• Steel Coasters vs Wooden Coasters | Weekly Topic

  Written by The Coaster Critic 8 Comments
  Last Updated: April 14, 2008

  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.

  

  Related Posts:

  1. Trees at Theme Parks | Weekly Topic
  2. Roller Coaster Theming | Weekly Topic
  3. Top 3 Smoothest Wooden Roller Coasters

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8 Comments

1. #1 bowlerdude09 says:
   April 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

   Although I like woodies, I am definitely a Steel fanatic. I love the speeds and height it can offer, plus some awesome inversions.

   Reply
2. #2 The Cole Critic says:
   May 31st, 2009 at 10:37 pm

   STEEL!
   CAUSE STEEL HAS MORE AIR TIME.

   Reply
3. #3 Lucas says:
   June 24th, 2009 at 11:41 am

   STEEL!!!!!
   woodies are too rough, granted El Toro is a Woodie. Steel rides have more air time, granted El Toro is a Woodie.

   Reply
4. #4 Matthew says:
   June 28th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

   No question steel roller coasters. They can go so much higher and do inversion. And let me say they are so much smoother!

   Reply
5. #5 QB3 says:
   August 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am

   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.

   Reply
6. #6 Josh says:
   September 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am

   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!

   Reply
7. #7 CFC says:
   January 11th, 2010 at 4:46 pm

   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.

   Reply
8. #8 Quil says:
   January 11th, 2010 at 5:30 pm

   No Offense woddie fans!

   Reply