Watching PoVs

[Mike]

Ride PoVs for most of the world's best rides and roller coasters can easily be accessible on YouTube, giving you an opportunity to watch rides which you might never have the opportunity to ride, or even watch rides if you are planning to visit the park in a kind of "try before you buy" scenario.

Where I can see the advantages of watching PoVs, I really try to ignore them until at least after I've ridden the ride, as I feel they spoil any surprise a ride might have, especially in regards to theming and other ride elements.

How do you feel about them?

 

[GuyWithAStick]

I used to watch them all the time. But if I know I'm riding a coaster in the near future, I try to avoid that particular POV(s). It gives me more of a surprise when I actually ride it.

 

[Jamesss]

The only POVs I don't tend to watch are dark rides that I haven't ridden yet, seeing as a big part of them is often the element of surprise.

Sometimes it's hard - especially when it comes to the Potter dark rides in Orlando - but I really wouldn't want to spoil it.

 

[CanobieFan]

As far as Coaster POV's go... If it something I don't plan on riding (ever/ for a while...) I'll watch it.. Or if its something new and big. But I don't like to watch POV's for coasters I'll be riding soon. I watched the Fury POV before riding it since I've ridden Leviathan and its pretty similar. I didn't watch Outlaw Runs since I was riding it that summer. I was trying to avoid all video and photos for Cannibal because I wanted to not know anything about it and in the end, ended up missing it all together... so I guess I would watch a POV of it. I tried to not watch a Wicked Cyclone POV, since I'll be there later this summer... but seeing is how it was an ex-home park of mine, I couldnt help myself.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

I usually only watch POVs months before a trip, if I haven't ridden the ride yet, so I'll forget all the details.
After I have ridden a ride, I will watch the POV.

 

[Rachel]

I do watch a lot of POV's, however if i've got a trip planned then i'll try and avoid them for those coasters.

 

[Jordanovichy]

I try hard to not watch a POV before I've ridden the coaster/ride. What's the point? You just get a **** view of a coaster, you can't get a good view of what the coaster is like, it's hard to tell the forces and airtime, merg. Plus why would you give away the secrets of a ride if you're hoping to ride it? I will quite happily watch a a POV afterwards though...having said this, I have watched Fury 325's POV...that is, I think, the only POV I've watched recently of something I haven't ridden.

 

[Pink Cadillac]

I watch far too many. I watch them before riding (but not in the few months before riding), but then rarely afterwards.

 

[ThomVD]

I watch loads of POVs. I'm obsessed with coasters and find them the most fun way to learn about coasters all over the world. I watch them even more before going on trips, as it builds excitement for me. And I rarely get disappointed after watching them, nor do I feel like the surprise has been spoiled. They always still surprise me in the end <3

I do not watch POVs of dark rides, water rides or coasters with a special gimmick to it (like Winjas), until I have ridden them. Only those that are wide and open and don't have proper secrets aside from maybe a surprising airtime spot which I can't even see from POVs.

 

[CookieCoasters]

I don't find watching POV's spoils riding the coaster for me. You can never tell exactly what each element is going to feel like, but I enjoy being able to see the layout of a coaster. I only watch them for notable coasters, particularly those without a lot of hype surrounding them because I want to get a sense of what all the fuss is about. I do like to watch them for coasters I'm going to be riding soon because it makes me look forward to them even more

 

[Intricks]

Im easily amused and entertained, so watching POVs have never really had the "spoiler" effect on any given ride. I remember watching the POV for Verbolten the day before I went to the park and I absolutely adored the ride still!

 

[Serena]

I like watching the PoV before and after riding a coaster, because I don't think they really give that much of the experience away. Sure, you can see the layout, but you won't know how it feels to ride until you ride it. For example, I watched the Helix PoV loads and thought I knew what to expect, but I was still really surprised by the flow and forces of the transitions when I rode it. If anything, watching a PoV drums up my anticipation to ride a coaster more, rather than spoiling it.

 

[Gavin]

I rarely bother with them. It's less to do with spoiling an experience and much more to do with the fact that I just don't find them particularly entertaining if I'm honest.

 

[Pierre]

I voted the wrong option.

I do watch them but only either;

a) I've already rode the coaster
b) I've no intention of riding the coaster so it won't spoil it.

When we went to Denmark/Germany I didn't view any of the POV's and some people with CF were talking **** like ohhhh this is the one that does this n that aint it blud and I was like I don't know mate I haven't watched any POVs and they were like ohhh man its gunna be sick you shoulda watched it bro.

True story.

 

[Hyde]

I watch POVs for fun; stuff I have not ridden, ridden, or plan on riding. Usually as we have the new video feed going on CoasterForce Youtube, I'll pick a few videos from time to time.

 

[robbeal]

Watching a POV of something i've not yet ridden doesn't really bother me, nothing is a substitute of the feeling of actually riding it. Generally I can see what a ride does just from photos, so a video isn't really spoiling anything as such. The forces of being on the ride are what make it or break it.

 

[Howie]

Yeah I watch 'em.

I sometimes wonder if I watch them too much, like 'Am I simply spoiling this for myself?' but I don't think it makes that much difference. If it's a good ride, it's a good ride, POV or not. You can still be surprised by a ride though, as has been mentioned several times already, few POVs give away what it actually feels like to ride the thing.
Based on the video, I thought I305 would blow me away.. and it didn't. On the flip side, I didn't think Volcano would blow me away.. and it did!

Which brings me to my next point. Not being a man of great material wealth means I can't go on as many goon trips as I would like, can't just bomb around the world all summer going to media days as and when I feel like it, so you have to be a bit more selective, right? A bit more considered. I find that POV videos are a good way of deciding which parks may or may not be worth the time and effort to visit. The I305 video alone pretty much convinced me that East Coast USA would have to be my next goon destination. There were some others, Griffon, KK and El Toro certainly got me intetested, but it was the Intimidator clip that finally made me go scurrying off to the travel agent clutching the credit card.

The real joy, of course, comes from finding those unexpected gems along the way that you didn't even see coming. Did someone say Verbolten? That, for example.