All in All.....Has 2002 Been a Banner or a Bummer?

A lot of new coasters have been opened in 2002......and some older coasters have been revamped to make them better. You would think that this year so far has been a "banner year" in coasterdom. But is that true?

Let's take a look back. We got.......and temporarily lost......X. We got........and temporarily lost......Wicked Twister. We got.....and lost.....and got......and lost......and got Deja Vu. Not a good thing for 3 of the year's most anticipated new coasters.

On the other hand, B&M dealt a good hand in 2002 with the debuts of S:UF and B:DK. These appear to be running strong (so far) and keeping thrill seekers satisfied, if not completely enamored. Also, B&R: TC and Joker's Jinx have both unveiled their OTSR-less new car designs to mostly rave reviews.

So what do you think? Has 2002 been a good or bad year so far for coasters? And how do you think it will be by season's end? If nothing else, I think everyone can agree that it's been a "roller coaster" of a year! ;)

I'm not really sure yet. We're only halfway through it, and the two new coasters that I most look foward to have yet to open(Xcellerator and the New Mexico Rattler).

While I wouldn't call this year a banner year, how could it possibly be a bummer? Unless you've ridden all of the 2000 and 2001 additions, I'd say there is still plenty of work to do.

-----------------
"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?

Don't forget we temporarily lost Hypersonic XLC. This year hasn't been great for new coasters, but for me personally, it has been great. I've added over 50 coasters to my track record, and visited 29 parks so far (just this year). I'm still not done yet!

-----------------
"...they came like a winged curse. A twin plague of demonic dragons!" - Dueling Dragons

I would say definately one of the worst years for new coasters in a while, few parks got them and parks are having loads of trouble operating rides. Also there have been numerous deaths and injuries already in the short season.

-----------------
Track Record: 110 and counting.....

It's been a crappy year if you live in Florida. Nothing good on the coaster front going on here. We haven't had a new coaster since Kraken which was two years ago. IOA hasn't had anything new come along since opening in 1999. Storm Force and Flying Unicorn woopee dooo. All we get here are rumors of coasters coming but no results. I wish BGT would get their act together and build that hyper they been rumoring about. If BGW can have a hyper why not BGT. All I can say is I'm sick of themes and want some more thrills for once. I don't want a storyline I want an adrenaline rush so come on Florida, the rest of the country is leaving us in the dust where new and exciting coasters are concerned. Let's start catching up already.

Well, over here on the other side of the world, it has been great. This year, let's see, Silver Star, Colossus, Air, Goliath. . . I have also been enjoying the good ones from last year too (Expedition Ge-Force, Colossos, etc.) while I'm here so I can't complain. . .although back in the States, yall seem to be having some bad luck (ride problems, storms, deaths, etc.) and I hope that the rest of the season is better for yall out there. If 2002 was a bummer year in the States, then 2003 should be a great year - and I'll be back and ready to ride. :)

-----------------
My place

http://pages.prodigy.net/dominguezgarage

If you live in the northeast it has been a bummer so far not about the coasters but the weather has been crappy, it has not been to warm and raining alot. My home park is SFNE and although we got BTDK we only have one train on SROS I'm still hoping they have two before July,also still no low Q yet, does anyone know when its going to start? Every time I go I ask and they tell me two weeks I'm starting to think I'm in the movie Money pit.

We still have half the year left and most of the summer left. It is still early season for seasonal parks. I think we still need some time to tell.

As was said earlier, I'm still waiting for Xcelerator. Only 2 or so more days for me! :)

There is a fair chance that I will get to go on the New Mexico Rattler, and I will do all in my power to make that happen! With the one CCI I have been on, I am seriously craving more! (too bad HW, IB and Big Chief's are stockpiling all the CCI's in the midwest!)

Sounds like Europe had a good year, Colossus, Air and Goliath all sound like a lot of fun.

As has been discussed before, X will be fine and so will Wicked Twister. Revolutionary rides like these usually have a rough start, but for the most part turn out to be consistent and well loved rides!

2001 and 2002 were pretty good years, but NOTHING compared to 2000 and 1999. I mean, in those 2 years we got

Millennium Force
Legend
SFNE Superman: ROS
Goliath
Legend
Son of Beast
Raging Bull
Apollo's Chariot
Dueling Dragons
The Incredible Hulk
Superman: The Ultimate Escape

And more.

Any year when there are new coasters is a good year. Could you imagine a year without one. And plus Legend got those shiny new PTC's this year. So, this year is not a bad year, just not as good as the past few. Just look at it this way, we might be in for a coaster boom next year, and who wouldn't love that?

-----------------
Holiday World, it's impossible not to have a good time

Well said L. Kris Allen! Enjoy this year and don't complain. Next year just might be WORSE. (i'm such a pessimist)

-------------
Why do they report power outages on TV?*** This post was edited by S00perGIR on 6/15/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by S00perGIR on 6/15/2002. ***

---

Ajrides said:
"If you live in the northeast it has been a bummer so far not about the coasters but the weather has been crappy, it has not been to warm and raining alot. My home park is SFNE and although we got BTDK we only have one train on SROS I'm still hoping they have two before July,also still no low Q yet, does anyone know when its going to start? Every time I go I ask and they tell me two weeks I'm starting to think I'm in the movie Money pit."

---

We've gotten one new coaster in New England every year since 1995, but before that there was nothing much. This is a pretty good year for are standards, which is low in New England. One train on Superman doesn't ruin anything for me. Shucks ,we still got two great CCIs, 25 cent nights at Quassy(that's right, all food and rides are a quarter each with free admission), and Cannobie actually added something partly orginal. This has been fine for us. With all the coaster we already have, there can't be a bad year, unless something like Cedar Point closed for good came.

For 2001, I can say we recieved the most rumors in seasons at Coasterbuzz, and look what happened in the coming season!!!

-------------
Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

*** This post was edited by Vertigo on 6/15/2002. ***

2002 was a great year for coasters, even though it hasn't been as good as previous ones. Europe, however, had one of the best years I've ever seen, and they have every reason to be estatic..... I've heard nothing but good things. The States still have every reason to be happy, though. CCI debuts (soon to be) 2 classics, B&M gave us two unique designs, and Intamin... well, we'll see how awesome KBF's thrill machine really is (I'm sure it will have no trouble surpassing its high standards....).

However, enthusiasts like us better be ready for 2003. You could name several SF parks that have been 2-3 years without coasters, and several other parks are due for a thrill machine.

"Look out, wheee! 2003!"

What I find funny is that people are writing off the year....AND IT ISN'T EVEN SUMMER YET!

-------------
"To get into this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

No kidding... it's the second week of June.

-----------------
Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"