For me they all have their place. I really enjoy traditional wooden coasters a lot, especially when they are run and maintained the way they were meant to be (Phoenix at Knoebels is one of the best examples) but even the new generation wooden coasters from Gravity Group (and GCI when they don’t add steel) are absolutely incredible (Voyage at Holiday World, Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer, Mystic Timbers at Kings Island)… but then you pivot over to steel coasters and it’s a whole different experience that I enjoy just as much… With Kingda Ka you don’t really notice the height because of the launch (but let’s face it, the launch is what that ride is all about) whereas lift hill coasters at 300ft have a whole different meaning to height even though they are 100ft shorter than Kingda Ka.

I guess I’m getting long winded to say that the variety of experience is what makes this hobby fun. If every coaster was the same, from the same manufacturer, etc, it just wouldn’t have as much depth to it. Each category has it’s own variety but when you add additional categories with their own varieties it just opens the world up so much more.

And, yes, Kingda Ka is still the tallest coaster – for not. There are rumors that Cedar Point’s new version of Top Thrill Dragster could beat it and there’s also Falcon’s Fury under construction in Saudia Arabia that will claim the record when complete.