I didn't think there was a point in making a poll if there are only two answers....

What is better in your opinion:

A shorter, faster drop that is vertical

or a longer, slower drop, that is only at least 60 degrees

Example:

Sheikra has a vertical drop at about 200ft.

Son of Beast has a long drop that takes forever to get to the bottom, and is about 200ft also.

Does that help out and describe my question out a bit?

A shorter and faster drop that is vertical.

First off, I would say to create a poll about this so people can vote.

Secondly, I've never been on a vertical drop before (the closest I've been is Diamondback). I think Diamondback is very thrilling, as well as a less steep drop on a coaster like The Beast. My vote would be both.

I added a poll. Please vote there.

Not to be too picky, but can you add a 'both' option please .

I say both. Vertical drops are awesome, but a longer faster one is great too

I say MF's drop > all (really long 80-deg drop). Maverick's/Fahrenheit's drops are great also. Nothing special about a short vertical drop (90-deg) or a long 60-deg drop - IMO, they're just good for visual or engineering appeal. It's the airtime hills and inversions that follow those that make the ride great.

In short, neither.

2¢.

Something like Maverick's drop. Beyond vertical. It gives you that extreme falling feeling.

Yea I like the both. I think thought the 78 dergree range is the magic number.

I say MF's drop > all (really long 80-deg drop). Maverick's/Fahrenheit's drops are great also. Nothing special about a short vertical drop (90-deg) or a long 60-deg drop - IMO, they're just good for visual or engineering appeal. It's the airtime hills and inversions that follow those that make the ride great.

In short, neither.

2¢.

perfectly said. I love MF's drop!

90 degrees beats all.

I would have to say,

1. Long, steep drop

2. Vertical drop

3. Curving drop

You know using trigonometry, we find that a perfect 60 degree drop from 200 feet up would only be about 235ft long. Now of course a perfect 90 degree drop would be 200, but thats simply not possible. There would have to be room accountable to get in and out of the drop. Same for the 60 degree drop, however because it maxes out at 60 degrees, it's going to take less track to get into the drop and less track to get out of the drop. Accounting for the additions, the two drop lengths are going to begin to converge. Granted they will not become the same, but as stated, even if they were perfect, you'd only be looking at a track length difference of only 35 feet. Taking into consideration the ins and outs it's going to be even less, likely closer to only 20ft or less. Are we polling over whether or not we want the extra 20 feet? At 50mph, 20 feet is covered in .274 seconds. Sure there will be a small speed difference but even that is rather negligible, gravity rarely changes.

A shorter, faster drop that is vertical

or a longer, slower drop, that is only at least 60 degrees

Example:

Sheikra has a vertical drop at about 200ft.

Son of Beast has a long drop that takes forever to get to the bottom, and is about 200ft also.

Physics doesn't work like that. Have you ever ridden the two rides back to back (rhetorical)? I think you'll notice that both ride's top speeds contradict your theory. You know Son of Beast's top speed is 78mph where Sheikra's top speed is only 70mph. In adidition, just think that at 50mph you're covering 73.3 ft/sec, and the speed due to gravity is only increasing. That coupled with the top speeds and the trigonometry showing that the drops aren't actually that different in length, proves that the two drops are pretty darn similar.

Now mentally, who knows how long each drop is. The mind is a fascinating thing...

This is such a subjective question!

I think Son of Beasts drop at 56 degrees is MUCH more thrilling than Goliath @ SFMM's drop at 61 degrees, even though Goliath's drop is much higher and much longer.

Maverick's drop at 95 degrees is more thrilling than SheiKra's drop at 90 degrees (but both are incredibly fun). It might have something to do with the speed Maverick is going when it first drops, though.

Having said that, I like Thunderhead's drop at Dollywood more than most. While not incredibly steep the twisting action of the drop gets me every time. If I had to choose one all-time drop, though, it'd have to be MF in the very back seat, followed closely by El Toro @ Great Adventure.

...

I think Son of Beasts drop at 56 degrees is MUCH more thrilling than Goliath @ SFMM's drop at 61 degrees, even though Goliath's drop is much higher and much longer...

Actually, Son of Beast's drop is 55.7 degrees. Not that it really matters.

WOW. We are getting so scientific in this topic. I htought I was out of school for the summer. But, haha ya that was a very thurough and well explained post.

WOW. We are getting so scientific in this topic. I htought I was out of school for the summer. But, haha ya that was a very thurough and well explained post.

I miss not having to think like this in the summers...

WOW. We are getting so scientific in this topic. I htought I was out of school for the summer. But, haha ya that was a very thurough and well explained post.

I miss not having to think like this in the summers...

Same here. But what are you gonna do.

plus I have like summer work for my honors classes. So that sucks!

Maverick's drop answered this one for me. I think the first drop on Maverick is far better than the first drop on Magnum. But the rest of the ride on Maggie makes up for it in a big way

Honestly, I've never ridden a ride with a complete 90 degree drop. But I think Diamondback is probably the best drop at Kings Island - the worst drop is probably Adventure Express - of course it's not really a drop - but I would prefer a longer 60 degree drop than a straight down drop.

I'm going to go with both.