Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Roller Coaster Fear


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Is anybody on here afraid of coasters? I know it's a stupid question on a coaster board. I love Roller Coasters but there are some that I probably wouldn't ride if given the chance. I kinda have a fear of heights. So rides like Top Thrill Dragster or Kingda Ka are out of the question. Millineum Force is probably too high. In fact the tallest coaster I've ridden is Apollo's Chariot. We were at SFOG the other day and Goliath looked awesome, but no one else in my group wanted to ride and I didn't want to ride by myself. We are going back in the fall, so hopefully I'll get to ride. I also don't enjoy the free fall sensation, therfore coasters like Deja Vu(which is never running anyway) or Superman the Escape(SFMM) are probably no no's for me also. Call me a wuss, or whatever but a coaster doesn't have to be the tallest or fastest to be fun. Some of my personal favorites are considerd mild by todays standards. I have ridden some pretty good coasters like: Thunderhead, Hulk,Raven,Legend, Dueling Dragons,Kraken,etc. and there are many more that I would like to ride. But I have my limits. I was just wondering if I am alone in this or are there others out there with similar fears?

 

nope

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am truly scared when it comes to heights, but when im on coasters, nothing scares me because you are locked into place and there are very low chances of the restraint opening on newer rides due to many extra safety features, like a locking mechanism incase the restraint breaks and is about to pop open, something pops into place and locks the restraint. Im not sure if thats how it works but i think they would have that on coasters. As far as Kingda Ka, I was just a bit nervous but i knew it wasnt going to be bad. Even though I am terrified of heights, I barely felt the height of the coaster. We were up there in no time and back down in no time. Next time I can't wait to look to the left so I can see the whole park instead of just staring forward at the parking lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid of heights. I can ride some huge rides but not all. I also have a couple of strange fears on some coasters. I'm scared of B:TR at SFOG because of the zero-G roll. I'm scared of S:UF because I don't think the restraint can hold my weight. Everyone says it will but I don't want to take chances. I'm not that heavy. I'm terrifyed of MindBender because I think I might black out due to my size. I'm weird aren't I?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was until June 8th of last year, when I would never on ANYTHING that had a drop over 60 degrees, has an inverion, or goes over 200 ft. I was extremely scared of heights. I was a wimp when I was little. But now Im pretty much not scared of anything. (Except I get a little scared when I go on KK) But other than that I can do anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm always afraid to ride a coaster I've never ridden before. But I just go in line, sit in the train and from that point there's no turning back. For example: I'm terrified to ride Silver Star next week, but I know I'll do it! Just go for it, you'll always have fun

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first large coaster was the Flashback at SFNE i just got in line watched, the people ride, listen to the annoying and loud pneumatic release for the chain on the second spike. The when i got into the station i got into the front row of the middle car left side, pulled my harnass down and said "there's no turning back now", rode it and loved it, then i had no problems. Said the world's longest-run-on-sentance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have ridden some pretty good coasters like: Thunderhead, Hulk,Raven,Legend, Dueling Dragons,Kraken,etc. and there are many more that I would like to ride.

Sounds like a pretty good list to me. All of those except Thuderhead and the Holiday World rides are in my top 15 list of coasters.

 

As for being scared of tall coasters. You have to remember you are securely fastened into your seat and there it is highly unlikely the ride will buckle from underneath you. I too am deatlhy afraid of hights. If I'm not securely fastened to something, I won't go near it, for example the Grand Canyon is my least favorite place in the world due to that factor, but I can conquer any roller coaster because I know i'm not going to fly out or have the ride crumble while I'm at the top. It hasn't happened yet, and it probably won't happen in the future.

 

So its more of a mind thing. You just have to tell yourself that there's nothing wrong. Not to mention you've been on plenty of other roller coasters and you've come off ok, then it should be the same for any other ride thats manufactured well. If you aren't going to get hurt, why be afraid of it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm afraid of heights unless I know I can't fall, so on rollercoasters, it doesn't bother me. I Used to love rollercoasters, but I never rode them. I didn't like the feeling of airtime. When i was on a group trip to SFDL in 3rd grade. I said how I was gonna go on everything, but only ended up going on predator once. my eyes were closed the entire ride except a few brief moments it was actually kinda fun, but I didn't ride another roller coaster until a two years later, again at SFDL, I went right on boomerang. Even though I was scared, it was fun, and from then on, I LOVE the airtime, I'll go on any roller coaster. I was cured of my fear, luckily. Could you imagine being a coaster enthusiast, but not actually going on the rides?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heh.

 

I'm an oddity here, it seems. I have absolutely no problem with heights. I just don't like falling. Zero-G doesn't agree with me.

 

And I think it's some of the same thing as "rocket scientists never go to space". You know how it works, so you know just about everything that can go wrong...

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

-ACE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was like 6 years old, I was put on the Racers at PKI. Somehow, we went on the backwards one by mistake. I cried the whole time and my parents said that I swore never to ride another ride EVER. I was scared to go on coasters for several years thereafter.

 

Eventually, I started to ride them again and got over my fear. I've worked my way up to ride coasters including Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force.

 

I guess I just fell safe on roller coasters, being all secure and buckled up. On the other hand, tell me to look over the hand rails of a ten story balcony and I would be scared to death. Don't get me wrong, I still get a little nervous strapping in for TTD, but I'm getting over my fear of heights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Despite being on the top of the Empire State Building when I was 8 (Hasn't everyone) I was scared of hights until I rode Apollo's Chariot on easter this year. I tried out the test chair and realized that I was safe. So I got in line (15minutes) and put down the lap bar in the middle row and said "no turning back now". First drop, I closed my eyes. Then once we were going up the second hill, I knew I would survive and by the time it reached the helix, my hands were up! It was so fun so now I'm an enthusiast and will ride coasters for a long time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I really am a late bloomer when it comes to roller coasters. While I did ride some of the smaller ones like Space Mountain there was no way I would ride any of the bigger ones until my wife Leanne convinced me to ride Rock n Rollercoaster in March 2005. From then on I never looked back. In a little over a year I managed from being a coasterphobe to riding Kingda Ka. Oh, I still have a bit of acrophobia, but I still am able to ride coasters and drop towers. I am not really sure how I manage it though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to be scared but i thought things like "no going back", "they test it, it HAS to be safe", and "If i do die, wouldn't it be a cool way to die?"

 

Also, this year, i REALLY worked up from fears! Especially since i went on a Vekoma boomerang for my coaster with inversions! Now that's brave! Then i went to the not-so-sooperdooperlooper, Canobie Corkscrew... An maybe i'll go up to B:TDK at SFNE for fright fest and ride in the dark!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Until May of this year, I wouldn't ride anything over 50 feet tall...

 

Then, my friend invited me to go to SFMM with him. Because I didn't want to disappoint him (seeing as I'm one of his best friends), I decided to go and test my limits. Viper was my first big roller coaster ever, and I was terrified...

 

I went on it, had fun, but was still kind of shaken from the roughness, and that it was so big (at least it seemed that way).

 

Eventually, later in the day, I was convinced by my friend to go on The Riddler's Revenge. Ever since that ride, I've not been the least bit scared of any roller coaster. Sure, I've been nervous before riding the more intense stuff (like Tatsu, which is awesome), but now it's nothing compared to what I used to be... and I'm glad.

 

I've come to realize that there's nothing to be afraid of -- only fun to be had! And believe me, that's a good feeling to not be afraid!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, one of my friends was deathly afraid of coasters. I think her biggest was BTM at DL. I took her to SFMM, and by not letting her think about what she was getting herself into, I got her on Tatsu first, and she loved it, I got her on Deja Vu without her even getting scared, as well as Viper and Scream. The key was not actually letting her think about what she was doing and also not letting her see all of the layout by hurrying into the line.

 

And if you personally are afraid of hights, I offer this advice, as I am too:

 

Don't think, just do.

 

When you think about something, it immediately becomes 10x as bad as it is. Don't think about what you are doing until you are in the process of doin it. Like on TTD, don't think about the tophat until you are on the launch section. Then it's too late, and you have to endure it, and will most likely enjoy it.

 

I did a 25 foot rope swing when I was in Hawaii. It drops you into this big pond by some waterfall, and there was no way in hell I was going to do it. But there is this ladder on the side of a cliff to get to the swing, and if you climb up, you can't climb down. So I basically climbed up without thinking about the 25 foot freefall, and once I was at the top I let myself dread it, knowing I had no choice anyway. After doing it once, I did it about 10 more times...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meh. I dragged my mom on CA Screamin' at CA Adventure and she got sick.

 

Same thing happened on Montezuma's Revenge at Knott's...

 

and Manhattan Express at NYNY in Las Vegas (though that one isn't too surprising )

 

But she dragged herself on Ghostrider which is worse than Monty, and she still hated it. BUT, she didn't get sick.

 

So I guess some people just aren't rollercoaster people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right. Whenever I get off a ride like Tower of Terror and the Mummy at USH, I hear people saying things like "how the hell do they do that?!" and "OMFG I didn't expect such a fast takeoff!!". I always think about how I know the exact way everything happens because I read it on the internet. I hate knowing what happens next.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great topic! I love coasters, too. But I have a fear of heights, get sick when I spin, and just get too nervous thinking about it. My coaster count is 1. My daughter got me to ride the Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm at Magic Kingdom. I spent most of the ride with my eyes closed, opening them just as we were flying through the barn. That was when I realise it was fun!

I'm going with my daughter, her husband, and his parents (all coaster lovers) this coming weekend to Hershey and a couple of other small parks. They've been making a list of "little" coasters to start me out on. Oh,boy.

Everyone has been giving you some good advice, and I think it will help me,too.

One thing I can recommend is wearing SeaBands. They're these elastic bracelets with a little plastic disc that you wear on your wrists. The disc puts pressure on a point on your wrist that stops the motion sickness. (It's an accupressure thing.) They worked well for me. I did a lot of things that normally would have made my tummy get yucky, but I never had even a hint of feeling sick. You can find them at any drug store. No drugs, worth every penny.

I'll be thinking of you when I double my coaster count to 2!

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/