Children's Coasters, what makes them good for kids?
- Thread starter Inverse
- Start date
Teeny-Weeny.
End of. Doesn't pretend it's something that it isn't. It's a kiddie ride, and it is it proud to be so. Not there for thrills, it's there because it's the smallest coaster on Earth. Thus, people travel from afar to ride it.
End of. Doesn't pretend it's something that it isn't. It's a kiddie ride, and it is it proud to be so. Not there for thrills, it's there because it's the smallest coaster on Earth. Thus, people travel from afar to ride it.
LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
Skull Mountain if that counts.
Got a damn good pop of airtime cresting the hill on that lil' thing
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Got a damn good pop of airtime cresting the hill on that lil' thing
.
Snoo
The Legend
Inverse
Hyper Poster
With the options i tried to not pick blatently "kiddie" coaters... coasters that are aimed at younger audiences might have been a better title. They're mostly for slightly older children, maybe 7-11 age?
I've chosen the Dragon, I really like the indoor section and the outside gives some good swooping turns that kids love.
I've chosen the Dragon, I really like the indoor section and the outside gives some good swooping turns that kids love.
sorry, not being rude, but you're being clueless
Aged 7-11 Minor_Furie was riding anything from Big Dipper at Blackpool, to Balder, Jubilee Odyssey, and at the end Nemesis, Oblivion and Stealth.
It only took him until he was 11 to get onto the bigger rides because he's about 12 months behind height wise.
Maxi-Minor_Furie at three has done six out of the seven above. If we went to Legoland, he'd also do Dragon. He'd done four of them before he was three!!!
So, they aren't really for the 7-11 age range (MMF is the size of a four year old though, so has had some advantages there).
I have to say it depends also on the criteria. Are these coasters which you think are superb for kids? Which range of kids?
Is it coasters you enjoy, so a mix of kiddy coaster, which also has an element an adult will enjoy?
To be honest, it's not very well thought out at all :lol:
Personally, I love Cobra, but it has a higher height limit than the others.
Zipper Dipper is great fun too, and a great introduction to woodies for kids.
Dragon is okay, but it's the "pre-ride show" which really makes it. The actual coaster is okay I suppose.
Troublesome Trucks is a brilliant coaster - for kids. Drayton could have dumped in a standard Pinfari or Zierer piece of pants - but went for something a bit different. It's fast and twisting, but so smooth - excellent! It makes kids dry too, always a bonus.
Stinger - standard stuff really. Do it for "the credit".
Maxi-Minor_Furie would tell you the best is Flying Frog at Paultons. It's because it's short, fun and doesn't exert too much - it doesn't overload your system. It also has a cute frog on the front.
Again, kids want something different to adults. We want to be "thrilled", kids want to be entertained. Thrill may make up a part of that, but it's not an overwhelming part of their enjoyment of a ride. MMF laughed all the way through Cobra, but had no desire to re-ride. It overloaded him and involved too much in the way of emotional responses, reactions and everything else. So while he loved it, it's not a good form of repetitive entertainment.
So, there we go. It's not quite a simple as it all looks!
Aged 7-11 Minor_Furie was riding anything from Big Dipper at Blackpool, to Balder, Jubilee Odyssey, and at the end Nemesis, Oblivion and Stealth.
It only took him until he was 11 to get onto the bigger rides because he's about 12 months behind height wise.
Maxi-Minor_Furie at three has done six out of the seven above. If we went to Legoland, he'd also do Dragon. He'd done four of them before he was three!!!
So, they aren't really for the 7-11 age range (MMF is the size of a four year old though, so has had some advantages there).
I have to say it depends also on the criteria. Are these coasters which you think are superb for kids? Which range of kids?
Is it coasters you enjoy, so a mix of kiddy coaster, which also has an element an adult will enjoy?
To be honest, it's not very well thought out at all :lol:
Personally, I love Cobra, but it has a higher height limit than the others.
Zipper Dipper is great fun too, and a great introduction to woodies for kids.
Dragon is okay, but it's the "pre-ride show" which really makes it. The actual coaster is okay I suppose.
Troublesome Trucks is a brilliant coaster - for kids. Drayton could have dumped in a standard Pinfari or Zierer piece of pants - but went for something a bit different. It's fast and twisting, but so smooth - excellent! It makes kids dry too, always a bonus.
Stinger - standard stuff really. Do it for "the credit".
Maxi-Minor_Furie would tell you the best is Flying Frog at Paultons. It's because it's short, fun and doesn't exert too much - it doesn't overload your system. It also has a cute frog on the front.
Again, kids want something different to adults. We want to be "thrilled", kids want to be entertained. Thrill may make up a part of that, but it's not an overwhelming part of their enjoyment of a ride. MMF laughed all the way through Cobra, but had no desire to re-ride. It overloaded him and involved too much in the way of emotional responses, reactions and everything else. So while he loved it, it's not a good form of repetitive entertainment.
So, there we go. It's not quite a simple as it all looks!
Inverse
Hyper Poster
^^ I just put up some coasters of different types and asked what people considered best. Maybe i should have done types over named coasters, may be it's not worth gathering peoples opinions on the UKs smaller coasters. I would like to point out, with reference to Minor and Maxi-Minor, is that they're in a minority of children by having an enthusiast father who likely encourages them into coasters at a younger age, or a greater frequency than average. Surely their coaster experience, and therefore maturety is well above their classmates?
Forgetting ages i stated above, or the fact that listing every coaster under the sun would have taken a while. I was aiming to select a small list of coasters larger than a Go Gater and smaller than 1.4 height limit. They're also, IMO, different to one another in important areas. For example: The Dragon has the models, The Stinger is old, Cobra is new and smooth, Zipper Dipper is wooden, Mine Trains are powered and Big Apples are common.
So without listing all coasters, i think their is a nice range there.
So what makes a good childrens coaster?
I like to think that something other than the ride itself, like the Dragon's Lego Models, that's why i disagree with Pokemaniac about Teeny-Weeny. I also really like the Cobra and Trucks for their smoothness and the theming around Thomas Land is great.
Forgetting ages i stated above, or the fact that listing every coaster under the sun would have taken a while. I was aiming to select a small list of coasters larger than a Go Gater and smaller than 1.4 height limit. They're also, IMO, different to one another in important areas. For example: The Dragon has the models, The Stinger is old, Cobra is new and smooth, Zipper Dipper is wooden, Mine Trains are powered and Big Apples are common.
So without listing all coasters, i think their is a nice range there.
So what makes a good childrens coaster?
I like to think that something other than the ride itself, like the Dragon's Lego Models, that's why i disagree with Pokemaniac about Teeny-Weeny. I also really like the Cobra and Trucks for their smoothness and the theming around Thomas Land is great.
I agree that MMF has a different outlook, but I didn't have enthusiast parents, but still did a wide range of coasters when I was young (Corkscrew being my first inverted when I was 7).
The problem the vote is that the rides are really too varied to decide on. They're aimed at quite different ages, and often, the height limit doesn't accurately represent the age range it's aimed at.
So the thing doesn't work for me, choosing the "best children's ride". You first have to decide which age of child you're referring too, and this list covers anywhere from toddlers at 12 months old, to kids more into thrills at 9 or so - then a wide range in between.
As an adult, I still enjoy Cobra and RMT as good, solid rides. I wouldn't recommend them for everyone with a child under five though (MMF being different, as you pointed out - but as I also quantified).
However, I hate Caterpillar coasters, but I think they're a superb coaster to take a two or three year old on - a much better choice than any of the others (not that they'd be able to ride any of the others until they were between three and five generally).
I know what you're trynig to do, but it has to be which ride we prefer out of the kiddie coasters, not which is the best coaster for kids - it's an important difference. What makes a good kids coaster is really dependent on age.
Teeny Weeny is a brilliant coaster up against a Caterpillar (though I would still argue a Caterpillar has more going for it than Teeny Weeny for young kids). However, it's very poor up against Cobra for the over five category.
It's really very complicated compared to comparing adult rides :lol:
The problem the vote is that the rides are really too varied to decide on. They're aimed at quite different ages, and often, the height limit doesn't accurately represent the age range it's aimed at.
So the thing doesn't work for me, choosing the "best children's ride". You first have to decide which age of child you're referring too, and this list covers anywhere from toddlers at 12 months old, to kids more into thrills at 9 or so - then a wide range in between.
As an adult, I still enjoy Cobra and RMT as good, solid rides. I wouldn't recommend them for everyone with a child under five though (MMF being different, as you pointed out - but as I also quantified).
However, I hate Caterpillar coasters, but I think they're a superb coaster to take a two or three year old on - a much better choice than any of the others (not that they'd be able to ride any of the others until they were between three and five generally).
I know what you're trynig to do, but it has to be which ride we prefer out of the kiddie coasters, not which is the best coaster for kids - it's an important difference. What makes a good kids coaster is really dependent on age.
Teeny Weeny is a brilliant coaster up against a Caterpillar (though I would still argue a Caterpillar has more going for it than Teeny Weeny for young kids). However, it's very poor up against Cobra for the over five category.
It's really very complicated compared to comparing adult rides :lol:
slappy mcguire
Mega Poster
What makes them good for kids? If they can chose whether an adult can come on them too or not, and good themeing is essential - a park is after all punting for future business, and the first time you pop your rollercoaster cherry, you want it to be memorable...
My kids first coasters were the 'new rollercoaster' ath the now defunct metroland, and the ladybird at Lightwater valley, as I simply refuse to consider the go-gator a rollercoaster. Their faves (as they are best placed to decide) are the troublesome trucks, and the buffalo, at Drayton Manor.
My kids first coasters were the 'new rollercoaster' ath the now defunct metroland, and the ladybird at Lightwater valley, as I simply refuse to consider the go-gator a rollercoaster. Their faves (as they are best placed to decide) are the troublesome trucks, and the buffalo, at Drayton Manor.
I'm a tad confused with the question.
Is it "what makes a ride good for kids?" or "Which of these is the best kiddie coaster?"
A good ride for kids is something with a low height limit and isn't going to scare them, but mildly thrill them.
Out of that list, Troublesome Trucks is win. I don't think I've ever seen a coaster where most of the queue line is made up of kids so it must be doing something right...even if I don't understand exactly what it is.
Is it "what makes a ride good for kids?" or "Which of these is the best kiddie coaster?"
A good ride for kids is something with a low height limit and isn't going to scare them, but mildly thrill them.
Out of that list, Troublesome Trucks is win. I don't think I've ever seen a coaster where most of the queue line is made up of kids so it must be doing something right...even if I don't understand exactly what it is.
