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Height perception on tall coasters.

DiogoJ42

DiogoJ42

TS Member
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I know I'm not nearly as well travelled as some members round here, but it occured to me that I have now been on the top four tallest coasters in Europe:

1 - Shambhala - 256 feet
2 - Silver Star - 240 feet
3 - Pepsi Max Big One - 213 feet
4 - Stealth - 205 feet
......
7? (not sure) - Expedition Geforce - 174 feet

A theory has been forming in my mind ever since I first rode Silver Star a couple of years ago, and it would be interesting to know if this is just me, or if other people feel this way as well?

I propose that there is an internal hight limit of about 150 feet that the human mind can quantify. Beyond that, your brain simply shuts off and says "this is bloody high. That's all I need to know."

On the face of it, this may sound daft. But honestly, when I'm chugging up those lift hills, I struggle to tell the difference between EGF's 174 feet, and Shambhala's 256 feet. That's not to say that I feel the extra height is wasted or anything, far from it. Just that once over a certain altitude I'm no longer able to tell how high I am.

Maybe this is a side effect of working in lighting? I've spent a lot of time on catwalks above stages / studios, or climbing truss. You quickly learn to trust the rigging / handrail and ignore the potential fall.
I found it interesting when we had the Air lift hill walk a couple of years ago, that several people got the fear and turned back (not that I'm judging you for it). To me, that was one of the most stable structures I have ever climbed, and at a mere 65 feet, certainly not the tallest! :p


I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this. How do beasts like Kingda Ka compare? Perhaps lauches are not the best comparison, since if Stealth is anything to go by, you don't have a chance to notice how high you are before you are suddenly back at ground level.
But to those of you that have been on the insanely tall American coasters, How much difference does the extra 100 feet or so make? Not so much to the ride, but to your perception of how how high you are.
 
I know what you mean there. I've only been on a couple of high rides and they were about 60 feet in difference. I think when I hit the 100 mark or so, I started thinking "This is really high". I haven't been on any insanely tall ones though so someone else probably has some better experiences than me.
 
I kinda disagree. I used to think the coasters at Thorpe Park were absolutely massive, but today I think they look a bit small. Stealth isn't tall to me anymore. Everything seems much smaller then when I first went to Thorpe. However, when I rode Goliath at SFOG it looked huge! But it was only 5ft smaller then stealth! So maybe you right, but for me, the more you get used to something, the smaller it gets.
 
I've always thought PMBO 'feels' taller than Silver Star even though I know it isn't. I think that's partially because PMBO is built over the town and other rides so it's easier to get a sense of perspective.

Stealth on the other hand is not much smaller, but doesn't really feel very high as you're not up there for long enough to fully take it all in.
 
I have to agree about Stealth there. Even though it's only 7ft taller than the Big One, it didn't at all feel like that. The Big One feels so much taller than just an extra 7ft and even looks it when stood below (to me at least :p ). Haha, strange! :p
 
I think it's partially a case that the longer it takes to reach the top the higher it actually feels. Hence why Silver Star and Shambhala as fairly swift B&M's can feel smaller than PMBO. Then you have Stealth which reaches the top so quickly you barely notice the height at all.

Maybe all those Japanese 1mph lift hills had the right idea after all :p
 
TTD's structure really makes a difference to how massive it actually looks in comparison to say Stealth (which will it looks tall, the visual aid of the supports in a way makes it lose a bit of it's height)...

Standing right behind/under TTD's top hat is an amazing sight to behold, as it literally does go on forever...

6768_214507120219_7366079_n.jpg


6768_214507505219_750976_n.jpg


Hard to show in photographic form but hopefully that does some sort of job in showing the difference between massive structures leading all the way to the very top...
 
See I've only been on PMBO so far (Though I'm doing EGF and Silver Star in a few weeks), but I really didn't find it that high. I mean, from a distance you get the impression of how tall it is, towering over everything else, but I always feel it's not that tall. At a glance I'd have said Stealth was taller if I didn't know their heights.

I still don't think Silver Star and EGF look that tall, though it can be hard to judge on photos. If you ask me though I think Shambhala looks a lot smaller than Silver Star. Not sure why, though I think it could be the fact that Kahn stands right next to Shambhala so it's difficult to get a perspective.

When I see things that a couple of hundred feet tall though and I think "This is nearly the same as Silver Star", my next thought is always "This really isn't that tall really is it?" :p I found myself thinking that when stood on their Eiffel Towers and Tour Montparnasse in Paris. Maybe it's just me, and I struggle to understand and perceive height though! I guess it can be down to the individual.
 
I agree, it's like being on a plane.

Can you really tell the difference between being 20 and 30 thousand feet up?
 
From the ground, PMBO looks much taller than Silver Star to me, probably because of the density of the support structure and the much bigger B&M track and trains. :)
 
We did get one ride on Shambles that felt taller. From nowhere, a sea mist rolled in, and everything from the top of Dragon Khan up was obscured. It felt like you were in the clouds :p Sadly this mist had completely gone by the time we ran round for another go.
 
I propose that there is an internal hight limit of about 150 feet that the human mind can quantify. Beyond that, your brain simply shuts off and says "this is bloody high. That's all I need to know."

On the face of it, this may sound daft. But honestly, when I'm chugging up those lift hills, I struggle to tell the difference between EGF's 174 feet, and Shambhala's 256 feet. That's not to say that I feel the extra height is wasted or anything, far from it. Just that once over a certain altitude I'm no longer able to tell how high I am.
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I would disagree. I don't know why but the 16 ft difference between Silverstar and Shambhala had a massive effect on how tall the ride felt to me. Shambhala's the first coaster I've been on in years that made me think "Crikey, this is a bit high".

So maybe we all have a different threshold as to where the "so tall it doesn't matter" cutoff is.
 
It's quite possible that people have different limits.

I also wonder how much of it depends on the perceived saftey of the ride system? For example, when I rode Mission Space at Tilburg last year, I admit to clinging on for dear life as we swung over the streets and buildings. Though this was more to do with my lack of trust in the lap bar than the height. On a B&M coaster, however, I trust the restraints, so will gladly relax and enjoy the view.
 
I find that a lack of reference points adds to my disconnect from the height. It reaches a point where my brain can't compare the height to anything so it doesn't try?

Some people have said that when they skydive, the aren't afraid of how high they are because they just can't mentally visualise how high they are and how far it is to fall!
 
I've been on the two tallest coasters in the UK (Stealth and PMBO), I normally don't look at Stealth and think "Wow that's a bit tall, isn't it!" so I never really notice how tall it really is. On PMBO, however, I generally do notice how tall the coaster is and I do feel like I'm 200+ feet in the air.
 
I rode stealth and though good lord I left my bum at the bottom! I don't lose my perception of height unless I'm on a plane ect. :/
200th POST!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: Re: Height perception on tall coasters.

CGM said:
I propose that there is an internal hight limit of about 150 feet that the human mind can quantify. Beyond that, your brain simply shuts off and says "this is bloody high. That's all I need to know."

On the face of it, this may sound daft. But honestly, when I'm chugging up those lift hills, I struggle to tell the difference between EGF's 174 feet, and Shambhala's 256 feet. That's not to say that I feel the extra height is wasted or anything, far from it. Just that once over a certain altitude I'm no longer able to tell how high I am.
Click to expand...

I would disagree. I don't know why but the 16 ft difference between Silverstar and Shambhala had a massive effect on how tall the ride felt to me. Shambhala's the first coaster I've been on in years that made me think "Crikey, this is a bit high".

So maybe we all have a different threshold as to where the "so tall it doesn't matter" cutoff is.
Click to expand...

Not really sure if most people would be able to tell a 16ft difference?

I certainly couldn't.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
It could be to do with the 4-across trains on Silver Star and the offset trains on Shambhala.
 
I agree, it's all to do with the terrain that the coaster is on. If at the top you can look around and see right to the horizon with no hills in the way, then you are going to feel a lot higher. That's why I think PMBO feels very high, because there are no natural barriers anywhere close to it - and you can look right out to sea. A coaster that is 200ft high in a huge valley would not feel even nearly as tall.
 
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