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Coasters That Divide and Unite the GP and Enthusiasts

MestnyiGeroi

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Coaster enthusiasts often see coasters differently than the general public does. On the other hand, there are times when enthusiasts and the GP seem to agree.

Can you name one coaster that in your mind best fits each of the following categories?

1. A coaster that the GP usually thinks is the greatest thing ever but is not a favorite among enthusiasts.

2. A coaster that most enthusiasts worship but the GP doesn’t care for that much.

3. A coaster that unites the GP and enthusiasts because all agree it’s awesome.

4. A coaster that unites the GP and enthusiasts because all agree it’s terrible.
 
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1. Kingda Ka.
2. Any inverting coaster with lap-bars.
3. Large, smooth coasters, e.g. B&M hyper coasters.
4. Old, rough woodies.
 
I've always noticed a huge gulf in the opinions over The Smiler. Not much love in enthusiasts circles, but lots among new enthusiasts and the general public.
 
1. PMBO / Stealth
2. Nemesis
3. Blue Fire
4. X No Way Out

(Off the top of my head!)
 
^
It seldom has a queue compared to the likes of Smiler, Rita, Galactica etc.
Alas, I doubt that's all down to good throughput. When I speak to a non-enthusiast, they mostly speak highly of Smiler over Nemesis, and this annoys me.
 
Will said:
^
It seldom has a queue compared to the likes of Smiler, Rita, Galactica etc.
Alas, I doubt that's all down to good throughput. When I speak to a non-enthusiast, they mostly speak highly of Smiler over Nemesis, and this annoys me.
Click to expand...
Interesting. That makes me want to take a shot at answering my own OP questions ...
 
1. Kingda Ka — this is the easiest one to answer. Also, whenever I’m at a park, the GP seem to get really excited by the local boomerang, while enthusiasts get on with no excitement at all.

2. Intimidator 305 — As Will said about Nemesis, when I visited KD this ride had a short line while other rides had long queues. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’m told that i305 rarely has a long line, and this is because the GP are daunted by it. And while not all enthusiasts love this ride, it is universally recognized among enthusiasts for its top-class intensity.

3. Maybe Millennium Force? It’s not universally loved among enthusiasts, but it’s still very commonly in people’s top tens or twenties.

4. I want to say Zamperla Volares, but I’ve heard a lot of the GP raving about them. Maybe the roughest SLCs.
 
Unite:
Twisted Colossus (Awesome)
X² (Awesome)
Maverick (Awesome)
El Toro (Awesome)
Gemini (Awesome)
Corkscrew [anywhere] (Terrible)
Steel Phantom in its time. (Terrible)

Divide:
Millennium Force is absolutely the winner #1 in this category, hands down. GP>E
Raptor E>GP
Goliath (SFMM) GP>E
Tatsu E>GP
 
Mack said:
Unite:
Twisted Colossus (Awesome)
X² (Awesome)
Maverick (Awesome)
El Toro (Awesome)
Gemini (Awesome)
Corkscrew [anywhere] (Terrible)
Steel Phantom in its time. (Terrible)

Divide:
Millennium Force is absolutely the winner #1 in this category, hands down. GP>E
Raptor E>GP
Goliath (SFMM) GP>E
Tatsu E>GP
Click to expand...
SFMM Goliath is actually the perfect choice for one the GP love more than enthusiasts. But your hands down winner for most divisive — MF — was actually my tentative choice for a uniter — lol.
 
While we're at it, Goliath at La Ronde is poo but always had a longer queue than Vampire.

v Ugh, forgot about ****ing Furious dreadful Baco. Good shout!
 
1. Rita, Stealth, SAW, Smiler, Kingda Ka, PMBO, Baco, Wing riders
2. Megafobia, Nemesis, Wild Mouse (BPB), old woodies
3. Shambhala/most B&M hypers, RMCs
4. Most Arrow loopers, maybe El Locos?
 
Will said:
It seldom has a queue compared to the likes of Smiler, Rita, Galactica etc.
Alas, I doubt that's all down to good throughput.
Click to expand...

I was going to go for Nemesis but changed my mind. I think throughput and location within the park play a more major part than disinterest in that.
One of the few things I've noticed as a GP popularity indicator is whether or not they will stake it out during a breakdown. I've seen this for Nemesis.

1. Hulk?
 
Mack said:
Don't forget every enthusiasts favorite epithet for it, "Millennium Forceless."
Click to expand...
That’s how I felt about it — my first ride was a disappointment, only because my expectations were sky high. Still, it seems to me that there are still a lot of enthusiasts who love it.
 
1. Superman: Ultimate Flight GAm

Don't get me wrong, it's a fun coaster, but it frequently gets the longest queue in the park by far. Probably has something to do with it's location though
 
I'm going to base my opinions on my own park visits.

1. Record breakers, Millennium Force, Kingda Ka, Takabisha are all coasters the GP eat up but enthusiasts see as eh. In fact, pretty much any roller coaster that tops those horrid "TOP 10 ROLLER COASTERS IN THE WORLD" clickbait articles.
2. Skyrush/Outlaw Run/Voyage, most people I rode with enjoyed it, but it consistently had one of the shorter lines of the park. I think it's a bit too much for most GP.
3. Boulder Dash/Lightning Rod/X2/Fury 325, rides in their respective parks that always have long waits, seemed the GP absolutely love it.
4. (Certain) SLCs, horribly rough old wooden coasters, old rough Vekoma loopers, I've found the worst coasters at a park consistently have the shortest waits. Turns out the GP can also feel pain ;)
 
Great topic!

1. Vortex (KI), most GP see a big honkin' steel coaster looming over the midway hammering out inversion after inversion and think "size, loop-the-loops, that's epic!" But us enthusiasts know it's legalized assault.

2. Gonna have to give this one to Skyrush. As we all know, all of us enthusiasts (at least the one that don't have legs made of glass) love this Intamin ejector machine. However, riding it into oblivion two years in a row I heard several comments along the lines of "it'll break your legs off," "it's too aggressive," "the bar hurts your thighs," and many of the nature. It's honestly a bit much for the GP I think, but watching it scare the living daylights out of people is comedy gold!

3. Pretty much any RMC. They usually have long lines, it's a popular choice, and all of them have been very successful. To many enthusiasts it's the holy grail of coaster engineering (me included) and most GP seem to get off pretty happy. I did a speech on RMC to a class full of GP one time and while Ohio isn't necessarily RMC territory yet, we had one girl who had been on and liked Storm Chaser and there seemed to be a lot of excitement in the room for Steel Vengeance, so that seems to suggest they'll only become more liked worldwide as time goes on and they spread their mechanical empire.

4. Many SLCs but the one that sticks out the most? Flight Deck at Canada's Wonderland. The last time I rode it it was on a Saturday in September and I waltzed right on it, and that was just as punishment for losing a bet. It's so bad that even the GP knew to stay the heck away from it!
 
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