Getting Too Old To Ride...

[coasterkid124]

At 28, I don't have a problem with coasters at all. I don't even have to stop for many breaks during trips.

 

But spinning rides and any flats with high g forces are big no-nos when it comes to marathoning. I never had this issue when I was younger. I can't even do Super Loops more than a couple of times during visits.

[Nrthwnd]

...My wife was amazed though at Seaworld last year when we rode Manta, her ride companion was an 82 year old Grandma. When my wife asked why she was still on coasters at age 82 (and she had done Kraken earlier in the day)...she said she wasn't the type to sit around "knitting on the front porch"....

 

That's great! Man, I still have 20 years to go to match that woman. Hope I make it like she has. Good for her!

[dippindotsguy8]

I'm glad someone made a thread about this because I always worry this will happen to me at some point haha.

 

I guess I'm just hoping that if I keep riding things on a regular basis as I age, it will at least delay things and prevent the sudden surprise when I take my kids to the parks someday.

[Firechaser]

I know that age affects everyone differently. My Grandma will still ride almost any roller coaster but she gave up on spinning rides along time ago. Also, my great-aunt rode Mystery Mine and loved it when she was 76 while my mom rode it once at age 42 and about got sick!

[Nrthwnd]

I'm giggling now, that I realize that this thread was (eventually, at least) ten years in the making.

 

We all get old, it happens, and now everybody is finding out how "we" are dealing with it, etc.

 

I started really getting into coasters at age 53. That's trippy, even to me, lol.

 

"You're never too old....."

Number 400, at age 57, in Alton Towers. 2010 Europe TPR Tour. Woot!

[ElfDestruct]

I finally have to stop lurking because this thread is hitting home hard.

 

I'm still under 40, but a few things are really starting to take their toll. I had about a year where just about everything left me dizzy, but now I seem to have recovered from that. I've started not dealing well with Silver Bullet at Knott's... which sounds weird because everyone seems to think it's tame. In the final helix I see spots and I can't decide which way is up until the restraints are opening. Oddly enough I can ride everything at SFMM without the slightest hint of a problem.

 

My girlfriend has it far worse, and we're the same age. She's started getting bad headaches after most any ride where you feel the positive Gs, and it's really come to the point that she only goes to parks for me, and stays off of most things. Twisted Colossus (and to a lesser extent Ninja) have become about the only 'big' rides she can have fun on and leave feeling fine.

 

I get a bit worried because I don't know how much of her problems to chalk up to "okay, we're getting older", "well, you just can't handle coasters anymore but you're otherwise okay", or "wow, with that kind of strong reaction maybe something is wrong and you should see a doctor, get a scan or something".

[Nrthwnd]

^ The worst thing you ever eventually have to go through with your home doctor is...

 

"You can't ride roller coasters of any kind, any more, as it is way too dangerous for your immediate health".

 

 

I go through that every time I have done a TPR Tour...will I be in shape enough, to handle another one, the following year?

But so far, at age 62, I have lucked out, and my Doc hasn't even hinted at slowing down with coaster riding....yet.

 

I feel Blessed.

[Mr.Peabody]

I haven't yet had any issues on any particular ride, though I am slowing down a bit. In my youth a visit to Crystal Beach was all about running from ride to ride for as long as we could stay there. In my mid-20's to mid-30's, a visit to a park was more brisk walking. Now I'm content to leisurely stroll through a park. While rides don't bother me in the least, the one thing I'm having more and more trouble dealing with are the crowds in major theme parks. I'm getting to the point where I can't tolerate being surrounded by GP in the queue lines anymore, or want to deal with mobbed midways. Anyone else having trouble with the rampant herds of GP that thunder across the walkways in major parks?

[TheCoasterKid211]

I can't ride Mission: SPACE on the Orange side anymore. Those G's during the quote-enquote "launch" really, really HURT.

[Philrad71]

I haven't yet had any issues on any particular ride, though I am slowing down a bit. In my youth a visit to Crystal Beach was all about running from ride to ride for as long as we could stay there. In my mid-20's to mid-30's, a visit to a park was more brisk walking. Now I'm content to leisurely stroll through a park. While rides don't bother me in the least, the one thing I'm having more and more trouble dealing with are the crowds in major theme parks. I'm getting to the point where I can't tolerate being surrounded by GP in the queue lines anymore, or want to deal with mobbed midways. Anyone else having trouble with the rampant herds of GP that thunder across the walkways in major parks?

 

With us, it's not the rampant herds at theme parks because we expect that. We actually will try to stay away from parks on weekends unless we simply can't avoid it - and if it's mobbed, we just pony up the cash for the express passes.

 

It's the disrespectful park guests that make the employees and other park guests upset that bothers me. And that unfortunately seems to be more on the rise due to our "self-entitled society" that we are now living in.

[Geauga Dog]

It's not so much that I'm getting too old to ride I definitely cannot power ride like I used to. As for spinning rides I usually stick with just my favorites at a given park.

 

I used to think that CP's flat rides ran such a short program but now I'm thankful they are a bit short. Case in point - CP's Troika vs. KI's Shake, Rattle, and Roll. CP runs their Troika at the right program length whereas KI runs SRR a bit longer and I really start feeling it.

 

I'm also seeing that I can't stay at parks a full day, missing out on night rides, which sucks if I'm at a park out of state or a new to me park.

[bert425]

It's not so much that I'm getting too old to ride I definitely cannot power ride like I used to. As for spinning rides I usually stick with just my favorites at a given park.

 

I used to think that CP's flat rides ran such a short program but now I'm thankful they are a bit short. Case in point - CP's Troika vs. KI's Shake, Rattle, and Roll. CP runs their Troika at the right program length whereas KI runs SRR a bit longer and I really start feeling it.

 

I'm also seeing that I can't stay at parks a full day, missing out on night rides, which sucks if I'm at a park out of state or a new to me park.

 

I started feeling ill on Apple Turnover at KD. . . yeah, the shorter program would have been better.

[Rider51]

Thanks to all for the great replies (and sympathy!). The hints on building up to rides, good sleep, avoiding flat rides and spinners is all good. Also just mentally accepting (and preparing) to take it easy and just ride 3-5 big rides when I'm ready in the day, and relaxing the rest of the time, is also great advice. Though like Mr. Peabody, I'm also getting a bit older and intolerant of the crowds at times.

 

For me this "condition" came on rather quickly, as I alluded to in my OP. At 46 I rode everything at SFMM without a problem. At 47 we rode the teacups, three of us, and were spinning insanely fast, and I was okay. The next year I was like a teenager at SFGA. El Toro? No problem! Kinga Ka? Woohoo! Seeing stars on Nitro? I love it! Let's go again!

 

Now, less than five years later, I have to really prep for rides, even easier ones it seems. The new (and theoretically smooth) Wicked Cyclone at SFNE took me probably a half-hour to recover from this year. Maybe it was an hour. And once was enough.

 

Thanks also to Doing it For the Fame, for the other excellent, related thread.

 

Oh, and thank God for waterparks!

[Leopardguy]

I have contemplated this question myself and have enjoyed reading the posts and remarks. Having been riding for many years I kinda know which new to me coasters are going to hurt and most times I am right, but I get on them anyway. In the last 2 years I have been to Japan and China and this is where my riding problems have started to appear as a lot of parks have upward age restrictions some 54 but mostly 60.Now most of the theme park visitors there are young, so anyone with like me at 56 with grey hair and a grey beard sticks out like a sore thumb. At the moment I can get away with lying about my age, which I never thought, since my teenage years, I would have to do again but I wonder for how much longer I'll be able to get away with it.

[palmerleeberry]

As I'm approaching my forty-eight birthday, there were two times within my lifetime when I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle the rides anymore.

 

2012 - During my trips, I began to notice that I was getting ill after riding a few rides. This happened during the beginning of the season. It wasn't until August, while visiting Silver Dollar City, when I finally figured out why and what to do about it. So before visiting any park, I need three things: to be well rested, to be well fed, and to be hydrated. Plus, take safety breaks between high impact rides by either riding low impact rides ( rides such as the carousel, antique cars, and the slide), catching a show, looking through a shop, or just find a place to sit down and relax. Sometimes waiting in a long line can be beneficial as it helps you recover from that last thrilling ride. Those are the methods I've been using during my visits to parks.

 

2015 - Due to a hole in my left leg, my left foot would hurt regardless if I was walking on it or not. So during my visit to Six Flags over Georgia in June, I was in agony as I walked through out the park. So after seeing my doctor and being prescribed a medicated goo to help cover over that hole and let it heal, I was in much better spirits. Not only did I have no more pain in my foot, but also I began to be like my old self again. I did return to Six Flags over Georgia in October and walked throughout that park feeling real good!

 

I may be getting old, but I feel I am not ready to hang up the mantle of being a rider and amusement park flyer. However, there are a few rides I can't go on anymore if the restraints won't fit me or I'm too heavy. Despite those restrictions, I can still have a great day inside the park.

 

"I'm not perfect; I just love to ride!!!