how accurate are the "thrill ratings" on wikipedia?

Well, I'm going through the wikipedia first to get the idea of what each coaster is like and how extreme it is (i find it a bit daunting to go through thousands of pages of the theme park threads on TPR at the moment).

I'm picking the 5's (out of 5) first then going to look through the description and then check out some videos to determine what to ride first etc.

Has anyone looked at these ratings and are they fairly accurate in the assessment?

Cheers

Sam

To be honest, I've never looked at them. I'll move this topic to the main forum to see if anyone else knows...

Is this about the ratings you see on the ride lists in the Cedar Fair parks? I think they're taken straight from the park websites.

^ Bingo.

Because of Wikipedia's nature, every article is pretty different. Different grammar, different levels of descriptions for rides and attractions, the whole bit. If you're curious, check out Cedar Point's page, and then contrast it to, say, that of a smaller European park, such as Djurs Sommerland.

You'll see the "thrill ratings" on, say, Cedar Point's Wikipedia page because they're taken, as stated above, directly from Cedar Point's website. It's my understanding that the Cedar Fair rating system (low, mild, moderate, high, aggressive) is based on how difficult the ride is on a person's body, and not necessarily how tall, fast, long or "good" the ride is.

If you're curious about a specific park, check out their website and how they rate their rides. But there's no accepted standard across all parks.

If you're curious about a specific park, check out their website and how they rate their rides. But there's no accepted standard across all parks.

Agreed.

I recently made a loose version of a rating system when I re-organized my park's Guest Accessibility Guide. I consulted a variety of guides from other parks as large as Cedar Point to smaller places like Holiday World. I assigned ratings based on how parks with similar attractions did so. For rides where it was more of a guessing game, I asked around the Office and shop to gather different perceptions (most park employees rarely have time to ride rides, including myself). For me, our family-oriented selection of rides has made me numb to an experience as if I was a first-time rider or never been to the park before.

One thing I noticed is that rating systems developed by parks are similar to a Ski Resort. Ratings are in many cases relative to the rides in a park, and not always standard across all parks. Just like how a Black Diamond in Western New York is not a Black Diamond in Colorado.

I personally don't bother with rating systems that park chains provide and just use my own. Here is an example of the one I use for roller coasters with only Cedar Point shown. I talk about this concept I developed more in depth on a topic in the Roller Coaster Games, Models, and Other Randomness forum here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66318&start=30

I have a similar rating system for steam railroads and classic carousels, and I have recently developed a way to combine all three (along with some data for weather) to get a sort of overall park score.

I had started a similar topic in relations to ride ratings back in January, so maybe these two topics could be merged.

I personally don't bother with rating systems that park chains provide and just use my own. Here is an example of the one I use for roller coasters with only Cedar Point shown. I talk about this concept I developed more in depth on a topic in the Roller Coaster Games, Models, and Other Randomness forum here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66318&start=30

 

I have a similar rating system for steam railroads and classic carousels, and I have recently developed a way to combine all three (along with some data for weather) to get a sort of overall park score.

a fascinating project you are doing there! it's a tad over the top for me personally but i guess it's a worthwhile resource for anyone who is planning a trip.

i've only been to CP so can't comment on other parks but my experience / preferences of the rides at CP are rather different than what your table suggests - all the figures give a good starting point but in the end, it is all subjective.

keep up the good work!

I had started a similar topic in relations to ride ratings back in January, so maybe these two topics could be merged.

you did too - great minds think alike

looks like i'll just go through POV videos and make my own mind up and plan accordingly. (plus recommendations, of course)

is it just me who rates maverick at CP higher than millennium force (don't get me wrong, i do love MF)? TTDS was cool but not worth 4 hour wait (i hear rollback is pretty cool though)

is it just me who rates maverick at CP higher than millennium force (don't get me wrong, i do love MF)? TTDS was cool but not worth 4 hour wait (i hear rollback is pretty cool though)

It's not just you, I typically tend to rate Maverick higher than MF. TTD is an amazing coaster, and rollbacks are even more amazing. Falling backwards out of the sky from 420ft is a really strange, but awesome sensation.

Everything on wikipedia is accurate.

Seriously though, most Wikipedia articles nowadays cite all of their sources, and are flagged if they don't have any. Wikipedia has become a pretty good starting point for research.

looks like i'll just go through POV videos and make my own mind up and plan accordingly. (plus recommendations, of course)

is it just me who rates maverick at CP higher than millennium force (don't get me wrong, i do love MF)? TTDS was cool but not worth 4 hour wait (i hear rollback is pretty cool though)

Someone on a different website mentioned to me recently that they thought Maverick was better than MF, too. All I could think is, "What planet are you from?!" lol I've ridden both and I love MF way more. Maverick is fine, but I don't like the hard jolts it gives you when it goes through its tight turns (the way the restraints are positioned, it makes you feel like you're getting karate-chopped in the side of the neck). I'm one of those weird people that consider a painful ride to be an irritation and not something that should be celebrated.

Everything on wikipedia is accurate.

[citation needed]

All unreferenced material will be deleted.

I make edits on Wikipedia articles all the time. I've noticed that ever since I finally got around to creating a user page for my username (which makes your username appear blue instead of red), the number of edit reverts I used to get from people decreased dramatically.

So, pro tip: if you are editing a Wikipedia article, create a username and user page for that username first (it doesn't have to be elaborate, and you can just go the bare minimum route like I did and just include one little quote in it). Otherwise, your edits will be considered "2nd-class" and will be more subject to reverts.