Ensign Smith said: Now she's almost six, and has 54 coaster credits already, including Magnum, Twister, Villain, both U.S. Space Mountains, and Leap the Dips. The one I'm jealous of is Expedition Everest, which she got to ride on a summer trip with her grandmother. Sigh.
Cool. :)
My six year old is at 44 and my ten year old is at 221 - neither shares dad's aversion to coasters. My daughter scored MF at age 5 and TTD at age 8. (big difference from my experiences ;) )
I don't know what my very first coaster was- it could have been the old Little Dipper at Land of Make Believe or the kiddie coaster at a small park in Pine Brook, NJ. But my first serious coaster? I remember my ride on the Hunt's Pier Flyer. Wow, that was a big ride (36' tall) and it wasn't for me, it was for daredevil teenagers and adults.
Somehow my father convinced me to ride it when I was nine. I loathed the thing and didn't ride it the best of our Wildwood vacation, always coming up with excuses so I didn't have to ride but didn't look like a wimp in the process... or so I thought I was doing a good job of saving face. The next year my father convinced me to give it another try and I was hooked! The following year the coaster was demolished. But by then I was already nuts about them.
Mine was Little Dipper at Kiddieland in Melrose Park, IL. I was 8. For years I had been begging to go on coasters but, with my mom suffering from back problems and my older brother getting motion sickness, mom wouldn't let me go by myself until then. So that's what started it. My mom sat by the ride while I went on over and over. 2 weeks later she scraped up the money to send me to SFGAm with my aunt and my cousins. I went on everything I was tall enough for and threw tantrums when I wasn't tall enough. I think my mom was a little surprised. I had been fascinated by trains when I was really young and the first time I saw a coaster the fascination switched. I had been obsessing about them for years before finally getting to ride them and I guess my family thought I would succomb to the fear and motion sickness that plagued my family. Not so much.
My first wooden coaster was the Red Streaker at Willow Mills Amusement Park in Mechanicsburg, PA. Yes, there was another amusement park in the same town as Williams Grove. ;) What a good little ride. Wish I could still take some laps.
First steel coaster would be the Gold Nugget Mine Ride in Wildwood NJ. I am still waiting for them to restore that, and start running it again(Anyone know what's going on with that?) What a great family ride.
My first roller coaster experience was on The Red Devil and Ghost Town In The Sky. I had to be 5 or 6 (I guess it was 1995 or 1996) and my mom and I watched the ride for almost an hour and I told her I wanted to ride. My cousin who was two years older than me didn't want to ride it, but I REALY wanted to. Well I was a little short but managed to do some trick with my feet and they let me on with my mom. Wheewww....when you little and you go upside down with no OTSR it is pretty scary! I almost cried but I LOVED it! Been hooked ever since.
My First was The Racer at KI in 1982, on my sixth Birthday. It was shortly followed by The Beast. The Bat wasn't running during my visits in '81-'83. My first Looper was King Cobra in 1984. I miss that ride.
My first two coasters are both defunct. A generic wooden family coaster and a rickety Wild Mouse at Lakewood Park in Barnesville PA. I was probably around 7 when I first rode them both.
The woodie had to be first, because it was in the kiddie/picnic section of the park, and the folks didn't mind if my cousins and I wandered around by ourselves. The mouse was in the "grown-up" part of the park, and we would harass, whine, and plead until several of our aunts and uncles finally agreed to go with us.
#3, and the first I rode that's still around has to be HSTC @ Knoebels. And yes, an 8 year old spine fares much better on it than a 40-something year old one.
I definitely remember mine......... my sisters and I went to Busch Gardens (VA) and I was little. I could ride only the Big Bad Wolf. While my mom and dad went off, and my sister was watching me, we went on the BBW, I loved it and have loved coasters ever since!
Labor Day of 2006, I was on a message board at that time and the Voyage was announced and I decided that previous winter I was going to ride a roller coaster that summer. Well, I went two days in june and chickened out. Finally, I went again on Labor day and meet up with Greg and Paul and they got me on Legend first and I was hooked from that point. Then went to Voyage and then to Raven. Since then I have ridden Voyage 30 times.
My first steel would be the coasters at Cypress Gardens and my first looper would be Sheikra (or Kumba is that doesn't count).
Holy smokes! A newbie! :) And what a *first* coaster!
Me, Matterhorn 1975. (probably the first for a lot of Southern Californios)
First woodie? Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 1980 (hooked on woodies from that point on).
Same year for my first loop-di-loop. The Demon...it's gonna get you! I rode with my friend's dad because he was too scared to ride. My friends dad was a chronic smoker. I remember that smell (and the bloody waterfall) very well. I LOVED the light tunnel too.
"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza
Mole... I thought I was going to get through this whole thread without finding someone whose first was at Memphis Kiddie Park.
My parents are not amusement park people (blasphemy in my book!) and although I was terrified of coasters until a young teen, I know I rode the Little Dipper at probably 3. My mom used to take us every summer with a PTA group -- it was close, cheap, and she didn't have to pay for anything except what we rode.
I *think* my first adult coaster was Blue Streak at Cedar Point -- my parents took my brother, my French Exchange student and I. I spent the entire ride screaming, "NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!" It was the family joke for years.
Yet somehow, I now find myself planning vacations around park trips. Scary.
My biggest rollercoaster thrill of all time was my first ride on the old West View Racing Whippet. I had ridden the park's junior coaster a number of times before this but the Whippet was an overwhelming experience for one who had never ridden a big coaster before.
That extremely steep first drop and the intense airtime on the first two drops combined with high speed and fast turns certainly made for a great coaster experience.
In many ways, it is a shame that classic coasters like this one are gone. The Racing Whippet certainly was one of the great coasters from the first golden age of rollercoasters in the 1920s.
Mole and CarrieR: Yes, mine was the Memphis Kiddie Park Coaster too. My grandparents lived in Parma, so every Sunday when we went to visit them, I would beg and beg to go to Kiddieland. This was in the early '80s and I remember it had red cars and black track. Hands down was my favorite ride, and I would ride it over and over.
My first adult-size coaster was the Blue Streak at Cedar Point in the mid-80s when all you had was the single lap bar as the restraint. I rode it with my dad and I remember getting to the top of the lift and my dad put his hands up and he told me to do it to, and all I remember is screaming "Are you nuts?!!" LOL, I'll never forget that! :-)
Mine was the Comet at Crystal Beach in 1986, BACKWARDS! I was 7, my father promised my first ride would be a forward ride, he lied! It may only be about 100 feet tall, but to a 7-year-old, riding it backwards, with the waves crashing below, it was a little intimidating! But I loved it, and we got right back in line after!
Banker by day, enthusiast by night! Raptor Crew 00+01
Oh come on guys, nobody lost their coaster virginity to Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park like I did?
Holy smokes! A newbie! :) And what a *first* coaster!