I don't watch POV's before riding...

[sKrATcher]

Just wondering if anyone else does/has done this -

I enjoy the element of surprise and not fully knowing what to expect. There are a lot of POV videos online of pretty much any coaster out there. I personally refrain from watching on rides I have never been on, since I want to be surprised and not know what is coming when I'm on a given coaster for the first time. I enjoy watching POV's of rides I have already been on to relive the memories. I just don't like to watch them first so I can be surprised. I haven't even watched the animated ones for Steel Vengeance. I want the elements to be a surprise when I ride it for the first time next year.

The only times I really watch POV's on coasters I haven't ridden yet are ones at parks that I am unlikely to ever make it to, or defunct coasters (Ring Runner comes to mind, but with its only having a 4 day run, those couple of videos were a true treat to watch).

 

[TLARides]

I'll do the same sometimes. The only time I watched a POV before riding was Storm Chaser. But that was only to see what a "trick-track double up" was.

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[TilenB]

I'll do the same sometimes. The only time I watched a POV before riding was Storm Chaser. But that was only to see what a "trick-track double up" was.

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I can't believe you haven't watched Smiler's POV yet...

 

[TLARides]

I can't believe you haven't watched Smiler's POV yet...

I have. Numerous times. But that's only because it'll be forever until I ride it.

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[jayjay]

Yep, I'm the same. Prefer the surprise of not knowing anything about a ride. I might watch a POV if it's somewhere I'm unlikiely to go for a few years. I also try to stay away from construction pictures for anything I'm particularly excited for so I can get the full effect from walking in.

 

[Ireeb]

Depends on the ride. When I know I won't ride it any time soon I'll watch it, or when I'm simply not hyped about it.

 

[Coaster Hipster]

I find it quite hard to resist watching an on-ride POV to be honest Wanted to do that for Taron, but the hype was too big for me not to watch the videos. Gonna try to do that for F.L.Y. though...

Having said that, I would really love to "entirely" discover a coaster again, like in my pre-enthusiast days when I didn't know about Tonnerre de Zeus' layout and ended up completely blown away by it - keep it mind it was in the early 00s. Not being able to anticipate what the coaster has in storage was really exciting!

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I'm not gonna say I don't watch POVs because I definitely do, but I usually will just watch it once or twice rather than beating it into the ground and knowing every single element in perfect order. Also, if I'm going to a park that I don't know a whole lot about, I try not to even learn anything about it in order to keep it a bit of a surprise. Mind you, most of the parks in Japan were bad surprises, but the ones in Sweden were mostly really good surprises. Literally the entire time in Asia I was like oh, what rides are at the park we're going to today? So I don't like to know everything about coasters and parks, but I do dabble in the odd POV here and there! Surprises are fun.

 

[Imagineer Josh]

I've tried to avoid watching POVs of rides that I haven't been on. But when I did, I had watched so many POVs, there was nothing else to hide.

 

[Edward M]

I try to avoid POVs for the weeks before a park visit. It tends to work well for me as I usually don't know what's coming next. Disney rides are a different subject for me, I tend to avoid them altogether. However, I like 99% of rides much more on re-rides, so I don't really care if I see a POV or two before a trip. The element of surprise isn't that important to me. Plus, I don't really watch POVs too often anyway, got tired of them a while ago.

 

[Sandman]

I generally watch POV's of all coasters out of curiosity, so inevitably it means I end up watching the POV's of new any creds I eventually get. Saying that though, I do tend to avoid POV's once I know I'm visiting a certain park in order for it to be more of a surprise.

 

[BigBad]

I watched the animated Lightning Rod POV, but I haven't seen the real footage, and I haven't even watched the animations for Steel Vengeance or Twisted Timbers, and I don't really want to know how they go.

 

[chainedbanana]

Unfortunately - I can't help myself! I'm like a kid on Christmas - sneaking into parents bedroom to see if I can find the unwrapped present!

If I know i'm going to a park within the next 12 months - I will try and resist - but some parks where it could be years before I visit - then I'll not be so restrained!

Also my memories not great - so there's still always an element of surprise - and I get confused which rides I've looked at etc!

 

[zazobo]

I find it quite hard to resist watching an on-ride POV to be honest Wanted to do that for Taron, but the hype was too big for me not to watch the videos. Gonna try to do that for F.L.Y. though...

Me too, desperately want to avoid massive spoilers as I'm expecting it to be epic.

 

[Chris Brown]

I've properly stitched myself up with this, around 4 years ago i used to just watch every CF video at work thinking I'd never go to any of the places. I felt i was content just watching POV's but decided to jump onto the forums and now go to a view lives. Not well traveled yet but there have been a few instances where ive spoiled surprises for myself by watching old POV's. Im quite strict now but im finding rides are becoming much more unique so so the likes of Taron and Lech i'd never be able to remember the layout from one cheeky POV. Think the likes of SW8 and Icon and a few announced euro ones ill be able to avoid but stuff like the Mack Hyper in Australia i'll likely never ride so dont care about

 

[Hixee]

I do. I always watch the POVs.

I'll sometimes avoid it if it's something with a "secret" element (for example, F.L.Y. might fall under this category), but frankly I just lack the self control.

Rides like Steel Vengeance, SW8, Icon? Yeah, I'll be watching them right away.

 

[DelPiero]

I do. I always watch the POVs.

I'll sometimes avoid it if it's something with a "secret" element (for example, F.L.Y. might fall under this category), but frankly I just lack the self control.

Rides like Steel Vengeance, SW8, Icon? Yeah, I'll be watching them right away.

I'm pretty much the same as Hixee, I watch them all, If I'm doing a biggish trip I'll put them all into a playlist to build the excitement.

Secret things though, no I won't. Karnan and Fluch Von Novgorod spring to mind as POVs I haven't and won't watch, I still avoid any spoilers of these in Trip Reports. But if it's any standard coaster then yeah, gimme the POVs.

 

[Hyde]

I do watch POVs, but know full well the actual riding experience will be very different. I like to think of it as watching the movie vs. reading the book.

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

As four others have said, I regularly watch POVs, but once I know I'll definitely soon be visiting a park, I lay off the POVs then.

And if I get any hint that a ride has some sort of surprise, I won't watch. I never watched anything for Verbolten and didn't even know anything was coming up, and that made the ride so much better for me. I couldn't stop laughing all the way through.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

I enjoy the element of surprise and not fully knowing what to expect. There are a lot of POV videos online of pretty much any coaster out there. I personally refrain from watching on rides I have never been on, since I want to be surprised and not know what is coming when I'm on a given coaster for the first time. I enjoy watching POV's of rides I have already been on to relive the memories. I just don't like to watch them first so I can be surprised. I haven't even watched the animated ones for Steel Vengeance. I want the elements to be a surprise when I ride it for the first time next year.

The only times I really watch POV's on coasters I haven't ridden yet are ones at parks that I am unlikely to ever make it to, or defunct coasters (Ring Runner comes to mind, but with its only having a 4 day run, those couple of videos were a true treat to watch).

I'm exactly the same as this.
The Ring Racer POV is hilarious, thanks for reminding me.