Has your obsession with theme parks served as...

[RandallDuell]

I'm curious if anyone here can point at their obsession/love of theme parks (rollercoasters, thrill rides etc) as a sort of "gateway drug" to other adrenaline-filled hobbies?

 

Obviously there are rides designed with little kids in mind....so the gene that one might have the requires "thrill" could be tripped early on. If it weren't for these kiddie rides, many might never feel the "need for speed" that they ultimately need to satisfy. The graduation into bigger thrills is mostly controlled by your height (at least in the US) .... but once you've hit 54" (or whatever the typical highest height requirement might be) the theme/amusement park world is your oyster.

 

So, all that said, does anyone have any stories about how their love of rollercoasters/rides etc has ended up leading them into other high energy things (like, say, skydiving or bungee jumping or mountain climbing etc)?

[Ace Of Spades]

My first time reading through this thread, I thought it was in context to drugs.

 

I could say coasters made me more willing to try new stuff, but I haven't really had the chance to try much. Although maybe I'll manage a SkyCoaster sometime soon.

[buckaroo234]

Coasters got me on a skycoaster, which got me started bungee jumping, sky diving and motorcycle riding. Actually dont know if i can blame that on coasters or my insane mother, but since she bought me shoes to make me 54 inches before i really was so i could get on the good coasters sooner, i guess i can blame it on coasters.

[* Misery]

I can ride a motorcycle and I know how to shoot a gun though that might be my dad.

[David H]

The only other hobby it's led to is a love of travelling. LUckily, the two hobbies can very easily be combined into coaster trips, though sightseeing often jockeys with parks for the limited time on my vacations!

 

While that's not really adrenaline filled- the way I pack my vacations is!

 

Try waking up in Venice, taking a 3-hour train to Florence, trying to see EVERYTHING (2 museums -- including David, their Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and more) in Florence in less than 6 hours, taking another train to Pisa, getting over to the Leaning Tower and climbing up and back down, catching a long train to Milan, and then going out clubbing in Milan -- ALL IN THE SAME DAY! And taking hundreds and hundreds of pictures!

 

Try to tell me that that doesn't take adrenaline! (And very good planning!)

[Moose]

Nope.

 

My other thrill seeking activities (skiing and skydiving) all happened BEFORE I really started coastering. I will NEVER skydive again, and I am ambivalent about skiing.

[SFOGdude25]

Roller coaster thrills led me to try skiing and mountain biking, and I LOVE doing both now.

[matteocrepaldi]

All I can think of is: get to know a lot of great people and do crazy things like sleeping in airports to keep the trip costs down!

[Intimidator305]

Because of roller coasters I rode the SlingShot in Downtown Myrtle Beach right across from the new 200 ft. SkyWheel. IMHO I thought this was scarier than any coaster I've been on but I can't wait to do it again! Too bad it costs $50+ (for two people) for a minute ride. Absolutely love it though!

 

[BarryH]

I've been a "Star Trek" geek ever since I can remember.

 

My friend also loves professional wrestling and the Grateful Dead.

 

I can't connect roller coastering to any of these things.

 

[B-RadG]

It's led me to crack, ecstasy, and cheap prostitution... pretty fruitful hobby, if I may say so.

[angryemobeaver]

I'm really into cliffdiving because of my love for coasters and thrills.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

I've done cliff diving, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, and I'm going skydiving soon...

[xmichellex]

I think in general I love adrenaline rushes/thrills/etc. After I was tall enough to ride my first coaster, that was it... I would go on all the thrill rides, coasters, flats.

 

I've been skydiving twice and if it wasn't so expensive, I would do it every day of my life. I couldn't jump out fast enough!

 

I also love the rides on the Stratosphere in Vegas, rock climbing, and don't really have a problem with heights, which I think helps my courage a lot.

 

Bungee jumping scares me, but I'd probably do it. The only thing I'd be really afraid to do, or would have to really talk myself into would be white water rafting. I'm more of a pool or crystal clear Caribbean ocean type of person... I don't like being in any body of water where I can't see the bottom or don't feel like I have some sort of control. I'd be scared of flying out into the rapids or something.

 

My ultimate dream is to ride in a fighter jet... Don't know how to make that happen, but I think it would just be ridiculously awesome.

[cprocks22]

I wouldn't say that my coastering has inspired my other thrill seeking activities, I just like doing really scary (potentially stupid) stuff. I've been bungee jumping and SCAD diving, I rock climb quite often, kayak a lot, ski (water and snow), wakeboard...badly, and I FINALLY worked up the courage to go on the slingshot at Kings Island. I have no idea why that took me so long to work up the nerve to get on, but I'm happy to say I loved it and there was only mild profanity that came out of my mouth on it. No I didn't buy the video.

[RandallDuell]

Interesting replies, guess coasters aren't really as big of a "gateway drug" as I had thought!

 

I do wonder, however, if some thrill junkies had never gotten a chance to ride a coaster (early on) if they wouldn't have realized they had that itch to scratch?

 

For me, the safety and security that rollercoasters offer absolutely helped me handle skydiving. That's undoubtedly a scary thing, but somehow in my mind I was able to rationalize it as some sort of thril ride....where I knew it'd be scary, but ultimately I'd be safe so just enjoy it! Obviously the percentages are probably a bit more in favor of the true safety of amusement park rides.....but that mindset is what helped me to not freakout.

[XII]

My interest in roller coasters has introduced me to cliff jumping, and bungee jumping. I'm hoping to try skydiving soon as well.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I think in general I love adrenaline rushes/thrills/etc. After I was tall enough to ride my first coaster, that was it... I would go on all the thrill rides, coasters, flats.

THIS.

 

The first time I was tall enough and went to SFMM (SFDK) when they had the coasters, I was too chicken to do much of anything. It took me all day at the park before I worked up the guts to ride Medusa. I closed my eyes the entire time. xD

 

Since then, I'm pretty much willing to do anything. Jumping off of tall rocks into the river, whitewater rafting, those skycoaster things, any and all thrill rides, riding bikes fast down hills, all kinds of waterslides, water-skiing, snow skiing, sledding down the steepest hills we can find, those water motorcycle things, loud music/loud concerts with moshing, etc.

 

The roller coasters were just the first step toward bigger and faster thrills. I was always the kid climbing the trees as high as I could go and jumping off the slides at the park.

 

I probably would have tried thrill rides earlier if my parents had let me. I was 10 or 11 when we went back to SFMM (after the whales died and before they got Shouka) when they had put the coasters in. We always went to the fair and the fair always had rides, but after I was in a ferris wheel accident at the fair and my parents went through weeks and weeks of talking to lawyers and working out a settlement with the company, and then months and months of doctor visits to check on my eyes (I hit my head) and my back and my knee (I hit my knee too), my mom wouldn't let us ride the rides until probably 6 years later.

 

I always thought my coaster enthusiasm came from me getting thrown off the ferris wheel at age 5. My cousin was about 7 and had a worse experience (because the wheel kept going up and she was hanging onto the handbars with one hand) and now she's afraid to even ride the ferris wheel. We moved towns when I was 12, but I still ride the ferris wheel every year at the fair.

 

If you don't believe me:

October 1996

 

The parents of a 5-year-old Woodbridge girl hurt in a Ferris wheel accident at

the Lodi Grape Festival last month sued the rides owner in San Joaquin County

Superior Court on Tuesday, accusing it of allowing the wheel to be operated by

a drug user.

Daryl and his wife, Tania, filed suit on behalf of their daughter,

[RAWKIN_coaster], who fell out of one of the Ferris wheels baskets when the ride came to

an abrupt halt.

I'm actually surprised I found this article. It's kinda scary what you can find about you on the internet

[SKULLY]

No doubt, riding coasters has inspired me to take on more and more intense thrills. I've managed to do a "small" amount of hang gliding with an emphasis on SMALL, I've done a smaller sized bungee jump and loved it, and I just recently went skydiving for only $100! Yes, tandem jumps are only $100 around Lodi, Ca. Seriously, it's nothing like a roller coaster but the elements of thrill and rush just about peak. There's no way to describe the freedom of no harness, no seat, just your skin and the ground two miles below! It really makes me want to get certified and then go try out a wingsuit! I doubt that will ever happen given I'm a married father now but I'm happy that I can atleast jump out of a plane every year or so. In fact, compared to some thrill rides out there, 12,000 + ft. for such a low price is a huge bargain.

 

Another pretty big thrill was an aerobatic ride in a biplane. It's kind of like a coaster but much more drawn out. Just imagine everything lasting ten times longer and you have the right idea. It gives you enough time to realize and think about the maneuver you're in. The plane I was in was awesome but some aircraft out there are certified to +/- 10 g's. Seriously, imagine that on your body. I've also experienced a few other "thrills" out there but they're more in the leisure category so I won't mention them here.

 

In fact, I'm sad to say that coasters and other thrill rides are starting to lose their touch. I enjoy the reverse bungee attractions and sky coasters but some of these other activities have just watered down coasters for me. I understand that coasters are hugely expensive attractions designed so the vast majority of park guests will ride them. Likewise, an activity such as skydiving survives on a small market with a much less higher start up price. I guess the fact that you don't have to sign a waiver gives that away. Then again,I didn't at all feel unsafe skydiving or doing aerobatics in an open cockpit aircraft. Perhaps this is why I am now into Disney attractions as I am much more impressed with attention to detail than I am with the forces and sensations provided by the majority of thrill rides.

 

Regardless, I owe my love of theme parks and roller coasters with this urge to try new thrills. I have loved nearly every single one of these experiences but I would have never known had I been too scared to attempt them had roller coasters not prepared me. I have yet to find something that is so intense it hurts so I'll probably continue to find new thrills until I know something is too dangerous. Luckily, I haven't arrived at that point yet.

[Anthracite]

I definitely got into motorcycling because of this hobby.

 

For me and my wife, riding coasters is pretty much our way of life when on vacation. Aside from the thrill of the ride itself, you get to see the country, and the excitement of collecting new credits never gets old. The problem with this hobby IMHO is that when you leave the parks there are very few ways to satisfy your thrill appetite that replicate the sensations you get on a coaster. My brother and several friends ride bikes, and one of them jokingly said I should take up the hobby because it would be like riding the front row of a coaster on a track that goes on for as long as you desire.

 

They were right to a pretty good extent: The sensations you get when riding a bike on a good backroad, open highway, etc., are an excellent way to experience some of the thrills you get on a coaster.

[RoCo]

My ultimate dream is to ride in a fighter jet... Don't know how to make that happen, but I think it would just be ridiculously awesome.

 

I also have this on my "To Do" list. The closest I've come (and I'm sure it's not close at all) is riding the lower half of the Olympic bobsled run at Lake Placid, in the four-person sled. Insane. The G-forces going around the bottom turns were incredible; it was difficult to hold my head up.

 

A real Immelman... Must. Do.

[Anthracite]

My ultimate dream is to ride in a fighter jet... Don't know how to make that happen, but I think it would just be ridiculously awesome.

 

You can:

 

http://www.flyfighterjet.com/fly-l-39-in-new-york-usa/

 

It is definitely not cheap but I know of two people who got to go as gifts from their dad and they said it was something that you will never forget.

[scottian]

I am an avid unicyclist, if that means anything.

 

I also love climbing things and getting people to face their fears.

[davisal771]

I did a SkyCoaster when I was in 4th grade

My Dad and best friend said they would come skydiving with me for my 18th birthday, and I'm totally excited to do that.

[805Andrew]

It started with Disneyland rides, then with Magic Mountain rides, which opened me up to whole world of different experiences. I've been going to Disneyland since I was born and I remember Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, the original Rocket Jets, Captain E.O., and the Skyway being my early favorites. Then Splash Mountain opened and that got added to my list. Then I went to Magic Mountain for the first time in 1992 and I and rode my first wooden coaster, Colossus, and the coaster with most inversions at the time, Viper, with 7 inversions. Also in 1992 (a great year for me by the way) I remember my first plane ride on Delta Airlines (I was on a plane when I was a baby but don't remember this) and this was an awesome experience: taking off was a rush, see the ground and the clouds from the window amazed me, connecting at Atlanta airport was interesting, meeting the pilot was great, and landing in a new country, Spain, was exciting. Visiting Barcelona in the summer of 1992 when the city was all decked out for the Olympics gave me the travel bug for life.

 

I'm also a water enthusiast and love being in water. I've been boogie boarding my whole life since going to Orange County beaches as a little kid (and Avila Beach/Pismo Beach, CA later on), and have swam out to buoys at beaches and lakes, jumped off ledges into deep bodies of water, jumped off a swinging rope into a river, swam around a pier, jumped off a pier, tried many different water slide experiences (though not all of them) snorkeled, surfed, kayaked, and have gone sailing. I still haven't gone water skiing, water tubing, whitewater rafting, swimming with dolphins, or scuba diving and those are all on my list.

 

Other thrilling things I have done are a Skycoaster (twice), alpine skiing, snowboarding, helicopter tour of Kauai, and riding in a open cockpit WWII plane (I was lucky I won this experience from a $5 raffle ticket). I still need to do skydiving, bungee jumping, riding in a hot air balloon, ATV riding, snowmobiling, and driving a motorcycle. My coaster riding has made me into a dual skier/snowboarder in the wintertime the past few years. I also turned my youngest sister into a adrenaline junkie as she grew up riding the same coasters/thrill rides I have and she learned to ski at the same time as me.