Gerstlauer Eurofighters - best to worst

[Rob Coasters]

With Drakon opening, I thought it would be an appropriate time to do this.

1. Flucht von Novgorod - Hansa Park - front right for best ride
2. Saw - The Ride - Thorpe Park - considerable pothole at the bottom of the drop in the front, but fun otherwise
3. Speed - Oakwood Theme Park - second half much weaker than the first, but the drop and first hill are awesome
4. Typhoon - Bobbejaanland - hilarious
5. Rage - Adventure Island - the most "middle of the pack" ride ever
6. Drakon - Paultons Park - ruined by shoulder restraints
7. Falcon - Duinrell - same layout as Rage, but runs rougher
8. Vindfald - Tivoli Friheden - completely ruined by a major pothole near the end

 

[Matt N]

I’ve now done 4 Euro-Fighters and would rank them as follows:

1. Drakon - Paultons Park: This is ranked on top for the reason that it’s easily the smoothest and also has genuinely quite a good stall. The layout is good fun, but it’s not the most forceful or exciting of these overall. Compared to other Gerstlauers, it doesn’t have the nice surprising bursts of airtime! And as Rob said, I also think the OTSRs are a definite detractor here; they absolutely killed my thighs during the stall in particular. 6/10, #49/148
2. Saw: The Ride - Thorpe Park: I’m undecided on this one. It probably has my favourite layout of the 4, and I really enjoy the surprising ejector airtime in multiple parts of the layout… but it is almost certainly in contention for the roughest of these 4 coasters, even on a good day. It stays at #2 on the grounds that the only notable rough spots are the first drop and the ending, but if those spots were smoother like the rest of it, I think it would probably be #1. This has grown on me over the years, to be fair, and it definitely hasn’t been running too badly for me recently, with even the rough spots not being as bad. 6/10, #62/148
3. Speed - Oakwood Theme Park: This is the one I haven’t ridden in the longest, but from memory, I do remember the hill being spectacular, which puts it a certain way up! I don’t remember the rest being as good and it was quite rattly on my last go, but wow, that hill sticks in my memory! 6/10, #63/148
4. Rage - Adventure Island: I’d say Rage was smoother than the two above it, but not radically, and I just don’t like the layout nearly as much. The focus on slow manoeuvres and hangtime after the initial loop and cutback don’t appeal to me, particularly in those Gerstlauer restraints, and it just feels like a more basic layout that does less than the others. It’s very good for the park it’s in, but in the grand scheme of things, I don’t think it’s anything spectacular. 5/10, #72/148

Overall, they’re all around that 5-6/10 mark for me; not favourites of mine, but not rides I loathe either. Perhaps controversially, I’d possibly put Smiler below all 4 (or maybe above Rage on a good day)!

 

[CookieCoasters]

1. Fluch von Novgorod, Hansa Park
2. Huracan, Belantis
3. Hydrus, Casino Pier
4. Tantrum, Six Flags Darien Lake
5. Drakon, Paultons Park
6. Dare Devil Dive, Six Flags Over Georgia
7. Mystery Mine, Dollywood
8. Predator, IMG Worlds of Adventure
9. Vindfald, Tivoli Friheden
10. Typhoon, Bobbejaanland
11. Rage, Adventure Island
12. Vild-Svinet, Bon Bon Land
13. Takabisha, Fuji-Q Highland
14. Saw - The Ride, Thorpe Park
15. TMNT Shellraiser, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park
16. Falcon, Duinrell
17. SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, Nickelodeon Universe
18. Speed: No Limits, Oakwood
19. Untamed, Canobie Lake Park

Fluch is the only standout one in my view, and even that is mostly just for the drama of it all and the amazing launch, combined with tolerable tracking. Although not technically a Euro-Fighter, Monster at Adventureland has the same primary gimmick, and would top this list with absolute ease.