How to get nervous person onto a coaster?

How would you suggest I go abou trying to get my dad onto Superman-Ride of Steel at SFNE? He is quite scared of coasters, but won't admit it, and thinks he will get sick. Has anyone had to deal with this before? How would you suggest I go about trying to persuade him to go onto a thrilling coaster?

Tell him how the ride only crashes once in a while, only about once or twice a day. And say less people died yesterday than the day before, so things are improving....
That'll help. he he.

*** This post was edited by kingbob on 2/2/2002. ***

Yeah, my dad always complains that the coasters will "beat him up." He always complains the day after we go to Worlds of Fun, that his back hurts from riding Timberwolf.

Chain him up to the seat and tell him he's going to like this ride whether he likes it or not.
Seriously though, if doesn't want to ride the ride don't force him to.  Let him ride it when HE feels like it.  My cousin would do the same thing when I didn't want to ride Flight of Fear when it opened.  It took me 4 years to get on that ride and thanks to Sean F. back in 2000, it is now my favorite steel coaster at PKI. 
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Bill Yost
http://www.small-business-webs.com/pkizone

*** This post was edited by THE BEASTmaster on 2/2/2002. ***

Get hired as a game show host.  Offer cash and fabulous prizes. 
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Idle hands were orient to her.

Start by getting him on a smaller coaster that's still pretty exciting...not too intimidating but not too wimpy.  That's how I was duped, and now look at me.  I barely wanted to get onto a 50 ft. coaster...now 230 feet is nothing to me!  And I'm a better man because of it  :)
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The Luv Monkey has spoken...
Track Record: 29 and counting...
"F*** this f***ing world. I love everybody."

Here's another question that's kind of on the same lines.  But first I just want to tell you that I've tried almost everything and my dad won't ride anything other than the Whizzer.  What do you tell a person that loves steel coasters, but is too afraid to ride a wood coaster? 
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There isn't a problem that can't be solved.
Suicide is NOT a solution!
Send me an AOL instant message, my sn is unXplanible

I once went to PKI with wo girls....whoawhohahahaha. (sorry bout that) but they hated and were afraid of coasters. I told them I'd change their mind by the end of the day. What I did was take them on the Racer. It had a short line that day, so they had no time to think about what they were riding and get scared about the height etc. They had the BEST time. Then they WANTED to ride The Beast. With a little hesitation and a push by me they rode it and love coasters even more. Well by the end of the day I got them to ride Son of Beast ;) :)
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It's his turn to feast, when you ride the Son of Beast.

About a year ago, I was scared to death of roller coasters. Then my mom forced me onto the Scorpion and Python at BGT and I loved them. Now Montu and Kumba are a breeze.

Well, back in the day when I was scared of Coasters, my Dad bribed me with $20 to go on Montezuma's Revenge at KBF.  I went, and loved Coasters ever since.  Of course, I was like 10 then, and that bribing might not work on your Dad.......

I got my cousin on Nitro by telling her it's easier on you when you have your eyes closed. I also had to hold her hand up the chain lift.
I got my other cousin on the Chiller by telling her Nsync went on "the one in Texas" and they loved it. I also said that Justin liked it the most. Now she loves it and can't stop talking about it!
I got my Mom on the Dueling Dragons by telling her it's smoother than Batman The Ride and not as fast. The problem was that I had only been on the Ice and that time is was going on Fire. Big mistake.....!

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dream it, draw it, Build it on a 2X4!

I got my girlfriend to go on Raging Bull as her first coaster by telling her that if she didn't go on I'd dump her. It worked pretty well.

that was mean of you to do that to your girlfriend. 
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Rob

Ride Op-SFGAm
Certified on: Roaring Rapids, Loggers Run/Ice Mountain Splash, Batman The Ride, V2, and Deja Vu.

Get him up to big coasters gradually, and if that doesn't work, offer him money, and if that doesn't work, than force him on.
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I eat glue.

How do you get a nervous person to ride a coaster? **in Will Ferrel's Bush impression** "Strategery...

Seriously though, I went to Cedar Point with not only a CP virgin, but a coaster virgin in 2000. I was rather happy to break them in, but the first coaster they rode was DT. They probably rode it only because they could see anything. Then they agreed to ride Gemini. I though about using the building up method, so I tried to have them go on Mean Streak. We got to the queue, and it was like he saw a ghost and took off running the opposite direction! LOL!

I tried telling him that it was only 36 ft. higher than Gemini, but to no avail. Then we moved on to Magnum of all things. I used the secluded queue to my advantage. He asked how high it was, and I told him, "Not that much higher than Gemini." Once we got closer he asked it Magnum was the oranged one, and I told him it was the blue one. :) We got up to the station, and basicly kept him from running. He kept his eyes closed, and he didn't like it because Maggie was a little rough that day. I told him he didn't have to ride any other coasters that day.

Went went over to MF, and told him he had to wait the 2 hours with us because that was too long to be alone. He agreed, and every few minutes when a train would fly by, he looked on in terror. But about 45 minutes into the wait, we could see th confidence building in his eyes. At the beginning of the queue, he said there was no way he would ride, but half way through, he said maybe. We also said that we would buy him the on-ride photo if he rode, and he could boast to all of his friends with his proof.

My friend and I knew that we could get him onto the ride, and when we got up to the station, he was getting a little nervous. By luck, the queue turnstyle stopped at us, and we got to get up front. (2000--before you could wait for the front and back) He was almost crying when the train took off. He had his eyes closed during the drop, overbank, and the climb up the 3rd hill, but after that, he opened his eyes. He loved it, and he said he would have ridden it again, but we didn't have enough time.

In my experience, it took a little trickery, coaxing, and "strategery". :) getting your dad to ride would be harder because he knows what he's getting into. If he rides spin-n-pukes, and doesn't get sick, then a coaster ride won't make him either. Tell him to suck it up and ride!

I can beat all of you!  I got Both of my Coaster hating parents on Goliath!  We had gone on Goldrusher and my Mom said that her back was bothering her.  She wanted to sit down but I told her that the cars look really cool close up.  It was walk-on all day so when we finally walked through the long que she saw the drop and got really scared.  We told her that it is like the smoothest roller Coaster at SFMM and she got on!  Then my Dad was like no way are you going to get me on.  I told him that he couldn't wose out and he got on too!  Of Course we bought the on ride photo and they are pricless.

My advice to you is to tell him all the good things about the Coaster: Awards it's won, Smoothness,etc.

Good Luck!

Thanks, you've all been a real help. I think a combination of coaxing and convincing him of the good points of the ride will get him on.  I'll have to get there when the park opens so that he won't have time to get nervous in the queue.

My friend hated coasters before, so I took him to SFWoA and started easy.He wouldnt ride anything so I went to RWB and literaly dragged him on, pushed him into the car and slammed the bar down!Worked pretty well, he loves them now.

Here's how it worked for me.  My dad wanted me to ride Mr. Twister with him, but I was a little apprehensive, so we made a bet.  It was the carnival game where you roll the ball into holes that are labeled fast, slow, medium.  When the ball lands down the hole it will make the thing on the board move, so whoever makes it to the other side of the board first wins (Sorry for such a crappy explanation.) So I lost but I got a cool stuffed Luigi (of Super Mario Brothers fame) and a ride on one of the best woodies ever.
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It ain't Oprah 'til it's Oprah
Oprah should call Dave.

It still doesn't always work.  I brought a friend to Great America once and I told him how we were going to start small and build up.  But you know Shockwave is right in the front, so me and my friend Brent said to Jeff (coaster unenthusiast) that it is fun if you just leave your eyes open and hold your head firmly against one side of the harness.  Well we rode the ride and Jeff wasn't feeling to good!  We looked at his picture and he had his hand over his eyes and his head all the way forward which causes more headbanging!  We took him on Eagle to and I think he liked it but he didn't ride another ride that day.  I guess my advice is tell them to keep their eyes open because if you can't anticipate what's coming, it really makes you dizzy etc.  It's proven which is why at EuroDisney, when they flipped the cars around on Indiana Jones, they had to bank the turns more because you could no longer anticipate the turns and therefore it would cause more G's.  That's my advice.
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There isn't a problem that can't be solved.
Suicide is NOT a solution!
Send me an AOL instant message, my sn is unXplanible