deano Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I am interested to hear anyones thoughts on which coaster actually produces the largest amount of revenue for it's owner. I think it would have to be a coaster operated as a pay per ride deal, as coasters within a theme park may be too difficult to work out. My thoughts are that the Manhatten Express at NY NY (or whatever it's called these days) would make more money than any other coaster. This thing operates 12 hours a day, charging $14 per rider and every time i've been there, there is a massive queue (especially at night time). I think others that may need to be considered would be rides like the Cyclone at Coney Island or the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darklingscribe Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 You are right that it would be difficult to gage a Coaster in a typical theme park setting but if we are going for just popularity I'd say one of the Disney Coasters such as Thunder Mountain. As for pay per ride type coasters I wonder how much the Giant Dipper has made? It was built in 1924 and to date had had over 50 million riders. I'm not sure what the rider statistics are for the Cyclone but I wouldn't be suprised if they were just as large, if not larger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyyyper Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My guess is the Coney Island Cyclone in NY, that thing is pay per ride and OLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 For regular theme parks, I'd say Cedar Point's collection gets them a nice profit. For "pay-per-ride" I'd also have to say the Coney Island Cyclone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 It would really depend on how you look at it. I think that a rides value could be calculated through many factors such as the amount that was paid for the ride versus its downtime, the amount of riders that the ride pushes through on a yearly basis, the extra amount of attendance the ride brought in its first year of operation..... things like that. As for pay per ride..... I would have to think that a Vegas coaster would take that considering their costs and they are pretty much open all year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 On a good day, the roller coasters at The Park at MOA bring in a pretty penny. I know, for example, that the Pepsi Ripsaw can reach a ridership of around 8,000-9,000 on a good day. It cost $4.80 for a single ride and the unlimited ride wristbands are about $27 big ones. Now, I'm not sure how much of the ridership is repeat riders with wristbands...but that still is a lot. And take it from me, the Ripsaw is one of the least technically advanced roller coasters out there so I can't imagine that there is a lot of maint. costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster05 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I would cast my vote for Hoosier Hurricane. They picked up like a 35% boost in attendance, and have been able to maintain that increased attendance. Other ideas would be Raven, KY Rumbler, etc. All for the same reason that they massively boosted attendance and Raven was obviously the first step in sending HW into prominence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NINCUB Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I would have to agree that the Manhatten Express has to make bucket loads of money. Think about it. Just 3 or 4 riders would make up the cost of a 1 day ticket to any average Six Flags! I also did a reride so I spend about 20+ bucks to ride it 2xs. It was not that great, but I thought why not? AND it had a long line when I was there. I thought Desperado at Buffalo bills was more worth the money..... When I went I think it was maybe 6 bucks for 1 ride? I rode it maybe 3 or 4 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 If you factor in the exchange rate...I would guess one of the coasters on the European fair circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noxegon Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Indeed, I'm surprised it took that long. The obvious example is one of the German fair coasters, such as Olympia Looping. It's quite scary to see the throughput of that ride; five trains at once... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Olympia Looping seems like it would get the highest hourly yield, but since it only runs for, what, 10 weeks a year, I imagine another coaster has a higher annual income. Manhattan Express would my be my guess too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Either ME at New York, New York or the Cyclone at Coney. It all depends on if you mean "to-date" or "per-year". Those are my guesses. -James "Sadly paid $14 to ride ME" Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I was also thinking Manhattan Express when I saw this thread. But I also think that Raven has made Holiday World into what it is today, so though it may not make an actually revenue, it caused the development of a whole major amusement park... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LcHg5265 Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Any of the coasters at Moreys Piers...?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DATman Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 If we're going by park, I'd have to say one of the Disney coasters. If we're going by pay-per-ride, probably something at Blackpool or on the German fair circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfotkid Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Off topic, but wonder how much electricity a chain or launch uses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpxtreme Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I'm thinking Giant Dipper at SCBB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 As for pay per ride type coasters I wonder how much the Giant Dipper has made? It was built in 1924 and to date had had over 50 million riders. My guess is the Coney Island Cyclone in NY, that thing is pay per ride and OLD. You guys are right, I guess that the age of these coasters would likely put them in front, they've been charging per ride for a LOT of years. I'd still like to know the number 1, wood or steel, but what if we were to ask the question again of each type (wood and steel)? My thought would still be Manhatten Express for steel, but Cyclone for wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Upsidedown Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Since its not pay per ride there is really no way to calculate a price. I would have to say any of the older Disney rides. Disney sees on average 10 million visitors a year times 20 years times the number of times said guest would ride on an average day say 2 times. Pay per ride. German fair rides as mentioned or Coney Island Cyclone. Anybody have any idea how many millions of riders it has seen in its long history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denning Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 The Question should be not historically but if you were today make a capital outlay to be the rights for one of the rides what will be rate of return be on the ride. I would assume that Manhatten Expreses's year-round status, it's line and it's cost per ride would make it number one, but I would love to see the figures. When went to Boomers for the Daria Beach Hurricane I kept thinking the cost per ride was barely profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillgeek Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I would say Space Mountain at Disneyland or Kingda ka hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I would actually that a ride like Viper at SFMM would bring in a lot of money. While the ride isn't as popular as it once was, it does offer a high ROI. The ride has decent ridership, can move through huge amounts of riders quickly, and has low maintainance costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolhandluke Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 ^ Then something like Gemini, as that has twice as many tracks to accomodate riders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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