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Ian

Ian

From CoasterForce
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What do you think about word "The" at the start of ride names?

I think it's ok if used in the middle of a name, such as "Leap The Dips" or "Batman: The Ride" because it's descriptive, but I find it a bit irritating at the start, such as "The Swarm" or "The Smiler".

I tend to drop the "the" when referring to such rides. "The something" makes it sound like an object or a building, not a ride experience.
 
It's also a bane for people like Beans. Okay, so The Swarm is "Swarmie", but it should really be The-ee, likewise The Smiler, making it not only annoying but it grates my pedant bone too ;)
 
I find it quite a pointless addition to be honest and normally don't use it.

Whats really annoying though is people who put "the" on a ride name that doesn't have it, for example "The Nemesis" :roll: .
 
Rachel said:
Whats really annoying though is people who put "the" on a ride name that doesn't have it, for example "The Nemesis" :roll: .
Click to expand...

This.

At least people can't do that if the ride name actually has "the" in front of the name.

Personally I prefer not to have "The" in ride names, they just sound better without it. I think 'The Swarm' needed it, but 'Smiler' sounds better without.
 
Putting "The" in front of rides is something that's fine and usually does sound better if the rides actually called that (E.G The Smiler and The Swarm). But when chavs say "The Stealth" it's like...why...just why?
 
I wish it would die in a fire. The does not belong as the first word in a ride description.
 
well - just to annoy you, I'm planning a trip to alton towers soon to ride "the Nemesis"...

(actually - "The" fits quite nicely in "the nemesis" - but "the Rita", "The Oblivion" and "The thirteen" aren't quite so good!)
 
Don't like it. It's like Merlin have just cottoned onto the trend in pop bands that started a few years ago - and it was bloody annoying then, too!
 
I despise it, and like previously stated, when people say 'the' Nemesis.

However, I think in the case of 'The Smiler' it is ok because the whole theme is supposed to be an object called 'The Smiler' that you are strapped into.
 
'The' is a pointless addition to a name - it doesn't add anything imo. I never refer to any ride with 'the' even if it is in the name like Swarm and Smiler. Only exception is if it's the middle word such as SAW - The Ride.

But when people add it to a ride name that doesn't have 'the' in it, that annoys me!
 
I think it can work, but only when the name is kind of descriptive of the ride rather than a personal name; ie. The Voyage and The Ultimate
 
It's fine in its place as a descriptor, or for a sense of creating an imposing idea or importance.

THE Swarm is fine, THE Roller Coaster is not.
 
If it's in the middle I don't mind like Saw: The Ride and Batman: The Ride. The only I like at the beginning is the Ultimate, The Boss, and The Texas Giant.
 
Meh, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world if a ride has a "The" as the first word of its name. I certainly don't understand why some of you are getting that worked up over it... it's just an article that neither adds nor detracts from the imagery the name is trying to evoke. And I also don't blame people who add a "the" to the beginning of coaster names which don't officially have them, since I'm guilty of it with a few specific rides myself. As a young kid, I got so into the habit of referring to Big Bad Wolf and Loch Ness Monster as "The Big Bad Wolf" and "The Loch Ness Monster" that I still frequently, though not always, refer to them as such today. I'm the same way with "The Incredible Hulk," although usually I'll just refer to it as "The Hulk," which I'm sure is common to many people, even enthusiasts. In fact, for lots of rides whose names are nouns, the additional "the" sounds perfectly natural: "The Raging Bull," "The Silver Star," "The Cyclone," etc.

I guess if someone were to say "The Fahrenheit" or "The El Toro," that would sound pretty odd. But those are naturally so awkward-sounding that I doubt there are many who do that.
 
I hear every ride with The in front of it and drives me bonkers. You wouldn't call it the McDonalds or The Disneyland, so why does everyone say the in front of every ride! The X2 is one of the worst. Others aren't that bad, but that one really drives me bonkers.
 
It seems that RCDB hate the word "the" so much at the beginning of a ride name, they've left it off all but one coaster!

2 Roller Coaster names start with "the":
The Great Alonzo's Cannonball Coaster - Six Flags America (Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA)
These United States - Sun Fun Park (North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA)

I don't mind it, and never really pay much attention to it. It slightly annoys me when people add in a "the" where there wasn't one to begin with, but not half as much as when people call a ride/park the wrong name all together! (Disneyland's now in Orlando, Nemesis is now at Thorpe...etc).
 
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