Claw vs. Doomsday vs. Surfrider vs. Wipeout: What's better & Who's right?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

21 minutes ago, MaxxTheMonster said:

 

The queue, station house, stairs, etc are all part of the themed area...  The ride itself is the structure upon which the guests sit on and experience the ride...  Which as you point out mainly is just the print and some "bones"...

 

How am I missing the point of a themed area...  I am stripping back from the themeing and purely comparing the mechanical ride itself...

I think this is taking the point a little too analytical. By that nature - i could argue that Wild West Falls isn't very well themed, as the ride itself is simply a bare concrete channel, with rubber conveyor belts, and some 'wooden' themed boats. EVERYTHING ELSE that makes that ride is just part of the themed area.

Space Mountain, without the lights, wouldn't be very spacey.

Sure - there is an area around doomsday that isn't 'the ride itself' but separate experiences - but come on, how much do you expect to be 'part of the ride itself' when its a stock flat ride?

For me, i think they've done a fantastic job of theming 'the ride itself' as much as they can - every inch of that ride is tied into the overall look.

Every other flat ride in our parks pretty well meets the same definitions - you can't count wipeout's surfboards, the giant wave, the pool underneath it, the sand around it - all you can count is a bit of fibreglass waves above your head...

[elemist]

Haven't been on DD yet, so can't comment on that. Out of the remaining three, Claw wins hands down. Surf Riders ok, but its a bit on the boring side. Wipeout is too rough for me, and the time spent upside down and flips etc always makes me queezy. I have the same problem with the Rampage here (hasn't stopped me riding it a few hundred times over the years though!). The claw is just smooth and comfortable. Yet has the thrills of looking straight down from a decent height.

 

 

[New display name]

@MaxxTheMonster  "However...  The ride itself is hardly themed... "

That what you said. 

Your themed envelope stops at the fence around the ride.

I'm saying you have missed the point of the whole area if you think the theming of DD stops at the ride safety fence.

Some people might even agree with me but based on theming only, this ride would be close too, if not in the top 10 best themed for a spin & spew ride in the world. 

If you add the ride to the mix I wouldn’t say it sucks, I just think MW could had made better choices.

What I would like to see is an extreme mode cycle to go along with the current mode that MW could alternate between.

Edited January 24, 2017 by YLFATEEKS

[Santa07]

If we were looking at DD's theming (not including the area), the ride is on the same theming level as the Claw for me - some theming on the structure, and a queue that follows a theme but doesn't go into a lot of detail. Wipeout on the other hand is by far the most extravagant themed of the four - a well-themed ride structure, as well as pretty detailed queue theming. If however we're counting the DD precinct as part of the ride, then it's pretty obvious which ride has the best theming.

[mission]

31 minutes ago, Santa07 said:

If however we're counting the DD precinct as part of the ride, then it's pretty obvious which ride has the best theming.

It is a pretty good area, just a shame the ride is mediocre at best.

 

I guess for kids wanting to go on a 'bigger' ride it would be ok, just not up there with a lot of other rides imo.

[MaxxTheMonster]

1 hour ago, YLFATEEKS said:

@MaxxTheMonster  "However...  The ride itself is hardly themed... "

That what you said. 

Your themed envelope stops at the fence around the ride.

I'm saying you have missed the point of the whole area if you think the theming of DD stops at the ride safety fence.

Some people might even agree with me but based on theming only, this ride would be close too, if not in the top 10 best themed for a spin & spew ride in the world. 

If you add the ride to the mix I wouldn’t say it sucks, I just think MW could had made better choices.

What I would like to see is an extreme mode cycle to go along with the current mode that MW could alternate between.

If we are looking at the themeing as a whole then I would agree with you...  No questions...  

But is it not the DD ride and the villains precinct two separate things?  One just happens to be surrounded by the other?

 

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

I think this is taking the point a little too analytical. By that nature - i could argue that Wild West Falls isn't very well themed, as the ride itself is simply a bare concrete channel, with rubber conveyor belts, and some 'wooden' themed boats. EVERYTHING ELSE that makes that ride is just part of the themed area.

Space Mountain, without the lights, wouldn't be very spacey.

Sure - there is an area around doomsday that isn't 'the ride itself' but separate experiences - but come on, how much do you expect to be 'part of the ride itself' when its a stock flat ride?

For me, i think they've done a fantastic job of theming 'the ride itself' as much as they can - every inch of that ride is tied into the overall look.

Every other flat ride in our parks pretty well meets the same definitions - you can't count wipeout's surfboards, the giant wave, the pool underneath it, the sand around it - all you can count is a bit of fibreglass waves above your head...

Let me put it like this...  When I say ride itself I mean the mechanical components that make up the experience...  The gondola, ride vehicle, carriage, whatever...  In insurance you can insure a 1977 Holden for market value which is purely the mechanical value of a vehicle or for a sum insured value which you can go sky high with if you have restored it and so on...

I'm looking at the bare bones of the actual ride...  Nothing that makes it look nice...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

44 minutes ago, mission said:

It is a pretty good area, just a shame the ride is mediocre at best.

 

I guess for kids wanting to go on a 'bigger' ride it would be ok, just not up there with a lot of other rides imo.

We have to remember though that we have been saying for ages that another 'family level' ride that isn't too intense, and can accommodate the less thrilling guest in the park is what was needed - this is exactly what we asked for... that said an extreme cycle option would have been nice.

22 minutes ago, MaxxTheMonster said:

Let me put it like this...  When I say ride itself I mean the mechanical components that make up the experience...  The gondola, ride vehicle, carriage, whatever...  In insurance you can insure a 1977 Holden for market value which is purely the mechanical value of a vehicle or for a sum insured value which you can go sky high with if you have restored it and so on...

I'm looking at the bare bones of the actual ride...  Nothing that makes it look nice...

Then why make the theming part of the conversation at all? in the 'market value' argument - none of the flat rides in any of the parks have more than 'a few bones and a bit of paint' on them - including wipeout's fibreglass waves. What you're trying to say is the physical ride experience - but in trying to say that you involved a lack of theme, which - when you work on 'market value' - they're all on the same level.

[New display name]

34 minutes ago, MaxxTheMonster said:

If we are looking at the themeing as a whole then I would agree with you...  No questions...  

But is it not the DD ride and the villains precinct two separate things?  One just happens to be surrounded by the other?

I think on this one we will never agree.

[Bush Beast Forever]

A toss up between Claw and Doomsday Destroyer but Claw wins it.

By far the most forceful of all the rides and a reliable and robust design. Themeing is crap and capacity ordinary but the ride experience itself makes up for it.

DD on the plus side has fantastic themeing (yes the area as a whole does count) and good capacity. Loses points for how controlled it feels and so far rubbish availability.

Surfrider is an okay ride but themeing is pretty minimalist and capacity ordinary. Seems fairly unreliable too.

As to Wipeout I just can't get excited. Inversions in and of themselves really do nothing for me. The forces on the thing are modest when compared to an original Huss Topspin, capacity is ordinary, reliability pretty poor and themeing average. I think riding Talocan at Phantasialand and experiencing just how much better it is on every front has just ruined this ride for me:

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by Bush Beast Forever

[themagician]

1 hour ago, Bush Beast Forever said:

By far the most forceful of all the rides and a reliable and robust design. Themeing is crap and capacity ordinary but the ride experience itself makes up for it.

DD on the plus side has fantastic themeing (yes the area as a whole does count) and good capacity.

 

I wouldn't have said Claws capacity is ordinary. I'd say it's just as good as DD. As they both get 32 people per ride.

[Bush Beast Forever]

48 minutes ago, themagician said:

I wouldn't have said Claws capacity is ordinary. I'd say it's just as good as DD. As they both get 32 people per ride.

I had just used the capacity quoted on Parkz (400 for Claw, 720 for DD) but to be honest I think Claw's is incorrect given intamin give the capacity of the 40 passenger version as up to 1000.

Might be that Claw runs a longer cycle though than the minimum possible (and hence max passenger throughput).

Either way doesnt change my conclusion that Claw is the better ride.

[mission]

16 hours ago, Bush Beast Forever said:

and good capacity.

Surely DD capacity is worse than the Claw?  It looks like they both seat the same (32) but Claw seems to have quicker loan/unload and DD has 8 seats (I think it's 8) you have to be below a certain height which rules most people out.  

 

One Fright Night DD was leaving these 8 seats empty on nearly every run because everyone was too tall......a pretty poor design really (unless the height thing has been fixed).

[themagician]

^I was surprised when I first saw that on my first ride, but I suppose if there are quite a few kids riding it then these seats are ideal for them. But if its only adults lined up, as you say, there would be a lot of empty seats. So I'd agree that it is a poor design, but I can't imagine they can do much about it now.

[Santa07]

From my perspective, Claw's capacity is better than DD's, simply because staff can load/unload it much quicker than they did when I rode DD.

[AllegroCrab]

On 24 January 2017 at 1:56 AM, elemist said:

Surf Riders ok, but its a bit on the boring side. 

???

I don't know which SurfRider you've been on, but SurfRider (along with AA, Giant Drop, and BuzzSaw) is one of the few rides in the country that still freaks me out enough to have to hold on at times.

[Gazza]

It's not boring, especially if you weight it strategically with six people to take advantage of the off-center nature of the seat hubs.

At the same time, I dont find it so freaky you can't hold on.

[jake_hunt]

14 hours ago, AllegroCrab said:

???

I don't know which SurfRider you've been on, but SurfRider (along with AA, Giant Drop, and BuzzSaw) is one of the few rides in the country that still freaks me out enough to have to hold on at times.

I'll agree with that. Funny story, I actually tried every ride on the GC without holding on when I went last month (with the exception of GD, HWSW and Wipeout, which were closed).

The only two I failed on were BuzzSaw and SurfRider. SR is a really good one for forces and thrills, it just loses out for me on theming and general unreliability. I stand by Wipeout.

[Gazza]

So on Buzzsaw nobody does the thing where let go as the top of the lift and hang by the harness and sway a bit as you go through the twist?

[Reanimated35]

Just now, Gazza said:

So on Buzzsaw nobody does the thing where let go as the top of the lift and hang by the harness and sway a bit as you go through the twist?

It amazes me the number of times I go on rides and people still hang on for the whole duration of anything. That's what the harness is there for. 

[westical]

Some rides you're told to hang on though.

[Reanimated35]

16 minutes ago, westical said:

Some rides you're told to hang on though.

[Brad2912]

That's the major plus side to Buzzsaw. The feeling of impending doom when you go from Vertical to upside down with your arms up... and when you feel your ass come off the seat a couple cms until your legs are pushing into the harness 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

So having taken on Doomsday twice today, it doesn't change my view. I liked Doomsday, but i think Wipeout still takes it.

[MickeyD]

4. Surfrider

3. Doomsday

2. Wipeout

1. Claw

Surfrider is at least 2 peaks too short - shame because it finishes right when it gets thrilling? Non existant themeing and noticeable wear and tear also lose marks for me. It is however a comfortable and unpredictable experience that could be better with minor improvements.

I would rate DD last if it wasn't for the excellant themeing. I am not a fan of it's restraints and find them too bulky for the type of ride it is. A lap style restraint like GL would have given more thrills when hanging upside down imo. It's also MW'S least accommodating restraint for the larger rider. DD could take out top billing in the category if it offered a faster cycle option and better restraints.

Wipeout has excellant themeing for a flat with comfortable restraints. It is a better ride experienced loaded with riders and spouts operating on a hot day. I would easily give Wipeout top marks for the category if it didn't suffer so much with the pregnant pauses in transitions. Despite having such a massive overhaul the old gal is showing her age with about half the ride spent practically stationary.

The Claw is smooth, fast, thrilling and fun. It's almost as exciting to watch as it is to ride and despite having an odd theme for the area, somehow it seems to fit where it is. For many Park goers it's both the first and last ride of the day at DW and probably a good reason why so many visitors rate DW among their faves.

It's a shame that the Claw has the most restrictive seat/restraint system of all our major parks, however top marks for being at the only Park offering a 'test seat' to save some time and unnecessary embarrassment.

 

[Santa07]

To anyone who never holds on for MDMC or Jet Rescue, I feel sorry for your back.