Secret Scary Coaster

[jmicha]

The only coaster that I really still get butterflies on is Top Thrill Dragster the first few times I ride it at the beginning of each new season. After I ride those few times, however, I'm fine for the rest of the season. Swing and drop rides, however, will always scare me. I've never ridden Power Tower and don't plan on riding it. I rode Dr. Doom's Fearfall at IoA and that was enough to hold me over forever. maXair and Skyhawk still get me worked up whenever I ride them, maXair moreso that Skyhawk. Once I ride them, I'm fine, but I will always get nervous the next time I get in line.

[total13]

This is probably gonna sound crazy but ferris wheels (no matter how small/big), drop towers (observation towers too) & all coasters with a lift scare the bejesus out of me, no matter how many times I've ridden them. I am deathly afraid of heights but love coasters & force myself on the towers. I guess that I just trust gravity coz, once it takes over, I have the time of my life. That being said, I would probably never ride a coaster again if I got stuck on the lift. And I'm absolutely sure that if a tower left me in the air I'd be done with those. The only ride I will not step foot on these days is the ferris wheel - they're just too slow & I don't trust them. I can do all the other flats with no problem & am totally fine on launched coasters & towers no matter how tall or fast. Go figure...

[Xtreme-me]

The First time I really really got scared was on X. I threw up four times inside a trash can in the station because I was so scared! When we were on the ride, I cussed like I've never cussed before. And this was like, high school cussing level. I said pretty much every word in the book because I thought I was going to Die! I didnt and ended up loving the ride! I will still, to this day, get butterflies in my stomach whenever Im about to go on X.

 

Next has to be Deja Vu. Im a really big guy so going up at a 90 degree angle and just hanging there scares the crap out of me! I still like the ride but that just freaks me out.

 

Lastly would have to Be Tatsu. That thing is SO HIGH UP! When your at the top of the lift hill, your like, what the heck did I get myself into! The first time I ever went on it screamed like a little girl because I was so afraid.

[Chris Benvenuto]

I'm not afraid of coasters, but damn.

 

the green side of Power Tower at Cedar Point freaks me out!!!

 

275 FT drop? no thanks! but I'll probably ride it anyway when R&E come to CP in August.

[MNdude]

I'm not really scared of coasters; I found SheiKra the single most intimidating coaster I have ever been on, especially climbing that steep lift while glancing at the drop. The one ride that scares me every single time is turbo drop on Power Tower. Its just something about being barley strapped in, feet dangling, slowly rising to almost 300ft then stopping at the top waiting for the drop.

[coasterlover420]

I think after I rode Top Thrill Dragster the first time, I was immune to anything...

[Dleo]

Don't really avoid coasters if I know that the parks maintains them well... I trust most parks do. I would tend to avoid any ride at a parking lot carnival.

 

Thought twice about riding Goliath at SFMM though... after the whole greying out "I'm losin' my vision... my eyes! My eyiiies!" helix finale though.

 

Totally agree with the drop towers... sitting and waiting for your heart to fly up in your throat when you finally drop... makes me yell every time. But the anticipation and final plummet is what does it for me on them.

[Jhcbiinoc]

I can't think of any offhand that really scare me about going on now, but I can think of one in the past that scared me to death.

 

The most terrified I think I have ever been going on any coaster was my first time on Xcelerator at Knott's. It wasn't because of what the ride did, I was actually looking forward to the launch and the vertical drop. It was all psychological, due to a recurring nightmare I had when the ride first opened. In the dream, I was waiting in the station and the red train launched too fast, went up to the top of the top hat with too much speed, and instead of going over the train unhooked from the track, separated and plummeted into the intersection outside the park, annihilating everyone on board. This dream continued to replay itself over and over in my head the entire time I was in line and by the time it was time to board, I was a nervous wreck. The operator who checked my restraint had an honest look of concern on her face, but I told her I was fine (my friend says I had gone white by that point, but he was pretty nervous as well). Watching the traffic light count down seemed like it took forever.

 

But what a ride-I ended up absolutely loving it and since then have been on it hundreds of times.

 

The only other rides that made me more than a little nervous the first time were Supreme Scream (some of that had to do with one of the people I was riding with saying, "wow, my ears just popped, this is like being as high as an airplane"-she had a knack for saying things like this-and to this day I don't always like the climb up but I love the drop and most times even put my hands up when the car releases) and Acrophobia and Deja Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia-I enjoyed those as well, although I found Deja Vu a bit disappointing after all I had been told about it. Goliath at SFMM freaked me a little the first time due to the height, but now it doesn't bother me.

 

Any other time a ride has made me anxious, it has been more excitement than fear. I had a sense of not knowing what to expect my first time on Riddler's Revenge and Tatsu, but neither one had me scared. (The Dive Machines look like coasters that might give me the good kind of anxious, with the holding brakes on the drop, which is why I am really looking forward to the chance to riding one!)

 

I recall having some mild butterflies my first time on X at SFMM while I was in line, but once on the ride and going up the lift I was not nervous at all but excited (mainly because I felt really secure and comfortable in the restraints and because I had been looking forward to being able to ride it for so long) and ended up loving it; I was too amazed by the ride to be scared by it; just the outrageousness of the coaster alone makes it enjoyable to me. It took me three or four rides on X to really appreciate the experience because the first time was just an enjoyable blur that left me with a case of dry mouth and thinking "What exactly just happened?!?", now it's my all time favorite.

 

As far as rides I haven't ridden yet? I'll admit, there are three that make me nervous: Top Thrill Dragster, Kingda Ka, and Millennium Force-either because of the extreme height (I start to get edgy over 250 feet) or the fact that in the case of two of those, it's just the lap bar and seat belt holding you in. Over time, my desire for going on more intense rides has surpassed my mild acrophobia, so I'm sure I will eventually be able to get on them too.

 

One thing I have discovered and that I tell anyone who is nervous about a ride is this: In my experience, most of the time, the scarier, more outrageous and extreme it looks, the better the ride will end up being and you will usually end up really enjoying it and get off and want to go on it again!

[odene497]

The ride that made me the most genuinely terrified was Top Thrill Dragster. Just before the launch, I almost had a panic attack, but as soon as we took off it was the most exhilerating moment in my life. I'm still nervous every time before the launch, but I love it.

[tigerxeyez]

I am most scared of X and The Flying Coaster at Elitch Gardens.

 

I fear for my life on those haha

[RJD]

Going to Magic Mountain hopefully this coming Saturday and scared of X. Definately scared. Waiting in the single rider line will scare me even more. Because I won't have enough time to think about it. I just get in line and wham I'm thrown into death. Ugh. I am gonna pysche myself out so bad. Anyway I am terrified of the ferris wheel after my wretched mother rocked it until our backs were almost vertical. At the tender age of nine. I will always hold her accountable for my fear of that wheel.

[Darien Laker]

I love launched coasters, but waiting before the launch is probably the only thing that scares me on rollercoasters, especially while waiting on Dragster as the train ahead of ours was launched.

 

I'm not usually scared on lift hill coasters, but Millennium Force actually had me pretty nervous as we got to the top.

[Jim1013]

Perhaps it was altitude sickness, or the Bloody Mary with breakfast, or maybe both? The SLC at Elitch Gardens in the Mile High City was so rough and disorienting and - damn it! is it over? The ride op had to ask me if I was o.k. I truly didn't know? So, brave, I ate lunch, waited until my stomach calmed, and proceeded to the 'Flying Coaster'. OMG. I was truly at a loss for words, other than a few expletives. Never in my life, nothing at Magic Mountain or Knotts or Disney's Land or World, made me VOMIT in public and make me think I would might lose consciousness like these two instruments of torture. Nothing! Trembling as I type.

[Angry_Gumball]

Actually, the rides that scare me the most, in which I would still be nervous to ride today, would be those speed slides (The near vertical ones). The idea that you only have 18-inch walls on the sides at 60 feet up keeping you from flying off the slide is kinda scary feeling if you ask me. And the fact that you have to stay laying down or you could possibly get seriously injured...yet your body's free to do what it wants as you have nothing restraining you.

[snuggles]

But those give airtime, and you even hear your ass hitting the slide coming down

[Dailey Enterprizes]

I'm scared of most Vekomas; especially Boomerangs...

[ThemeParkCommando]

total13:

 

No, you don't sound crazy, because I share your anxieties. I am also afraid of heights. This first appeared in my early teens. I was in an observation tower in Gettysburg (which has since been torn down, as its height was an eyesore) and I suddenly found that when I stood near the windows, I felt dizzy and felt like either the structure or I was going to fall. I had to back away and plaster myself against the wall by the elevator.

 

So I avoid observation towers.

 

Once roller coasters get going, I'm fine, because I'm going so fast that I barely have time to register where the hell I am, but life hills are difficult. I keep my eyes glued in front of me, and whatever I do, I DON'T LOOK DOWN. I wrote in another post that I'm very nervous about TTD at Cedar Point, but now I realize that I may be even more nervous about Millennium Force. That's a high lift hill. At least TTD rockets you up.

 

I also avoid Ferris Wheels, again because I'm too aware of how high I am. (No, I don't mean high as in stoned. Silly people...) I feel too exposed. The only one I ever liked was the Giant Wheel at Hersheypark, because it didn't "stop at the top," as I put it as a kid. Now it's gone. Sigh...

 

The only drop tower I've ridden is the Tower of Terror at Disney World, because I'd heard that the special effects were not to be missed. Plus, you're indoors as you're rising. I rode it twice; the first time I mostly had my eyes closed during the view from the top. The second time I kept them open. I didn't much like the sensation of dropping, but the effects were cool. I'd ride it again.

 

As for your garden variety, outdoor, non-themed drop tower...Nah. They're not interesting enough to me to entice me to challenge myself by riding them.

 

Yes, I do love roller coasters. And I was feeling rather neurotic due to what bothers me, so it's great to see that I'm not the only one!

 

Oh yes...sorry I'm not quoting total13's original message. It's late and I'm tired.

[EvoLee]

removed

[snuggles]

The Joyland Roller Coaster. That first drop scares the crap out of me!

[HogarthOK]

Once roller coasters get going, I'm fine, because I'm going so fast that I barely have time to register where the hell I am, but life hills are difficult. I keep my eyes glued in front of me, and whatever I do, I DON'T LOOK DOWN. I wrote in another post that I'm very nervous about TTD at Cedar Point, but now I realize that I may be even more nervous about Millennium Force. That's a high lift hill. At least TTD rockets you up.

 

TPC:

 

Ya know, I thought I would have the same reaction -- but MF's lift hill is different from your usual chain lift. It's very steep and very fast. You don't have the long, long wait like you do on most hypers.

 

For me, it's always looking down at the beginning of those big, big drops that scares. Back seat is often better because you're dragged forcefully down the hill, and everyone else has to see the horror first. Front seat, it's just you and the track.

 

The other thing that never fails to get my stomach churning are inversions taken backwards.. Boomerangs always give me a special twinge and I tend to scream "whoOAaaAAaaaA". I also loathe the loud CLUNK as your train is caught on the uphill on Boomerangs.

 

H

[DECoasterMom]

I'm not scared of coasters ... but ... I'm terrified of those swinging pirate ship rides! Seriously. I haven't been on one in the last 15 years, even though my kids keep begging me to go again. Silly, I know.

 

I also don't like enclosed tube body slides ~ the fear & dread of hitting the water at the bottom takes away all the fun. I hate getting water up my nose, not to mention worrying about losing my contacts.

[Edward]

I fear inversions... The only inversion I'll go on is a space ring... Or if I'm flying something.

 

Do inversions count on a flying/laydown coaster? I mean, one doesn't really go upside down, does one?

 

Oh, and drop towers. Leave me out of those.

 

/Edward

[jason10]

I am also absolutely terrified of Drop Rides but, I still go on them every once in a while as they're something fun but scary to do.

[Billy Shears]

Mind Bender at SFoG.

 

The lift hill, I think you do actually stop. It's gotten to the point where if anyone says the line might be too long, I'll say "Yeah! Screw Mind Bender! Let's go ride something else!"

 

Plus, I still haven't gotten up the nerve to ride SFoG's Goliath. Too high, and tiny lap bars D:

[scud]

TTD, but i'm still riding it. My first really big coaster was Powder Keg, and I was scared stiff from the last part of the queue all the way to the launch. The airtime on PK's first drop felt awesome at the time.