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Strange questions that sometimes need answering (or not asking in the first place really).

I’m not sure if there are any wrestling fans on this forum (or if this is the correct thread to post it in), but the comments section of Hulk Hogan’s TNA theme song (link below) features comical examples of somebody spoiling the party – in a similar manner to which the late Hulk Hogan allegedly sabotaged any young and emerging threat to his position!

I am trying to think of disappointing theme park experiences, which I have posted below; if anybody else can think of any then feel free to add them in!

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Toxicator: Attracts large crowds for its opening day

The drains:

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Thorpe Park: Spend millions on an exciting new dark-ride in 2016 instead of a rollercoaster

The Ghost Train:

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AT visitor in 2015: Air has long queue times

Galactica VR in 2016:

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Blackpool visitor in 2007: Finally, a new steel rollercoaster at the park, instead of another rough wooden one

Infusion:

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Thorpe Park: A new rollercoaster for the first time in 12 years

Hyperia’s second day:

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Drayton Manor: Reopens in March 2026

The Big Restart:

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Bluey: Kids eager to ride the new attraction

Enthusiasts:

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From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxEXrqsRn34
 
I have a funny question for those of you who rank coasters.

I'm updating my rankings following my trip to Adventure Island and Thorpe Park, and after having ridden Walking Dead for the first time since the retheme yesterday (late to the party, I know!), it's raised an interesting conundrum.

My current ranking for this particular ride, from when I rode it in 2014 as X, would place it at #84/142 and a 5/10. I think the coaster itself largely still deserves this ranking and rating... but as someone who isn't good with horror, I would have to admit that I absolutely loathe the new theming, or more specifically those dreadfully overwhelming pre and post-ride sections, with a burning passion. This makes me vastly less inclined to ride it than I was when it was X despite the coaster itself largely being the same; I will likely not ride this coaster again unless it gets rethemed due to absolutely hating the pre and post-ride stuff.

With this in mind, I'm wondering; if the coaster hardware is as good as I previously remember, but the new theming and horror-based pre and post-ride sections make me vastly less inclined to ride it than I was before, should I give it a lower ranking and rating? Or should I keep it the same on the grounds of the coaster experience itself still being about as good as I previously remembered?

I'd be intrigued to know how other rankers handle this sort of thing.
 
You should absolutely drop it down your list if you actively dislike a core part of the ride. Thorpe have chosen to make the preshow, indoor queue and exit route a big part of the ride experience and your opinion on the ride is rightly influenced by your response to that. For an indoor coaster, the theme is a much more significant part of the overall experience than for a typical outdoor coaster, as it has to compensate for the limitations of the ride hardware. In essence, the ride is just a non-standard vekoma jr coaster in a box. That sort of ride can be found all over the place with very few distinguishing factors but put it indoors and with custom theming and suddenly the experience differs substantially.

I also rated X quite highly as an fun, unassuming family coaster. After 15 years of trying to pass off a mediocre coaster as a proper thrill ride, they'd finally accepted what it actually was and in doing so the ride found its niche and served its purpose well. Then for some reason the park decided to go back to pretending it's a an extreme thrill ride, raising the height restriction significantly in the process. Of the 3 distinct versions of the ride I've done (backwards, rave, horror) it's by far my least favourite - at least the original was funny. I think last time I rode it I ended up turning on my phone torch during the long corridor to the station as I genuinely couldn't see where I was supposed to be going.
 
That almost feels unfair, as that takes it from #84 to absolute rock bottom and the coaster itself isn't a bad family coaster and probably still deserves its old rating... but if I'm thinking of all "active" portions of the experience between entering the pyramid and exiting it, I'd genuinely struggle to think of many, if any, coasters I've enjoyed less from end to end. If I count those horrible corridors as part of the "ride experience", it's possibly a strong contender for my least favourite coaster full stop. That sounds extreme, I know, but I strongly dislike in-your-face horror stuff, particularly that with scare actors, and I absolutely despise the new theming and the corridors as a result, even having ridden it with no actors. I just found those corridors in particular far too dark, far too loud and far too overwhelming and they made me quite anxious and keen to get out of there for that reason.

It's certainly the only Thorpe coaster I would say I'm likely to never reride in its current state for this reason alone, and it's why it took me 8 years to experience the rethemed version.

I don't normally tend to consider non-hardware factors when ranking coasters, so part of me thinks it feels unfair to do so here, but as you point out, Thorpe makes the indoor corridors a strong "active" part of the Walking Dead experience to the extent where they should probably be considered part of the "ride experience" (they aren't really passive enough to be a simple "queue", are they?), and my strength of feeling toward those is such that it's an incredibly strong deterrent to me reriding. With that in mind, I guess it probably is a fair assessment to push it all the way down...
EDIT: I've actually gone and settled for a rock bottom ranking of #142/142... yes, I really do hate the corridors that much and I really am that much of a wuss when it comes to in-your-face horror stuff!
 
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What if you had a pure and simple ride hardware rank and an overall experience rank? Might be interesting to see the relationship between the two and how drastically they affect the overall list order. 84 to 142 is quite a drop!
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Watching a vid about maglevs. China has a prototype that can accelerate a 1 ton test sledge to 700Kph in 2 seconds.

From: https://youtu.be/WICVlQOb09o?si=Ac60OkjlITFfy0re


But never mind that right now. I want to strap this launch to a coaster!
.... It may have to cross an international border or two ....
Click to expand...

Ah, you’ve just reminded me of the idea to build a launched coaster from the UK to the USA, with Ireland as the launch room. 😛
 
Yeah, I think you're right to put the Walking Dead at the bottom of your list, @Matt N. To me, it's the equivalent of a coaster that has become rough. In this case, it would almost certainly deserve the rating based on how it rides now, rather than how it used to ride.

Also, imagine if it was a dark ride, not a coaster. A different theme can make it absolutely night and day whether you still like the ride or not. Could make the difference between No.1 and No.100, without a doubt.
 
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