Countdown or no countdown?

[Anonymous]

Inspired from the Rocket thread..
On rides with a sudden launch/drop, do you prefer a countdown?

Personally, I prefer a countdown in most cases, it really plays with your mind but it does allow you to prepare yourself better and makes the drop/launch seem less insane.
For a first go on any ride, I love countdowns, but once your used to it and the timings of the countdown they lose there appeal

 

[Anonymous]

Countdown! I wish det got it back to the full loudness..

 

[Anonymous]

Countdowns are beasts of nature!!

Especially on detonator!!

 

[jayjay]

No countdown. You cn't see what's coming which gives that adrenalin rush, plus the wait seems to last longer.

 

[Ben]

Countdown on launched coasters, but ones that launch randomly near the end. Like Rita's was most of last season. So while there's a countdown, you never know when you'll go.

On drops no countdown. Hurukan Condor doesn't have one, and it makes the wait that bit more nerve-racking.

 

[joe]

Countdowns are better, it gives you time to think 'Holy ****!'.

Without a countdown you dont know when you will drop and all thats on you mind is 'Just drop!'. And that annoys me.

 

[Richie]

I love countdowns!

On Equinox it is so amazing how it lifts you up then does a really creepy countdown then starts to flip you.

I love sound effects on rides. Oblivion's don't look down (come back!) and Rita's "We're counting down. Get those engines running. The lights are on! Go, go, goooo".

I love all the jingles at travelling fairs too, especially "Attention!" and "Please buy your tokens from the cashbox for the next ride!".

 

[Anonymous]

No because i think having a rough idea of when your gonna launch ruins it for me. Like once i was at Alton Towers in the queue and it broke down and people were in the car for 20m mins and then without warning the mechanics fixed the ride and launched it, it was sooo funny you should have seen their faces.

 

[FastAndFurious]

A sudden drop is more fun. I don't mind countdown. I like both actually. As for rocket coasters, there's a countdown or something similar on every accelerator I have been on.

 

[jonnyrocks]

Countdowns are great for building up tension, I love Dets, because ti never drops at exactly the right time, it just5 makes the ide better IMO

 

[Jer]

no countdown, It's more suspenseful. You don't know when your going to launch, or maybe something like chiller in SFGav where you have a person do a countdown or not. On Freefall ride though no countdown is also good, Lik on Tower of terror in Disney, just the feeling of Sheer Terror is amazing in the dark room before you drop. Maybe sometime i will prefer like a Cristmas Tree light to tell you when your going to launch.

 

[Titan]

I like fake countdowns, those are fun. Like...

3, 2, 1, 0,... -1, -2, -Ahhh!

But if your gonna know the exact moment you go, I think theyre boring. Or say any fake attempt at raising adrenaline. Like maybe some overly excited guy going "Go Go Go!", thatd kill it for me personally. Or if not a fake countdown then no countdown at all, where the launch is completely unexpected. Ive only have one bad experience with that, and that was on Dr. Dooms Freefall, the first few minutes of sitting down there at the bottom was shooting the adrenaline up, but then they waited too long to the point I was getting bored. If they launched a little earlier it wouldve been perfect.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, countdowns are just there to make you think you know when it's going to happen.
Like on Detonator when you're sat at the top for ages waiting for it and all you can hear is 5.....4....3.....2 *clunk* and it drops you on 2.
The best was Rita last year. They loaded us, and had that annoying man going 'Fasten Your seatbelts' or what ever he says and the revving of the engines, then it just went quiet for about 3 seconds, so we're all sat there going 'GET ON WITH IT!' and suddenly all you hear is 'GOGOGOGO!!' and you're flying forwards at 100kph

I think they're there to create a false sense of security and to make your body prepare for action on 0, but instead they catch you off guard by launching eariler/later.

 

[AeRo]

I prefer a countdown....but only if it is accurate!

 

[Titan]

Actually I allways thought the Chiller ops would wait until everybodys ready, and then launch early if possible. Theyve also told people to keep their heads back, or not to put their hands in front of their face, etc. And if someone did launch it when someone was in a bad position, that should be considered the ride ops fault if that person did get hurt. The ride op would get fired and all, so its all good.

 

[Hyde]

Personally, I enjoy countdowns, as it helps build up anticipation for the launch.

Now, sure, you build up anticipation without a countdown, but the only problem, for me atleast, is that you aren't able to fully enjoy the launch. I mean, with a countdown, you know when the launch is coming, where without it, it takes me a second of two to realize that we're launching, and doesn't allow for me to enjoy the whole launch.

 

[Sam]

The count downs on Rita and Stealth are brilliant and go great with the rides' theme.

For launch coasters I would say yes to countdowns and also for Detonator but for all other drop tower rides I'd say they would work better without the countdown.

 

[Almost]

I like how Ka's system works. The horn to tell you it is going to launch, but then a period of anywhere from 2-5 seconds before you actually do launch.

That is perfect, in my opinion.

Same here.

Countdowns are great for building up tension, I love Dets, because ti never drops at exactly the right time, it just5 makes the ide better IMO

You really have no idea what the suspense is like on Ka after the horn. Silence, take a look around then bammmmmmmmmmmmm and up a tower.

 

[Angel]

Countdowns yes definately. Builds the tension. I noticed how anxious it makes me on stealth when I sat there on saturday, specially when you are middle of the train and cant see the launch.

Unfortunately detonators rarely works to time thus is very annoying but I would still much prefer a countdown on any form of launch or tower ride, builds the tension much better

 

[Anonymous]

I love it on stealth...3...2...1...GO...GO...GO.

And watching Nathan go crazy about it is awesome.

But on rides like ice blast and HC i prefer it without one. I dont like Detty's countdown, its too long and boring.