Flying Unicorn Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Okay living in florida all my life i've grown up in theme parks. I love roller coasters. Looking at them just makes me happy but as I come to this site day after day week after week it makes me urge to not only see but ride big powerful coasters. Yet when I get forced on them I get scared, start crying and try to run away. My dad loves coasters and this upsets him. So next weekend October 14-17 weare going to Universal and IOA for my prebirthday( October 19th I turn 14!) and since our passes end soon I decided I want to try some coasters that arn't family or mouse. The only adult coaster I've been on is Rock n Roller Coaster on a threat and while I now love it it still scares me to tears watching it blast off. So to the point how can I get over my fears on this trip? Matthew I want to be a big boy L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Just remember that coasters are among the safest things in the world (save for a handful of Intamin rides ) Try starting out small and going up. Are you afraid of the height, speed, or inversions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 And really remember - if you still aren't sure, and don't want to ride it at that time - so be it. You really shouldn't have to ride something tou have doubts about. Peer pressure can be bad, even with coasters, hmmm? I dislike it that even Disney calls their secondary exits, Chicken Exits. Do they still call them that? Anyway, if you feel the need to bail out, you have the right to bail out. And feel strong that if anybody calls you chicken, just Cluck Cluck at them and laugh. Make it a funny joke. Call them a roooooooooster! You'll ride them soon enough. And if this trip is the one, great!!! Good for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestylenut Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 ....And feel strong that if anybody calls you chicken, just Cluck Cluck at them and laugh. Make it a funny joke. Call them a roooooooooster! or another word for rooster just for calling you names! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida420 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Hey, just read my post on this page http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18607&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90 I was 31 before I realy enjoyed coasters and now I'm counting the days till I can ride again, I'm going to BGT next weekend and can't wait to tackle the Sheikra and others there , also I will be at US & IOA a few of the days you'll be there. So I expect to see you on the Hulk, just ride the Hulk and the rest will be downhill , but you better ride that before you ride the Dragons, they are a little more exciting :shock: . Hey, you just have fun, that's what its all about, it took me 30 years and just think you could cut that time in half. P All " only 8 days left" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkerbell Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 (edited) I'm pretty bad when it comes to giving advice, but your situation sounds pretty similar to my old one, so I might as well try . I used to like watching coasters (for some reason I found them interesting to watch) and I liked going to theme parks too, but I was always so scared to go on them. BTMR at DLR scared me when I was about 10, so I figured I wouldn't like coasters. Then my friend forced me on Roar at SFMW about 2 years ago (I think) and I didn't really want to go so, I hated the ride. Later on I ended up loving it. Then there was Medusa at SFMW, which took me 4 trips over 2 years to go on it. I would wait in line, which would always be long, and I always ended up getting so scared and backing out. I would always regret not going after we left the park though. I finally went at my 13th b-day and was scared at first but loved it at the end. Ok..now for the advice part. I would go on the ride with someone who's been on it before and don't shut your eyes-it just makes you dizzy. And if you still really don't want to go, don't. You will probably go eventually, and you will like the ride much more if you actually want to go, not just because someone forced you to. Oh yeah and try to go when there's a shorter line...you have less time to back out. Edited October 5, 2005 by tinkerbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 The problem with IOA is that there seems to only be 2 types of coasters, family/kiddie coasters and thrilling coasters with nothing inbetween. If possible, I would try to get to another park like BGT and try some of the intermediate coasters like Python and Scorpion. That way, you can start with less intense rides and work your way up to the bigger rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterguy618 Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hey, last summer i just started going on coasters with inversions. What i did is started out with smaller coasters with inversions and then going to the bigger ones! Hey, it really worked! Even this summer i went on Kingda Ka! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty_o_911 Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 My suggestion is just to force yourself or even before going to the park, tell someone to force you against your wishes onto the ride, lol. When I was younger I was scared of coasters too, and didn't go on them. My family only visited a themepark once every few years so when I got back home afterwards I would really regret being scared and wished I had actually gone on the rides. So the next time I went (which was probably about 5 or something years ago) I just forced myself to go on a Vekoma SLC (if only there were more reasonable first-time coasters in Australia at the time), and as scary as it was - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! And here I am today, hanging around roller-coaster related websites, with annual passes to my two closest parks (Dreamworld and Warner Bros Movie World - yay Superman:Escape) and I go on everything and anything (that Australia has to offer that is, I still haven't managed to experience the rides in the States yet). Even still, it was only at the beginning of this year when I got my annual pass to Dreamworld that I only went for the first time onto Wipeout, a Waikiki wave superflip. Previously I had been a little scared of the extended periods upside down and the erratic movements, and nowadays having forced myself onto it, it is among my favourite rides at the park - even moreso because of its good capacity so I can't ride it many times. So my advice is - even if you are still scared, just force yourself to go on it anyway. The scared feeling is natural and will last just as long as the queue and loading does. Once you get on it, you will realise how much you love coasters and you'll then go on everything and anything in the future. Show your fear who is boss and don't let it prevent you from riding the best things in the whole world - rollercoasters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmmFREAK Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!! that makes the coaster SCARIER. i felt the exact same way on my first ride on Goliath at sfmm. after the drop, you will feel a scense of euphoric ecstacy and just pure fun! then you will be hooked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 I was scared to death of TTD, but got on it and loved it! Ended up getting a rollback on my 2nd ride. In the end just try it out, I mean you wont die or get hurt, they're just B&Ms, and if you dont like them you wont have to go on them again. Robbie"TTD better be open this weekend"Milburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 (edited) Well you have already accomplished a lot already by riding Rock n Rollercoaster. Since you were able to get the nerve to do that coaster (The first one is always the most difficult) everything else will come much easier. RnRC was my "getting over the larger coasters" roller coaster as well. You will find that the coasters at IOA are quite smooth so you do not have to worry about getting banged up a bit. So go fo it! Edited October 7, 2005 by Erik Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestylenut Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!! good advice, it also makes things worse if you suffer from any sort of motion sickness/dizziness after riding these kind of rides if you have your eyes closed. that was always my problem when I was a pre-teen to late teens. I would get motion sickness. I'd love the ride, but promptly barf afterward. I know this'll sound weird, but I eventually grew an immunity to the spins & girations (though u still can't get me on a Gravitron at the fair....blech). Suck it up & ride! (*in best Rob Schneider impersonation*) "You can Do iiiit!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 It's time to tell my tale! "How I Learned to Love Roller Coasters and Stopped Worrying About the Beast" The TV news show "Inside Edition" reported that your chances of getting into a fatal roller coaster accident are 1 in 10 million. Yet, every time I thought about riding one, I thought that I would die. I used to avoid riding roller coasters. I chickened out on Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom. I avoided Busch Gardens Tampa for years. If I didn't ride the roller coasters, I didn’t think I could do much else at that theme park. I did ride Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and I was terrified. I swore to never do it again! That all changed when I visited Islands of Adventure in May 1999. I initially planned to avoid riding the roller coasters. My main draw to the park was one ride – The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. I passed by the Incredible Hulk Coaster many times thinking, "I'll save it for later." Finally, I decided to ride it. I almost ran away from the entrance, but I thought of what my mom said when I wouldn't eat lima beans -- "How do you know if you don't like it if you haven't tried it?" I never ate my lima beans and I still haven’t put them in my mouth, but I figured I'd ride the roller coaster once and if I didn't like it, I'd ride something else. There are plenty of other things to do at the park! I entered the queue and I felt my heart pounding, my skin crawling, and my breath becoming shorter. Finally, I entered the coaster and was strapped in. I felt more scared than any other time in my life. It was scarier than my first date! As the car rolled into the launch tube, I want to cry. Then guests seated in the back of the coaster started yelling, "Whoo!" I began to yell "Whoo!" too. Suddenly, my fear turned into excitement and I was launched out! I yelled "Whoo!" so much that my voice was harsh after the ride. I don't remember much of what the track looked like because I kept my eyes closed (especially during the upside-down parts), but I was having so much fun that I didn’t really care. At the end of the ride, I said, "What a rush!" At that moment, a roller coaster enthusiast was born! I had planned to ride the Hulk Coaster zero times, but I ended up riding it seven times. I finally conquered the Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain. I visited Busch Gardens Tampa a few months after visiting Islands of Adventure and enjoyed the coasters there. I’ve visited Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio – the roller coaster mecca – several times as well as many other roller coaster parks around the United States. I’ve joined the American Coaster Enthusiasts and the Florida Coaster Club. Even though I’ve ridden the tallest and fastest coaster in the world – Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster – as my 100th coaster, I haven’t found a roller coaster that gave me a rush like my first ride on the Incredible Hulk Coaster, but I find joy in each and every one that I ride. Perhaps one day I will have the courage to eat lima beans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 ^ Good story! Don't touch the lima beans though... Ugh! It all comes down to fight or flight. The adrenaline starts pumping in your body and you either get scared half to death or you get excited about the ride. If you feel yourself getting scared, try as hard as you can to turn it into excitement, think about how many thousands of people love the coasters, and hey, how can people as cool as the people on this board be wrong?! If you manage to turn your fear into something positive, you'll have no problem getting onto the ride, then once you're strapped in just sit back and think about how great it's gonna be! Turn it into happy thoughts! As someone else said, try and get on a coaster early when the line is short, it gives you far less time to stand around waiting and letting yourself get all worked up. Get to the park before opening and run straight to the nearest coaster as soon as you get in. You'll be fine, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USRoadTripper Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 You can use the same rationale that I used when I was in line for Top Thrill Dragster and scared out of my freakin' mind. I told myself that all I was aiming for was to be conscious, covered in vomit and sitting in a puddle of my own urine. hahaha That way...anything is better than that! If you hate it, at least you can say "But at least I'm not covered in vomit and urine!" hahaha But I agree with the people who've said "Just do it!" Coasters are extremely safe machines, so the worst that could happen is that you just don't enjoy it. The best that could happen is that you become a raving coaster lunatic like 95% of the people here At first I found Hulk to be more scary and imposing that Dueling Dragons, but now I don't even find Hulk all that exciting anymore in comparison. Be sure you report back to us once you've ridden! And Barry, if I ever meet you, I am making you eat lima beans! -Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 ^We can have lima beans and a cup of Beverly! Yum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazen_AZN Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 lets put it this way, shall we? you are taking a bigger risk sitting in a LAWNCHAIR then you do riding a rollercoaster, i assume you are not afraid of lawnchairs, right? then again they can be pretty dangeruos ... no comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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