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Unpopular opinions you have about roller coasters/rides/parks
General

FrankLeeMadere posted on September 25th, 2022

Maybe this is becoming less unpopular as we move forward? (I hope), but I think that obsessing over roller coaster stats at best creates a stale environment of boring coasters breaking records and at worst ruins what could have been great rides. And it shifts the focus away from what actually makes the ride experience unique, exciting, intense, fun, etc.

Exhibit A: the coaster wars of the 90's and early 2000's. You couldn't see an ad for a new ride that didn't hype up some random stat that happened to surpass some previous "record." Did the 17ft. of height really add so much to the ride experience of your destined-to-fail woodie? Does it matter if this really tall roller coaster is technically only 287ft. tall? Can you even tell when you're up there? And before you claim "oh it's just marketing" I present...

Exhibit B: y'all when Orion was announced. The discourse was centered so prominently around the height of the thing, many forgot that it's a 287ft. metal structure that plummets you nearly face first towards the ground. And an awesome ride at that. Orion is WILD but people dismissed it due to some outdated notion that '300' is giga and 299' is just a dinky little hyper.'

Stats are fine, it's nice to know roughly what an experience will be like before committing to a trip, but the way we treat them, particularly from the most enthusiastic, is usually pretty dumb. If height classifications were centered around metric then a giga might be 90 meters tall, a bit shorter than 300', or 100 meters tall to make things nice and even, about 328' tall. And don't get me started on track length.. what a useless number to a rider. Longest coaster in the world, huh? How much of that did you say is straight track? Hmmmmmm.

I was telling a friend of mine stats like these in the coaster industry are the equivalent of a band claiming their song must be a master piece because it's thirty minutes long.
You can have thirty minutes of garbage or two minutes of amazing music.

So it is with coasters - it's not about stats, but what you do with them. I find that a lot of record breaking coasters are nothing but a one-trick-pony. They do their thing and that's it - like Formula Rossa hitting trims IMMEDIATELY after the launch - in which case, why even go that fast?

It's with that I've got another (possibly) unpopular opinion to throw out there. Ever hear about diminishing returns? So maybe four squares of a chocolate bar are satisfying but five aren't? Stuff like that - there's a point where you have too much of a good thing that it gets ruined.

I think somewhere around 200 - 250 feet is that point for roller coasters. I'll admit - I've never been on a giga, but I've been on drop towers over 300 feet and I wasn't impressed - I don't think they beat out the 200 foot towers - at all.

When you near or exceed 300 feet think about how fast that is - faster means more drawn out elements, you really have to watch your G's and you can't transition too quick.
Not to mention, the sheer cost. Many gigas end up being really short rides because they take up so much room and cost so much for such long track lengths.

I've been meaning to get over to Carowinds to try Fury so again, my thoughts on this aren't set in stone or anything - I'm willing to champion gigas if they prove to be worth it so we'll see how that goes, but overall, generally speaking - somewhere there has to be a point of diminishing returns on roller coasters.

Where is it?
If not 200-250 feet, maybe it's 350?

Maybe the speed should cap at 90 mph?
Or 100?

Maybe you should never invert more than eight times? Or nine?

What's the limit for roller coaster design? Every demographic is different but where do you all think the general lines fall? How fast? How tall? How much air time? How many inversions?

I'm rather curious what everyone thinks.

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Unpopular opinions you have about roller coasters/rides/parks
General

Maybe this is becoming less unpopular as we move forward? (I hope), but I think that obsessing over roller coaster stats at best creates a stale environment of boring coasters breaking records and at worst ruins what could have been great rides. And it shifts the focus away from what actually makes the ride experience unique, exciting, intense, fun, etc.

Exhibit A: the coaster wars of the 90's and early 2000's. You couldn't see an ad for a new ride that didn't hype up some random stat that happened to surpass some previous "record." Did the 17ft. of height really add so much to the ride experience of your destined-to-fail woodie? Does it matter if this really tall roller coaster is technically only 287ft. tall? Can you even tell when you're up there? And before you claim "oh it's just marketing" I present...

Exhibit B: y'all when Orion was announced. The discourse was centered so prominently around the height of the thing, many forgot that it's a 287ft. metal structure that plummets you nearly face first towards the ground. And an awesome ride at that. Orion is WILD but people dismissed it due to some outdated notion that '300' is giga and 299' is just a dinky little hyper.'

Stats are fine, it's nice to know roughly what an experience will be like before committing to a trip, but the way we treat them, particularly from the most enthusiastic, is usually pretty dumb. If height classifications were centered around metric then a giga might be 90 meters tall, a bit shorter than 300', or 100 meters tall to make things nice and even, about 328' tall. And don't get me started on track length.. what a useless number to a rider. Longest coaster in the world, huh? How much of that did you say is straight track? Hmmmmmm.

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Unpopular opinions you have about roller coasters/rides/parks
General

Ok, I'll confess. I don't find SLCs bad. I've said it.
It's not that I like them a lot (I find them a bit pointless, lacking airtime and/or good positives and/or whip or hangtime or any other thrill factor), but I enjoy them. They are fun, and not nearly as bad as people say. I've never suffered serious discomfort in one of them, and the very bearable rattle actually added to the weak experience with some more thrill. Note that I've ridden, among others, MP Express at Movie Park Germany and the notorious El Condor at WH, which are not said to be of the best ones.

Also, I enjoy RCCA's woodies, too. Coaster Express is a lot of fun; I always end up laughing at how ridiculous the rattle is. Maybe it all could be summed up in that I don't really dislike rattly rides (I was brought up by some of the worst XD).

Coastin' Dave posted on September 23rd, 2022

I think wild mouse coasters, and compact coasters in general, are underrated.

Regarding that, I completely agree that smaller coasters can sometimes be a lot better. Not only small and compact thrill rides, but also family friendly ones. I love a good mine train with rockwork, as well as themed indoor rides (such as Studio Tour at MP). Extreme thrills are not always needed. However, I disagree with regard to wild mice. I personally don’t like them too much, they just have laterals (almost uncomfortable) and some nice drops. I prefer some less thrilling but more fun family rides. I get your thoughts, though.

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National Park Contest
Contests

Cravenable Gaming posted on September 23rd, 2022

I think I am going to participate in this. But I have some questions. Are we allowed to make custom scenery (Custom station, Park paths, Buildings etc)? And can I post the finished product on Youtube?

Yes, custom scenery is allowed (you just can't modify the existing scenery or terrain in any way) - and of course you can share the finished product on YouTube! Very eager to see what you come up with!

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National Park Contest
Contests

NATIONAL PARK COASTER CONTEST

Hosts: Loundlim and Kw6sTheater

DEBRIEF

A National Park is looking to attract a fresh demographic: thrill-seekers. But they don’t want another alpine coaster - they’re seeking proposals for a unique, landmark thrill ride for their property. However, the site for this coaster is quite unusual - for starters, it’s in a former quarry.

From the top of the quarry to the bottom, there’s a 64m/210ft height difference. Surrounding the base of the quarry, the lake and forest are federally protected. As a result, the tree clusters cannot be removed, and new footers cannot be poured on the lake. New footers can be placed on the rocks already in the lake, as well as on any grass inside the build area.

The National Park requires the coaster’s station to be in the green zone (a clearing on the hillside), and that some track enters the purple zone (on top of the quarry). In addition, the coaster has a maximum height limit of 80m/262ft (16m/52ft above the quarry) to preserve sightlines throughout the Park. Using free mods, custom tracks and custom trains are all allowed - but ask a contest host before using a paid mod.

While planning your coaster, keep the following in mind…

This template was designed to encourage out-of-the-box, atypical coasters that aren’t suited for flat ground. A coaster doesn’t need to cover the entire template (or be extremely long) to score high marks. While planning the layout, always consider where footers can be placed - this will make supporting that layout so much easier.

SUBMISSIONS

Template: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vnj1yw2I8c-0LDRYMNq2BkVFn5hfSvTX?usp=sharing
Note: FVD Overlay provided in the folder above

Submit Here: https://forms.gle/59w2A78kpM6tDX6h6
Submissions Deadline (New): October 29th at 23:59/11:59pm Pacific Standard Time

JUDGING CRITERIA

Entries will be judged on 3 categories: Track, Supports and Use of Template. These categories have a range of criteria such as realism, details and aesthetics. All 7 criteria are scored out of 10 points, then added together for the total score (out of 70 points).

RULES - RIDE REQUIREMENTS

The ride’s station must be in the green zone - 10pts deduction if it’s not

The ride’s track must enter the purple zone (on top of the cliff) - 20pts deduction if it doesn’t

The ride must have adequate storage (total number of trains minus 1). Storage isn't required to fit inside the green zone, but it must be nearby for easy maintenance access - 10pts deduction for inadequate storage.

RULES - RIDE RESTRICTIONS

The entire ride (clearance envelope, track, supports and footers) must be within all template boundaries - 10pts deduction per template breach

The entire ride (clearance envelope, track, supports and footers) must pass clearance with itself and the template - 5pts deduction per clearance fail

All new footers must be fully on the grass mesh, not on the water or rocky areas - 5pts deduction per footer violation

The terrain and the scenery must not be changed. As a result, no tunnels or trenches are allowed.

BONUSES

Original Style (If a coaster style is used by one submission only, that submission earns extra points): 3pt bonus

Best Supports Award: 5pt bonus

Most Unique Award: 5pt bonus

Good luck, and have fun!

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