B&M Wing Rider Coasters - Love or Hate?

[BenFreeze]

Wing riders are just FUN. And there's nothing wrong with that. Not every ride needs to be balls-out insane. Like _koppen mentioned, they're 2 different types of thrill. Variety is the spice of life, my friends.

 

Couldn't agree more. I feel that people often get "fun" and "forceful" confused.

[robbalvey]

So let me just summarize the majority of the comments I've read...

 

- Wing Riders are good, but not great.

- They won't crack most people's top ten lists.

- The restraints are annoying.

 

So, my question is, why do parks spend $20+ million on a ride that most people feel is "just ok." At that price tag, you would think the parks want a home-run blockbuster, right?

[TXman308]

^Because 90% of their revenue comes from people that like gimmicks, and not g forces. Otherwise every park would have an intamin megalite.

[TheAmazingCP]

So let me just summarize the majority of the comments I've read...

 

- Wing Riders are good, but not great.

- They won't crack most people's top ten lists.

- The restraints are annoying.

 

So, my question is, why do parks spend $20+ million on a ride that most people feel is "just ok." At that price tag, you would think the parks want a home-run blockbuster, right?

 

In my experience (which as a young, not very well traveled enthusiast isn't much), most people in a park don't care about forces. Airtime means nothing to them. What they look for is loops and the "cool" factor. Why would John and Jane Doe want to ride a small ride that just has hills when they could ride the roller coaster that goes upside down and has seats to the side? They don't think like we do. If it has loops and looks cool, they'll ride it.

 

We're also not really the target audience for an amusement park. Two enthusiasts coming to visit is good, but a family of 5 is even better. That family probably goes to one park a year. They don't travel to visit coasters like we do. They just know what's at the park, and if there's a multi-looper that has a gimmick going for it, then they'll eat it up.Would I rather ride an Intamin airtime machine? Hell yeah. But does the average park goer even know what the ride type is called? Probably not.

 

Also, as Robb has mentioned before, Americans nowadays are kind of sissies. Airtime? Trying to throw them out and its unsafe. Forces in inversions? It's uncomfortable and not fun. Americans want to feel as comfortable on a roller coaster as they do on a couch.

 

TL;DR- The GP will ride whatever looks the coolest, and if a mediocre wingrider will draw crowds, then that's what the park will install.

[JWAddington]

I think Cedar Point nailed it with the type of roller coaster they selected to make their front gate statement! The huge trains, over exaggerated elements and the gracefulness and silence in which it travels through the course makes it total eye candy for everyone entering the park. The GP will eat it up!

 

Like I said earlier, it's a great ride! I Enjoyed it very much, but i crave a little more intensity and speed. I think 30-45 minutes would be the tops I would wait in line for it.

[DirkFunk]

The average park goer (I refuse to say GP because other than Robb and Elissa on occasions when they work, 99.9995% of people in this hobby and on this forum pay to enter the park like everyone else, me included) will respond positively to a "forceful" attraction. There's no argument that they won't. At the same time, unless you have a park with a ton of "forceful" attractions where you've essentially put yourself in the position of training the people going that it's what you offer, I don't think they're specifically going to demand that. At Holiday World, things might be different. I don't see that at Cedar Point. I see the people visiting there like they are at most parks: they're not dead to the novelty of flipping upside down and finding that thrilling in and of itself.

 

They're fun (IMO), the capacity is high, the rides work. Honestly, if I'm looking for a thrill, I'll go ziplining or skydiving or whitewater rafting or something like that. I'm not gonna get that kind of thrill with almost any coaster, so as long as the rides meet those three criteria, I'll be happy to ride it. I wouldn't wait two hours for it, but I wouldn't wait two hours for any coaster on Earth.

[Angle O. Descent]

So let me just summarize the majority of the comments I've read...

 

- Wing Riders are good, but not great.

- They won't crack most people's top ten lists.

- The restraints are annoying.

 

So, my question is, why do parks spend $20+ million on a ride that most people feel is "just ok." At that price tag, you would think the parks want a home-run blockbuster, right?

 

In my experience (which as a young, not very well traveled enthusiast isn't much), most people in a park don't care about forces. Airtime means nothing to them. What they look for is loops and the "cool" factor. Why would John and Jane Doe want to ride a small ride that just has hills when they could ride the roller coaster that goes upside down and has seats to the side? They don't think like we do. If it has loops and looks cool, they'll ride it.

 

We're also not really the target audience for an amusement park. Two enthusiasts coming to visit is good, but a family of 5 is even better. That family probably goes to one park a year. They don't travel to visit coasters like we do. They just know what's at the park, and if there's a multi-looper that has a gimmick going for it, then they'll eat it up.Would I rather ride an Intamin airtime machine? Hell yeah. But does the average park goer even know what the ride type is called? Probably not.

 

Also, as Robb has mentioned before, Americans nowadays are kind of sissies. Airtime? Trying to throw them out and its unsafe. Forces in inversions? It's uncomfortable and not fun. Americans want to feel as comfortable on a roller coaster as they do on a couch.

 

TL;DR- The GP will ride whatever looks the coolest, and if a mediocre wingrider will draw crowds, then that's what the park will install.

 

Totally agree, most park-goers are your average folks who appreciate the newest awe-inspiring eye-candy without even wondering who built it or what it's stats are. It's easy to give one's two cents on a new B&M winger going inside a park already jacked with world class coasters, but I'll bet anyone that if a 20+ million Gatekeeper or X-Flight debuted in a different, smaller park, there'd be far fewer complaints. I suppose it's all about frame of reference

[Cyrbuzz]

Seems based on what I've read so far that these new class of coasters need the Kumba treatment. Kumba is one intense ride for a B&M and that's a good reason for Rob to have it on his list of intense rides. Funny how modern B&Ms don't have the same forces as Kumba espewcially those that have similar layouts.

[Cyrbuzz]

Sorry for the misspell on my last post, I typed a bit fast and didn't catch myself.

[cal1br3tto]

I've ridden Wild Eagle, and I'd say my opinion is fairly moderate. I actually do feel some forces on pretty much all B&M coasters, this one included, and I usually don't mind if they're gentle. They seemed to be par for the course on Wild Eagle, but then again, I guess that's part of the disappointment for some people.

 

I understand that many guests will eat these rides up just as eagerly as any other style, so I presume they're good choices from a business perspective. I agree that the deceptively friendly-looking restraints are ridiculously uncomfortable, especially on the brake runs.

 

I was surprised that so many people seemed to think GateKeeper would be by far the be-all-and-end-all king of Wing Coasters, considering they seem to ride pretty predictably. Now that it's open it does seem to be typical for the style.

[Astrojack]

I rode Gatekeeper 5 times and found it fun and enjoyable. I wouldn't travel several hours to a park just for a wing rider.

[Hilltopper39]

I've only ridden Wild Eagle and I was kind of underwhelmed by it. It was a fun coaster, the setting was beautiful, the area around it was very well done but the ride itself was just okay, good but not great, no where near my top 10.

 

This may seem like a pre-mature statement given that fact that the wingrider concept from B&M is only 3 years old, but considering the design of the trains and B&M's history, when it comes to future installations of B&M wing Coasters Gatekeeper might be about as good as it can get. I don't see B&M building a 250 foot tall wing rider, or making rides that are that much more intense. Yeah, we might see some more unique inversions or some more unique themeing through key holes and fly-bys but the wing rider just might not ever be a top 10 kind of coaster. Not that it's a bad ride, it just might not ever be what the enthusiasts community wants it to be.

 

I still think I highly interactive incredibly themed (maybe partially indoors) version of a Wing Rider would be a great fit at a Disney or Universal park but that's an entirely different discussion all together.

[CpBluestreakCp]

Well, I rode GateKeeper around 10 times at media day at Cedar Point and haven't ridden any other wing coasters yet. While I must say these coasters are very fun and great to look at, that's about how far it goes.

 

In my opinion, if you ride this type of coaster, it needs to be in the front seat. Here, you are able to experience all the close encounters to the supports and keyholes, making it much more of an exciting coaster. In any other seat, it can get a little boring and not even deliver the experience of "flight" at all. The back seats are fun as well, especially if the wing coaster has a dive drop, but other than that, it doesn't get much more exciting.

 

When I rode GateKeeper, I can say I felt little to no airtime at all. Not on the giant camelback nor on the little bunny hop toward the end, I'm not sure if any other wing riders have airtime, but I can say GateKeeper doesn't have it. It might be the fact that the restraints hold you into your seats like glue as well. I can say, though, GateKeeper had many points of hangtime and positive forces. I felt a great deal of positives coming out of the first drop and the first inversion, and a little in the helix. There was a lot of hang time in the dive drop and the keyhole section as well.

 

All around, I do think wing coaster are GREAT additions for parks. The general public loves them, they are beautiful coasters, and can really add to a lineup such as Cedar Points. They are an all around fun coaster. If you are looking for "OMG THAT WAS AMAZING" type of experience, these aren't for you.

[Mr Komar]

Only thing I don't like about them is the restraints... Only have rode gatekeeper and soon swarm but the gatekeepers restraints kill me but I still enjoy the ride.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Wing coasters are very visually impressive. People like stuff that looks nice; the psychological effect works. If it looks THAT good, it must be good. Since most of us coaster nerds ride lots of coasters lots of times, the visual thing doesn't work on us as much as it does the average park goer (notice I didn't use the trigger name "GP.").

 

Just look at how nuts people go for Vekoma boomerangs. (I would prefer riding a boomerang over X-Flight.)

[B&MBoy1982]

I have ridden all three US B&M wing coasters.

 

I rode Gatekeeper 30 times on media day. It actually got better and faster each time I rode.

 

Some of you may not have noticed, but the camel back actually has potential for air time. I felt it several times in various locations on the trains.

 

If you want a forceful ride on GK, sit in row 8 on the right hand wing. The dive loop next to Blue Streak is surprisingly forceful.

 

On Wild Eagle, if you sit in the back on either side, you will get a nice air time sensation on the drop. Also, it keeps it's quick pace throughout the entire ride. Unlike X Flight and Gatekeeper that loose their speed in the inversions.

[Angry_Gumball]

I've never been on a Wing Rider but I kind of have my expectations set on what to expect on the day I ride one...I see wing riders as those rides that deliver a nice, graceful ride without putting a bunch of crazy forces down on you. Forces are nice but for the flight feeling, I think the whole smooth, graceful concept fits it perfectly.

 

On the topic of flying and B&M...having ridden Tatsu, I found it to be pretty smooth and graceful for the first half...having the one moment of intense forces in that pretzel loop was sufficient for the type of ride it is. Not every element of that ride had to have grey out-worthy forces to make it a nice ride. Sure this is a different coaster type but the whole idea feels pretty similar to me...as in you're taking flight.

[PKI Jizzman]

I liked Wild Eagle because it was something different, really a fun coaster that stands apart from others because of the way it handles inversions. It's a short ride, though but I'm sure Gatekeeper will be more fun thanks to a longer ride length.

 

I'm one of those people who do not like the restraints, it just squeezes my chest and shoulders. I'm one of those skinnier people. Does it happen to only skinnier people? Or people with broad shoulders? I'm not sure. It seemed to me if you're skinny the restraint just pulls all the way back throughout the right and just makes it a pain to breathe. Like being stapled.

 

I can't wait to try X Flight and Gatekeeper with more of the keyhole and close call elements, Wild Eagle had a few with the trees; I loved how high up on the hill you were - that's what sets it apart from the rest.

 

The zero g, oh man, best element ever. I still would consider my back seat rides pretty forceful, especially at the bottom of the first drop and at the bottom of the loop. That's about it though.

Edited May 24, 2013 by PKI Jizzman

[nannerdw]

I'm one of those people who do not like the restraints, it just squeezes my chest and shoulders. Does it happen to only skinnier people? Or people with broad shoulders? I'm not sure. It seemed to me if you're skinny the restraint just pulls all the way back throughout the right and just makes it a pain to breathe. Like being stapled.

I'm tall and very skinny, and I HATED the restraints on Wild Eagle. At the end of the ride, the restraint was so tight that I couldn't take a full breath. My collar bones felt bruised for the next two days after I rode it.

[Aceattack52]

Wing coasters are very visually impressive. People like stuff that looks nice; the psychological effect works. If it looks THAT good, it must be good. Since most of us coaster nerds ride lots of coasters lots of times, the visual thing doesn't work on us as much as it does the average park goer (notice I didn't use the trigger name "GP.").

Very true, and parks do a very good job of making the wing coaster especially look nice.

[nannerdw]

Wing coasters are very visually impressive. People like stuff that looks nice; the psychological effect works. If it looks THAT good, it must be good. Since most of us coaster nerds ride lots of coasters lots of times, the visual thing doesn't work on us as much as it does the average park goer (notice I didn't use the trigger name "GP.").

Plus it's right at the front of the park, so shorter lines on Raptor!

[chaos]

Before I was about ten, I would beg my mom to take me to theme parks. And then I'd be too scared to ride any of the rides so I'd just watch them all day (and have a great time doing it). Gate Keeper is one of those rides that I would probably watch all day. It just makes me happy to look at.

 

From my experience on Wild Eagle and X-Flight, these coasters are for the most part disappointing to ride. However, I do love the first drop/inversion on X-Flight, and the way it feels to enter banked turns without heartlining (especially on the outside).

 

I feel it's a very worthwhile investment for a park. But maybe more like a Disney park that can make it look and feel awesome without many forces.

[azza29]

I've never been on a Wing Rider but I kind of have my expectations set on what to expect on the day I ride one...I see wing riders as those rides that deliver a nice, graceful ride without putting a bunch of crazy forces down on you. Forces are nice but for the flight feeling, I think the whole smooth, graceful concept fits it perfectly.

 

Having had a couple of rides on GK this week, this is pretty much what I expected and experienced from the ride - simply put, it feels like flying. The great thing is the coaster manages to do this without ever being boring, despite the lack of hard G-forces throughout. My new #1 coaster? Probably not. Unique and thrilling? Definitely.

[yay101]

I've only been on 1 wing coaster: X-Flight. I'm not gonna lie, most of the ride was forceless. But X-Flight was really fun, and I loved every second of it (esp. the fly-through). I think wing coasters, based on this ride alone and reviews from what others said about other wing coasters, are meant to be fun rides and not intense rides. IMO a ride doesn't have to be intense to be a great ride.

[Midgetman82]

Only been on Gatekeeper so far. Just like what was said, I like it, but it's not "great." My type of coasters are out of control ones as well, and I can pretty much say I'm a fanboy of Premier spaghetti bowls, and tight layouts on Eurofighters (Sometimes the roughness of an SLC as well). Gatekeeper had a lot of swooping and diving, which isn't my favorite style of rides even though the amount of g-forces on it did surprise me.