Numbers

I know you are thinking, what do numbers and coasters have anything to do with one another? I was thinking the same thing and figured I would share my thoughts on the subject. Let's hope I don't bore you too much. My guess is, if you are still reading this blog you can't be too bored (insert winky face here). Also, I must say I do appreciate those of you who do come here to read my blog. I know it's not much and I sometimes stumble through my writing but this subject of roller coasters really is a passion of mine and I enjoy sharing my thoughts with everyone.

My 100th Coaster Ridden

So, numbers. I was thinking about what my next blog post would be, related to roller coasters, and the thought of numbers popped into my head. When I was thinking of numbers I realized that everything we experience in life involves numbers. As Chuck Noland from Castaway once said, "We live and we die by the clock, that's all we have." It does seem like life is one big numbers game. When you look at the time you see numbers. When you go to the bank or look at your bank statements you see numbers. When you go on trips (hopefully to amusement parks) you see numbers, on the highways, on your speedometer, on the radio/CD player, and on the clock in your car. You can even count down to how many miles or hours it will take you to get to your final destination. You go to work to earn money which turns into numbers in your bank account that you use to live life. Numbers are everywhere in our lives and sometimes we rarely think about them because we get so used to dealing with them every day. There are people out there like accountants, math teachers, and engineers that deal with numbers in a more extreme manner than others. So, how do numbers relate to coasters?

Coaster Numbers on Coaster Sign

Let me explain why numbers relate to roller coasters. I'm not an engineer so I can't tell you specifics in this area but what I can say is that numbers are a huge part of the building of roller coasters. You cannot just draw a layout on paper and then build a roller coaster. There is much more planning involved than that. It sometimes takes many years to design and build a coaster. I have seen blueprints online of coasters that have not been built yet and you see numbers everywhere on the blueprint. It really is amazing how detailed they are. They end up fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. They are there to complete the ride with all types of variations on height, drop, speed, length, and inversions.

See more Numbers and a Steal of a Parking Deal

Here are some numbers to think about before I continue to explain this crazy blog post: 8133, 7359, 456, 156, 149, 128, 121, 97, 95, 22, 14, and 7. These numbers all deal with these items: Length, Height, Coaster Count, Speed, Degree of Drop, Number of Parks Visited, and Inversions. There of course can be other numbers like coaster rankings and so forth that I will show at the end of the blog so keep reading.

Coaster Rankings for Bizarro at Six Flags New England

Ok, ok, onto the good stuff. What numbers on coasters are important? To some when they look at a roller coaster they may think, how tall, fast, and long is that ride? All three of those elements involve numbers. There are other numbers to think about when talking about a roller coaster as well which I will discuss in the rest of this blog post. Most of these numbers deal with the suffix -est which equates to world records.

Worlds Longest Inverted Roller Coaster at 4124 feet long

The tallest coaster in the world is Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. It is 456 feet tall which is over 40 stories high. That is taller than any building in downtown Birmingham, AL where I live. Yes I have ridden that coaster and I will say it is intense and a blast. The shear height is impressive beyond words and is a coaster that should be experienced. There is already a coaster announced to surpass the 500 foot barrier that will open in 2016.

Kingda Ka Into the Clouds at 456 feet Tall

What is the fastest coaster in the world? That award goes to Formula Rossa at Ferrari World which goes 149 mph in a mere 4 seconds. Yeah wrap your head around that one! It is located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates so no, I have not ridden this coaster. Ashley, I think it is time to plan a trip to Dubai. The fastest coaster in the United States is...drumroll...Kingda Ka! That's right the highest coaster in the world is also the fastest coaster in the USA. It reaches speeds of 128 mph in just 4 seconds so hold onto your butts (lame Jurassic Park reference). It is mindblowingly (yes I know not a word) fast. I just realized that I have ridden 4 of the worlds top 10 fastest roller coasters. I wish I could ride them all. 

What is the longest coaster in the world? That title goes to Steel Dragon 2000 (yes, some coasters even have numbers in their name - also looking at you Intimidator 305) at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. It is 8,133 feet long and I have never been to Japan which means I've never ridden this ride (sad). The longest coaster in the USA is the Beast at Kings Island Ohio. It is 7,359 feet long and most of it is located back in the woods. Remember the last blog post about Steel vs. Wood and how I mentioned wood gives an out-of-control ride? That would be the Beast especially at night! So. Much. Fun. (yes I know that wasn't a sentence) Refer to the picture below and don't feed the beast.

Beast Station

Like I said, Don't Feed the Beast!

Some of the more not so known records people might think about would be number of inversions, length of drop (which is very similar to tallest), and degree of drop. What coaster has the most upside down (inversion) moments? The Smiler with 14 located at Alton Towers in England. Yeah you read that right, FOURTEEN inversions. I can't even imagine how I would feel after riding that but I would not mind finding out. Something I did not realize until now is that apparently in the USA no coasters have more than 7 inversions. I guess coaster engineers figure us Americans can't handle more intensity (don't take offense to that as it was a poor attempt at joking). Both of the coasters below have 7 inversions.

Hydra at Dorney Park

Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure

Then you have the degree of drop. What is that? Well if you ever took geometry in school you may know that 90 degrees basically forms an L or |_ (poor attempt at computer straight edge). On a coaster a 90 degree drop would equal a drop that goes straight down vertically. If you have a 95 degree drop like Maverick at Cedar Point or a 97 degree drop like Fahernheit at Hersheypark you go beyond vertical. Yes I have done this and it is amazing. You will come completely out of your seat and your mind will be blown. The coaster with the steepest degree of drop is Takabisha at 121 degrees. It is located in Japan so I have yet to ride. It looks crazy though which would be right up my alley. 

Fahernheit at Hersheypark 90 degree lift 97 degree drop

Well, I see this blog post has gotten quite long in fact 11 paragraphs. It's amazing to think about all the numbers we use and see everyday. It's even cooler when you put those numbers in context of roller coasters. It's cool to me at least. Whether you like roller coasters or not you have to admit that coasters that break records and push elements to the extreme are awesome. Now it's time to get out there and enjoy them! So many numbers and too little time to ride coasters.        

Number of Coaster Blog Posts: 9
Number of roller coasters in the USA: 676
Number of roller coasters in the world: 3467
Number of total rides ridden in one coaster trip: 88
Number of most rides on a ride in one day: 19
Number of most amusement parks visited in one day: 3
Number of ranked coasters/coasters ridden: 156
Number of the cost to enter Magic Kingdom at Disney World: 99 
Number of highest score set on arcade game in amusement park: 108
Number of miles to best amusement park from where I live: 708
Number of most miles driven round trip on a coaster trip: 2600
Number of miles driven to furthest visited park: 1115
Number of years married to wonderful Ashley: 7
Number of numbers in this blog post: 54