Arrow Dynamics was one of the most influential roller coaster manufacturers of all-time. They reintroduced the inversion and suspended coaster. They also did many firsts: first coaster with tubular steel, first mine train, first full-circuit hyper coaster, and first fourth dimension coaster. But which of their coasters were the best? Find out in this countdown!
Video Credits
Adventure Express POV (Kings Island)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maXyqRTvLn0
Anaconda POV (The Coaster Scoop)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmsIhjuapBM
Bat (Kings Island)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv586tSuJEI&t=59s
Big Bad Wolf Off-Ride (Sean Flaharty)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD37Kn39de4&t=3s
Big One Off-Ride (Dylans Coaster Universe)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjBeDkXiTIk
Canyon Blaster Off-Ride (coastercrutchfield)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTCSLIbX5AU&t=9s
Demon POV (California’s Great America)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5kZ6cnmL7w
Desperado (Savage Coasters)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBQ93sYE-Us
Drachen Fire (Sean Flaharty)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dehPAo1uQ&t=5s
Great American Scream Machine (psyclonesteve)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c52ElfNvzVo&t=1s
Magnum XL-200 Off-Ride (Coaster College)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1otQrvkPqs
Ninja POV (Six Flags Magic Mountain)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stX5EvWzTQY
River King Mine Train POV (Six Flags St. Louis)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=253snnsCwAg
Shockwave (psyclonesteve)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9agYxUHfEp8&t=199s
Steel Phantom (Sean Flaharty)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwjbNZkMDII
Steeplechase POV (Theme Park Worldwide)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHxOr65xa-w
Tennessee Tornado POV (Dollywood)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud559_BelFM
Thunderation POV (Silver Dollar City)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIIk_-39Mls&t=1s
Vampire Off-Ride (Mr Coller Roaster via No Copyright Coasters)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zUZ8UbIR9I
Vortex Off-Ride (ElToroRyan)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP3TTrRKAAo&t=2s
Yagiyama Cyclone (Sean Flaharty)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UxO0hALwgw
Background Music
Cinematic Motivational Trailer by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Film- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adt_v5mNdr4
44 Comments
I wouldn't say Viper at Magic Mountain has wonky pacing, imo the midcourse slamming you to a stop results in some of the best and most graceful hangtime around. That batwing in the back car is just magical. Though I will 100% say that I'm biased, I also have it ranked #11… overall.
I got to meet with a lot of Arrow guys @ the IAAPA Expo's. Ron Toomer (got his autograph) Ed & Dana Morgan also met them. They had even more stuff they had planned to build, like the Flying Turns & spinning coaster. Now spinners are everywhere!
Anyone else who actually enjoys Arrow’s rough transitions like I do? I just find them unique and fun for some reason
I think Big Bad John is quite underrated. I’d personally put it miles above River King.
honestly i find it hilarious that X2 made arrow go bankrupt
if you ride ninja at night in the back, it becomes a much wilder experience. can’t recommend it enough
Have you ridden all of these?
Currently x2 is my favorite arrow, but IMO it's extremely overrated, and I could see Magnum taking its spot.
That runaway mine train was kinda cool and I'd call it good if it weren't for all 3 of my friends and I walking away with bruises and pain
It was pointed out that if I had Big Thunder Mountain, I should have included Space Mountain on this list. Sorry for that oversight. The Tokyo one would have been towards the bottom of the top 10 and the Florida one would have been at the number 2 spot.
Dude you need to take more time to proof your videos. Forgetting Space Mountain is unforgivable. Every single one of your videos has had a factual error over the past month leading to a choppy cut after the fact that ruins the watch experience so I think you need to hire an editor or watch the damn video before posting. Sorry if this is harsh but it needs to be said that you are getting sloppy.
It was great. So interesting to see other coasters that were built by Arrow. We have 2, Vortex, which is fast and very cool and Dragon Fyre which is a double loop and corkscrew. I love both of them. Favorites.
Vortex at Kings Island is my favorite arrow ever. I'm VERY lucky to own a piece of its track rail! (I have a video showing it off on my channel!) (My thread on KICentral was one of the sole reasons they were even sold at all, which is really cool!!) It was the original mega looper. That color scheme is my favorite ever and it was beautiful. Plus those first 2 inversions absolutely plastered you to the seat, and the corkscrews gave good hangtime. RIP Vortex. 1987-2019
This is the one I've been waiting for. I still love Arrow. Growing up Arrow coasters were the standard but became slowly replaced by B&M as I was a teenager. But when i think of a coaster I still think of an Arrow coaster. And while their work has led other manufacturers to exceed their accomplishments, their very best coasters still remain some of the greatest coasters ever built (especially X2 and Magnum.)
My current favorite coaster by Arrow Dynamics is Tennesee Tornado at Dollywood. It's short but sweet.
I love ur thumbnail ❤
Love Magnum XL-200. My favorite Arrow Ive done over X2
Yes X2 is the king of Arrow coasters!
I wish arrow hadn't gone bankrupt I would have liked to see How they would have adapted to the current Years Also their concept of a pipeline roller coaster they had planning was interesting
Is Big Thunder Mountain even an Arrow coaster? I’d like to know the history behind this, the transitions don’t look like Arrow transitions
X² is my favorite, but Viper is at Magic Mountain is a close second.
I'd like to see Anacomda get the Phantom's Revenge treatment. It's got a good location, and it would be able to keep the areas of high investment (chassis, station, lift, footers), thus reducing cost. In the case of Anaconda, I imagine they'd also reuse the drop into the tunnel. I honestly find it surprising that more parks with larger scale Arrow loopers haven't done that yet.
Walt Disney SAVED Arrow. When he found out that Arrow lost money building the rides at DL, he did what GREEDY LEFTISTS at Disney now would never do, WALT PAID THEM MORE
Never been to Cedar Point?
Nevermind I guess you’ve never ridden the three other arrows there. All smoother than Demon
The more I ride Arrows, the more I love them. I like all the imperfections in the designs. It makes for some janky transitions that you've got to watch out for, but it also gives them character. The only Arrow that I feel tracks rough is Thunderation, but 1 of the 2 trains does ride quite smooth.
Great show!
It's crazy to think about this, but historically, Cedar Point is the home that Arrow built. Five Coasters – the most by manufacturers at Cedar Point for coasters, plus Snake River and I think the Auto ride as well.
I'm excited to see the brand new Adventure Express theming at King's Island, but if was up to me, I'd love it to go back to it's Indiana Jones roots and finish the ride up the lift, "Temple of Doom" style with Mola Ram shouting, "Kali Ma" before entering the station.
Also – King's Island Bat is my legit fave Arrow, although I have let to go on X2.
Absolutely love the thumbnail of this video!
Epic
Are you going to ride and review exodus when that releases in 2024?
I didn't like Magnum in the one back seat ride I had. Maybe we had a bad ride, I don't know. This was in 2001, 22 years ago, and it wasn't rough per se, it was just really "janky". On my return visit to CP years later, I skipped it, no jokes! Had a half day there so prioritised things like dragster which I hadn't ridden and so forth. We just didn't get much airtime on Magnum at all, much like Steel force where we actually got zero on a back car ride (cold rainy night maybe)? Then again, I wonder if you had really bad rides on Ninja cause I've always had great ones in the back car. I would have put it about 15th. No airtime or anything but I always found it a heap of fun speeding around the mountain. Surprised you didn't.
I miss Arrow so much
Great video, this has been a unique and fun series! Arrow was pretty great
I really like the arrow loopers
Dragon mountain better then vortex? I don't think so. Dragon mountain is a very boring drawn out layout
My favorite is Matterhorn Bobsleds. I like the theming this ride has and it's cool how it runs its way through the mountain on two tracks unpredictably. It's a shame how Arrow is no longer with us today because with how its competitor Vekoma has completely changed its image in recent years, it would've been cool to see what kind of rides Arrow could be building today.
Big one? Really?
Top 3 agree. Not sure if you can call x2 a arrow alone. By your logic phantom revenge should be on this list
As someone who is 6/7 and all torso I can appreciate Gemini and Magnum as they are some of the only old steel coasters I can ride.
Out of 39 arrow credits, Desperado only is behind X2, Magnum, Gemini, and Tennessee Tornado for me. It is right ahead of Excalibur and Viper at SFMM. Shockwave at SFGAm is next as I rode that coaster a lot as a kid.
Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😄
Magnum is my favriot normal hyper coaster
Canyon Blaster is my favorite Arrow I’ve ridden so far. I’m lucky to live just 20 minutes from the park. It’s the coaster that made me love Arrow Dynamics and their work.
Matterhorn Bobsled Is Not On my Top 25 Favorite Roller Coasters That I Ridden Coming Soon
Is In My Top 10 Worst Roller Coasters Coming Soon
How I Re-Ride This with no Pain
Is ninja at six flags St Louis not on this list or is it on the vekoma video