geaugadan Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Hey all, Sitting here in the basement of the library at college for the summer is about to wear me thin, so when my boss isn't around, TPR provides a great dose of escapism. Such escapism got me thinking...is there any ride experience (coasters, thrill rides, even tame rides) that provoked so much fear in you that your hard pressed to forget the experience? A ride from hell where it seemed like Final Destination 3 might have indeed played out if you had been selected for Death's list? If you have children, any notable freak outs in the endeavor to instill your love of roller coasters in them? I'll start... I'm 21 now, but when I was six, I rode Magnum for the first time. At the time, the wait for Magnum was as epic as the ride itself. Because I couldn't read and because Magnum's ride signage is easy to miss, my dad had convinced me that we were actually about to ride the Gemini. About an hour after entering the line, we got into the station, and just as I was about to board, I heard the ride announcer proclaim that the ride was in fact Magnum, not Gemini. An announcement my dad claimed ignorance. Still, I got on the ride, scared out of my mind, and remember hanging on for dear life the whole ride. The tunnels seemed to go on forever, the thing I remember most vividly (that, and the cool nineties hair and outfits whipping around in the air). While I love the ride now--its my favorite at Cedar Point--I harbored a grudge about that experience for about a week. Another hellish ride experience occurred in 2005 at Geauga Lake, my former home park. Mister Hyde's Nasty Fall, an Intamin First gen. drop tower formally known as the Edge at SFGAM. MHNF was notorious for breakdowns even with the non-enthusiast crowd at my Middle School. In 1984, the Edge catastrophically failed when a car at the bottom of the shaft was crushed by a car which fell from the top of the shaft. Though, luckily, no one died, by the time the Edge had made it to GL, it had been altered to prevent such an accident from happening again. Because, presumably, this had been done partly in house, the ride never worked as it should have. Boarding the ride one day, we got stuck at the bottom of the elevator shaft, at the top of the shaft, in the drop position, and in the break run. Each stop lasted about 5 minutes, except for the one in the drop position which lasted about 30. With its past playing through my head, I tried to keep cool as my brother had a contusion. Any other good stories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinning man Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 At my homepark thorpe park in the UK, Saw-The ride freaked me out and I didn't want to ride it. Just seeing that 100 degree drop just gave me shudders. Eventually my freinds forced me onto it. Funny thing though is that when I was going up the lift hill I just kept on swearing quietly(dear oh dear). And after the drop I was laughing like a madman. I think I was 15 then, 17 now. Great memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddytheviper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 My first time I ever went on Shiekra at Busch Gardens. I remember it now, heart racing, sweaty palms, shallow breathing, the whole shabang. I was genuinely praying going up the lift hill I was so worried I might die if we came off the track... Now it's one of my favourite coasters but man that was a scary first ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rai Fox Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Another hellish ride experience occurred in 2005 at Geauga Lake, my former home park. Mister Hyde's Nasty Fall, an Intamin First gen. drop tower formally known as the Edge at SFGAM. MHNF was notorious for breakdowns even with the non-enthusiast crowd at my Middle School. In 1984, the Edge catastrophically failed when a car at the bottom of the shaft was crushed by a car which fell from the top of the shaft. Though, luckily, no one died, by the time the Edge had made it to GL, it had been altered to prevent such an accident from happening again. Because, presumably, this had been done partly in house, the ride never worked as it should have. Boarding the ride one day, we got stuck at the bottom of the elevator shaft, at the top of the shaft, in the drop position, and in the break run. Each stop lasted about 5 minutes, except for the one in the drop position which lasted about 30. With its past playing through my head, I tried to keep cool as my brother had a contusion. I'm not sure it was actually the modifications that made it so unreliable. After its accident at SFGAM, but before it went to GL, that ride was the Freefall at my old home park, Rocky Point Park in Warwick, RI (RIP ='<). It had been modified by that point, but it was never unreliable that I know of; I never saw it fail or closed at all in all the days I spent at that park. Actually, it would be one of my stories for this thread, too, there. When I was 12 or 13 or so, shortly before Rocky Point closed (and there is no death horrible enough for the people who embezzled the park's money away and killed it), I was at the park with my summer camp group. A friend of mine wanted to go on the Freefall, but I was terrified of it then; I just wanted to get on the flat rides, especially the tilt-a-whirl - which my friend refused to ride, insisting he was scared he'd get sick from the spinning. Of course, we were on the buddy system with our camp group, so we couldn't go on anything the other wouldn't. In the end he agreed that he'd go on the tilt-a-whirl if I went on the Freefall first. It seemed fair enough until the restraints on the Freefall lowered, and I realized that there was likely a certain difference between being afraid of spinning in circles, and being afraid of being dropped from thirteen stories in the air. I cursed him the entire way up the lift shaft...and even more loudly while we hovered over the drop... We never got on Tilt-a-whirl though. After the first ride on Freefall, we got off and right back into the line for it, and ended up just riding it until we had to leave for the day. I miss that ride, and the park. Sunday I'll be at Dorney Park though, with Demon Drop, one of the last surviving Intamin first gen freefalls,and a bit ironically one that's kept running now by a donation of spare parts from the now-scrapped Freefall I used to ride. Nevermind the three new coaster credits there since the last time I got to that park; it's that drop tower that I can't wait for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger01 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The first time I rode Oblivion at Alton Towers. In the queue I was freaking out but when we got to the station I just got on and straped myself in quickly. Then we headed out to the lift and I must say it was much steeper than I expected it to be so I freaked out then. Then turning to the drop was okay but hanging over scares YOU SOO MUCH! We hanged there for a while then we were let go and it was one of the most thrilling experiences i've ever had! Good Times. I'll ride it easily now! maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbt Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Intamin 1st Gen Freefalls - they look really unsafe, seem really complex, and make a hell of a racket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaugadan Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm not sure it was actually the modifications that made it so unreliable. After its accident at SFGAM, but before it went to GL, that ride was the Freefall at my old home park, Rocky Point Park in Warwick, RI (RIP ='<). It had been modified by that point, but it was never unreliable that I know of; I never saw it fail or closed at all in all the days I spent at that park. Mr. Hyde's so was unreliable at Geauga Lake that when Cedar Fair took over the park, the ride idled for the whole of the 2004 season. Im sure the problem became more pronounced under Six Flag's management, but yeah that thing broke down more often than it ran. Quite humorous actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCBoilermaker14 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 My first time on Barnstormer at Dollywood,I was literally freaking out and a guy beside of me and my dad was laughing.After that ride I'm scared of S&S Screaming Swings,and probably won't go on either Maxair or Skyhawk when I go to Cedar Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rai Fox Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm not sure it was actually the modifications that made it so unreliable. After its accident at SFGAM, but before it went to GL, that ride was the Freefall at my old home park, Rocky Point Park in Warwick, RI (RIP ='<). It had been modified by that point, but it was never unreliable that I know of; I never saw it fail or closed at all in all the days I spent at that park. Mr. Hyde's so was unreliable at Geauga Lake that when Cedar Fair took over the park, the ride idled for the whole of the 2004 season. Im sure the problem became more pronounced under Six Flag's management, but yeah that thing broke down more often than it ran. Quite humorous actually. Hmm. Makes me wonder if it has something to do with the number of times it was moved, too. Seems like, if a ride isn't designed to be portable, taking it apart, moving it halfway across the country, and reassembling it is bound to risk a few effects on the ride. Or maybe it was just Six Flags; it's not like they're known for taking care of their parks. Let's see, other rides that scared me - Drachen Fire. The last coaster I was ever really -scared- of, and the one that turned me into a real coaster lover. Also, Intamin Flight Trainer. The cars rotate so slowly, and the restraints, at least on the one at KD when I rode it, were quite rattly and didn't feel particularly safe at all. Hanging upside down from them and desperately willing the car to turn right side up again...definitely quickens the pulse a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The 300-foot-tall Kissimmee SkyCoaster is the only experience I've ever had that made me literally tremble with fear. That was severely messed up. Once we started flying, it was exhilarating, but I'm NEVER forget that slow trip up. The Big Shot on the Stratosphere tower is a very close second, especially when the ride op started the phony launch count-down before we were all strapped in. Hardy-effing-har-har... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinTheAttendant Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 There are about four or five rides that have managed to milk a scream of pure terror out of me, but there are only two that I was legit terrified to ride. The first was the Sky Master, a portable double-swinging inverter that made a visit to my hometown's annual fair. The thing was old, noisy, rusty, it wobbled a lot every time it operated, and the operators seemed to care less about the definition of safety. Barely anyone at the fair rode simply because it was intimidating. Me, being an idiot, rode it, and it felt like the whole thing was falling apart. It didn't help that the ride cycle was on its most insane mode, stopping upside down twice. I'm pretty sure the experience I had was the very reason I haven't seen it at the fair since. The second was the Kissimmee Skycoaster. The pictures of the ride don't do justice to how massive this thing is. Even driving past it is breathtaking. I think it's just the image of a human body or two or three being hoisted up to 300 feet (five feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty), and dropping nonetheless. Now, I have acrophobia, and the sight of the people below you getting smaller and smaller was very unsettling. I was mumbling expletives the entire way up, and then screaming bloody-murder the entire way down. But once you make that pull up over the fountain, all that fear seems to go away. But my heart was POUNDING by the time my feet touched the ground again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theflamingbrick Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I think my moment of terror was from a local seaside park at Pleasure Beach Gt Yarmouth. When I was about 10 I rode a portable top spin ride called Terminator. Everything was ok as I sat in my seat, but things took a turn for the worse when the restraints came down. As Im sure most of you are aware, top spins have an over the shoulder harness and a secondary lap bar which clamps against the outside of the OTSR. All of them worked, apart from mine, where my lap bar came down first before the OTSR. This left one hell of a gap around my body to the point where I could easily slip out of the ride. Despite my shouting and shear panic the ride started. Lets just say I was flung all about in my seat and I came off with large bruises and red marks all over my back. Because I knew something was wrong I clung on for dear life, had I been unaware, it could have been worse. After speaking to the ride operator he said nothing came up as wrong on the system and he kind of shrugged off the problem. Think he thought otherwise when I showed him the marks on my back! I have, however, overcome my fear of top spins about 4 years ago (about 8 years after the incident) and now I think they're great. However I'm still not the biggest fan of portable rides! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy_mel Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Any of the "extreme rides" - sky coaster, slingshot, bungee type rides. No way. As far as traditional type rides, drop towers do it to me every time. Except TOT. I am fine with that one. The only coaster that has ever given me sweaty palms was Griffon. For whatever reason I couldn't get the OTSR to lock down the whole way and had a LOT of room to move. I was so shaken up that I told the op to either push with all her weight and squeeze me in or let me off. I ended up loving it. My daughter had a bad experience trying to get her first invert ride in too. She was 10 and finally met the height restriction. We were at Dorney and talked her into trying Talon and she was fine until we got to the station. Then it was full on melt down and the ops had to release the restraints to let her off. She ended up on Great Bear that same summer and was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomes1225 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Extra TERRORestrial Alien Encounter scared me to death. I was 5 the first time I experienced it. I screamed and threw a tantrum through the entire thing. I find it funny that it was the only ride that scared me. I also was scared for Sheikra as it was my first really big coaster. I had just reached the 54 in mark and I was very nervous through the entire wait. However, I loved it and the ride is still one of my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanks4me05 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 When I was ten, I went to Hersheypark for the second time, and as I was walking towards Lightning Racer, I saw people on Tidal Force (splash boat/white water landing style) being evacuated on stretchers, with an ambulance there at the time. As I left the park and got back to my uncle's house, we saw on the internet that the ride operator accidentally pressed the water drainage button as the ride was going; no water was available to slow down the boat and it derailed onto the rocks at the turn into the station. Several riders were hospitalized, I'd like to say a dozen. I basically swore off all splash boats after that point. I got over my fear about two or so years ago, but I still have yet to ride one, the two reasons being that I normally just don't care about getting wet and that I have a really awesome camera on me that I don't want destroyed, the latter of which is generally the primary reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian6325 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The only ride I have been on that I will not go back on is Windseeker. I rode the one at Cedar Point and did not find it enjoyable. I have no problem riding Power Tower or Drop Zone at KI, so it is not the height that bothers me. I think the thing that bothered me was how fast it turned at the top. I enjoyed it till about 150 feet. The other thought that went through my mind is what happened if it gets stuck at the top of the tower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysparkles Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I wasn't scared of Rush (the Screamin' Swing at Thorpe Park) BEFORE I went on it. But I started freaking out on that thing. The only other freak out I had was on my first non-TOT drop ride. Which was Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm. I'm pretty certain I had a heart attack going up. I want to go on Hurakan Condor at Port Aventura, but just looking at a picture of the damn thing makes my feet tingle. It is supposed to be one of the best drop towers in the world, but I think I'm going to wuss out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawesome1124 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The only time I've ever been genuinely terrified of a coaster was when I first rode Apollo's Chariot. I'm afraid of heights and I first rode when I was 7 or 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simaticable Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I was scared of heights and inversions when I first went to SFoG, so I almost cried when they dragged me onto Mind Bender. (I was 6 at the time.) After the ride, I loved it. It is still my favorite coaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double0Kevin Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm generally pretty nervous on drop towers. I'm not really afraid, but my heart beats a little faster waiting for that drop. Lex Luthor will likely scare me to death though... that thing is massive. The last time I rode X-Scream on the Stratosphere, I was definitely ready to get off by the end. I'm not usually bad with heights, but when you're 950 feet up, it gets to you a little bit. Also, every time I ride Big Thunder at Disneyland I can't help but think about that crash when you go into that tunnel. That gets me a little nervous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmichellex Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I'm really pretty fearless when it comes to coasters, rides, and daredevil-type stuff... but there are 3 distinct instances where I've had that "holy crap I'm scared" feeling. 1. When I was younger (and barely tall enough to ride), I went on one of those skydiver ferris wheels at a carnival--the kind where you're enclosed in a car and go upside down as the wheel spins. I was small enough that the restraint didn't really hold me in very tight, so for the whole ride I was sprawled out legs pressed against the floor and arms against the ceiling to brace myself from bouncing around. One of the longest rides of my life! 2. The first time I rode TTD. I had never been on a coaster that tall/fast (as most people hadn't at that time), and my family went to CP the year it opened. As I sat down in the seat and the ride ops were checking the lap bars, I had this "Oh my god, I can't believe I feel nervous about a coaster" feeling. Obviously I loved it, but I never had a moment like that before on a coaster where I almost felt too nervous to ride. 3. Big Shot on top of the Stratosphere. I ride it every time I'm in Vegas and every time I'm still petrified. I've been skydiving a few times, and the Big Shot is still more nerve-wracking to me. I'm also more of a fan of the drop towers, instead of being shot up--for some reason being shot up terrifies me more that the ride won't stop at the top... I think I've killed too many people in RCT this way by accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 The only ride I have been on that I will not go back on is Windseeker. I rode the one at Cedar Point and did not find it enjoyable. I have no problem riding Power Tower or Drop Zone at KI, so it is not the height that bothers me. I think the thing that bothered me was how fast it turned at the top. I enjoyed it till about 150 feet. The other thought that went through my mind is what happened if it gets stuck at the top of the tower? And that is why I won't go on drop tower as I've seen itget stuck quite a few times....I love windseeker however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 When I first went to Disneyland around age 5 or 6 my family and I waited in line for Haunted Mansion, but when we got into the building, I started crying and refused to go further. My 3-year-old brother rode it and I didn't. But right after that I braved Splash Mountain and loved it! Not really a "ride", but Halloween mazes freak me out. I completely avoided them until two Halloweens ago when I went to this fairly well-done neighborhood maze in Nevada. I participated in a local maze last year. I've worked up the guts enough I'm willing to try out Fright Fest and/or Haunt this year, but I'm still nervous about it. Rides with free-fall drops (like sky coasters or drop towers) freak me out for the few seconds before the drop and the initial second of free fall, but then I'm good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spideyfreak Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Hey all,..is there any ride experience (coasters, thrill rides, even tame rides) that provoked so much fear in you that your hard pressed to forget the experience? A ride from hell where it seemed like Final Destination 3 might have indeed played out if you had been selected for Death's list? Any other good stories? Skyrush scared the shit outta me when it tried to kill me over the first drop... And the second, and the third, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfburner1 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Kingda Ka first time in front row! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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