Ride You Felt Was Unsafe?

[boldikus]

I'm with the unsafe on ferris wheels crew. especially if its open on the top half of the car/gondola.

 

same goes for cable car rides but did that twice at sfgadv over the weekend, its too convenient not to use to get from one side of the park to the other.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Ferris Wheels have always been/felt unsafe to me, IMhO.

It's amazing they haven't included seat belts by now, with some of them.

 

I mean, it's just a bar across you and it's not even a lap bar!

[XYZ]

The log flume at Buffalo Bill's. The park is not maintained well, has lousy operators, has ride perimeter gates wide open, and what tops it off is that the log flume has rotting wood in its theming.

[Xcoaster]

The drop tower at the former Alabama Adventure chucked a wheel while we were riding it. We heard some unusual noises while riding, and once we got back to the bottom we saw an employee run over and pick up a wheel (one big piece and a smaller wedge that'd broken off), prior to closing it down. That said, it wasn't especially troubling during the ride since we didn't notice the wheel until it was over, and if I'm going to lose a wheel on anything I'd prefer it be a drop tower.

 

While I was at the Funtown Pier (a few months prior to it getting destroyed) it'd started raining, and I was waiting for the Mighty Mouse to reopen so I could get my credit. I figured I'd ride the ferris wheel while I waited. It was pretty windy at the top of the wheel, and on the first revolution the door to my cage blew open. Once I got back to the bottom I had to get the attention of the attendant for them to secure it. That said, the fact that I was in a cage to start with meant that I was already pretty well secured, which is more than can be said for many other ferris wheels. Mostly it was just surprising.

[simon8899]

Even if it "feels" a little unsafe I love the older rides were there are some reasonable space between the lapbar and the rider - like Schwarzkopf loopers and Monster or old HUSS Pirates were you can really slip up in the rear rows.

 

Also love our 65 meter ferris wheel at carnivals here - while people enter below you hang 65 meters up, peferably after dark and unlike most American wheels ours are open meaning there is no mesh and no windows - just open air above the waistline if you stand up, and if you are taller like me the doors end someway on your lower thigh. Or you can lean over the bench, stick your head out and look straight down...

 

And I hate the year our TÜV made it mandatory that HUSS Break Dancers need slip-under protection on their seats...

 

And while our carnivals are as safe as parks I guess it was often enough noted that our flats are not fenced in - kids eat their ice cones only 20 centimeters away from for example a Mondial Shake at full swing...

 

And of course: Love out log-flumes and rafting rides - all of course without any restraint system.

[tarheel1231]

I know this ride hasn't even opened yet, but Falcon's Fury looks terrifying! Fun, but terrifying. I know it will be safe, but dropping while facing down..... well guys, if you're at the park at the same day as me, and you feel something splash on you, it's not rain. It's mostly water, but there's a little waste in it too. Falcon's Fury should provide great views though.

[gerstlaueringvar]

ZIPPERS! I do hope Chance will keep making them though.

[alilstronger]

^ ZIppers are AMAZING rides! I love how every time you ride its a different ride.

[beatle11]

Pretty much everything at Mt Olympus.

[Generational]

Almost everything having to do with Coney Island. Granted, it is one of my favorite places just because of the whole atmosphere, but my brother and I went on the Fire Ball (Ring of Fire, basically the looped coaster the operator operates under his own free will). We were one of the only people on it, and the man operating it was an absolute asshole. He held the train upside down for what felt like an eternity, and I could feel the restraint slipping, as if it wasn't even locked. I told my brother to just hold on, because he was going through the same thing. The guy finally let the train finish the loop, and we asked to get off as soon as possible. Never looked at the ride the same way again. Also, the Cyclone feels like it's a microbe's sneeze away from imploding in on itself.

 

Also, the Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake Park. I was about 8 and threw my hands up during an airtime section, and I swear to this day, that if I didn't grab the lab bar (which was flimsily rattling around) I think I might have slipped out.

[A.J.]

And while our carnivals are as safe as parks I guess it was often enough noted that our flats are not fenced in - kids eat their ice cones only 20 centimeters away from for example a Mondial Shake at full swing...

That''s because people there are smart enough to not step on the big red-painted area that says "DANGER" in big block letters...

[Meteornotes]

I rode some things in China that I swear were going to fall down while we were on them.

 

dt

[OldJJman]

I rode some things in China that I swear were going to fall down while we were on them.

 

I still like that boomerang at Woobang Tower Park in South Korea, that was being welded while we waited to ride.

[MFJorts]

I rode Supreme Scream at Knott's with the restraints very far out. It was early in the morning when the park was completely empty, just me and a friend on the ride. The OP asked "Do you really want to ride like that?" and we enthusiastically said, "Yes!" I can't believe he let us go ahead with it, and I really regret even doing something that dumb, because I was not really secured in the seat at all. I held on for dear life and felt like a huge idiot, but lucky for making it through. Definitely won't be trying anything like that again any time soon!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Cyclops still wins.

 

Although I completely trust RMC on safety, I didn't feel comfortable putting my hands up on Outlaw Run during my first ride. But after that, hands up all the way!!!

[flaffstar99]

I felt unsafe on Sky Trip at the beginning. A travelling Fair ride.

[fraroc]

The first time I ever had a fear of dying on a ride was the first time I ever went on Skyrush at Hershey. I put my hands up and unconsciously leaned over on the first drop and I literally thought I was going to slip through the restraints and fall out of the ride. This was also a few weeks after the NTAG incident, so that'll put things in perspective for you.

 

Because of that, I feel the "thigh crushing" restraints are actually the best part about Skyrush. Your legs are completely pinned down, but you have so much freedom on your upper body and going at 75mph and experiencing some killer ejector air adds to the "fear" of dying on the ride.

[rcjp]

^That's true, I'll admit. Having those lap bars sitting so far down your leg not only gives you a lot of freedom but it also makes it scarier. When I first lowered it I though: Is this what's going to hold me during extreme ejector?

Having said that, I would rather have a little less freedom (which doesn't even have to happen) and more comfort.

[GwaziBSRider1]

Batwing at SFA because the vest part of the restraint was so loose that I thought I was going to fall out. I told the ride op about it, and they just shrugged and didn't care. Honorable mention to the Flying Scooters at Conneaut Lake.

[Dschu]

Larson Fireball at the Big E

[boldikus]

Batwing at SFA because the vest part of the restraint was so loose that I thought I was going to fall out.

 

THIS. So much so that the friends I were with went back on and I wouldn't do it.

[Sharman19]

Batwing at SFA because the vest part of the restraint was so loose that I thought I was going to fall out. I told the ride op about it, and they just shrugged and didn't care. Honorable mention to the Flying Scooters at Conneaut Lake.

I rode Firehawk and I felt the exact same way! It scared the little poo-poos out of my brothers. The vest felt so loose, I was starting to freak out.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Little bit off topic but I have to admit, while I definitely trust most manufacturers about safety, NTaG and Shoot the Rapids accidents really had an impact on me. I used to leave a huge gap between my lap and the restraint to get more airtime, I completely stopped ever since that day.

 

The first two coasters I rode since the accidents were Superman Krypton Coaster and Pandemonium, SKC's anti-rollback was scarily quiet and Pandemonium makes some finicky noise before the magnets starts working. I really was freaked out by both of them but I think I covered my fear pretty well.

[Sharman19]

Little bit off topic but I have to admit, while I definitely trust most manufacturers about safety, NTaG and Shoot the Rapids accidents really had an impact on me. I used to leave a huge gap between my lap and the restraint to get more airtime, I completely stopped ever since that day.

 

The first two coasters I rode since the accidents were Superman Krypton Coaster and Pandemonium, SKC's anti-rollback was scarily quiet and Pandemonium makes some finicky noise before the magnets starts working. I really was freaked out by both of them but I think I covered my fear pretty well.

Then why do you love RMC so much, but you feel that they're unsafe?

[GwaziBSRider1]

^ I don't think that's what he meant. It sounds like he had an epiphany about ride safety because of the accident.

 

Batwing at SFA because the vest part of the restraint was so loose that I thought I was going to fall out. I told the ride op about it, and they just shrugged and didn't care. Honorable mention to the Flying Scooters at Conneaut Lake.

I rode Firehawk and I felt the exact same way! It scared the little poo-poos out of my brothers. The vest felt so loose, I was starting to freak out.

 

I didn't notice this with Firehawk, but the last time I rode it was in 2010. I also didn't notice it with Nighthawk last year. Now that I've ridden all of the Flying Dutchmen, I probably won't ride any of them again.