Wisconsin is home to a whole lot of cheese,
the Wisconsin Dells, and 12 operating roller coasters- 6 made of wood and 6 made of steel.
This state has one of the highest concentrations of wood coasters out there.
I have ridden 11 of the 12 roller coasters in Wisconsin, so in this video I will rank all
the coasters I have ridden in the Badger State. 11) Sky Rangers at Tom Foolerys Adventure Park-
This SBF Visa creation was the prototype micro coaster. This attraction has a very basic and
small oval layout. You get more laps than you can count and it sort of feels more like
a spinning ride since you rapidly complete the circuit. The ride has no real drops,
but you do get some decent laterals through the station since none of the turns are banked.
10) Little Dipper at Little Amerricka- This Herschell kiddie coaster is a bit bumpy,
but it has two redeeming qualities. One, the bunny hills can offer an itty bitty pop of airtime.
Second, the ride is literally located next to a cemetery. It’s definitely one of the creepiest and
most ominous views you can get on a coaster, and it occurs on a kiddie coaster no less!
9) Meteor at Little Amerricka- This PTC junior wood coaster was relocated from the
nearby Hillcrest Park. While the coaster itself doesn’t really have any airtime nor laterals,
it’s very smooth and the operator working the attraction really heightened the experience.
He was pumping riders up, contorting his body wildly to dispatch riders,
and offering bonus laps. I got 3 laps on each of my rides.
8) Miner Mike at Knucklehead’s- Located indoors, this Wisdom Rides kiddie coaster
has a much more expansive layout than your usual Miner Mike coaster. This one has some
western theming alongside it and it feels like a terrain coaster since it occupies multiple levels.
The start isn’t anything special, but there is a super compact helix towards the end
that offers some shockingly powerful laterals. Little Titans at Mt. Olympus- I haven’t ridden
this exact installation as Mt. Olympus doesn’t allow adults on this Miler kiddie coaster.
However, I have ridden an exact clone of it at Oaks Park in Portland, Oregon
in the Zoom Coaster. This is one of the best kiddie coasters out there. The initial drop has
some good yank and the final bunny hills feel like a bucking bull as they toss you about.
7) Swiss Toboggan at Little Amerricka- It had been over a decade since I had ridden one of these
Chance toboggans. This is the last one out there and I was able to enjoy it more this time around.
The claustrophobic cages are 100% necessary because of this coaster’s tight clearances,
but most guests are dangerously close to the ceiling and it’s possible to smash your head on
the finale. The key was to slouch downwards. Swiss Toboggan starts with one of the most terrifying
lift hills in the world- it’s a vertical lift in the central tube- before subjecting riders to a
dizzying, seemingly never-ending spiral around the tube. Then the final bunny hills and turns
are very sharp and abrupt. Swiss Toboggan still isn’t a good ride, but I no longer
think it’s one of the worst coasters in the world provided you slouch forwards.
6) Pegasus at Mt. Olympus- The smallest wood coaster at Mt. Olympus is a weird ride,
but I gained an appreciation for its imperfections in 2021. This CCI looks like it should
ride like your traditional junior wood coaster, but this ride has teeth. In many ways, it reminds
me more of a wild mouse. The middle section has a series of tight turns that offer some laterals,
but it’s just the warm-up for the finale. You have this awkward kink into the brake run
that comically tosses riders to the side. Pegasus is a flawed junior coaster since the roughness
and laterals are probably not the best for an introductory coaster, but as a coaster enthusiast
I could appreciate the coaster’s violence. 5) Mad Mouse at Little Amerricka- This Herschell
wild mouse is a classic treat. The most special thing about this ride is the restraint system-
or lack thereof. There isn’t a lap bar nor seat belt. This causes you to experience this
coaster’s forces to the fullest. Mad Mouse has increasingly strong laterals on its hairpin turns
and you will be slammed to the side of the car. Then the final hop into the brake run
will frighteningly pop you out of your seat. While this isn’t the tallest wild mouse coaster-
it barely has a drop- it definitely put a smile on my face as it threw me about.
4) Zeus at Mt. Olympus- This is a good out-and-back coaster from Custom Coasters
International. For many years, this coaster was considered one of the roughest coasters out there
but ever since it was retracked, it is running like a dream. The series of small
bunny hills offer weak floater airtime and the strongest airtime can be experienced entering
and exiting the far turnaround. Mixed in with that airtime are some decent laterals on the turns.
3) Cyclops at Mt. Olympus- This CCI coaster was closed on my most recent visit to Mt. Olympus
since it was getting extensively retracked. I’m not sure if the profiling of the
elements were adjusted- and I hope they weren’t- since I loved Cyclops in 2019.
There is only one place to ride this coaster- in the back car. That is where you get some
crazy ejector airtime. Everyone talks about the 5th drop. That drop launched me skyhigh,
but it’s arguably outshined by the first two drops. Those two drops
had even stronger airtime in my opinion. Then the underbanked turns offer some laterals too.
The ride had a shuffle to it in 2019, but I’m hoping the retracking can address this.
I really enjoyed this coaster primarily for those violent 3 airtime moments.
2) Hades 360 at Mt. Olympus- This is arguably the best coaster in Wisconsin. It definitely has the
best layout. Hades 360 has a super aggressive and intense layout loaded with great airtime,
good laterals, and even corkscrew. However, the ride has a fatal flaw. It is brutally rough.
The train shakes and shimmies non-stop. The Timberliner trains do their best to absorb the
blows, but Hades had me wincing in pain on a few rides. While this isn’t a coaster I can marathon,
the ride does have plenty of standout moments. It has one of the best pre-lifts in the world
with multiple ejector pops. The first drop is massive and has some great sustained airtime.
And then you have the legendary underground tunnel beneath the parking lot that will toss your body
like a ragdoll in all directions. If this coaster ever gets a full retracking and rides smoothly,
it would not only place atop this list but it would find itself in my top 10 wood coaster list.
1) Zippin Pippin at Bay Beach Amusement Park- This is the most enjoyable roller coaster in Wisconsin.
Zippin Pippin is the spiritual successor to the old ride of the same name that previously
operated at Libertyland in Tennessee. Gravity Group used the old blueprints and built this
floater airtime machine. The first two drops offer strong and sustained airtime in the back rows.
The middle of the ride has weaker airtime, but there’s one hill on the return leg that offers
one of the most violent and abrupt pops of ejector airtime in the world. It comes out of nowhere!
Zippin Pippin is an incredibly smooth ride and it’s a bargain too, as it costs just $1 to ride
as of 2021. I have a separate review going into more detail, but Zippin Pippin is just pure fun.
So that is how I rank the roller coasters in Wisconsin.
If you’re a fan of wood coasters, Wisconsin is a state you should definitely check out. How would
you rank the coasters in the Badger State or what are your thoughts on any of the rides I mentioned?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!