Thoughts on short tunnels?

[Samuel]

What are your thoughts on short tunnels, such as those on Roar-O-Saurus, Apocalypse, Ravine Flyer II, Mystic Timbers, or even Millennium Force? They're certainly not detracting from coasters, but sometimes they are so brief that I wonder how much they're adding to the experience.

[Canobie Coaster]

I like Millennium Force's tunnels because of the speed and how tight the clearance feels. The half enclosed or heavily illuminated tunnels do nothing for me.

[WestCoasterKing]

For me it isn't the length of the tunnels. It is the fact that you are hurtling a breakneck speed toward a hold in the ground that looks super tiny. It gives an added thrill. Tremors at Silverwood would just be another so so woodie but for the four tunnels.

 

And Goliath at SFMM ha a super short tunnel. But when you are 255 feet up it look the size of a soccer ball.

[djcoastermark]

Somewhere there is a joke about it's not how big it is, it's how it's.. oh never mind.

[DoinItForTheFame]

...Millennium Force?

 

Not trying to be an ass... But have you ever been on Millennium Force?? Those tunnels aren't really "short."

[Henry M]

They are sweet. The ones on Taron are very brief, but make it all the better.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

...Millennium Force?

 

Not trying to be an A$$... But have you ever been on Millennium Force?? Those tunnels aren't really "short."

Yeah, they're pretty long, but you also fly through them pretty fast, so I can see where one might get that impression.

[PixelRush]

Superman's has two tunnels that make it even better, especially at the bottom of the drop with mist, lights, and the cutout you travel through. The noise it generates makes it feel more intense than it really is! And the second tunnel (though brief) is a great off-ride visual and still fun to ride as well.

[SFOG1991]

I really don't care for tunnels unless they are long enough to be pitch black dark inside. The exception would be any tunnel that provides a great head chopper even if the tunnel is brief/well lit.

[SoCalJasonland]

What are your thoughts on short tunnels, such as those on Roar-O-Saurus, Apocalypse, Ravine Flyer II, Mystic Timbers, or even Millennium Force? They're certainly not detracting from coasters, but sometimes they are so brief that I wonder how much they're adding to the experience.

 

I haven't been on all of those coasters but even a short tunnel can have a head chopper effect, suppress some screams in a particular area, protect riders from falling objects, or look cool as scenery from an off-ride perspective. If the tunnel is too short you can always stop there, back up, change directions again and accelerate out of there like Full Throttle Make that tunnel last.

[rcjp]

...Millennium Force?

 

Not trying to be an A$$... But have you ever been on Millennium Force?? Those tunnels aren't really "short."

Yeah, they're pretty long, but you also fly through them pretty fast, so I can see where one might get that impression.

Also they're really nothing "special" so for me it doesn't add that much. Long tunnels are pretty fun but as some have mentioned the thrill comes from entering a seemingly tight hole at high speeds. I also prefer the ones which have a minimal level of "theming" and not just boxes.

[DoinItForTheFame]

. . .the thrill comes from entering a seemingly tight hole at high speeds. . .

 

 

I agree!! There was this one time at band camp where we.... Yeah, I'll stop there.

[ericthewanderer]

. . .the thrill comes from entering a seemingly tight hole at high speeds. . .

 

 

I agree!! There was this one time at band camp where we.... Yeah, I'll stop there.

I can't remember the name of the park,but I remember seeing a trip report where there was a German wooden coaster that had a cut-out of a naked woman sitting above the entrance to the tunnel.

[viking86]

^That would be Rutschebanen at Bakken in Denmark.

 

 

(if only I had a dollar for every time something in Scandinavia was thought to be in Germany...)

[palmerleeberry]

As for my thoughts on whether or not a tunnel is too short on a coaster, just ride one several times. If nobody on the ride is screaming when the train runs through the tunnel, then that tunnel is too short.

 

As for my favorite coasters at KINGS DOMINIONthat have the tunnel elements I will have to say REBEL YELL that have the tunnels at the end, THE GRIZZLY that has a tunnel in the middle, and The BACKLOT STUNT COASTER that has a tunnel that is long enough.

[prozach626]

Raging Bull has a very short tunnel, but it's taken at full speed and provides a very quick and loud sound of rushing air, B&M roar, and screams. It's one of the things that makes Raging Bull one of my favorite drops on a coaster.

[rolercstrluvr]

Don't forget all the tunnels on Gold Striker, I always love that first one. You enter in at lift speed and before you know it you're hurtling out of it like a speeding bullet.

[Ed Farmer]

Came here to post pretty much exactly what prozach wrote.

[ajfelice]

Tunnels, long or short, can certainly make a ride more interesting or feel more intense. On a wooden coaster, they certainly keep sound close to the train making it feel faster. Short tunnels can also hide a transition or change in layout which also makes a coaster more intense for the unsuspecting rider.

 

In the case of the Ravine Flyer II mention at the beginning of the thread, those tunnels exist for sound dampening with the grumpy neighbors a stone's throw away. Their effectiveness for that purpose is up for debate, but that is why they are there in the first place. On the other hand, they do intensify that long fast stretch of track from the second drop until the train goes up the hillside near the station with the alternating amount of light and sound.

[Samuel]

...Millennium Force?

 

Not trying to be an A$$... But have you ever been on Millennium Force?? Those tunnels aren't really "short."

 

You're popping out of them as soon as you're popping into them, a testament to the ride's speed. I didn't define whether short referred to measurable tunnel dimensions or brevity of experience, to keep discussion open to different avenues. And you were being an ass.

 

I remember some reading or maybe even watching a doc that mentioned that the tunnels on Millennium Force were put in to help preserve the relative ambiance of Frontier Trail as it twice travels over the path. The park did a really good job of having such a giant coaster roar past a sleepy part of the park and not disrupt the atmosphere.