Ride tolerance decreasing with age.. Anyone else?

Funny you say that, because at 33 I can only do Raptor once per visit now. I actually got a pretty rough case of nausea from Rougarou this year that knocked me out for about 30 minutes, and GateKeeper, Valravn, and the trio of B&Ms at Busch Tampa can make me queasy with a single lap.But you can let me plop down on Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Storm Runner at Hershey, Banshee at KI, Dominator at KD, or Talon at Dorney and I would happily marathon them.

I wonder how Raptor is aging. In terms of sheer number of operating hours, I imagine it can't be far behind Hulk (v1) and Dueling Dragons. Kumba beats the crap out of you too. I haven't personally been on Raptor in I think six years.

I’m glad to hear you say that- I thought I might be the only one on earth who doesn’t care for Kumba. I was ready to give it a pass on my winter visit this year but it was down for maintenance so I was spared anyway. I think they were painting or something.

My tolerance hasn't changed. My patience, though, has. When I go to Cedar Point or SF Great America for example, if it's more than a 30 minute wait, I pass.

As of right now, and I have no idea how well they age, RMC conversions are the only thing that doesn't turn me into a give me a few "dad". Mind you I only have been on two but when I was at SFMM it was considered a Ghost Town and I love how they don't make you exit and reenter if there is no one waiting. I was able to do that twice. Was offered X2 and quickly declined, receiving a chuckle from the gal asking me.

Raptor was brutal on me. I only did one lap and was in the front row, first outside seat you come to. A guy about the same age as me was two seats down and said, "I'm a little beat up" when I asked how he felt. I don't know what makes a ride like Raptor or others get rough over time. Obviously it must be some wear but could it be they continue to settle into their footers and or there is not as much flex in columns and track? I'm really the wrong person to know about things of this nature. But IMO, those horse collars have to go. Body size and placement could also play a role because I did not find Gatekeeper bad at all and actually liked it. Valravene, or however they spell it gave me no comfort issues and I enjoyed that as well. I know people hate on that coaster a bit on youtube but it was fun to me.

But age is the ultimate slayer of rides and riders. However, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Jeff said:

I wonder how Raptor is aging. In terms of sheer number of operating hours, I imagine it can't be far behind Hulk (v1) and Dueling Dragons. Kumba beats the crap out of you too. I haven't personally been on Raptor in I think six years.

As far as ride experience, the only thing on Raptor that beats your head up a little now is the cobra roll. The rest of the ride is still same as always.

Kumba on the other hand is a headbanging ear boxing disaster from the first drop to the little tunnel at the end. I first rode it in 2000, and I remember it being intense but smooth. The only B&M I've ever had that was rougher was Riddler's Revenge at Magic Mountain in 2014.

This is fascinating because I rode Kumba half a dozen times last December and don't remember having the impression that it was especially rough. Going to Tampa again next month so we shall see. I probably should have postponed my trip - except that it's become something of a Christmas tradition - because I'll feel compelled to go back there when Iron Gwazi opens.

Sad to hear Riddler’s Revenge hasn’t aged so well. In 2003 I was amazed how smooth it was, especially for a standup coaster.

Raptor also has that nasty transition coming into the final brake where it snaps back to flat track. Smashes my head every time.

I'd say I'm good on wood and not so good on big swoopy steel, but Hurricane at Indiana Beach seriously hurt me in a bad way. I was able to take quite a few laps on Voyage the next day though. Legend however, didn't hurt me like Hurricane, but wore me out real good, moreso than Voyage.

Swoopy? Dramamine helps.

So, nothing else can rock you like the hurricane?

KUMBA?! Not Kumba. I loved that coaster when I visited BG back in 2004ish. Of course I will be making a FL trip when you know what opens up and of course I won't listen to anyone hear and jump back on Kumba.

It really is amazing how fast the time goes. I remember back in the winter of 99/2000, rushing home from the police academy to look at the construction cam of MF. Reading and drooling over the pics when it went vertical. Pointbuzz was a flurry of anxious fans counting the days. If memory serves me, it was the same year SOB opened, my first on ride concussion. I remember watching my cousin in the row in front of me grabbing his head and hearing him scream, "ouch" as we dove into that unforgiving helix. Probably the day dementia was sealed into my future.

Next summer I plan on hitting Six Flags Great America for my first time and will be taking the kids to IOA and BG. I truly hope my 10 year old daughter enjoys IOA as much as I did when I went. Her face of amazement and wonder will have to quench what my body can no longer take.

In another 20 years, when we are all in our respective old folks homes, I hope dementia makes me imagine all the old great coasters being pushed up next to me in their wheelchairs. That tends to run in my family, my father going through it right now. Just want to make sure people don't think I'm making fun. But sometimes his ignorance of what's happening looks like bliss. I'll probably be trying to tie all the wheelchairs together like a coaster train and babble, "enjoy the rest of your day here at, Ceeeddaarr Point".

Cant do the spinny thing at all anymore

A few years back, I saw Monster at Dorney Park, and was like "oh kids I used to love this ride, when I was younger" Ride cycle was like 2 minutes and I almost lost it.

Same with Fandango at Knoebels, I gave up on anything that spins.

I did KK at SFGA to say I did it, but it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

I am getting old.. beats the alternative.

Had myself an enjoyable mini-marathon on Batman: The Ride this past weekend. 6 laps- could have been more, but the queue for my row eventually kicked me off. I'm 33. Grateful that I can take it.

Kumba got to me a decade younger then Raptor. The former I began scaling back on rides on in the mid-aughts due to bothersome intensity. Black-outs in the helix. One and done.

While Raptor I skipped at the Point, the past couple annual visits. More in the thought of preservation and priority for elsewhere as the stock of Sandusky increased. (Along with Valraven, GK, so it wasn't that selective a dismissal.) A bummer. It's me, not the ride which still scrapes Top 5 in the park. The dive over the midway, the pacing is perfect. I hope it's no where near its end of life. I'll ride it next summer.

So, for the first time this year, age may becoming a factor for me. At 48, I don't feel physically beat up by any coaster, and that includes the Beast. However, when my son and I went to KI to get a last ride on Vortex, we rode Invertigo first. Upon going up the 2nd spike, I was extremely dizzy and had never experienced that before riding it. Oddly enough, it did not get worse going through backwards and the dizzying effects were gone really quick after exiting.

Extreme - I had that first dizzy spell on Batman the ride at SFMM this past October. Coming into the brake run I felt like I had the spins from too much beer. The throw-up is coming feeling, get to a toilet. But it faded away as the train started to enter the station.

I have to say Batman felt more intense to me than Raptor. Raptor was a better overall inverted but Batman was like I was in a fist-fight, nonstop left and right hooks. I was surprised by it thinking, "Oh this will be nothing compared to Raptor". WRONG.

Really the only ride I can think of that has made me woozy in recent memory was the VR Iron Dragon experience and for that I was fine right up to the end. It only really bothered me as we were approaching the station.

So in re-reading this post, a similar issue came to my mind that I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed.

Does anyone feel more "claustrophobic" now at an older age, compared to their younger years? Specifically, I find myself being claustrophobic when being held in by an OTSR, which I never felt before when I was younger. The first time I noticed it was in my early 40s when riding Tomb Raider at KI. Now most OTSR's give me that feeling. I don't feel claustrophobic with a lap bar though.

Anyone else, or is it just me?

Yes. Big time. Being stopped on a brake run or lift hill, or even sitting in the station while restrained with the ride not moving and not knowing what's going on is a NIGHTMARE for me now. I often avoid riding rides that I know get stopped often because of it.

Lorazepam for everyone! 💊💊💊😊