Viper in the Top Ten!!

[DJMikey]

Don't know if this has been posted already but I couldn't find it anywhere. This was on the news yesterday. I agree that Viper is an amazing coaster, but do you think its Top Ten?

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7601694

[sfgamguy]

cool

[tribar]

Well its in my top ten because i havent riden much else but in the country probably not. It is cool though that we have a top ten in our park though

[david]

Isn't Viper like #4 in the country, or something?

[BLADE]

http://www.amusementtoday.com/corndog/2009GTAissue.pdf

In 2009 in was ranked #30 wood. It's deserving of this, but it is definitely not top 10. This is a list compiled from experienced riders throughout the world, not 1 member of the media, and you have to meet certain qualifications to vote. I would consider this much more credible.

[BLADE]

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinat ... titialskip

Here is his top 10. Some I can see, others I can't.

[tribar]

I guess SFGAm isnt the cleasnist theme park in the world

[Cole]

I dont know why, but Viper just doesnt do it for me. Its my 5 or 6 woodie.

[BLADE]

To me it's just a really solid family coaster. Fun, comfortable, but nothing extreme about it. Plus, it has a very small number of "magic seats" and is too inconsistent with it's performance.

[Ilovthevu']

Really, Viper outranks Raging Bull at our park? That's a shock in their list.

[BLADE]

^That's because it it one guy's opinion. If you look at the amusement today link I posted, it's not the case.

[Galvan]

^ And amusement today is just a bunch of enthusiasts opinions. Which mean absolutely nothing

[BLADE]

^So do you know of a more legit poll? I find MOST, BUT NOT ALL, of their rankings worthy when I ride them. I also would rather have the collective opinions of an experienced group, than one person's opinions. Cedar Point has their Amusement Today Golden ticket right on the cover of their map. Holiday World had them posted in the park when I was there. I would say managers of some parks take them seriously.

[Necropolis]

WOW! USA Today is a national magazine and they ranked Viper in the tope 10?! Hmmm...I wonder if its based on their own personal list or if its based on a public survey? Well I guess its good to hear that news. You never hear anything about the midwest in national news. Its always about the east and west coast. Personally I really dont like Viper. American Eagle is better, in my opinion. Go Viper!

[monsterfan99]

^So do you know of a more legit poll?

Give me Mitch Hawker's poll over Golden Ticket Awards any day. Even with the Robb Alvey effect, it is still a better poll on a whole.

I find MOST, BUT NOT ALL, of their rankings worthy when I ride them. I also would rather have the collective opinions of an experienced group, than one person's opinions. Cedar Point has their Amusement Today Golden ticket right on the cover of their map. Holiday World had them posted in the park when I was there. I would say managers of some parks take them seriously.

Or they know the public are suckers for awards, deserving or not. If you tell the public that their local park is has/is #1 at something (aka cleanest theme park in the world here) they think the park is something special, even with BS awards like Golden Tickets. It's all marketing and for the magazine, they make big bucks off the advertising they get when a park wins an award.

[BLADE]

http://www.ushsho.com/steelrollercoaste ... ts2009.htm

That one is good too. I know I've looked at it before, but it is so much harder to read and doesn't break down rides into more classes, like dark rides. I also haven't found awards for shows, kids areas, landscaping, customer service, or anything else that deserves to be mentioned in this industry.
Here are Great America's rankings:
Wood: #43 Viper, #105 Eagle
Steel: #51 Raging Bull, #148 SUF, #161 V2, #193 Whizzer, #269 Dark Knight, #285 Demon, #331 Iron Wolf
I did not find any of the Batman clones on there.
Other notables: #200 Deja Vu (MM), #145 Chang, and finally a poll that puts Magnum XL200 where it belongs at #69.

I have found plenty of deserving credentials on the Amusement today awards. Kings Island childrens area is outstanding like it is ranked. Spiderman IOA, Revenge of the Mummy USF, and Rock and Roller coaster WDHS (aerosmith) are all worthy of their awards in the dark ride catagories.

[monsterfan99]

^Amusement Today voters are encouraged to vote on rides they have never ridden. Just ask for a ballot and it says that. Not much more needs to be said after that.

[FParker185]

This is true, I've been getting ballots for the past 10-12 years or so, and lately it's turning into a pretty big joke. It basically says that if you haven't ridden say any new rides for 2010, to use best judgement, hearsay and internet reviews to make your decision. Also I think the biggest thing that hurts the process is the fact that you used to have to write in every single answer, now after each question is a list for checkmarks, then at the bottom you can write in something that may not appear on the list. Basically you need to get on the list to have any chance of winning anything. And for anyone wondering no, SFGAm did not even make the list for Worlds Cleanest Theme Park

[Cryptkeeper]

^ And amusement today is just a bunch of enthusiasts opinions. Which mean absolutely nothing

It sure sounds like Amusement Today's rankings are definitely flawed if they encourage people to vote on coasters they haven't ridden. That is definitely very stupid.

However, not in regards to the Amusement Today's rankings, but, in general, if one was to look for a poll which ranked coasters, wouldn't enthusiasts be the best sample population to choose from as they have gone on the more coasters then most others? Similarly, if I wanted to know what people thought was the best movie of 2010 thus far, would I get better sense of what people overall thought if I asked people who saw 3 or 4 movies this year or people who saw 100+ movies this year? Obviously, you would get a more representative answer of the general populous by asking people who've seen 100+ movies this year over people who have only seen a few. The same would apply for opinions regarding "best roller coaster."

Of course, opinions are like...yeah, that, and everyone has one. To value someone's opinion is a choice we all make repeatedly - sometimes we do choose to value them, and, in the case above, sometimes we don't.

[BLADE]

^ Very nicely put.

[monsterfan99]

However, not in regards to the Amusement Today's rankings, but, in general, if one was to look for a pole which ranked coasters, wouldn't enthusiasts be the best sample population to choose from as they have gone on the more coasters then most others? Similarly, if I wanted to know what people thought was the best movie of 2010 thus far, would I get better sense of what people overall thought if I asked people who saw 3 or 4 movies this year or people who saw 100+ movies this year? Obviously, you would get a more representative answer of the general populous by asking people who've seen 100+ movies this year over people who have only seen a few. The same would apply for opinions regarding "best roller coaster."

I would agree except each coaster does not have an equal chance. Evel Knievel will never out rank a coaster like The Voyage, no matter how good or bad it is. It is simply put that a lot of enthusiast have never ridden it. Same goes from rides at parks where no one really goes to (much of the south.) Holiday World is also an "untouchable" golden child who can do no wrong. It's because they wine and dine nerds to get votes, simple as that.

The poll also likes to include rides that no longer run/exist. Last year alone the list contained 3 coaster that did not run in 2009, even one that has been torn down for a few years. How the torn down coaster (Aska at Dreamland) can rank above rides still running is beyond me.

[BLADE]

^ Have you taken this poll before?

[monsterfan99]

^Sure have.

[Cryptkeeper]

However, not in regards to the Amusement Today's rankings, but, in general, if one was to look for a pole which ranked coasters, wouldn't enthusiasts be the best sample population to choose from as they have gone on the more coasters then most others? Similarly, if I wanted to know what people thought was the best movie of 2010 thus far, would I get better sense of what people overall thought if I asked people who saw 3 or 4 movies this year or people who saw 100+ movies this year? Obviously, you would get a more representative answer of the general populous by asking people who've seen 100+ movies this year over people who have only seen a few. The same would apply for opinions regarding "best roller coaster."

I would agree except each coaster does not have an equal chance. Evel Knievel will never out rank a coaster like The Voyage, no matter how good or bad it is. It is simply put that a lot of enthusiast have never ridden it. Same goes from rides at parks where no one really goes to (much of the south.) Holiday World is also an "untouchable" golden child who can do no wrong. It's because they wine and dine nerds to get votes, simple as that.

This is definitely true! But in any ranking, when you're listing "the best" from such a HUGE population, you will always have options that don't get picked because no one has experience with them. This holds true for ranking movies as well. Many peoples favorite movie this year is probably Inception (I know I loved it! ), yet how many people have actually come even close to seeing all movies released this year? Most people probably have only seen a handful+ of new releases, so in a ranking of best movies of the year, not all movies have an equal chance as so few people (if any) have seen all released movies this year, which is the same with coasters as I don't think anyone has been on every single one currently in existence.

So in conclusion, I guess it's important to remember to always take polls with a grain of salt - as something that is not to be studied and examined as if it's the truth, but instead as a conversation piece that can spark conversation and debate among those dissecting it.

On the subject of Holiday World - you are so spot on. I wholeheartedly agree that the only reason they started enthusiast events back up again is to get votes in the Golden Ticket awards. Not everyone at the park likes enthusiasts as much as they appear to. I am happy that the park finally has lost out on "friendliest park" as, while it's not unfriendly, it hasn't been friendliest park IMHO in many years.

[david]

I think this should call for a very nice Viper rehab? Something like, complete re tracking? That would be phenomenal. Even though, it really doesn't need it at all.