Golden Ticket Awards 2006

FballReimer11 said:
Wood coasters for me:

Good job, welcome to Trollville, USA.

Mamoosh said:
It goes a lot faster than you would think it should for the elements it has.
It goes as fast as gravity and physics allow and no faster than any other coaster with the exact same size drop.

You're kidding, right? Gravity and friction are the same on all coasters? Thanks for pointing that out because I was really confused there.

When you ride a lot of coasters you get a sense of how fast you should take certain elements by the way they look. Of course there is a range, but sometimes you go out of that range by a lot and it just feels off.

Avalanche is one of those rides. First off the bunnys suggest a certain speed by their size, shape, and what you have experienced before. Second the physics of the ride is somewhat masked to the senses because a lot of the difference comes in the length of the train. A 6 car train would hardly give the same ride, but the hills look the same. What happens is the ride takes you by surprise because the reality of that situation does not match what your senses have programed you to think will happen. You just feel like you are going way too fast.

The Voyage does the same thing. First the elements at the end are taken faster than you would expect they would be for their size and shape. Second the masking comes from gradually going down hill the entire second half. You seem low to the ground the whole way but you keep speeding up. Again you feel like are going way too fast.

I hope that explanation was literal enough for you, Mr Data.

I also agree Montu is overrated. I prefer Raptor and the Batmen to it, but I do like it better than Alpie.

I'm with you Vincent. I got rides on both Voyage and Goliath South, and while Voyage is quite easily my favorite wood coaster, I enjoyed Goliath much more. In fact it is now my favorite ride overall. I can't say anything about El Toro until next year though, hopefully.

RavenTDD - I'm not in disagreement with you, I also think Avalanche's train appears to be travelling much faster than it should. In fact I often compare it to how the CoasterDynamix inverted coaster model looks when running: unnaturally fast. I think its partly due to the short PTCs.

That being said I think it's just an illusion.

Ever notice that the amount of "not caring" exhibited by a person re: this poll or that is directly proportional to the number of paragraphs that will follow disparaging the setup, the results, and the ancestry of all those who participated in said poll?

RGB, who notices that the "wall" between church and state is sometimes conveniently replaced with a venetian blind when the state wants to know what the church is doing.

Mamoosh said:RavenTDD - I'm not in disagreement with you, I also think Avalanche's train appears to be travelling much faster than it should. In fact I often compare it to how the CoasterDynamix inverted coaster model looks when running: unnaturally fast. I think its partly due to the short PTCs.

The phrase you're looking for is "cartoonishly fast". I think train length has a LOT to do with it. PNE's Coaster has the same...appeal... :)

An ad hominem angle, RGB? I expect better!

Like I said---good for Monday morning quarterbacking, but not much else. And I do love a good Monday (or, in this case, Tuesday) morning.

*** Edited 8/29/2006 11:29:30 AM UTC by Brian Noble***

http://cse.umich.edu/

rollergator said:
I love Knoebels like you couldn't believe....and I have Haunted Hotel from MBP ranked higher than kinoebels' *revered* dark ride...
bill, so unbearably geeky I rate dark rides...

I cannot WAIT to ride that again next month, along with the Gravitron. Do they still play all the cheesy hard rock bands? ;)

Wait, what was the topic again?

Oh, guys debating over trivial s*** like coasters. ;)

-Tina

CoasterCraze said:
hey gregleg, tell me if you have ridden a woodie that does not shake you like crazy and gives you a really great smooth ride other than The Thunderhead?

Medical conditions aside. (Meaning unless you have a medical condition)

Were you born a wimp?

Man, To me some of these steel coasters I could just watch a coaster show, Put a fan blowing on my face and get the same sensation.

Gettting tossed around a bit is part of the equation! And as long as they don't hurt you. Throw me every which way you can!

Chuck

FballReimer11 said:
Wood coasters for me:
Crap..............Phoenix
Good.............Everything else

*** Edited 8/29/2006 12:56:46 AM UTC by FballReimer11***

Thats gotta be the Troll post of the year!

Nobody list Phoenix as crap. Overrated maybe but far from bad.

Brian, but it's all about personal considerations, right? That's what makes it a poll, and that's what makes this a forum. (At least I read your entire post).

Here, have some herring. :)

uh lets see here ether you guys did not read my question right or you haven't rode The Thunderhead!!!!!

2: I asked tell a name of a ride that does NOT make you sore when you get off it, as far as i know The Thunderhead gives you a really smooth ride, now get me wrong i do leave my seat a get knocked around but my point is i do not feel sore when i exit the ride. *** Edited 8/30/2006 5:29:05 AM UTC by CoasterCraze***

There are countless wooden coasters that don't injure me other than Thunderhead. Several of them are more forceful and fun than Thunderhead too.

I don't like painful rides either, but being super smooth isn't the lone reason for ranking a ride #1, IMO.

-Nate

For me...Lightning Racer (and all the other MilF-trained GCIIs) are equally, totally, smooth. Lightning Racer is far from the most thrilling....but IMO it is the most FUN. I ;)

Best RIDE from GCII? I really like OzCat *and, yes, Thunderhead....but I cannot wait for Roar West... :)

P.S. LOTS of other wooden coasters are smooth, too, and that is FAR from the most important characteristic TO ME....but I understand the GP is, in general, FAR more particular about slight roughness than I am...then again, they also line up for Sonny and HC5.... *shrug*

I would like to see a new catergory: Best Value. This award would go to an outstanding park that has overall pricing that is substantially better than most other comparable parks. IMO, looking at the top 10 parks, four of them would be possible candidates: CP, KB, KW and HW.

CP is the most expensive of the four but is lower in price than most megaparks and comparable in price to some mid-sized parks. This combined with the best park award makes them a candidate for this. The other three are mid-sized parks that offer exceptional value. All three have free parking available along with reasonably priced food and merchandise. HW has free drinks and KB offers free admission with pay per ride that is much lower than usual (plus POP except on summer weekends). Needless to say, no Six Flags parks would be candidates for this award.

With this award given, the best park award would concentrate on overall quality without respect to price. This would be important for parks such as IOA, WDWMK, DL, BGE, and BGA which are pricey but of excellent quality.

Arthur Bahl

IMHO the Best value is already a big part of the consideration of Best park.

CP gets it because for your 45 bucks you get a ton of things to do if you catch it on a slower day.

HW, Knoebels, Kennywood and others get it because of affordability of everything and friendlyness along with it's attractions.

Thats one of tha catagories I don't think is far from the mark.

Others like Best coaster with Mean squeek and beast in the top ten are popularity votes of most visited parks.

wait... magnum is number three? Are they serious?

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Anyway, my defense of Goliath is purely visual. I've never been to Holiday World, and it looks like a great ride that's not nearly the Park Icon that Goliath is. There's a reason B&M says it's the best coaster they've made. I am leery of any wood being as good as a top-notch B&M. I guess I'm new school, but I like consistent good rides and amazing reliability. I like knowing in five years, it'll be the same great ride. And ten.

I'm surprised nobody has my back. Goliath South IS a big steel wood, just no more nostalgic wood boards on the tracks.

Because your argument doesn't hold a ounce of weight.

I've ridden B&Ms that were rough and Raven thats 11 years old and will still knock your socks off.

Chuck

Vincent Greene said:
I like knowing in five years, it'll be the same great ride. And ten.

That's fine and dandy, but steel coasters vary too. When Steel Phantom first opened, it was a great ride. By the final season, it was brutal to the point of being almost unrideable. Magnum has good days and bad days. Steel Force is a shadow of its former self. And so on...

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."