Poll: What do you base your ride rankings on?

[Olsor]

Since we're in the midst of Mitch's wooden coaster balloting, I was wondering what all of you TPR-ers base your ride rankings on. Do you base your ranking on the most recent ride on a particular coaster, or do you base your ranking on the best ride you've ever had on a particular coaster? Or do you base it on something else altogether?

 

Since I've been taking the poll, I've based my rankings on the most recent ride I've had on a coaster. The downside of that, of course, is if you haven't ridden a coaster in years and it's downright awful now. For example, I rode the Boss within a few weeks of its debut in 2000, but haven't been on it since. When I rode it, it was terrific... like a junior Voyage, or The Beast with airtime. But I haven't seen one positive word written about it for a LONG time.

 

The flip side of that is that a ride could presumably improve over a stretch of time. Heck, I've heard that Mean Streak is actually tolerable these days. Wouldn't know it because I had two horrific rides on it in 1998, and haven't dared to ride it since.

 

Does anyone rank based on your best ride ever on a particular ride? Or does anyone average your total ride experiences on a particular ride? Say you've had a handful of bad rides on The Beast, but you've also had some insane night rides in the fall when it was pitch black and 40 degrees.

 

Just curious what everyone's methodology is.

[Meteornotes]

I base it on the most recent ride. To me, a ride needs to be somewhat consistent. I sort of get tired of the thought that a coaster only delivers a good ride if you ride it at night, under a full moon, when the temperature has been 68 degrees for at least seven hours in a row and the local badger colony has just erected their new badger layer under the second drop...you get the idea. A great coaster should deliver a great ride under a wide variety of conditions. Sure, wood coasters are going to offer up different rides depending on conditions, but if there's such a drastic change in a ride due to the alignment of Mars and Jupiter or whatever, is it really as good as a ride that kicks your ass any time you ride it?

 

Balder is a perfect example. I have ridden this coaster in the morning, afternoon and evening, in a variety of weather conditions (cold, hot, rain, sun). Every ride delivers the amazing air time experience, and it is always a great, fun ride. This is why it is #1 on my poll, right above my favorite steel (Expedition Ge Force) and The Phoenix. Also, basing the poll on the latest ride moved Thundercoaster at Tusenfyrd up in my poll, as I thought it ran better this year than last, especially in the afternoon.

 

I also base it upon latest ride due to a park not maintaining the ride. A perfect example is Ghostrider. When I first rode at the first Coaster Solace, it instantly became my number 1 wood coaster. The rides throughout the day were amazing. Now, not so much. The last ride I had on it in 2004 wasn't bad, but it's nothing like it used to be, and I lay the total blame on how CF takes care of the ride. If once great coasters keep sliding down the poll, maybe parks might notice and decide to take better care of their wood coasters. Of course, I doubt most corporate parks really care about any coaster poll, but it's a nice thought...

 

dt

[robbalvey]

I also base it on the most recent ride I took on a coaster....but here's a question for you...what if the most recent ride you took on something was like 5 years ago? Do you still rank that coaster as high as you did the last time you rode it?

 

It's a tough question. There are coasters that I haven't ridden in a very long time, and since I last rode said coaster I have to take into consideration:

 

- What have I ridden since then that is BETTER?

- What "Depreciation" (for lack of a better word) could the ride have taken since my last ride?

 

So it really comes down to asking the question: "Would I still rank that coaster as high today based on everything else I've ridden since?"

 

Thoughts?

 

--Robb

[Meteornotes]

Yeah, that's another thing to take into consideration. There are coasters on my list that I have not been on in years, like the ones at Kennywood. Stuff like this tends to move down a bit as new coasters are ridden, as sometimes what you thought kicked ass a few years ago is not as exciting to you as it is now.

 

I also base the ranking on things like the coaster setting and the operations. A coaster that has fifteen minute dispatches due to operational laziness is going to get knocked down a few positions, perhaps. And I try to not let online hype and/or the fact that there was an event/ERT to sway my vote. I base it on my own riding experience. But that's just me...

 

dt

[Wes]

This is why it's so hard for me to rank coasters individually. It's impossible to be objective. I tend to just think in groups:

- Coasters that I love (S:ROS, Fire Dragon)

- Coasters that I like (Wildcat, Tatsu)

- Coasters I don't care about either way (Scream, Rollerskaters)

- Coasters I don't like (Ghostrider, Boomerangs)

- Coasters I hate (Deja Vu, Flashback)

[Carnage]

I prefer the Magic Eight Ball method.

 

Using this method I could end up with Snails as my #1 coaster.

[Jonathan]

I do a combination of both usually.

[Millenium Man]

I base mine on the best rides I have experienced because you could have rode a ride recently but have not liked it. The first couple of times I rode Mean Streak (2005) it was very smooth, but the last couple times I rode it the ride was very rough.

[downunder]

Most recent ride, I base my actual rankings on whether I would ride one coaster over another, there are only two super special coasters I have been on that would rather ride than anything else I have been on - SROS at SFNE and El Toro. I also give them both 10/10 because they are my favourites and they are in the world's best.

[larrygator]

Overall ride consistency from a variety of seats and throughout the day.

 

An 11PM trip on Voyage in pitch blackness might be insane but it not the average ride one would experience. Boulder Dash runs notoriously weaker in the AM, although rides later in the day are excellent, so I tempered my ranking for Boulder Dash.

 

I make very few exceptions and I rarely account for rumors of a ride getting rougher. The only exception i ever made was for The Beast, which I haven't ridden in years, but every ride i ever had on it was great. It used to be my #2 and I have let many coasters pass it in my rankings, however it could be in for a big drop when I get out to KI next year, just like I had to drop Ghostrider considerably this year.

 

My #1 one is the coaster I would choose to ride if I had only one coaster I could ride ever again, #2 would be the coaster I would choose if #1 burnt down and so on through my list until I get to Psyclone.

[DenDen]

what if the most recent ride you took on something was like 5 years ago? Do you still rank that coaster as high as you did the last time you rode it?

...

So it really comes down to asking the question: "Would I still rank that coaster as high today based on everything else I've ridden since?"

 

Thoughts?

 

--Robb

 

Well, My last coaster (I'm ashamed to admit) was in 2003. I rate my rides solely on the memory of enjoyment. I don't consider depreciation, unless I have ridden that same ride again.

[ginzo]

I try to base mine on my overall experience with the ride, but I give the most attention to the most recent ride. I think it's possible for almost any woodie to have a bad run, for whatever reason.

 

If it's obvious, however, that the park has let the ride go to hell (something I despise), then the most recent ride becomes the entire basis for the ranking. I might even knock a ride down a bit for needing a paint job. There's no excuse for poor maintenance, not when soda is $5 and a slice of pizza is $7.

[PKI Jizzman]

I usually take the best ride I have been on (MF) and compare it. Since MF is one of the greatest rides ever, I think if its better than it. But I usally have to ride that ride a few times to truly get the feel for it. Because you guys know when you get off a ride for the first time, you want to say that was the best ever. But if you ride it in different places and more times, you can really get the feel for it and ask if it is better than Nemesis, Balder, Ragin Bull, or Millennium Force.

[vjgx]

Usually, it's based on my best ride experience for the ride. One exception for this is when a coaster dramatically changes or something like that. Otherwise, that's how I do it.

[thomas2]

I too base it on my last ride experience. It's sometimes amazing how a coaster can turn soo rough after 1.5 years (cough *Eurosat* cough) so that one was pretty high up my list when I first rode it, but now it's somewhere near the bottom.

[yankees15]

I sorta average all my rides together on a certain coaster to rate it. By doing this I can figure out how the coaster will usually run. But it is sorta hard to do on rides like Storm Runner, Nitro, and El Toro which get better with every ride!

[itsme102]

It depends for me. If i've been on a coaster more than once, I usually base it off of weather i've had more good or bad experiences on a ride.

[GMAN962]

Overall ride experience. That's why I love Tatsu so much. I was very nervous when I first got on (Coasters were still a bit new to me) and when I got off, I realized how much fun it really was. That was the ride that obliterated my coaster fears.

 

~Mike

[Satoshi]

me gonna base it on my latest ride takin' since i would not

gonna forget how the real fun goes in scary flight!

and the weather sometimes gonna make it fun or kinda bore.