Lift or Launch?

What are the pros and cons to a lift hill?

What are the pros and cons to a launch?

In your opinion, which is better and what will the roller coasters of the future use: lifts or launches?

Thanks

Pros: Both allow coasters to reach a point to complete the gravity powered portion of a course. Without them, no rolly coasters.

Cons: Roller coaster trains can't fly.

Opinion: Yes.

I am a big fan of NOT having a vertical lift....if you're going vertical, take a page from Wicked (or Volcano) and launch into it...

I know its not saying much, but I find the vertical lift hill on Rip Ride Rock-it to be one of the best features on that ride.

Which is to say it sucks the rest of the ride. :)

Whether it's an old-school Chance Toboggan, Fahrenheit, or Rock'it....blah!

The third option is a horizontal/vertical lift, like Cobra's Curse or the uber-funky LoCoSuMo...the Gary Johnson of vertical lifthills.

Vertical lifts are, IMO, a ride killer. I absolutely cannot stand them. They are so uncomfortable and cause a blood rush to my head.

Cannibal (see my recent TR) has the coolest lift of all time.

They're not my favorite, but I've never found them to be intolerable...especially for the what, 15 seconds you're on it?

I find them pretty unnerving and can't imagine anything much worse than getting stuck on the lift hill in that position. Fahrenheit I've pretty much come to terms with but on Impulse the dreadful noise that the chain was making on the way up made the experience all the more unnerving. Rode Thunderbolt several times about a month ago and found the lift hill a dreaded obstacle to overcome in order to experience what was otherwise an enjoyable ride. I'm with rollergator on Wicked. Vertical launch is the way to go. www.upsdownsandupsidedown.com

Could they make vertical lifts at an 89 degree angle so at least you don't feel like you're going to slide out the whole time?

I have a horrible fear of falling backwards, like in a chair. Vertical lifts give me that feeling, and maybe only for 15 seconds, but it seems like an eternity of panic.
On the plus side, they are a speedy way to get to the top and they take up 0% real estate. So for a compact layout they're ideal.

I actually love vertical lifts. They add an extra level of thrill you otherwise wouldn't find on a coaster.

I doubt 89° would feel at all different from 90. Makes no difference to me, I never found them to be frightening. Although I've never be on the death-trap-o-terror that is a Chance toboggan.

I've never found Toboggans to be particularly frightening. Only painful.