Gimmicks

Well just forget about the tradition. And move on into the Twenieth Century. Ok! (no offence to you but everyone!) well peace!

Umm... twentieth? I think we should move into the twenty-first century! And SuperMan: UE, they didn't cut trees down for it (to make it, just the ones that were in the way of the track.) This part addresses everyone:
SOB's loop is made of STEEL! The track is wood-style, but the whole entire loop structure is steel. I'm not saying it has steel track, but steel structure, and that is what people mean when they say it is steal. Got it? Good! And BTW, I see it as a gimick.

Dosen't Villan have steel structure? HUM...

Obviously, themeparkne and TrBiggar, neither of you have been on SOB or been to PKI. If you had, you would know that SOB is NOT a traditional woodie and was a step into the 21st Century just like the other park and coaster up northern. A gimmick is something that is attractive, but doesn't necessarily make something better. So the loop ADDS a lot to the experience. I guess it's not a gimmick then. Try it before you diss it. Thanks.

And I think the only decision PKI regrets about SOB is the wood and company they used to build it, so I have no clue why you believe that. The majority enjoy the ride(and the loop I might add) and the line always stays long, so I don't think they have much to regret. It made it open LATE not make it have many actual problems. I think that is something people always mistake. If it has/had problems, why don't they continue to persist? How come no one remembers the STE delay? It was much longer than SOBs 1-2 month off/on delay. I don't think SOB has been closed a day since the end of June 2000. I don't remember when the lightning hit it though. It might have made the original delay longer. In any way, it wasn't the parks fought. They just know not to deal with that company again.

As for floorless woodies, I have only three words: BRING THEM ON!

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http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/GayRollerRide/

There was post on here about first loop, last loop, worst loop, best loop. I think a majority of the posts mentioned SOB as the best loop. The loop itself is great, and adds a lot to the ride. So it appears KI made the right decision with the loop. Even if is is a "gimmick", a lot of people seem to like it.

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themeparkne said:
"My problem with the loop on a wooden coaster is that it takes the tradition out of the woodie. Son of Beast is too tall, and it has a loop. That's not nostalgic or traditional. It doesn't belong."

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SO WHAT!!!! Who cares if it has a loop, who cares if its the first hyper woodie, who cares about it being "non-traditional."

Its the 21st century for gods sake. Im not saying smaller woodies like the beast, blue streak, boulder dash, raven, lengend, etc. arent good. Im just trying to tell you that if you dont like the height or the loop on SOB then dont ride it! I think it good that they are TAKING STEPS FORWARD IN TECH. unlike some other parks.

Did you say the same thing about Magnum when it was first intrduced as the first hyper coaster. What about when MF was introduced as the first giga coaster. Probably not! Im happy to know there are some parks out there that actually like to make "non-traditional" wooden and steel coasters.

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CP in 2002, get to the point

What one person calls a gimmick another sees as a feature that makes the ride just a little more intense for them. Come on folks admit it, when the first floorless coasters were built we were as excited as anyone to ride them. Why? The cars being open took away our security blanket. No more sides and no more floor just a seat and rolling stock.
Sure the foot chopper effect is lost on all but the front seats but, then again isn't that why we wait for the front, rear or middle seats just to get the ride experience we want from that particular ride?
I see the loop on SOB as a novelty. There doesn't seem to be anyone tripping over themselves to build another. The whole idea behind this is to make the rides more thrilling to the GP. We all want new and different, we all don't neccessarily want or need the 3, 4, or maybe someday 500 foot mega,gigga whatever coasters. What we do enjoy is that adrenalin rush we get from feeling out of control. Designers don't necessarily have to build them taller faster or whatever they can add all the "gimmicks" they want just to make me feel the ride is more intense.

Zeusagis Amen!

That is one of the most insightful, thought out posts I have seen in a while!

You bring up some very good points. What most people see as a gimmick, I see as an innovation. So what if the park defies conformity...good for them! Flying coasters such as Stealth and AIR are great steps forward in the industry. I hope that X becomes a big success so it can open up a whole new gateway for roller coasters.

Just got back from CP (TR coming this weekend, promise :) ), and thought I'd add in my 2 pennies. Gimmicks and innovations really are close to the same thing with regards to coasters. A "gimmick" may not have a very noticeable effect on a ride, but it does give the GP something to latch onto that we may think "that's not very interesting".

Floorless seems to be one of those things. Personally, the flying chair feeling worked for me all over the train, and maybe it's just me, but the floorless coasters seem to be closer to the track than with a regular train. Or it could be an illusion since your feet are hanging just above the track and freely hanging. The zero-G roll on Medusa East in the rear left seat gives airtime near the end that I didn't think was possible on a sit-down. Again, it just might be perception since a regular sit down could give that same feeling.

The buzzwords are what matters for the PR and whether we think any given gimmick or buzzword is worthy of continued discussion, these go into the advertising and gets the GP to say "Hey, that's different. I want to try that."

Zeusagis said more in a different way, so I won't rehash comments I agree with. Why else do we go around the country (indeed, around the world at times) for these gimmicks? Cases in point - who's gone to Europe just for Oblivion (vertical coaster) or will be going on the tilt coaster (forgot the name and location offhand)? And don't deny we'll love every second of it!

TrBiggar said: "Gimmicks are innovations, just not useful ones. (ex. loops on a woodie, a certain shuttle coaster which is always debated, a certain giga-coaster with a crappy layout"


Would you condider MF to be a better layout if it was more of an out and back? If so, i think part of the reason they didn't do this is because it would've just been an over sized magnum w/ different trains and a different color, so there for they decided to focus more so on the over banked turns instead of more hills.

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"who needs drugs when you have coasters...they're like a natural high"