Counting relocated coasters

I think the best point made in this entire thread was this...

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TeknoScorpion said:
As for coaster counting, coasterbruh, I do it personally to keep up with what I've ridden, to keep the memories.

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Now, I realize that folks keep count for different reasons, but that's why I keep count... for the memories.

With that in mind, I count relocated coasters because at some point, I'd like to remember that I rode Tidal Wave at Great America. I'd also like to remember that I rode Greezed Lightning at Kentucky Kingdom. True, it's physically the same ride, but it's a different experience that I've had (especially since it's been 13 years in between rides).

Kyle

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Mamoosh said:
That means RT:M is in your count twice?

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Man, I should have put money on that comment!

I think everybody puts their line in the sand at a different spot.

I'd give myself a 1/2 credit for one side of KW's Racer - you need to ride both side to cover all the track.

Frontwards/Backwards coasters certainly feel like two credits to me.

Duelers with different layouts are essentially two different coasters put beside each other in an ingenious way. 2 credits.

Rolling Thunder has a different layout on both sides. Two different coasters next to each other = 2 Credits.

I'd even count Lightning Racer as two as there are slight differences (left turn vs right turn). If you count clones, then this is even less similar. Two different coasters next to each other = 2 credits.

The only grey area for me is true parallel racers. Two physical tracks not connected argue for 2 credits, but the sharing of a support structure (I'm thinking something like Gemini here) argues 1 credit. I personally take 1 credit for rides like that.

Another consideration is the name. Dueling Dragons has "Fire & Ice". Gwazi has "Lion and Tiger". Lightning Racer has "Lightning & Thunder". But others (Gemini, Racer, etc) have just one name to signify the entire ride. I suppose that factors in somehow too.

I have no problems with your counting methods, Gonch. I have no problems with anyones methods. But you'd be surprised how often I get razzed for how I count [not by anyone in this thread, tho].

I don't care one little bit how anyone counts their track record either (is there anyone who would care?)

I just like to toss ideas out there and make everyone think a little :)

Gonch - when this topic comes up on other forums I'm usually raked over the coals for how strict my counting method is. Frankly I can't understand why anyone would care either ;)

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Lord Gonchar said:
Another consideration is the name. Dueling Dragons has "Fire & Ice". Gwazi has "Lion and Tiger". Lightning Racer has "Lightning & Thunder". But others (Gemini, Racer, etc) have just one name to signify the entire ride. I suppose that factors in somehow too.

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Then comes the debate about PKI's racer. While, officially, there's one name for the coaster(s), one is often affectionately known as Recar.

Are Racer and Recar two rides? Does the naming have to be official by the park?

Is the can of worms open yet? ;)

No, I don't think so, John. The naming thing would come late in the qualification process - almost a tie breaker.

The frontwards/backwards rule takes precedent here and I have Racer as 2 credits.

Look for my new book "How to determine if you've just ridden two coasters or one" in stores soon! ;)

Here is a new wrinkle. What about those of us who have ridden The Steel Phantom and Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood. Since the first half of the ride is exactly the same, does this only count as 1.5 coasters? Hmmm....

the eternal debate continues on over and over again with no end in sight in the forseeable future, redundantly.

When the PKI Racer opened back at the dawn of time, it actually raced and the queue was split into "Red Racer" and "Blue Racer". Then they mixed the trains up. Then they turned one side around backwards, so I suppose it went from two to one to two. Isn't that now five credits?

If you count a racer as two because one side runs backwards, how would you count a two-train single track coaster if one train were backwards?

Einstein said you needed to use all four dimensions of space-time to uniquely describe an object. Since a coaster has moved in time and space relative to its starting postion by the time you disembark, isn't it a near infinite number of unique instances? I think my count just passed Moosh's! Or at least Einstein's.

"If you count a racer as two because one side runs backwards, how would you count a two-train single track coaster if one train were backwards?"

Taking it one step further how would you count coasters such as X or Spinning Dragons? You ride those forwards, backwards, and every which way!

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jdancisin said:
What about those of us who have ridden The Steel Phantom and Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood. Since the first half of the ride is exactly the same, does this only count as 1.5 coasters?

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I would say its two rides because even though the first half of the ride is techically the same, it is negotiated with altered trains. But if you consider that to be a factor when counting coasters, then you could say that all the Premier launched coasters can be counted twice if you rode them before and after the OTSR's were removed. You could also build a case for coasters like the Conneaut Blue Streak which has both NAD Century Flyers and an original Vettel train, which surely offer different ride experiences.

The issue with Primeval Whirl @ Animal Kingdom is a tough one. I am willing to call it one ride, since it is billed as ONE attraction (instead of two like Fire & Ice, Lion & Tiger and Thunder & Lightning), but that opens up yet another can of worms. If Animal Kingdom added two Crazy Mouse coasters and put them at opposite ends of the park with different names, I'm sure it would be TWO coasters, not one. So maybe Primeval Whirl should be two coasters?

Think back to when Lightning Loops operated at SFGAdv. Two shuttle loop coasters billed as one attraction. I would count it once, but if I went to Frontier City and rode Diamondback and SFA when Python was running, it would no doubt be two credits.

Wow, this is getting deep. *** Edited 4/29/2004 5:50:14 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

I want to know a couple things.

1. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

2. How many licks does it really take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?

Oh wrong discussion thread, my bad, hehehe.

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Mamoosh said:
Question to those of you who would count the moved coaster because it is a different experience: why draw the line there? Each row, each seat, each train, different weathers, different times of day, different seasons, eyes open/eyes shut...they all offer different experiences. So why don't you count those?

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Well, just because there isn't a nice solid big wide black line, doesn't mean there isn't a line at all. :P

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crazyforcoasters said:
I want to know a couple things.

1. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

2. How many licks does it really take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?

Oh wrong discussion thread, my bad, hehehe.

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1. Two chucks!

2. 1... 2... 3... Crunch!! 3 licks

I believe the correct answer to Question 2 is:

One...ta-HOOOO....thrrree... CRUNCH.... three.

If I were you, if you're not comparing your record to anyone else's, count it however you like. If it's only for your own personal record, everything else doesn't matter. If your doing it to argue with someone about track records, then you'll have a fight for sure.

Count Padding 101:

Lesson 1:

If a coaster runs forward and backward, count as 2. Ive been on 5 Vekoma Boomerangs, so let's see... that's 10.

Lesson 2:

If a coaster has been moved, count it as two. I rode the portable Flitzer two years in a row at the York Fair... so that is 2 more.

Lesson 3:

If a coaster has differently named trains, it counts as two. Hersheypark's Comet calls its trains Mork's Comet and Halley's Comet, so that means 2 more.

Lesson 4:

If a ride undergoes a drastisc physical change, it gets counted as two. HP's Wildcat was retracked... so its track may be different by a few milimeters than last time... thats 2 coasters.

Just think... when I did the math before this conversation I always thought the above (5 boomerangs, the protable Flitzer, HP's Comet and Wildcat) totaled 8 coasters, not knowing all the while that I should count them as 16.

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Lord Gonchar said:
I don't care one little bit how anyone counts their track record either (is there anyone who would care?)

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Me either. Infact, I really only do it for myself. There is no prize(esp. when you only have around 50 in your track record, like me) to win, and there are no bragging rights. "I've rode over 1000 coasters!!1!11!". So Frikin what! Thats gonna help you later in life how?

And as for 2 track coasters, I should clarify. On my written track record, I count as only one, but really I count it as 2, regardless. Except for Kennywood's Racer, I felt that I needed to ride both sides to count it, as only riding one side is really only riding half a coaster:).

You fail to mention what happens if a coaster changes names. Since I rode B:KF, S:UE, Serial Thriller and Mind Eraser at SFWoA and they now have different names, do they count as new coasters? I mean, name like Steel Venom denotes a ride experience that is very different from that of a ride called Superman.