What is it that a wooden coaster is missing?

[Hercules]

Theming. Maybe a pre-show. Possibly a brake section that is indoors that has a scene ala Revenge of the Mummy (minus the fire scene considering anything fire related close to wood might not be a good thing.)

[Ace Of Spades]

You know what I'd absolutely love to see here in the states? A modernized Senic Railway. Sure, there's no brakeman or built in nostalgia, but amazing themeing and tons of airtime in a huge man-made mountain would be so damn amazing! Plus, it fits right into a perfect gap between family and thrills.

[CardCraze]

Wooden coasters are awesome for the airtime they give!

 

If I had one complaint, it's the seat dividers. Yes I get that it provides a more comfy ride for some, but for me, it just leaves me squished and being thrown into the seat divider.

[larrygator]

You know what I'd absolutely love to see here in the states? A modernized Senic Railway. Sure, there's no brakeman or built in nostalgia, but amazing themeing and tons of airtime in a huge man-made mountain would be so damn amazing! Plus, it fits right into a perfect gap between family and thrills.

 

 

Scenic railway and airtime = derailment. Not going to happen.

[Ace Of Spades]

^I didn't mean a Senic Railway using early 1900's technology. Heck, I used the word "modernized" for that exact reason.

 

Also, correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't Tivoli/Bakken's SR's give some decent air?

[Bonemachine]

Although it's certainly not the coaster it used to be (much tamer now) my favorite element on a wooden coaster is the finale to The Beast, the huge double helix with tunnels.

[larrygator]

Also, correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't Tivoli/Bakken's SR's give some decent air?

 

No, not really. TPR did get some wilder rides at Tivoli as the park went above and beyond, but no crazy airtime.

[Ace Of Spades]

^Ah, my bad then, I misinterpreted. Still, a new rendition could solve that problem, but judging by the park owner's thinking so far, definitely not a possibility here.

[PSiRockin]

On racing coasters, I think it's a bit more exciting when the trains don't race the whole time. It's fun on rides like Lightning Racer when you finally catch up to the other train. It's also fun how at different points, one train can be in the lead, but 30 seconds later, the other can. And double-downs can be awesome. There's something about having airtime, and then, WHAM, more forceful air.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Wooden coasters aren't necessarily missing something, but all of the 'best' elements for a woodie aren't in a single coaster.

[PixelRush]

Just wanted to post this sentence to get this thread noticed again

 

If you look at the most recent comments, you can see we've come very far, so make your statements!

[coasterbill]

Wooden coasters aren't missing a damn thing. The Phoenix is almost 70 years old and beats the hell out of 99% of modern steel coasters. Rides like El Toro and Outlaw run do too. Some of the best coasters in the world are wood coasters.

[RollerManic]

^The best coaster in the world is too! #ElToroMasterRace

[MrSum1_55]

A good wood coaster should me plenty of forces and feel out-of-control. Any wood coaster, no matter what age, can accomplish this. This is why Phoenix and El Toro are amazing.

 

If anything, I would say that GCI's are missing something. They incorporate plenty of floater air and moderate strength pops of air, but almost never any true ejector air. I feel like if GCI started incorporating a couple ejector hills into each of their designs, this could really make the difference between a good wood coaster and a great wood coaster.

[A.J.]

If anything, I would say that GCI's are missing something. They incorporate plenty of floater air and moderate strength pops of air, but almost never any true ejector air. I feel like if GCI started incorporating a couple ejector hills into each of their designs, this could really make the difference between a good wood coaster and a great wood coaster.

If anything, Great Coasters brought in one of the things that most wooden coasters at the time were missing - twists and turns. Before Great Coasters came in all you had were wooden coasters with straight hills and elevated level turns (and the VERY occasional twister layout). Really, the only variance in that formula came from coasters like Texas Giant, Mean Streak and others, which had some sweeping curves.

 

We may think that Great Coasters' coasters are missing certain things, but they as a company have helped the wooden coaster as a whole.

[timetrial3141592]

A good wooden coaster should feel out-of-control. I'd love to see more sudden drops-o-doom, like CCI liked to do after the MCBR.

[neil009]

The wooden coaster formula is very simple: a mix of laterals and negative Gs. This is basically what defines the wooden coaster genre. Most non-hyper steel coasters focus on positives, with a few negatives thrown in as an afterthought and no laterals at all.

 

Wooden coasters don't need anything added to them, there simply needs to be more of them, more good ones that are maintained well. RMC hasn't redefined the wooden coaster genre, they're on the outer fringes, experimenting. They're like what Death Grips are to hip hop, taking elements of the genre and distorting it, making it more twisted and intense. GCI and TGG are the ones carrying on true traditional wood coaster design. That doesn't mean there isn't any room for innovation, but the core experience, an almost equal parts mix of laterals and airtime, remains the same.

[SoCalJasonland]

RMC hasn't redefined the wooden coaster genre, they're on the outer fringes, experimenting.

 

I would say the lateral tracking wheels and continuous rail added by RMC made the loops, 90 degree plus banked turns and several other elements possible and comfortable. Regular wood coaster stay on course by crashing and bouncing off of the turns making for an out of control but uncomfortable ride. The smoother ride of RMCs also allows the coaster to maintain momentum through out the course with some fun elements. Yet they do feel more hybrid wood / steel than an actual wood coaster.

[I love pie]

GCI's are missing something. They incorporate plenty of floater air and moderate strength pops of air, but almost never any true ejector air. I feel like if GCI started incorporating a couple ejector hills into each of their designs, this could really make the difference between a good wood coaster and a great wood coaster.

White Lightning says hi.

[neil009]

The smoother ride of RMCs also allows the coaster to maintain momentum through out the course with some fun elements.

 

RMCs actually lose speed quicker than traditional wood coasters. All of the conversions have shorter track lengths compared to the originals.

[ZeroGravity55]

The smoother ride of RMCs also allows the coaster to maintain momentum through out the course with some fun elements.

 

RMCs actually lose speed quicker than traditional wood coasters. All of the conversions have shorter track lengths compared to the originals.

 

That's because of the wheels. The nylon and polyurethane wheels lose friction faster than steel wheels. Outlaw Run is the only RMC woodie that has and is going to be using steel wheels. Lighting Rod and Wildefire are both going to be using poly wheels if I remember hearing correctly. Outlaw Run feels like a woodie because of the steel wheels. I've also heard that Medusa feels like one as well with the nylon wheels.

[DoinItForTheFame]

When it comes to wooden coasters, is there anything specific that you think that wooden coasters are missing today? Maybe some element you really want to see?

 

INVERSIONS... Wooden coasters are clearly missing inversions!!

 

 

 

 

........... Oh... wait... that's right...

[bill_s]

If someone's only seen the regular boxy PTC trains it's impressive to see modern ones on a wood coaster, e.g. Millenium Flyers or Timberliners.

 

I'm with the just a good solid layout advocates: Twister side of classic layouts or GCI with a little more emphasis on airtime. Don't worry about too smooth unless going with a RMC modern track structure, I'm sure you can tell El Toro is a woodie (if not, give it more time).

 

To me, a small park getting a real coaster of any kind is moving into the bigger leagues. Be sure capacity is appropriate to the park.

[I love pie]

Something that I would like to see is a really loose restraint system, a dark area at night, landscaping, trees, and a mix of sustained floater on B&M's, and ejector like on El Toro, a twister section, a twisted drop like on Expedition GeForce, and Kärnan, and have it be really scenic, maybe have it go over the water.

Heavy theming like on Dragon Challenge, back when it was dueling dragons would be nice too.