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Coaster of the Decade

^^Why would they build one of the scale of Air when they can have something bigger and better like Tatsu? I'm sorry but Air is just boring in comparison to the rest of Alton's coasters.
 
rollermonkey said:
Ben said:
Blaze said:
But it did create a new type that has become popular, and proved rides don't have to be huge to be big hits.

There hasn't been a flyer like Air yet, but so far we have only had the clone model, Tatsu and Manta. Magic Mountain were hardly going to build something like Air, and Manta is a bit of a compromise between the two, low flying sections but also tall sections. With time and the right parks buying them, I expect there will be more like Air.
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You're really quite dumb aren't you?
Click to expand...

Why does this post make him dumb? Nothing in there is actually incorrect.

Flyers are popular, and big hits in the parks where they have been built.

There hasn't been another flyer like Air yet.

4 S:UF Clones, Tatsu and Manta. Yup, that's the B&M Flyer install list.

Magic Mountain would not build a clone of Air.

Manta is a blend of Tatsu and Air, with additional elements.

With time, another park may choose to build a ride similar to Air.

So, maybe you don't like Blaze, but give him crap when he deserves it, not just because you don't like him. OK?
Click to expand...

Did you read the topic? Like, at all?

He said that Air "proved" that coasters don't have to be big and fast, and was thus "influential", as the topic asks. It proved that Flyers don't have to be huge, and yet every Flyer since has been large and totally unlike Air? If there's a Flyer that influenced the ones after it, it's Superman. And then to say "Oh, but I'm sure NEW Flyers will actually be like Air... maybe...", was really dumb...

A ride that has influenced no-one can NOT be influential. Air started nothing. The designs for the ride type set off Superman etc., but Air itself? It's still very much on its own.

There ARE coasters that have proved that bigger isn't always better - but it aint Air.
 
I agree with Ben. I think AIR is a great ride but it hasn't got a single sequel so it can hardly be called 'influential'.
 
Why is anyone talking about Air in the first place? Wouldn't it make more sense to mention Stealth?
 
Stealth isn't anywhere near the coaster of the decade considering it's a smaller version of a design that's been done years earlier.
 
Hmm, I see the argument for giving Stealth an honourable mention as it did bring speed and height to the UK (so maybe a contender for the UK title) but it's old hat when you think of TTD and KK.

Although speed and height do not necessarily make a good coaster in enthusiast's eyes, they are probably the two main crowd pullers and buzz creators. 99% of the non-enthusiats I know mention Stealth to me, so it's certainly one to consider.
 
I don't think anybody (including me) who mentioned Stealth (or AIR for that matter) had it in mind for "the worlds most influential", I think everybody proposed it as a contender to the UK-title. If you look at the world wide competition both Xcelerator (started the accelerator boom) and Top Thrill Dragster (first strata coaster) are much stronger contenders!

But for the UK Stealth probably is the best coaster imo. And although a lot of people rank eg Nemesis higher, it was built in the 90's so Stealth remain the top contender.

For the world wide title I still consider Xcelerator, TTD, Bizarro (SFNE) or X2 to be the most likely coaster to win the title.

In Europe I guess it can only be either Colossos (HP) or EGF. Other options are Katun and Superman la attración de Acero but they usually dont't get as much attention as the other two proposed coasters. Piraten could be a wild card as well..
 
A couple coasters come to mind right away - Millennium Force, Hades, Xcelerator, X2...But I'll need to mull it over a bit before I give a final answer.
 
Ben said:
rollermonkey said:
Ben said:
Blaze said:
But it did create a new type that has become popular, and proved rides don't have to be huge to be big hits.

There hasn't been a flyer like Air yet, but so far we have only had the clone model, Tatsu and Manta. Magic Mountain were hardly going to build something like Air, and Manta is a bit of a compromise between the two, low flying sections but also tall sections. With time and the right parks buying them, I expect there will be more like Air.
Click to expand...

You're really quite dumb aren't you?
Click to expand...

Why does this post make him dumb? Nothing in there is actually incorrect.

Flyers are popular, and big hits in the parks where they have been built.

There hasn't been another flyer like Air yet.

4 S:UF Clones, Tatsu and Manta. Yup, that's the B&M Flyer install list.

Magic Mountain would not build a clone of Air.

Manta is a blend of Tatsu and Air, with additional elements.

With time, another park may choose to build a ride similar to Air.

So, maybe you don't like Blaze, but give him crap when he deserves it, not just because you don't like him. OK?
Click to expand...

Did you read the topic? Like, at all?

He said that Air "proved" that coasters don't have to be big and fast, and was thus "influential", as the topic asks. It proved that Flyers don't have to be huge, and yet every Flyer since has been large and totally unlike Air? If there's a Flyer that influenced the ones after it, it's Superman. And then to say "Oh, but I'm sure NEW Flyers will actually be like Air... maybe...", was really dumb...

A ride that has influenced no-one can NOT be influential. Air started nothing. The designs for the ride type set off Superman etc., but Air itself? It's still very much on its own.

There ARE coasters that have proved that bigger isn't always better - but it aint Air.
Click to expand...

Is Air influential? Perhaps not hugely so from an outsider's perspective, but the original post asked for OPINIONS about what coasters from the 2000's were influential. It was still the first ever B&M flyer, no matter by how much or how little. I'm quite certain that Air was in development within Alton & B&M far longer than Superman:UF was with 6F and B&M. Lessons learned in it's development would have had a huge effect on future designs within the companies involved, no matter how different the layouts became.



Anyways, he's entitled to his OPINION in the matter as much as you are, but you don't need to insult him because you don't agree.
 
X - SFMM

It's the only one i can really think of with a story big enough to be called "coaster of the decade".

A bit like Maradona and Muhamed Ali, it's gone through some rough patches but you can not deny its greatness. As well as the unique spinning seats, which designers are still struggling to replicate today, it's got many of the attributes of other rides that have helped define the industry. A vertical drop, a flying position (and seated, legs dangling etc.), a 200ft+ drop and laterly, onboard sound. This ride also has the ignominious claim of bankrupting Arrow Dynamics. This is the company that brought us steel rides in the first place, not to mention the first ever inversions.

The only thing you could argue that it lacks is a launch and, yes, this decade has been a big one for launches but it's not like they are a new thing. Weightdrops and flywheels have been around for years and the 90s saw many more launched rides. There were three in one park (PKD) by the turn of the century. So no, it has to be X (or X2) for me.
 
The problem with X is that it isn't an influential coaster, there is only one other 4D coaster.

I would say it fits more in the "fail of the decade" category. It was heralded as the dawning of a new coaster age but ended up being a fluke of technology that caused Arrow to file for bankruptcy, literally taking five years and a rebrand to get the damn coaster working.

A very influential coaster in the sense of never building one again.
 
^ I agree with that. For me, influential wise (although repeated many times) Millie. Simply because it showed we could go above 300 ft. and even faster at that as the cable lift is proven faster. As for best coaster, in the U.S. probably Boulder Dash only because of the reviews and how everyone talks about it. For the U.K. even though I'm not that caught up with it much, Stealth as I read from one comment on here, it's supposedly the best thing the Brits have.
 
^ I don't think it really offered anything new to the table (taking the best concepts from different roller coasters and combining them but still not offering anything new), but it definitely kinda showed parks that bigger isn't always better.

Millennium Force definitely is up there, not because it's a fantastic ride by any means, but because like people have said, it showed what heights and speeds can be reached and whatnot.

Other than that, it's way too hard to pick the most influencial coaster.
 
I'm going to have to say Xcelerator, because it sort of kick started a launched coaster renaissance....
The technology reached a new level of capability so more ambitious world records were possible, renewed interest from park operators saw these becoming something else to balance their parks out with and smaller parks have begun adopting launched coasters. More manufacturers have started offering launches, and pushed their own technologies to match the new standards expected in terms of acceleration performance. The more powerful launches now available have meant some rides have made the launch experience something unto itself and the main focus of the ride, rather than something that merely gets the ride up to speed.
I mean, even looking at the parks here, the last 4 coasters opened here were launched.
 
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