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Ride that is better during the day?

ThemeParkHistorian

Roller Poster
Alright @Hixee here you go.
Most rides are better at night as many of us know, but what ride do you think is better during the daytime and arguably better than at dusk? Explain if you want too.
For me, I’d say Phoenix at Knoebels is a hoot during the day. Lots of great views on the lift hills and drops since you’re able to see the park and it’s surroundings well.
 

Hixee

Flojector
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The first one that springs to mind is Wildfire at SDC. As a ride, it's great, but not amazing. What makes it excel during the daytime is the view out over the Ozarks. At night it's just... dark... and the cred isn't really good enough on its own.
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Alright @Hixee I’d say Phoenix at Knoebels is a hoot during the day.
I'd actually love to try this out in the dark. With the exposed lap bar and standing airtime, I think riding this in the pitch black would make it terrifying!

Gonna shout out @Howie who mentioned Oblivion in the other topic, and you could probably extend that to all dive machines. The big draw of the DM's are looking down at that big drop. Without that view, the fear is lost.
 

SeanC

Mega Poster
Alright @Hixee here you go.
Most rides are better at night as many of us know, but what ride do you think is better during the daytime and arguably better than at dusk? Explain if you want too.
For me, I’d say Phoenix at Knoebels is a hoot during the day. Lots of great views on the lift hills and drops since you’re able to see the park and it’s surroundings well.
Just did a mini marathon of Phoenix during the day but didn’t get to do it at night. i can see this being not enhanced as much at night as some other rides since dark night rides enhance the crazy sensations of turns/laterals, making me feel like I’m being tossed into the abyss. Phoenix only has one forceful turn. Airtime at night is great but similar to the feeling it gives during the day... at least for me. the exception to this would be the sideways airtime on the lightning rod wave turn which is dope at night.
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
The most obvious choice for me would be most indoor coasters, namely the Space Mountains. I always find that coasters which rely on darkness to make their layouts interesting suffer from nighttime rides and for a fairly simple reason. Coasters like these thrive on your eyes' trouble to adjust to a new, darker setting. The brighter it is outside, the darker these rides tend to seem. At night, your eyes have adjusted to darkness, and the effect feels dampened ever so slightly.
 

EmmaUK

Mega Poster
This and the other thread seem to me to be a distinction between those coaster that rely on visuals and those that rely on forces (esp surprise forces). A good number of coasters rely on forces and trying to confuse you and they’re better at dark simply as you’re more confused, senses are heightened, airtime takes you by surprise and you don’t brace or prepare for the jolts in the same way

On the other hand coasters that rely on visuals rather than forces to be good (that’s not to say they don’t have forces) tend to be better when you can see. These are much fewer but the best examples I can think of are flying coasters, eg manta and galactica. The whole illusion of flying is much less in the dark and they’re imo less good
 

RcTmix

Mega Poster
I only rode Kingda Ka at night and I can only imagine it's better in the day - it has no lights and I couldn't really see a thing so didn't get much sense of being on the World's tallest coaster. The drop tower was weird in the dark too.
Top Thrill Dragster does have lights, but it's still better during the day. The view from the top, and the view of the ground while going back down add to the excitement when you can really see how high you are.

Then there's the bugs. Never have I ever eaten so many bugs as I did when I rode TTD in the front row just after dusk. I had planned to keep my mouth shut, but the adrenaline rush spoiled that idea. I got off the ride with at least 25 dead bugs stuck to my head and shoulders. Made for a good laugh, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it.
 
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