Rampage Review, Alabama Splash Adventure CCI Wood Coaster | Southeast's Best Wood Coaster

Rampage is a monstrous wooden roller coaster at Alabama Splash Adventure. Built by Custom Coasters International (CCI), this ride runs along the back hill of the amusement park. The ride features some sizable drops and intense, lateral-heavy turns. This is why I think it is now the best wood coaster in the southeast!
Video Credits
Big Bad Wolf (Sean Flaharty)- • Big Bad Wolf - Busch G...
Megafobia Off-Ride (Theme Park Worldwide)- • Megafobia - Oakwood Th...
Megafobia POV (Theme Park Worldwide)- • Megafobia Front Row On...
Background Music
Epic Cinematic Romantic by Cold Cinema [No Copyright Music] / The Edge Of Time- • Epic Cinematic Romanti...

[@CivilianSatellite]

I love how CCI just completely gave up on banking turns after the first turnaround! Fantastic coaster! Alabama Adventure is a surprisingly good find for people who especially enjoy laterals.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree.

[@diskyboy86]

I always wondered why CCI went bankrupt so fast, despite being popular and providing high quality attractions. Turns out it was because the weren't charging enough for their coasters. The return on investment just wasn't there. They made huge wooden coasters like this and priced them around 5 million dollars or less or so. Wooden coasters are still very cheap now, but certainly are more expensive than those made by CCI. The fact a small park just opening like this could afford such a massive woodie is testament to just how little CCI was charging for their coasters

[@teddym2808]

And they built them cheap to top it all off. They get rough fast and need a lot of maintenance. I hate 99% of GCI layouts, but their quality is outstanding, truly. Especially today. Gravity Group are another CCI, but like CCI, their layouts kick all sorts of ass.

[@diskyboy86]

@@teddym2808 true. Villain at Geuaga Lake is hilarious in particular to me. It needed ton be retracked a singular year after opening. GCI is a weird manufacture to me. They kind of just made Wildcat at Hersheypark and floated on for like 15 years by tweaking the layout. The layout sucked at first, then it got good when GCI got the pacing and airtime down, but then it got stale. I still think Gold Striker, Prowler and Renegade are great rides, but they're kind of just the same as Ozark Wildcat, which is kinda just the same as Roar, which is kind of just the same as Wildcat, and you get that point. I will say they have innovated well as of late. Their out and back layouts are top notch, Mystic Timbers is their best layout ever, IMO, even better than their coasters in China, because let's be real, as cool as those coasters look, they're kind of just Gold Striker but terrain based and longer. I've also loved the straight drops they've started doing, but even with recent innovation, Gravity Group has been innovating out the door. None of their coasters are really that rough though, besides their very first, Hades 360, ouch! Even their other old coasters like Voyage and Ravine Flyer II are relatively smooth, stilll not as smooth as GCI's from around the same time though. GCI is the B&M of wooden coasters. Gravity Group is most certainly the Intamin.

[@teddym2808]

​@@diskyboy86 Great post, but say that once you ride Mine Blower - too late lol, it's had half steel track by RMC now but I rode it just before Covid when it was like 2 years old and it was a back breaker already. Mike from the channel will also tell you that GG don't age as well. Hades 360 would be my favorite traditional woodie in the world if it was re tracked properly. GG can't even re track,. they have made their own rides worse with re tracking! And they destroyed Lake Compounce wildcat with a full re track, they made a rough coaster rougher. Work that out. So what Hades needs is a *GCI* retrack, precisely what they did to Ghost Rider. I love Hades layout so much and would love the idea of it always staying wood, but if the park decided to do a one off investment (cause regular re tracking seems off the cards) and titan tracked it, I'd be ok with that in this one case. But really, if GCI did a FULL and I mean full re track, I would literally dedicate a whole week just for Wisconsin Dells and marathon Hades every single day for that week. There's no GCI in existence with as kick ass a layout as Hades or Voyage. But I do like Mystic T, that is true. I DON'T think much of the ones people love like Gold Rusher and Renegade. I disagree with everyone about those. Speed and twists bore me. That's why Millennium Force bores me. That's why Formula Rossa bores me after the launch. I need a true variety of elements. MF imo is the Gold Striker of the Steel World (yes I know it came first), much loved and tops polls yearly but it's a NOTHING coaster to me, and one I will not wait for more than a single ride when I visit CP. Thankfully my friend that experienced it with me for the very first time in its opening year agreed with me, so I am not totally alone with that one LOL. Then again, I really enjoyed Wild One at SFA, and he thought it was meh. I mean we are all different. BTW I rode ROAR and WILDCAT when they glass smooth. Roar in its inaugural year and Wildcat was 2nd year I think. I didn't think much of either. Same friend and I both got off Roar and his exact words were "It should be renamed YAWN". I pissed myself laughing. We also called Millennium Force Mediocre Force, and Steel Force at Dorney Steel ForceLESS lol. All coasters we were hanging out for and were bitterly disappointed. My favourite Woodie of the traditional style (i.e. no prefab or topper track) is still Ghost Rider, and I have ridden that when brand new, when at its worst in 2010 and 2013, and immediately after the GCI treatment. The best experience with that will always be my 1999 summer night ride and then in 2000 again, on the very back seat in the original PTC trains with the original track. It rode amazingly then and remains my best woodie experience, those 10PM summer dark rides. "The drop" at the mid turn was so wild in its original form that I honestly used to think I'd be ejected out of the train, and not seeing where you are going with that pacing.... breathtaking and a high point of my coaster life I will never forget. My second favourite is boulderdash but those two change spots depending on how they are running in a particular year. Shivering Timbers 3rd, Voyage 4th. Leviathan in my home, Australia, 5th. All my ratings reflect the rides when running in good form and the back car on all but boulder dash which is a front car ride. (I still like the back but it's been a bit too rough the last time, and it's getting like 15% steel topper track so we'll see what happens, I don't want to see boulder dash ever be all steel though, not that one)! But that tells you my taste. I would put Mystic around 25th. Best GCI I have ridden but about 25 out of my traditional wood list. Out of pre fab or topper it's El Toro for me, but I haven't ridden WildFire or Goliath. I prefer El Toro to Outlaw Run. I'll be riding Goliath this very year as I am leaving for a 7 week trip now (extended for a week) in 4 weeks! Can't wait. Doing it all by car solo, renting in LAX and having a car the entire time from landing to flight back home. I am avoiding places like Great America in CA altogether this year as I can do Rail blazer clones at Silverwood and Fiesta Texas and I don't need to ride Gold Striker again. Not doing Valleyfair either but WILL be going to WOF due to Zinger. Have to do it, even if it doesn't look like a headliner. I can already see it's a typical GCi twister and won't be much but you know how it is, have to do it. Hanging out for Flying Turns also and hopefully getting a good ride on Phoenix this time as I only visited Knoebels once TWENTY YEARS ago (!) and we had bad phoenix rides. I need to see what everyone is on about! I've never had a good ride on Hades so I can't top 10 it, but I can still tell how flawless the layout is even through getting beaten up. That and Hercules at Dorney (thank goodness that's gone) are two of the most brutal experiences on my back ever. I needed medication after Hercules and put a disc out, no shit. Was out for a week. Phew, marathon post! Sorry! Edit, changed twisted to mystic, brain fart! Also, Mystic T really is more of a CCI layout than GCI, they went a little out of the box for that one. Just to add to GCI's that do zero for me, Lightning Racer and Thunderhead. I actually put LR in front cause we did get a dueling ride on that which elevated it a bit and at least we had laughs. I have NOT ridden GCIs in Europe. My main park goals were places like Liseberg on my one long EU coaster trip a few years back, the steel beasts like Helix (top 10 steel WW for me, if the launches had punch it would be top 3) but I am going back next year and will do all the GCI's. But it's the US this year. I was going to do Europe but switched it around. In 2025 US again for Epic Universe which by the looks of that Mack dueler, may be a top 3 or even my fave steel ever. Edit 2, I also wanted to add I rode both sides of Gwazi in peak condition in opening year and that was reasonable. Not great but much better than the 2 Yawns or Wildcat. I consider myself lucky I got to ride that when smooth on a hot day with full trains non stop, as that made it as fast as it could be. I never rode it again after that. In 2005 when I went to do Shakira, I didn't re ride Gwazi. So it kind of tells you the lasting impression or lack thereof that GCI tend to have on me. I only ever rode Yawn and TameCat on a single visit also. I devote my time to things that I feel kick ass. When Apollos was brand new it was the best coaster at BGW for example, so we did everything once, knocked them out of the way, then spent the following 6 hours doing nothing but Apollo's in every seat imaginable. We got 31 rides in on one day, it was fairly quiet, but she gave us a triple go round for the last ride of the night. It was incredible! Ahh, so many fond memories.

[@CanobieCoaster]

CCI definitely helped a lot of small parks though. Even though those parks have had to pay to retrack their rides, they got a larger attraction than they could otherwise afford at a cheaper upfront cost.

[@diskyboy86]

@@teddym2808 no need to apologize for long posts, I'm very guilty of them myself. The more detail, the better. Anyway, Mine Blower yeah that one was rough, pretty embarrassing for such a new coaster, but I think that had more to due with the Florida heat. I feel like most people underestimate just how much warm weather can affect wooden coasters. Look at Gwazi in the same state for example. From what I hear it was always sort of rough, but after a decade it become especially unbearable it seemed. The same applies for places like Brazil and Australia. Look at Montezum and Bush Beast respectively, both look very rough, though in the case of Montezum you could chok that up to RCCA. They make CCI's build quality look state of the arc, so yeah bad example, but there's also Medusa at Six Flags Mexico, Giant Dipper at Belmont Park, Stampida at PortAventura. It really does seem like a trend for woodies in hot places to run far worse than in warm climates. It also seems you're unaware of Gravity Group's new vertical wood track. They debuted it on the CCI at Parc Asterix, formerly considered one of the roughest woodies in Europe, now seen as one of the best coasters in France. They've also put it on Grizzly at Kings Dominion, again, a woodie known for being unbearably rough prior to the makeover, now I'd argue it's the fourth best in the park. I'm really hoping that Hades 360 gets this track, such a masterful layout, but my god, it's so rough. Probably the roughest in America now that Mindbender is getting retracked, and that Great American Scream Machine and Predator have already gotten retracked. It's funny, people always tell you to watch out Zues in the same park, but that one's perfectly tolerable, but Hades 360. it's tolerable for someone with high roughness tolerance, but it sure as hell ain't ideal. Also, I got to disagree with you there on Gold Striker and Millennium Force. Yes it is true both rides focus on speed, and yes I do agree, just raw speed and nothing else is pretty crappy as far as coaster forces go, though I'd still take it over hangtime, unless it's RMC hangtime that is, that hangtime feels so much snappier, while most hangtime just feels slow and clunky to me. Back on topic, both coasters do feel like they have alot more than their speed IMO. Gold Striker has so many great pops of airtime, and Millennium Force has great moments, as well as forceful overbanks. Those are why those coasters are so great IMO, not just because of their speed. I will admit that I305 is a big improvement over MF though. Despite being slower, it feels even faster and it does more with the moments focusing on raw speed, by throwing in some overbanks that really toss you around. MF would be better with those, but even if the speed moments aren't the most entertaining parts of the ride, they go well with it's overall pacing, and I personally don't mind them. If you want to see bad raw speed moments on a coaster, look no further than Superman at Six Flags America.

[@rlcoasters]

I’ve ridden this coaster a ton and I absolutely love it! But you are so right about that valley before the camelback in the middle of the ride. Ouch. Great review!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I really hope that section is addressed.

[@Lucky_9705]

This coaster deserves more love than it gets

[@jaya1000]

Location location location. Not everyones straight and white. Alabama is not a welcoming place for everyone.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'm surprised more people don't head out this way when they're visiting Six Flags Over Georgia.

[@jaya1000]

@@CanobieCoaster they don't trust alabama. Have you seen my cousin vinny? Easy rider?

[@teddym2808]

Besides the drawn out camelback, which technically COULD be reprofiled to make the layout of this one a perfect 10, and the ride a 10 if it had a proper retrack everywhere needed, this ride really does once again show how good CCI were with layouts (except hoosier hurricane of course). I just love CCI so much. I know they built cheap and get rough but man they really had the layouts down.

[@CanobieCoaster]

CCI loved those drawn out hills. Tonnerre de Zeus had one too, but Gravity Group fixed it when they did their renovation last year.

[@teddym2808]

I guessed an 8, I was close. At peak it got a 9 from me but at that stage it was like the 10th wooden coaster I had ever ridden in my life and probably 25th coaster overall. A lot has changed since then. Nothing like a good traditional woodie though, glad you liked it!

[@CanobieCoaster]

If it were totally smooth, it probably could have gotten a 9 from me.

[@mikemcmahon7624]

That jolt that you’re talking about at 7:55 was pretty brutal in the back, but in the front row I noticed that it was significantly more tolerable, to the point of being nonexistent. It’s pretty rare for me to prefer the front row of a coaster but this moment makes me a front row rider on Rampage. Great laterals, really solid airtime, the best post-brake run on any coaster I’ve experienced so far (honestly can’t even believe this is noteworthy but it is lol). This ride is a real winner and more people need to seek out Alabama Adventure for it.

[@CanobieCoaster]

That jolt was much better in the front of any car for me.

[@MillenniumForceMan]

Riding this today for the first time, legend is in my top 15 so I hope I love this ride too

[@CanobieCoaster]

Legend has the advantage of night rides, but this layout has a lot of similar forces. Hopefully you are able to ride it in the afternoon with fuller trains.

[@coastercat112]

You have the best reviews. I refuse to go to a park now without watching your review first!

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thank you!

[@Paolo8772]

This coaster slipped under my radar and the POVS you took shook me for not having known. It might actually literally shake me if I ride it too, even after visiting Carowinds and Kings Island this spring.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a great ride.

[@alexlents4689]

Also, just gotta say, “Rampage” is a stellar name for a woodie! Pretty surprised it hasn’t been used more.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I do like the name.

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Would you like to go again to ride Rampage at Alabama Splash Adventure?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes

[@OklahomaCoasterFan]

I love Rampage! What a great layout with such variety & a beautiful setting! It's so special to me too as my 400th coaster credit. It was also June 2020, as things were just opening up, and I was getting antsy, so I drove all the way there just to visit this park. For distancing, they had even number rows closed, except in the back car, which closed 11 & had 12 open. So I didn't get to ride in row 11. I noticed that major jolt, but I could handle it. 15 laps that Saturday with no lines. Waterslides had short lines too. I also prefer Rampage to Thunderhead, and quite a bit over Swamp Fox.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree the ride's variety really makes it stand out.

[@roxynano]

Honestly this ride is one of the most underrated coasters I’ve ridden myself. It is one of my favorite wooden coasters overall. (This is coming from a Holiday World girl that works there!) I had a really great time at Alabama Splash Adventure when I last went.

[@CanobieCoaster]

This ride really reminds me of Legend.

[@ScottyMania313]

In the community, it's RMC this and RMC that, I feel CCI and GCI deserve the same props. What RMC does to steel, CCI, and GCI does to wood. They produce solid rides. Breathe it in man.

[@ScottyMania313]

rip cci btw

[@CanobieCoaster]

I love CCI's designs.

[@mateoalvira7826]

Did you always think this was the best wooden coaster you've ridden in the southeast of the United States over the years?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Lightning Rod was my favorite when it was a fully wood coaster (I now consider it steel).

[@frankinberry123]

Man, this ride is one of my all time favorites. The ending in particular is just insane. Positives, negatives, and crushing laterals from both directions! Where would you have it ranked among other CCI’s?

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's in the 2nd tier of CCIs for me.

[@ArtbyKurtisEdwards]

Throwing shade at Thunderhead right at the end. Cutthroat!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I like the coaster, just not as much as Rampage.

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

The shaking looks wild on those bad parts you mentioned

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yeah, you can really tell in the back row POV.

[@theatreandrollercoasters]

I recently went to Holiday World for the first time and I went on all the woodies in the back row. I thought Voyage was just good, but it was rough, and I thought Raven and Legend were horrible in the back. Afterwards, I rerode them all in the front and thought they were all really good wood coasters.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I find their woodies smooth enough.

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Imagine a CCI wooden coaster that would say: Those who rode it in its opening year said the ride was intense. They said it was an intense airtime and lateral machine and it felt like a CCI. However, those who rode it the second year said the ride had flawed pacing and the airtime was gone, especially on the second half and finale, coming to a crawl. But it still had some redeeming value. The turns and turnarounds still gave some wonderful laterals and the hills and drops on the first half still got some decent airtime, which were the only airtime moments left after the second year modification, but it was a shell of its opening self. Do you know that coaster, yes or no?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Assuming this is Stampida.

[@SkyrushFanboy]

If mine blower was smoother, would it be the best wooden coaster in the southeast?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Between Rampage at Alabama Splash Adventure and Coaster Express at Parque Warner Madrid, which one has a longer track length? What do you think?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Coaster Express

[@Rolla_Costa]

Nice video, but how does roughness feel like on wooden coasters?

[@CanobieCoaster]

On this one, it's either a shimmy or a jolt.

[@teddym2808]

Megafobia was great in 98. Haven't been back since. I've been to greater UK area since but not to Wales. I am certain it was my first CCI and only CCI that I have done in the UK/EU. I really wonder how it is running today and if they've kept the maintenance up. It was a solid 9.5 when I rode it, and I never realised the correlation to Rampage till I saw this video. DUH! I really can't believe I didn't pick that up, at all. I can't remember if I did Rampage in 99 or 2000 though, it was around that time. I remember I wanted to go back to it on a trip a couple years later and it was closed, so, probably 2000. Weird that I gave Megafobia a 9.5 and Rampage a 9 then when both were running equally brilliantly at that time. Maybe it was just the atmosphere in Wales.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I know Megafobia is getting a lot of work done now. Did Megafobia originally have buzz bars when you rode it?

[@teddym2808]

@@CanobieCoaster I am almost certain it did not. That's 25 years ago man but I am pretty sure it didn't. I wanna say 90% sure.

[@Sherlocklord]

Is Rampage often down or did I just get really unlucky? I went there two days and it was closed on both which sucked since it was the only reason I went there. I have to give the park credit though, on the first day they gave me a rain ticket to come back and try again the next day and on the second one when it still wasn't open they refunded my ticket.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I was originally going to return to this park in 2021, but Rampage was closed for trackwork. I think it's usually reliable.

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

I know a CCI wooden coaster that I think when it originally opened those rode it felt like an usual CCI, but those who rode it the second year said the pacing was faded and the airtime was gone (especially on the second half) coming to a crawl. Do you know that one? And what would you prefer, a CCI wooden coaster that feels like it has flawed pacing and some airtime and airtimeless hills, or a CCI wooden coaster that feels like it has the correct CCI sensations and forces?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Stampida, I prefer rides with proper pacing.

[@user-ec7rb9rm4y]

The first rides you got on Rampage at Alabama Splash Adventure, were 2014? What do you think, Canobie Coaster?

[@CanobieCoaster]

No, I rode it a few years after that. It has always been a good ride for me.

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Rampage is a wood coaster at Alabama Splash Adventure, do you know the manufacturer and the year it originally opened?

[@CanobieCoaster]

CCI 1998

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Would you like to go again to Holiday World and ride Legend and Raven?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

What are the differences between flawed pacing and proper pacing?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Proper pacing has good speed and flow relative to the elements.

[@mateoalvira3514]

Imagine they would have a trim brake added on the first drop on Rampage at Alabama Adventure in 2004, what would happen?

[@CanobieCoaster]

The ride would not be nearly as good.

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Referring to the CCI wooden coasters in the world, proper pacing means good speed and feels like a correct CCI, and flawed pacing means...

[@CanobieCoaster]

A ride feels like it runs sluggish.

[@Ihatethoosies]

Do you like Rampage or Legend at Holiday World more?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Rampage

[@mateoalvira7826]

Regressed, what does that mean? What do you think?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Got worse.

[@mateoalvira7826]

And you also said: And Swamp Fox regressed on my 2022 rides.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes it did.

[@coastercult4142]

Have you ridden the new retract grizzly

[@CanobieCoaster]

I have not. I liked Grizzly last year though.

[@coastercult4142]

@@CanobieCoaster it has much better airtime now

[@user-ec7rb9rm4y]

Rampage at Alabama Splash Adventure was not placed in your video of top 25 worst roller coasters in the world (2020). Why, Canobie Coaster?

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's fun and not painful.

[@PhoenixTTD]

You are not counting Holiday World as south east are you?

[@zacg_]

That's the midwest

[@CanobieCoaster]

No

[@jtwoolley]

lucky

[@CanobieCoaster]

How so?

[@RollyCoaster]

Swamp fox regressed? 😭😭

[@CanobieCoaster]

I noted this in my Top Rides at Myrtle Beach video, but I rode Swamp Fox on opening day 2022. I heard from others that it hadn't run as strongly in 2021. After my 2022 rides, it apparently was retracked and started to run better again. So it seems like it's very temperamental.

[@RollyCoaster]

@@CanobieCoaster That lines up pretty well with the very differing opinions on the ride. In my heart it remains the best wooden coaster experience I've ever had behind Voyage

[@zacg_]

The best wood coaster in the southeast is 30% of Lightning Rod's track ;)

[@CanobieCoaster]

Best ride in the south though.

[@mitchel4361]

Sooo should rmc leave it alone

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes they should leave it alone.

[@askjeevescosby2928]

Its getting stupid titan track.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Did they confirm it was titan track? I just heard steel.

[@Beanchillie]

Rip off. Off Megafobia in wales

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yeah, the layouts are super similar.

[@Beanchillie]

@@CanobieCoaster Ikr

[@Beanchillie]

But Megafobia is a really fun ride I been on megafobia

[@cliquet3scliquet3s96]

Would you like to go again to ride Rampage at Alabama Splash Adventure?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes