Ever feel like you had a near death experience on a coaster?

[pianojohn]

Anyone ever been on a coaster that you thought..."hmm...I may not make it back to the station!"

 

Here are my experiences:

 

The last time I rode the Cascade Park Comet in Pennsylvania back in the mid 80's. The coaster sits in the woods, and you had to lean right and left to avoid being hit in the face by branches. Also, the last drop into the gulley was probably a 50-60 degree angle, and when it dropped, the train just pitched you up into the lap bar. I remember holding on for dear life until the car reached the station.

 

The only other time was on Apollo's Chariot on Easter Sunday 1999. I had just completed my 10th ride and was sitting on the brake run opposite the station. We came to a stop and sat there for awhile. I then noticed they let another train leave the station. I didn't think about it until another train also left, and the 2nd one had not yet returned.

 

I was now freaking out since I knew there was not enough room on the brake run for two trains, and I was afraid there would be a collision. I then saw one of the trains stopped on the lift hill.

 

Apparently, the main controls were struck by lightning, and all three trains were stranded on the track: one on the lift hill, one on the mid course brake, and my train on the final brake. As we sat there waiting to be escorted off the train, it started to rain. Then pour. Then thunder and lightning. NOW I was scared as lightning was striking all around, we were all soaked, and locked in a train with LOTS and LOTS of metal track and supports.

 

FINALLY, they let us out row by row and we all ran into the station, soaked, but glad to be out of the storm. I guess it could have been worse if we were stuck on the lift or half way through the ride.

 

Anyone else?

 

John "who doesn't scare too easily now on coasters"

[Angry_Gumball]

Not so much on a coaster, but I got scared to death on a ferris wheel

It was at the local county fair and the ride op heard me screaming to stop the ride because I wanted off. No more ferris wheels until a few years later. I was in kindergarten or something like that at the time.

 

I also got scared on a dark ride...I came out crying/screaming. Now, I look back at it and laugh.

 

Lastly, I got scared to death on the Bathroom ride (AKA, the restrooms) when a dancing flower firework literally chased me out of the bathroom. OMG! That was the funniest thing to ever happen to me.

[dsngiem]

when I was a smaller lad

being in the back of Goliath wasnt such a smooth move.

 

going down felt like i was sitting on an ejector seat and my skinniness would peel me out of the seats. i didnt put my hands up until after the tunnel.

 

 

and apparently i survived.

[coaster1]

TTD had me shaking a bit before I rode it .. but then again could of been the cold air .. or the fact it did have me a bit scared.

[ebl]

Often times when I ride a new type of coaster, I get a bit nervous because I don't know what to expect.

 

Only X at SFMM is the only coaster that I almost walked away from because of pure fright. Even the attendant asked if I was OK as she checked the restraints. My face was probably white as a ghost. But I got through it, and my first ride was actually OK. Since then, however, I usually get beaten up on it which means my rides are few and far between.

 

But that's about the only really bad scare that I've had on a coaster. I will ride almost anything once, if for nothing else to get the credit.

 

Eric

[USRoadTripper]

I was extremely scared when I rode Top Thrill Dragster. I kept watching it almost roll back and just got more and more nervous as I waited. Then being nervous turned to being scared as I sat on the launch! I was shaking, could barely breathe and just about in tears right before the launch. But within two or three seconds I loved it! Undoubtably the fastest I've ever gone from terrified to extactic. After that, I don't think I will ever be scared of a coaster again.

 

-Julie

[viking86]

I was somewhat scared on my first ride on Thundercoaster, especially when going down the second drop. We were in the backseat so the airtime was amazing.

[USCoaster]

I think my first rides on Cyclops at Mount Olympus (still Big Chiefs then) and Tonnierre de Zues at Parc Asterix. I was unprepared for the amount of air you recieve in the back seat. I was a little prepared for Cyclops, but it still scared me. TdZ though was a complete suprise. From the line, the first drop looked kinda rampy and not very impressive. Much to my suprise, I was standing up going down the first drop.

[Gregory DG]

I generally don't ride the mega-coasters anymore (too many neck and stomach injuries) but I used to be scared to death of Space Mountain! When I worked at Disney World in '89-90 there were always rumors of someone being decapitated on it and I was sure when I rode it I could feel the girders whizz over my head!

 

It's been so long, I can't even remember the last time I rode it. :?

[benzo41190]

When I was 12 i rode the American Eagle with my Uncle. I have ridden the ride many times before and I knew that it was safe. Well while going up the lift hill the car made a loud noise and it lifted off the track and droped back down (2 or 3 inches). Then on the mid-brake run it did it again the rest of the ride I thought it was going to die.

 

Another time but not coaster related, i was on a topscan sitting on the very edge. During the middle of the ride i almost passed out and I though i was going to die. Then when the ride was over I could see again and i was fine.

[ncf]

Only the very first time I rode a coaster. Korkkiruuvi @ Särkänniemi, 7/7/2002. After that one ride.... never!

[CaseyFish]

Mine was about 3 years ago at SFOG on the ninja. (i think that was the name of it lots of loops) anyways half way through the ride the OTSR began clicking up like it was coming off! It gave about 3 clicks. This was right in the middle of a loop. Once it got back to the station I just sat there for a second and slowly got off the ride. That just scared the s*** out of me. I have never been on a coaster where the restraint did that.

[Skyscraper]

When I rode Goliath (SFMM)this summer, the ride went down several times, mechanics were checking the restraints, they even took off some, "play" with them , putting them back in place, in front of us ! (i was about to get in the coaster, at the gate)... When I finnally got on the ride, i took down the restraint (it's a lap bar), been checked by an attendant, the train departed and 2 sec later my lap bar failed and opened up ! They didn't stop the train !!! I don't think they've seen what just happened to me... i took the lapbar down a second time (we were about to get on the lift hill) and i hoped that it stayed lock during the ride... I never hold on in a roller coaster...this time i held my hands real tight with the back of the seat ahead of me. I WAS SO SCARE !

I didn't enjoyed the ride at all... my boyfriend that was with me and the two people in front of us didn't enjoyed the ride either... you should have seen the look on their face when they saw my restraint failed ! Their face was saying : OMG he's gonna die ! with their eyes big open... (hopefully there's no major airtime on Goliath)..

 

I hope it will never open again

[verticalzero]

I travelled from the UK just to visit Cedar Point and Kings Island in 2000, to go on "Millennium Force" and "Son of Beast" as their pictures looked so awesome.

 

I got to Cedar Point 1/2 hour before the park opened and had to wait for the rope to drop. I ran to "MF" and could not believe it size in the flesh.

 

When I ride coasters 1st time, I always sit in the middle of the train, I was shaking going up the lift hill and thought the coaster will slow down near the top,

 

I was wrong and we flew over the top heading for the ground below, I felt myself rushing and closed my eyes, could not believe the speed. I was quite scared as i've never been on a coaster so high or fast, it has great power as it hits top speed.

 

When I got off "MF" I was so happy all the other rides seemed tame compared to "MF". I was there for 2 days and had 16 hours in the park each day.

 

When I rode "SOB" at Kings Island, I was not as scared but I knew the ride would be smooth or quite rough. My hands went numb going round the helixes.

 

I loved "The Beast" and managed to get 5 rides, the last one was the last of the day in the dark. It was the astonishing ride I have been on and will always remember looking at the sky and rushing past the trees in pitch black.

 

I can't go on Vertical Drop or any S&S Towers as I do not like the feeling of falling vertical.

 

There is a vertical drop in the UK which is 120ft high and pulls 5g. I came off white and my friend thought I was going to pass out with being so scared.

[KrakenKing]

I've been scared on a few rides:

 

At the fair, this dark "Scare house" had me underneath the seat covering my ears, lol.

 

As for coasters... I was actually terrified to get onto Gemini and Raptor at CP.... but when I was on them, I had a blast, I had my hands up from the bottom of raptor's drop to the brake run...

 

Acrophobia was probably the ride that had scared me the most. I hate drop towers (Still don't like them, but will ride them) and this one was ... OMFG wow, haha. As we were going up, half way up, I look to see how much higher we have to go... we were only half way. At this point I started breathing really hard.

 

At the top, when it tilted, I gave out a little yelp, then started saying "Please drop, please drop, please drop..." over and over, my friend next to me was just as scared (This was the first major ride she's ever been on)... then BAM! I yelled all the way down and was still yelling after it slowed down.

 

I unbuckeled my seatbelt and ran out of the ride. I was shaking and numb for a good 15 minutes afterwards, but we ended up riding 7 more times that day, haha.

 

Even scarier was later that day, it got stuck at the top... we had tilted out and were looking at the ground. After a good minute or so, they came on the loud speaker saying "We're having some technical difficulties, we'll have you down shortly, we will tell you when we're going to lower you."... my friend and I were like "Oh sh!t..." but then we started having a normal comversation, then we felt the ring move a little. We stopped talking and both looked suprised... but then we laughed. Without warning it plummeted to the ground.

 

I know it has magnets as brakes, but my brain wasn't comprehending that as we fell, I thought we were going to smash into the ground. But we came to a gental slowdown at the bottom... yeah, I'll never forget that one, lol.

[FlyingScooter]

The Wild mouse they use to have at CLP scared the tar out of me. When i was a kid, I'd love it only because i was affraid of it.

That's the only ride that has truly scared me.

[SonOfBeastSucks]

I was terrified the first time I rode the Beast because I was only seven, and was about to die when I rode my first hyper, Magnum, at age eight. I like Magnum a lot better than the other two hypers I have ridden. (SFMM Goliath and Raging Bull)

[MF310ryb]

The first time I rode Goliath in SFMM. When we entered the helix after the block brakes I was shocked and nervous. I have never felt so many positive G's on a roller coaster before. I had no idea what hit me. It did give me a big smile though.

[socalMAN123]

The coasters I've gotten scared on are Montezuma's Revenge, Xcelerator, X, and Goliath

 

I was like seven when we last had our Knott's passes. I HATED roller coasters when I was that old. Every time I tried to go on Montezuma's Revenge, I would end up bawling my eyes out and walking through the train. One day, i actually gathered up enough courage to actually step into the train and sit down. As we waited for the ride to start, I was sitting there holding onto my lap bar. Then I heard the words, "Clear! Dispatch!" and we were outa there. When I got off, I started my career as a coaster enthusiast.

 

When I was at SFMM for the second time in my life, all of the new rides were there. The first order of the day was X. We ran to X, and still ended up waiting FOUR hours for the ride due to one train operations. When we got on the ride and were heading out the station, I started to get freakin scared. Going up the lift felt like infinity and I was about to pee in my pants. When we finally went down the drop, I was screaming and having a great time.

 

Xcelerator was not as tough for me. I was freaking screaming before the launch and when we got off, I was laughing and I automatically put it as numer two (now number three on my list).

 

This was the ride I was the most freaked out about. Goliath loomed above all of the other rides in the park besides Superman. When I finally had my butt down in the seat and we were moving around the turn, I was so scared, I couldn't speak. When we went down the drop, my mouth was doing the funky jiggle. When I got off, I was praising SFMM for putting it in the park.

 

Well, yeah, so um, those are the coasters I've been scared of.

---Brent 8)

[X]

When I rode Goliath (SFMM)this summer, the ride went down several times, mechanics were checking the restraints, they even took off some, "play" with them , putting them back in place, in front of us ! (i was about to get in the coaster, at the gate)... When I finnally got on the ride, i took down the restraint (it's a lap bar), been checked by an attendant, the train departed and 2 sec later my lap bar failed and opened up ! They didn't stop the train !!! I don't think they've seen what just happened to me... i took the lapbar down a second time (we were about to get on the lift hill) and i hoped that it stayed lock during the ride... I never hold on in a roller coaster...this time i held my hands real tight with the back of the seat ahead of me. I WAS SO SCARE !

I didn't enjoyed the ride at all... my boyfriend that was with me and the two people in front of us didn't enjoyed the ride either... you should have seen the look on their face when they saw my restraint failed ! Their face was saying : OMG he's gonna die ! with their eyes big open... (hopefully there's no major airtime on Goliath)..

 

I hope it will never open again

The same thing happened to my friend Alisa, her lapbar opened up when the ride started also and we also had to do the same. But the only time I've been scared to death was on Dive Devil at SFMM this summer. I was saying "Oh Crap! My body is being lifted higher than Riddlers MCBR!" I turned out to love it once we pulled the cord.

Kevin"Yay skycoasters! "Bujold

[rollermonkey]

When I was stationed in Italy, I lived in Gaeta, which is between Naples and Rome. The nearest amusement park was Magic World, just outside Naples, and I had to drive past it every time I drove to the bases there. I knew that the largest coaster (a Top Fun Typhoon model, the only other is at Santa's Village) wasn't operating from my first visit to the park.

 

One day as I was driving past I saw that the train was climbing the lift, so I screeched off the highway (typical Italian driving maneuver) and entered the park. I had some of the plastic stubby stuff that replaces tickets, so I only had to pay the entry fee of ten euros or whatever.

 

I ran back to Magic Mountain and waited for the minimum number of riders so the train could be dispatched. They were only running one train, and about ten minutes later, we had enough people, and I boarded the front row, and sat in the left side. An Italian guy sat next to me, and ignored me in proper Southern Italian fashion.

 

I pulled down the OTSR, and pushed up and up it went. I waited a few seconds, and my neighbor pulled his down, and it stayed down when he pushed up, so I tried again, but it still popped up. The op released the restraints, relocked them, and this time mine stayed down.

 

They dispatched the train, and wouldn't you know, halfway up the lift, my OTSR popped open again! I cought it about halfway up, and that's where it finally decided to lock in place. :shock:

 

This model has an inclined loop.

 

I feared for my life.

 

I also screamed like a little girl, but the ops had probably fallen asleep, answered their cell phone, or started flirting with some passing girls.

 

So I got tossed around and beaten like a red-headed stepchild, clinging to the poorly padded restraint for dear life.

 

We returned to the station, with me still alive, but pretty beat up, and the ops didn't seem to care that my restraint had failed.

 

So I rode it again, in a different seat to see what it was like without being focused on staying in the train.

 

And I got tossed around and beaten like a red-headed stepchild for my effort!

 

Now I understand why some folks count these two coasters as "negative one!" Duane from RCDB warned me, as SV is his home park, but no, of course I didn't listen!

 

Chris B

[neovortex2k]

I went to Universal Studios IOA is September 2002 with my best friend and it was his first theme park and roller coaster so i decided to take him on the hulk!!

After watching it run a couple of times he was really psyched about going on it so we got in the queue and climbed aboard when i t arrived in the station.

This was also my first coaster in 7 months so i was really excited too¬!

Everything seemed normal as we were going up the hill and we were all geared up for the launch then it came the sudden lurch forward but as soon as it came it went and we ground to a sudden halt.

The coaster had broken down. We were left sittin there for 15 minutes before someone came up to us to escort us off.

Now for the scary part. For those of you that have been on the hulk you know how steep the launch tube is and i was sittin on the far left of the coaster. So when the attendent opened my harness and ushered me out of the coaster on the right hand side i was very apprihensive of standing up and walking over in case it shot out but i knew it wouldn't.

Accidents do happen.

anyway that was my scary 20 minute hulk ride!

 

p.s. those stairs make you very dizzy walkin back down to the platform!

[Scaparri]

Yeah, when I was 15 and my OTSR popped up. I thought I was done for. Granted true, in all reality, I wasn't going to die because there was the seat belt keeping it down, but the gap was still very large and it was terrifying. To this day, I still get uneasy when I get on a major ride that doesn't have a secondary restraint.

[Jeezus Juice]

2 years ago at Silverwood I was taking another ride on corkscrew. At the top of the first inversion my OTSR clicked out to the next notch. I was thinking, "Great, Knotts' Corkscrew is trying to kill me".

 

I would've only fallen about 20 feet to the grass below, that would've totally freaked out all the people standing by watching.

 

Don "Would've gotten back on anyway" Garrison

[sfmmFREAK]

i rode goliath at sfmm, when i was eleven. i was scared sh*tless. i had to wait for 3 hours making the ride even scarier. AND by the time i got on it, it was well into the night, so i didn't know what was happening. i should have bought my onride pic. i was SO scared. now it is pretty tamed to me.