Chance and Morgan are two roller coaster manufacturers that are closely linked.
From 1995 to 2001, Morgan Manufacturing sold 9 roller coasters, primarily hyper coasters.
When Dana Morgan retired in 2001, his company’s assets were sold to Chance Rides.
And for a few years, the company was known as Chance Morgan.
Now that company goes by just Chance Rides again. While they haven’t built too many coasters,
their newer ones show real promise. So in this video, I will rank the top 10 roller
coasters by both these manufacturers. Before starting the list, I want to
note that I have separate reviews already published for all but two of these rides.
I also want to give an honorable mention to Quicksilver Express at Gilroy Gardens. It was
the first coaster Morgan ever manufactured, but it wasn’t installed until the turn of the millennium.
This tracks better than most Arrow mine trains and it has
nice use of terrain. It just missed the list. 10) Santa Monica West Coaster at Pacific Park-
This iconic coaster is recognized by many because of its location at the Santa Monica Pier.
This ride offers stunning views of the beach, ocean, and park it is located in.
Most of the layout is mild, but if you ride in the back car, there is some airtime. The
largest drop has some great floater airtime and the hump afterwards gives another tiny pop.
9) Nickelodeon Slime Streak at Nickelodeon Universe- This Chance family coaster offers
a fun and rowdy aerial tour of this indoor park. The first and third drops offer some nice laterals
and a smidge of airtime. The rest of the layout feels sort of like a bucking bull crossed with a
monorail. No other airtime or notable forces, but the constant movement keeps the ride engaging.
And it’s the smoothest coaster at this park by far. Just watch out if you’re tall. These are some
of the most cramped vehicles out there. 8) Wild Thing at Valleyfair-
The original Morgan hyper coaster is weak for the genre. The first drop gives nice floater airtime
in the back and then the second hill is one of the most sustained airtime moments in the world.
It offers roughly 5 straight seconds of floater airtime. You then have a long and fun turnaround,
but the second half is where the ride falters. You have a series of bunny hills that should give
great airtime, but the mid-course trim spoils the finale. You slowly coast over each hill,
mostly remaining in your seat. 7) Mamba at Worlds of Fun-
This one starts strong like the prior. The outward leg has some solid and sustained floater airtime.
The giant helix turnaround has decent power to it plus a small kink giving some airtime.
As for the return run, I need to preface this ranking by saying I did not ride Mamba in 2022.
I heard it ran trimless and offered Magnum level airtime. When I last rode it in 2020,
the ride was trimmed mightily for the return run, so the final hills were duds. With how its running
now, the coaster likely would crack the top 5. 6) Steel Force at Dorney Park- Unlike the prior
two Cedar Fair hypers, this one has always run at its full potential. The outward leg is nearly
identical to Mamba, and that’s a good thing. I’ll never complain about sustained negative Gs.
The turnaround section is fast and full of headchoppers. Then the return run has always
delivered. The mid-course doesn’t hit too hard, so every bunny hill delivers floater and/or fl-jector
airtime. That’s especially true since the lap bars give a lot of room even on the lowest setting.
5) Steel Eel at SeaWorld San Antonio- This mini-hyper has some borderline painful airtime.
You have the same roomy restraints as Steel Force and the airtime is even more
sustained. So you come down hard in the valleys. I know that’s not for everyone,
but I will take that for the level of airtime this ride delivers. The thing that can make or
break this coaster is the return run. Sometimes the ride trims lightly, so the return run gives
good floater airtime the whole way back. This placement reflects that mode. Sometimes the ride
trims harshly and the return run is weak. When it runs like that, it slides in behind Steel Force.
4) Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom- This Chance hyper-GTX feels like an RMC with
its powerful ejector airtime and pacing. This coaster rips through its layout, never missing
a chance to launch riders skyward. That’s best seen in the finale, which has some of the most
aggressive ejector pops on any coaster. There are two things holding it back from the top 3.
One, it just doesn’t have the same sense of speed as the coasters ahead of it. Two, the restraints
are far tighter. The ride is still smooth though! 3) Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land-
This gigantic giga coaster is the world’s longest coaster. The elements feel like those on Steel
Force scaled way up. The outward leg has fantastic sustained airtime because of how massive those
hills are. The turnaround section has some speedy turns, albeit lacking on the force.
Then the return run is a never-ending series of bunny hills with really strong floater airtime.
This ride has the potential to place in the second spot, but there are a few things holding it back.
One, the first few valleys have some bad jackhammering in many rows. Two, you cannot
pick your row, so you can’t guarantee one of the premium seats on the ends of the train where
the airtime is at its best. Three, you have B&M trains. They’re comfortable, but the clamshell is
more restrictive than the usual Morgan lap bars. 2) Superman el Ultimo Escape at Six Flags Mexico-
This is Morgan’s best ground-up coaster. The pre-lift occurs on a hillside and give some
surprise pops of airtime before the main layout. After a long lift hill, you have a more forceful
layout than usual. The first drop has lots of sustained floater, but the turnaround section is
unhinged. You have a helix with strong laterals plus some hills with some aggressive airtime.
Then the return run- if untrimmed- has some really nice floater airtime. And all these great elements
are paired with spectacular views of Mexico City. 1) Phantom’s Revenge at Kennywood-
This ride originally opened as an Arrow looping coaster known as Steel Phantom. Due
to complains about roughness, Morgan transformed the coaster into Phantom’s Revenge. The first two
drops remained, including the legendary second drop down the ravine. That drop is world-class
between its airtime, length, and views. The rest of the layout received a series of fast turns and
intense little airtime hills. Every bunny hill delivers incredible ejector airtime. That would
be the case with any restraint, but it’s extra special with these roomy lap bars. I can’t believe
how minimal this restraint is for airtime this powerful. Then that is paired with some strong
positive Gs on a few valleys and the overbank as well. This ride is a high-speed powerhouse.
So those are the top 10 roller coasters from Morgan and Chance. I really hope the latter
gets a chance to build more hyper GTXs in the future because that model has a lot of potential.
And I’m excited to see how Hot Wheels turns out at Mattel Adventure Park, which is expected to
have a launch and multiple inversions? What is your favorite coaster from either
manufacturer? Let me know 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!