Smaller coaster question for everyone (opinions)

I am having a very hard time deciding if a small kids coaster should be added to your track record if you ride them. Yes, I know they do fit the definition of a coaster as it has a chain lift and is powered by gravity but I just feel edgy adding it on so to say. I see that most acers add it to their track record to increase their count as high as possible. I'm at 160 right now and have just a few of these small ones on my list. Plus, the fact that most park have this you need a kid under 48 inches or whatever to be able to ride it. Most of the time I skip these as I feel that it's somewhat well, odd. Another acer did mention to me that he totally does not count them onto his own track record because like he said when you have a track record of say 250 different coasters and lets say 65 of them are kiddie coasters. You minus the 65 and get 185 of the regular adult coasters. So when you say that you been on 250 coasters they assume that you've been to more parks than the 185.

I've actually decided to built a personal set of rules for this and want to see what everyones opinions are of this. First basic rule I come up with is if you need a child to ride it during normal operating park hours, skip it. If it's during a coaster event and they offer ERT on it, ride it then and count it onto your track record. Reversing this rule slightly, if it's a kiddie coaster that doesn't require a child to ride it in normal park hours, then ride it and it counts. Again, this is just my opinion so don't start going after me or anything. It's a personal rule I came up with to follow and doesn't mean anyone else has to follow it. If you wish to, go right ahead. If you don't, don't. Finally, what's your opinion on this situation? I'd like to hear from everyone and if you also have any rules/restrictions/guildlines that you personally follow individually, I'd like to hear them. Thanks.

I don't keep count of the coasters I've been on, but if I did I would be an advocate of your rules.

If I can ride it, I might. (how's that for vagueness)

However, even though I *just* updated my track record within the last month, I *still* cant tell you haw many coasters I've been on exactly. To me, it's not a big deal. I only started keeping one because I was bored at work and CBuzz offered the opportunity.

Honestly though, it not the type of thing I'll brag about at office holiday parties. People know I'm a nut and thats about the extent of it. No one is going to be impressed if I say 150 or 172 (which I *think* is right..or is it 171?) And anyone that *is* impressed and really interested in my # or coasters is probably not someone that I want to impress in the first place. Really, it's just a way for people to feel better about themselves. That's cool. Until they try and "lord" it over someone, usually when opinions are levied.

What? You cant say Magnum is great! You've only been on three hypers.

Or some other such nonsense. But whatever. Just remember that YOUR track record is for YOU. Do what makes YOU happy. Forget what anyone else thinks!
lata,
jeremy
--phuck the world. dont ask me for schitt

Why does it matter? Track records are only there for bragging rights, so some can slap the "I've been on x number of coasters so I'm better than you and know more about roller coasters than you do" on newer coaster riders.

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*** This post was edited by The Shy One on 6/24/2002. ***

I'm not posting for any bragging rights or saying I've been on this many coasters. I was asking for opinions on the small kids coasters. If and when I should add them to my track record and came up with my own set of standards to go by and wanted to know what everyone thought of it. Thanks to Vassk's input for the basic opinion rules I made up for myself and 2Hostyl for saying it's my track record and I can do whatever makes me happy.

I think track records are dumb, they are just for bragging rights, a person could be on 250 coasters and not know about any others, but someone could be on 14 and know about 300 you now what I am saying.

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Can we change the name of Top Gun to your mom so no one wants to ride your mom?

I have no idea what you are saying. Please clarify that one long, comma filled sentence.

My track record is only for my own personal information. I see it as a tool for helping me to ride more coasters. I want to expierance as many of these rides before I am too old to so I keep track. I don't even tell people how many coasters I have rode.

I DO count kiddy coasters because they are fun. I enjoy rideing them, but not as much as the bigger rides. I like to determine how enjoyable the little rides are for kids. They also remind me a little of when I was a kid also.

Only my opinion.

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KoRn is the Mellennium Force of ROCK

If it has the physical properties of a coaster, then so be it. Whether its a Miler, Zamperla or Herschell, it doesn't matter to me. HSTC at Knoebels kicks the crap out of some larger rides!
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Brad Sherman
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer, helping to train new ride ops properly!
Model coasters and rides

I personally count them because they are a coaster. just because on some you have to get a kid it doesn't really matter. You went on the coaster.

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-Sean Newman
83 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC # 100 in July. Waiting for the 305 foot drop tower in 2003. Thank you PKD.

I agree with a lot of what 2Hostyl said. Most people use it for bragging rights and use every opportunity to "stretch" their count. Others use it for personal use (I fall into this category). The only time that I ever tell anyone my coaster count is when they ask me. Plus, I know my count isn't completely accurate anyway. I have been riding "adult" coasters since I was 10....that's almost 19 years of coaster riding. I just figured out my count for the first time earlier this year and only heaven knows exactly how many coasters I have been on because I certainly can't remember them all.

Anyway, I guess what I am saying is that everyone counts them differently so to compare your count to someone elses is useless IMO. So just do it the way that you want. For me, I don't count kiddie coasters. I am coaster enthusiast, not a coaster count enthusiast. So if I ride a coaster just for count, then I don't think it should count. I am not sure if that makes sense to anyone but me. But that is exactly why I say that a persons count is a personal thing.

(NOTE: For those who do count and brag, I don't have a problem with that...it's just not my cup 'o tea.)

Happy Coastering!

Sean

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a coaster is a coaster . size does not matter if you ride it count it.

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I just want to ride as many coasters as posible

I will also agree with what alot have said... many people use numbers for bragging rights ("I've ridden XXX coasters... so I know much more than you could ever hope to know since you have only ridden YYY coasters... so there")

I keep a count, but only for my personal info. I don't think I have mentioned it in any thread or in any conversation. As a matter of fact, during this last coaster vacation my wife and I were on, I didn't even remember the number ("somewhere above XXX but not quite YYY") but I didn't know for sure until I updated my Excel spreadsheet on Monday morning.

As for Kiddie Coasters... it all depends on the situation. I will not go out of my way to ride one of these things. Definately, if you need a child to ride, I will skip it (unless we have or niece with us). I would not think of borrowing someone's kid. However, there are always exceptions. This past week at Waldameer Park, the sign for Ravine Flyer 3 basically said "No adults with out a child", but I asked the kid running it if I could ride, he said okay so I rode and counted it. If he would have said No, I would not have waited for a kid. I would also not travel to a park just to ride a kiddie coaster (I remember reading about one person who travelled specifically to Jeepers to ride their kiddie coaster just to count it in the count ) .

Of course, you have the old argument as far as Racers and Duelers are concerned. Personally, I count dulers, but some racers I don't (Kennywood's Racer for example).

Then you have some grey areas. Last week we visited Conneaut Lake Park. They have a dark ride called Devil's Den (formerly known as Dr.Moriorty's Wild Ride I think). Its a dark ride, but gravity powered... Up a small lift, a turn, down a little dip, then down a series of hair pin turns (very similar to a wild mouse) in the dark. More of a dark ride than a coaster, but still technically fits the deffinition of a coaster. (and after checking the coaster listings on CoasterBuzz, I see that it is listed... so... on my list it went).

It is all up to the individual. Personally, I don't see a problem with keeping a list. However, to use it as bragging rights... that's different.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

SLFAKE: I think that might have been one of my posts you read. I was @ SFA one day last year and ran into a cat that I knew. He said he was waiting for another enthusiast to show up so I waited with him. When this other guy showed up, he proceeded to relate how just the day before he was acting like such a "count whore" (his term) because he spent the day driving all over the state of Maryland going to different Jeepers just to ride their "Python Pit" rollercoasters.

Now I'm a pretty open minded person (despite being a conservative :)) and I'm usually of the mindset of "To each her own". But when I heard that I thought "This guy is a totally geeky LOON. Get me the heck out of here!" As Brad Pitt said in Seven "He's a NUTbag!"

That, to me, is too far. But if YOU like it, why worry about what I think? ;)
lata,
jeremy
--who is a nutbag in his own right...but not like that!

I like keeping a track record, just one, at www.themeparkcritic.com, but I don't brag about it. I count everything on the site that I rode, kiddie or not, but I don't ride kiddie coasters much anymore (wild mice, galaxies, wildcats, and coasters like those are NOT kiddies, IMO). I agree with your rules, but if I ride it I count it.

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HuKeD oNN fonickS dusinT wOrK"[;.

One thing about the coaster lists is that they seem to be incomplete and different from one another. Take the devil's den at Conneat Lake Park. I've been to that park twice and after riding devil's den I feel that it is not a coaster, but rather a dark ride. I decided not to count it, however SLFAKE did above and that's his own opinion. The thing is that it is found under Coasterbuzz's list of coasters, however I was unable to find it in either rcdb.com or Guide to Ride. Meanwhile in rcdb.com they list powered coasters as roller coasters. I believe about 99.9 percent of us (there's always that one person) don't consider powered coasters as coasters because they don't coast. No list is totally accuate.

I can't believe one person travelled to all the Jeepers park to ride their kiddie coaster, but that's their own doing. Just about all the parks I travel to have at least a coaster wildmouse or galaxi sized coaster or bigger. I just don't see myself driving out of my way to visit a kiddie coaster. Then again, some people would.

Hey, I am still debating that Devil's Den ride. Not sure how long it will stay on. The ONLY reason why I included it was because it was on the Buzz list. Truely, yeah, it should be classified a dark ride because the dark ride elements are the main point of the ride... the coasting is just a way of locomation.

There is something else to look at. What constitutes a "kiddie coaster"? On the RCDB they consider the tiny little oval coaster at Williamsgrove at "Family" coaster, while there are some people who have actually called Sky Princess at Dutch Wonderland a "Kiddie" coaster.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

In a follow up to the Devils Den debate...I think you have to go with the fact that it is gravity driven and does in fact coast on a track. If you start saying that Devils Den doesn't count because it is a dark ride, then would you go one step further and say that Roller Soaker doesn't count because it is a water ride?!?! Let's face, other than the fact that it rides on a coaster track and it coasts (at a slow speed), it provides no "coaster-style" thrills. Devils Den is the same way...the actual thrill of the ride doesn't come from it being a "coaster", but I think it would classify. Anyway, I thought the Roller Soaker was a good analogy to DD, so I thought that I would throw that out there.

Happy Coastering!

Sean

--who thinks that there are probably people that don't consider Roller Soaker to be a roller coaster--

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"Have fun stormin' the castle!"

Like many of you, if the "kid rule" is in full effect, I'll usually ask for an exception. If the op lets me on (and I fit in the damn thing) I'll ride it and count it. If the op says no, then I'm on my way, no big deal. If the kiddie ride actually has a line, then I don't even ask.

At Knott's the Timberline Twister has a maximum height, which I am WELL over. Only when I was hanging out with the vaccationing Coaster Zombies was I allowed onto the ride. I easily could have lived without riding it, but it IS a coaster at my homepark, so...

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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!

Good analogy. Same with Exterminator... Its and enclosed Wild Mouse... so is it a coaster (yes) or a dark ride (yes).

Another good example is Journey to Atlantis. Coaster or water ride? Some argue "just because it has coaster elements does not make it a coaster. However, it does use those coaster elements for a Thrill factor.

With Devil's Den... like I said, it uses its coaster elements as a simple method of locomotion. However, the little dip at the beginning and the hair pin turns at a descent speed do add a little thrill factor. Argument could go either way. I will say this though... IF you want to cound kiddie coasters such as SFDL's "Brain Teaser" (which by the way I did NOT ride), then you would have to count the likes of Devil's Den based on the simple fact that its track is every bit as much of a coaster as that little Kiddie one is.

Soggy: The Kid Rule being in full effect. I agree. If there is a line, or in the absense of a line if the ops say no or if I do not fit, I don't ride. However, here is some thing interesting... I found that the little kiddie Ravine Flyer 3 at Waldameer has roomier and more comfortable seats (at least if you ride single) than does its next door neighbor, the PTC junior coaster Comet.

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 6/25/2002. ***