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Steel Coasters vs Wooden Coasters | Weekly Topic
Steel vs. Wood | Theme Park Round Table
For this week’s Weekly Topic I thought I’d invoke the eternal battle in the coaster enthusiast community. Like PC vs. Mac, conservative vs. liberal, Pepsi vs. Coke. Most fall into one or the other. It’s a simple question that’s been asked and discussed countless times. Which do you prefer wooden or steel roller coasters?I would like to add a wrinkle to this classic question. What if you could only ride just one type of coaster? I know that there are many woodie fans that swear by their beloved wooden coasters, but still enjoy the extreme heights, speeds, inversions of steel coasters. Well, I’m making them choose. If they could ride exclusively wooden coasters, would they still choose their allegiance to those old amusement park staples.
Steel Coasters: State of the Art Thrill Machines
I fall in the steel coaster camp, but I’ve grown to appreciate wooden coasters as I’ve started to travel more. Rides like Boulder Dash, Voyage, and Hades are amazing to say the least. Even still, I prefer the smooth ride, jet fighter-like inversions, and insane heights that steel coasters can offer. I also enjoy the many varieties of steel coasters. The last few decades have brought us a plethora of new ride types including dive, flying, inverted, and hyper coasters to name a few. With the many flavors of steel coasters comes an wide range of sensations that riders can experience.Wooden Coasters: Timeless Amusement Park Staples
Woodie fans love the classic and time tested feel of being thrown around on a rickety old wooden landmark like the Coney Island Cyclone. I credit a large amount of the love for wooden coasters a result of nostalgia as many fans grew up riding them way back when.Many woodie fans prefer the roughness for the challenge that it brings. This was no more apparent than when Intamin’s first pre-fabricated wooden coaster debuted in the U.S. with Great Adventure’s El Toro. Enthusiasts like myself applauded the smooth as glass ride (not to mention the abundance of airtime), but wooden purists scoffed at the idea of a wooden coaster with an overly smooth ride. They claimed that El Toro much like Son of Beast, when it had its loop, were abominations and were not what wooden coasters were meant to be.
See which side of the great debate these other theme park bloggers fell on:
Responses:
News Plus Notes
Theme Park Village
A Walk in the Park
Coasterdom
What’s your take? If you had to choose one, would it be wooden or steel? Leave a comment below. Photos courtesy of CoasterImage.
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Although I like woodies, I am definitely a Steel fanatic. I love the speeds and height it can offer, plus some awesome inversions.
STEEL!
CAUSE STEEL HAS MORE AIR TIME.
STEEL!!!!!
woodies are too rough, granted El Toro is a Woodie. Steel rides have more air time, granted El Toro is a Woodie.
No question steel roller coasters. They can go so much higher and do inversion. And let me say they are so much smoother!
If you ask me steel is better for one reason and one reason only: whith steel you can basicaly do anything while whith wood theyre are some resrtictions, for instance, you can still do loops whith wood but thats bacicly the only way you can go upside down while with steel you can go in corksrews and evry type of roll along whith other types of loops. also althogh wood and steel can have the same amount of air time steel is stronger so therefore the heights (cause and effect) and speeds can be greater (a.k.a. cheaper), beacause of tubular steel technology steel can be safer than wood to ride on lanches can take place beacause theres no risk that the train will fly off the trackwhile with wood the risks would be high, whith steel there are more types of coasters you can make such as flying, inverted, and standing multi-dimmesional to name a few while whith wood theres only flying turs and normal whith wood the limmits don`t restrict to much but they have limmits that is the only reason steel is better than wood. wood is great but steel wins my vote.
Bro stay in school and work on your spelling. It kind of sucks!!!
Okay to point out terrible spelling, but please be nice about it or your comments won’t be approved. Thanks!
I never remember to check my spelling afterwards, or my punctuatiuon for that matter. thanks for pointing it out.
Yeah, I’d have to say Steel. My favorite rollercoaster happens to be wooden (Voyage), but steel is much more present in my top ten.
Steel coasters are just more consistant than wood. Wooden coasters can have good/bad days (or even hours), and are affected a lot more by the weather than steelies.
I also love the glass-smooth rides a good steelie gives. I’m a speed lover, and steelies are great for super-fast speed.
So yeah, steel wins. But, I love em’ all!
So much vs. Pepsi vs. Coke in roller coasters. If this were an election, steel would win in a landslide. The first six comments all favored steel, and now, make that seven. I love steel coasters, from the loops to the height to the variety… Steel coasters have it all.
No Offense woddie fans!
Steel. Steel is like a brand new 2010 Lamborghini(sp?) and wood is like a 1980’s datsun hooptie. i enjoy both tho
I wouldn`t say steel is like a brand new car. what about all of those old arrows.
yea i should clarify i should say all the B&M’s i’ve been on are like new cars lol! i’m not an experienced rider like most of you guys are tho. only 12 coasters!
hey, it`s a start. what are your plans for next year?
I live in Northern VA area and my wife and I have season passes for Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Of course I want to go to Kings Dominion especially for Intimidator. Hopefully Hershey Park in April and I want to go to Six Flags in NJ!!
good idea.
You know for me I can’t dicide, so I will call it a tie. Steel gives more hight and speed AND invertions. They are also smoother. Tt also can do more things like launch. Wood, on the other hand, can’t go as high, or as fast, but gives you more of the feeling that your going to fly off the track or that the rides going to break, which can make you feel like your going faster than you really are. I don’t think people do as much with wood than they can though, like I’m pretty sure they could launch a woodie. So I think I’m going to have to break the steel streak, and call it a tie.
so it`s an 8.5 for steel & 0.5 for wood. Good reasoning Tom, it`s good to see that wood still has it`s supporters.
i got florida, everything 2-3 hours north of me!
Mike, the Mid-Atlantic is the place to be. You’ve so many great parks within driving distance. You can easily catch up on ‘lost time’ in a summer by hitting Dorney, Hershey, Knoebels, Great Adventure, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens. They’re all within 4 to 5 hour drives.
I`m a bit higher up in central New York, but i can go to new england and the great escape quicker, along whith all of those other parks you mentioned.
Well I’m hoping to get to at least 4 this year!! I’m thinking maybe an Ohio trip next year. If you asked my wife I think I’m driving her crazy waiting for Spring to get here! lol