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How does one measure the height of a terrain coaster?

cookie

Giga Poster
This may sound like an obvious question, but it's one that's kinda confused me when it comes to terrain coasters.

I've long assumed that a coaster's height is just measured from its tallest point relative to the ground, but how do you then measure coasters that go up the side of a hill/mountain? For example, RCDB lists Lisebergbanan's height as 45 meters, but at no point would I argue it's 45 meters above ground — so is it from the bottom to the top of the lift hill? From the coaster's tallest point to its lowest? Or is it all just inconsistent?
 

Snoo

The Legend

This.

Personally, I go by height from top of the hill to ground level, so actual height. Orion, which I believe spawned this thread, I don't consider a Giga personally. 287ft is a really tall hyper. I consider Phantoms Revenge a mega as well as it's not over 200ft even though it drops down a ravine for some 230ft. However, I do consider Magnum XL-200 a Hyper even though the drop is 194ft but it's 205ft tall.

You can't apply reverse logic just to fit your narrative. At the end of the day Height and Drop Height are two different things IMO. You could build a tunnel 200ft underground and build a coaster which is 257ft tall. Is it now the tallest coaster in the world? Nope. Is it a strata? Nope. Same logic. It may not be perfect but it certainly simplifies things.
 

Hixee

Flojector
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@Snoo nails it. In practice, parks can claim whatever they like, but in it's purest sense the only sure bet is it do what you say.
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
I’m in the other camp, for me it’s a drop in height that’s important, as in the change in height from the crest of a hill, to the bottom of that hill... I couldn’t care less about the structure supporting that drop, be it a huge spaghetti of steel or a hill side, or a building, a 200ft + drop is hyper and a 300ft + drop giga. IMO we don’t ride the structure, we ride the drop, so regardless of the height, a 300 foot drop is a 300 foot drop, it’s going to feel the same whether it’s down a hill side or from a support structure.

I actually thought that this was the generally accepted method too, seems I was wrong though.
 

roomraider

Best Topic Starter
I’m in the other camp, for me it’s a drop in height that’s important, as in the change in height from the crest of a hill, to the bottom of that hill... I couldn’t care less about the structure supporting that drop, be it a huge spaghetti of steel or a hill side, or a building, a 200ft + drop is hyper and a 300ft + drop giga. IMO we don’t ride the structure, we ride the drop, so regardless of the height, a 300 foot drop is a 300 foot drop, it’s going to feel the same whether it’s down a hill side or from a support structure.

I actually thought that this was the generally accepted method too, seems I was wrong though.
No i think you are right that is the generally accepted method. But there will always be outliers and contridictions whichever way you do it. (If Magnum is a hyper then so is Manhatten Express. If Orion isnt a Giga then Apollo isn't a Hyper etc etc).
For me its the experience. If you experience a 300ft drop then its a giga. doesnt matter what the actual height of the structure is at all.

But in the end. it doesn't really matter its just a name slapped on by parks and manafacturers.
 
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