don’t expect such a harsh jolt, but sustained throughout the second half of the ride. My brother was in the row behind me and described me as a “bobble head”, and that is exactly how I felt.
The next day I rode Great American Scream Machine and it was awesome! Great layout, good airtime, quite smooth.
I have had decent luck with hurler but my 2019 ride was the worst one. Not worthy for this list but still bad
Hurler is just boring. Also be thankful you rode Great American Scream Machine this year because last year it SUCKED
Monstre at La Ronde with the yellow train is straight up dangerous because of how rough it is (but again, only the yellow train, red train and green train are way better, somehow)
Tale of two Cyclones: The Psyclone at Magic mountain was truly painful. It would hurt you with all the track discontinuities. The Coney Island Cyclone was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't smooth, but it didn't have the broken track feeling of some of the bad coasters. I think it was smoother than the subway I took to get there.
I attended Holiwood nights this year (thanks for your recommendation!). Raven was by far the bumpiest ride in the park. It was a one-and-done for me. Legend on the other hand was running great. I marathoned it 10x in a row without leaving my seat at the end of the day.
Voyage was (of course) the star of the show, but it was certainly a rough ride (in the very best way). It's the only car-crash simulator I'm willing to marathon.
I agree raven is currently the roughest at the park
I went to Holiday World almost 10 years ago and the Raven was unbearably rough then. Would not go near it now.
How did Boss not make this list? I thought for sure you'd have it high on the list.
I agree ; the boss is rough and Screaming Eagle was when I last rode it in 2018
@idkwhattoputhere I agree the front is way better
Maybe next time we can do the inverse and discuss the smoothest woodies?
Believe you me, before SFoG introduced Twisted Cyclone, Georgia Cyclone was so much rougher than great American scream machine. I was only 11 (2001) when I rode it and that bone rattling memory has stuck with me to this day. I tried again a few years after the first experience and it was identical. Glad it’s gone lol.
It's a shame you didn't get to ride the beast this year when you visited, because it wasn't open yet, but the Beast is now SUPER smooth. Actually so smooth is lost some of its anger through the woods. Thanks to the ride being silky smooth now there is actually a line to ride it.
I know, i really didn't realize it wouldn't be open until i was on the way there
I got up to Wolverine Wildcat again this year. The parts tgat were recently retracked are a night and day difference from the rest of the ride.
I rode Great American Scream Machine in the late 90s several times in a row and loved it but I was also 12. Fast forward to riding it in 2009 and it absolutely destroyed my back, and was hurting for several days afterwards. A friend of mine rode it a few years ago and ended up dislodging a kidney stone!
Combine your coaster and baseball interest and do a “What Local Player is like Every Park’s Coaster” series. like “What Red is like each coaster at Kings Island”. You did this for SRS one time but would be cool to do this for your main channel.
Haha yeah i thought gagne was a good example of an RMC. Not sure how that works with other players. Bellinger and gallo are coasters that suck 85% of the time but have 1 great element
Top three roughest rides I’ve ever had…3. Son of Beast….2. Mean Streak…1. Great American Scream Machine.
All three were very rough woodies when I rode. Glad to see 2 of these gone. Great American Scream Machine either needs Titan tracking or RMCing (which won’t happen) or tear it down.
I just moved to DC and made my first ever visit to SFA in late June, and I'm surprised to learn from this video that Roar was retracked for this season because it stood out as the roughest woodie I've ever ridden. I'm going back next weekend, and might try again, but I rode the back last time and now I'll only ride the front. If that's how it is after a retrack then God help us all because it's clearly a lost cause of a coaster.
Eh stick to wild one. That one is really good still
@@AirtimeThrills Yeah I was surprised how well that holds up. By chance I happened to be by Great Escape recently and was equally surprised by Comet.
If you ever journey back to Lake Compounce give wildcat a try. Can’t speak for blue streak or GASM, but no way it could be lower than 3 on this list
Congrats on the SOB credit
Is it 2 credits for with and without the loop?