How To Decide On A Top Ten

Whenever I'm coming towards the end of the season I take a step back and have a look over my coaster count and make adjustments here and there. Admittedly, this year hasn't been that exciting for me coaster-wise, and it's probably the first season in a long time that I haven't finished the year with a new entry to my Top 10.

For those of you who don't know, Top 10s are serious business. As enthusiasts, they make it easy for us to judge whether a person is a complete idiot or not based on what coasters they choose to include in their Top 10, so they're actually a really useful tool!

Myself, I find it really hard to write a Top 10 - especially in the traditional sense anyway. My Top 10 isn't so much a list of my favourite coasters in descending order, but more a bunch of coasters I really like. And there's a pretty varying list if you ask me. Here's a quick glance at mine:

SkyRush
Taron
El Toro
Helix
Iron Rattler
Nemesis
Shambhala
The Voyage
Oz'Iris
Dodonpa

So yh, that's my list of favourites. But it got me thinking - what criteria do I use to come up with my list? Which is what brings me here today! Here's how to decide on a top ten...

A major factor for whether a coaster makes it into my top ten is if I'm immediately overcome with a need to instantly reride the thing once I come off. When you've been on as many coasters as I have (brag brag brag) you ride a lot of crap, and can sometimes become a little 'numb' to the whole coaster experience. It's a fantastic feeling when you pull onto the brake run and have an overwhelming urge to reride IMMEDIATELY. If I don't get that feeling, then it ain't going on the list!

I love seeing shots people have captured of me where I'm just grinning like an idiot all the way around a coaster. And I don't mean just the generic having-fun-smile - I mean the unstoppable almost manical looking smile that's so happy it's kind of terrifying. The kind of smile that remains on your face for hours after the ride is over and that spreads across my face whenever I think of the coaster in question. If it makes me scary-smily then it can go on the list!

I know it's clichéd to say, but I do love me some airtime. Usually my preferred airtime is of the out-of-this-world insane variety that you find on the likes of Taron and SkyRush. I always say they remind me of riding a bucking bronco, but on a coaster track. This is especially great if accompanied by a lapbar, extra points if I feel like I''m going to be flung to my death at any moment. The insane pops of airtime are really what revs my engine, but I am also partial to some sustained floater airtime too - especially if I wear where my restraint on one-click, throw my hands and legs up and basically just float around the track. There's nothing like that feeling, hence why they usually make their way into the top 10.

Honesty time here, I'm not a huge fan of inversions. I find them irritating the majority of the time, especially if they inflict hangtime on me. I find that very few coasters in the world can pull off an inversion that is enjoyable to me - coasters famous for their inversions tend to skew waaaay too forceful for me and can leave me feeling a little sick. And yes I know Nemesis is in my top ten, but for me Nemesis is one of the very few coasters that gets the balance just right. If I never inverted on a coaster again, I probably wouldn't be that fussed. Except for maybe that sweet, sweet zero-g stall on Wildfire, that thing is sweet!

Turns out, I'm a bit of a speed junkie. If you look at my list, a lot of the coasters featured sit on the faster side of the fence statistically. I guess that goes hand in hand with my love of feeling totally out of control and my love for launches. I absolutely love being flung to ridiculously high speeds and not really having the chance to catch my breath.

This is a factor I feel that many wouldn't take into consideration when it comes to deciding on a top ten, but then again I know some people whose entire list are based on theming and overall experience together! And again, there are some exceptions on my list - we all know SkyRush ain't winning any beauty contests any time soon, but generally speaking I rate coasters higher if they're photogenic and fun to look at. The likes of Taron and Nemesis get me excited just looking at them racing around their meticulously detailed landscapes, and for me that all adds up into the overall ride experience.

So there you go, some things to consider - but of course these things are all completely subjective! What kind of thing do you favour and factor in when deciding on a top ten or favourites list?