whats your favorite ride experience?

:)

I have a few....

I remember as a child how I LOVED going to amusement parks...especially at night when the rides were lit up. I remember watching these brilliant things turning and spinning and making people happy. The sounds of the rides ("gah gah gah gah gah" of the (Probably a Zamperla) space ship and making the helicopter go up and down was sheer joy. Oh...and the smell of the food! When I was in day camp, one of our trips was to Coney Island and it was fantastic!

Of course, I was safe in kiddie land be it Peter Pan Playland, Buddies and Adventure's Inn (All long gone now).

Despite this sense of happiness, it was hard for me to transition to bigger rides as I got older. The bumper cars were an easy draw but they took a lot of tickets back then. The flumes were safe and fun....but I had trouble really making the move.

One day...we were visiting our friends in California (we lived in Brooklyn) and we went to Disneyland and Magic Mountain. I went on rides that I never would have gone on...The Gold Rusher, A few spinning things, etc, but I was dead set on avoiding the revolution. As we got to the end of the day, I was somehow convinced by my friends who used this simple strategy... "You will never have another chance to do this again."

I found myself eyeing the Chicken Exit but somehow propelled myself with the rest of the line through the line. I don't remember boarding, where I sat or anything else. Just that I was terrorfied of going upside down.

I d remember saying..."Is the loop coming next? Is the loop coming next?" This fear of the loop erased all of the elements that I missed...until he said "OK...here it comes." (And it did!)

I don't remember if I yelled, shut my eyes, or even if I liked it. I just remember that now everything was going to be OK and that I could claim I conquered something big...and I was proud of myself.

Looking back, I remember that all those rides leading up to "The Loop" must have made an impression...because I (boldly -though sadly) ready to leave kiddie land for good. (Until PreFlux)

- - -

Going on your child's first "Big Boy" rides is also a special feeling. When we sat together on the Jack Rabbit in Kennywood (He Loves it) or El Toro (He did it but was scared) or Apollo's Chariot (Never Again - too high). But remember, aside from the coasters, it's nice to ride a Ferris Wheel together too. You can see everything from up there. Even Kiddieland.

In general, my favorite ride experience in all of coasterdom is the first drop of Raging Bull (and to a slightly lesser extent- Apollo's Chariot) in the last row of the train. Haven't found a better first drop on a coaster to this day. It's unfortunate that they've designed the dip out of their subsequent hypercoaster layouts.

In terms of a specific instance- SFGAm operated a weekend after it would typically close for the year in November of 2002 for what they called Last Blast. It wasn't advertised well, and I think attendance was under 1000 guests both days. It was typical northern Illinois November weather that Sunday and the group I visited with closed off the season with what was essentially a nighttime ERT session on Iron Wolf. It wasn't quite snowing, but it was sleeting. Unforgettable rides, and in the 10 years since, I haven't had a day at a park come close to being as fun as that one.

That was a great post Ensign.

I have another one. I went to Cedar Point with all of my friends during Millennium's first year. We rode it first thing in the morning, stayed at the park all day long and went back before close (12?) and got in line. The wait was around 2 hours long and when we got off we were exhausted but still revved up from our ride and we found they were still letting people in line even though the park was technically closed. We got back in line and rode it again.

LostKause said:

Kissing a friend on Mean Streaks lift was a roller coaster experience I will never forget!

Hooch! (with Love :)..)

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My favorite ride experience was probably my first ride on Nitro at night. Even though my face was filled with bugs, the ride into the swamp with a light fog was very eerie.

My favorite experience was slapping Travis for trying to get fresh with me on Mean Streak.

Grabbing the rings on Knoebels Grand Carousel only to look down and realize I've got the brass ring....

Second - any rare/unique ride that not many have had the opportunity to ride...

My Great Aunt had a house in Wildwood so as a kid I was all over the flat rides, but had difficulty transitioning to the bigger rides... my fondest memories are riding the Hunt's Pier Flyer and Golden Nugget with my Grandfather, who loved coasters. I have a box full of 8mm film here somewhere with old POV movies I need to dig up one of these days.

My son had no such issue, and our first trip to Knoebels we rode Twister for his first real coaster. My daughter had to work her way up from the Flitzer and Doo Wopper to the Great White, but now she is good... although both kids thought one ride on Possessed was enough... I loved it .

eightdotthree said:

I have another one. I went to Cedar Point with all of my friends during Millennium's first year. We rode it first thing in the morning, stayed at the park all day long and went back before close (12?) and got in line. The wait was around 2 hours long and when we got off we were exhausted but still revved up from our ride and we found they were still letting people in line even though the park was technically closed. We got back in line and rode it again.

millennium has to be my favorite steel night ride.

You should try Phantom's Revenge after dark sometime.

Ensign Smith said:

You should try Phantom's Revenge after dark sometime.

I've never been to kennywood. If I do go there, I surely will try that.

The story of Ravine Flyer II, beginning with the legal battles in the late 1990s, is the reason I'm an enthusiast as well as the spark to pursue a career in the amusement industry. Here are my favorite moments.

1. RF2 is finally approved for construction, and a 3D rendering is in the newspaper. This will actually be at Waldameer?

2. I drove by shortly after construction of the first section of track, and basically geeked out in my car (thankfully I was alone). This is finally a "big" coaster being built at Waldameer.

3. Being an eye-witness to the ride during testing. Could it really be that close to opening?

4. My first ride on Opening Day: One of the most surreal experiences going up the lift, as I was on the coaster I had dreamed about for years.

5. July 2, 2011: I walked into work and my name was on the list next to Ravine Flyer II to learn how to operate it.

Finally having a major coaster at my home park was not only one of my most memorable experiences as a coaster enthusiast, but it was an exciting time for the Erie community as a whole. This is why this ride is so special to me every time I ride it.

I tend to remember favorite park visits in general more than individual ride experiences, but sometimes the two go hand in hand.

The night before PPP 2010, I went to a relatively uncrowded Great Adventure on a temperately comfortable night. It was my first visit to a Six Flags park and I rode all the adult coasters with time to re-ride a few. But Nitro really stands out in my mind, because the area was so dark, and the night sky so clear... I still distinctly remember seeing a beautiful wash of stars overhead as we rode. Riding it again a year later didn't seem as special... maybe it was cloudy. :)

That same weekend reintroduced me to PPP, and I enjoyed more of the social aspect of these events and made new friends. I also learned I can love the Phoenix if I sit in the front row. I got to see the cracked, steaming rubble that pervades Centralia, PA. And I got to spend the weekend with a good friend.

Last year, just as Hurricane Irene was threatening New England, my friend and I rode Wooden Warrior at Quassy, our first time riding Timberliner trains. Since we were literally two of a dozen people in the park, the ride op let us ride as many times as we wanted even though we only had three tickets. We rode once in every row. By the final lap, it was just starting to rain -- and since that storm was part of the far-flung outer bands of Irene, we like to say we rode a coaster in a hurricane. :)

The year I joined CoasterBuzz, I nearly tripled my measly coaster count, but I experienced so many unique things that year. I spoke earlier about "firsts" being favorites, but I would like to expand:

1. My first trip to Great Adventure in over 10 years was amazing. The park was dead, I was there by myself, and I braved every ride there except Kingda Ka (the original plan was to ride that first, but I took one look at it and almost peed myself). I hit Superman first, and it was my first flyer. From the middle, it seemed boring, but it was a nice ride. Then I did El Toro. Would El Toro be my favorite coaster if I did Great Adventure later in the season after being a little more seasoned? Probably. I'll never forget that the guy sitting next to me spoke little to no English, and I was asking him about the ride as we climbed the hill and rounded the turn at the top. I must have looked freaked out, because he was laughing at me before we even hit the drop. When we DID drop, I grabbed his arm, spewed out enough curses to make a sailor blush, and I didn't let go of the poor guy until the s-turns at the end. He was laughing so hard, and I still wonder if he was laughing at me or because he had so much fun on the ride or both. It makes me giggle every time I think about it. Next I rode Nitro, and while I had been on Steel Force, Nitro still petrified me as I took that long, tortuous climb up the lift hill. I was immediately enamored with the floaty airtime, face sucking helix, and gigantic but still graceful hills. Those two memories really stand out during that trip.

2. Five night rides of Twister at PPP, same year. My husband and I both like it better than Phoenix, and we rode over and over until we got just the right picture, with him bug eyed and throwing up a peace sign and me laughing hysterically.

3. Islands of Adventure/Universal/SeaWorld/Busch Gardens trip: I got to ride Manta on Employee Day a few days before the official opening, and I was both awed by the beauty of a coaster (doesn't happen often, but this coaster is heavily themed, graceful, and a larger and more intense flyer than Superman could ever dream of being). Also, my cousin's husband screamed like a little girl the whole time. The SeaWorld coasters were also the only ones I actually got to ride with someone, so it put a nice familial spin on SeaWorld. That park holds such a special place in my heart. Busch Gardens' Montu instantly became my absolute favorite invert and blew me away with its intensity and theming, and while I didn't spend too much time in this park, most of the time spent was NOT on roller coasters, but instead just enjoying the lush beauty of the park by myself. Universal's Mummy coaster was sooo beyond what I was expecting, and I rode the delicious line between terror and ecstasy during my first of six rides on it. Spiderman also got quite a few repeats by a very psyched me, and I don't think I have ever felt that level of excitement and awe since that trip.

3. Millennium Force during a VERY localized rainstorm. A dark, ominous cloud hung over the lift hill of Millennium Force while the rest of the park was bathed in the pink and orange light of the setting sun. At the top of the hill, it was so foggy I couldn't see when the drop was supposed to happen. It was so moody and so super cool. Then it started drizzling while the sun was out over the rest of the park, and that ride just was SMOKING through the course. Fantastic.

There are more great moments, but many of those memories are especially dear because I have since lost some of my child-like wonder and excitement over these things, and I long for more moments just like these.

Riding Hersheypark's Great Bear in 2000 after swearing it off for two years due to a fear of heights, and in so doing breaking down the barrier that stood between me and the willingness to ride any coaster (though I waited a year before riding the Sidewinder as, believe it or not, I thought Sidewinder seemed scarier).

Riding Millennium Force at night in 2002 on my first visit to Cedar Point after having given up on a 2-hour wait that was only getting longer due to a nasty storm.

Pretty much any ride taken during my high school graduation trip, which I chose to be a road trip between the then-three Six Flags parks in Texas. Of note is that I was deciding between this and the SoCal parks, and despite recommendations to choose SoCal, I picked Texas anyways. Had I not, I never would have been able to visit Astroworld.

Putting my travel benefits to use for the first time on a visit to SFKK.

Attending SheiKra's floorless media day.

Riding X2 after years of waiting, which contained a first visit to SFMM that fell during the X-to-X2 conversion.

Riding Intimidator 305 a few weeks ago for the first time with the trim-free first drop, a trait which propelled it to my #1 spot.

Landing in Frankfurt for my first international coaster experience, heading immediately from the airport to Holiday Park, then deciding on the way out to go even further and hit up Europa Park.

Really, there are so very many more, but these are just some of the highlights.

birdhombre said:

That same weekend reintroduced me to PPP, and I enjoyed more of the social aspect of these events and made new friends. I also learned I can love the Phoenix if I sit in the front row. I got to see the cracked, steaming rubble that pervades Centralia, PA. And I got to spend the weekend with a good friend.

Last year, just as Hurricane Irene was threatening New England, my friend and I rode Wooden Warrior at Quassy, our first time riding Timberliner trains.

Two tidbits - first, PPP is always about the peeps - even though it's my favorite park with some of my nostalgic favorite rides. The after-PPParty at the cabin was stupendous...Bird is indeed, the word.

Second, I'll admit being one of those initially suspicious of the ride the Timberliners would give....hadn't had great luck with MFlyers being put on formerly-PTC'd woodies, and the cars seemed a little "enclosed" to me. Warrior proved how little I actually know - those trains ROCK!

Bunky, that story of your first ride on Toro is exceptionally funny to me, because something similar happened to me..only I weas the grabbee, not the grabber. The first day I rode Toro back in '06, it did not become my favorite coaster..but produced one of my favorite coaster stories. I had two rides during the day, and boarded for my first night ride. I was in the back seat, left side...I prefer right, but keep reading. Boarding with me was a hulking African-American fellow..muscles upon muscles, blinged out, do-rag, the works. Really tough-looking son of a gun. Before we left the station, he asked if I'd been on the ride before. It was his first time, and I simply said, "Well, my friend, you're in for a treat. And you might want to hold on to that jewelry. " That wasn't what he ended up holding on to. At the precipice of the first drop, my hands were in the air, as they usually are on the Bull. Halfway down the hill, my seatmate's left arm wrapped around my right, and he kept a death grip on it for the entire duration of the ride. Back in the station, he actually apologized, but I told him there was no need. Moments later, I discovered my wallet had gone airborne from my back pocket and was gone.

Other memorable experiences include Beast/Boulder Dash at night, and various dark rides with various companions of the female persuasion..some coasters, too. I've done the same things with them that Travis mentioned, on Lightning Racer, Beast, and others.

When I was in college (1986,) a group of us including my girlfriend and some buddies, went to GAdv to see the re-united Monkees. We had a blast. After the concert, we were the last people admitted to the Ultra Twister (new that year) line, and got off the ride at nearly 1am. We were literally the last people walking out of the park, tailed closely by a group of about 10 security guards. We could tell they were pissed at us because we were walking slow, looking in windows, stopping at the bathrooms, etc. Good times, man...

rollergator said:

The after-PPParty at the cabin was stupendous...Bird is indeed, the word.

That was an especially good time for me to go though, because unlike sitting around a campfire (earlier that year at HWN), we could actually see each other and had plenty of room. Handy for meeting new people.

Plus, y'know, no family funerals in town for the weekend.

Edit: By "bird is the word" did you mean me, or the papier-mache bird head??

Peter Griffin, please pick up the white courtesy phone. They're playing your song.