Worst Coaster Experience

[Angry_Gumball]

Vortex at Kings Island. The transition into the corkscrews has to be the worst transition ever created.

 

Perfect explanation why.

[Coaster_Fanatic]

My worst coaster experience to date has to be my horrible ride on Green Lantern at SFGAdv in the pouring rain. The headbanging plus the rain feeling like needles hitting my face made it THAT terrible.

[StarWars]

My worst coaster experiences aren't anything that went wrong mechanically, rather they were the coasters themselves. I've only actually been to a handful of parks (many times, mind you). I've been to SFA, WDW, HP, SFGAdv, and BGW (I was too young to ride the rides when I went to KD). The worst experiences for me were both at SFA. Now, I don't think SFA completely deserves the derision it gets, but every time I ride Mind Eraser (Vekoma SLC) the ride lives up to its namesake. My head throbs after Mind Eraser more than any other coaster I can remember. My second worst experience is actually rectified now. I love Joker's Jinx. However, I hated those OTSRs. Every time the coaster got lowest to the ground, my head would bounce from one side of the OTSR padding to the other to the point where I just had to close my eyes. With the lap bars, that no longer happens. It is like a different ride for me.

[megametal]

Mean Streak this past Tuesday. OUCH! I had forgotten that it needs to be ridden wrong to have a good ride. Putting your back against the seat = pain. Have to lean forward and sit in the front to have even an okay ride.

[B&MBoy1982]

My worst coaster experiences aren't anything that went wrong mechanically, rather they were the coasters themselves. I've only actually been to a handful of parks (many times, mind you). I've been to SFA, WDW, HP, SFGAdv, and BGW (I was too young to ride the rides when I went to KD). The worst experiences for me were both at SFA. Now, I don't think SFA completely deserves the derision it gets, but every time I ride Mind Eraser (Vekoma SLC) the ride lives up to its namesake. My head throbs after Mind Eraser more than any other coaster I can remember. My second worst experience is actually rectified now. I love Joker's Jinx. However, I hated those OTSRs. Every time the coaster got lowest to the ground, my head would bounce from one side of the OTSR padding to the other to the point where I just had to close my eyes. With the lap bars, that no longer happens. It is like a different ride for me.

 

I didn't think Chang-O-Lantern was bad. Actually, I thought it was quite enjoyable, and better than Mantis.

 

It along with many other B&M's I have ridden have the newer restraints. It's a different material. Perhaps vandal proof.

 

If you know a rattle is coming up on a B&M, brace your head against the OTSR. That works for me at least.

 

I was able to ride Flight of Fear when it had the OTSR's, and it was the same experience you described with Joker's Jynx.

 

My worst coaster experience is the awful transition on Vortex on the turn right before the vertical loop.

[Jew]

A few others I remembered...

 

1. Boardwalk Bullet on the Texas trip. BAD. Couldn't even do more than two rides during ERT.

 

2. Cedar Point in a drizzle. "OMG, lets close everything!!! And then completely redo the block check when we can reopen! Screw the guests waiting to ride SOMETHING besides the train!"

[dropzonefan]

Have to say riding Wild Beast at Canada's Wonderland.. So painfully.. It's actually quite sad, as if the ride wasn't so rough it would be great, as it's filled with airtime.

Edited July 16, 2013 by dropzonefan

[Pyrozooka0]

Ninja at SFOG

[Voxelmatic]

Revolution @ SFMM. I don't know what I can say about it...the OTSRs make it one of, if not the worst, ride I've been on.

[Perilous Chris]

As of now, Time Warp at Canada's Wonderland wins my personal award for the worst coaster experience.

 

The head banging on that coaster was so bad, it made my teeth hurt.

[alilstronger]

A few others I remembered...

 

1. Boardwalk Bullet on the Texas trip. BAD. Couldn't even do more than two rides during ERT.

 

2. Cedar Point in a drizzle. "OMG, lets close everything!!! And then completely redo the block check when we can reopen! Screw the guests waiting to ride SOMETHING besides the train!"

 

I LOVE Boardwalk Bullet. One of my top wooden coasters. I love the last row on the left side for some reason. I personally did not find it all that rough.

[Xtroverto]

When I was about 8 years old I rode an old poorly maintained wooden coaster that derailed on a small airhump and detached from the rails, this was not a large or fast coaster but the whole carrige sailed through the air for a good 15 feet and only divine intervention saved my life that day. I took me 10 years before I rode another coaster again. It pretty much ruined my whole childhood when it comes to amusement/theme parks.

[mike541x]

Anaconda at Kings Dominion I believe in 04. My friends and I were riding in the last car at least 10 times in a row before closing, no problem. We ended up riding in the second car for our last ride, and it was the most brutal experience I've ever encountered on a roller coaster. I still remember all the head banging starting from the moment the train left the tunnel going into the first loop. I earned to ride in the last car of Arrows, they seem to have less head banging. And yes I still love Arrow coasters.

[jray21]

A few others I remembered...

 

1. Boardwalk Bullet on the Texas trip. BAD. Couldn't even do more than two rides during ERT.

 

2. Cedar Point in a drizzle. "OMG, lets close everything!!! And then completely redo the block check when we can reopen! Screw the guests waiting to ride SOMETHING besides the train!"

 

 

This.

 

I'll also add X, the first version.

[Moose]

Crab Island SLC knock off. The restraints were compressing my chest to the point of discomfort before the ride even started.

[i<3coasters]

Psyclone at SFMM.

[Jer]

Not that it's a bad ride, but I rode Green Lantern at SFGAdv on an empty stomach, every little bit of positive Gs hurt like hell. As for just terrible rides, Roar at SFA, I rode that near the back, in the horrible heat, after one of the worst days of my life at a park, it was just terrible.

[1badgmc]

Manhattan Express at the New York New York Casino in Vegas.

 

I had seen Rob's POV long before I rode it, but I still had to experience it for myself. It's the only Togo I've ever ridden to date. What a miserable ride. From the bottom of the first drop until it hit the brake run, the ride was nothing but a headache inducing nightmare. Never again.

[bonsaiisuperstar]

Son of Beast tried to kill me. It bruised my internal organs and took weeks to recover from. I wanted to help them tear it down with my own chainsaw and gasoline!

TTD hurts when raindrops hit you at 120 mph.

[leeojUK]

Manhattan Express at the New York New York Casino in Vegas.

 

I had seen Rob's POV long before I rode it, but I still had to experience it for myself. It's the only Togo I've ever ridden to date. What a miserable ride. From the bottom of the first drop until it hit the brake run, the ride was nothing but a headache inducing nightmare. Never again.

 

 

Same for me, I wasn't aware of what it would be like. Horrible.

[OrlandoPete]

Hands down worst: Outer Limits: Flight of Fear @ Kings Dominion back when it was nicknamed Flight of Pain. The OTSRs delivered baseball bat to the skull headbanging. I will never forget that ride.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Riverside Cyclone. The jack-hammering and abrupt changes in the track make it the worst woodie I have ever ridden.

 

T2 at Kentucky Kingdom. You know its going to be bad when the drop is rough!! I didn't think a steel coaster could even feel like that. It was one of those rides where you just brace yourself and pray for it to be over soon.

[cfc]

^I, too, remember the horrible OTSRs they used to have on Flight of Fear--Premier definitely learned a lesson from that experience.

[Generational]

I have TWO that turned out to be an absolute train wreck.

 

1.Now, don't get me wrong, Bizarro at SFNE (back when it was still S:ROS) is an amazing ride. But I was with my family one time and I decided to go on by myself while they did other things. After about a 50 minute wait on line, I finally was able to ride it. The train makes its way about half-way up the hill and, low and behold, the train slows to a stop. The lift hill failed and now I'm stuck. While normally, they'd be able to get the ride up and running in about 10 minutes, no problem, an hour and a half flew by and they were still attempting to fix it. They had to manually come up and release the lap bars and walk everyone down the side of the hill, and the train stayed there for the rest of the day. It was easily 90+ degrees outside, high noon, with the sun beating down on everyone. I had a sunburn that literally took up most of my face. It was not an enjoyable experience.

 

2. Waiting to get on El Toro a couple of years ago. The weather reports all day had been predicting rain and down pours, and other means of precipitation. The wait was about 60-70 minutes, and the clouds only got darker. Hoping that the rain would hold off for a few more minutes, my brother and I hopped to the back and waited a few circuits until our ride was up. The rain held off for a few more minutes, just long enough for us to be strapped in and leaving the station. We make the turn to the hill and the clouds open up. It down pours during the entire ride, and down pours at 70+ mph is nothing to scoff at. The entire ride was me covering my face from the rain. It felt like pins and needles. Although, while the experience was bad during, we hit the brake run, and the train erupts into applause. The adrenaline from the coaster and the rain apparently made everyone giddy with excitement. We roll into the station and the Ride OP asks the train the inevitable "How was your ride" and the train, again, bursts into applause, laughter and joy. Easily the worst, and at the same time, one of the best, rides I have ever been on.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

I have a few memorable experiences that I don't wish to happen again.

 

I made the decision to ride in the front seat of Millennium Force at Cedar Point on a day that was quite overcast. By the time I had gotten to the front seat, the fog had turned into a bit of a mist, and, as we began to climb the lift hill, the mist turned into a light shower. Long story short, 93MPH rain hitting my face was not the most comfortable experience ever. Perhaps a bit more painful than that was my ride on Mantis, in the front seat, while it was raining even harder. I regret my front-seat-only attitude from when I was younger.

 

While not a horrible experience overall, Goudurix at Parc Asterix ended up being a horrid ride. The ride-op wouldn't let me set my bag down on the side of the ride (which wouldn't have been a huge problem since the ride was only running one train that day), so I had to hold it while I rode. Thus,I set off on a journey in a rather uncomfortable position on an extremely uncomfortable roller coaster. Needless to say, I was glad that I didn't have to wait 2 hours to ride this piece of junk, which happened to be my 200th credit.

 

Finally, I rode El Condor at Walibi Holland, which was the very first SLC ever made. I'm not going to bother describing the headbanging or the pain; it was just a terrible coaster that is not worth riding unless you're a credit-whore like I am.

[AusCoasterFan]

Being around 6`3`, trying to fit my frame into the very tights OTSRs on Boomerang at Knott's Berry Farm was very painful. I could hardly pull the restraints down past my chest as they were too tight.

It only got worse... remember how Vekoma, like Arrow and B&M use those horrible ratcheting restraints which can still be tightened further even after dispatch, well as Boomerang pulls around 5.2Gs at one point, this sudden force caused the restraint to lock down a couple of clicks tighter causing awful pain, making me feel like my back was breaking! Not fun.

I actually like the concept of Boomerang. I just feel that the restraints were designed for people no taller than 6` max.

 

I have quite a few problems in regards to shoulder restraints being too tight. Most Arrow trains with maybe the exception of Viper have been too tight on my shoulders. Arkham Asylum (SLC) with the old trains was too tight on the shoulders too. The couple of motocoasters I have ridden have been unpleasantly tight on my legs. And Green Lantern: First Flight... well that hurt all over!