Does Eagle Fortress Deserve Third Best in the World?
The interesting part of this year’s Mitch Hawker Internet Poll is Eagle Fortress coming in at the third best roller coaster in the world. Eagle Fortress is an unlikely coaster to rank so high. It’s a sixteen year old suspended coaster built on a hillside at Everland in South Korea. It’s a controversial ranking as only six of the riders polled had ridden it. However, all six of those riders placed Eagle Fortress in their top ten and according to Mitch they were all well traveled enthusiasts.
To some, this may be looked at as a flaw in Mitch Hawker’s Poll, but I disagree. The mutual ride comparisons at the heart of the poll still mean that those that rode Eagle Fortress preferred it over Millennium Force, Nitro, etc. Aside, from method, (which I completely buy into), here’s an Everland trip report that includes a short review of Eagle Fortress. Maybe Busch Gardens Europe’s Big Bad Wolf isn’t the world’s best suspended coaster.
The rider claims it’s the best terrain coaster around and he’s ridden the best out there including, Thunderbolt, Boulder Dash, and Beast. Of course we’d like many more riders to agree with these six that the old Arrow suspended coaster Eagle Fortress is THAT good, but we’ve got a handful of people that rank it really high and this counts as data. It’s much better than Mitch throwing out the data versus keeping it. The asterisk is the perfect way to handle it, way to go Mitch!
Also, the next time you’re in South Korea, or if you already live there, you might want to stop by Everland. With the Intamin wooden coaster T Express opening this year and Eagle Fortress, Everland may be one of the best theme parks in Asia.
Here’s an onride video of Eagle Fortress. I know by now I shouldn’t be surprised that someone has posted a YouTube video of this obscure coaster in South Korea, but I am.
What do you think of Eagle Fortress’ ranking on Mitch’s Coaster Poll? Leave a comment below.