Names Locations Variations and My Track Record

I didn't search; maybe I should have... Looking for feedback from those who my comments might resonate with.

I decided to attempt to fully update my track record and organize them according to rating. Actually getting it done has been a little more difficult then expected when starting out. I mean, how hard could it be?

First problem I ran into was with rides with changed names. I know I rode Pandemonium at Fiesta Texas but wasn't obvious to me that it had undergone a name change. From the interwebs, "formally Big Spin and Tony Hawk's Big Spin". ON EDIT: The database here lists the old name,"Tony Hawks Big Spin" and at the time, I did not know the ride had changed names. If you know ahead of time that the ride had changed names, then it is a non-brainer.

Ran into a similar problem with Dueling Dragons. I have ridden Dueling Dragons when they were synced to duel. My track record shows only the new names, and not the old names. Not sure I would rate the unsynced ride the same as the new ride because the visuals of the other train flying about was part of the experience. ON EDIT: The database here actually linked the old names to the new names for these; which is different then for the above.

I think I've only ridden one coaster that has been relocated; that would be the Corkscrew. It shows up on my track record twice. I'll note here that this location change didn't really change my opinion of the ride. Mostly just age and maintenance seems to have had a bigger influence on the experience.

Then there is the issue of variations like Superman at SFMM (The Escape vs Escape from Krypton). Since the ride is so much better, significantly so in my opinion, where do I rank it? I'm tending to want to rate it more near the top. I'd like to be able to rank the first one near the bottom, and the second one closer to the top because that makes sense to me. But, wouldn't that be cheating?

Those on the bottom were really easy for me. If I felt pain on my body after the end of the ride, down to the bottom. Hard to believe I actually came across a worse coaster then Pysclone at SFMM.

The top were easy too. If I got off a ride and was like, "WTF just happened?" then that ride went to the top. Sorta sad to see Ghostrider is not as awesome as the first time I road it.

So, that creates an issue where I'm being inconsistent, or not? In one case I choose to rank the experience I first had, and in the other case, the experience I last had. It seems that I subconsciously want to rank each coaster for the best ride I remember. Maybe I should bring Ghostrider down a few notches till a rehab makes it great again?

And finally, while it is fairly easy to rank the top and bottom coasters, rating those in the middle has been a challenge for me. I mean really, where did Pteranodon Flyers end up in your list?

I'm not here to stir the pot. I KNOW that how people count credits, and figure rankings are different for different people. This is the first time I've given it this much thought though and I figured I'd share how the marbles were rattling around upstairs.

Any feedback on how you manged to sort the middle ones would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Sprig said:

First problem I ran into was with rides with changed names. I know I rode Pandemonium at Fiesta Texas but wasn't obvious to me that it had undergone a name change. From the interwebs, "formally Big Spin and Tony Hawk's Big Spin".

I don't see a problem listed?

Ran into a similar problem with Dueling Dragons. I have ridden Dueling Dragons when they were synced to duel. My track record shows only the new names, and not the old names. Not sure I would rate the unsynced ride the same as the new ride because the visuals of the other train flying about was part of the experience.

I don't get this one either. They changed the way the ride operates and they changed the name. If you rank it now, you rank it now. I re-rank rides higher or lower based on past rides vs. current rides. Don't really see what you're saying here, that you want to rank it twice? Why? It's the same ride. You rank the current state it's in, or the last state you rode it in. Or if you've rode it a lot, look at how it's performed over a period of time (see below)

I think I've only ridden one coaster that has been relocated; that would be the Corkscrew. It shows up on my track record twice. I'll note here that this location change didn't really change my opinion of the ride. Mostly just age and maintenance seems to have had a bigger influence on the experience.

Then you must have added the coaster to your record from both parks. I personally only rank and count it in it's current location, so YMMV.

Then there is the issue of variations like Superman at SFMM (The Escape vs Escape from Krypton). Since the ride is so much better, significantly so in my opinion, where do I rank it? I'm tending to want to rate it more near the top. I'd like to be able to rank the first one near the bottom, and the second one closer to the top because that makes sense to me. But, wouldn't that be cheating?

Agian, like the dragons, you rank it the way it is now. If it ranks higher now, why do you want to not how it used to rank? I rode it in 2005. I was at the park last December, and it was closed, but if I'd rode it in 2012 and liked it better, I'd have ranked it higher. Easy peasy.

Sorta sad to see Ghostrider is not as awesome as the first time I road it.

So, that creates an issue where I'm being inconsistent, or not? In one case I choose to rank the experience I first had, and in the other case, the experience I last had. It seems that I subconsciously want to rank each coaster for the best ride I remember. Maybe I should bring Ghostrider down a few notches till a rehab makes it great again?

So, I assume you re-ranked it. Then you've answered your own problem. It's your record, rank it how you want, but typically when people rank something, it's ranked based on the current experience, or a mixture of current and past. I don't let one bad ride ruin something that I used to love, but if it gets consistently worse over time, I'll lower a ranking.

And finally, while it is fairly easy to rank the top and bottom coasters, rating those in the middle has been a challenge for me. I mean really, where did Pteranodon Flyers end up in your list?

I rank coasters this way: If every coaster I'd ridden were in the same park, which ride would I ride first, then in what order would I ride them, based on how I like them.

In general, I try to "rate" based heavily on most recent experience. In other words, if you were getting your first lap tomorrow, I'd hope that my ranking would give you a decent idea of what to expect.

Tekwardo said:

I don't see a problem listed?

There is no coaster named Pandemonium in the data base. I couldn't find it to add it because the name hadn't been updated. Minor annoyance, I wanted to add the coaster, but I couldn't find it.

Next, I get that some people will do what ever mental flip flops they can to justify adding another coaster name to a list for some sort of geeky way of measuring their self worth. That is not my intent, so lets skip past that.

When I wrote the OP I didn't understand how to write and convey my questions and ideas clearly (I maybe still can't).

Take my example is Superman at SFMM. They didn't just drop a license and change the paint and name. They changed the vehicles, improved the speed/height, and put the vehicles on backwards; enough real changes to change the ride experience. I thought it might be nice to see if the rating changed for good/bad with the new name.

Maybe it would nice to link both names to the same physical coaster, but provide a different rating for each name?

1. Number 1 Coaster

2. Number 2 Coaster

3. Superman Escape from Krypton

4. Number 4 Coaster

-Superman The Escape

5. Number 5 Coaster

This doesn't give an extra credit, but it would show that I think the ride is now improved.

Please don't make more out of this then what it is, just an idea that I had to share with others via my track record my opinion on how certain rides have changed.

... You rank the current state it's in, or the last state you rode it in. Or if you've rode it a lot, look at how it's performed over a period of time (see below)

...

Then you must have added the coaster to your record from both parks. I personally only rank and count it in it's current location, so YMMV.

That makes sense to me too! In the back of my mind I was trying to figure out why picking it up and moving it, makes the ride any different. I agree that it is the same coaster. However, it might be nice for people to be able to see both your older and newest ratings.

Agian, like the dragons, you rank it the way it is now.

The database changed the name of the Dragons to their new names, which I have not ridden. Now, on this coaster, I doubt that many would change their ranking much so it probably is not a big deal for most coasters.

I'm way over-thinking this, so you can just ignore my babbling.

I rank coasters this way: If every coaster I'd ridden were in the same park, which ride would I ride first, then in what order would I ride them, based on how I like them.

Thanks for ^^^THIS^^^! It is just a simple mental trick for me to visually imagine myself at such a make believe park trying to decide which coaster is next on the to ride list.

I feel that ranking has become less important to me as I get older. I still can spout off my top 5 wood and steels with no difficulty, and could probably state a top 10 with just a few moments of thought, but after that forget it. Whenever my family asks about a new ride, Ill describe it as a "top ten," "top twenty" or good, ok, bad. Its just too much effort to decide if SFOG B:TR is better then SFOT B:TR and where does Cedar Creek Mine Train rank.

Touchdown said:

...Its just too much effort to decide if SFOG B:TR is better then SFOT B:TR and where does Cedar Creek Mine Train rank.

^^^ Now why didn't think of that?

But, I haven't ridden the Cedar Creek Mine Train, so I wanna know where did Pteranodon Flyers end up in your list?

As I am an adult male (and a larger one at that) without a child, and that ride has no Express Pass (which I always have when I go there because I stay on property) I have never ridden that ride. Also the fact that that park has 2 transcendent dark rides (Spidy, Potter,) 3 amazing adult coasters, a fantastic classic dark ride (Cat in the Hat,) and 3 world class water rides that I would rather stand in line for, makes it highly unlikely I will ever ride that ride.

My inner credit whore only comes out at parks I live near to, or when Im at a park with no crowds. Either of those scenarios I doubt will ever happen at Universal Orlando, at least for the foreseeable future.

Once I was on a multi day visit, and because I'm a credit ho, I made it my business one morning to get to the Flyers bright and early. The line was short and still I waited a sufficient enough amount of time to make me wonder what the hell happens to people there if the ride is busy. They probably find skeletons at sweep up time. Anyway, I found the ride enjoyable, albeit very short, and my mind got busy dreaming of other rides and attractions that would include that system used in a smarter way. (Setpoint is it? Aren't they out of business now?)
Anyway, now that I've started this I'm curious to know how I ranked it. Back in a sec.

Edit: ok, I gave it a three. Like I said I found it an enjoyable little ride. While I was there I noticed I gave Hulk a three also. So there ya go. I've never been crazy about that one, and I guess that speaks to the subjective-ness of the ranking system. Looks like I ranked a small family coaster that I liked the same as a flashy big boy I didn't like. Hmmmm...

Touchdown said:

...makes it highly unlikely I will ever ride that ride.

My inner credit whore only comes out at parks I live near to...

I was trying be sarcastic... fail on my part.

Fun little ride. If you take a look at my track record you will see that I don't credit whore kiddy rides in general. The Flyers are a pretty neat exception and Universal's theming add to the experience.

I know that borrowing a kid can be a little awkward, but I was able to find parents and kids that would help me get onto the ride.

But, like the poster above me, I would only attempt to get the ride if there was virtually no line.

RCMAC said:

...Looks like I ranked a small family coaster that I liked the same as a flashy big boy I didn't like. Hmmmm...

I didn't say it straight out in my OP, but it should be obvious that I found it really easy to start over-thinking my ratings.

My post should have come off as a warning!

Yes, I see over-thinking as a potential theme here. And I don't stay up nights. Well, I do, but not over that.

I didn't have or need a kid to ride it. There was a kid in the other seat, someone I didn't know, but I don't recall that being a requirement.