Taking the Next Step- Upside Down

I'm looking for some advice from all the Buzzers out there. My coaster-loving niece has just reached the magic 54" threshold. So that allows her to ride more intense coasters like inverts, etc. So far the only looping coasters she's ridden are SDL @ HP and Anaconda @ PKD.

My question is which of the following nearby coasters would you recommend for a young rider to try first? Choices are Talon or Hydra @ Dorney, or Great Bear or Sidewinder @ HP. (I'm passing on SR for now).

Any input, as always is welcome.

The first looper I rode was PKI's Vortex. I would say if she's fine with SDL and Anaconda any of the above would be fine.

Then again, I rode the Beast (back in its peak, mind you) when I was 6. Knowing my family, they probably would have thrown me onto Storm Runner without batting an eyelash. *** Edited 6/9/2006 10:32:19 PM UTC by matt.***

Theres no reason why you shouldn't take her on Storm Runner if she liked the other rollercoasters. Odds are, she'll love it!

But first, take her on Great Bear in the front seat . It's one of the tamer B&M inverts, it's smooth, and it's really fun. If she likes that, take her on SR.

I think Great Bear would be the best choice. It's the easiest and she'll probably find it to be a lot of fun. Sidewinder has a chance of scaring her out of inversions if the headbanging gets her, especially if she doesn't take well to doing them backwards. That's still my least favorite Boomer by far and I like them in general. Hydra was my least favorite "adult" coaster at Dorney from all the vibrating, but that may not affect her or maybe I just caught it on a bad day. Laser's a fine choice there as a warm-up and then you could follow that up with Talon. Hope that helps.

PD

Do not take anyone you care for on Sidewinder. Certainly not if you want them to care for you back. Perhaps it is a recent lack of maintenance, but it is just too rough and loud, and the station brakes seem to have difficulty just lining the train up properly in the station.

Hydra sounds perfect to me. The slow jojo roll in the beginning will let her really experience the forces upside down, at a minimal speed that isn't scary. The first hill is pretty forceful though - that could be too much.

Great Bear is pretty impressive, but smooth, and fairly short so that if she is overwhelmed it'll be over very soon.

My first looper was Montazumas Revenge at Knotts Berry Farm. It was also my first luanch coaster.

My first looper was Cedar Points "Corkscrew" back in 1977. ( I remember haveing to ride it "As soon as the park opened" because by 12:00 Noon there would already be a Two Hour Wait to ride the thing! How Times Change! :)

I agree with Great Bear or Talon...*tamer* inverts are good for an introdution to the breed. The *junior* inverts, those are the ones to look out for, LOL...yikes!

Recommend against a Boomerang, even Hershey's, for fear that the headbanging will cause her to dilike inversions (and possibly her uncle)... ;)

My first looper was anaconda at PKD,I would hold off on SR seeing as it's a launcher & definitely skip sidewinder as going through inversions in reverse can be quite a challenge to a coaster novice who doesn't have much experience in that dept.

Great bear & Talon sound like good choices but if she hasn't ridden an invert<which obviously it appears she hasn't> then just the idea of being suspended,let alone going through inversions might prove too extreme for her liking.

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Borntocoast said:
My first looper was Cedar Points "Corkscrew" back in 1977. ( I remember haveing to ride it "As soon as the park opened" because by 12:00 Noon there would already be a Two Hour Wait to ride the thing! How Times Change!

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Was the queue line alot bigger back then?

It still amazes me to this day how Cedar Point absolutely insists on running 3 trains all season long on such a short ride with a short line. I guess 3 is better than one ;)

Hey, its stuff like that that makes Cedar Point the place that it is!

I'm happy for the 3 train operation, its too bad Power Tower and Dragster have taken away a lot of the area's charm. :(

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Erinys said:
Hydra sounds perfect to me. The slow jojo roll in the beginning will let her really experience the forces upside down, at a minimal speed that isn't scary. The first hill is pretty forceful though - that could be too much.

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See, I would say the opposite. The problem with the Jojo is that you can feel it. You can't really tell you're upside down in lot of inversions and almost all vertical loops. But the Jojo you could certainly tell, and if she doesn't like it: could be the end of inversions.

Talon gets my vote.

I would go with Great Bear, mainly because it fetures the corkscrew, vertical loop and Innelman and because its a great forceful ride.

However I think any B&M would do, I would definatly caution about using Sidewinder because of the headbanging issue.

As soon as I was 54'' I went to SFMM with my uncle and 2 cousins. I went on Viper (my second roller coaster that went up side down). Then I went on Batman, Riddlers Revenge, Revolion, Psyclone, Superman, Goldrusher, Colosus, Goliath, and Flashback (the roughest coaster in the park).

And after riding those I loved riding roller coasters. Well I loved roller coasters after going to Knotts and riding Ghost Rider and Montazuma.

Screw it, take her on Dragster. ;-)

Luckily I am NOT a parent or have any nieces or nephews.....yet. lol. I can't wait till my brother and his wife have kids. They will LOVE coasters or I will disown them. ;-)

LOL! Great Bear and Storm Runner would be ideal for her, but only if she is willing to ride them. Talon and Hydra are good "starter" looping coasters for a budding enthusiast. It really depends on what SHE wants to do.

-Tina

Just let her on what ever she want and let her find out for her self.

I'd go with Hydra. She won't even know she's riding a coaster:) I think Talon and Great Bear might be too intense.

^LOL! I think Great Bear is slightly more intense because it is older. Talon is more of a fun and friendly family invert. Both are awesome!

If he wants to really freak her out he needs to take her on one of the old Batmans....the first B&M inverts. Those things are short but the intensity is through the roof. The are SO fast and SO furious. :-P

Then again maybe I am getting older and more sensitive. lol.

-Tina

For my nephews first invert, i took him on GL's Double Loop. He loved it.
Then he decided he wanted to go Mind Eraser. From that point it took me about two hours to talk him into BAtman KnightFlight/Dominatrixer.
He's a coaster junkie now.

Yeah, a kids first invert can determine a lot.
Had he riden Mind Eraser or SErial Thriller first, he'd probibly never ride another coaster again.

What's her fear of the loops? For instance, my wife's fear isn't the actual going upside down part, it's the relying on your restraint to keep you in the seat part. If she's scared/nervous about relying on the restraint, Hydra's not a good choice.

I would vote Great Bear. I'm not sure what the rest of yinz are talking about, I think Talon's more intense than any of the Batmans out there. If she wants to go upside down and just get it over with though, then yea, change the vote to Talon. Or, since both parks are so close, just do both in a day! ;)