Whats So great about floorless coasters?

I think of it this way...

Floorless coasters are just an improved version of a standard B&M sidown looper. It's like having to choose between two identical cds, which are going for the same price, only one of them has been re-mastered and has bonus tracks. :)
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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

Chaindog, I know that Rideman is a big proponent of eradacating the earth of the OTSR on all coasters, especially the B&M's. I'm 100% positave that any company can make a lapbar restraint that would replace the OTSR. Premier did it with their LIM rides, and nobody fell out of any of those, right?

As for Floorless coasters, Ialso consider them to be a standard sitdown looper, but with an added bonus. I disagree that the front seat is the only good place to sit.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Aw, Dave... stupid gimmick? I bet if you ride Superman Krypton Coaster, you'd think it was a, well... slightly less stupid gimmick.

But, I'd grudgingly agree. Had the floorless technology preceded the inverted genre of B&M coasters, I think it would've been a little more mind-blowing, especially for front seat riders. But as it is, it just doesn't add that much to the experience.

Still, I agree with BullGuy's take on it. If I had a choice between a floorless and a standard train, I'd take the floorless. It's just a shiny extra feature that doesn't really do anything... like a racing stripe on a sedan.

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"Na na na na na na na na LEA-DER!" - Homer Simpson

I'm in the group that pretty much considers floorless design to be just a gimmick. However, fortunately, the gimmick has in my experience been applied to excellent basic coasters resulting in fine rides. I'm a major fan of Medusa east, because it's an excellent coaster, not because it's floorless. It probably could have been made a sitdown and been just as good a ride for a couple of million dollars less cost.

I've only ridden one, BDK. It is the smallest and probably the weakest of all of them, but I still find it fun.

When I first rode BDK I got to experience it in the front seat. Man, did it suck. I felt like no g's, and the only good thing I could have said about the ride was the view. At that time, I said that Mind Eraser and Flashback were better than that.

But then I decided to ride it in the back, the second time. Wow, what a difference. The ride quickly went up in my standings. The ride had so much more than the front, the big factor being pulled through each element, something that the front lacks. It was a lot more enjoyable.

I have to say I like the inverteds better than floorless, but I still enjoy both.

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I lost my hat on Poison Ivy. How pathetic.

Why does everyone think Floorless coasters are bad? I mean, would you rather take a floorless or a normal sitdown train? It may be a little gimmik, but its not some gimmik that sucks. I just don't understand people.

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Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Online

I just like the smoothest of floorless coasters. I personaly would take a floorless vrs a sit down.
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9Years working at Valleyfair :)! Returning for 2003 Season :)! Club Member #437.

Would it seem that the floorless coasters are the only multi-inversion (4+ inversions) rides being built today? The floorless could probably be defined as the succesor to the shockwave-era arrow 7 inversion coasters. sure the floorless part is just a bonus to the ride. For those that think they are weak, take a trip and ride Superman Krypton at SFFT. its a top 10 ride in my book.

No. Colossus and Avalancha were both built in 2002, and are two coasters at the top of the list when it comes to number of inversions...

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Track Record: 164
Favorite Wood: Phoenix at Knoebels
Favorite Steel: Millennium Force at Cedar Point

Let me point out one thing that certainly affects my opinion of these things (besides my obvious bias that Soggy pointed out :) )--

When I ride Batman: Knight Flight I tend to sit in the back row of the train, since that's where you get approximately the best ride. With the combination of the tilted back seats, and the shoulder bar, my field of vision is obstructed. The lowest thing I can see is about a half-inch above the bottom of the wheel cover of the car ahead of me. If I tilt my head forward to try and see lower, my own knees obscure any view of the space between cars at all. Meaning that the entire gimmick of the train having no floor is totally lost on me. Hey, my feet don't reach the floor in the Speed Coaster trains, either! :)

Now, I concede that the floorless does have something over Kumba, in that on Kumba you can put your feet on the floor. Somebody pipe up here...I think they tilted the seats back on Wildfire as well...true or false? (I haven't been to Silver Dollar City). But beyond not having anyplace to put your feet, something which can be accomplished without removing the floor, the gimmick is completely visual...and the view happens to be obstructed so, for me at least, the visual effect is lost.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Wow, am I the only one who prefers floorless over Inverted? I love to sit in the back and outside seats of the train. Maybe I'm just the right height or something, but I feel like I'm flying over the track. I can see all around me and tell the track is rushing under my feet. Batman Knight Flight is fantastic, and this coming from a woodie buff.

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-Matt in Iowa
195 coasters ridden -- Faves: Shivering Timbers, Ghostrider, Twister, Hershey Wildcat, Lightning Racer

I love everything about the floorless, mostly the feeling of absolute freedom. The fact that those seats are more comfortable than my recliner couch. Like sitting in your favorite seat and doing Bi-Plane maneuvers.

Magic Mountaineers should be happy their getting a mirrored Medusa East, I would.

I've always said that if Intamin's Mega/Giga coasters were modified to be floorless like, you could Never get my out of that seat!

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Whoohoo! Less than two weeks from opening day! (Kings Dominion)
*** This post was edited by go with gravity 3/9/2003 3:27:55 PM ***

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Intamin Fan said:
According to the bottom of the Q-Bot I had last year, SFGA stands for Six Flags Great Adventure.

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SFI is even *cloning* Q-bots now....anything to save a buck...;)

then Jim Fisher said:
It probably could have been made a sitdown and been just as good a ride for a couple of million dollars less cost.

...And *that* perfectly summed up MY feelings about the floorless...it's a very modest improvement at BEST, and I'd rather spend the extra money on something that might make more of a difference in the overall guest experience...
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Dr. Thrill IS my family practitioner
Would you just LOOK at what you've done to CoasterBuzz - you're going to have to clean it up ;)
*** This post was edited by rollergator 3/9/2003 4:00:15 PM ***

But then again you have to remember the General Public. I feel SFMM is making the right move in building a floorless over a normal sit down. SFMM already has Viper, Flashback, and Revolution that most people would say are all the same thing. If SFMM built a normal sit-down, people would probably say: "This is the same as Viper, Flashback, and Revolution!" Whereas with going the floorless route, people will think "Wow an amazing new twist on roller coasters! Lets go ride it!" Am I right in thinking this or not? If I am please let me know. :)

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Track Record: 164
Favorite Wood: Phoenix at Knoebels
Favorite Steel: Millennium Force at Cedar Point

My $0.03 is that Medusa East is a great coaster in general, but the floorless aspect does little for me. I'm not one of those people who will wait an insane amount of time for the front seat, so I've not really "enjoyed" the benefit of the floorless aspect. As long as the coaster is a good ride, it doesn't really matter to me :)

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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com

I absolutely love floorless coasters. Although you really only achieve the full effect in the front row, a front row ride on a floorless coaster is one of the true great moments in *steel* coaster riding. In my opinion, only Intamin hypercoasters are better. If you sit in any other row, you still get the benefit of a quality B&M looper, and nobody does that better. So either way, I find enough there to enjoy these rides.

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"Run Betty! The giant chicken's sticking to the pan"!

The funny thing there is that my *favorite* floorless, BKF, is the only one I haven't ridden in the front. I have on Kraken and Medusa-East, and overall I'd take a standard inverted over either of those for the most part, even though I *do* like the watery first drop on Kraken...go figure...;)

As far as SFMM is concerned, yes, they most definitely couldn't have built a standard sit-down multi-looper...Viper has that aspect covered (and quite well, I might add). What would *I* have purchased to add to the count at the Mountain...well, three options come immediately to mind: a LIM bowl (the launch being the key *variant), an Impulse, or best of all for the particular hole in their line-up, a kiddie coaster (wood or inverted strike me as the obvious choices). But, there's always NEXT year...;)

Back to topic, I just didn't see a floorless as filling the more obvious needs for SFMM *cough* wooden coaster problems...;)
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Dr. Thrill IS my family practitioner
Would you just LOOK at what you've done to CoasterBuzz - you're going to have to clean it up ;)

rollergator, the opinions of some of the maintanance workers at SFMM is that *with* their wooden coaster problems, the *last* thing they want to do is add another one. They themselves admit that they are not equipt to handle the current wood in the park, and not given the tools or time to do so.

Actually, a floorless does fill the obvious needs for capacity and reliability. This time, they can market a gimmick that *works* from the beginning. In the public's eyes, it will be a step fowards. Alot of the decisions that SF makes are done in terms of the what the *perception* will be with the public. You and I of course, know better.

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"Run Betty! The giant chicken's sticking to the pan"!

DWeaver, I am *sure* that the guys doing wooden coaster maintenance at SFMM are doing what they can (?) but there's a certain amount of knowledge and dare I say, *love* of the wood by those who really know what they're doing and enjoy it. Hot and dry conditions with lots of sun AND year-round ops...my *guesstimation* is it would take about two weeks off twice a year JUST to maintain them once properly fixed (read: moderate reprofiling of Colossus, major reconstruction of the abomination across the park). Look to Ghostrider's maintenance for tips...;)...and we are pretty certain that's not gonna happen. Bummer too, cause Colossus was ONCE *all that*. It's a shame SFMM doesn't adopt an attitude to *do whatever it takes* to get their wood back into shape...I have an article here (OLD one) that says Psucklone was once a good coaster....can someone verify that...;)

As for the floorless, it DOES make sense considering it's an adult coaster by *the reliability people* that they didn't already have...a good move. For next year, get that kiddie inverted and fix Colossus.
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Dr. Thrill IS my family practitioner
Would you just LOOK at what you've done to CoasterBuzz - you're going to have to clean it up ;)

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YOUNGSTOWN 2010