UPDATED FINAL RESULTS: 1998 Internet Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster Poll (Now Includes GhostRider) There is a new #1 coaster this year and three new 1998 rides finished in the top seven. All seven new rides did well, placing in the top 50. The top 5 rides all had close calls in voting with at least one of the other four in that group. #1 Shivering Timbers prevailed over #2 Tonnerre de Zeus with 5 riders preferring ST, 4 preferring TdZ, and 2 rating them as equal. #2 TdZ over #3 Megafobia 9-8-1 (Megafobia had won that comparison 6-2-1 last year). #3 Megafobia tied #4 Rampage 4-4-3. #4 Rampage tied #5 Comet 12-12-3. Also, #7 GhostRider was preferred 4-0-1 to #5 Comet and to #6 Raven and had very close calls with 3 of the top 4. There had been much speculation about ST vs. Rampage. The final tally was 21-11-2 in favor of ST. You may see all the head-to-head comparison numbers by downloading the spreadsheet from the website http://www.hitchhikers.net/wcoaster Enthusiasts who would like to experience Playland's Roller Coaster in Vancouver should do so soon as 1999 will probably be the coaster's final season of operation. The park is scheduled to move from its' current location. Six SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) coasters placed in the top 55. Any parks out there want to buy a proven winner with a lot of existing 'fans', cheap? Several of these SBNO coasters will reportedly be razed in the next few months rather than moved and rebuilt. Our polltakers' favorite steel roller coaster came out 12th in the poll. One way that could be interpreted is that the majority of riders of those eleven woodies that placed ahead of it would rather ride that woodie than any steel coaster they have ever ridden. It is actually a little more complex than that, but (e.g.) Shivering Timbers won its' matchup with "My Favorite Steel" 27-12-2. I think that is remarkable considering the relative cost to the parks of the steel rides (up to 8 times the cost of a NEW woodie) and the fact that one of those eleven woodies was originally constructed in the 1940's, one was built in the 1960's, and the Vancover Coaster (built in 1958) compared 10-10-1 with "My Favorite Steel". CCI placed four of six new rides in the top 25, while GCI's new ride debuted well in the top 30. 1999 is shaping up to be another great year for woodies. Among the most anticipated projects will be Knoebel's homage to the great SBNO - Twister and RCCA's new ride in Brazil. This year the results are presented in a tabular format showing 1994 through 1998 placements, giving a better feel for trends and consistencies in the poll. When viewing this chart, one should expect a coaster's rank to drop slightly from year to year due to additional coasters debuting in the poll. Special attention should be paid to the RIDERS column as the fewer the number of riders, the greater the margin of error. Symbols: # - no riders or no riders numerically ranked this coaster that year. N#- < 3 rider/raters (greater margin for error). (N is the Rank) Nt- Coaster tied for rank N S - coaster SBNO or in storage, not included in the poll that year. x - not included on the ballot that year due to error on my part. - - coaster was not yet built. The 1993 results are not included in this chart due to the low number of ballots received (20) and other differences in the poll that year. I do not place too much stock in the bottom half of the 1994 poll as not enough people ranked all coasters they had ridden. 72 persons took the poll in 1994 & 1995, 104 in 1996, 130 in 1997, and 141 this year. Total Number of Ballots = 141 Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 37.4 +---------------------------------------- 1998 Rank | +----------------------------------- 1997 Rank | | +------------------------------ 1996 Rank | | | +------------------------- 1995 Rank | | | | +-------------------- 1994 Rank | | | | | | | | | | '98 POLL V V V V V COASTER PARK LOC RIDERS 1 - - - - Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 54 2 2 - - - Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 25 3 1 1 - - Megafobia Oakwood UK 27 4 - - - - Rampage Visionland AL 42 5 3 2 1 1 Comet Great Escape NY 50 6 4 3 2 - Raven Holiday World IN 60 7 - - - - GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 8 8 7 S S 5 Twister(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 30 9 16 S S S Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 7 10 6 9t 8 2 Texas Giant SFoT TX 56 11 5 4 3 3 Roller Coaster Playland BC 27 12 9 9t 6 4 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 80 13 13 7 9 6 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 55 14 12 9t 15 8 Cyclone Astroland NY 63 15 21 12 12 14 Grand National Blackpool UK 33 16 22 18 19 9 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 32 17 15 15 10 7 Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 16 18 14 5 - - Wildcat Hersheypark PA 88 19 10 6 5 13 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 49 20 19 16 13 - Cyclops Big Chief WI 28 21 24 14 4 12 Wild One Adventure World MD 63 22 - - - - Excalibur Funtown USA ME 30 23 8 - - - Stampida Port Aventura SP 6 24 17 17 7 10 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 95 25 30 21 18 44 Screechin' Eagle Americana OH 52 26 11 8 - - Timber Terror Silverwood ID 11 27 26 27 20 21 Cyclone Lakeside CO 36 28 - - - - Roar Adventure World MD 42 29 27 35 29 31 Riverside Cyclone Riverside MA 51 30 18 S S S Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 10 31 43 30 31 20 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 35 32 23 20 21 15 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 88 33 28 - - - Zeus Big Chief WI 23 34 40 24 37 - Viper SFGAm IL 52 35 35 45 36 52 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 32 36 20 13 - - Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 49 37 - - - - Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 38 25 S S 18 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 54 39 41 25 26 28 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 95 40 33 26 24 24 Hurler Carowinds NC 36 41 - - - - Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 42 31 19 17 29 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 42 43 38 28 22 19 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 28 44 44 35 38 25 Arkansas Twister(S) Magic Springs AR 16 45 39 40 28 23 Le Monstre La Ronde QU 24 46 29 23 16 26 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 81 47 36 31 40 34 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 82 48 55 48 32 118# Cyclone Pleasureland UK 23 49 32 22 23 16 Big Dipper Geauga Lake OH 64 50 37 S S 37 Wildcat(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 30 51 42 29 11 11 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 109 52 45 44 27 17 The Beast Kings Island OH 92 53 53 46 50 36 Racer Kennywood PA 95 54 47 41 56 30 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 65 55 78 S S S Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 7 56 52 39 54 35 Zingo Bell's OK 26 57 57 50 48 39 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 24 58 51 46 14# - Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 22 59 67 68 55 76 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 13 60 46 43 41 32 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 43 61 69 60 72 49 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 60 62 60 38 42 41 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 90 63 54 62 43 96 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DN 9 64 50 52 59 47 Skyliner Lakemont PA 50 65 62 61 53 92 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 16 66 64 34 30 - Cannonball Waterville USA AL 10 67 77 66 65 65 Tornado Adventureland IA 21 68 56 49 49 45 Screamin' Eagle SFMA MO 55 69 73 67 58 116# Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 32 70 58 32 34 33 The Legend Arnolds Park IA 13 71 74 71 75 112# Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 5 72 48 53 51 93 Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 19 73 34 37 25 22 Rutschebanen Bakken DN 4 74 59 33 33 27 Predator Darien Lake NY 36 75 49 42 45 53 Outlaw Adventureland IA 21 76 75 65 74 70 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 29 77 65 59 47 48 Roller Coaster Joyland KS 22 78 80 63 67 63 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 57 79 91 86 79 68 Thunderbolt Riverside MA 53 80 76 72 68 40 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 39 81 90 76 60 82 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 33 82 72 70 64 115# Texas Tornado Frontierland UK 20 83 87 55 35 50 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 26 84 70 64 88 66 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 43 85 66 54 54 43 Racer Kings Island OH 93 86 71 69 61 71 Zippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 20 87 101 73 73 51 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 38 88 82 73 87 64 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 42 89 84 80 70 61 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 42 90 68 58 57 59 Comet Hersheypark PA 93 91 102 87 97 69 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 39 92 83 77 84 94 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 18 93 81 51 62 38 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 29 94 61 S S S Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 8 95 107 98# 103# 100# Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 12 96 89 89 80 62 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 38 97 104 82 77 57 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 31 98# 114 94 82 99 Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 2 99 85# 91 91 x Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AL 3 100 93 57 76 74 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 58 101 95 81 71 60 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 62 102# # S S S Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 1 103 79 S S S Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 13 104 109# 90# 53# 102# Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 3 105 105 99 89 67 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA 44 106 99 85 86 78 American Eagle SFGAm IL 62 107 96 88 118# 119# Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 22 108 97 95 44 54 Wild Mouse Frontierland UK 18 109 94 84 78 56 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 43 110 100 83 101 73 Wildcat Frontier City OK 25 111 110 92 108 75 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 63 112 86 79 81 46 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 54 113 92 78 69 55 Big Dipper Camden Park WV 24 114 113 109 - - Pegasus Big Chief WI 25 115 103 73 66 42 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 106 116 111 96 92 72 Raging Wolf Bobs Geauga Lake OH 63 117 98 S S S Leap the Dips(SBNO) Lakemont PA 3 118 115 106# # # Hochschaubahn Prater Park AU 3 119 117 100 85 91 Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 29 120 63 - - - Tomahawk Port Aventura SP 3 121 108 97 90 83 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 34 122 116 101 83 102 Pegasus de Efeling HO 9 123 106 105 # - Antelope Gulliver's World UK 14 124 124 104 93 81 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 39 125 88 # 39# # Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 5 126 121 103 98 79 Beastie Kings Island OH 76 127 112 56# - - Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 11 128 122 114 95 111 Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AL 4 129 118 111 100 86 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 79 130 125 S S S Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 7 131 127 119 99 114 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 54 132 120 108 96 85 Comet Waldameer PA 36 133 128 102 104 84 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 20 134 126 115 102 89 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 39 135 129# 107# 111# 110# Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AL 3 136 123 113 107 87 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 28 137 119 93 63 58 Hercules Dorney Park PA 82 138 130 112 109 80 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 16 139 134 116 106 113 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 14 140 131 110 105 77 Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 12 141 133 117 - - Underground Adventureland IA 15 142 132 118 110 88 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 22 143 135 120 112 90 The Grizzly Great America CA 37 The coasters below had no riders take the poll. # # # # # White Canyon Yomiuriland JA 0 # # # # # Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JA 0 # # # # # White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JA 0 # x x x x Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0 Below, I have listed the 1998 results in more detail. The columns listed are: RANK, COASTER NAME, PARK, LOC (two letter abbreviation of state, province, or country), RIDERS (number of polltakers who indicated they rode each coaster), W (head to head wins versus other coasters), L (losses), T (ties), WinPct (winning percentage), and TiBk (tiebreaker..head to head preferences between those coasters tied). Special attention should again be paid to the RIDERS column when viewing the results. In general, the rankings of those coasters with more riders will be more likely to truly reflect the general sentiment about a coaster. I have placed a * in place of a rank for coasters with < 3 riders. I have inserted a blank line in the listing where >.02 WinPct gaps exist. I ran the program twice. Once excluding "My Favorite Steel" to get the results for the woodies so that they would not be affected by it, and once including it so I could place it amongst the woodies. Total Number of Ballots = 141 Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 37.4 RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 54 142 0 0 1.0000 2 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 25 140 1 0 0.9929 3 Megafobia Oakwood UK 27 138 2 1 0.9823 4 Rampage Visionland AL 42 138 2 2 0.9789 5 Comet Great Escape NY 50 136 4 2 0.9648 6 Raven Holiday World IN 60 136 6 0 0.9577 7 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 8 120 6 1 0.9488 8 Twister(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 30 133 7 2 0.9437 9 Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 7 128 8 2 0.9348 10 Texas Giant SFoT TX 56 130 8 4 0.9296 10 11 Roller Coaster Playland BC 27 132 10 0 0.9296 9 *** My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere ** 98 132 10 0 0.9296 12 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 80 131 11 0 0.9225 13 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 55 129 11 2 0.9155 14 Cyclone Astroland NY 63 128 13 1 0.9049 15 Grand National Blackpool UK 33 122 16 3 0.8759 16 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 32 123 17 2 0.8732 17 Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 16 121 17 4 0.8662 18 Wildcat Hersheypark PA 88 122 19 1 0.8627 19 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 49 122 20 0 0.8592 20 Cyclops Big Chief WI 28 120 20 1 0.8546 21 Wild One Adventure World MD 63 119 20 3 0.8486 22 Excalibur Funtown USA ME 30 119 22 1 0.8415 23 Stampida Port Aventura SP 6 86 12 12 0.8364 24 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 95 116 23 3 0.8275 25 Screechin' Eagle Americana OH 52 114 24 4 0.8169 26 Timber Terror Silverwood ID 11 113 25 1 0.8165 27 Cyclone Lakeside CO 36 110 24 8 0.8028 28 Roar Adventure World MD 42 112 27 2 0.8014 29 Riverside Cyclone Riverside MA 51 110 31 1 0.7782 30 Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 10 107 29 5 0.7766 31 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 35 108 30 4 0.7746 32 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 88 109 32 0 0.7730 33 Zeus Big Chief WI 23 106 30 5 0.7695 34 Viper SFGAm IL 52 106 30 6 0.7676 35 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 32 105 31 5 0.7624 36 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 49 105 36 1 0.7430 37 Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 100 34 7 0.7340 38 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 54 103 37 2 0.7324 26 39 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 95 102 36 4 0.7324 24 40 Hurler Carowinds NC 36 100 36 6 0.7254 41 Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 97 38 6 0.7092 42 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 42 98 42 2 0.6972 43 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 28 95 44 3 0.6796 44 Arkansas Twister(S) Magic Springs AR 16 92 43 7 0.6725 3 45 Le Monstre La Ronde QU 24 92 43 7 0.6725 10 46 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 81 94 45 3 0.6725 8 47 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 82 94 47 1 0.6655 48 Cyclone Pleasureland UK 23 91 46 4 0.6596 49 Big Dipper Geauga Lake OH 64 91 46 5 0.6585 50 Wildcat(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 30 91 47 4 0.6549 14 51 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 109 92 48 2 0.6549 9 52 The Beast Kings Island OH 91 87 49 6 0.6338 53 Racer Kennywood PA 95 87 53 2 0.6197 54 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 65 84 53 5 0.6092 55 Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 7 67 38 29 0.6082 56 Zingo Bell's OK 26 82 54 6 0.5986 57 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 24 81 55 4 0.5929 58 Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 22 79 56 7 0.5810 59 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 13 76 56 8 0.5714 60 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 43 78 61 3 0.5599 61 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 60 74 61 7 0.5458 26 62 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 90 76 63 3 0.5458 19 63 Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DN 9 67 57 15 0.5360 64 Skyliner Lakemont PA 50 73 64 5 0.5317 65 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 16 70 63 6 0.5252 66 Cannonball Waterville USA AL 10 69 62 10 0.5248 67 Tornado Adventureland IA 21 70 64 8 0.5211 68 Screamin' Eagle SFMA MO 55 67 62 11 0.5179 69 Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 32 69 65 7 0.5142 70 The Legend Arnolds Park IA 13 68 67 5 0.5036 2 71 Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 5 64 63 13 0.5036 0 72 Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 19 65 65 9 0.5000 73 Rutschebanen Bakken DN 4 55 58 23 0.4890 74 Predator Darien Lake NY 36 62 66 13 0.4858 75 Outlaw Adventureland IA 21 64 70 8 0.4789 76 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 29 64 71 5 0.4750 77 Roller Coaster Joyland KS 22 60 72 8 0.4571 78 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 57 61 75 6 0.4507 79 Thunderbolt Riverside MA 53 60 78 4 0.4366 80 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 39 58 77 7 0.4331 81 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 33 56 78 7 0.4220 8 82 Texas Tornado Frontierland UK 20 58 80 3 0.4220 7 83 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 26 51 74 14 0.4173 84 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 43 56 80 6 0.4155 85 Racer Kings Island OH 93 55 82 5 0.4049 86 Zippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 20 52 80 8 0.4000 87 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 38 53 82 7 0.3979 88 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 42 51 83 8 0.3873 89 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 42 50 84 8 0.3803 19 90 Comet Hersheypark PA 93 53 87 2 0.3803 14 91 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 39 48 82 10 0.3786 92 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 18 50 85 6 0.3759 93 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 29 46 87 7 0.3536 94 Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 8 35 80 23 0.3370 95 Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 12 39 85 16 0.3357 96 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 38 44 91 7 0.3345 97 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 31 43 95 4 0.3169 * Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 2 37 86 9 0.3144 99 Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AL 3 35 87 15 0.3102 100 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 58 40 95 7 0.3063 101 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 62 37 94 11 0.2993 * Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 1 0 41 60 0.2970 103 Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 13 34 95 11 0.2821 104 Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 3 28 87 18 0.2782 105 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA 44 35 101 6 0.2676 106 American Eagle SFGAm IL 62 33 100 9 0.2641 107 Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 22 34 101 6 0.2624 108 Wild Mouse Frontierland UK 18 32 99 9 0.2607 109 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 43 33 103 6 0.2535 110 Wildcat Frontier City OK 25 30 101 11 0.2500 111 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 63 30 102 10 0.2465 112 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 54 28 105 9 0.2289 113 Big Dipper Camden Park WV 24 29 105 5 0.2266 114 Pegasus Big Chief WI 25 29 109 3 0.2163 115 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 106 27 110 5 0.2077 116 Raging Wolf Bobs Geauga Lake OH 63 25 111 6 0.1972 117 Leap the Dips(SBNO) Lakemont PA 3 22 97 4 0.1951 118 Hochschaubahn Prater Park AU 3 19 100 13 0.1932 119 Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 29 25 111 4 0.1929 120 Tomahawk Port Aventura SP 3 15 83 11 0.1881 121 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 34 23 113 4 0.1786 122 Pegasus de Efeling HO 9 16 111 12 0.1583 123 Antelope Gulliver's World UK 14 17 109 6 0.1515 124 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 39 15 119 8 0.1338 125 Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 5 9 111 19 0.1331 126 Beastie Kings Island OH 76 15 121 6 0.1268 127 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 11 11 115 12 0.1232 128 Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AL 4 11 115 11 0.1204 129 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 79 13 121 7 0.1170 130 Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 7 10 119 11 0.1107 131 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 54 10 122 10 0.1056 132 Comet Waldameer PA 36 11 126 5 0.0951 6 133 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 20 10 125 7 0.0951 5 134 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 39 7 124 11 0.0880 135 Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AL 3 9 122 6 0.0876 136 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 28 8 129 4 0.0709 137 Hercules Dorney Park PA 82 6 130 6 0.0634 138 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 16 4 127 9 0.0607 139 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 14 6 131 4 0.0567 140 Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 12 4 129 7 0.0536 141 Underground Adventureland IA 15 2 136 4 0.0282 142 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 22 3 135 1 0.0252 143 The Grizzly Great America CA 37 0 140 2 0.0070 * White Canyon Yomiuriland JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0 0 0 0 0.0000 I also ran the program using only this year's riding experiences. I don't think the results are very meaningful as there are MANY pairings of coasters that no rider had ridden both of this year. As you can see, our poll respondants' had ridden an average of 16 woodies this year. That sounds good until it is realized that averaging less than half as many coasters ridden causes there to be an average of less than a fourth as many people who had ridden each pair of coasters (this year vs. ever). As an example of how this can affect the results, see that Raven has moved ahead of Comet. A person might assume that means that riders preferred Raven to Comet this year...that is not the case as Comet still won the direct comparison. However, Comet loses vs. SCBB Giant Dipper 1-0 and Viper 2-1. I would guess that those are statistical anomalies due to small sample size. Therefore, I want to be very clear that the following results based on only 1998 ride experiences have a much greater margin of error and are only included here because they may be of some limited additional interest. One thing I found interesting is that 54 of 141 riders made the trek to Michigan's Adventure THIS YEAR whereas only 12 of 130 had EVER been there as of last year. I am sure that % increase is much more than MA's increase in attendance but I would bet that they are pleased with their new attraction, to say the least. Total Number of Ballots = 141 Average Number of Woodies Ridden = 16.7 RANK COASTER NAME PARK LOC RIDERS W L T WinPct TiBk ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 54 116 0 0 1.0000 2 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 13 103 1 1 0.9857 3 Rampage Visionland AL 41 110 2 3 0.9696 4 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 8 97 3 3 0.9563 5 Raven Holiday World IN 31 105 7 1 0.9336 6 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA 29 98 4 7 0.9312 7 Comet Great Escape NY 26 98 8 2 0.9167 8 Megafobia Oakwood UK 14 90 6 5 0.9158 9 Phoenix Knoebel's PA 52 104 10 1 0.9087 10 My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere ** 61 91 8 3 0.9069 11 Texas Giant SFoT TX 30 101 10 2 0.9027 12 Grand National Blackpool UK 17 87 7 9 0.8883 13 Wildcat Hersheypark PA 52 100 15 1 0.8664 14 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Bch Bdwk CA 7 80 13 2 0.8526 * Timber Terror Silverwood ID 1 34 6 0 0.8500 16 Stampida Port Aventura SP 3 53 9 1 0.8492 17 Timberwolf Worlds of Fun MO 21 86 18 3 0.8178 18 Cyclone Astroland NY 25 86 16 11 0.8097 19 Roar Adventure World MD 42 87 18 7 0.8080 20 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA 11 82 20 5 0.7897 21 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA 61 87 23 6 0.7759 22 Wild One Adventure World MD 41 82 20 11 0.7743 23 Viper SFGAm IL 26 76 24 5 0.7476 24 Excalibur Funtown USA ME 30 80 25 8 0.7434 25 Screechin' Eagle Americana OH 19 80 26 5 0.7432 26 Zeus Big Chief WI 14 75 23 10 0.7407 * Le Monstre La Ronde QU 2 43 14 6 0.7302 28 Riverside Cyclone Riverside MA 24 73 28 6 0.7103 29 Wilde Beast Canada's Wonderland ON 8 50 17 12 0.7089 30 Cyclops Big Chief WI 13 71 27 9 0.7056 31 Big Dipper Blackpool UK 17 68 26 9 0.7039 32 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA 61 76 35 5 0.6767 33 Hurler Carowinds NC 15 67 30 9 0.6745 34 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA 35 68 31 12 0.6667 35 The Beast Kings Island OH 28 68 34 8 0.6545 36 Cyclone Pleasureland UK 10 57 28 10 0.6526 37 Wild Mouse Blackpool UK 16 56 26 19 0.6485 38 Twist Sist - Lola Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 67 35 9 0.6441 39 Cyclone Lakeside CO 4 46 24 8 0.6410 * Zingo Bell's OK 1 7 4 0 0.6364 41 Twister II Elitch Gardens CO 5 45 25 8 0.6282 * Serpiente de Fuego La Feria MX 1 25 15 0 0.6250 43 Hurler Kings Dominion VA 35 65 39 7 0.6171 44 Twist Sist - Stella Kentucky Kingdom KY 26 63 39 10 0.6071 45 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ 22 63 43 6 0.5893 46 Racer Kennywood PA 61 66 46 4 0.5862 47 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC 3 22 15 4 0.5854 48 Big Dipper Geauga Lake OH 27 59 40 13 0.5848 * The Legend Arnolds Park IA 2 43 31 0 0.5811 50 Roller Coaster Blackpool UK 17 51 37 15 0.5680 51 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA 26 55 42 12 0.5596 52 Thunder Run Kentucky Kingdom KY 34 59 47 8 0.5526 53 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH 19 54 44 8 0.5472 54 Anaconda Walibi-Schtroumpf FR 3 30 25 6 0.5410 55 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT 4 48 41 8 0.5361 56 Tornado Adventureland IA 6 49 42 10 0.5347 3 57 Outlaw Adventureland IA 6 50 43 8 0.5347 3 58 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN 14 48 41 18 0.5327 59 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH 50 59 52 3 0.5307 60 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA 28 52 48 9 0.5183 61 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA 48 57 53 5 0.5174 * Rutschebanen Tivoli Gardens DN 2 2 2 1 0.5000 63 Thunderbolt Riverside MA 24 47 52 6 0.4762 64 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA 6 24 27 6 0.4737 65 Skyliner Lakemont PA 26 48 55 6 0.4679 66 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA 36 46 56 9 0.4550 67 M.Can.Mine Buster Canada's Wonderland ON 10 35 46 13 0.4415 68 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH 7 32 43 5 0.4313 69 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX 31 41 59 12 0.4196 70 Racer Kings Island OH 32 42 66 5 0.3938 71 Sky Princess Dutch Wonderland PA 4 22 38 10 0.3857 72 Comet Hersheypark PA 51 42 69 5 0.3836 73 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT 19 37 62 8 0.3832 74 Thunder Road Carowinds NC 15 38 63 5 0.3821 75 High Roller Valleyfair! MN 7 31 61 5 0.3454 * Rutschebanen Bakken DN 1 1 2 0 0.3333 77 Colossus S.F. Magic Mountain CA 20 31 70 12 0.3274 * Little Dipper Hillcrest IL 2 6 13 0 0.3158 * Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV 2 21 51 7 0.3101 80 Starliner Miracle Strip FL 3 17 44 8 0.3043 * Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY 2 12 34 6 0.2885 82 Pegasus Big Chief WI 12 27 72 5 0.2837 83 American Eagle SFGAm IL 24 26 72 6 0.2788 84 Flyer Comet Whalom Park MA 15 25 70 6 0.2772 85 Predator Darien Lake NY 7 20 55 3 0.2756 86 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA 30 27 78 8 0.2743 87 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ 34 28 81 7 0.2716 88 Cyclone Williams Grove PA 16 21 68 12 0.2673 89 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH 46 26 80 8 0.2632 90 Screamin' Eagle SFMA MO 18 24 75 8 0.2617 91 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX 13 18 60 8 0.2558 * Big Dipper Camden Park WV 2 15 56 8 0.2405 93 Comet Waldameer PA 15 19 73 10 0.2353 94 Texas Tornado Frontierland UK 3 19 69 5 0.2312 95 Texas Cyclone SF Astroworld TX 20 15 64 10 0.2247 96 Scooby Doo Carowinds NC 11 20 74 4 0.2245 97 Scenic Railway Dreamland UK 10 19 72 5 0.2240 98 Runaway Coaster Rotunda UK 11 16 70 11 0.2216 99 Dragon Coaster Playland NY 14 21 79 3 0.2184 * Sierra Thunder Mirabilandia Park IT 2 9 35 1 0.2111 101 Raging Wolf Bobs Geauga Lake OH 27 18 83 11 0.2098 102 Cannonball Waterville USA AL 4 12 52 3 0.2015 103 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI 52 18 90 8 0.1897 104 Beastie Kings Island OH 19 17 85 4 0.1792 105 Jack Rabbit Clementon Lake NJ 6 8 50 4 0.1613 0 106 Wild Mouse Frontierland UK 3 13 76 4 0.1613 0 107 Psyclone S.F. Magic Mountain CA 19 11 85 12 0.1574 108 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH 7 8 63 9 0.1563 109 Scooby Doo Kings Dominion VA 26 14 89 5 0.1528 110 Sea Dragon Wyandot Lake OH 5 7 54 6 0.1493 111 Hercules Dorney Park PA 43 15 95 4 0.1491 * Tomahawk Port Aventura SP 1 6 39 1 0.1413 113 Roller Coaster Great Yarmouth UK 4 9 76 8 0.1398 114 Ghoster Coaster Canada's Wonderland ON 8 8 65 6 0.1392 115 Antelope Gulliver's World UK 3 9 77 7 0.1344 116 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI 54 9 94 13 0.1336 117 Zipper Dipper Blackpool UK 13 6 85 7 0.0969 118 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY 7 7 83 2 0.0870 119 Pegasus de Efeling HO 3 4 44 0 0.0833 120 Little Dipper Kiddieland IL 4 1 55 7 0.0714 121 Underground Adventureland IA 6 1 96 4 0.0297 * Tree Topper Upper Clements Park NS 1 0 0 0 0.0000 * Roller Coaster Joyland KS 1 0 4 0 0.0000 124 The Grizzly Great America CA 7 0 94 0 0.0000 The coasters below had no people who rode them this year take the poll. * Vuoristorata Linnamaki Park FI 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Hochschaubahn Prater Park AU 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Scenic Railway Luna Park-Melbourne AL 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Bush Beast Australia's Wonderl. AL 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Hullamvasut Varosliget HU 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Little Dipper Esselworld IN 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Beastie Australia's Wonderl. AL 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * White Cyclone Nagashima Spaland JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Jupiter Nishi-Nihon Korakuen JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * White Canyon Yomiuriland JA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Roller Coaster Playland BC 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Roller Coaster Puyallup Fair WA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Zippin' Pippin Libertyland TN 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Red Streaker (S) Willow Mill PA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Leap the Dips(SBNO) Lakemont PA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Wildcat Frontier City OK 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Wildcat (SBNO) Idora Park OH 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Jack Rabbit (SBNO) Idora Park OH 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Thunderbolt (SBNO) Coney Island NY 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Comet (SBNO) Lincoln Park MA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Wildcat(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Twister(SBNO) Elitch Gardens CO 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Devil's Coach (S) J's Amusements CA 0 0 0 0 0.0000 * Arkansas Twister(S) Magic Springs AR 0 0 0 0 0.0000 For an explanation of the tabulation algorithm and much more about this annual poll, visit the website http://www.hitchhikers.net/wcoaster