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Steel Eel - Hyper coaster or not?

C

CreditCrazy

Hyper Poster
Would you call Steel Eel, the Morgan coaster at Sea World San Antonio, a hyper coaster?

It is 150 ft. tall with a 150 ft. drop. Some would say no, because it isn't 200 ft. tall and it doesnt have a 200 ft. drop. I don't really agree with the 200 ft. rule, because while it is how the term was made, I would still call rides like Goliath at La Ronde and Goliath at Walibi World hyper coasters, both with stats lower than 200 ft.

Steel Eel acts like a hyper coaster with tall drops, bunny hops, an out-and-back layout, and a MCBR, but the height and drop aren't even close to 200 ft. so I can't really decide.

What is your opinion?
 
R

RCF

Strata Poster
I disagree with the height making it a hyper coaster. I think that Steel Eel should considered a hyper coaster, as should both Goliath at Walibi World and Goliath at La Ronde. It has all the normal features that 200-299 feet coasters do, and should be considered hyper coasters.
 
Lain

Lain

Giga Poster
No. It's a mega coaster.

A mega coaster does everything a hyper does, but is between 100 and 199 feet.
 
Mountain Madman

Mountain Madman

Mega Poster
^ This.

Honestly, if Steel Eel was a hyper coaster based solely on its layout, then you could say that dozens of wood coasters are hyper coasters too because they have an out-and-back layout, airtime hills, and tall drops.
 
F

F.A.S.T.

Hyper Poster
Nope. Hyper coasters a defined as a coaster over 200ft.
Just because it acts like one doesn't mean it is.
Hense the much loser term of mega coaster!
The term can technically be used for any large and airtime filled coaster.
Need I do more repeating?
 
C

CreditCrazy

Hyper Poster
F.A.S.T. said:
Nope. Hyper coasters a defined as a coaster over 200ft.
Click to expand...

So you wouldn't call Apollo's Chariot, Canadian Goliath, SFA Superman, etc. hyper coasters because they aren't over 200 ft.?
 
F

F.A.S.T.

Hyper Poster
^No. They are mega coasters.
Don't agree with me, $10 says every single coaster you just mentioned are listed as mega coasters on RCDB.
 
C

CreditCrazy

Hyper Poster
^ Yeah, they are. But so are Diamondback, Nitro, Behemoth, Raging Bull, Bizarro, etc.

I'm not agreeing with rcdb on this one. They are just putting what the manufacturer calls their types of coasters.

It reallys an opinion. If you want to get technical, then yes, technically, only coasters between 200-299 ft. are hyper coasters, but then that means rides like Griffon, Mr. Freeze, Son of Beast, Xcelerator, and Wicked Twister are all hyper coasters.
 
Gazza

Gazza

Giga Poster
The words Hyper and Mega are interchangeable as far as I'm concerned, and it really just refers to the style of ride (height, airtime, free of inversions)

Don't agree with me, $10 says every single coaster you just mentioned are listed as mega coasters on RCDB.
Click to expand...
...
They are just putting what the manufacturer calls their types of coasters.
Click to expand...

B&M calls this style of ride a Hyper Coaster:
http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/produ ... er_en.aspx
(look on the page, there is a pic of La Rondes Goliath )
But RCDB calls the product a Mega Coaster:
http://www.rcdb.com/3385.htm

From what I understand, the term Hyper Coaster is something Cedar Point came up with to describe Magnum (And CP subsequently coined the terms Giga and Strata for MF and TTD respectivley) and somehow it sort of caught on with enthusiasts to apply these terms on everything.
 
F

F.A.S.T.

Hyper Poster
Yeah, they are. But so are Diamondback, Nitro, Behemoth, Raging Bull, Bizarro, etc.

I'm not agreeing with rcdb on this one. They are just putting what the manufacturer calls their types of coasters.
Click to expand...

Terms terms terms. Ah!
Well it all comes down to whats universally accepted. What the company calls their ride is usually the universally accepted term. B&M Mega coaster, for example, is a universally accepted term to describe the type of coaster.
The term Mega coaster has always been a much loser term. Its just basically a large coaster with a lot of airtime etc...
Hyper, Giga, and Strata have always been terms about height! CP invented them when they broke the height records to describe how tall the coaster is! Why now, do you want to twist and bend the term?

It reallys an opinion. If you want to get technical, then yes, technically, only coasters between 200-299 ft. are hyper coasters, but then that means rides like Griffon, Mr. Freeze, Son of Beast, Xcelerator, and Wicked Twister are all hyper coasters.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but we have better terms to describe them.
Griffon: A Diving Machine - It's a Diving coaster first and a hyper coaster second.
Mr. Freeze: LIM Shuttle first and a hyper coaster second.
Son of Beast: A Wooden coaster first and a hyper coaster second.
Xcelerator: An Intiman Accelerator first and a hyper coaster second.

Take TTD for example. It's a Intiman Accelerator but it's also a Strata coaster. The term came form the coasters height!

WT: Is a Impulse Coaster first and a hyper coaster second.

The thing is that you'll NEVER hear them called hyper coasters, because we have better terms to describe them.
 
C

CreditCrazy

Hyper Poster
F.A.S.T. said:
Yeah, they are. But so are Diamondback, Nitro, Behemoth, Raging Bull, Bizarro, etc.

I'm not agreeing with rcdb on this one. They are just putting what the manufacturer calls their types of coasters.
Click to expand...

Terms terms terms. Ah!
Well it all comes down to whats universally accepted. What the company calls their ride is usually the universally accepted term. B&M Mega coaster, for example, is a universally accepted term to describe the type of coaster.
The term Mega coaster has always been a much loser term. Its just basically a large coaster with a lot of airtime etc...
Hyper, Giga, and Strata have always been terms about height! CP invented them when they broke the height records to describe how tall the coaster is! Why now, do you want to twist and bend the term?

It reallys an opinion. If you want to get technical, then yes, technically, only coasters between 200-299 ft. are hyper coasters, but then that means rides like Griffon, Mr. Freeze, Son of Beast, Xcelerator, and Wicked Twister are all hyper coasters.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but we have better terms to describe them.
Griffon: A Diving Machine - It's a Diving coaster first and a hyper coaster second.
Mr. Freeze: LIM Shuttle first and a hyper coaster second.
Son of Beast: A Wooden coaster first and a hyper coaster second.
Xcelerator: An Intiman Accelerator first and a hyper coaster second.

Take TTD for example. It's a Intiman Accelerator but it's also a Strata coaster. The term came form the coasters height!

WT: Is a Impulse Coaster first and a hyper coaster second.

The thing is that you'll NEVER hear them called hyper coasters, because we have better terms to describe them.
Click to expand...

My point is that the 200 ft. rule is wrong, because non-hyper coasters go above 200 ft. and are not called hyper coasters.

So then what is a hyper coaster?

What true hyper coasters do. Large hills, airtime, bunnyhops, (optional) out-and-back layout, etc.

Looks like Steel Eel to me.
 
F

F.A.S.T.

Hyper Poster
My point is that the 200 ft. rule is wrong, because non-hyper coasters go above 200 ft. and are not called hyper coasters.
Click to expand...
The term has NEVER been about what type of coaster it is. It has everything to do about height!
If it goes over 200 feet it's a hyper coaster! You just don't hear it that often because a different term will describe it better.
Your twisting the term so far from it's original meaning!
It's like saying every Intiman Accelerator is strata coaster.
Not true!
 
C

CreditCrazy

Hyper Poster
The internet said:
Definitions of Hypercoaster on the Web:

A term used to describe a steel roller coaster designed for speed and airtime. Hypercoasters have large drops for speed, have no inversions and have plenty of camelbacks, bunny hops or speed bumps for airtime.
Click to expand...

:p
 
Snoo

Snoo

The Legend
In all honesty, it's up to you Credit. You can go two ways really.

1. Traditional enthusiast lingo. Mega Coaster: 100-199ft. Hyper Coaster: 200-299ft. ect ect.
2. Manufacturer definition (ie, what you've been saying). Hyper/Mega coaster 100-299ft.

I've seen them listed both ways, but it is all about personal preference. For me, I like #1 simply because you can have variations between different companies, what they label their rides, ect ect.. while enthusiasts keep it simple.. there it is.

When you talk about how Wicked Twister isn't a hyper coaster.. well.. TECHNICALLY.. it is. The track is over 200ft. It just doesn't resemble what we typically call a hyper. Plus, it is much easier to label those rides what they are called rather then trying to compare them to something they are not.
 
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