Altitude has become the defining characteristic of roller coasters | Hacker News Reader

Altitude has become the defining characteristic of roller coasters

nytimes.com

31 pointsismavis20 comments

Weird article title. I was hoping to read an article about the constraints of building tall roller coasters (and hard limits, if any). This is just a review of 4 tall roller coasters, not even the steepest ones[0]. TBD if we can build one with a 500 foot drop.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_roller_coaster_ranking...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_Coaster

I remember messing up my math in high school physics and accidentally designing one of these of my own.

I was surprised that I had a physical queasy reaction to reading that.

We changed the title to a somewhat more accurate subtitle.

That's an ad. In the New York Times. Whatever happened to editorial standards?

Back in 2014, there were lots of videos of Oculus Rift VR of simulated roller coasters, and the videos are on YouTube. That fad seems to be over.

Huge fan of the millennium force. Has anyone tried the top thrill dragster at Cedar Point? Seems pretty epic, albeit very short.

Gigas and Stratas are two different beasts. Despite the height and speed differences, Millenium Force > Top Thrill in my opinion.

Agreed. Top Thrill is great for the "thrill" of hitting 120 mph and dropping ~400 feet, but it's over in a matter of seconds. I think they nailed it with the drag race metaphor. There's very little anticipation, and the payoff is immediate.

Most runs, Top Thrill Dragster indeed has little anticipation. I have experienced an exception once: I was in the front seat and glanced up, straight ahead, as the countdown started. In that instant just before takeoff, I noticed a number of seagulls lazily floating a couple feet above the track. Watching those birds continue across the tracks and out of the path of my face were the longest two to three seconds of my life.

Even better than that is when you're in the coaster waiting to go, and then the one before you doesn't quite make it over - so you get to watch it come hurtling back at you! (And then wait 15 minutes for the wind to go down again)

> There's very little anticipation

I disagree, since the line for it is usually quite long (over 1 hour wait), and the track surrounds the line.

Hard to believe that MF is fifteen years old. I remember waiting in line for hours in the sweltering heat when it first opened and many, many visits since.

I've been on it two or three times in the past 10 years. It's very intense.

https://youtu.be/LbN3NU4hIZg?t=22s

An insightful mockumentary on the subject is _The_Centrifuge_Brain_Project_: https://vimeo.com/58293017

This article is confusing - what defines a gigacoaster? Why isn't the Kingda Ka (tallest North American roller coaster), for example, among them?

A giga coaster is between 300-399 feet, while a strata coaster is 400+. I guess they didn't include the two strata coasters (Top Thrill Dragster being the second) because they don't go through as long of a ride.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_coaster#By_height

Because a giga-coaster is specifically defined as smaller than that one:

"Enthusiasts use the term to apply to a roller coaster with a drop of 300 to 399 feet, meaning that its riders fall the length of a football field. (Anything beyond 400 feet and you’re in strata coaster terrain.)"

So yeah, weird article.

I was surprised to see the Leviathan was one of only 5 roller coasters in this category. I'll admit that seeing it in person is incredibly intimidating though. So much so that it was the only one I haven't been on yet.

Watching the videos full-screen on a decent-size monitor creates just a bit of the sensation of the drops and turns.

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