Steel Roller Coasters vs Wooden Roller Coasters - you choose!

C1) Appeal to EnthusiastsThere are tens of thousands of roller coaster enthusiasts. The ACE alone has over 6000 members [1]. Enthusiasts from all over the country will ride our quality wooden coaster and write online bringing in even more people. The season passes point is irrelevant. My argument is that because enthusiasts ride more coasters, it increases the likelihood of them riding our coaster. A critically acclaimed roller coaster positively reviewed by the ACE, coastercritic.com, or ultimatecoaster.com is an advertising point. “A top 3 wooden coaster in North America as rated by 3 independent sources.” That is a tagline. It is also free advertising. This saves millions of dollars required to get multiple spots on a TV commercials or put it on soda cans [2]. Besides, novices and casual riders would likely be afraid of a coaster that is the “tallest” or might want to try a regular sized coaster first.C2) Unique featuresI provided quotes that wooden coasters have better airtime. In response Con merely asserts that “most people” don't like a “bumpy” ride. First off, it has nothing to do with airtime. Secondly, some people like bumpy rides, some don't. The bumps are optional.The real value of wooden coasters lies in the fact that it generates airtime (the butterflies in your stomach feeling) that is a primary reason people go on roller coasters.Con also misunderstands what “swaying” means. Swaying is the lateral movement of the wooden structure which provides an additional dimension of movement. The natural feel of this movement is impossible to replicate in steel simply because it is an intrinsic property of wood. Con says it isn't fun for him but most people go on roller coasters for the thrill and the percieved danger.Con source does not say that pre-fabricated wooden coasters are more expensive but it does say that they require less maintenance. Less maintenance = more profits.C3) Fills a needCon's local amusement park only has 1 wooden coaster and 5 steel ones (per Con's testimony). Top Gun and Invertigo are both suspended coasters as seen on these videos[3][4] and through Con's descriptions but Invertigo has the passengers facing each other. That's hardly a different variety. Many of steel's features can be integrated into the same coaster. Having about 3-4 steel coasters is reasonable to accommodate different seating arrangements. But beyond that, you are essentially looking at the same thing with minor variations.C4) PollsCon drops that the poll is superior because enthusiasts have a wider variety of experience to their body. They can write reviews for novices better than the novices themselves.The data isn't aggregated because it is based on mutual riders - riders who ride both coasters evaluate which is better. For example, the no.1 wood coaster El Toro beat the no.1 steel coaster Bizarro. Because every coaster is different. This is the most accurate method for data collection with this type of data.The enthusiast that Con mentions never says that "great" coasters are rarely ridden. He merely says that the poll emphasized quality and has nothing to do with popularity. I addressed the argument for popularity in R2.RebuttalsR1) Unique featuresTime in free fall is not the same as drop height. If you are jammed into the coaster with shoulder restraints and fall at the exact same speed as the coaster, you are not experiencing airtime (freefall). The properties of the wooden support structure gives wooden coasters the edge as the car sinks beneath you letting you fly through the air for the entire duration of a massive drop.R2) PopularityCon's case is fallacious as he assumes that steel coasters are more popular based on the fact that there are more steel coasters in existence. Parks have built steel coasters because they have assumed that taller, faster, and steeper coasters will get them more profits. In the long term, however, wooden coasters are better investments since the parks are going into an untapped market with less competition.El Toro and Voyage have been around for over 6 and 7 years respectively and are still the best critically acclaimed coasters [5][6]. The fastest coaster is Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi built in 2010 [7]. Before that, it was the Kingda Ka built in 2005 [8]. And before that was Top Thrill Dragster built in 2003 [9]. This proves that if a record breaking coaster is built, it will be beaten very soon. People come to Disneyworld from far off places because it is the stuff of legend. To bring people, we must make our coaster legendary.Steel coasters operate based on superlatives as opposed to intrinsic qualities of the ride. When the superlative is beaten, they can no longer advertise their ride as the tallest, fastest or steepest. When no superlatives are attempted, the steel coaster merely becomes one of many steel coasters already in the park. The loops, G-rolls etc can all be on one coaster. With 3-4 coasters, they can have different seating as well.Wood has variations on car types. Twisters feature exciting high speed turns and give the illusion of nearly colliding with side of the track. Racers involve two trains to simulate racing. Out and Backs give good airtime over consecutive drops.R3) CostCon's source says that pressure treating allows wood to last over 20 years before needing to be replaced. If the park chooses to build a steel coaster, it most likely will be completely outdated by that time and need to be replaced anyways. Our wood coaster won't be “topped” because the way to measure the quality of a wood coaster is not linear. It is not simply the “tallest” or the “fastest.” The end costs of similar steel and wood coasters come out to be the same although more money is paid upfront for steel and maintenance for wood. This means that building a wood coaster of similar caliber to a steel one will cost less initially but will catch up with maintenance. Con drops his earlier argument that wood needs to be replaced when I pointed out that that is part of what "maintenance" is. Con is simply throwing out a bunch of arguments with incorrect calculations.How to judge this debateWeighing Mechanism #1As voters, did reading this debate make you want to try out a quality wooden coaster? If so, vote Pro because my arguments were convincing enough for you to try it out and the amusement park gets increased profits because of it. If a bumpy ride is a discouragement, still vote Pro due to better airtime, and the authentic wooden swaying which provides an additional dimension of movement. Riding a pre-fabricated coaster gives a smooth ride while retaining those features. If your local amusement park doesn't have a good wooden coaster that meets those requirements, vote Pro because if they build one, they get your business = increases profits and because I am advocating that they build one. Weighing Mechanism #2Weigh long term benefits over the short term ones. To increase long term profits, parks must build a stellar reputation among the community and build its roller coasters in such a way that not only will they last longer but will also be critically acclaimed.Most roller coasters are currently steel. Parks have built them to achieve record-breaking speeds, stunts and heights. But if we try to build a record breaker in our park, while it might generate business in the short term, another park will beat that record. With a wood coaster such as El Toro or the Voyage, our park will go into an untapped market and give out a great return on investment for decades to come.Con also dropped that steel coasters become outdated in a few years while wood coasters don't.For these reasons, construction of a wooden roller coaster is a better decision for an amusement park than constructing another run of the mill steel coaster or even a record breaking steel coaster.Sources[1]bit.ly/M0HVOg[2] usat.ly/xcXi3F[3] bit.ly/991Fqp[4] bit.ly/Os5myI[5] bit.ly/NBmcXm[6] bit.ly/MWaPO1[7] bit.ly/9a0Ged[8] bit.ly/wCWTr[9] bit.ly/sYV4J