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Do you distinguish between 'favourite' and 'best'?

JoshC.

Strata Poster
I feel like there's been a thread like this before but I couldn't find it, so here goes..

When you talk about your 'top 10s', or your top ride or whatever, how exactly do you rank things? Is your top 10 your 'favourite' rides, or what you think are the 'best' rides you've done? Do you even have a distinction - are your favourite rides naturally the best rides you've been on?

To give an example to this, recently I've realised that Th13teen at Towers is my favourite ride. I just love the damn thing so much, and find it so re-rideable. Before, it used to be Nemesis. Now, if we're being purely critical, I think it's easy to say that Nemesis is, by far, a "better" ride than Th13teen, and I will still happily agree and acknowledge that. But still, I prefer Th13teen; I favour it more if you will.

I guess some could say 'Isn't that what a guilty pleasure is?'. And maybe that's what it is. But at the same time, I don't feel 'guilty' over preferring Th13teen - it is simply more enjoyable for me.

Do you do things like this, especially when it comes to your Top 10 for example? Is your Top 10 made up of the best 10 coasters you've ride rode? Or is it your favourites?
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
Favorites often line up with the best, as in the case of Vengeance and LRod. For a coaster like Kumba that ranks highly for me, I’m aware it isn’t as good a coaster as Storm Chaser or Twisted Cyclone. However, my memories of riding Kumba are better than on those RMCs. Therefore, it ranks higher for me. I guess I could argue the same for X2 since it doesn’t have a lot of the elements that make up the average top coaster. The uniqueness of the experience ranks it higher for me though.
 

Ireeb

Mega Poster
Yes, I do, because I love some coasters not just because of the experience, but also because I have personal memories connected to them. That's the reason why I have Blue Fire as my #1 coaster. Objectively, it's a basic coaster, that is good but not outstanding. But it was the coaster that turned me into a coaster enthusiast. That's reason enough for me to put it on #1, and I don't think I will ever change that. I rode coasters that I think are better than BF, but it is very unlikely that I would even have ridden them if Blue Fire didn't show me how much I actually love roller coasters.
 

Peet

Giga Poster
Yeah I think Nemesis will always be my favourite coaster since I have been riding it many times every year since my early teens. I have been on several better, more enjoyable coasters since then, but Nemesis is still my "favourite".
 

gavin

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
Yep. "Favourite" and "best" are rarely the same thing with anything: films, music, books, food etc. Why would coasters be any different?
 

James F

Hyper Poster
I suppose the 'best' argument is based on
1) How well the coaster is designed
2) How influencial the coaster is
3) How many enthusiasts rank it highly

Favourite is just based on your own opinion and can not be quantified unlike the prior category.

Sent from my G3221 using Tapatalk
 

mouse

Giga Poster
'Favourite' is subjective whereas 'best' is objective. I would say enjoyment of a roller coaster is more subjective than objective so there is no such thing as a 'best'; rather there are rides that are simply favoured more than others.
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
I would say enjoyment of a roller coaster is more subjective than objective so there is no such thing as a 'best'
Yeah, the closest you can really get to an objective statement for 'best' is "most people enjoy this ride," or "this ride has specs X, Y and Z, which most people tend to dislike." The problem with defining "best" is that you need some solid definition that doesn't involve enjoyment. I tend to use best as either 'favourite' or 'commonly the favourite of others.'
 

Snoo

The Legend
Yeah coasters are incredibly subjective so to tell what is best would be impossible.

I will say that I've had a Top 10 of my favorite coasters for some time but not one of my favorite EXPERIENCES in comparison which is a similar but completely different list in some respects.

Opinions are very hard to quantify as even polls are flawed to some, even when Mitch Hawker was a thing.
 

Peet

Giga Poster
I gave this some thought and realised I'd been listing my *favourite* park (BPB) on my profile instead of the *best* park I've visited (SFMM), and have duly corrected this error!
 

caffeine_demon

Strata Poster
'Favourite' is subjective whereas 'best' is objective. I would say enjoyment of a roller coaster is more subjective than objective so there is no such thing as a 'best'; rather there are rides that are simply favoured more than others.

I Dunno - I'd say "best" was pretty subjective too - unlike "fastest", "Tallest" or "Longest".
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
In my own head, yes I do. I've virtually given up on having a definitive 'Top 10' anymore, but if I did it would be a blend of what I believe are the best coasters I've ridden, what are my favourite coasters and coasters that I've had an amazing experience on. In fact, you could probably make 3 entirely different top 10 lists based on those criteria. Much like @Peet , Nemesis would probably top my favourites list because of nostalgia reasons. Taron would be in with a shout on the experience list because of night-time ERT with goons, and Steel Vengeance would undoubtedly be king of the best list because it's jaw-droppingly good.
So yeah... no. Kind of.
I dunno.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
In my own head, yes I do. I've virtually given up on having a definitive 'Top 10' anymore, but if I did it would be a blend of what I believe are the best coasters I've ridden, what are my favourite coasters and coasters that I've had an amazing experience on. In fact, you could probably make 3 entirely different top 10 lists based on those criteria. Much like @Peet , Nemesis would probably top my favourites list because of nostalgia reasons. Taron would be in with a shout on the experience list because of night-time ERT with goons, and Steel Vengeance would undoubtedly be king of the best list because it's jaw-droppingly good.
So yeah... no. Kind of.
I dunno.
But if you don't have a top 10 are you really an enthusiast?

Or just some old dude who likes riding childrens rides?

giphy.gif
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
^If you think that's funny - every night on holiday while you were sleeping, after going to the toilet I'd creep over and put my lad in your ear.
How you like them apples? Or plums, as it were. :D
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
^If you think that's funny - every night on holiday while you were sleeping, after going to the toilet I'd creep over and put my lad in your ear.
How you like them apples? Or plums, as it were. :D
No surprises there, I have small ears, you have a small...
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Ahhh, banter! I've missed this! Where've ya been for the last month ya part timer?
I've been having my holidays :D
Consisted of a lot of camping and a trip to Italy with not much time for internets. Now I'm back at work so will be sitting on here all day every day again :rolleyes:
 

chainedbanana

Hyper Poster
I totally get this - for example I've seen some brilliant films - which I've HATED! They were amazingly filmed, acted etc and I appreciated that BUT I hated the content/mood/how it made me feel! I've also heard some excellent music that I've not liked! Which sounds confusing, but I think you can appreciate talent etc without enjoying something or it 'being you'

so it's not always the case that because you hate something = its ****!

In coaster terms I've been on some coasters that have been a bit too much for me, and I didn't want to ride again, whilst they where subjectively V impressive machines - they just weren't for me!
 
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