In the comments in our latest Poll of the Week along with some postings in the Diamondback thread over at RCPro the term “gimmick” was mentioned a few times, and.. not necessarily in a good way. I thought that this was interesting, and also a little confusing to be perfectly honest. While I understand the desire of coaster enthusiasts to have a “complete ride” I don’t see what’s wrong with a park trying to offer something unique in order to differentiate their product from other parks, after all.. they’re in a monopolistically competitive market where product differentiation is key.

But before any judgment can be passed, I believe that some clarification is in order. Here is the Merriam-Webster definition of the word  “Gimmick”: a trick or device used to attract business or attention

So things like an immensely tall or fast roller coaster (Kingda Ka, Top Thrill Dragster, etc.) a large number of inversions (Colossus) or perhaps a unique train style (X2) would all fall under the umbrella term “Gimmick”. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t mind any of those gimmicks one bit!

Could one say that rides like Phoenix or Maverick (or do we call the 95* drop a gimmick?) offer a better ride than one such as Top Thrill Dragster because they have “More to them”? Certainly. But I would never go as far to say that rides such as X2, Top Thrill Dragster, Riddler’s Revenge, Griffon, etc. are bad rides merely because they have a “gimmicky” feature!

So what’s your take on “gimmick marketing”? Would you prefer to see more “normal” rides that have a better re-ridability? Or would you like to see more record breaking crowd drawers?

Lets take it to the comments!