Grand National vs The Big One

Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.

The verdict

The Big One takes it 4–1, and the 1 Grand National does win is the whole of its case.

Grand National is a wooden Möbius-loop racing wooden coaster coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, GB, built by Charlie Paige (in-house). The Big One is a steel Hypercoaster coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, GB, built by Arrow Dynamics.

Both live at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, so this is a comparison you can settle on foot in an afternoon — and one the park itself has to answer every time someone asks which to queue for first.

Stat by stat

• Height goes to The Big One at 213 ft against 62 ft — in another class entirely.
• Speed goes to The Big One at 74 mph against 45 mph — nearly double.
• Inversions splits them not at all: both read 0.
• Throughput goes to The Big One at 1,650 rph against 720 rph — more than double.
• Build Cost goes to The Big One at 18.4 $m against 0.2 $m — in another class entirely.
• Grand National predates The Big One by 59 years — 1935 against 1994 — and on the one stat where old beats new, that is decisive.