What would a 500 ft. coaster type be called???

I would call it a Really-Really -Really tall Coaster:)!
*** Edited 8/13/2006 12:52:22 AM UTC by GB93***

i would say umm nae.

i would say umm nae.

300 to 399 - giga
400 to 499 - strata
500 to 599... mesa

After the stratosphere, you get the Mesosphere. So, "mesa" I guess.

Mesa Jar Jar Binks. Lol.
This thread hasn't been commented on since 2006, only one year after the final installment of the Star Wars prequels. Hope we all can enjoy the final installment of the sequel trilogy.

The 2010s have been REALLY FUN for roller coasters at CP and other parks. The 2020s are going to be REALLY FUN as well.

'A Hot Mess-a'

with poor ROI and enormous maintenance costs.

I did not know Cedar Point provided you with ROI percentages on a 500 foot coaster. O wait you probably got it from the other 500 foot coasters in existence? Since 2010 Cedar Point has done nothing but lower maintenance cost. An amusement park that has been around 150 years I guess just makes terrible investments when it comes to coasters and how they will effect the park moving forward from all perspectives.

All you need to know about the lack of ROI is right here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polercoaster

Enjoy the read, and you don't have to rely on only Cedar Point's decision on this, there are plenty of investment announcements on these that were ultimately cancelled when the numbers were run.

And in case you haven't noticed, rollercoaster Dick Kinzel left the company in 2012... Paramount Carowinds alum basically run the chain now.

Who said anything about a Poler Coaster?

Its the only proof of concept out there that has had any serious consideration by any legitimate company.

The rest are just RCT kids in their moms basement.

I never saw a concept for Millennium Force or Magnum or Fury 325 ( I dont think B&M ever made mention at IAAPA or any other notions that they would even make a giga). I guess you can say Xcelerator was a concept for TTD but not on that scale obviously. Just because it was not displayed on the Floor at IAAPA doesnt mean there is not a concept.

Again...And in case you haven't noticed, rollercoaster Dick Kinzel left the company in 2012... Paramount Carowinds alum basically run the chain now.

Ahhh that explains why they went low budget for Steel Vengeance?

Steel Vengeance has one Kinzel quality- horrible capacity. Other than that its a clone of every other RMC packaged really well. Nothing groundbreaking or extreme record breaking.

Which by the way, along with Maverick, is proof you don’t need gimmicky tallest coaster to make an amazing ride.

Once you get above the mid-300's in height, not only does the cost get ridiculous, the ride design does as well. Look at the height of the brake run of most gigas, and you'll see that they are absurdly high up (Orion's brake run is about the same height as The Racer's lift hill, for reference). That means the ride got either too long in terms of duration (guests do not want a 3-minute ride at high speed) or too expensive for the park in terms of material cost.

Also look at the size of elements of coasters in the 300' and up range. They are all massive. Take Orion, for example. It's the 24th-longest steel sit-down coaster in the World, and the number one complaint so far? That's it's too short! That perception likely comes in part not because of the overall length of track (over a mile in length - longer than all but 2 coasters at CP), but the quantity of elements. Coasters that large have fewer elements per foot of track compared to, say, Maverick. Because physics.

If we ignore the first drop and the entrance into the brake run, here's what you get:

• Orion: 1 element every 887' on average
• Maverick: 1 element every 449' on average (counting the S-turns after the drop as 1 element)

If I'm a park operator, I would be stupid to build a 500' coaster.

Other then half of the Installations RMC has done or doing now are Hyper Hybrids since Steel Vengeance has opened. I'm not saying it is or should be compared to Millennium or TTD when it comes to Ground Breaking but its not as if stopped doing Ground Breaking things or low budget coasters. Just seems that way because nobody cares about a Dive Coaster or a Mildly paced Wing Coaster. Also Steel Vengeance length is Extreme Record Breaking compared whats behind it and I think the last coaster to even be built that length or longer was 2015 and 2010 before that. Just my Opinion your obviously entitled to yours. Sorry for the Smarta** reply to your first post.

Mitchell Williams said:

Just seems that way because nobody cares about a Dive Coaster or a Mildly paced Wing Coaster.

Um... that "Mildly paced Wing Coaster" in the front of the park that "nobody cares about" is one of the most popular coasters in the park. And therefore one of the best investments the park has made in quite some time.

I don't know what days you are going but Gatekeeper is a Walk On almost every time I go which is a lot. If it is one of the most popular coasters in the park you would think it would finish 1st every in most rides given knowing how well its capacity is but I don't think it has since 2014 or 2015.

All good, one thing the vast majority of people on Pointbuzz have in common is a strong attachment to the park and we want to see it do well. We may have different reasons for why we love the park or enjoy about it most, but overall its just an amazing place.

Personally I love the Intamin thrill giants, but I certainly respect the B&M reliability. And of course, RMC brings a new level of greatness to tired old rides.

I, like you, wish for great new rides and a solid future for Cedar Point.

BTW I do think Gatekeeper was a great edition to the park from a Capacity Stand Point, Maintenance compared to what it replaced, just the overall look of the coaster, Front Gate, and Park is all a major improvement. I was more noting the fact that it or Valravn were not exactly Ground Breaking, even know they were record breaking.

Mitchell Williams said:

If it is one of the most popular coasters in the park you would think it would finish 1st every in most rides given knowing how well its capacity is but I don't think it has since 2014 or 2015.

You are mistaken. That it rarely has a line is attributable to its impressive capacity. Line length has nothing to do with ride popularity.

Mitchell Williams said:

I was more noting the fact that it or Valravn were not exactly Ground Breaking...

Being "ground breaking" doesn't pay the bills. Crowd-pleasing attractions that don't have a high maintenance budget do. You know, like Gatekeeper.

But to get back to the topic, I would call a 500 ft. coaster "A Poor Investment". :-)