Fear on a Ride

[JoshuaA]

Yeah chavs sadly are very present at Thorpe, you will probably find Alton much better as overall the crowds (bar travellers day) are usually much less of a pain.

With your fear I think the best thing is to do is to just not think about it and just hop in the queue line, don't compare any other coasters to the ride in question, just hop in the queue and give it a go.

 

When I went to Portaventura this year I had a huge fear of Hurakan Condor, this fear mainly came from me comparing Detonator to Hurakan Condor,

Detonator left me shaken after every ride so how could I possibly do something 3 times the size? It turned out Hurakan Condor wasn't as intense as Detonator anyway.

I shouted and screamed all the way up the tower and I trembled like a leaf but it came one of my favorites in the park,

I think fear on rides is more of us building the ride up to be something terrifying, most of the time we get off realizing how stupid we were for being so afraid!

 

Maybe you'll overcome this fear this year or in 5 years, do it at your own pace.

With Alton I have to say maybe try Nemesis (sure its intense but its smooth and a great ride) to get used to inverting.

The Smiler is probably another good option but obviously inverting 14 times in a few minutes might be a little overwhelming.

 

[yeah]

I'm going to Alton Towers on Friday with a friend, but at Thorpe I realised my biggest fear around inverts and the like: For some reason I can't stand the idea of having my feet in the air during an inversion. I don't know why or what brought that about, but it is what it is.

 

We do have a plan for what we're going to do though - Wicker Man, Galactica and Thirteen (the rides I've done) followed by Rita, then either Nemesis or Smiler and depending on time and fear Oblivion (and then close the day out on Spinball Whizzer).

[yeah]

Sorry for the double post, but I just got off Rita. Honestly despite biting half my lip off in the air gates, apart from the launch it wasnt all that. Rate WM, 13, DF and Galactica over it tbh. How do the other rides compare? Is it a "done Rita now you can do _____" situation?

[Whatever]

1 hour ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Sorry for the double post, but I just got off Rita. Honestly despite biting half my lip off in the air gates, apart from the launch it wasnt all that. Rate WM, 13, DF and Galactica over it tbh. How do the other rides compare? Is it a "done Rita now you can do _____" situation?

Firstly- well done! Secondly, if you can do Rita, you can probably do Stealth, inferno and Swarm in terms of sheer scariness.

[Han30]

1 hour ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Sorry for the double post, but I just got off Rita. Honestly despite biting half my lip off in the air gates, apart from the launch it wasnt all that. Rate WM, 13, DF and Galactica over it tbh. How do the other rides compare? Is it a "done Rita now you can do _____" situation?

 

I hate Rita personally - that first turn smacks my head quite bad.  Seriously get on Nemesis (try for front or towards the front) you’ll be fine I promise!

[TPC]

Once you do rita, you can do every other launch coaster, as long as you aren't scared of heights.

[yeah]

Well, about to leave Alton Towers having been on The Smiler, Nemesis and Rita. Absolutely buzzing, only coaster I didnt get on was Oblivion down to time (although my friend and mum did, and I probably would have if it wasnt for my sister whod done about 2 rides and wanted to go on Wicker Man). Nemesis was probably the best, Smiler 2nd and Rita ranks pretty low in my top 10. Had three goes on Nemesis in the end, Ill post a bit more when I get home and have an actual keyboard.

[CharlieN]

Honestly so pleased for you Sam! I understand that’s it’s been quite the obstacle to overcome but now that you’ve done it - the roller coaster world is your oyster. Happy days.

[yeah]

I'm finally home - I said I'd go more in depth when I get home so here we are - huge props to my friend who I went with, he was very reassuring and understanding, huge props to the member of staff on the Smiler (I'll get to that after) and huge props to the staff on Nemesis who looked about ready to leave but kept it open for the five of us still on it to have one more go.

 

With the Smiler, I was this close to not getting on. I hadn't fully made up my mind in the queue, we got to the station and there was space for two on the first train, I passed over the RAP card and started to say "I'm not sure if I actually want to ride yet -" but before I could finish my sentence the card was signed and she pointed us to Row 4. I still hadn't made up my mind by the time I was on it, but there was no going back and inverting didn't feel like how I thought it would. I might do a blog post or trip report with my reviews of all the rides, right now I mainly want to get to bed, but what I will say now is, I don't know if I got a good train or whatever but unpopular opinion in 3... 2... 1... I found Nemesis rougher than the Smiler. I still prefer Nemesis as a coaster, but I found Smiler smooth as butter when I was on it.

 

You'll notice I skipped over Rita. I honestly found everything after the launch quite boring. I thought I'd get way more airtime on the two airtime hills, but although I felt myself lift out of my seat I never felt anything in my stomach. Plus it's rough. I only just rate it above RMT.

 

As I said, didn't get on Oblivion. I'd warned my friend it'd be the last coaster out of all of them I got on, and in the end I didn't have time. My mum and my friend went on together, I stayed off as I hadn't even done Rita yet (we couldn't use the RAP for a bit anyway). In the end, I sacrificed (pun intended) Oblivion in order for a third go on Wicker Man, as my little sister hadn't been on too many rides and WM is her favourite.

 

I still feel like I'm spinning as I write this, on Monday I'm off to Thorpe, will be doing Inferno, Colossus and Swarm at the very least, maybe Stealth and at a big push Saw, mainly down to the theming more than anything else. Maybe, just maybe in the blog post I'll share my ORP from Smiler. Maybe. Definitely not the one from Rita though.

[Han30]

Amazing - well done!

 

edit - did you sit back row on Nemesis? 

[yeah]

2 hours ago, Han30 said:

Amazing - well done!

 

edit - did you sit back row on Nemesis? 

Yes I did, third go. Just wish I got the front too :P

[Han30]

4 hours ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Yes I did, third go. Just wish I got the front too :P

 

Youve done incredibly well - very pleased for you as I know myself I used to have a huge fear of rides so a big pat on the back.

 

If you’re off to Thorpe then you’ll be absolutely fine on Swarm and Inferno.  Saw is my favourite there but I can understand people don’t like the look of it.  On my nieces first go on Saw back in 2015 she literally cried but got off and declared that she loved it and has since ridden it over 50 times (she was only 11 on her first go) so you never know.

 

Have a fab time and let us know how you get on!

 

[Mark9]

Well done for conquering your fears and getting on smiler and nemesis. It’s only the beginning for you now!

 

The thing with you saying Nemesis is rougher then smiler,thing is Nemesis isn’t a young ride anymore, considering it’s rocking on 25 seasons it rides incredibly well.

[Charlesberg]

@ChessingtonSam I’m so glad you’ve finally managed to get on inverting coasters! I’m also surprised you went to Smiler first, it’s quite something to say that your first looping coaster was the inversion record holder! (That reminds me, my first looping coaster was Colossus back when it was the record holder but it’s not quite the Smiler.)

 

If you get the chance, you should try out abroad parks as some differ hugely from UK parks with their rides, the way they operate and loads more. 

 

You'll get to a point eventually where if there’s something new (like a new ride/coaster type) at a theme park you haven’t done before, you’re much more excited than you are nervous.

 

...

 

Oh, and after a while it’s possible you might not see Chessington the same way as you once saw it...

[yeah]

 

On 9/4/2018 at 2:16 AM, Mark9 said:

Well done for conquering your fears and getting on smiler and nemesis. It’s only the beginning for you now!

 

The thing with you saying Nemesis is rougher then smiler,thing is Nemesis isn’t a young ride anymore, considering it’s rocking on 25 seasons it rides incredibly well.

 

2 hours ago, Terry Terry said:

I’m so glad you’ve finally managed to get on inverting coasters!

Thanks, it wasn't particularly to say Nemesis was rough, there was one turn that banged my head about a bit (before the last inversion) whereas I found Smiler butter smooth. Nemesis was fine apart from that one turn on my first ride.

2 hours ago, Terry Terry said:

If you get the chance, you should try out abroad parks as some differ hugely from UK parks with their rides, the way they operate and loads more. 

 

There are quite a few I want to get to, money permitting and obviously that's not ultimately up to me. Phantasialand is the one I most want to get to (hoping to make Germany my birthday trip this year) and although it's unlikely we'll get to do both me and my mum both want to get to PortAventura for my sister's birthday although she wants to go to Majorca (not that's she actually knows what Majorca is like)

2 hours ago, Terry Terry said:

Oh, and after a while it’s possible you might not see Chessington the same way as you once saw it...

How dare you! 

 

EDIT May as well add I still haven't done a coaster with a near-vertical drop yet, would it be best to go for Oblivion first, or Stealth or Saw? Which provides the least airtime etc.

[Charlesberg]

21 minutes ago, ChessingtonSam said:

May as well add I still haven't done a coaster with a near-vertical drop yet, would it be best to go for Oblivion first, or Stealth or Saw? Which provides the least airtime etc.

The drop on Stealth is probably the least intimidating drop in the park imo. You’ve gone so fast at the beginning that it only feels natural to gently fall down at the top.

 

The holding brake on Oblivion’s drop actually makes it so much less frightening as it allows your body to adapt to the steep position (this is why I find the drop on Falcon’s fury less intimidating than most drop towers), then it just feels like a large straight drop after that.

 

I remember you saying you’ve ridden Th13teen, that drop track is scarier than a vertical drop imo.

[yeah]

28 minutes ago, Terry Terry said:

The drop on Stealth is probably the least intimidating drop in the park imo. You’ve gone so fast at the beginning that it only feels natural to gently fall down at the top.

 

The holding brake on Oblivion’s drop actually makes it so much less frightening as it allows your body to adapt to the steep position (this is why I find the drop on Falcon’s fury less intimidating than most drop towers), then it just feels like a large straight drop after that.

 

I remember you saying you’ve ridden Th13teen, that drop track is scarier than a vertical drop imo.

What about Saw?

[Charlesberg]

6 minutes ago, ChessingtonSam said:

What about Saw?

Saw’s drop feels more intense than normal drops due to being one car so it accelerates quicker, but it’s not something that will freak you out and make you puke the moment you go over.

 

Plus the beyond vertical descent is such a small angle from the vertical so you won’t notice the track going inwards.

 

It’s sort of comparable to the first drop on dragon’s fury as that has quite an intense first drop compared to coasters with long trains.

[Han30]

Large drops were something that before I conquered my fears, absolutely terrified me.  I was bricking it before Oblivion, Stealth and Saw - not helped by the fact that all 3 rides are pretty intimidating to look at.  I love them now but that first time can be nerve wracking.

Now you’ve done inversions I would say start off with Saw but maybe not front row first - yes the drop is quick but it’s over very fast.  

 

Also Phantasialand is an amazing park if you can get there (I’d also highly recommend Efteling though I’ve only done 3 parks out of this country being these 2 plus DLP years ago)

[JoelAllen]

Hey there! Well done for conquering for fear, I hope you enjoyed Nemesis, The Smiler and the other rides. 

 

Personally, from least scariest to scariest drops, I would say:

Stealth

Oblivion

Saw

 

So, Saw being the scariest.

I would aim to do all of them if you ask me, they'll all over in a matter of seconds, and I have no doubt in thinking you will love them! 

 

[yeah]

I've probably posted in this topic more than any other on the forum, this time though not about my own fear but about my sister's. I finally got her on Swarm and Inferno after months of convincing! She's still a bit cautious with going on new rides (as am I tbf, still not done Saw or Stealth yet), she refused Colossus because in her words "10 loops is a bit extreme for my first time going on big rides" (I did 14 on my very first but ?‍♂️) , but hey at least I got her on one finally, five years younger than I did too

 

I was actually very impressed, she cried on her first time on Galactica until we left the lift hill but this time she told me she was going to do it as we got there, walked straight in the queue and didn't even give it a thought. She even refused my hand even though she said she wouldn't go on it unless she held my hand, and was absolutely hilarious the whole way round. Can't wait until my next Towers trip now, she says she's most excited for Nemesis.

[TPC]

It's interesting to see everyone's viewpoints and it's amazing to see how much has been written since I created this forum section over 3 years ago. My current phobia at parks is now more intense spinny flat rides.

[X:/ No Way Out]

It's the stomach drop sensation I don't like, thanks to freaking El Toro in the back row on my sophomore year school trip to Six Flags.

 

Have yet to re-ride it and conquer the fear. I don't think I ever want to.

 

I also do not want to try Nitro for that same reason. I know it's less steep than El Toro, but the height freaks me out. So I guess it's also heights?

[Lily]

If this comforts you I never liked rides absolutely hated them I went upside down for the first time when I was 10 on galactica and nemesis shortly after it is honestly not bad at all you can barely even notice when you’re upside down. I followed a year later by going on the smiler when it first opened and I was absolutely terrified I cried for the whole 115 min queue and when I came off it was my favourite ride. Now, I still have never gone on oblivion because drops are 100000000000x worse (also any tips for braving the drops) xx

[planenut]

11 hours ago, Lily said:

If this comforts you I never liked rides absolutely hated them I went upside down for the first time when I was 10 on galactica and nemesis shortly after it is honestly not bad at all you can barely even notice when you’re upside down. I followed a year later by going on the smiler when it first opened and I was absolutely terrified I cried for the whole 115 min queue and when I came off it was my favourite ride. Now, I still have never gone on oblivion because drops are 100000000000x worse (also any tips for braving the drops) xx

On Oblivion, look at the rail coming up, the other side of the tunnel, that's where you are going, and tense your stomach before the release, but most of all, enjoy it.