Boy falls from Idlewild roller coaster

Carousel Rabbit aha, I had my facts wrong. Good call! Still, my main point was 3 is way too young for anything other than a super-junior-kiddie coaster, in my opinion.

Three is certainly too young to go (for all intents and purposes) unsupervised. Seven is old enough to care about your own personal safety, but far too young to be responsible for someone else's.

IMO, as always...

RCMAC said:

Waiting since 1938...

This is an interesting discussion that's similar to what I brought up awhile back related to Scramblers/Sizzlers. These rides have been around since the 50s and now have seat belts in them because of all the ejections in the last few years. Part of the ride is squishing the person on the outside so this kind of ruins it.

This coaster has been around since '38 with no ejections. While a 7 year old isn't an appropriate guardian on a ride, as kids we knew to hang on until the ride we didn't like stopped. What changed? I'm not an enthusiast opposed to safety, but genuinely curious why this is all happening in the last 5 years or so.

How does a seat belt "ruin" the squishing on a scrambler?

People act like they're putting 5-point harnesses on these things.

Raven-Phile said:

How does a seat belt "ruin" the squishing on a scrambler?

People act like they're putting 5-point harnesses on these things.

The scrambler I went on had 3 individual seat belts holding each rider in place. No more squishing the person on the outside.

Oh, hell no. What if you were a single rider and accidentally put yourself on the inside seat? Ouch. Might cut you in half! That's a bad idea I've never seen anywhere, thank goodness.

I like a fast Scrambler, but it can be exhausting if it's a long cycle. I remember once as a kid taking the outside position with two of my friends on the inside and wearing a striped bruise down my right thigh from the metal strap on the inside of the seat. I've always wondered why that side of the interior isn't upholstered.

Anyway, count on two things. A seat belt is coming to Rollo Coaster. And if so, it won't ruin anything.

One thing's for sure, an adult embrace is the best restraint for a three year old. I'll repeat that. T~h~r~e~e year old.

Agreed, a 7 year old shouldn't be considered a responsible party for a three year old. But I think MAC has a point. Idlewild is a charming park with a very family friendly vibe*; I expect there's a lot of "you kids go ride rides now" each day.

*It was the Mr Rogers Neighborhood ride that stole my heart. Watched that show as a child and getting to ride the trolley through the Neighborhood was a highlight of ACE's 2010 Coaster Con.

My most recent experience with 7 year olds is that they can't handle putting the caps back on the markers when they're done coloring no way should they be the responsible party for a 3 year old rider.

Hell, my older brother would've been more apt to push me out of the coaster at that age. Or at least pretend to, causing me to flinch and nearly fall out on my own. (But WHYYYY am I afraid of heights??)

Idlewild is a beautifully tranquil park. Rollo Coaster was actually my first roller coaster at the young age of 5. I remember mom and the older brother riding it as I waited near the exit.. You know, unattended. I would wonder were they went and what they were experiencing but knew it looked too scary for me. "It's just like the train" they said. "utt-uhh" I muttered. That first time though, under mother's wing, was absolutely amazing. It was for I that ride -that forever stole my heart.

I was an operator for the Rollo Coaster in the mid-2000s. I think the smaller size of the coaster, and Idlewild being in a kid-oriented park, made a lot of people think anyone could ride. Many times I turned away kids who were trying to ride with their younger siblings, or under the height requirement, resulting in angry parents. I was just enforcing the rules. 36" to ride with an adult, 48" to ride without an adult.

I'm not sure how the children were seating but we always tried to have the child enter the train first as the larger rider would be against the opening.

birdhombre said:

Hell, my older brother would've been more apt to push me out of the coaster at that age. Or at least pretend to, causing me to flinch and nearly fall out on my own. (But WHYYYY am I afraid of heights??)

Come to think of it that's right around the age my cousin was when he tried to throw over the side in my dad's convertible. Not the best age for true understanding of the consequences of your actions.