As a self-confessed cred fiend, when poring over Coast2Coaster trying to decide where my next big coaster trip should be you can bet that my eye is always initially draw to the purple pins - eg locations with ten creds or more. Because of course, the more creds the better, right? Well, as I've grown older and wiser in my cred-hunting days it's become more and more apparent that those purple and red pins are catfish, they look attractive on the surface but once you dig into the detail you realise that most of the coasters listed and either complete rubbish or so forgettable one wonders what the point in their existence is in the first place. In my experience, this was most poignant on my visits to Energylandia, so I wanted to expand a little on this today. 

Firstly, let's explore the benefits of having a lot of creds. It's a great marketing claim to be able to say 'most rollercoasters in the area' or 'most thrilling park' based on some kind of metric associated with the quantity. And of course, visiting a park like that for the first time, especially if you're a family of non-enthusiasts, the prospect of just so many rollercoasters to enjoy is a tantalising one. Pay just £30 and get to enjoy all of these rides over and over again? It feels like you're spoiled for choice which again, is a very appealing prospect, especially when it comes to tempting people to visit. I get it. 

BUT, I feel even as a non-enthusiast, once you're in the place and start riding the coasters surely it would quickly become apparent that a lot of this stuff is just crap? And sure, many families (especially with younger children), won't particularly care for the quality as long as it leaves a smile on the kids' faces, but then I would argue audiences that fall into that category would be just as satisfied with a visit to a local funfair (and probably for half the cost). Those who pay attention to such things would surely quickly start to feel a little ripped off. Yes, there are tons of rides here, but when over 75% of them are not very good, it begs the question: what is the point?

What is the point of having multiple similar family sit down coasters dotted across various corners of the park? What is the point of having a Big Apple and a Go-Gator style ride just a few steps away from one another? It starts to feel a bit like the backgrounds in an old Scooby-Doo cartoon - copied and pasted over and over again to save time and money. It's lacking in imagination and any thought for guest experience and all about how things appear on paper. 

It leads to disappointment and dare I say even boredom whilst you're at the park. To turn the corner and find yet another family sit down coaster instead of say...an interesting flat ride, or a dark ride, or a water ride, or a nicely themed restaurant, or literally anything else? I understand having two of the same ride type next to one another to improve capacities for example, but to have essentially the same coaster copied and pasted across every corner of the park to make some kind of point and fill some space is utterly bizarre to me, especially considering what else that money could be spent on. 

And it makes the rides forgettable. When you have so many similar rides inside one park our memories find it hard to separate the experiences and they end up meshing into one bland, unimpressionable ride, which essentially nullifies the existence of the things in the first place. 

I'm not saying I wish Energylandia had less rides, I just wish it weren't so obvious that they were clearly just buying whatever they could get their hands on in an attempt to grab some on-paper claims to market the place. In reality the park has some excellent, world-beating thrill coasters in Hyperion, Zadra and Formula and some really fun family coasters too with Boomerang and Dragon Roller Coaster. So I ask again, with such a solid line-up of fantastic coasters to do more than their fair share of heavy lifting in terms of painting Energylandia as a must-visit attraction for families in Poland (which I very much believe it is) then why bring down the overall quality of the place by also having the poor quality/repetitive rides in there too?

For me it's like this: if you had a budget to stick to for a dinner that would more than cover the cost of enough gourmet dishes to serve your guests, why would you choose to spend half that budget on supermarket-own-brand economy products to fill the space at the table? All you end up with is a strange mix of palettes and balance of quality that delights in some areas and disappoints in others. 

This isn't to say I didn't enjoy my visits to Energylandia - I very much did and it bears repeating: Hyperion and Zadra are two of my favourite coasters in the entire world. But the experience of the park left me cold and frustrated and I came away feeling the budgets could have been better spent elsewhere, especially when riding my third sit-down, unthemed family coaster of the day. I'm very excited to see Aqualantis and Abyssus, set to open this year. With a company like JoraVision attached I'm really intrigued to see how the end product looks as we know their theming is usually wonderful, and I'm glad to see that with each new project more attention appears to be paid to such nuances, but for me the park has a long way to go in terms of figuring itself out, but it's a journey I'm excited to watch and support with each new addition. 

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Have you visited Energylandia? What did you think of the park? Is it better to have more coasters or fewer but of higher quality? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!

Talk later xoxo,

Many Thanks to Energylandia for gifting us tickets to visit the park!

The Polish parks suddenly came on everybody's radar seemingly out of nowhere a few years ago, and every year they've seemed to go from strength to strength, with large investment after large investment until finally I bit the bullet and decided it was high time to pop over and see what all the fuss was about for myself.

I will say that on paper, Energylandia wasn't exactly a park I was majorly excited about, but the cred whore in me got the better on me with that tantalising +12. These brand new parks that pop up always feel a little cold in my opinion atmosphere-wise - it's like a park needs that history and heritage to really have an ambience about it and no amount of off-the-shelf coasters and bright, colourful theming is going to disguise that. But that said, Hyperion lives here and I'd be lying if I didn't say that was the main draw for me with the park, so cue early April when I was finally boarding my WizzAir flight to try it for myself.

So the park itself is absolutely huge. I mean massive. And flat, so flat in fact that you could stand in most areas and see to the other side of the huge park because theming-wise there's not a ton going on (more on that in a bit). It reminded me a lot of playing a basic RCT scenario where money is no object but you're not allowed to let your park rating fall below 700 otherwise your park closes so you just buy a lot of random shit to keep the peeps happy (y'all know the ones). The layout of the park is mega confusing - entrance signs are nowhere near the actual entrances of the rides and if we hadn't had the heads up from CoasterForce I'm sure we'd have ended up doing the huge walk around to Hyperion instead of slithering down the side alley the way we did (again, not signposted). It's actually quite overwhelming at the start of the day to take it all in!

Theming-wise it's strange. Some areas feel like a ton of effort has been put in to make everything feel cohesive and nice, but others you can really see where the budget has fallen short. It's things to me like carving an allusion to a door out of concrete as opposed to building an actual door - you get what I mean? Or the Wacky Worm, for example, which was literally a travelling model propped up on some concrete with a ton of fibreglass theming items strewn around to try and disguise the ugly metal supports. A lot of the areas of the park felt cheap and garish, which is saying a lot as the weather was freezing and bleak when we visited. Again, a lot of travelling fairground rides masquerading as permanent theme park attractions. I think it'd be entirely fair enough to describe Energylandia as the world's biggest permanent fairground because everything about it had that air of temporality and cheapness about it.


But then in another breath, there are areas of the park that feel like effort is being put into creating some kind of coherent lands, creating a 'proper' theme park. The area this felt most apparent to me was the Viking themed land - tons of really nicely themed buildings, eateries, little wagons strewn about complete with Viking costume characters interacting with guests. If more areas of the park felt like this then I think overall it would be a much more pleasant park. Given their trend of going back and adding more theming as time passes I'd daresay that's what they've got planned for the rest of the park, especially the areas that feel the least finished.

I understand that the park is taking things in phases, but it definitely feels that way and it seems an odd tactic to me to put rides in and operate them half/unthemed but I guess if Hansa Park can do it then why not Energylandia? It does seem strange to me though that the park have fully dived into creating a brand new land complete with a massive RMC when they have rides currently operating that are desperately in need of dressing/theming. What's even funnier is that the unthemed rides are drawn on the map as themed, so it took us a moment to figure out that the naked splash boats ride was actually the Mayan temple themed water ride the map was portraying! Very weird indeed.


Rides then. Honestly because there were soooo many creds I didn't actually end up riding anything other than the coasters and the dark ride. So I guess I'll start with the dark ride? It was...uh...unique? Essentially it was a big ol' shed with a ghost train style system, a low budget gun system, a ton of fibreglass models of Xenomorphs-but-not-for-copyright reasons and a narrative that made sense (and not because we didn't speak the language). So to sum up, I loved it. I honestly had a great time riding this because none of it made any bloody sense, we never knew what was coming around the corner but whatever it was was hilarious. We definitely came off smiling!

Coasters - look there's 12 of them with 3 more currently under construction. Energylandia's main marketing pull is that they're the biggest theme park in Poland and they're very intent on confirming that position by just pouring rides into this place. I'm not going to spend hours of my life writing a detailed description of every kiddie coaster the park has to offer but what I will do is talk you through my favs (leaving Hyperion for last, obv). I'll kick things off with Boomerang, an adorable little Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster themed to bats. It's kind of like Vampire's baby brother in theming and style - I absolutely loved it (obviously, it's themed to spooky things!) All of the VFBs I've ridden have been a fun ride and this was no exception - smooth, forceful, slightly gimmicky but in a fun way and an all round great family offering. It's also a great example of what I was talking about a second ago re theming as the park goes along - the coaster originally opened unthemed but the theming was added later, and now it looks great!



Formula was a coaster I'd been watching closely through its construction. I've long been a Vekoma fangirl and I've been itching to get on one of these next gen designs for the longest time. On paper and in POVs this thing looked great - snappy launch, whippy little inversions and a spattering of airtime to top it all off. But given Vekoma's record I wasn't entirely convinced by what I was seeing online so I waited with baited breath on board that train as it prepared to launch praying it would be as good as I'd dared to hope. And...yep it's pretty bloody great. Everything the POVs promised and more - plus it didn't make me feel nauseous at all which was new for a Vekoma in my world! This coaster is great and I very much look forward to more like it popping up in other parks around Europe, which I wholeheartedly believe they will.


Dragon Roller Coaster is the park's Suspended Family Coaster and man has it got a little bite to it. I've been on a fair few of these and this is by far the best I've ever ridden. So much more forceful and speedy than it'd have you believe, you feel almost lulled into a false sense of security as you traipse through the How-To-Train-Your-Dragon-Esque theming of the queueline. Then WHOOSH, whipped over the lift hill and down the dragon's gullet, chomp chomp. So much fun, gliding and flying across the water in and around the dragon centrepiece. A really cool attraction in the Viking themed land, I just wish the main sign was in a place that made more sense as it's a really cool one and really misleading where it's currently sat.



What about something I actively hated then? Oh Viking Roller Coaster, why do you exist? Not so long ago I wrote an article about how I secretly love spinning wild mouse coasters, ironic then that one turned out to be one of my least favourite coasters of all time. I've been on an SBF Visa spinning wild mouse before, and don't remember it being half as hateful as this one. It's slow, clunky, the transitions are painful, the spin is controlled and dull. And it has bloody over the shoulder restraints?! Why?? Burn it to the ground, awful awful ride! Or I mean, go and ride it for yourself to see how bad it actually is? It's kind of funny in that way...

The rest of the coasters in the park are fairly unremarkable +1 off-the-shelf affairs so I shan't go into much detail of those apart from saying there were all fine. Just fine, not good, not bad, just...fine.

So that leaves Hyperion, aka the saving grace of Energylandia in my opinion. Oh god how I loved this coaster, just soooo much fun! The theme is fairly random in the context of where it is in the park (nothing else vaguely space themed around?) but who cares, this coaster kicks arse. The queueline is really cool and a real effort has been made to convey a proper narrative that builds as you approach the station building. It feels similar to the likes of Helix or even Air/Galactica in it's styling - quite cold and brutalist with an edge of neon futurism. The station itself is great, a huge dramatic countdown before the coaster ascends the lifthill as plumes of smoke fill the platform before dispatch. And then you climb.


And my god is it high. It's so high. I'll admit I was pretty terrified on my first ascent but that soon gave way to pure adrenaline and euphoria as we plummeted down the first drop. Easily one of the best first drops I've ever experienced - absolutely excellent and gut-wrenching in every way before powering through to that first awesome airtime hill that takes your breath away. Snappy little inversion next before racing back on yourself over tons of bunny hills big and small before what is easily the best part of the ride - SIDEWAYS AIRTIME HILL GOODNESS! This thing is such a little bastard of an element and no matter how hard you try to stay put and anticipate it it always catches you off guard and flings you from your seat. Urgh, so GOOD! Final few bunny hills before slamming into the brake run and taking a moment to take it all in.

It really is an excellent coaster. Not top 10 material for me, but that's only because I've been on so many coasters (humble brag, but true). It's easily one of the best coasters in Europe - it kind of rides like an elongated SkyRush crossed with a B&M hyper coaster. Hyperion is so good it made travelling all the way to Poland and visiting Energylandia worthwhile just to experience it. What a coaster!




Energylandia isn't by any means the most beautiful or well themed park in the world, but nor does it claim to be. I'd argue that it's still very much finding its feet in the theme park industry and each investment seems to have improved in quality as time has gone on, with Hyperion being the best and most excellent example of what the park are capable of. Little things like starting the day off and seeing the day out with a huge show with all of the park's entertainment team show that the park are really dedicated to creating a truly immersive and enjoyable theme park day out. I'm very excited to see how Zadra and the new themed land turns out, and if recent years are anything to go by the park will onto continue to grow and go from strength to strength!

It's January, it's cold, it's bleak, we're locked down YET AGAIN and Blackpool opening weekend has been cancelled. This calls for drastic action. OK, who's ready for some blind optimism? I know the middle of a nationwide national emergency with no light at the end of the tunnel isn't the best time to be trip planning for the year ahead, but also it is the BEST time to be trip planning for the year ahead. Mostly because being in trip planning mode is when my powers are strongest and it provides me a glimpse of escapism and a reminder that this is all temporary. Also it's a Cupcakes & Coasters staple new year blog post and I'm not going to let a little thing like a killer global pandemic throw me off my stride. So yes, we're doing it, we're talking about things I'm excited to ride this year. Even if I know most of them probably won't happen but hey, we can dream. 

Side note, this post won't include any of the coasters listed in last year's most anticipated list that I wasn't able to ride because of Miss Rona. That doesn't mean I'm not excited to ride them, or not planning on getting out to ride them this year, it's purely for the simple fact that I really don't want to repeat myself as I only actually managed to tick two off of my 2020 list so it would end up largely the same and that's no fun for y'all to read nor me to write. 

(Source)

Kicking things off with the first cred on this list that I have actually booked and paid to go ride (not that that guarantees anything!) Hyper Coaster at Land of Legends Theme Park in Turkey is one of two Mack Flash coasters and to put it bluntly, looks absolutely nuts. I make no attempt at hiding that I'm not the hugest Mack fan, but come on, look at this thing! I was obsessed when the original Flash at Lewa Adventure in China opened in 2016 so I'm pretty stoked there's a version a little closer to home for me to get my claws into. 

(Source)

Come on, did you expect this list NOT to include this coaster? Opening at Walibi Belgium in 2021, Kondaa is the latest in Intamin madness coming to Europe as part of some really major theme park developments across Belgium putting this usually unassuming country firmly back on enthusiast theme park maps. I absolutely adored Energylandia's Hyperion and this looks to be a step up from that. Combined with some excellent station and entrance theming, gorgeous trains and some seriously WTF elements (hello non-inverting cobra roll) I'm sure I'm not alone in having Kondaa at the top of my 2021 bucket list. 

(Source: Diary of a Roller Coaster Girl)

After four years of construction I felt for sure that 2020 would be the year I'd finally get my butt on the fabled Vekoma flying coaster at my favourite theme park in the world, Phantasialand, but alas F.L.Y. eluded me for another year, so here it is on yet another (and hopefully final) most anticipated list! Need I really go into detail as to why I want to ride this thing so much? Ignoring the fact that I'm a bit of a nu_school Vekoma fangirl, this coaster just oozes creativity and once again demonstrates how Phantasialand seem to be masters of marrying the concept of a high-thrill coaster with gorgeous, immersive scenery and unbridled world-building and storytelling. I want to immerse myself in the Steampunky goodness and I want it NOW. 

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When it opened back in 2018, Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City had my trip planning senses twitching and itching to book myself a ticket on the first plane into the Ozarks, so imagine my delight that another of the same type has popped up just across the English Channel! Look, I know this mostly likely won't have the fabulous wild west charm of that American family theme park in the mountains, but I've long been a fan of the Plopsa parks and think they do a pretty sterling job theming-wise. So whilst it won't have the thrill and natural beauty of its cousin across the pond, I've no doubt EuroTime Traveler will be gorgeous in its own right. Plus, it looks absolutely wild?! I'm a little nervous that this coaster has the very real potential to leave me feeling a little nauseous but hopefully it's not too terrible that I can't enjoy it. 

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When making my initial 2021 travel plans, Energylandia wasn't a park that initially cropped up, but thinking about how easy it was to pop over and visit multiple times in 2019 I've decided to add it to the list. Granted between COVID-19 and Brexit things might not be as straightforward this time around, but I think Abyssus is worth making the effort for if only for a fleeting weekend visit. Did I mention I'm a nu_school Vekma fangirl? And what bigger nu_school Vekoma project to get my knickers in a twist over than the glorious-looking Vekoma Shockwave model Abyssus. Just when I was starting to get jealous of oh so many Asian theme parks getting all the new Vekoma goodness and up pops Energylandia with their 17th(?) coaster. I'm wary of Energylandia - their theming is a little...rough around the edges shall we say? But that doesn't mean the coaster won't be world class and with Jora Vision involved with the project I'm reserving judgement until I see it in person for myself. 

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Another Belgian beauty on my most anticipated comes in the form of new for 2019 Gerstlauer Infinity coaster Fury at Bobbejaanland. Gimmicks aside, I've thought this coaster looked absolutely fierce from day dot and I absolutely adored Gold Rush at Slagharen when we rode it back in 2018. I've found that Gerstlauer are good, actually, and Fury is yet another exciting Gerstlauer addition that I'd love to try out for myself. Also very intrigued to get back to the dumpster fire that was Bobbejaanland. When I visited back in 2011 I really didn't enjoy the park, but it seems they've had a bit of TLC in recent years so I'm very interested to see how it has changed recently with the addition of a major new coaster including some pretty great looking theming. 

(Source)

Finally, Monster at Grona Lund in Stockholm. As somebody who just last year complete the full set of operating B&Ms would you expect me to give up the set that easily? This project has interested me greatly for years and years, ever since we first heard whispers of it happening years ago. Why the park fancied a B&M invert of all things I'll never know, but as a fan of this particular coaster type and as somebody fascinated with theme park design I just can't wait to see how this fits into the already stacked Grona Lund landscape. Also I haven't been to the park since summer 2016 so it's definitely high time I got my butt back to Stockholm for a long weekend!

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So there you have it, my extremely optimistic list of coasters I'm looking forward to riding this year. Will I get on all of these trips this year? Who the fuck knows. Will I get to ride any of these coasters at all? Probably not. But that doesn't mean we can't live in an alternative land of make believe during lockdown where these things are a possibility to make the whole thing a little more bearable. 

What about you, what are your plans for 2021? Which coasters are you most looking forward to riding for the first time this season? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!

Talk later xoxo,

If you're a long term reader here at Cupcakes and Coasters you'll be aware that back in April I took a little trip over to Poland to visit Energylandia and Legendia - namely to ride the incredible looking Hyperion but also to check out the intriguing Lech Coaster. I've always been a bit of a Vekoma fan girl and whilst I'm not going to see here tonight and tell you that their whole portfolio is actually excellent (obviously it's not, looking at you SLCs) but I do wholeheartedly believe that Vekoma are entirely undeserving of the negative rap they've received over the years and in the past it's not been uncommon for me to find myself explaining why actually their coasters aren't that bad.

But in recent years, that's all changed with what I like to call 'New Wave' Vekoma. Somewhere around the early 2010s Vekoma kind of went quiet on us. That's not to say they stopped making coasters, far from it, but there seemed to be a focus on their family offering. Family suspended coasters, family boomerangs and junior coasters popping up here, there and everywhere which seemed to keep the business ticking over whilst they squirrelled away doing lord knows what.

Those family coasters have always been Vekoma's bread and butter - in my opinion they're easily the best family coaster manufacturer and the three aforementioned designs never fail to give a solid ride - when well themed like the likes of Raik, Flight of the Pterosaur and even the higher budget end of the scale like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are easily some of the best family coasters on offer and it's fab that Vekoma are able to offer such flawless designs for such a wide range of parks from the extremely high budget to the independently operated low budget. Vekoma offer something for everyone and I'd argue that it's their versatility in being able to cater for these different budgets whilst never compromising on quality that's kept them afloat all these years. There's no risk with a Vekoma family coaster, you know you're going to get a great product whatever your investment capability - if that's not a surefire sign of quality I don't know what is.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere in 2016, Formula at Energylandia came onto my radar and I remember doing a double take at the design. This...was a Vekoma design? But it looks so smooth? A launch?! What the hell? Vekoma have always been creative and innovative but this felt like a bit of a gamechanger - we'd never seen the likes of this from Vekoma and I was SO excited. But obviously that excitement didn't come without a pang of cynicism - as much of a Vekoma-defender I'd been in the past I was nervous about this design. Inversions...they've never really been Vekoma's strong suit and the inversions they'd created previously seemed hellbent on delivering nothing but headbashing and earache. And a launch? Really? After those horrendous trundling launches on the booster bike coasters and the like of Rock n Roller Coaster I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect. But either way, this design looked new and exciting and...airtime filled which is something we'd NEVER seen from Vekoma before. Is it possible to be cautiously excited? This felt a lot like that.

And then they kept coming at us - TRON Lightcycle Power Run came on the scene shortly after Formula which, let's be honest it's Disney so even if the coaster itself was bad the theming would obviously made up for it but something seemed different about this. This wasn't your standard rattly ol' booster bike, this was booster bike 2.0! Then fastforward to mid 2017 and we get the fabulous Lech Coaster which on paper looked like everything Vekoma wasn't. It looked...unwordly, a complete reimagining of everything we'd every come to expect from Vekoma and I remember just SALIVATING over the pics and videos coming out of Legendia. And that settled it, I HAD to get myself on one of these new wave designs to finally see once and for all how they rode. Surely they couldn't be as good as they looked? From Vekoma? We would see...

Fastforward to today and I've now ridden TRON, Lech and Formula and good lord, these coasters are absolute gamechangers in the best possible way!

Firstly let's talk TRON. Obviously the theming is obscene because it's Disney and yes I will confess that I audibly went WOW when the coaster entered the show building proper but theming aside for the purpose of this discussion - the coaster itself is absolutely incredible. Firstly, the launch. Considering I only really had the likes of Booster Bike and Velocity to compare this to you can imagine my surprise when this thing HAULED ASS out of the station building. The launch is just so powerful and impactful, it had me gasping for breath the first time I rode as I was absolutely not expecting to be whipped down the track with quite so much gusto. I'll be honest I...don't remember too much about the coaster itself once inside the show building because I was too busy being distracted by the awesomeness inside. But I guess you could see that as a good thing in that the coaster was so glass smooth and the forces flowed so well with the theming and narrative of the attraction that it was barely noticeable. Incredible.



Lech Coaster and Formula are clearly sequels to each other and you can definitely see where Vekoma have taken all the best bits from their Formula design and used them to create the perfection that is Lech Coaster. I'm not going to dive too in depth into my thoughts on Lech and Formula here and I've chatted about it EXTENSIVELY in my other blogs and vlogs from the parks and I bet you're probably sick of me gushing on by now about how bloody incredible they both are but I'll just say this. They're both excellent coasters and I insist you book flights to Poland immediately so you can go ride them.

So yes, it's fair to say that I am VERY excited to see what we'll be getting from Vekoma in the future. I can't wait for more people to experience the incredibleness that is TRON when it opens at Magic Kingdom in Orlando, the new 'extreme' coaster coming to Energylandia in 2020 looks absolutely obscene and obviously we're all absolutely gagging to finally try out FLY at Phantasialand to see what the hell kind of coaster Vekoma are building in that big ol' pit. Given how Lech, Formula and TRON ride I have full confidence that FLY may well be one of the best coaster experiences in the world when it finally opens. The future is looking very bright for this previously shit upon coaster manufacturer and given the world class coasters they've churned out in recent years I can't wait for the days coming soon where we're talking about Vekoma in the same league as B&M, Intamin and RMC. In my opinion they really are that good and the only way is up from here!

For some reason I really thought I'd written this already, but turns out I haven't updated it on the blog for years so it's something I'd keen to start doing at the top end of every new season. I find a top ten list can tell you a lot about someone. It can show you everything from which countries they've been able to visit, their manufacturer preference and if they prefer a ground-hugging multi-launcher over an airtime saturated giant. I also think people take them very seriously, which isn't something I personally do (to the point where I don't actually know mine by memory and have to revert to the note on my phone haha). I actually find that writing the list itself is extremely hard - I want it to be balanced and showcase the different parks I've been to but also be a true reflection of my taste and favourites.

I'm sure others who have a high coaster count can attain to the difficulty of narrowing the list down at this point - I know many who now revert to a top twenty, or indeed a separate top wood and top steel list to try and ease the process. But apparently I'm a masochist but I still force myself to brutally chip away until I have a shiny list of ten coasters I can undeniably say that I adore. Despite this, I don't actually put them in any real order after the first two or three so yh, sorry about that. I'm also a fickle beast and change my mind over and over so I'm hoping that this effort of recording the thing publicly as opposed to a slightly shady list on my phone will go some way towards changing that. Here we go then:

10 - Maverick, Cedar Point
I vividly remember watching the construction of this coaster and thinking it had everything I love in a ride: multiple launches, inversions taken at high speeds and tons of airtime hills and sexy transitions. So I was ecstatic that it rode every bit as good as it looked and made its way straight into my list.

9 - Dinoconda, China Dinosaur Park
It's a shame S&S stopped making these but honestly I don't blame them. Another thing I adore on a coaster is a feeling of total rag-doll-like helplessness where you're at complete mercy of the machine, and no coaster type does this better than the S&S 4D coasters. I'm always reminded of Goldilocks when it comes to this trio of insanity - Eejanaika is too much, X2 is not quite enough but Dinoconda is just right,

8 - Hyperion, Energylandia
Honestly I didn't pay much attention to when Hyperion was being constructed. I famously do not care for the bigger Intamin types so this one didn't really peak my interests and I'd be lying if I said the sole reason I wanted to go to Energylandia was for the beefy cred injection as opposed to any strong desire to ride anything there. But wow, Hyperion blew me away. Even in the approaching-zero temperatures of my first visit to the park, the thing was glass smooth with strong, sustained airtime in all the right places and some insane elements peppered throughout for that little extra spice. I didn't put in on the list after my initial visit in April but when I went back in September its glory was undeniable.

7 - Oz'Iris, Parc Asterix
Look, I love a B&M invert as much as the next coaster enthusiast but I've never been overly blown away by them apart from maybe Nemesis, but for me that's mostly in the theming. Then along came Oz'Iris and everything changed. This thing is so powerful and intense yet somehow manages to soar through its compact and twisted layout without leaving me feeling nauseous. Tons of gorgeous, floaty moments as you glide through inversion after inversion before the cherry on the cake with that final hidden zero g. It's stunning.

6 - Helix, Liseberg
Few moments have given me greater joy than a night ride on Helix, being flung towards the Gothenburg skyline at high speeds before disorientingly flipping into an inversion. The airtime is brutal and comes seemingly out of nowhere, forcing you out of your seat and into your restraint. It slithers and snakes around the hill like an apex predator on the hunt with just as much venom and determination.

5 - The Voyage, Holiday World
This went straight into my list when I first rode it back in 2014 and for some reason was removed between then and 2019 when I revisited the park. No idea how I forgot just how incredible this coaster is but my GOD it's breathtaking. Thundering through its layout the coaster gives absolutely no relief or moment to catch your breath before it'd diving down another hill or flying over another airtime hill. You can feel the raw power of it emanating from the train as you traverse the layout and it translates into an absolutely electric feeling of euphoria for the rider. Best wooden coaster in the world if you ask me!

4 - Formula Rossa, Ferrari World
Look, I like launches and Rossa delivers in every aspect on what a launch should do. It leaves you with that pit in your stomach that makes you think you just about can't take anymore before releasing you, and the payoff is a rush of pure adrenaline through your veins which courses beautifully as you race through the remainder of the track through beautifully smooth transitions and floaty airtime hills.

3 - Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
Did you really think we'd get all the way through this list without mentioning RMC? There's no denying they make world-class coasters, but Steel Vengeance is a cut above the rest. It's in its own class entirely, and between the insane inversions as you hurtling through tons of wooden supports and myriad of airtime hills from the huge gliding beasts to mean little bunny hills, I'll leave it up to you to understand why.

2 - Taron, Phantasialand
Taron is what I would use as an example of theme park ride perfection. It's an absolute masterclass in how to design a coaster right in everything from the actual layout of the thing and how it rides to the train and track design to the exquisite theming that engulfs it and gives it its macabre and brooding personality. It's got speed, it's got insanely tight and thrilling transitions, its got airtime in bucketloads AND it's got a giant rock dragon AND a waterfall, plus a hidden launch within a smouldering pit. I honestly look forward to the day something comes along that beats Taron at its own game because having more awesomeness like this in the world can only be a good thing.

1 - SkyRush, Hersheypark
I wish I could more vividly remember how SkyRush felt to ride but hey, 16 rides during an ERT session wasn't for lack of trying. Did I come off severely bruised? Yes? Did I never want the night to end and will this to be my fate for the rest of eternity? Also yes. SkyRush delivered airtime in a way I had never experienced before and it gave me that first taste of the ragdoll sensation that I've since grown to seek out in coasters. There was something so tantalising and undeniably enjoyable about knowing that this thing could quite literally fling me to a brutal and painful death, save for the small slither of a restraint gripping my now multi-coloured thighs. Add to that the thrill of the speed and the general good vibes of a balmy Pennsylvania summer's eve and you'll understand why I hold it in such high regard.

So there we have it! Honestly I feel like a proud mother when I look back through it. I get very attached to coasters I love and have fond memories of so any new members that make the cut should feel very privileged indeed! Looking at the year ahead I can see a couple of contenders who might make the cut but only the season will tell!

Another year, another list of coasters I'm just gagging to ride! There's something really satisfying to me about lists like these, it's like I'm watching in real time as my plans come together to tick things off of my bucket list.

Let's face it, 2018 is going to be a pretty hard year to beat. Not only because the trips I went on last year took me to some slightly more 'exotic' places than your standard coaster trip with China and the UAE, but also because here in the UK the coaster scene was the most thriving and exciting it's been in year's and there were also a bunch of fabulous European coasters to throw into the mix too.

2019...well...not so much. It feels like parks have gone a little more 'experiential' with the coasters this year and whilst there are definitely some interesting additions there's not a whole bunch of newness that's had me going OH MY GOD MUST RIDE IMMEDIATELY. It makes sense - not every year can be as fruitful as the last otherwise things just wouldn't be sustainable.

Also from a personal POV (and by that I mean my bank account) it's kind of nice to have a bit of a break. It also gives me a chance to catch up a little on places I've neglected in years previous and allows me to finally tick some big boys off of my must visit list (no idea what my park bucket list is going to look like after this year!)

So yh, the following list is a fine blend of new for 2019 bits that I am actually interested in riding (it doesn't necessarily include all of the new for 2019 coasters I'll be riding this year come to think of it) and some coasters that have been open a while that I've just not gotten round to yet. Here we go!

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This is going to sound like such a first world problem but sigh, yes, I am returning to Orlando this year. My sister is getting married in the Keys so we're heading over in July. It's going to be putridly hot and sweaty, the crowds are going to be heaving, everything is going to cost twice as much because it's peak period but to take the edge off, it should mean that I get to ride the new Potter thing!

This thing looks right up my alley. First off, it's got launches yay. Secondly, it's built by Intamin, fuck yh. Thirdly, it's more than likely going to be the best themed rollercoaster in the world when it opens and I am all about that life. I'm not a die hard Potter fan by any means, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entirely buzzing to finally get on this thing. Universal have done an absolutely stellar job at keeping the full details of the ride under wraps, to the point where when I think about it, I really have no clue what to expect. And I LOVE that. In this day and age that never really happens anymore so I'm sooo ready to ride this thing going in completely blind. Will the queue be grotesque? Undoubtedly. Will it be worth it? Time will obviously tell but going by what Universal have created before I am 100% faithful that this thing is going to be an absolute game changer.

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Because last year was so manic I unfortunately had to sacrifice my spot on the Poland hype-train, so I'm a little behind in visit the parks over there. It's kind of bizarre when you look at the coaster line up at Energylandia that something like Hyperion even lives there. I'm very intrigued to get on this coaster - it's like Intamin looked at the magic B&M were creating with their hyper coasters and decided to relook at their design. There's clearly some inspiration from B&M when you look at the layout of Hyperion but I'm hoping it's going some of that Intamin intensity that I love in the like of SkyRush and Taron.

The one thing I am slightly concerned about with Hyperion is its potential similarity with i305. I HATE i305. I mean I loathe it, it's one of my least favourite coasters in the world. It's too intense, and takes all the height and speed and uses it to basically crush your brain into a horrible ball of blackout horrendousness. Vile coaster. From the looks of Hyperion it seems they've gone for a slightly different approach with the big swooping airtime hills and SkyRush style restraints, so here's hoping it delivers!

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It even feels weird to be writing this coaster down on my list. For years I've looked longingly at pictures of this beautiful machine on the screen of my laptop and wondered when the day would finally come for me to ride it for myself. Every single time I'd planned to go to Cedar Point things came up that meant that it didn't end up happening. But not this year. 2019 is finally the year, fifteen years after starting this stupid hobby that I finally make it to the coaster Mecca that is Cedar Point. And more importantly, I finally get to take my seat in pole position for the launched Intamin gloriousness that is Top Thrill Dragster.

The speed! The acceleration! The LAPBARS! I'm salivating just thinking about it. Y'all know how I feel about my precious Stealth, and I can only imagine that Top Thrill Dragster is like that on crack. I am so bloody ready.

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Storm Chaser always seems like the RMC that nobody really talks about, but the people I know who have ridden this coaster absolutely rave about it. I haven't ridden a ton of RMCs in the wider context of things, but I do really adore Outlaw Run so I'm hoping that the compact layout of that beauty says something about what to expect from Storm Chaser. The layout looks like it was essentially designed to deliver airtime and buttloads of it whilst simultaneously trying to fling you out of your seat. I guess it kind of looks like RMC does Phoenix - a compact layout with mad, insane airtime and not a ton more. Short, sweet, to the point but all the more awesome for it and I'm gagged to try it for myself!

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Right, disclaimer time. I am fully aware of the fact that Phantasialand run on their own damn timeline because well, fuck everyone else right? For ages it was assumed that F.L.Y. would open 2019, then it was late 2019, now as I'm writing this I've gone on the coaster's RCDB page and it's been downgraded to 2020. But I mean, nobody truly knows what the deal is and I'm planning on visiting the park a couple of times towards the end of the year so to hell with it, it's on the list.

And god, where do I even start with this. An entirely new coaster concept never before seen from my beloved Vekoma that combines slower dark-ride type section with a flying coaster position including a launch?! On paper it sounds like the stuff of dreams, which thinking about it is probably why Phantasialand are doing it in the first place because they like to keep things freaky and weird. Honestly, with F.L.Y. I'm not even that excited for the coaster portion, I'm excited for the way the theming is going to be integrated with the coaster and the whole narrative of the thing. Rookburgh itself looks like it's going to be one of the most immersive non-IP themed lands in existance and if that's not exciting then I don't know what to tell ya. It's going to be obscene, in 2019, or 2020, or whenever the park decide to open the thing.

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When Cedar Point build an RMC you know they're going to mean business and I'll be honest, I'm shitting myself about riding this coaster. It's MASSIVE and from the tales I've heard of the airtime this coaster delivers I'm full prepared to be fearing for my life the entire time I'm whipping around the track. And I know I'm going to love every minute of it - it's the reason I adore coasters like SkyRush and Taron, nothing like a little sprinkling of impending death to really spice up a ride!

But urgh, that first drop. Genuinely think I'm going to need a change of underwear, it's too much to even comprehend. From the giant swooping drops, insane RMC inversions where you're engulfed by wooden structure to the tiny little bunny hills at the end, this coaster looks like pure insanity from start to finish and I feel like I'm going to need a good hour post-ride to recover.

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Still kind of insane that Heide Park have retracked this entire Intamin wooden coaster over the past couple of seasons. Although they're slightly formulaic in the current coaster climate of mad RMC layouts and the insane intensity of the Mack multi-launchers, there really is nothing that guarantees a healthy dose of airtime like an Intamin woodie. I'm so glad this coaster is receiving the TLC it needed and is getting a new lease of life for a brand new generation. I'll never forget my first ride on this coaster - it was one of my first real experience of sustained ejector airtime and I never looked back!

Plus, from the looks of things the new theming is only going to serve to heighten the experience and make the whole coaster even more epic and badass than before. Plus it's going to serve some excellent Instagram content.

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This coaster is legendary and has been on my must-ride list for a while now. I know everyone who's ridden it reading this list probably thinks I'm mad, but hear me out. As much as I love to travel the world riding the best of the best, I also love to ride coasters that I've heard people talking about for years and years, and it feels like everybody has something to say about Beast (apparently I need to ride it at night?)

I also secretly love coasters that beat you up a little. There's nothing I love more than spending a coaster absolutely wetting myself laughing and it's often something I find myself doing when I ride the legendarily brutal The Ultimate here in the UK. That thing pretty much does its damnedest to break your kneecaps by the time you get back to the station and from the looks of things it kind of feels like Beast might be The Ultimate's Mid-Western American cousin. Prepared for a bruise or two and excited for the experience that will accompany it.

And that only scratches the surface of the awesomeness we'll be riding in 2019! The American road trip alone will be 108 new coasters including 3 RMCs and 13 B&Ms! I'm itching for the season to begin now so I can start chipping away at this list - I really hope they all live up to my expectations and I'm also praying for some hidden gems along the way too. Bring it on!