The 15 Biggest WINNERS of my New 2023 Coaster Credits

[@Productions427]

The biggest winner among my new credits this year was probably Leap the Dips, the world’s oldest coaster. I expected it to be tame, but it is actually kind of intense in a weird way. It bounces along, constantly slightly jumping off the track due to lack of upstops. Leap the Dips has some wild airtime that feels like nothing else.

[@elizard_9594]

I wanted to ride this so bad on our coaster road trip, but it was down for maintenance the entire time we were in Pennsylvania.

[@busfan9874]

Yes! I rode it in 2023 too. And glad I got my ride since since it is SBNO this year

[@CoasterCrest]

I also rode Dragon Mountain twice on my first visit to Marineland this year. What. A. Ride. It really is tough to put into words, but the coaster is just insane, and feels like it shouldn't exist. I spent the entire ride either laughing, grinning, or sitting mouth agape at the enormous layout that was almost completely hidden from the rest of the park. I had made myself a very busy itinerary for the day, so I wasn't able to stick around for long at Marineland, but I REALLY want to go back there very badly. To borrow CP's recent motto, it is truly a place like no other. Besides Dragon Mountain, ArieForce One, the Coney Island Cyclone, Comet at Great Escape, Silver Bullet at Frontier City, Excalibur at Funtown Splashtown, and Tiger Terror at Safari Land were some rides that really amazed me when I rode them for the first time this year.

[@eyebrowse]

Dragon mountain is high key the best arrow looper! Hope this video gets more people up there to experience it.

[@mikes6457]

and hopefully they can find it in the park lol

[@shanedenmark5536]

See my post above. The biggest downfall of Dragon Mountain is you have to pay money to MarineLand to go ride it. I wish someone would take over this park and run it correctly, including not treating the animals like disposable garbage.

[@eyebrowse]

@@shanedenmark5536 this is so true. Walking past the animal enclosures was the saddest thing.

[@toyoracer33]

Watching AF1 being built I expected it to be a mid-tier RMC. But from the first ride it blew my expectations out of the water as well. My biggest surprise of the year was Titan, and to a lesser extent Goliath at Magic Mountain. My expectations were very low for these two. But I was very pleasantly surprised by my rides on Goliath, and the next weekend I found myself at Six Flags over Texas and rode Titan. That first Helix is something else. If you ride in the front row you get good airtime over the airtime hill and when you get to that first helix it just tries to strip the skin right off of your skeleton. To me that element is as forceful and sustained as Tatsu's pretzel loop. Maybe one of these days I'll finally get to ride i305 and compare them.

[@toyoracer33]

There's also the sideways hang time in the front row as you come across the mid-course brake run. The train just rolls over and tries to dump you out like yesterday's garbage. And it's so dang smooth. I seriously like this ride.

[@AirtimeThrills]

The first helix is definitely the better one

[@Mr._Kagle]

For me, the biggest winner among my new credits this season was Outlaw Run. It was my 150th credit and shot up to the top of my favorites list instantly. Honorable mention goes to Prowler. I was expecting it to be an inferior Mystic Timbers, but it steamrolled over those expectations and proved itself to be at the same level as Mystic and Thunderhead for me.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Prowler is basically Mystic Timbers but for some reason it just doesnt do it for me like Mystic does

[@ejectorairtime73]

A big winner for me was Mighty Canadian Minebuster. I honestly don't get the hate. I think it's bareable when you don't ride it on a wheel seat. A big loser on the other hand for me this year was Apollo's Chariot. I was actually having high expectations for Apollo but it felt slow and not that fun. Great list Chris! Like usual.

[@EverythingNASCAR]

Minebuster was my first actual ‘big’ coaster and I had no knowledge about it whatsoever. I ended up seated in a wheel seat near the back, and it was absolutely atrocious. Definitely needs a GCI retrack. May need to reride in a non-wheel seat, maybe it is better. Also, I got a concussion from slamming my head on the side of the seat at some point during the ride and had neck pain afterward as well. Maybe I just got a bad ride, but otherwise I gotta disagree lol.

[@coasterlover-gp2rh]

When I rode it was crazy. I’ll have to try again!

[@ejectorairtime73]

@@EverythingNASCAR Nah people hate it a lot, i'm just a fan but thanks for sharing your opinion!

[@AirtimeThrills]

Man i rode minebuster this year and was ready to burn it down after i was done

[@ejectorairtime73]

@@AirtimeThrills It runs best on an nonwheel seat and it has amazing airtime, the layout actually delivers lol

[@alantrotter2077]

136 new credits for me in 2023 and using your criteria these are my biggest winners: 1. Ride to Happiness 2. Arie Force One 3. Toutatis 4. Wodan Timbur Coaster 5. Silver Star 6. Black Mamba 7. Hals-uber-kopf 8. Lost Gravity 9. Pipeline the surf coaster 10. Baron 1898 11. Colorado Adventure. 12. Loop-Garou 13. Wolverine Wildcat 14. Texas Wildcat 15 Thunderhawk

[@Wesley-76]

Great video! These look like great rides! I rode 24 new coasters this year, so I'll only give 5 winners: 5. Grizzly - I know they just retracked it but I didn't know if rhe forces would be good. They were though, as it had some good floater airtime. I ended up liking it more than Racer 75. 4. Verbolten - A very fun family-ish coaster with some great forces. I expected more from the indoor section but didn't expect the launches to be so good. 3. Twisted Timbers - I wasn't sure how this would be much better than Twisted Cyclone, but after riding, now I know! Airtime everywhere, pure fun. 2. Intimidator 305 - I didn't know if I'd enjoy this ride too much, but I was secretly hyped. I ended up liking it more than I thought and it hit #3 overall! 1. ArieForce One - I knew it would be good but I didn't expect it to pass Fury as my #1!

[@StamfordBridge]

I agree with so many of your picks as surprisingly good, and I’m glad you appreciated the fabulous weirdness of Dragon Mountain. ❤️ My only point of disagreement is DrageKongen, which I thought was a whole lot of nothing.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Maybe my expectations for Dragekongen were so low i was super impressed

[@xj-may]

Some winners from my new credits this year, in order of when I rode them Full Throttle (Six Flags Magic Mountain): started this year off with a bang, this was the first coaster I rode this year and I picked a winner, ended up being my 4th favorite coaster at the park which I really wasn’t expecting, the ride was a bit too short like many before me have complained about, but they fit so many great elements in that short track length so I honestly don’t even mind X2 (Six Flags Magic Mountain): I really didn’t know what I was gonna think of this coaster, a lot of people really love it and others really hate it, and well, to say I loved it was quite the understatement, it is now my overall #1. Every second of this ride is absolute insanity. I could not get over how much I loved this ride, I was so sad I only got 2 rides due to how many great coasters Magic Mountain has and how little time I had to ride all of them but my two rides were ultra elite Silver Bullet (Knott’s Berry Farm): this one really exceeded my expectations, I only ever heard people say it’s a low tier invert but by the end of the day it became my favorite invert, an underwhelming drop but every inversion was whippy and intense, and it has an amazing setting within the park, going over water and passageways. I got 8 rides on it in one day, I could not get enough of this thing Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom): this is another one that seems to be polarizing, both in its layout and its smoothness, but I thankfully got the best of both worlds here, I thought the ride was both smooth and pulled some pretty good forces, solid airtime in the first half, some nice laterals in the second half, nothing crazy but it’s a very fun ride and I think it’s a very good fit for the park, and a must ride in between marathons of Lightning Run and Storm Chaser The Raven (Holiday World): this one shocked me more than any other one on this list. Absolutely nothing could’ve prepared me for how much I’d love this coaster. I thought it was gonna be my least favorite of the 4 big Holiday World coaster but it ended up as my, well second favorite, it’s not Voyage, but it’s in my top 10 which I never could’ve expected. Such a relentless coaster, with phenomenal pacing, some great pops of airtime, laterals, and that last drop caught me totally off guard, that is one of the best airtime moments you’ll find anywhere Mr Freeze (Six Flags Over Texas): undoubtedly the best Premier coaster out there. Glad they changed the ride to have one forward and one backward train, I got to try both out. Forward was a lot of fun but nothing mind blowing, backwards was an absolute riot though, one of the most intense coasters I’ve ever been on. I felt like I was getting ripped in half, especially on the top hat Titan (Six Flags Over Texas): all about expectations, of course. This ride gets dumped on a lot so I wasn’t expecting to love it, but, I actually did. Could they have done a better job with the drop? Yeah definitely but I actually got decent airtime on the drop, nothing crazy but some serviciable floater, the turnaround gave a ton of whip, and then the airtime hill, I’ve heard mixed things on whether it actually gives airtime, but I got great airtime on it, and the ride also has great lapbars that didn’t come close to my thighs even though they got pushed all the way down, so I got to enjoy it in all its glory, and then those helixes, yeah they were every bit as insane as they were hyped up to be. I’m normally a hands up rider but those powerful and extremely sustained positives were forcing my hands down whether I wanted them down or not. I came in not expecting to like it at all and it ended up in my top 20, not nearly a top tier hyper but a super fun ride. My only real complaint was the midcourse brake run, that thing comes to a screeching halt which was definitely a buzzkill but the second helix still destroyed me so not too big a deal lol

[@collegeluvr]

The only coaster on your list I got on this year was ArieForce one. It debuted at #3 on my rankings. I’ll be getting back to Fun Spot next week to marathon it again!!

[@jay37415]

Hurricane was a new cred for me as well. That coaster is so much fun. Make sure you don’t miss this when you’re at Fun Spot

[@RockyTopInflatables]

ArieForce one is an elite coaster by far. Going in I heard a lot of hype, and a ton of comments that excited me from the beginning. Let me just say it didn’t disappoint. I got about 18 rides on it when I went to Funspot Atlanta, and boy oh boy you get your moneys worth. I said coming out of the park that night, that I can’t believe a park the size of an upscale go kart complex has a world beater in its small coaster lineup. However, safe to say they have a contender in the coaster wars, and I wouldn’t blame anyone if that is their #1 overall coaster. It’s personally my #3 out of 261, only behind Velocicoaster and Steel Vengeance. My #2 RMC out of 12, still haven’t rode Iron Gwazi 🥶.

[@RTRC_2012]

I didn’t get out as much this year, but my new cred highlight was Matugani. It’s an awesome little coaster with a punch.

[@nosmith0741]

I got out to the southeast-ish and went to Dollywood, holiday world, SFOG, and silver dollar city, and despite its shaky reliablity, I still got to ride lightning rod a few times, and it was indeed my favorite of the whole trip

[@CoasterDash]

Glad to hear you loved DrageKongen! I’ve always been a huge fan of that one, and not a lot of people seem to like it.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I was expecting a rough mess, and was pleasantly surprised

[@iceblade019]

There’s an Intamin Minetrain at my home park Happy Valley Shanghai and it’s just tons of fun and way more intense than the family coaster I had expected

[@evan9902]

Velocicoaster was my big winner as it ended up being my #1

[@jzckvsn]

I had so many good coasters be winners this year. The main one I can think of is Mystic Timbers. Such a solid GCI

[@CivilianSatellite]

I love this! A coaster doesn't need to be top 30 to still be great and appreciated in its own right. It's always great to see lesser-discussed coasters get their time in the spotlight.

[@TheWarrior949]

Wow Matugani straight up ripped off the Diamondback logo lol

[@AirtimeThrills]

Straight up

[@timk987]

I'm just now scrolling to see if someone else commented that before me!

[@mattyorshin]

I only pick up like 25 new credits a year that saying I broke 350 this year. Lol. Only one coaster this year got to my top 5. Storm Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom. The airtime was so goood

[@605coasters]

I'd say my biggest winners were Titan and Wildcat's Revenge. Titan surprised me with ridiculous intensity and and a couple really solid airtime moments. Overall, it's actually my favorite at Over Texas. For Wildcat's Revenge, well, this comes back to my opinions of RMCs. I thought it was going to be like the standard RMC, with an overabundance of hills that provide more pain than airtime. But it actually has fantastic pacing, good airtime, and a variety of inversions and forces.

[@ThePirateprincess23]

I only got one new credit this year and that was Tron Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom. I'm a lover of the original Tron film and I was really excited to finally get to ride it this after seeing them construct the ride last year. The ride was very well themed, it felt like you were actually doing the Lightcycle race in both films, and the night ride I got on it was awesome.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Winner among my new creds this year: far and away, Shambhala at PortAventura. Not even close. It immediately rocketed into my top 3. This had been something of a bucket-list ride for me and it didn't disappoint.

[@edvaira6891]

2:35….Holy Crap, I thought they just Tore down that janky old coaster at Scandia and tossed it,finally! Seriously, it WAS never open any of the times we’d make a pit stop at Scandia either on the way to or from Vegas over the years and was not surprised it disappeared (although I do miss seeing it as I drive past the area on I-15)..Surprised it found a new home (Yay, I guess…)

[@milesrinesmith141]

Dragon Mountain was my first ever coaster I'm glad you got to ride it.

[@ArchJ17]

I didn’t get many credits this year but I did manage to get lightning rods credit on its last year as a launch. And I barely did since it broke down for the rest of the day shortly after!

[@Apollosdemise]

mines gotta be skyrush, really went in expecting the worst and it blew me away!

[@urbex_coasters]

For me the biggest winners among new credits would be: -X2 (didn't know how it would feel, loved it) -Great White (I thought it was comprable to other CCIs like Boulder Dash and Ghostrider) -Gale Force (really a Jersey Shore park has a ride with THOSE forces? It may even be a top 3 coaster in the state. Worth the $10-$14) -Outlaw Run (this one's only here because of the night ride. I love any element I can describe as "a true drop into the abyss") -Wildcat (this one has to be on the list because I didn't pay a dime to experience Adventurepark USA. Won't provide details of how so for personal reasons) -Wonder Woman Flight of Courage (more of a representation of Magic Mountain policies differing from Great Adventure policies in a positive way ie lockers)

[@charlesblanchard7936]

My biggest winner is definitely Woodstock Express. Here me out on this, 2nd best airtime in the park and best laterals in the park. What in the world was happening to Woodstock Express. It was so intense. This was the one at KD so sorry too KI, Carowinds, and Canada. It was not just me. Everyone who got off it looked life they got electrocuted. It was amazing.

[@anza2]

this seems so much fun to go to europe just for coasters

[@karlmanning2603]

If I had to describe ArieForce One in one word, it would be SENSATIONAL! It’s easily the best roller coaster in Georgia!

[@jricedrums]

My top 3 new to me credits this year were Ride To Happiness, Zadra, & Arie Force One. Ride To Happiness is my overall #1 now. Zadra is my favorite RMC with Arie Force one being my 2nd favorite RMC!

[@MrChuckGrape]

My biggest winner for new credit in 2023 Cosmic Rewind at Epcot. Zooming through space to Disco Inferno was pretty cool. Though my new favorite ride isn't a roller coaster, because I got my first ride on Tower of Terror. I was also pleasantly surprised by Goofy's Barnstormer.

[@pipepicasso8112]

So, did I see Tornado from Stricker’s Grove? That elusive coaster credit. How was your experience with the famed “Death Drop”?

[@G3R0George]

Buy or sell B&M will start making new ride types after the success of the surf coaster.

[@garminkid]

My biggest winner was easily The Voyage! I had high expectations for it but the ride blew them away! It’s an absolute masterpiece from start to finish, with a layout featuring a large variety of airtime, banked turns, and laterals that never lets up. It became my number one coaster. Other winners include Lightning Rod (my new #5 and new favorite RMC), Lightning Run (#11 and best at Kentucky Kingdom), The Legend (#12 and #2 woodie), Storm Chaser (#13), and Thunderhead (#14 and new favorite GCI).

[@boltgaming248]

my biggest winner was star mountain in my home park (beto carrero world) i did not expect to get airtime on an old vekoma (the hill before the double corkscrew) i went in with high expectations and it overdelivered my neck hit the restrains sometimes on some odd rides but i almost always overlooked them i was still too scared too ride the park's slc with vests (fire whip) but i will no longer be scared when i get to orlando for the second time and get on hulk and velocicoaster for the first time i just want the dollar to go down so i can go to orlando for the first time since april 2017 back to star mountain i got to ride it 3 times during premium tour and 2 rides during my school trip there if you do not know how the airtime on star mountain feels it's like a pop of airtime like on viper at six flags magic mountain before the mid course brake run maybe i'm wrong but it from my experience on the front row it was probably more sustained by a bit i need to ride viper to experience that pop

[@SlimFury]

My biggest winners for me were Velocicoaster, Arieforce 1, Wildcat's Revenge, Pantheon, Goliath at Over Georgia, Montu, Kumba, and Pipeline the Surf Coaster.

[@catchilupi]

100% agree ArieForce > Iron Gwazi My biggest surprise for 2023? Diamondback at Kings Island

[@schumi246]

19 new credits for me this year at silver dollar city, Nickelodeon universe, glenwood caverns, and Valleyfair. If winners are defined by how much they exceeded my expectations, my order would be: 1. Wild thing 2. Outlaw run 3. Cliffhanger 4. Avatar air bender 5. Powder keg

[@huntzzio]

If #1 isn’t the dog fart coaster I’m starting a riot

[@NightmareSkellington1993]

My best new credit was Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland

[@TenajahJ]

I definitely find it crazy how a wild mouse made it ahead of 2 rmcs

[@MarsJenkar]

It's all about expectations versus reality. Wildcat's Revenge and Wildfire didn't, to him, live up to their potential, even though they were still top 50 coasters. A wild mouse that is better than expected, even if it's not a top 100 coaster, will beat the coasters above by default because the wild mouse exceeded expectations, while the RMCs did not.

[@alex33952]

You should use this music more. I really enjoyed wildcats revenge this year. The perfect addition to Hershey. I would be curious if fun spot is seeing a return on on investment on their new shiny ride

[@AirtimeThrills]

I really hope so, but I'd be surprised

[@alex33952]

@@AirtimeThrills small parks will notice this and this can harm the industry in the future if the ROI isnt there.

[@KnotWithJosh]

My 15 big winners of 2023 are Boomerang 15 Boomerang 14 Boomerang 13 Boomerang 12 Boomerang 11 Boomerang 10 Boomerang 9 Boomerang 8 Boomerang 7 Boomerang 6 Boomerang 5 Boomerang 4 Boomerang 3 Boomerang 2 Boomerang 1 Honorable mentions Boomerang, boomerang, and boomerang

[@julianhudson7811]

Happy to see Dragon Mountain in the top 3

[@StephanieHarness-ui6tp]

One hours gang

[@TheE_2K24]

Why does Matugani remind me of Diamondback

[@Tencable]

Buy or sell

[@ColeYote]

Dragon Mountain deserves to have a better park around it.

[@reteledman]

WOW

[@Axo243]

Big winner: Prowler

[@jeffbizie]

Buy or sell B&M will not build another giga😔

[@JustinCoasters]

Willing to bet a certain Thunder-ous coaster would one of your letdowns

[@AirtimeThrills]

Thundercoaster?

[@austingreen258]

Here within 5 minutes!

[@matymil]

Man Hurricane at Fun Spot Atlanta is horrible. It's in my bottom.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I get that. Its janky fun for me

[@qoscarjenkins9527]

Hopefully I make it to atl in 24

[@IntaminFanGRLPowerCoasters]

Buy or sell: Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift will be the best coaster in California

[@AirtimeThrills]

I actually did an episode with that as the headliner

[@IntaminFanGRLPowerCoasters]

@@AirtimeThrills nice!

[@sebasllaura7254]

I really want to see Chris go to other European countries like the United Kingdom and France for 2024.

[@Expeditionairtime]

Buy or sell you will stop using the same into song

[@Tencable]

Lol

[@keithstransitexperiences9749]

Sell

[@CNSPORTZEDITZ]

Sell 💯

[@Expeditionairtime]

lol this should be in the next buy or sell

[@Expeditionairtime]

@@keithstransitexperiences9749 thanks

[@thedashcamkid6175]

Biggest winner for 2023: Airtime thrills!

[@toastercoasterguy]

matuganis logo looks like a ripoff diamondback logo

[@chuck4714]

A relocated coaster is worth 2 credits? Im sorry but no....

[@AirtimeThrills]

I balance out that weird opinion by not counting both sides of racing coasters

[@shanedenmark5536]

I hate giving MarineLand any of my money because of how they treat their animals.* But man oh man Dragon Mountain is just such stupid fun. As in it’s so stupid its fun. I wish they would’ve finished the miniature Niagara Falls theming, the whole back area of the ride would make so much more sense.** But yeah, every few years I drop my dollars and go ride Dragon Mountain. *I’m not anti-zoo or anti-SeaWorld, in fact I really enjoy both. But MarineLand is just animal cruelty. If it were in the US it would never be allowed to keep their animals in the conditions they do. Shame on Canada for allowing it. **MarineLand’s entire theme should be “We never finish anything we start”. The volcano exterior was just finished in 2006; it was a helix inside a bare scaffolding for some 20 years. Another example is the Sky Screamer; all the parts to make the third tower functional were still laying around the top of the hill last time I was there, they never installed it. Then there’s the aviary and the worlds largest aquarium; both started and never finished.

[@bwalko5674]

I rode 0 new coasters this year 👍

[@AirtimeThrills]

Its all uphill from here

[@bwalko5674]

@@AirtimeThrills until the end of the lift hill

[@brucebustamante3984]

First

[@kfair3331]

5th like

[@KIKoasterKid]

1st like and comment!