Cloning question - CoasterBuzz

Many people claim to hate vekoma because their rides are heavily cloned. People also complain about B:TR for the same reason. There have been umpteen posts here with a topic like "you mean they cloned Raptor? That makes it less cool."

Yet we have the same people taking pride in dozens or hundreds of laps on their favourite coasters. How is it any different to ride the same ride ten times in one park or ten?

Just one of those post-finals-5%-brain-function questions, i guess.

Because people are selfish. They like to be able to say "My park is better than yours because it has (enter your ride here). If that ride is cloned, they cannot say that. I'll ride Batman all over the place and it's still a great ride. Same with impulses, invertigos, flying dutchmen, ect. (Can't say the same for a boomerang though...I've never been on one, and from what I hear they aren't that great and nothing to brag about). So IMO there's nothing wrong with cloning...it makes good sense, especially with some clones (impulses) having such a small footprint.
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Ride the New England Bush!

I can count three different standpoints on this issue:

1: The Enthusiast--Wants their park to be the best, and (as stated above) this can't happen if another park has the same ride they do.

2: The Businessman--By cloning a ride, time and money is saved in R&D. Plus, because another park already has this same ride, they can use the already-existing factors (such as throughput, popularity, crowd management, etc.) to easily justify the cost.

3: The Unsuspecting GP patron--Has no idea that the Batman: The Ride their park just recieved is the exact same layout as the one at Six Flags:XYZ, or better yet, doesn't even realize the existence of this other park, let alone this other Batman: The Ride. (This works for just about any ride)

Really, most enthusiasts are quite selfish. But because these whiny patrons make up such a small percentage of the overall attendance, their voice can easily be ignored.

*I complain very little about cloned rides, but mostly because I don't get to travel out of the NorCal area very often, other than back to MI.*

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Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind. --Sir Thomas Wyatt

A good ride is a good ride. Can I have some more, please?

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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"

Certain rides need to be spayed or neutered to keep them from breeding and taking up space that could be occupied by something original or at least good.

Is this a sufficiently politically correct, though somewhat negative statement? :)

I agree with dmb-crush. He hit the nail right on the head. I especially agree with point #3. We enthusiasts don't think the same way the average person does about parks and coasters. We know all this stuff while other people just decide to have fun for a day at their local or regional park.

Point #2 falls right into line with Point #3. The park owners know all about Point #3, so they just apply Point #2.

Funny how Vekoma never gets bashed for cloning rollerskaters, one of my fav kiddie-coasters after Paramount junior woodies...OK, you can stop laughing, I really enjoy them. Business-wise, it's unbeatable for all the factors mentioned...AND a proven ride design. Good points, dmb-crush!
Anybody else want to get a S:RoS clone in their homepark...gimme gimme...I'll also take a Phoenix clone, closest airtime woodie is 5 hours away in GASM at SFoG or DBH...and how come I NEVER even heard of this new SF park in location XYZ...is this place open yet?...j/k!
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

*** This post was edited by rollergator on 12/19/2001. ***

SF:XYZ? Isn't that the new nude/leather fetish bondage theme park in Germany?

No one ever mentioned what is probably the enthusiasts biggest complaint about clones. After we spend the money to travel hundreds of miles to a park and then pay admission, we like to ride something different.

That said, I can understand why parks buy clones. It makes good economic sense. What I can't understand is why the coasters are often clones of mediocre rides.

I would personally be very happy if SFA installed a clone of Raptor, Shivering Timbers, or another fine coaster. But please not another Boomerang.

Yes, I think SF:XYZ also features David Hasselhoff: The Ride

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Ride the New England Bush!

Jeff said:
"A good ride is a good ride. Can I have some more, please?"

... but then again Vekoma's SLC comes to mind. Good pacing, rough ride. How do they sell those things anyway?!

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz"

Yes, I think SF:XYZ also features David Hasselhoff: The Ride

Is this the new B&M jobless coaster?
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Bow Down to...The Sleeping Smiley!!
--_--zzZZzzz
(tm)

I think it is a pride thing, like people who live in Ohio can say they have Millenium Force, whereas people in Wyoming can't say jack. But if a clone of Mf was to in some miracle way end up in Wyoming, then people in Ohio can't brag anymore. I think when someone says I rode MF 1,000 times that is just expressing how much they love the ride.

Jim, I understand your point about travel, but if there are clones at a park, it means I can spend more time riding other things. Case in point was SFWOA where I skipped the SLC, boomerang, and Intamin freefall. I do believe you hit the nail on the head with the price comment though.

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Until you get a parking space with your own name on it, you're still part of the GP.

You said it rollergator...I rode SFDL's Superman this summer, now I just wonder why they can't build one in MY quadrant of the US, while the NE gets three. Now that I think of it, I don't know of any Intimin coasters in the Southeast (although Acrophobia is quite a ride). Also, before I was even close to an enthusiast my favorite coaster was a Vekoma Boomerang. Why should I hate the ride because there are others out there? Sure, I've ridden a lot more coasters, but I'll never refuse to ride a Boomerang "just cause there's too many."

Denver: You've got a pretty messed up perception about the way Ohioans are. I couldn't give a monkey nut about how many Millennium Forces there are out there as long as I've got one near by. Ditto for impulses, Premier launched rides, floorless coasters, hyper coasters... whatever. Why would anyone care if another place on the planet not in their immediate backyard had a duplicate of some ride near by?

"Oh crap, I'm not riding Raptor anymore because there's one just like it in Japan. Cedar Point sucks now."

I really hate this "clone" topic.

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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"

Millenium Force was just an example, I'm not saying Ohioans are messed up. And I'm not gonna stop riding a ride because it is a clone, I don't really like clones that much because I like a variety in different parks. I like it when I go to a new park to be able to ride coasters that I havn't ridden before. But I will not stop riding a ride because it is a clone, my homepark is SFEG, if I stopped riding coasters because they are clones than I would be able to ride 1 coaster there. No matter how much I hate clones I'm not gonna limit myself to one coaster, maybe I look at clones this way because most the coasters where I live are clones, I dunno.

Jeff is right, a great ride is a great ride regardless of hwo many clones it has or may not have. if I had the cash I;d put apollo's chariot up on my aunt;s mountain deep in the woods of rural western virginia. wow what a veiew that would be!
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All at once the ghosts come back reeling you in now.

Yeah, I know that a ride is great wheather another park has it or not, I could make a list that goes on and on of coasters that I would want to be cloned at built near me. I just don't like going to another park to ride the same ride. And Jeff, you should be more considerate of a monkey's nut. Monkey's are tight! I love them!

*** This post was edited by Denvers-coasters-suck on 12/19/2001. ***

I like ride clones, they give other people the chance to ride a ride they want without traveling 100's or 1000's of miles to .