Will the UK ever get wood again?

[Ingested Banjo]

I don't really see why everyone is making such a fuss about woodies. I personally think that there is not much difference between the riding experiences of good steel airtime and wooden airtime, just wood is a bit more... playful?

And steel is more versatile as it can be built in lakes (for thorpe) has better GP appeal as it doesn't look so 'old fashioned', and can be built taller. I can't see a very large chance of either type of coaster being built soon, but I'd say that a steel airtime coaster would possibly be more likely than a wooden one.

 

[Ben]

And steel is more versatile as it can be built in lakes (for thorpe)

http://rcdb.com/ig136.htm?picture=4

And for the rest of your post, you've clearly not been on a good woodie :wink:

 

[marc]

I always feel on a steel coaster its all very much in control, on a good woodie its sort of out of control if you know what I mean. It all feels faster and you get flung around more plus you just have lap bars.

 

[nealbie]

I think what Ingested Banjo just posted is the epitome of the GP perceptions on wood.....

"old fashioned"

"smaller than steel, therefore not as good"

"slower than steel, therefore not as good"

"steel does airtime so what's so special about wood?"

etc etc etc! [/rant over]

 

[Ben]

I don't get where this GP perception comes from...?

A lot of people I know LOVE Wooden coasters! This (hot) guy I know has been on Thunderhead and thinks it's the best coaster ever and said "Thorpe should have got it instead of that crappy Stealth"

I think you guys are not giving them credit. They're not STUPID just because they don't go on coaster forums and know who built everything!

Take somewhere like Lake Compounce, Oakwood, Liseberg or Asterix, all have steel looping coasters but it's very, very, VERY much the wood that takes the limelight!

I mean, look at Great Adventure! Apart from Ka, where is it the majority of the GP run to... OMFG, the WOODEN coaster!!11!!11!1!11 And the British public aren't suddenly dumb. IF there was a woodie built somewhere like Alton or Thorpe it would be HUGELY popular! This is NOT the reason both are woodless!

 

[Ingested Banjo]

I wasn't saying wood is crap, I've been on megafobia and the ultimate, and I think out of my top 5, the ultimate is second, and fobia is 5th, and then grand national is about 10th, so I'm not saying they are crap at all, just that although they give a great ride, some of them don't look as appealing to the GP as steel coasters. Which coaster is BPB known for? It's wooden coasters? No, PMBO.

I'm also saying that whereas I do want more wooden coasters to be built, because I feel the UK is lacking in that area, I also think that generally it lacks airtime, so if steel airtime is more or less likely, I'm not too bothered as I miss each type of ride for different aspects.

Happy now?

Reading Ben's post yeah I see that the GP will probably like wood as much, but are the parks going to advertise it so well? I'm completely speculating here, so it's probably completely wrong, but I'm thinking most of the public go for the biggest coaster in the world, and stay for the woodie. Besides, el toro isn't a normal woodie, and only the biggest parks can afford to build a record breaking wooden coaster.

I'm saying this because if I ever went there, it would be mainly so that I could say 'I've ridden the tallest coaster in the world' and then the wooden one would just be a great bonus. If I was mapping a road tour across the US, I'd wanna stop there for el toro, but if it wasn't in my way, without KK I wouldn't be nearly as fussed to leave it out.

 

[marc]

The Ultimate is not a woodie

There are quite a few woodies in the USA that people travel thousands of miles to ride. The same reason people travel to the park in Sweden.

The GP do care and you can bet they will queue just as long for a woodie as a steel coaster.

In fact I can prove that, Margate you had the Scenic and the Looping Star. I can tell you now the queues were just as long for the Scenic as the Looping Star, and my mates actually prefered the Scenic as they did not like going upside down.

 

[Ingested Banjo]

I know the ultimate is a hybrid, but judging by the woodies I've ridden the ultimate seems to ride like one.

How is saying that your friend likes wooden coasters more because he doesn't like going upside down, proof that all GP would like wooden coasters? That's like saying, I eat weetabix for breakfast, because I hate the taste of museli, so everyone is going to like weetabix.

It could work if the whole of the GP didn't like loops, but as we know, lots of people do because they are a very popular element, or it could work slightly better if your friend instead of not likeing the loop, actually preffered the ride experience of the wooden coaster, else how would you know he wouldn't prefer the steel coaster if it didn't invert?

EDIT: Also, I think I can guess why the queues would be as long. If you go to a park, and you have one ride with a 2 hour queue, and one with a 5 min queue, which one are you going to queue up for? The queuelines would become even because people would want to minimise their own queuing times. Maybe one line might be a little longer because of popularity, or then again it could be because of high capacity that more people want to queue because queue moves faster, or could just be because of random movement of the guests, or if one ride is further into the park.

Saying the public love the ride just because they queue up for it as much doesn't work. on busy days I see XNWO's queue sometimes reaching an hour or so.

 

[marc]

I did not say all the public did I?

There was no option at the park of a steel coaster that did not invert, at Thorpe you have the Flying Fish and X/NwO Stealth again is to intence for some people.

Yes a mega lite will do what a woodie does to a degree, but there is not one steel coaster I have been on that makes you feel out of control like a woodie does.

You need to take off your coaster enthusiast head and think about things. Blackpool people like the wooden coasters, people travel to Oakwood for theirs.

If the public did not like wooden coasters why are so many being built in the USA?

 

[Ingested Banjo]

^ I went on a ride before I was an enthusiast, where the brakes were stopped manually, at some place in devon. That made me feel pretty out of control... XD

I guess people do like woodies, but then why is blackpool seemingly the only place that knows this? Oakwood have one wooden coaster, and then the rest of the country has practically nothing, save an antique coaster on a pier here and there.

I was trying to 'take off my enthusiast head', if I saw a 200ft woodie outside, I would love it, but I really don't know how different their reaction would be from if they saw a 200ft vekoma looper with lots of vertical loops.

To sum up what I'm saying, I don't know if it's especially woodies that draw in the crowds, they could just want any coaster as long as it looks impressive, and personally, if it gives airtime, I don't really mind what type of coaster it is either. Wooden air and steel air both have their own qualities.

Edit: You did kind of imply all the public with your example - you said 'I can prove' that people prefer wooden over steel. I didn't look back at the quote but I can remember that you didn't say 'I can prove that JUST my friend likes wooden over steel'. So, you kind of did say all the public, or you just wanted to share your friends opinion and not prove anything.

 

[marc]

As I said Thorpe for example have coasters that loop, launch etc.

What they dont have is a woodie, the nearest woodie to London is Blackpool? So there is reason to build one.

The parks that used to have woodies in the south closed down as most were sea side towns.

I agree with you as long as its good who cares, I mean look at Saw complete average coaster but the public seem to like it. Why though? cause its different.

There are loads of people I know and people on CF that only go to Thorpe, Chessington so they have not been on a woodie. So it would be great for either park to get one.

 

[Ben]

I'm completely speculating here, so it's probably completely wrong, but I'm thinking most of the public go for the biggest coaster in the world, and stay for the woodie. Besides, el toro isn't a normal woodie, and only the biggest parks can afford to build a record breaking wooden coaster.

I'm saying this because if I ever went there, it would be mainly so that I could say 'I've ridden the tallest coaster in the world' and then the wooden one would just be a great bonus. If I was mapping a road tour across the US, I'd wanna stop there for el toro, but if it wasn't in my way, without KK I wouldn't be nearly as fussed to leave it out.

I'd stop speculating, you're just making yourself look dumb.

Seriously, you're only woodie experience is at Blackpool and Oakwood (since the Ultimate rides NOTHING whatsoever like a wooden rollercoaster)

I'd argue that Blackpool IS as well known for its woodies as PMBO. Everyone knows it as the classic seaside resort, something the woodies cement.

Bottom line is if Flamingoland, Drayton, Thorpe or anywhere were to get a wooden coaster it would certainly hold its own in terms of popularity against the other rides in the park, and at Drayton and Flamingo, almost certainly be the most popular ride there. If you had been on more than half a dozen wooden rollercoasters you might know this :roll:

The reason we DON'T have much wood is that they are NOISY and DENSE. Alton WANTED one! Alton has been trying for YEARS to get one, but, too noisy. And the dense structure rules out Thorpe where one was claimed to be too much of an eyesore, and Chessington has just the same problems as Alton. That leaves Flamingoland... which got their coasters in a special deal with Vekoma and Drayton who obviously felt a gimmick was better than a woodie (and the gimmick failed and didn't do what they wanted for the park), and were VERY limited in terms of space... So, yeah, all those parks ignored woodies because they're not popular...

Actually, ironically, from your "argument" it would seem all the parks that have realistically had the opportunity to build wood HAVE in this country! What does that tell you?

 

[Dave]

I've spoken to people about this who aren't big on roller coasters and they said they love wooden roller coasters as they think its more scarier because of the creaking and moving of the wood.
I remember when I went to Wales my Dad told me of "The biggest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Europe" (which was Megafobia) but I didn't know at the time and was too scared to visit the park, so we didn't go!

Like I said earlier in the topic, the best way to re-introduce wood back in the UK and almost start a boom in them is to build one with a gimmick, be it tallest, fastest, launched or 90 degree turns it will grab the GP's attention and make them want to ride it!

 

[marc]

^100% agree you just worded what I was trying to say better

 

[Ingested Banjo]

Ok sorry got a bit carried away there. I was just seeing loads of parks that hadn't got them and didn't think that it wasn because they couldn't have them, just because for some reason they didn't want one. So yeah I was wrong sorry.

But, about marc's post, if people have never been on a woodie because they've only been to thorpe and chessie, then they've never been on a proper airtime machine anyway. I still stand to my opinion that steel airtime is just as good as wooden airtime, if not better. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Dave]

Your such a snob, most people in the General Public don't care too much about airtime as there isn't an airtime machine in the UK, so therefore they don't care.

Long as its big, fast and scares the **** out of them they love it.

 

[A-Kid]

I would love a gravity group woodie over here. It would be special/unique. It would be a nice break from steel coasters that rely on gimmicks to be any good.

Also they don't need to be very high/fast to achive a great ride. And they are very cheap... $6M for RF2, $8.5M for Voyage.

Its ether Thorpe or Flamingo that get it if it happens. I know who my money is on.

 

[marc]

As people have said already Steel and Wood give totally different rides.

I have been on EGF and been on Balder, both give airtime and both ride totally different. Both have an advantage but you just can not beat a good woodie for the feel of speed and the thrill of going round corners. Steel is just so controlled.

 

[Ingested Banjo]

Your such a snob, most people in the General Public don't care too much about airtime as there isn't an airtime machine in the UK, so therefore they don't care.

What? Firstly, how does liking airtime make me suddenly a snob? Secondly, why would they care less about something that wasn't in the UK? Surely if there's some new gimmick elsewhere in the world, then when they bring it to the UK, it will still be a gimmick and everyone will go and see it because it's a one and only in the UK. So, if there isn't something in the UK, and then it's brought to the UK, people will care more about it, not less.

Following on from that, haven't you just been arguing that people will love to see wooden roller coasters precisely because there aren't many around in southern england? So you're saying they will care loads about a wooden coaster because there's not many around, and then you say people would'nt care about airtime because there's not much of it in the UK.

 

[Dave]

if people have never been on a woodie because they've only been to thorpe and chessie, then they've never been on a proper airtime machine anyway.

Thats a snobbish remark.