Leviathan vs. Scenic Railway

[TBoy]

Because these are the only wooden coasters in Australia (Wild Mouse is also but it has been in a poll) we will be comparing Leviathan to Scenic Railway. Please have votes in by Monday.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I mean, this is a Lamborghini vs. a Model T Ford. 

It's hardly fair now, is it?

[New display name]

Scenic Railway is the best woody in the world.

[Gazza]

See I had it in my head it would have been DCR versus Leviathan since they are both fairly fast paced / newish airtime machines and in the same league.

Obviously Leviathan is going to win this...

 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Gazza

[Dean Barnett]

I don’t think we have enough roller coasters to conduct polls like this 

[REGIE]

35 minutes ago, Gazza said:

See I had it in my head it would have been DCR versus Leviathan since they are both fairly fast paced / newish airtime machines and in the same league.

Obviously Leviathan is going to win this...

 

 

DCR beats anything. The other coasters are just fighting for 2nd basically 

[Gazza]

30 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

I don’t think we have enough roller coasters to conduct polls like this 

I would have thought you'd just do a random draw of coasters, and it is what it is, eg could be TNT versus Green Lantern.

 

Quote

DCR beats anything. The other coasters are just fighting for 2nd basically 

Well I want to argue because there are definitely people that would like Leviathan over DCR.

Heck there are people that like Superman more than DCR which is totally fair too.

[Tricoart]

53 minutes ago, Gazza said:

Well I want to argue because there are definitely people that would like Leviathan over DCR.

Heck there are people that like Superman more than DCR which is totally fair too.

Superman’s more intense, Levi’s more fun, and they’ve both got more soul/attention to detail than DCR does, but most voters’d still vote DCR just ‘cause it’s ‘Tallest, Longest, Fastest’ & more renowned than the others.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Tricoart

[Naazon]

1 hour ago, Tricoart said:

Superman’s more intense, Levi’s more fun, and they’ve both got more soul/attention to detail than DCR does, but most voters’d still vote DCR just ‘cause it’s ‘Tallest, Longest, Fastest’ & more renowned than the others.

I would counter that Superman is initially more intense, but DCR sustains its intensity and doesn't let down until the brake run.

[REGIE]

2 hours ago, Gazza said:

Heck there are people that like Superman more than DCR which is totally fair too.

True i guess. I know a lot of people who have Steal Taipan above DCR too.

[Baconjack]

This is a bit unfair. I think Bush Beast would have been a better matchup even though it doesn’t exist anymore

[Tricoart]

1 hour ago, Naazon said:

I would counter that Superman is initially more intense, but DCR sustains its intensity and doesn't let down until the brake run.

It’s first & third element are intense, then it does nothing til the (now not-so-smooth) spaghetti bowl, then does nothing a few more times ‘til the last hills IMO. Whereas Superman’s consistent from launch to brakes.

[New display name]

1 hour ago, Naazon said:

I would counter that Superman is initially more intense, but DCR sustains its intensity and doesn't let down until the brake run.

You made me giggle because you just described Superman.

[REGIE]

3 hours ago, Tricoart said:

It’s first & third element are intense, then it does nothing til the (now not-so-smooth) spaghetti bowl, then does nothing a few more times ‘til the last hills IMO. Whereas Superman’s consistent from launch to brakes.

Are we riding the same coaster?  Maybe it’s because my expectations were so high the first time Idk . All my recent rides on it I felt like Other then the awesome launch and the not as good as DCR drop the ride doesn’t do much in the way of forces. I never feel airtime on it other then the drop. It’s a great fun ride but that’s all it’s 4th/5th in my list rn. It might change later this year but idk. Plus my head is perfect height to be beaten by the restraints. Based on my latests rides I prefer Leviathan to SE.  

Edited March 3, 2023 by REGIE

[themagician]

Leviathan has come second in Coaster Studios Top 10 Gravity Group coaster video

 

[CR4ZE]

It's well-deserved. Besides the stumble out of the gate when it opened and the clunky ops, everything else about Leviathan slaps. The ride is fully-realised in just about every way, and the pacing from drop to brake is virtually flawless. I think it's fair to argue that it has better pacing than DCR; although I'm still putting the latter as my #1 in Australia, I totally respect why many rank Levi (or even SE) higher.

As for the second-newest thrill coaster on the Gold Coast...

On 03/03/2023 at 12:52 PM, REGIE said:

True i guess. I know a lot of people who have Steal Taipan above DCR too.

They're entitled to their wrong opinion.

[Tricoart]

36 minutes ago, CR4ZE said:

They're entitled to their wrong opinion.

Depends on how you rank gimmick seats. In my rankings, if/when applicable, I separate them from the normal ride experience, and only group them when there’s no opportunity to not do so. If grouping, solo ST spinning seat on a hot day is a similarly chaotic experience to DCR backwards seat on a hot day, so putting them near each other in that case is understandable. As a layout, DCR is pretty objectively better, though, unless you’re a huge fan of inversions above all else.

Edited January 11 by Tricoart

[New display name]

Rivals gets a big fat zero for theming.  

[CR4ZE]

19 minutes ago, Tricoart said:

Depends on how you rank gimmick seats. In my rankings, if/when applicable, I separate them from the normal ride experience, and only group them when there’s no opportunity to not do so. If grouping, solo ST spinning seat on a hot day is a similarly chaotic experience to DCR backwards seat on a hot day, so putting them near each other in that case is understandable. As a layout, DCR is pretty objectively better, though, unless you’re a huge fan of inversions above all else.

See, they are up-charges and should be separated from the normal ride experience. Full disclosure, I unfortunately missed out on the ST spinning seat (for a few reasons outside of my control), so I can't comment. I'd have to imagine a spinning car would greatly enhance the intensity of those inversions. I've ridden DCR, Levi and ST in front and back rows, and the former two backwards. DCR has the best backwards experience, you're splitting hairs between Levi/DCR for the general experience, and ST rides best in the front.

I found ST surprisingly forceless overall with some decent whip through the inversions, although the strongest moment was far and away the heartline roll at the finale. I found the front row with its greater sensation of speed orders of magnitude better than the back.

1 minute ago, New display name said:

Rivals gets a big fat zero for theming.  

I can't disagree, but for a thrill coaster, layout is the most important factor, and it's a hit in that respect.

[New display name]

2 hours ago, CR4ZE said:

ST rides best in the front.

Why?

[red dragin]

Back right corner of the non-spinning train is the best seat, in my opinion, on Steel Taipan. 

Greatest forces on the spike, first corner, coming off the MCBR, heartline rolls. 

[New display name]

I agree,  I hate seeing empty gimmick seats, when you know that's the location of the train to be.

[CR4ZE]

I did back right and front left and liked the front more. I'll agree there's more force on the spike, but for the rest of the layout, I really didn't feel there were many standout moments of positives or negatives. The heartline roll had better whip taken with more speed in the front, and cutting through the air with an unobstructed view was much more exciting.

One concession I'll make is that I rode the back row around midday and the front row on the very last cycle of the day, so it had more time to warm up. It was quite cloudy most of the day, but the sun came through in the mid-afternoon. My stance could change with re-rides, but I will still say with confidence that Taipan does not deliver anything near the forcefulness of Superman, DC Rivals or Levi.

[New display name]

There are multiple airtime moments, plus the back-seat turns the mid brake run into a ejector element as it drops in that you don't get up the front.

Edited January 11 by New display name

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

14 hours ago, CR4ZE said:

I did back right and front left and liked the front more.

Yeah I don't think there's one "best seat" on a coaster because everyone enjoys different things. The front seat is always a prized choice (and typically thats the only row you'll see people waiting for) but it doesn't mean people don't ask for the other rows (its just not normally taken because the front is filled first).

At the end of it all - it comes down to personal preference - some people like the whip you get from rear seats, some people like the front row because there's an unobstructed view in front of them of what is coming next. 

My take on these coasters -

Leviathan's backwards seats are pure gimmick and a total waste. The thrill of a woodie is seeing the headchoppers coming at you and facing backwards isn't the same balls to the wall experience you get on DCR. Putting backwards on Levi was an uninspired decision from decision makers who lack vision. They saw the moneymaker on rivals and decided they could profit from leviathan in the same way.

Leviathan is our best woodie (no contest, really) but the lack of competition doesn't mean its a poor example - it's a really nicely done coaster, with very shit operations.

DCR is balls to the wall insane. The layout has clearly had design input by someone with enthusiasts in mind (Fact). The 'Joker Coaster' is a little polarising, but despite the long transitions between each element, it takes it so quickly right to the end that you barely get a chance to catch your breath. If you're after pure thrill, it is 100% what you're after - nothing but an adrenaline machine - forwards or backwards, it doesn't matter, but each of those experiences are uniquely different from each other. The station was designed well to maximise throughput - but again, operations suck.

SE is much more palatable to the family. A great themed section inside the soundstage, and then pure speed and airtime, it's short enough that it doesn't upset those with more fragile sensibilities, but long enough to give an adrenaline junkie their fix. Some people just prefer the launched nature of SE too, as for many people, the worst part of a coaster is the anticipation as they climb the lift hill. I'm sure I don't need to say it, but again, despite separate unload station ops being in the design, the nature of single train operations 97% of the year means it'd be more efficient with the single station. The one saving grace is the locker policy minimises the delays of forgotten loose items almost entirely (there's always that one guy though).

ST strikes (pun intended) differently. It's the only coaster that actually has inversions, and for a lot of people "goes upside down" instantly makes it "scarier" than any coaster that doesn't. The blue fire layout has a proven track record - (which I think for some enthusiasts instantly makes them downgrade the ride as clones = bad in their view) but the addition of the swing launch and the spinning seat makes it different enough that it's an essential "Credit" even if you've done every other version of it. Sure, it isn't as balls-to-the-wall insane as DCR, but I think some people honestly prefer that. I think I could lap ST and DCR on quiet days, but I think i'd reach my limit - (the point at which it stopped being enjoyable, and started to cause discomfort) on DCR sooner. I don't like to think of DCR and ST as direct competitors. They each provide something different, and sometimes I want what one provides over the other.

That all said, the design of ST's station seems to have learned from SE and DCR - it provides space for 3-4 boarding groups, meaning ops can group a bunch of trains in one go, and then focus on pumping the trains out. They can keep it topped up full enough in the downtime they have before the next train arrives that there is an almost constant flow of guests into the boarding area, and the train is never sitting in the station just waiting for people to line up in front of the airgates. Don't get me wrong, DW still operates it like shit on quiet days with less ops covering more roles, but the ability to group multiple trains if they get a long line - even on quiet days - still means it moves faster than village anyday.