Guilty Pleasure Coasters

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Inherently I don't really like the phrase 'guilty pleasure'. It implies that you should be embarrassed for liking something, and I'm very much one for you doing you, and not shaming people who enjoy things others don't. Theme park enthusiasts are terrible for creating a mob mentality where people can get absolutely slammed for saying, for example, that they love a ride on a Volare. Sure, those people are monsters, but who are we to judge? If people want to enjoy terrible spine-crushing contraptions then I say let them!

But yh, although I don't like the phrase I couldn't think of another obvious way to get across what I'm chatting about today. I guess it's those coasters that you KNOW you shouldn't love. Like an abusive partner, they hurt you but you keep going back for more because you're twisted in the head. Or something you know technically as an 'adult' (whatever that means) you shouldn't get quite as much joy out of as you do. So yh, those things. That's what I'm talking about today - kind of a confession if you will. Here we go!

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Confession 1 - I BLOODY LOVE FURIUS BACO! Yh, it's shaky as fuck. Yh I do have to hold my boobs down the entire way round to prevent them from escaping. Yh I usually come off with severe skull rattle. But damn, that launch! That airtime! I absolutely LOVE launch coasters and Baco's launch is probably one of my favourites in the world. The punchy combo of launch & airtime is so joyful to me that I end up traversing the rest of the rickety track on a kind of high from it, so I think it takes the edge off the terribleness I hear everybody else going on about all time.

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OK, I'll admit that The Ultimate terrifies me. It's such a bastard of a coaster. The first half is so lovely, lulling you into a false sense of security. Like oh lala here's a bunch of bunny hills through a field, so quaint and lovely. Little do you know the unbanked, brutal horror that awaits in the woods beyond the second big drop. That said, I know it's coming, I know it's going to hurt, I know it's relentless and yet I put myself through it every time I visit Lightwater Valley. Honestly I'd go as far as to say The Ultimate is one of the best coasters in the UK. Yh, I'm a sadist.

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Don't ask me why, but I absolutely bloody love the Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers. Come to think of it, I actually really love Mack Powered Mine Trains in general. I actually think it's more to do with the theming of the things that anything - on Alton's I love flying over the bridge an then hurtling down the helix into the rapids tunnel. On Europa's I ADORE the diamond mine theming and the smells and the interaction with the log flume. I'd say it has something to do with nostalgia - in my head I equate those old mine trains with my childhood visiting Alton and Chessington, so I always get joy out of riding them.

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I don't really mind ZacSpins in general - I find the sheer madness of them hilarious and find they ride like a mini S&S 4D. I know lots of people say they find these coasters too intense and painful but I've never experienced anything uncomfortable to the point where I wasn't enjoying myself. The unpredictability, the craziness, the fact that at any moment you're going to be flung in some mad direction and completely lose all sense of where you are. I also love the little pops of airtime throughout. I do find them scary, don't get me wrong, but it's a fun kind of scary.

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Most enthusiasts I know will bemoan the idea of having to ride a spinning wild mouse for the +1, but I secretly quite enjoy them and would probably have a ride even if I'd already gotten the cred. I'm not the hugest fan of spinny things and will give most spinning flat rides a miss, but I think Spinning Wild Mice provide the perfect level of spinning force. I love the hardcore laterals during the first half of the coaster, I love that weird little hill at the end, I love the drops throughout. I just think they're really fun additions to any park - would love to see a super themed one pop up somewhere one day!

I'm sure there's tons more than have skipped my mind, but those are my top guilty pleasure coasters! What are your guilty pleasure coasters? Remember - never be ashamed to enjoy what you enjoy, even if everybody else is telling you you're an idiot for liking it. Except if you're a Volare fan, I'm afraid you're beyond help.