Best Ride in America Tournament: Round two, day two

March 25, 2008 at 9:59 PM · Match-ups are a little unusual today. Busch vs Busch, WDW coaster vs WDW coaster, and CP vs CP. I would really hate to see Alpengeist be eliminated.

March 25, 2008 at 10:31 PM · Beast vs. Pirates? Two completely different rides but both so phenomenal. I had to stare at that one for a long, long time before voting. Beast is my second favorite woodie in the nation (first is Thunderhead...already sadly eliminated). But, ultimately, Pirates is a true, all around classic. They just don't make them like that anymore. Pirates got my vote.

And Alpengeist better win! That's my favorite inverted floorless!!

No matter how thrilling Maverick is, Millenium Force should be in the final 4.

March 26, 2008 at 12:36 AM · Interesting - all but one are thrill rides today, and the one non-thrill is beating its opponent by the biggest margin.

After this tourney, the best park/restaurant/hotel/etc. match-ups would be sweet.

March 26, 2008 at 4:48 AM · I don't like the Park Vs Park match ups. It just doesn't seem fair...

March 26, 2008 at 5:01 AM · Alpiegeist I think is way better than Journey To Atlantis. Just because you can't beat a coaster with great theming. Millenium vs Mavis tough I wold say Millenium.

March 26, 2008 at 5:26 AM · I do not agree with Pirates vs Beast. That's an apples to oranges comparison. Just the ratio of people experiencing both rides must be something like 10-1 in favor of Pirates. The Beast is simply one of the(if not the)best wooden coasters ever built. It's setting is perfect and the ride has such character and different feels depending on the time of day or year.

March 26, 2008 at 6:41 AM · POTC, especially at Disneyland, is about as good of an attraction as there can be at a theme park (I wish WDW had the same version). It may not be roller coaster thrilling, but it has much greater appeal and tremendous originality. It could very well be argued that the DL version of POTC is the greatest themed attraction of all time. It was the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man of its generation.

March 26, 2008 at 6:48 AM · Alpengeist better not lose this round. Everest vs RNRC was pretty hard for me, RNRC was my first looping and launching coaster and has music from one of my top 3 favorite bands. I had to go with Everest. If Atlantis somehow beats Alpie, that wouldn't seem fair because Alpie, Tatsu, and RNRC all deserve it more.

March 26, 2008 at 8:09 AM · Putting the Beast and the Pirates rides together is stupid. They are two entirely different types of rides.
In a way it's like putting the number of people who have been to Disney(open year round) and comparing it to the number of people who have been to Kings Island(open 3 months).

March 26, 2008 at 11:09 AM · Where the hell have you people been? Haven't we had this "apples and oranges" debate enough?

Listen, if Beast can't take Pirates now, then it couldn't take Everest, Spidey, etc. later.

There will be seemingly unfair matches, just like with March Madness, but that's the way the track loops.

March 26, 2008 at 1:48 PM · Cedar Point vs Cedar Point. I guess that's one way to get rid of them...I guess there have been a few Disney vs Disney matchups. I thought a bit about the MF vs Maverick. Went with Millennium Force. Too good of a ride to go down now. If Dragster makes it through, I suspect I know who it will go up against.

Rock N Roller Coaster doesn't cut it in this round. If it did, wouldn't we nominate Flight of Fear at Kings Island. It's the same coaster, only themed to Area 51 and just as well. Everest gets my vote one more time.

Went with Alpengeist over Atlantis. No reride value for me with Atlantis. I could ride Alpie over and over.

Sad to say that the Beast doesn't have much of a chance. My favorite wooden coaster in the world goes against the darling of every Disney nut here. Pirates is a great classic attraction. On other sites, the Beast would win. On this one, probably not, because not enough people have been out of Orlando or California to ride it. I still voted for the Beast because once again, it has reride value. It has for almost 30 years. I'm just not that big on theming folks.

March 26, 2008 at 1:57 PM · It's funny how our memories cloud our judgment of a good ride. I grew up going to Disney in Orlando, I've been over 60 + times in the past 29 years. I took my wife for the first time about 5 years ago. I was sooo excited to show her all the great rides, that said she hated it. She hated pirates said it was outdated and boring, hated Epcot because there was nothing to do. I could keep going and going but I won't. On the other had we went to Busch Gardens and IOA the following year and she loved everything about both parks.

What I'm getting at is if you really look at some of the "Disney Classic" there just that classics. They are not relevant in today's world. Pirates uses 30 year old technology with the exception of Sparrow. Space Mountain, Big thunder mountain are nothing but themed Kiddie Coasters. For most of us we remember these rides as kids not as adults, they just don't stimulate us like they used to.

All that to say this, try looking at a ride with a fresh set of eyes. You can have a 57 Chevy or a new BMW, most people take the BMW. It's new smells new, has new gadgets and handles better. A 57 Chevy is a classic but its OLD. Be objective when picking the better ride. Do exactly that pick the better ride not the ride that you like better. I enjoy Pirates better than Beast, but be honest Beast is a better ride. I know most won't agree but I hope this spawns discussion.

March 26, 2008 at 6:22 PM · Interesting points, Brian. But I think Pirates is better to me AND is a better attraction. It's not about the technology. I mean, I didn't ride Pirates until I was 18, and it still wowed me.

It's like a movie focused on plot, character development, and theme rather than, say, action, sex-appeal, and goofy comedy. For example, even though The Shining is old, and has some corny special effects, the acting is terrific, the plot enticing, and the overall picture is mind-blowing. By contrast, I recently saw Skeleton Key. The effects were well done, and there were a lot more jumpy moments, but it didn't excite me as much as The Shining.

I've done some experimenting with my buds. I've gotten them to talk about our Orlando trip last year and what they liked about it.

Case Study: Pat vs. Brett

Pat loves classic adventure movies, as well as newer, smaller, independent films. Likewise, his favorite attractions on the trip were those that brought theme and adventure together, like Mission: Space, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

By contrast, Brett loves cheese-ball B-movies. He'd rather watch Rambo than, say, There Will Be Blood. His favorite attractions were those that thrilled him, regardless of theme or storyline. He thought Dueling Dragons was 10x better than Everest, Dudley Do-Right was epic compared to Jurassic Park / Splash Mountain, and, sadly enough, Twilight Zone Tower of terror paled to, get this, Rock N' Roller Coaster.

Naturally, Brett and I disagreed. But that's all these are: opinions. Nobody's right and nobody's wrong. Each person will have their own favorite ride in America, or in the world. This tournament excites and disappoints, but for God's sakes, they're just rides. They're just engineering and artistic feats built to entertain, and each will strike a different chord with us.

Back to you, Kent.

March 26, 2008 at 6:40 PM · Judging from the way this tournament is going, it looks like a Disney Ride is gonna win this (Im betting Everest). I think because most people here have been to Disney than any of the other parks, therefore matches with Disney rides are getting more votes.