Gwazi/Lightning Racer

So if you count racers as one, do you have to ride both sides to get the full credit?

Because there's layout track that you haven't ridden unless you ride both sides. (kind of like the mobius-coaster argument that you have to ride both sides to have ridden the entire available circuit)

Two seperate tracks (racing, dueling, shared structure, whatever)- two credits in my book.
Relocation - same track, no new credit.
Clone - different track, different credit

The way I see it, the naming of the ride has absolutely nothing to do with how it's built and ridden.

Mamoosh said:
How accurately do you calculate the 50%, Rob? How can you be sure? With my method (which I understand isn't for everyone) there is no calculating or guessing. Everything is one.

It's whatever I decide to count as one or two. It may not be the same as everyone else's system and frankly I don't care. Your system sounds good, I don't think its right or wrong, it's what you believe you think you should count. For the record I also do not count relocated rides as a new credit.

Considering the traveling coasters at fairs that I haven't counted I think I made it even. I've thought about counting HW's former Firecracker coaster because it's possible that it operated at the IX Indoor amusement park.

~Rob

I think your method is just fine, Rob...just giving you a hard time ;)

Rob- I don't know that Firecracker would have ever played the IX - it's owned by Amusements of America and goes by the name Avalanche. The IX Indoor rides are supplied by Bates Bros. I remember an "enclosed" Zyklon ride at the IX (surrounded by black drapes with cheesy lighting) but it wasn't Avalanche.

Anyway, no worries. To get your Firecracker credit, for sure, all you need to do is visit the Ohio State Fair. Big A has the contract there and (unless they've sold it by then) the Avalanche should be back for the umpteenth year now.

Hmm... Have Bates always been the provider of rides for IX? I ask because Amusements of America used to own a Pinfari looping coaster that now operates at Beech Bend. It's possible that this very same ride operated at IX in the mid 90's, at the same time a Pinfari Zyclon was operating which I thought could have been Firecracker / GL's Cyclone. I think it was only one or two years, but there were two coasters operating at IX at the same time sometime in the late-90's.

*EDIT: Ah I found something that confirms it! So should I count it as HW's Firecracker? Or GL's Cyclone? (I'm only counting it once)

~Rob

^I don't think you should count it as either.

^^ Count it as "Fireclone." Then again, I don't know who would care enough to tell you that you counted it as the wrong name.

I simply count racers as 1 and duelers as 2. The only exception to this on my track record is Primeval Whirl, which is neither a dueler or a racer, but they only built a second copy to increase capacity. I count it as one.

It's only been the last 10 yrs. that I've made an effort to start traveling to parks and I've never counted until one late night recently, bored I visited RCDB and tried to take stock of the coasters I've ridden.

All the coasters of concern here were counted as one. Guess I'm in the Moosh camp here. Also doubt that as I get more "credits" that I'll be tallying them in my head. That count will probably be a one time deal, I never saw the purpose of a "track record".

See my sig.

I always counted Gwazi Lion and Gwazi Tiger as two separate credits because their layouts are pretty different, but I always counted Lightning Racer as one.

Now that I think of it though, Thunder and Lightning are different enough to be considered two. It could go either way.

I'm in the same group that doesn't count "attached" coasters like Rolling Thunder, Gemini, etc. as two. That's a little too credit whore-y for me.

Just playing devils advocate here: in your opinion how different do Lightning and Thunder (or any 2-tracked coaster) have to be to be counted twice? Does one have to be 51% different than the other? How do you measure how different they are?

Most every relocation I would find hard to justify. Then there's the woodies like Arkansas Twister and to a lesser degree Starliner, where the relocation included some amount of changes to the design layout. (Comet and Wild One being other key examples).

Something like the Anton Wildcats, which are built to be portable and proven to be exceptionally so, it's, ummm....your call. ;)

One is red and one is green. Du-uhhh. :)

One is red and one is green.

This.

I'm in the same group that doesn't count "attached" coasters like Rolling Thunder, Gemini, etc. as two. That's a little too credit whore-y for me.

I would tend to agree, except for one small problem. I've only been on Rolling Thunder once (per side) and I found the sides to ride totally differently. One was entirely forceless, the other side had relentless jackhammering. (I've heard that there's a lot of work going on on that side this year, but I don't know when I'll get back to ride it.)

Rolling Thunder is one where the sides are actually fairly different, even though they race. The first turnaround has a very different profile on each track.

This method has many forks it can take to the point of being nonsensical.

Some Decision Trees:

If a coaster changes restraints does it count 2x? (FoF)

• Its on same track and same name, but it gives different sensation when you ride it.

If a coaster changes train design does it count 2x? (Sheikra)

• Different visual to ride, same track and name.

Lets mix this up more:

If a coaster is moved to a new location but given same name and track? (Dominator)

• On CB Coaster count or RC Counter it technically gives you +1 because you entered the same coaster at 2 different parks.

If a coaster stays at same geographical location but changes names? (Hard Rock Park Rides, Paramount to Cedar Fair name changes, etc)

• Again if you go by the counters, unless they update the names and dont duplicate it, again adds +1 to your coaster count.
  

All this on top of dueling coasters, racing coasters, etc etc.

How about if a dueling coaster, changes names and gets moved to a new park.. Is that +2!! ;)

I suppose you can just choose the track you ride on as the boolean.. Different track, different ride.. But some coasters have removed/replaced pretty serious sections of track.. (Son of Beast).. Does that count as 2?

Meh... too much thinking for me.. I enjoy counting how many rides i can get away with in a given day (as that determines to me how busy the park is), but my overall coaster count.. I dont keep that close a tally as some have come and gone, moved, name changed, ride symantecs, etc.. Even stopped the counter sites as they may add numbers that I dont necessairly agree with. Its hard for me to draw a line of when it counts and when it doesnt.. so I dont..

If non coaster people ask me.. I just say "quite a few"..

I'm going to start counting POV rides and that little simulator in my local mall that shows virtual rides on Gemini and Blue Streak, even though I've ridden both in person already. Just because I can and you can't stop me.

Another cheap way out is, does the name imply plurality? Dueling Dragons - more than one, Twisted Twins - more than one, Rebel Yell - one, Lightning Racer - one. Allows you to foist the decision on someone else. Doesn't always work well in real life but you could base a career in Washington on this technique.