Golden Ticket Awards 2006
Acoustic Viscosity said:
Ajrides said:IMO anyone who has ridden Eltoro knows its a top10 woodieNot even a top 20 for me.
Name the 20 with a better first drop than Eltoro and the pure adreneline ejector air on any other woodie. Its the only coaster that has as much ejector air that comes close to #1 steel SROS besides EGF.
The Voyage and El Toro (not to mention Expedition Everest) over Goliath South for Best New?
I've not yet ridden a woodie better than Goliath. I don't think I ever will. Regional bias like a mother...
Have you been on The Voyage?
I hate comparing wood to steel, but I would take The Voyage any day over Goliath.
No, you're not. Raptor's much better.
eightdotthree said:
One that I am surprised at is Montu, its not even my #1 INVERTED coaster. The pacing is terrible! Guess I am in the minority there.
And should the international cuisine (the real stuff) of some places even compared with various food products on a stick offered by other parks?
I think so. The category was "best food." Not "best deep-fried-gravy-covered-stuff-on-a-stick."
But, the voters all seem to think exactly this way---they have a model of what a park "should be", and that model is generally "classic amusement park." Anything that fits that model gets a big nostalgia-induced push up the results, and anything that doesn't gets ignored. And this is exactly why I don't give a rat's patootie about the Golden Tickets.
In many categories, this classics-only-need-apply attitude doesn't really matter, but in some, the GTs are so far off of the mark relative to even the consensus opinion around here---let alone what the GP might think---that it calls the whole thing into question.
For a moment, let's pick on my home park. After all, I've been called a fanboy more than once, so this ought to be ineteresting.
#1 Best park---this one I won't even begin to disect, as I'm not even sure what "best park" means. I won't argue this one either way.
#3 Friendliest park. CP's employees are generally competent (except in foods), and sometimes even funny. But, try getting anyone not standing behind a register to look you in the eye. If this is the 3rd friendliest park in the industry, this industry sucks.
#4 Best Outdoor Night Production. Seriously? Have you seen this show? Repetitive flame-ball effects and cheesy projected images. This compares to even the lesser of the Fantasmics? I don't think so.
#5 Best Halloween event. This one I won't quibble with. They do a pretty good job, and are worth a visit during Halloweekends.
#1 Best Capacity. They're good, but they aren't that good. Except for a few rides, grouping is practically non-existant. Count the number of empty Mantis "seats" sometime, or the number of single riders in the same train on nearly any 2-across coaster not named Millennium Force. The park has good capacity for its attendance, but it could be better---and generally, it's gotten worse as they've "improved" the coasters. CCMR now runs only two trains, and generates mid-day waits throughout the season. Gemini is down to four (and stacks at that), and commonly gets to 1/2 hour. Blue streak stacks consistently. Corkscrew would stack two trains under current operation, but they prefer to stack with three. They took the third train off Mantis entirely (though that one has gotten better this year.)
...they have a model of what a park "should be", and that model is generally "classic amusement park." Anything that fits that model gets a big nostalgia-induced push up the results, and anything that doesn't gets ignored.
Indeed. :)
Ajrides said:
Name the 20 with a better first drop than Eltoro and the pure adreneline ejector air on any other woodie. Its the only coaster that has as much ejector air that comes close to #1 steel SROS besides EGF.
Three hills with ejector air and an an awesome first drop are not enough to make El Toro one of my favorite coasters, sorry.
But I have another reason why ET doesn't quite cut it, and this is just for me, and I suspect doesn't affect most of the rest of ya's. Due to the combination of the stapling and my rather long legs, I found ET a very uncomfortable experience. I would staple myself, but that wasn't enough to please Intamin's touchy sensors. Everytime, ride ops would have to force the already tight lap bar further into my already pinched legs until it was closed enough to appease Intamin. It basically ruined any chance of me enjoying the ride. I don't care about not having a bit of wiggle room, but I like to be able to feel my legs. When that ejector air did come along, it really hurt!
That said, I'm also one of those who doesn't appreciate how the ride doesn't have any resemblance of a woodie other than it looks like one. And I don't just mean the smoothness, but there are hardly any lateral forces in the transitions. It's too percise. I like to be tossed around on a wood coaster. But the main thing was the comfort issue. It really was hard for me to see the good things about the ride.
I have no doubt most will love it, but expect many will not consider it a top ten woodie simply for the fact that it doesn't ride like a woodie. If I could comfortably ride it and could count is as a steel coaster, I would probably rate it a top 5. But as a woodie, it doesn't stack up to my favorites like: Voyage, Ghostrider, Avalanche, Tsunami, Shivering Timbers, Playland's Coaster, Texas Giant, Cornball Express, Knoebels Twister, Hershey Wildcat, Raven, Zeus, Great White, and even Hades.
Yeah, by the way, I also feel Hades isn't even the best coaster at Mt. Olympus, let alone in the Dells.
AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf
jeremy warned me, others told me it was coming as well....I was NOT prepared. Holy "where'd the train go", Batman.... :)
Cory Patrick said: Have you been on The Voyage?I hate comparing wood to steel, but I would take The Voyage any day over Goliath.
Agreed, totally. And Goliath is far-and-away my favorite B&M coaster...
*** Edited 8/29/2006 12:00:18 AM UTC by rollergator***
It's all a matter of opinion, but those of us who love wood coasters basically do because we enjoy the out-of-control sensation they yield compared to the very percise, controlled feeling of steel coasters.
Personally I've ridden just shy of a 100 wood coasters and can only think of one that "shakes me like crazy" (now that Zeus is better than ever). And that one woodie would be Timber Wolf in its current state of misery. It's seriously in a class all its own right now. No, I didn't forget Son of Beast.
AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf
Crap..............Phoenix
Good.............Everything else
*** Edited 8/29/2006 12:56:46 AM UTC by FballReimer11***
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As a matter of fact I have, November 2000.
I could not resist.
". . . don't you know baby that life is a scream!" - Gordon Gano
They really should mark those two places more distinctly, it's hard to see when I get to the polls using my driving glasses, then can't see the ballot 'cause my reading glasses are at home in between to sofa cushions...hehehe.
You kids get off my lawn! ;)
You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)
EuroMir ;Europa
Vild Svinet; Bon Bon Land
Jetline; Gronalund
These are just 4 of the steel coasters that I submitted for last years Steel coaster category, in the Golden Ticket survey.
Had I turned in this years, those same 4 would've still made my list, along with Thunder Dolphin, BMRX, and Expedtion Everest.
Extremely different from those who haven't been out of the states.
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