Why are wooden coaster so 'special'?

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arE Y0u R3AdY t0 Sm1Le?
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Right before I get killed haha Im a huge roller coaster geek, but when it comes to wooden coaster there just not my cup of tea. I understand that they are big beautiful and all that but I not really sure why everyone LOVES them s much...
What is it that makes them famous and dearly wanted amoung all of you?
I'm asking mainly so when the GP ( my friends  ) ask me I can explain, and a bit so I can understand..
Please don't think I'm not a enthusiast I can see slightly why they are amazing and I do love them, but my heart always been with steel haha maybe it's becuase I'm of the younger generation? Anyway thanks in advance!
Last edited by arE Y0u R3AdY t0 Sm1Le? on Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Alex.D
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Wood is a special experience, nothing can recreate a wood experience but wooden coasters! No steel coaster can provide the airtime and rattling and other main features of wood because... They are not wooden!
( I am of a younger generation, born in 1999 I prefer steel because of the weird inversions but that's just me.)
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Sam198
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The advances in technology over the last few years have significantly blurred the idea of what a wooden coaster actually is.

15 years ago, all wooden coasters were exactly as they had been for the past 100 years. They were big, brutal and generally stuck to the same general layout. The attraction in this older generation lies in their raw simplicity, their rustic charm. Sure, they would throw you around a bit (some more so than others), but you would generally come off with a huge smile on your face - regardless of the bruises on your thighs.

This isn't everyone's cup of tea, by any means, but it's the general consensus among enthusiasts that some of these rides add up to more than the sum of their parts. For many, it's the brutality that makes them enjoyable, and basically gives them a character that could never be achieved by their steel cousins. It's almost as if they take on their own personalities, one that may vary dramatically from ride to ride.

This all changed, of course, when some of the names we may recognize today came onto the scene. Once Intamin came along with their laser fabrication techniques, wooden coaster construction was no-longer a case of sticking a few pieces of wood and steel together and fiddling them until they resembled the plans. Instead it became a case of precision engineering - which inevitably detracted from some of what I mentioned in the first two paragraphs.

This wasn't entirely negative, of course. Without such technology, we wouldn't have any of the world-renowned masterpieces we have today. The truth is that many modern woodies are simply great rides. Nothing more, nothing less. Very few steel coasters can claim the insane ejector airtime found on Intamin's towering pre-fab woodies. Nor can they replicate the sudden intense directional changes experienced on some of GG, CCI or GCI's best work.

I don't know exactly what your wooden coaster history is like, but I do know what I look for in a truly great ride, and I also know that my 4 favourite coasters of all time are wooden. I think that speaks for itself, to be honest.
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Owen
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The only wooden coasters I've ever actually enjoyed are
1-the nickelodeon streak
2-the Blackpool wild mouse
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altontowerskid
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Wooden coasters have a natural character, like old houses :)

Not only this, but modern wooden coasters (take a look at Iron Rattler) are incredible to look at, a visual marvel and have a real look of purpose. Wood and steel hybrids will slowly become the "new wood" coasters, but that still doesn't defeat the fact that wooden coasters were the original airtime machines, and in my eyes always will be :)
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For me, especially on a rainy day, it's the smell of wet wood that makes it really special...But if you say that to your friends they will probably think you're a weirdo so stick to the airtime... :P
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Wooden coasters are good......good for destroying your arse
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DeanGaryCox
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I didn't enjoy Gwazi in Busch Gardens when i went in 2005 (being 11 at the time), obviously I can't remember it that well, but just remember it not being that enjoyable and having a bad headache after it because it was so rough! I've been on a few in BPB back in 2008 and remember that I really enjoyed the airtime on the Grand National. I've also been on Magnus Colossus several times at Terra Mitica in Spain and thoroughly enjoy it as mentioned the experience it gives you is unparalleled to a steel rollercoaster with the airtime and the feel of the train floating off the track at airtime points.

I love wooden rollercoasters (having only ridden a few though) and must admit it is down to personal choice whether you like to have a rough experience on a rollercoaster, but i feel with wooden rollercoasters it makes the experience and is really hard to compare to steel coasters. Can't wait to go to Oakwood this year and try out Megafobia, but must admit if I lived in america would love to try out the new RMC wooden rollercoasters for a whole new type of experience again, and would happily see one in a UK theme park, but with the information from Merlin that the general public 'don't get' wooden rollercoasters in general, can't see that happening any time soon!
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Personally my first roller coaster was the wooden coaster at Dreamland in Margate. And enjoyed every moment of it, to the point I went on it about 12 times in a day.

Like other people have mention, steel coasters don't feel like wood ones, the woody one at Dreamland made you feel like you were going to be thrown out of it and if the train was full of riders, when you went downhill it felt like it came of the tracks.

And honestly, props 75% of the people on here - their first coaster would be a wooden one.
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arE Y0u R3AdY t0 Sm1Le?
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DeanGaryCox wrote: I didn't enjoy Gwazi in Busch Gardens when i went in 2005 (being 11 at the time), obviously I can't remember it that well, but just remember it not being that enjoyable and having a bad headache after it because it was so rough! I've been on a few in BPB back in 2008 and remember that I really enjoyed the airtime on the Grand National. I've also been on Magnus Colossus several times at Terra Mitica in Spain and thoroughly enjoy it as mentioned the experience it gives you is unparalleled to a steel rollercoaster with the airtime and the feel of the train floating off the track at airtime points.

I love wooden rollercoasters (having only ridden a few though) and must admit it is down to personal choice whether you like to have a rough experience on a rollercoaster, but i feel with wooden rollercoasters it makes the experience and is really hard to compare to steel coasters. Can't wait to go to Oakwood this year and try out Megafobia, but must admit if I lived in america would love to try out the new RMC wooden rollercoasters for a whole new type of experience again, and would happily see one in a UK theme park, but with the information from Merlin that the general public 'don't get' wooden rollercoasters in general, can't see that happening any time soon!

That's the name I was trying to remember Gwazi :D I loved that ride went on it time and time again. Now I still do prefer steel but that coaster just felt special, fast a bumpy. The only wooden I truly love. Now I know I stated this to ask when and my experience on that may be the answer but that was just a good coaster I would much rather have it replaced with an new amazing steel! Anyway it was a different and amazing ride and I forgot about my experience on it when I wrote this topic... But still no matter that wooden a are amazing they have many flaws, some are ugly so,e are just too rough but as I said my hearts with steel ;) 
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis

But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I'm Mr. Brightside
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DavidRock
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I still have a special place reserved in my heart for the grand national at Blackpool and also the their other wooden coasters.

The wild mouse on the other hand as much as I love it ......damn does it hurt so much when you corner in those cars
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JammyBand
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As others have said, Grand National is a truly amazing coaster. The very first element is a large drop with a bunny hop at the bottom of it which absolutely FLINGS you out of your seat. (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tRiKSfGPbR8#t=37s ) This is followed by so many more amazing airtime hills. The racing aspect of the ride adds some competition into the experience and it is just SO MUCH FUN! The most fun roller coaster in the whole of Britain, by far. The racing, the airtime the rattling, it leaves you smiling so much. It is also very unique, as it is - I think - one of only 3 roller coasters in the world which leaves out of Station 1, and enters at Station 2 at the end of the ride and vice versa. My favourite roller coaster in the world.
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is it true that wooden coasters feel different every time you ride them because the wood breaths
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Martin
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Dont know if they ride differently
But wood does react to different weather and temperature conditions
So maybe
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JammyBand
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JammyBand wrote: As others have said, Grand National is a truly amazing coaster. The very first element is a large drop with a bunny hop at the bottom of it which absolutely FLINGS you out of your seat. (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tRiKSfGPbR8#t=37s ) This is followed by so many more amazing airtime hills. The racing aspect of the ride adds some competition into the experience and it is just SO MUCH FUN! I would say it is the most FUN roller coaster in the whole of Britain! The racing, the airtime the rattling, it leaves you smiling so much. It is also very unique, as it is - I think - one of only 3 roller coasters in the world which leaves out of Station 1, and enters at Station 2 at the end of the ride and vice versa. Truly one of the best rides I've been on.
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