What "counts" as a roller coaster?

[codeman94]

Hi,

Pretty new to the CF forums. When I joined, i was asked how many coasters I've ridden, so I sat down and started counting. Then I wondered, what really counts and what doesn't? Where is the line drawn between "roller coaster" and "thrill ride?" The lines blur more every day, and further more, do small kiddie rides count? (ie, the dragon coaster at my town festival) I don't want to artificially inflate my numbers. I searched for a topic on this and didn't find one so I thought I'd start one. (sorry if there was already a thread on this and I didn't see it.)

 

[Ireeb]

There is no clear definition, you can always decide for yourself if you see it as a coaster or not. If you count rather strict, only coasters that stay on their tracks and are not powered count as coasters. This excludes most water rides and the powered minetrains for example.
A good was to keep track and have a defined ruleset is
http://en.coaster-count.com/
Here you can say which coasters or almost-coasters you have ridden, and it will tell you your coaster count. You can show your coaster count either in the way you define it (many still see powered coasters as roller coasters for example) or with the strict ruleset. You will see many people that have a coaster count banner in their signature.

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Essentially, if it has a track, is powered by gravity, and has a form of creating energy for the train(be it a chain lift, launch, or power strip), it's a coaster.

There are a few tricky ones that many enthusiasts disagree on. For example, Alpine Coasters are usually 50/50 when it comes to counting it. I personally do count them, but many don't. It's really up to what you think is a coaster. Just look around the web and see what looks like a coaster to you.

 

[furie]

I'd generally add that it also needs to undulate, with part of the upwards motion being powered by the energy created by the downward motion.

Generally though, if it's sold as a coaster, it's s coaster

Sent from my E6683 using Tapatalk

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

I decided not to think about it and let coaster-count.com decide for me. It works for me.