Thursday, December 21, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Friday, November 24, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Coaster Counting- what is a roller coaster and what isn't?
Coaster Counting- How do you do it?
- originally written 2/15/2005
As you get invovled in talking to those within the coaster enthusiast
community, one of the things that you will be asked sooner or later is,
"What's your count? How many coasters have you riden?" It seems like an
innocent enough question, and not a big deal. But it is one of the fun
things about the hobby. One of the first things I did when I really
started my interest was to compose a list of the coasters that I'd riden,
just to see how many I'd been on. I now keep counts for my kids to.
For some, the count may mean even a bit more than just a fun part of a
hobby. For those "serious" about their coasters, the count says as much
about a person's experiences and how valid their opinions are as anything
else. So whether you count for fun, or you want to get serious about it,
here's my rules and guidelines for counting coasters. Not only have I
mentioned how I maintain and keep my own count, but I also try to include
other methods and opinions if they seem to have a good number of people
that use those methods. So without further ado, here we go:
1. The first thing to determine is, what makes a roller coaster a roller
coaster? Why aren't log flumes and simulators considered roller
coasters? For me at least, the answer to this is right in the name of the
ride- roller coaster. Roller- it has to roll on wheels. And coaster- it
has to coast under the power of gravity. Of course, it can't be just that
simple, not with the variety of rides out there. So let me explain a bit
more.
1a. Roller- It has to be on wheels. Period. No wheels, it's not a
coaster.
Additionally, it must maintain those wheels in relative position to the
track. So if you have wheels on the bottom, you can't shift to another
set of wheels on the back of the car (e.g. freefall drop rides). The
wheels don't always have to roll, or even necessarily be in contact with
the track the entire time (e.g. moments of negative g-forces, or in the
case of a hybrid flume/ coaster), but the track as to stay in one place in
relation to where the wheels are- always on the bottom, top, side, etc.
1b. Coaster- it has to, for at least a portion of the ride, coast solely
under the power of gravity and/or momentum.
I don't care how the ride starts (lift hill, powered launch, elevator
(maintaining the wheel position to track of course!), but somewhere along
the way it has to coast unaided or unhindered by anything mechanical.
Thus powered coasters or dark rides that have a drop don't count, since
they never coast without the power helping to propel them.
Using those guidelines, let me mention a couple of specific rides that
seem to come up in "are they a coaster" conversations, and how I
determined what my own answer is. I'll start with the Journey to Atlantis
rides at Sea World in Orlando and San Diego. They are a mix of flume
rides with portions that include roller coaster track and drops. After
looking at them, I ended up deciding to count the one in San Diego as a
coaster, but not the one in Orlando. Outside of one single coaster drop
on the one in Orlando, there isn't any other portion on it that resembles
a roller coaster. Instead it's almost entirely a flume ride, and the one
small portion wasn't, for me at least, enough to call it a coaster. On
the other hand, the one in San Diego has almost half of it's length as
coaster track, with three drops and some other coaster action, so it did
get counted.
Possibly the biggest coaster to be argued about is Superman: The Escape at
Six Flags Magic Mountain, a ride that launches you at up to 100 mph,
rocketing you straight up a 410 foot tall tower where, after a 6 second
hesitation, you then drop backwards down the way you came and end up back
in the station. For me at least, it's pretty clear that it's a coaster.
The wheels on the car always maintain their position with the track (on
the bottom of the car), and after the launch it's momentum is all that
continues to propel it forward and then up the tower. After that, gravity
takes over and it coasts all the way down the tower and back to the
station, as it's braked to make sure that it stops when it should. It
rolls, and it coasts. Simple. And yet this ride seems to have more
controversy over it than any other out there. I always get a kick to out
of the ones who won't count it, but they'll count impulse coasters (e.g.
Vertical Velocity or Steel Venom) or shuttle loops as coaster, even though
they are incredibly similar.
Ok, that done, back to my list of rules for counting.
2. Each individually operating track on a coaster counts as one.
This means that I will count racing and dueling coasters once for each
side, as each one can operate completely independantly of whether or not
the other side is running. This is true for pretty much every coaster
that has 2 sides to choose from, with only 2 known exceptions that I'll
deal with in a minute. In my mind, if that ride can operate independantly
on it's own, then it deserves to be counted on it's own. That would mean
that Disney's Matterhorn (or Space Mountain at WDW), SFMM's Colossus, IOA
Dueling Dragons, Hershey's Lightning Racers, PKI's John Allen Racer, CP's
Gemini, etc would all count as two coasters. The only exceptions would be
Kennywood's Racer and one coaster in England, which are "mobius" coasters-
both sides are actually one long, continuous track. You leave on one side
and come return to the station on the other. (2017 UPDATE- the new Twisted
Colossus at SFMM falls into the mobius category as well- one coaster) In
these cases because each side can't operate on their own, I would count them as
one coaster, and only once I'd been on both sides. As a side note, there are a good
number of people who disagree on my general rule here and count coasters as one
per "attraction", viewing the coasters as one ride sharing the same name
and location on the map. The community is probably divided up pretty
evenly on this aspect.
3. "Clones" all count individually
As you travel around, you'll notice that there are some coasters that just
seem to be all over the place- boomerangs, Vekoma suspended looping
coasters (slc's), Batman: The Ride, Galaxi's, and many others. These are
coasters that are built with the same exact kinds of track, layout,
trains, etc and are, except for location, virtually identical. However,
they are still separate coasters, and their locations, scenery, theming,
etc., help to make an impact on the rides as well. Thus, while I have
been on 5 coasters called Batman: the Ride, and they are all virtually
identical, each one is counted once, for a total of 5 on my list. This
also influences my next point:
4. A coaster that has moved from one park to another may be counted again.
I've only had to deal with this once so far that I know of, with the
bobsled coaster that was once at SFMM as Sarajevo Bobsleds and now resides
at SFoT as La Vibora. At the time I rode it the second time, I didn't
have a clue that it was the same coaster (nor did I particularly care to
much at the time) As far as I was concerned, I was riding a ride that was
completely new to me. The change in parks had a drastic difference in how
I perceived the ride, and for me the new location equaled a new coaster.
(2017 UPDATE- I have actually had a second coaster this applies to now-
the former Whirlwind from Knoebel's that I was able to ride again a few years
ago down in South America at a new park)
There are some that would argue against my views here, pointing out that
it's the same machine as I had ridden previously. To which I pointed at
that the clones I'd riden practically were to, but they all counted
individually, even though they were identical rides. Seems to me that the
two are intertwined since they both involve the same ride at different
locations, though getting agreement on that would be a challenge.
5. A coaster that moves to a different location in the same park does NOT
get counted again.
This should seem obvious, but in light of the last two points, I did want
to clarify that. Same park, same ambience, etc. The next point is also
related to this:
6. A coaster that gets rethemed, enclosed, etc., but in the same location
does not get counted again.
This includes most cosmetic changes to a coaster, as even though the
surroundings change, the coaster itself does not. So even though a
coaster that may have been outdoors now has a building around it, it's
still the same coaster in the same location. People aren't going to look
at it and think it's a new ride, thus it doesn't get counted as one.
7. Reprofiling or major changes are a case-by-case basis
This is where changes to a coaster's layout, trains, or other major
changes to it come in. If a large portion of a coaster has been
retracked, but the layout is identical, it's not counted again. But if in
that process they made changes to the layout of the coaster, then it
might, depending on how much was changed and how drastic. A couple of
examples- Colossus at SFMM has had it's first drop sequence changed from
when it opened as well has had a double down (one drop after another)
changed to a flat section with a brake on it. While both changes affected
the ride, it is still, essentially the same coaster, so no new count.
However, Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood changed huge portions of that
coaster, removing loops and inversions and changing the course in major
ways. New coaster.
Trains may or may not influence this to, and are an individual decision.
Does riding a coaster sitting down one time, then on a standup train count
twice (there's a coaster in Japan that does this)? For some yes, others
no. Does riding it forwards and backwards count once for each time? For
me, sometimes yes and sometimes no. If the backwards is a unique change
not always offered, I would count it. But if both options are offered
simultaneously, no. Confusing? You bet! Not a lot hard and fast here.
Which brings me to my last point:
8. Counting is up to the individual doing the counting!
In the end, it's up to you to count what you want to count and to go by
your rules, not someone elses. If you're not sure, feel free to seek
advice. But in the end with so many differences, variances, and changes,
there isn't any way to have solid rules that everyone is going to agree on
about what to count and what not to count. Everyone is going to end up
disagreeing on something or other. That's just part of life. So make
sure it's something you're comfortable with, don't get upset if others
disagree, and be open to other opinions and maybe even changing yours at
some point. That goes for me to, as I'm constantly revising and editing
my own rules. And probably will again once I get feedback from this.
In any case though, remember- it's a hobby and is supposed to be fun. If
it gets serious or offensive because of a disagreement, then someone's
priorities about life are in the wrong place. Don't let that be you!
As you get invovled in talking to those within the coaster enthusiast
community, one of the things that you will be asked sooner or later is,
"What's your count? How many coasters have you riden?" It seems like an
innocent enough question, and not a big deal. But it is one of the fun
things about the hobby. One of the first things I did when I really
started my interest was to compose a list of the coasters that I'd riden,
just to see how many I'd been on. I now keep counts for my kids to.
For some, the count may mean even a bit more than just a fun part of a
hobby. For those "serious" about their coasters, the count says as much
about a person's experiences and how valid their opinions are as anything
else. So whether you count for fun, or you want to get serious about it,
here's my rules and guidelines for counting coasters. Not only have I
mentioned how I maintain and keep my own count, but I also try to include
other methods and opinions if they seem to have a good number of people
that use those methods. So without further ado, here we go:
1. The first thing to determine is, what makes a roller coaster a roller
coaster? Why aren't log flumes and simulators considered roller
coasters? For me at least, the answer to this is right in the name of the
ride- roller coaster. Roller- it has to roll on wheels. And coaster- it
has to coast under the power of gravity. Of course, it can't be just that
simple, not with the variety of rides out there. So let me explain a bit
more.
1a. Roller- It has to be on wheels. Period. No wheels, it's not a
coaster.
Additionally, it must maintain those wheels in relative position to the
track. So if you have wheels on the bottom, you can't shift to another
set of wheels on the back of the car (e.g. freefall drop rides). The
wheels don't always have to roll, or even necessarily be in contact with
the track the entire time (e.g. moments of negative g-forces, or in the
case of a hybrid flume/ coaster), but the track as to stay in one place in
relation to where the wheels are- always on the bottom, top, side, etc.
1b. Coaster- it has to, for at least a portion of the ride, coast solely
under the power of gravity and/or momentum.
I don't care how the ride starts (lift hill, powered launch, elevator
(maintaining the wheel position to track of course!), but somewhere along
the way it has to coast unaided or unhindered by anything mechanical.
Thus powered coasters or dark rides that have a drop don't count, since
they never coast without the power helping to propel them.
Using those guidelines, let me mention a couple of specific rides that
seem to come up in "are they a coaster" conversations, and how I
determined what my own answer is. I'll start with the Journey to Atlantis
rides at Sea World in Orlando and San Diego. They are a mix of flume
rides with portions that include roller coaster track and drops. After
looking at them, I ended up deciding to count the one in San Diego as a
coaster, but not the one in Orlando. Outside of one single coaster drop
on the one in Orlando, there isn't any other portion on it that resembles
a roller coaster. Instead it's almost entirely a flume ride, and the one
small portion wasn't, for me at least, enough to call it a coaster. On
the other hand, the one in San Diego has almost half of it's length as
coaster track, with three drops and some other coaster action, so it did
get counted.
Possibly the biggest coaster to be argued about is Superman: The Escape at
Six Flags Magic Mountain, a ride that launches you at up to 100 mph,
rocketing you straight up a 410 foot tall tower where, after a 6 second
hesitation, you then drop backwards down the way you came and end up back
in the station. For me at least, it's pretty clear that it's a coaster.
The wheels on the car always maintain their position with the track (on
the bottom of the car), and after the launch it's momentum is all that
continues to propel it forward and then up the tower. After that, gravity
takes over and it coasts all the way down the tower and back to the
station, as it's braked to make sure that it stops when it should. It
rolls, and it coasts. Simple. And yet this ride seems to have more
controversy over it than any other out there. I always get a kick to out
of the ones who won't count it, but they'll count impulse coasters (e.g.
Vertical Velocity or Steel Venom) or shuttle loops as coaster, even though
they are incredibly similar.
Ok, that done, back to my list of rules for counting.
2. Each individually operating track on a coaster counts as one.
This means that I will count racing and dueling coasters once for each
side, as each one can operate completely independantly of whether or not
the other side is running. This is true for pretty much every coaster
that has 2 sides to choose from, with only 2 known exceptions that I'll
deal with in a minute. In my mind, if that ride can operate independantly
on it's own, then it deserves to be counted on it's own. That would mean
that Disney's Matterhorn (or Space Mountain at WDW), SFMM's Colossus, IOA
Dueling Dragons, Hershey's Lightning Racers, PKI's John Allen Racer, CP's
Gemini, etc would all count as two coasters. The only exceptions would be
Kennywood's Racer and one coaster in England, which are "mobius" coasters-
both sides are actually one long, continuous track. You leave on one side
and come return to the station on the other. (2017 UPDATE- the new Twisted
Colossus at SFMM falls into the mobius category as well- one coaster) In
these cases because each side can't operate on their own, I would count them as
one coaster, and only once I'd been on both sides. As a side note, there are a good
number of people who disagree on my general rule here and count coasters as one
per "attraction", viewing the coasters as one ride sharing the same name
and location on the map. The community is probably divided up pretty
evenly on this aspect.
3. "Clones" all count individually
As you travel around, you'll notice that there are some coasters that just
seem to be all over the place- boomerangs, Vekoma suspended looping
coasters (slc's), Batman: The Ride, Galaxi's, and many others. These are
coasters that are built with the same exact kinds of track, layout,
trains, etc and are, except for location, virtually identical. However,
they are still separate coasters, and their locations, scenery, theming,
etc., help to make an impact on the rides as well. Thus, while I have
been on 5 coasters called Batman: the Ride, and they are all virtually
identical, each one is counted once, for a total of 5 on my list. This
also influences my next point:
4. A coaster that has moved from one park to another may be counted again.
I've only had to deal with this once so far that I know of, with the
bobsled coaster that was once at SFMM as Sarajevo Bobsleds and now resides
at SFoT as La Vibora. At the time I rode it the second time, I didn't
have a clue that it was the same coaster (nor did I particularly care to
much at the time) As far as I was concerned, I was riding a ride that was
completely new to me. The change in parks had a drastic difference in how
I perceived the ride, and for me the new location equaled a new coaster.
(2017 UPDATE- I have actually had a second coaster this applies to now-
the former Whirlwind from Knoebel's that I was able to ride again a few years
ago down in South America at a new park)
There are some that would argue against my views here, pointing out that
it's the same machine as I had ridden previously. To which I pointed at
that the clones I'd riden practically were to, but they all counted
individually, even though they were identical rides. Seems to me that the
two are intertwined since they both involve the same ride at different
locations, though getting agreement on that would be a challenge.
5. A coaster that moves to a different location in the same park does NOT
get counted again.
This should seem obvious, but in light of the last two points, I did want
to clarify that. Same park, same ambience, etc. The next point is also
related to this:
6. A coaster that gets rethemed, enclosed, etc., but in the same location
does not get counted again.
This includes most cosmetic changes to a coaster, as even though the
surroundings change, the coaster itself does not. So even though a
coaster that may have been outdoors now has a building around it, it's
still the same coaster in the same location. People aren't going to look
at it and think it's a new ride, thus it doesn't get counted as one.
7. Reprofiling or major changes are a case-by-case basis
This is where changes to a coaster's layout, trains, or other major
changes to it come in. If a large portion of a coaster has been
retracked, but the layout is identical, it's not counted again. But if in
that process they made changes to the layout of the coaster, then it
might, depending on how much was changed and how drastic. A couple of
examples- Colossus at SFMM has had it's first drop sequence changed from
when it opened as well has had a double down (one drop after another)
changed to a flat section with a brake on it. While both changes affected
the ride, it is still, essentially the same coaster, so no new count.
However, Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood changed huge portions of that
coaster, removing loops and inversions and changing the course in major
ways. New coaster.
Trains may or may not influence this to, and are an individual decision.
Does riding a coaster sitting down one time, then on a standup train count
twice (there's a coaster in Japan that does this)? For some yes, others
no. Does riding it forwards and backwards count once for each time? For
me, sometimes yes and sometimes no. If the backwards is a unique change
not always offered, I would count it. But if both options are offered
simultaneously, no. Confusing? You bet! Not a lot hard and fast here.
Which brings me to my last point:
8. Counting is up to the individual doing the counting!
In the end, it's up to you to count what you want to count and to go by
your rules, not someone elses. If you're not sure, feel free to seek
advice. But in the end with so many differences, variances, and changes,
there isn't any way to have solid rules that everyone is going to agree on
about what to count and what not to count. Everyone is going to end up
disagreeing on something or other. That's just part of life. So make
sure it's something you're comfortable with, don't get upset if others
disagree, and be open to other opinions and maybe even changing yours at
some point. That goes for me to, as I'm constantly revising and editing
my own rules. And probably will again once I get feedback from this.
In any case though, remember- it's a hobby and is supposed to be fun. If
it gets serious or offensive because of a disagreement, then someone's
priorities about life are in the wrong place. Don't let that be you!
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Friday, August 18, 2017
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Friday, June 30, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Monday, June 12, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Friday, March 31, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Thursday, March 23, 2017
A Day as a Disney Magic Moments Photographer- Ep 50 Confessions of a The...
Each day at Magic Kingdom there is one Photopass photographer assigned to "Magic Moments." First family, bands, grand marshall, and flag retreat... they get to shoot some of the best moments of the day. Here's a look at their typical day.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Marriage Proposals and Photopass at Walt Disney World - Ep 49 Confession...
One of the most exciting things to see at Disney is a marriage proposal. It's true for photographers as well! Here's what it was like to shoot a couple and my recommendations if you're thinking about proposing at Disney.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Celebrity Near Misses and Encounters at Disney & SDC - Ep 47 Confessions...
Celebrities like theme parks to! Here's some stories of a few
celebrities that I passed, encountered, and a couple I got to meet, and
how we as employees, were supposed to deal with them at Walt Disney
World and Silver Dollar City.
(don't feel this one is up to my usual quality. next week's episode will be better. :-) )
Thursday, February 23, 2017
A Day as a Train Robber at Silver Dollar City - Ep 46 Confessions of a T...
Every wonder what a day is like for one of the robbers? What do they do each day and what happens? What it's like to be out there? Where do they go and what do they do in between trains? Here's a look at what a typical day was for me each day I got to be a train robber at Silver Dollar City.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
5 Types of Annoying Theme Park Guests - Ep 45 Confessions of a Theme Par...
They're at every theme park- those guests and visitors that just get on your nerves. Here are 5 types that I constantly ran into while working in the parks and why they were annoying- along with some funny examples of each. You can't avoid them, but you can avoid being one of them.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Why I Worked in Theme Parks (Disney, Busch & SDC) - Ep 44 Confessions of...
I get asked all the time, "Why do you like working in theme parks?"
There are a lot of reasons, but here are a few of the most important
things I love about working in the parks, and how they related to my
jobs at Walt Disney World, Silver Dollar City, and Busch Gardens Tampa.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
I've Collected a Lot of Stuff- Ep 43 Confessions of a Theme Park Worker
When you work at a theme park, you tend to get a lot of different things- maps, guides, work releated materials, souveniers, collectibles, and more. A lot of cast members keep a lot of it as momentos. Here's a look at some of the things I've kept over the years from my jobs at Disney World, Busch Gardens, and Silver Dollar City.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Photopass Photographers Carry Lots of Stuff - Ep 42 Confessions of a The...
My family would laugh at me sometimes when I came home from work and emptied my pockets. And they didn't even get to see everything that I carried. We routinely carried over 15 pounds of equipment and accessories to help us do our jobs. Here's a look at all of the different things that I used to carry in order to do my job well.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
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