Wood Coaster Poll Results...

^ Now I feel better about my #1 coming out at #8. Never thought *anything* could top Tremors, but Rampage had it going ON, in spades.

I think parks SHOULD pay a little more attention to this....not becuase enthusiasts are anything special, but because it DOES reflect in a meaningful way how much people (not JUST enthusiasts) take notice of the loving care that is (or is NOT) given to the wooden coasters....if you notice a precipitous DROP in the rankings of one of your park's wooden coasters, wouldn't it make sense to check on the MAINTENANCE given to the ride?

Not sure who it was, but one of the famous designers of long ago said something along the lines of: "You never stop building a wooden coaster". SO true!

*** Edited 12/6/2005 8:27:06 PM UTC by rollergator***

I think the poll is the most fair for less established parks and names, since it directly compares the rankings of rides, and is not just a total number of votes for the best like most polls. In most polls there is a bias to the more established parks and coasters, since they are ridden more often and have a better chance of being top 10, etc.

However with that being said, I am not convinced that this method is the end all be all format for ranking. For some reason it is almost better to be in an obscure location and only ridden by certain enthusiasts that do alot of traveling. Since these are the people rating the less rated rides very well, this is sort of making their opinion worth so much more than everyone elses. For example if someone has been on 300 roller coasters and likes grand national as his second favorite, that would be huge for grand national, since it would win over every coaster ranked below its list (297 of them).

Basically I feel that what the list shows is a general idea of what rides are good, like most list. I usually don't look at the rides I have ridden, but look at rides I have not ridden, and see if they are consistantly ranked in multiple top 10 list, as something I really want to ride. Thunderhead just from the layout, it being ranked 1 in amusement today, and liking GCII trains, feel that ride is something I must hit soon. Although Balder I believe is an Intamin Wooden, and although it looks good, I don't think it is something that is going to make me fly out there just for. Especially considering that Six Flags Great Adventure is getting Toro and that looks even better.

Anyway it does seem that this list does favor airtime machines and out and back designs over twister and terrain type coasters. Maybe that is what most enthusiasts like, since some complain about lateral g's and lack of airtime on rides. The one thing that I find interesting is that all these amusement parks use the amusement today golden tickets to advertise their awards, but very few if any ever use this internet poll.

^I think that most parks use the Amusement Today over Mitch's Poll, because it is more identifiable by the General Public.

You make some very valid points regarding the value of a person's vote. I did not think about it that way before.

^ What many people don't realize is that the Mitch poll and Golden Tickets have MANY of the same voters participating. It is the formula that makes the difference.

Sure it isn't the End all but IMHO it is much more fair to the parks and actual coasters that are supposed to be THE BEST or worlds TOP TEN.

Ted, Your very correct and wrong at the same time, I honestly think some parks marketing depts are involved in FIXING the Vote on some other polls and reviews. I seen people even addmit to it in some of those online unlimited voting polls such as Travel Channel had.

Thats not to say that Paula hyping her park or Jeff Siebert yapping it up is a bad thing. It's great for the parks they represent and may sway some peoples opinions but IMHO. LET THE ACTUAL VISITORS AND RIDERS DECIDE in a fair comparison.

Chuck, who even with this poll as fair as it is to me. Enjoys the hell out of some coasters ranked near the bottom. Wilde Beast 141, Skyliner 81. Villain Where'd it finish?
To each their own and may the best overal coasters be shown for what they truelly are. THE BEST!

You guy's take these things a bit too seriously! ;) I mean it is all just for fun anyway isn't it? :)

Wow,

The beast did not make the list.

The Beast actually rounds out the top 50 at...number 50.

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Charles Nungester said: Paula hyping her park

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Is that what I do?

Suddenly I feel so ... dirty.

Paula

Yaaa, 10yrs in a row now Grizzly retains it dominance and title as the worst woody ever! Way to go PGA!

Paula, Theres nothing wrong with promoting your park.

Often it's fun!

Sheesh, You'd think I insulted her or something :)

Thats was not the intention.

Chuck

Paula, you hype your park.

What's so bad about Grizzly at PGA? I've never ridden it but it looks like it would at least be decent.

I have a feeling The Voyage and Kentucky Rumbler will make their mark on this thing next year. *** Edited 12/7/2005 6:19:19 AM UTC by TopGun***

As often as I disagree with A.J., I totally feel he is correct here. Lists don't mean anything in the long run. Otherwise, there would be a lot more Intamin Plug-N-Play coasters, as that tops out the poll.

Seriously, in the long run, this is our hobby, we fill out these polls because of a need to catagorize (ask L.G. about that ;) ), and they, in the long run, don't affect what parks add or don't add. Otherwise, we wouldn't see so many SLCs. I'd have thought some of you were smarter than that...

I don't see anything wrong with ranking coasters, as long as it's understood that the results are nothing more than condensed versions of many different opinions.

We're coaster enthusiasts and it's natural for us to compare coasters, just like Beatles fans compare Beatles albums to one another and sports addicts compare the significance of free agent signings. What's wrong with saying, "I like this coaster better than that coaster"? And why doesn't a statement like that matter? If someone says that someone likes Hershey's Comet more than Knoebels' Phoenix, of course I'm going to be intrigued!

As for parks not caring, I wouldn't be so sure of that. The parks that win Golden Ticket awards certainly seem to make a big deal of it!

And what location had the most voters? Pennsylvania.. Woooooooo! We're No 1, We're No 1!

What happened to Raven and Timbers this year? Were they just not running up to par?

I generally use this poll as a guide of the places that I *have* to hit within the next year or two, not because I want the best coaster ride ever, but because I want to know what everyone is talking about. That said, there are a lot of coasters and ranking that I disagree with. For instance, Thunderhead and Rampage aren't even in my top 10 and apparently many think they're the second coming. To each her/his own, I guess. Viper GAm. is my #3, for instance.

Regarding the meaningfulness of polls? See my sig.

Andy, I think to a LARGE degree, the rankings of say, T-Head and Rampage are based on rides taken during events (read: night rides, ERT conditions).

Having ridden both during normal operations and during ERT, I can safely say that *my* rankings are typically based on "the best ride I got on said coaster"....FWIW... :)

The parks that win Golden Ticket awards certainly seem to make a big deal of it!

There is a difference between Caring and Marketing...

;)

Otherwise, I agree with you.

:(

Bill, that sucks for me, because there's no way in hell that I'm ever going back to Visionland, even for ERT. Aside from the fact that it's out in the middle of nowhere, I had the worst park experience of my life there.

We'll see about Thunderhead. Dollywood was really nice, but it's still really hard to get to.

(Hit both parks on the move from NY to Fort Worth TX (where it is currently snowing/wintry mix))