After my Great Yarmouth trip in Half Term, I finally (kind of) finished all the UK wooden coasters! I've done 9 of 10 of them, with Antelope at Gulliver's Warrington/World being the only one I haven't done. I'm not counting it now due to the Gulliver's parks weird age restriction entrance rules. I can technically currently get in with an adult but I just wanna write this post now so I have out a non-review post as everything I have written recently is a review😂. I'm going to rank all of these now and then I'll update it with Antelope when I ride it eventually, so let's start ranking!
9. Blue Flyer, Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
I've actually done Blue Flyer quite a few times; we had an hour exclusive riding on it the very first time I went to bpb and did enjoy it! It's a great fun ride, but the others are on here are definitely better. It has nice comfy seating, a fun indoor section interacting with the buildings in nickelodeon land (Also the smell of pizza during the indoor section is kinda funny!). Onto the next woodie!
8. Grand National, Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Well... I honestly don't know if I've talked about my experiences with Grand National, but let's just say they aren't great. I've been on it twice (once each side), sitting near the back both times. I since haven't been back on it as it was really painful. It's an incredibly classic coaster with good operations, ok airtime especially considering it's age and a cool layout, just really uncomfortable personally and i think my rides have left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
7. Nickelodeon Streak, Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Nick Streak was my favourite Blackpool woodie for a while, until I recently changed my mind and swapped it with the next ride on this list. It has some of the best airtime of the classic woodies on this list, has the most comfortable seating & nicest looking trains and the best decorated structure/queue.
6. Big Dipper, Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Only slightly beating the previous coaster, Big Dipper at Blackpool is my favourite Blackpool woodie! It has by far the best layout of the 4, the coolest views, interactions with other coasters, most classic design and just the best overall atmosphere. I will admit, I haven't been on Big Dipper as much as I would like to have, but I=every ride I have had has been good.
5. Roller Coaster, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach.
The first new-for-me for this season cred is Roller Coaster at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach! I got 2 rides on it, one near front row and one in the back. I much preferred the back row as it really pulled you over the hills, Although both seats struggled to pull any real airtime. I love it's history and background, the fact it still operates astounds me. Probably the biggest surprise for me was how smooth it was! It must be either a great system or great maintenance because for an almost 90 year old coaster it ran so, so smoothly!
4. Tyrolean Tub Twist, Joyland Childrens Fun Park
I think I've been waiting about 4 years to ride Tub Twist at this point, and it did not disappoint! I love it's authentic nature and am astonished at how such a small park manage to keep such an old coaster running so well! With lots of people and lots of spinning, It's so f*cking fun and a right laugh! It's really worth the visit if you're in the area or want to try out some real classic UK rides.
3. Scenic Railway, Dreamland.
The oldest coaster on this list, Scenic Railway is a pretty rare cred on this list. It's at my 'home' park Dreamland Margate. FYI: I don't live in Margate, just the area I live in lacks creds. It's also one of the few rides on here that still uses an on board breakman (kinda surprised they still exist!). Dreamland is obviously not gonna be at the top of your UK travel list, but if you want to get done everything on this list it's a must.
2. Megafobia, Oakwood.
Megafobia at Oakwood takes no 2 on this list. It's got a great layout, amazing drop, strong airtime and matching forces. It may not have the theming of no 1, but i don't think that takes away from the coaster that it is. I really, really hope I can get to Oakwood this season (we're almost sorted to go :)) because I'd love to get back on Megafobia!
1. Wicker Man, Alton Towers.
I think you could tell this would be first😂, but what a ride it is! Wicker man is the epitome of family-friendly new-gen woodies with good theming, nevertheless, I love it! Airtime, Intensity, forces, effects, storyline, it has all the components of an amazing coaster.
I really enjoyed reading this Cleo, nice ranking!