Judging coasters without riding

I have gotten sick of people judging coasters without riding them. This happens all over the net, and not just on this website. Video rides just don't do them justice. What do you all think?

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E.J.
Webmaster: Theme Park New England
http://tpne.8m.com

It depends sometimes. A ride like the Steamin' Demon can easily be judged, it's an old arrow loop n screw with a 60 foot drop. Others like Boomerangs can be judged, because if you rode one, you have rode them all, with the exception of the super invertigoes.

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Parks for 2000: CP, Great Escape, Great Adventure, SFA, Islands of Adventure, Kennywood

Exactly, but even if it is not a clone, you can tell by looking at the spacing of the elements, and the elements themselves, and compare it to another coaster that you have ridden by the same manufacturer. Yet, there is still that X factor on alot of coasters that you have to ride it to understand.

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I'd Rather Be Riding Rollercoasters

That's true, but I'm talking about people who say a coaster that many say is good is bad without riding it. There's just no room for that.

I say you MUST ride before you can judge. I thought Magnum was going to stink, but once the train crested the second hill, I realized how wrong I was. Now I consider myself a big fan of Maggie. (even though I was only able to ride once)

Remember the A&E Top 10 Thrill Rides show? Ghostrider was ranked #2. On A&E's website, (they have a forum area) people who have never ridden it were SLAMMING that #2 ranking based only on the height and speed stats. The average comment was something like "It's so small, it does not deserve to be on the list at all, much less #2." This proves that a coaster must be ridden to be properly judged.

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"X" marks the spot in 2001!

Yes, I agree. I watched a Ghostrider video, and it doesn't even ALMOST do the ride justice. The video was kind of boring, doesn't even look like top 10 material. The ride, however, is tied for my number one of all time. You definitely need to ride before you judge. Another ride that is a perfect example of this is the shockwave at Six Flags Over Texas. The coolness of that ride totally took me by surprise.

I think a coaster should at least be BUILT before people judge it!

*cough*Titan*cough*

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"Maybe I ain't so shy!"

I disagree. I can make an accurate judgement based on very little information. Take Millennium Force for example. I made a completely accurate judgement after watching Badnitrus' 1st-person video. I have also done this with Son of Beast and Outer Limits. THis applies not only to roller coasters, but to pretty much everything. With very little facts, I can make accurate judgements. I can tell what rides I'll like, and what ones I will dislike.

I'm on the fence on this one. I've never been on Superman at SFNE, but I know the Intamin feel and I visually see it has the elements that get enthusiasts all hot and bothered.

Most of the noise you hear on this sort of issue is the "your park sucks" variety that isn't worth responding to.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

...And why dhasn't anyone ridden Superman at SFNE! It was voted 'Best Steel Roller Coaster', yet barely anyone has been on it. How could you not have heard of it? What really gets me mad are the coaster enthusiasts who are ignorant and don't care about small parks like SFNE.

Thou shall not judge -Destiny's Child

All in all, you have your opinion and others will have theirs. It does not matter if they have ridden the coaster they are judging or not. If you like the ride, dont worry about the words of others. I know that it is hard to hear your favorite (or a good) coaster bashed. But stuff like that will always happen. No need to waist your energy trying to prove to them how good the ride truly is. In most cases their opinion will not change and a war will start. Not a good thing in my opinion. :)

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-I see stars because I just rode Flashback, can you see them to?

*** This post was edited by Metrock on 2/12/2001. ***

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Soggy said:
"I say you MUST ride before you can judge. I thought Magnum was going to stink, but once the train crested the second hill, I realized how wrong I was. Now I consider myself a big fan of Maggie. (even though I was only able to ride once)

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I agree with Soggy, although my view on Magnum is the exact opposite. I thought it was going to be the coaster to end all coasters. But when I hit the brake run, I thought to my self "OWW!!", then I thought "Man, that's what everyone is raving about? What are they on?!"
Maybe I hit it on a bad day or something...
I guess I'm more accustomed to the Intamins, silky smooth, ahh... :)


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-Dave Rutherford
*If things seem under control, you're just not going fast enough*

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# 1 coaster fan said:
"Thou shall not judge -Destiny's Child"

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I think God gets dibs on that one...

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I agree with you Metrock, let people have their opinions, even if they ARE wrong ;)

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Thank you Disney, thank you...

You cannot judge a coaster until you ride it. There is no way you can really tell a good coaster unless you ride it

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Number 1 And Only Cedar Point

*Ignore my previous post*

I think everyone pre-judges a coaster. Take ST for an example, it looks awesome, but I've never ridden it. That's judging the ride before riding it. Or another example is a.....corkscrew model (I just made this up so don't attack me), I don't think they are that great, but I haven't ridden one of them either.

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"Maybe I ain't so shy!"

I really think you can't judge a coaster before you've ridden it. I thought Superman at MM would be awsome. It is okay. I thought Ghostrider would be just another woodie. Boy was I wrong. I have learned not to judge a coaster before riding it.

I don't know how you could possibly judge something without experiencing it first-hand. And that goes for everything, not just coasters.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com

while ride videos are cool, you have to actually ride the coaster for yourself to really be able to judge it honestly.