As coasters get taller and taller...

Do you think that if complete-circuit coasters start to go 400+ feet tall, should designers go for the big drops and high speeds, or should they use that height to create long, twisted tracks with lots of elements?

As tall as Millenium Force is, it's actually a pretty simple layout. A coaster with similar height could potentially be a 6 minute ride, with shorter drops and a max speed of about 60 Mph, but could have more elements and pacing. This would give designers a chance to create a high quality ride, not just a record breaker.

Your saying Millennium Force isn't a high quality ride? Get a life, it's got the #1 Steel Coaster award - Golden Ticket

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The top 3 all time cobrarolls.

1)Raptor's
2)Deja Vu's (times 3)
3)Batman Knight Flight's

*** This post was edited by CobraRoller on 12/17/2002. ***

dlillib said:

As tall as Millenium Force is, it's actually a pretty simple layout. A coaster with similar height could potentially be a 6 minute ride, with shorter drops and a max speed of about 60 Mph, but could have more elements and pacing. This would give designers a chance to create a high quality ride, not just a record breaker.

60mph?!?! How'd they do that? It'd be brakes the entire way down the drop. Not fun IMO. Again....to build different types of rides, you need different sums of money. Not every park could go out and buy a MF right now. Very few actually.

CobraRoller- He's just asking a question. He's not saying Millennium Force is bad just that it has more potential.

Read his last few words. Quality, not record breaking. I thought he was still talking about Millennium Force....

Sorry if I took it the wrong way.

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The top 3 all time cobrarolls.

1)Raptor's
2)Deja Vu's (times 3)
3)Batman Knight Flight's

ooo noo the CP fan boys are serious about they coasters. He said nothing about MF, maybe its stuck in your head.

CobraRoller: No, no, no! I didn't say I didn't like MF! I love MF! Jeez! I just said it's a simple layout.

Darth Saambe: No!, no!, no! You missed the point completely! It's not like the ride would go 90mph and then hit a break run to slow it to 60!! I'm saying that instead of having a huge 300 foot drop, it only drops you maybe 150 feet at about 60mph. This way you have so much potential energy that you can make a 5 or 6 minute ride with lots of hills and turns and such. Just because it's a gigacoaster doesn't mean it HAS to have a 300 foot drop and go 90mph! I guess I didn't explain it very well.

Somehow height is really not the main thing.
Of course everyone is scare of heights, so all look up in terror at the mega high coaster.
Or look how everybody gets excited at CPs new height-scare-toy.

But to me good coasters are definitely giving a sense of speed, and lots of acelerations and cool elements in all kinds of direction... and... negative Gs!
I don't really care wether it's 300 or 400 or whatever height.

It would be phenomenally expensive to be pulling out of a 150' drop at 3 or 4 G's 150' above ground. Imagine the support structure that would be needed...

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
You must be this dumb to ride Viper. -SFGAdv.

It might be more feasible to make such a coaster a terrain ride off the side of a cliff or something. That way the ground would support the 150-foot drop, even if it was still far from its eventual lowest drop.

Anyway, I see what he's getting at and it sounds awesome to me. More gradual drops instead of using it all at once. Some would see that as a waste of a 300-foot height, but I would like it.

btw, I build Wooden Wild Mouse rides like this all the time in RCT - but the first lift section has only gradual drops, and the second lift section has huge drops.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Thing is MF was speed oriented.

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Säubern Sie mit Milch? ;)

money, money, money

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sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't

CobraRoller said:

Read his last few words. Quality, not record breaking. I thought he was still talking about Millennium Force....
Sorry if I took it the wrong way.
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The top 3 all time cobrarolls.
1)Raptor's
2)Deja Vu's (times 3)
3)Batman Knight Flight's

Even if he *were* talking *directly* about MF, your response was not warrented. There are things known as opinions, and I don't think you'd want someone to attack you like that for yours.
Was is this, pre-school?

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Superman:The Escape(1997-2002) May he one day fly again.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 12/17/2002. ***

It would cost way toooooooo much. Six minute ride at 60 mph is six miles of track. I would love a ride like that, but it will not happen.

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There is a new twist in the Top-Hat. :)

Okay, lets touch on a few things.

You talk about Millennium Force's simple layout and I can't help but to think about Magnum XL-200. Millennium Force has this nearly vertical drop, overbanked turns, huge hills, speed etc. when all Magnum has are its hills and turnaround. Magnum and Millennium Force are at the top of their game and yet, I don't see many roller coasters with complicated layouts competing with them. Maybe simple is better sometimes.

But as far as roller coasters getting taller and why don't we have a lot of smaller ones. Here is the thing, new rides are built to draw people to a park. Yeah, sure you want quality but the whole, "word of mouth" campaigne is slow. You have to have something that grabs people's attention. Thats why you see coasters that are the largest, fastest, steepest etc. in the world or region. It sells. At the same time, everyone isn't making the tallest, fastest, steepest etc. coasters in the world. Talon wasn't the biggest but its a great ride. Same thing with Superman at Six Flags Darien Lake. Everything is about the money and how to get more of it. The only way to do that is to produce something that no one has. Parks have to have bragging rights to sway a crowd.

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"The opposite of war isn't peace, its creation," Rent.

whats the point of building a ride 400 feet tall if its not going to go more than 60 or so? It would be like taking CP's mine ride and putting it on 400ft stilts.

I think a pretty good solution would be to hit a 300' drop off the bat, cruise back up to 250' or so and then continue with a more gradual layout.

Of course, I have absolutely no qualms with S:RoS SFNE (and I'm sure I wouldn't with EGF) because every inch of track is action packed, even without gradual drops.

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
You must be this dumb to ride Viper. -SFGAdv.

*** This post was edited by ApolloAndy on 12/17/2002. ***

Yes, I love tell coasters, but I just love coasters in general and think that great air-time is essentail, at least for me... I'm happy on little wodden coasters that get me out of my seat, and love one in particular, but sadly don't remember name, at Carowinds, SC... it's the one that has a front and backwards train... very fun!!!!! And no line! Love it!!! I'm easily ammused... as long as I come out of my seat! :-)

It's all about the Benjamins...

Even a short, simple ride like #16 at CP is what, $15 million? That aint pocket change, even for the big boys.

Eventually we may get a long circuit 400+ tall ride...probably sponsored by Bill Gates.

Coming soon to Six Flags Walla Walla... Microsoft: The Ride.

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My K'Nex Coasters
Coming to Wyandot Lake in 2003: Hi-Striker's Revenge

I have to disagree with you about the structure being insanely expensive if it's that high up in the air. It will cost more, you've got that right undoubtedly. I just can't see it being atrociously expensive to do what has been suggest (have a short drop). The expense would be in putting up enough structure to support the track itself rather than having to hold up to additional forces.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?