Do inversions make a coaster better to you?

[boldikus]

Growing up in the 80's and 90's I personally always felt the big bad steel coasters with inversions were the best, most badass coasters you could ride. Now that I'm older and have a different appreciation for coasters, I find while I don't mind inversions, and do enjoy them, the majority of my favorite coasters do not have them (though my #1, Maverick does, and they are my favorite inversions on any coaster).

 

Over the past few years I've found myself overhearing or talking to younger folks (teens, 20s) in lines or whatever and found many young people feel the same way I did - that the more inversions a coaster has the better, which I think is especially interesting because I feel records (tallest, fastest) or variations of seating positions (flying, wing, etc) would stand out to people more as making it "better" or "cooler" nowadays. I wonder if its an age thing or just general preference?

 

If there's a thread about this, my apologies - I couldn't find any, please merge, thanks.

[Calvin6670]

I prefer inversions because you can feel how intense the forces are against the body. It shows how intense a coaster is.

[boldikus]

^ But, for arguments sake, a coaster like Gatekeeper has what 6 (7?) inversions and it's pretty forceless compared to Dragster which is just across the park and has no inversions.

[A.J.]

Pretty much any inversion, be it on a roller coaster or a flat ride, increases the apparent appeal - it makes you go "wow". I feel like part of what makes guests like rides that go upside-down isn't necessarily how "good" the ride is, but rather that they got to experience that ride that made them go "wow" in the first place.

 

Less of a "look how awesome that ride is" and more of a "look what I got to experience".

[Married a Canadian]

For me...not really...it just depends on the coaster...and I fall into the category of "a good coaster is a good coaster"...inversions or not.

I appreciate the different g forces, air times, sensations, sight lines etc from various coaster elements.

My own personal opinion is that you can go overboard with too many inversions...and a ride can get rather boring (to me) with the same element repeated over and over (even with the different types of inversions you get that are being discussed on another thread).

[boldikus]

I suppose what also confuses me about why inversions are still so impressive to some people is the fact we've had inverting coasters for going on 40 years, and with the exception of rides like The Smiler and the Intamin 10 loopers, most inverting coasters have about the same amount of inversions (4-7) as the big loopers from the 80s.

 

Why is it still so impressive to people to go upside down when we have rides like Ka/Dragster, dive coasters, etc. Obviously I'm a bad example as an enthusiast but I never find myself saying "I won't ride that, it goes upside down too many times", but I find that to be quite common when talking to the GP.

[Married a Canadian]

I won't ride that, it goes upside down too many times", but I find that to be quite common when talking to the GP

 

If the GP aren't regular coaster riders..then it is understandable. I am just trying to think off the top of my head of any hobby (outside of maybe gymnastics) that would involve subjecting your body to g-forces and inverting you 4-7 times in a two minute period. Unless people have been up in an aerobatic plane, there are not many situations that would put you in this scenario..outwith a coaster with a load of inversions.

I am pretty sure that over 75% of this forum has seen someone throw up at a theme park after getting off a ride...and usually after a forceful coaster or a nasty evil spinning ride. It would not surprise me in the least if the GP are of the notion "I don't want that to be me!"

 

Why is it still so impressive to people to go upside down

 

I think because it is the only way you can do it without going up in a plane, or attaching yourself to one of those springy bungy things and jumping up and down on a trampoline. Plus...for a lot of people..it would feel like the "Safest" way to do it.

[BotanicalStig]

I don't think any of my all time favorite coasters have inversions. Not because I don't like inversions, but because building a ride around the novelty of going upside down generally doesn't lend itself to a great experience. I enjoy a huge vertical loop or a slow roll/corkscrew that brings you out of your seat or gives you a cool view of the world beneath you. But the others just don't do anything for me. Cobra rolls aren't interesting (just visually appealing to bystanders), zero g rolls never really offer a zero g experience (which, I would probably enjoy) etc . But more times than not, I'd rather have a weird turn or, even just an airtime hill.

[cfc]

I think it's possible to have too many inversions, such as the case with Thorpe Park's Colossus (not a fan of the ride's big finale). To me, it depends on how well they're spaced out.

[A.J.]

I think it's possible to have too many inversions, such as the case with Thorpe Park's Colossus (not a fan of the ride's big finale). To me, it depends on how well they're spaced out.

That cool new Intamin 12-inversion layout hasn't been built yet, kind of disappointing really.

[DoinItForTheFame]

To me inversions don't really matter. If the coaster is good then the coaster is good. Now if it is a coaster like a B&M Invert then it needs inversions because that's really all B&M inverts have going for them. However, a B&M hyper coaster doesn't "need" inversions because that's not what the coaster is all about.

 

So to me, as long as the coaster is a good coaster it doesn't "need" inversions... unless the type of coaster deems inversions necessary.

[SFOGdude25]

It really doesn't matter to me how many inversions there are on a coaster. I love a good inversion as much as I love airtime. It's more about the overall experience and what elements the designers think will give the best ride. Of course the best case scenario is getting airtime out of an inversion! Which is why zero-g rolls are amazing!

[Password121]

From an enthusiast's standpoint I think we can all agree (for the most part) that it's a case by case basis. Inversions can make certain coasters better, depending on the inversions themselves and what the coaster is attempting to establish. For example, Batman clones wouldn't be as interesting without inversions, and the inversions themselves are snappy and intense which make the coaster better.

Take a coaster that is trying to impress with sense of speed, airtime, etc... and it's a different story. Tossing a slow, boring heartline roll on Millennium Force would do nothing for pretty much any enthusiast. The only people that might like it are the general public who enjoy coasters for knowing they rode something fast or loopy, not something exhilarating or intense.

 

So for me, it depends what the coaster is all about. Sloppy inversions never help anybody, and there are definitely limits on the inversions themselves in terms of quantity. I also find myself gravitating towards non-inverting coasters as favorites, but I think there's a valid explanation for this. Enthusiasts (or at least myself) prefer airtime, sense of speed, QDC's (quick directional changes), and intensity over inversions. It's not that inversions make the coasters not in our top 10 worse, but coasters with inversions (excluding Maverick) don't focus on what we consider makes a coaster outstanding.

[El Toro_Ryan]

I've never been too big a fan of inversions until I rode Wicked Cyclone. Never have I experienced so much hang time on a roller coaster before! So for RMC rides, I think their inversions absolutely make their rides better! For other companies, I can't say the same. There are few coasters with inversions that stand out to me. Most inversions just aren't crazy enough to me (excerpt RMC's because they are the holy grail of roller coasters!)

[strz]

Good topic!

 

Yup- as a kid, I couldn't get enough of Lightin' Loops at my home park of SFGA, none the less all the "bad ass" multi-loopers that seemed to be popping up over the place! For me at least- it wasn't until I went on Magnum in '92 (when I was in college at PITT) that I experienced such a fun ride relative to height and speed! It was from that point on, that the industry took notice, started building 200+ foot drops, and the GP evolved too with this trend......

 

I have no fear of any sort of coasters, rides, etc.....however- that's my brain speaking! My body ain't loving those loops like it once did! Add to that some claustrophobia I've seemed to developed (as I've gotten older), thus those over the shoulder restraints (on many loopers) freak me out! (I'm fine if the ride is moving, otherwise- oh my!)

 

Bottom line- speed and heights is my thing! And I do think that my age has something to do with it.

 

PS- this is why I wasn't happy with SFGA's announcement of Total Mayhem. I'll ride it....but it ain't for me, based upon the above mentioned!

[VF15]

Back when I was a semi-enthusiast (becoming interested in coasters but still a GP in some ways), inversions were a large factor in whether or not I thought a coaster looked interesting, but once I became more knowledgeable/experienced with the hobby, I dropped that mindset. A coaster doesn't need inversions to be fun. Even though six of the coasters in my top ten have inversions, the inversions themselves aren't the reason why I like those rides, they are just all-around great coasters.

[SFOG1991]

I prefer airtime over inversions and while there are some amazing inverting coasters, I still would probably like them if some of the inversions were replaced with airtime producing hills/hops.

 

Ex. Maverick, it is an amazing coaster (one of the best in my opinion) but I would probably like it more if it had more airtime moments and fewer inversions, making it more like Skyrush.

 

[Arthur_Seaton]

Generally speaking, they do very little for me at all and I'd rather see a thoughtful, immersive layout that engages landscape, structure, and aspects of the park while staying right-side-up. Inversions tend to be visually and technically impressive from the outside, but there aren't that many stock inversions that I find add anything substantial while on the ride itself. In a number cases, I find that they even detract from the experience. When they're deployed creatively however, I find inversions far more compelling. For example, plain old loops do nothing for me while riding, but the strategic hang-time on Yolo's loop is very clever, as is the reverse hang-time after the second launch.

[coasterkid124]

Inversions do nothing for me, unless they're either forceful or executed right. Raptor and Kumba do inversions right, whereas a lot of Arrows, I would rather see an airtime hill instead. If an inversion is good, I'm all for it. But in most cases, sadly, they just feel like turns.

 

Vertical loops and cobra rolls are examples of inversions that I don't like. Usually they give you a lot of headbanging and are kind of forceless. Some coasters however use these elements as a great moment in the layout. I really like the way vertical loops are on Boomerangs, because of how forceful they are on the reverse run.

[rcjp]

There isn't one answer, in my view. You can have a great coaster with or without inversions. For example, my top three rides:

dragon khan - loads of inversions

storm runner - a few inversions mixed with other elements

skyrush - no inversions

so there really isn't a trend there. Also, a few years ago you either had coasters with no inversions or coasters which basically consisted only of inversions while nowadays you have plenty which have a nice variety of inverting/non-inverting elements (RMC's come to mind). So I don't think I can choose one as I really love the classic loop or a zero g but also an ejector airtime hill + fast turns,....

[jynx242]

I've found hanging out around here, that most "enthusiasts" will prefer airtime over inversions. I generally do myself. I do have to say that the loops and rolls on a coaster are more impressive "looking" than an airtime hill.

 

With that being said - an inversion done well can REALLY add to a ride experience. For example - the zero gee roll on Kumba is just pure bliss. Same thing with the "flying snake dive" on Storm Runner.

 

So to answer your question: they do sometimes