This little idea just popped into my mind, and I figured it would make a neat thread.
So, as we all know, parks really like to market their coasters as being the first or biggest or most-est coaster in their general vicinity. Records are easily marketable, national records even more so, and world records are the best of all.
However, the cost of beating a record seems to scale exponentially with its impressiveness. It's easy enough to claim "tallest and longest coaster in East Hamcestershire!" or "The biggest coaster this park has built in the past ten years!", but building the tallest or fastest coaster in the world requires a serious investment.
Fortunately, there are multiple ways to break a record. For instance, claiming size records for a certain coaster type, having the most inversions, or focusing on some unique stat (e.g. steepest drop) or caveat (e.g. tallest coaster with a lifthill, steepest drop on a wooden coaster). Of course, some of those records can be so obscure and convoluted that they might as well be on the level of "tallest and longest coaster in East Hamcestershire" again. "Longest coaster with 4 cars that runs backwards for parts of the course and features at least one inversion", for instance. Sure there won't be many coasters at all that meet that definition. Likewise, inventing a "new coaster type" and claiming to have the first is a very cheap move. No, it's not a "Psychoaster", it's a family coaster you've painted black and added spooky music to. But of course, beating a "proper" record is prohibitively expensive, so what can a poor park do?
... Or is it always? Could some coaster records still be within the range of the affordable for relatively minor parks?
Occasionally, it has struck me that some world records have been standing for many years without so much as an attempt to beat them. And when somebody did, I almost wondered why nobody had done it earlier. A notable example until recently was that of the tallest and fastest inverted coaster. All Chongqing Sunac Land had to do to beat it was to order a slightly larger version of Wicked Twister from Intamin. Likewise, The Ride to Happiness quite handily beats the inversion records for spinning coasters - the number they had to beat was 3.
I don't think those records are very obscure either. Those are notable key stats of fairly major coaster types. Surely, there are more like them out there?
I'd like to nominate one quite major record that hangs quite low nowadays. If my RCDB-fu is correct, the current tallest and fastest Suspended Coaster (swinging cars) out there is Vortex at Canada's Wonderland. At 32 meters tall and going 88.5 kph it is only the fifth or so largest suspended coaster ever built, but the competitors have all retired. The longest Suspended Coaster out there is Ninja at SFMM - 823 meters long. It shouldn't be that hard to beat that, if you can find a manufacturer that offers suspended coasters out there (preferably not Doppelmayr, though).
Likewise, the record for most inversions on a wooden coaster could be within reach for an enterprising park with a decently large wallet. RMC only built three inverting woodies before they discontinued Topper Track, so the rest of their creations qualify as hybrid coasters. Wildfire and Outlaw Run currently share the record, with three inversions each. That sounds quite doable to match.
Do you have any other examples? Are there records out there you're itching to see beaten?
So, as we all know, parks really like to market their coasters as being the first or biggest or most-est coaster in their general vicinity. Records are easily marketable, national records even more so, and world records are the best of all.
However, the cost of beating a record seems to scale exponentially with its impressiveness. It's easy enough to claim "tallest and longest coaster in East Hamcestershire!" or "The biggest coaster this park has built in the past ten years!", but building the tallest or fastest coaster in the world requires a serious investment.
Fortunately, there are multiple ways to break a record. For instance, claiming size records for a certain coaster type, having the most inversions, or focusing on some unique stat (e.g. steepest drop) or caveat (e.g. tallest coaster with a lifthill, steepest drop on a wooden coaster). Of course, some of those records can be so obscure and convoluted that they might as well be on the level of "tallest and longest coaster in East Hamcestershire" again. "Longest coaster with 4 cars that runs backwards for parts of the course and features at least one inversion", for instance. Sure there won't be many coasters at all that meet that definition. Likewise, inventing a "new coaster type" and claiming to have the first is a very cheap move. No, it's not a "Psychoaster", it's a family coaster you've painted black and added spooky music to. But of course, beating a "proper" record is prohibitively expensive, so what can a poor park do?
... Or is it always? Could some coaster records still be within the range of the affordable for relatively minor parks?
Occasionally, it has struck me that some world records have been standing for many years without so much as an attempt to beat them. And when somebody did, I almost wondered why nobody had done it earlier. A notable example until recently was that of the tallest and fastest inverted coaster. All Chongqing Sunac Land had to do to beat it was to order a slightly larger version of Wicked Twister from Intamin. Likewise, The Ride to Happiness quite handily beats the inversion records for spinning coasters - the number they had to beat was 3.
I don't think those records are very obscure either. Those are notable key stats of fairly major coaster types. Surely, there are more like them out there?
I'd like to nominate one quite major record that hangs quite low nowadays. If my RCDB-fu is correct, the current tallest and fastest Suspended Coaster (swinging cars) out there is Vortex at Canada's Wonderland. At 32 meters tall and going 88.5 kph it is only the fifth or so largest suspended coaster ever built, but the competitors have all retired. The longest Suspended Coaster out there is Ninja at SFMM - 823 meters long. It shouldn't be that hard to beat that, if you can find a manufacturer that offers suspended coasters out there (preferably not Doppelmayr, though).
Likewise, the record for most inversions on a wooden coaster could be within reach for an enterprising park with a decently large wallet. RMC only built three inverting woodies before they discontinued Topper Track, so the rest of their creations qualify as hybrid coasters. Wildfire and Outlaw Run currently share the record, with three inversions each. That sounds quite doable to match.
Do you have any other examples? Are there records out there you're itching to see beaten?