Whats So great about floorless coasters?

Whoa, whoa whoa... Floorless trains suck because they don't add anything to the ride? How does that make them suck?

Floorless coasters are just the natural progression of the sit-down looper, as was stated before. They certainly take nothing away from the ride (save for the complicated station machinery), in that they don't make it any rougher, the view more obstructed...

There are certainly other things that you can dislike a ride for. As far as I'm concerned, roughness, unnecessary restraints, you know, anything that actively takes away from the ride experience. The floorless trains don't do that, at all! In fact, compared to inverted trains, I'm almost inclined to like floorless coasters better because you can actually see the track if you're not in the front row.

But saying that floorless trains suck because they're not any better than sit-down trains seems a little bit insane to me.

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"Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation." - David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
http://www.loopscrew.com

I don't *think* anyone was suggesting that they "suck", or that they don't have a place in a nice well-rounded arsenal of rides....just that (for some people), the additional expense and admittedly complicated, and expensive, station machinery is something that must be balanced against what it adds to the ride. They *do* offer something different, but it's debable *how* different. That will vary for each installation...SWF, and in my opinion SFMM, have obviously seen it as a valuable marketing tool.

Well, if it's a gimmick, it's my favorite gimmick.

True, I've only had the pleasure of experiencing Krypton and Kraken, and only in the front row for each ride, but, for me, the unique visual element of the track beneath your feet and the illusion of very little support (in an outside seat) adds a lot to the experience.

For some reason, the OTSR don't bother me on a floorless the way they do an inverted.

I'd have to say that floorless coasters offer a similar ride experience as an inverted coaster, but to me it is improved because the rider's view is not obstructed by the section of the train that connects the seat in front of you to the track. Not to mention if you sit in the front seat of a floorless coaster you get awesome leg-choppers whenever the track angles upward.

I'd have to say that Medusa East is one of my favorite rides, behind Millennium Force and Goliath. Now if it just wasn't so loud...

I think a lot of the appeal of the floorlesses is the station. It's just cool, especially if you've never seen one before and aren't expecting it (99.5% of coaster riders)

If you ignored the floorless aspect and called the breakaway floor "themeing" it'd be worth an extra million, no problem.

Would you rather have a park get a floorless or nothing? If all you want to do is complain about a coaster try another hobby IMO this post should be closed.

AJ, I promise not to force you to read any further, LOL....;)

Comatose, I like your argument and find it pretty persuasive....perhaps I just needed to be *sold* the right way...;) Call it theming and suddenly I'm in love with the idea...nah. Just that I'll say I was probably looking at it (too much?) from an enthusiast perspective. Again, the front seat is *clearly* the money seat, and the one that MAKES the floorlessness...

Is there anything wrong with the front seat being the "money" seat though? It is on *most* coasters (in my opinion) anyway!

Sure, people may be disappointed that the floorless effect is not nearly as good in the other rows (ha, just like a B&M invert, too), but nobody should complain about the outstanding front-row view. I mean, you can't really get much more open than that!

I would be ecstatic to have a floorless nearby. :)
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You are about to discover what lies beyond the 5th dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination in the Tower Of Terror.

Rideman: that is exactly what they did on Wildfire; the seats are tilted back. This gives them a more open feeling over a standard floorless train without the need for the trick floor.

Now, just a little change in the restraints...
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Without the chaindog, you'd never get up the lifthill...

Yah, well I think If they made Raging Bull floorless that ride would be #1 on my steel list.

"Unnecessary costs"? Who's footin' the bill???

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The Beast, at night, Nothing better.
*** This post was edited by coasteraddict 3/9/2003 11:19:15 PM ***

Why do people have a preblem with B&M looper restraints, whether nessessary or not? It's not like they're all that restrictive or uncomfortable. Is it really *that* important to be able to swing your arms outside of the train?

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

DWeaver, are you short, skinny, or both?

Some of us have a hard time getting the shoulder bar down far enough to get the belt to latch, and on top of that actually have arms. Not a problem on the outside of the train, but if there is another person sitting next to you who is also a fairly big guy, it becomes a race to see who gets in first because there isn't room between the seats for two arms.

B&M simply put their seats too close together. Don't believe me? Come up to Cedar Point some time and take a ride on Raptor with a couple of broad-shouldered people, for example, me on one side and ShiveringTim on the other, and see if you can figure out where to put your arms. It's not as bad as on the Premier loopers, but it's pretty bad...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Put me in between them both, and you have real trouble. Fortunately for me, the three people who I ride with most often are much smaller than I am.

Rollergator: Do you really think a kiddie coaster is the biggest hole in SFMM's lineup? I remember Goliath Jr. receiving some pretty bad lip service from lots of enthusiasts saying that SFMM was grabbing their 15th only by going cheap with a kiddie coaster. I'll admit, something like Reptar or RollerSoaker would be cool to have, but I'd prefer a large floorless. I can also attest to Psyclone once being a great ride. I remember the first few seasons waiting through the full queue (as long as 90+ minutes) and having a fabulous ride.

The floorless gimmick works for me, and it is the best choice for a major coaster addition to SFMM, due to Revolution & Viper as mentioned before. Launched looper would be a good choice for the next one.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Soggy, I don't really give much credence to the *enthusiast* complaints about SFMM adding a kiddie coaster "just for the count". I mean, c'mon, the place has TWO kiddie coasters. For a place with the kind of drawing power that SFMM has (>1 hour waits for Viper last time I was there), their family rides section is lacking a little (ok, maybe more than a little). This comes from someone with NO kids (and no prospects for any)...yes, I honestly DO believe that's the biggest *hole in the lineup*...every team needs a clean-up hitter, and X defintely fills that in abundance, but you've got to have a leadoff hitter who will take a walk...(it's as good as a hit, or so they say)...;).

Do *I* prefer the large floorless...sure. But it's not about me, nor is it about the absurdly few number of enthusiasts, who make up *about* 1% of the overall gate. It's about what's profitable, and familie$ are just that....don't believe me, ask PKI....something like Reptar or Rollersoaker would be *cool* for us (slight pun inteneded), but to those with kids, it would be "off the hook".

At this point, a floorless definitely is a good choice for an adult coaster for SFMM...it's a real good ride, and the GP *will* view it as different from what SFMM already offers...wish I could have made it for Scream's opening...

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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 ;)

Beleive me, I don't give much credit to that arguement either, I was just pointing it out. Besides, I think we would both agree that the REAL #1 hole in The Mountain's lineup is modern flatrides. The count in that department is a big fat goosegg.

I also am aware that the enthusiast crowd accounts for FAR less than the Family crowd, but my money is just as green as theirs. In fact, I'm sure that over the couse of a year, my wife and I spend more money at SFMM than a family of four that spends just one day there per year, which is about how often a family would go there.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

What's so great about floorless coasters? Everything! My first experience on one was in the 6 grade and Medusa at great adventure debuted. (I live in NYC, only an hour away) I saw the commerical on it and I was like, I have gotta ride that. I didn't know what they meant by "Floorless" But, when I got inside that train and all of a sudden the floor was gone. I was like,"oh ****" when I saw my feet hanging over that green track. I closed my eyes throughout the whole ride and was screaming with everone else on the train. Me and My brother got off saying, "I wanna ride again!" but the line was too long.

Since then, I've ridden Kraken and Batman: Knight Flight. Three in total! I love Kraken the most because of the tunnel's and the zero g roll. I love Batman: Knight Flight because of the first drop, cobra roll, and laterals it gives. Being able to see your feet hang over a piece of track and to see your feet look like it's going to get cut off is extremely worth any wait. The zero g roll is also the best part of any floorless coaster. I loved getting tossed out of my seat as the train went down the drop. That's what I call airtime! Just thinking about this makes me glad Medusa is only an hour away from me.

The one floorless I've been on, Batman Knight Flight, was amazing. I love B&M loopers to begin with so adding the free feeling makes the ride even better.

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All who think Mean Streak needs a match taken to it say I.