Kingda Ka- Who cares?

[maliboomer]

I've just noticed this isn't NEAR getting as much hype as TTD. I remember back in late 02' every single thread was dedictaed in TTD, no exceptions. Everyone kept making comparisons etc etc etc, it got quite annoying. But this hasn't been happening for Kingda Ka, no one really seems to care that much, its like old news.

[CoasterCrazy]

The reason that KK is not getting any hype is because it's just a bigger TTD. In addition, KK will not be a new ride experience because if you have been on TTD you have been on KK. I personally think that KK is going to a little bit better than TTD because it has a bunny hop before the brakes.

[shepp]

I've just noticed this isn't NEAR getting as much hype as TTD. I remember back in late 02' every single thread was dedictaed in TTD, no exceptions. Everyone kept making comparisons etc etc etc, it got quite annoying. But this hasn't been happening for Kingda Ka, no one really seems to care that much, its like old news.

 

Clearly, the 2nd of its kind is going to be less astonishing. That being said, unlike you, I (and the folks who take part in coaster polls) loved TTD. I'm headed to SFGAdv in June, not only for KK, but for Nitro and a bunch of other East Coast coasters I haven't ridden. I don't suspect that I'll notice the difference between 120 and 128 mph, and I don't think the hill will seem that much bigger than TTD's. (Certainly not like the difference between TTD's and XCelerator's hills.) But a "bunny hill" that's higher than many coasters' lift hills should be fun. And if you find TTD comparisons "quite annoying," why did you bother comparing it to California Screamin' a few days ago, hmm?

[Coasterlicious]

It doesnt look like a big deal with difference, and is that bunny hill really going to have any air time? ... but Im going to ride Dragster for the first time this May.

[Martyn]

I don't think they should have released all the concept art so early, the great thing about watching TTD go up was that no-one knew how high it was going to be and if indeed it was going to break any records (for a while anyway). Forum threads were huge, with screen grabs from that infamous CedarPoint webcam and looking back on them was great, seeing people's crazy ideas coming out. I remember thinking "how much higher can this thing get??"

But yeah, I think if SF kept it secret then we may have followed more closely, although we would have probably been disappointed by now.

[alpengeistdude321]

It isn't getting as much hype because it's just like riding Dragster which mostly everyone in the coaster community has been on. The quality of the ride will be even worse with the OTSRs.

Edited March 28, 2005 by alpengeistdude321

[Space Freak]

It isn't getting as much hype because it's just like riding Dragster which everyone in the coaster community has been on. The quality of the ride will be even worse with the OTSRs.

 

I have never been on Dragster. Does that make me not part of this coaster community? Am I less of a man for having never been to Cedar Point? Im sorry to say it, but not everyone in the world is as fortunate as you.

[shepp]

It doesnt look like a big deal with difference, and is that bunny hill really going to have any air time? ... but Im going to ride Dragster for the first time this May.

 

Well, who knows about airtime at this point? But one of the complaints about TTD was that it was a one-trick pony. At least KK will be a one-and-a-half-trick pony.

[CoasterFanatic]

I have only one thing to say on that matter ...

[maliboomer]

^Must...get....that...

Is it registered in CA?

[black sabbath]

It isn't getting as much hype because it's just like riding Dragster which everyone in the coaster community has been on. The quality of the ride will be even worse with the OTSRs.

Have you rode Storm Runner? Then you should know that the Otsrs will hardly affect the ride, plenty of room for airtime.

[robbalvey]

Personally, I don't think it's getting that much hype from the community because no one really seems to be all that into TTD in the first place.

 

I'm sure the GP will EAT IT UP....but it just doesn't seem like something a lot of us are into. Just think - how many 'one trick ponies' out there have the enthusaist community really embraced? S:TE, Oblivion, TTD, etc. They all might be good rides, but you don't see many people going out of their way to ride them.

 

That being said, ALL of those rides are popular with the GP, and remember, parks don't really make rides for us, they make rides for the other 29,995 people that show up to parks every during the busy summer weekends.

 

--Robb

[maliboomer]

make rides for the other 29,995 people that show up to parks every during the busy summer weekends.

 

--Robb

lol, It cracks me up when people think that maximum allowed attendance is like 5,000.

[socalMAN123]

Of course, I haven't been on TTD, so I don't think I'm planning on riding KK anytime real soon. I also heard that Xcelerator has more force on the launch than TTD. Is this true?

[CoasterFanatic]

Have you rode Storm Runner? Then you should know that the Otsrs will hardly affect the ride, plenty of room for airtime.

 

I have rode Storm Runner and it is an excellent ride. I fully understand the OTSRs on it, due to the 1.5 rotation heartline roll. I really enjoy TTD and all the other Intamin Giants and a big reason for that is because of the freedom the restraints allow you. You might be stapled in, but your upper body is free.

 

It is just a general opinion that I have.

[shepp]

Personally, I don't think it's getting that much hype from the community because no one really seems to be all that into TTD in the first place.

 

I'm sure the GP will EAT IT UP....but it just doesn't seem like something a lot of us are into. Just think - how many 'one trick ponies' out there have the enthusaist community really embraced? S:TE, Oblivion, TTD, etc. They all might be good rides, but you don't see many people going out of their way to ride them.

 

--Robb

 

Um, well, okay. What do you base that on? Surely not the Internet Roller Coaster Poll, where TTD placed in the top 10 steels two years running, nor the Coasterbuzz poll where almost 75% of respondents called TTD the best new steelie of the year.

 

Not to sound argumentative, but there's a difference between "I don't like" and "people don't like/it isn't good." I really didn't enjoy Magnum - I found it too punishing for a hyper. But hey, people like it. "Enthusiasts" in particular like it - just not as much, if the polls are to be at all trusted, as they like TTD.

 

I'll be heading to SFGAdv in a couple of months. Yes, I've been aching to ride Nitro, but the opening of KK is what caused me to finally drop the dime and head for Jersey. If that makes me a member of the dreaded GP, who are apparently too ignorant to know what they should and shouldn't be enjoying, then I guess I'll just have to live with it.

[CoasterFanatic]

nor the Coasterbuzz poll where almost 75% of respondents called TTD the best new steelie of the year.

 

The members of my site also give TTD very high marks, but like CoasterBuzz, this is a lot of the GP talking. I also think that a lot of the people who contribute to this board could also be considered GP. It really just depends on what your definition of GP is.

 

CoasterBuzz is also very Ohio-centric. When it comes to the whole biggest/tallest/fastest thing, you will find that there is a lot of regional pride that comes into the equation. Anyone who lives around NY/NJ/Eastern PA will always note that KK is the Tallest/Fastest/Baddest/Greenest/Newest ride while any Ohio/Michigan resident is quick to dismiss it as a ripoff.

[maliboomer]

Shepp, please be a little more open minded. It's quite obvious you love Cedar Point, am I'm not insulting you for that, as its a good park. The thing is, you can't influence (at least deeply) what other people opinions are by proving them wrong with a statistic which for that person is irreveleant. It obvious you're a smart enough person to know that not everyone agrees with you, but that dosen't mean you have to change their minds at your own discretion.

[shepp]

Shepp, please be a little more open minded. It's quite obvious you love Cedar Point, am I'm not insulting you for that, as its a good park. The thing is, you can't influence (at least deeply) what other people opinions are by proving them wrong with a statistic which for that person is irreveleant. It obvious you're a smart enough person to know that not everyone agrees with you, but that dosen't mean you have to change their minds at your own discretion.

 

I'm sorry...I think you misunderstand. What I love about enthusiasts is their breadth of knowledge, willingness to share info, and their...enthusiasm. But there can be this weird strain of snobbishness, because, after all, anybody with 50 bucks and a strong stomach can ride any coaster out there, and a low coaster count doesn't make the airtime on S:ROS any the less enjoyable.

 

When Robb said, "I'm sure the GP will EAT IT UP," one might have reasonably inferred, whatever was intended, that those of us IN THE KNOW about what makes a good ride are beyond that sort of silliness. But I was hanging out at alt.rec.roller-coaster (which is pretty hardcore enthusiast, more so than this site, IMO) when TTD opened, and there was great interest before, during, and after. And I noticed that Robb didn't include XCelerator (which I believe he likes) in his list of one-trick ponies. Is that because of the overbanks at the end?

 

No, there are no prerequisites to take part in a coaster poll, but when every poll out there shows that more people love TTD than California Screamin', I'm not sure why you (I think it was you) posted that CS is "better" than TTD. You like CS more, and that's your absolute right. Hell, I like DD:Ice more than DD:Fire. That doesn't make Ice "better," and it's fine if most people, including self-described enthusiasts, prefer Fire. Different strokes...

 

Acttually, I'm not a CP partisan. I had a great time there, loved MF and TTD, wasn't all that crazy about Raptor or Magnum. But I have a SF pass, and had a great time at SFMM, too, which is the near-universal object of enthusiasts' scorn. (Granted, I did visit on one of the few occasions when X and Deja Vu were both running.) Actually, my favorite park is IOA, which makes me kind of a coaster wuss, I guess. Hey, since you're the one who's initiated two anti-KK threads before it's even opened, maybe you're the one not being "open minded?"

 

Peace.

[alpengeistdude321]

It isn't getting as much hype because it's just like riding Dragster which everyone in the coaster community has been on. The quality of the ride will be even worse with the OTSRs.

Have you rode Storm Runner? Then you should know that the Otsrs will hardly affect the ride, plenty of room for airtime.

 

Thanks for correcting me, and I've never ridden Storm Runner unfortunately but I will this summer.

Here are the trains.

[Scaparri]

Yeah, I could really care less about Kingda Ka. There is nothing special about it to me. It's a 26 ft taller TTD. Bunny Hop? I could really care less as well. Have you looked at it? Yeah, I know you will be taking it at about 120 mph, but the pitch doesn't look near great enough to cause any real affect. Lastly, look at the trains in the concept video and pictures.... notice anything? I definately notice the OTSRs which send a big red light for me. Why make a fuss about KK with OTSRs when you can ride a ever-so-slightly slower and taller TTD with lap bars. So yeah, who cares about Kingda Ka.

 

Plus, I thoroughly enjoy the theming on TTD because I'm a big race fan.

[Token Yankee Guy]

I for one am excited for KK. Reason being, I never rode TTD and I've always wanted to ride TTD because it had the 0-125 (estimate) launch and it was the tallest and fastest coaster in the world. But the downside is that CP is 12hrs from me. But not Kingda Ka is being built which now holds the record, now I only have to drive 3hrs to ride the worlds tallest and fastest coaster. Yeah, so what it doesn't have a huge layout with inversions like SR does. To me, I don't really care. When it comes to me and coasters I am not that nit picky on what I like or don't like. There are some coasters I don't like (Viper at SFGADv is one), but as for Kingda Ka, I can't wait to ride it.

 

As for the OTSR, I did ride Storm Runner and those things didn't limit my airtime, probably because I have a slim build so I pretty much get thrown around in any coaster with OTSR.

[socalMAN123]

^Same with me. I'm about 4' 8, so I would get thrown around in any OSTR, except for Revolution and X. The OSTR's really don't stop me from maximum amounts of airtime. Like on Silver Bullet for instance. That airtime hill between the two flatspins had me floating out of my seat nice and good. My only question is, will you get airtime on the Top Hat of Kingda Ka?

-Brent

[shepp]

 

Plus, I thoroughly enjoy the theming on TTD because I'm a big race fan.

 

Yeah, the theming on TTD (and XCelerator) certainly fit the ride more neatly than KK's. A 45-story metal dingus in the jungle? WTF?

 

On the other hand, theming at TTD is really kinda minimal, especially since they took the wheels off the trains: Xmas tree, launch spiel, checkered flags. To give SFGadv its due, the ride will be the centerpiece of a whole new, heavily themed area. "Look, Tarzan, it's some train or something going through the jungle really, really fast."

[Trev32]

Frankly, i coulden't care less about this coaster.

 

 

It's just a TTD with a big bunny hop at the end.

 

 

 

Trev32