Scream If You Want To Go Faster in the [Rollercoaster & Theme Park Thread]

Chincymcchilla

Hey Y'all

Roller coasters are really really cool

Yesterday I went to Carowinds in Charlotte NC and road a whole bunch of them!

The Intimidator, which, as we all know from being Dale Earnhardt, goes up and down, not around in a circle


The Nighthawk, which puts you face down towards the grown and terrified the absolute shit out of me


The Vortex, where you stand up and its terrifying except its really funny because your buddy set his harness at the wrong level and it hits him in the nuts over and over the whole ride


And The Fury, with a straight down plunge of 95 mph:

Fury 325 is currently the sixth fastest, fifth tallest, and fourth longest roller coaster in the world. In North American rankings, the roller coaster is the tallest, fastest, and longest non-launched steel roller coaster on the continent. The roller coaster is currently the tallest in the world to use a chain lift hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3EjDdglIhM

This roller coaster taught me what the phrase "A scream was ripped from my throat" means. It was the most terrified I've ever been and I screamed my head off and it was totally fucking rad

I've never had that much hang time or that much of a crazy, crazy hill, it was awesome

I haven't been to a theme park for about 5 or 6 years before this and its really re-ignited my spark to want to go on awesome rides and try to see some of the other local/regional parks.

This is a thread to tell stories about awesome rides, roller coasters, or even theme park stories if you've got them!

Edit: Oh yeah I also rode this thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc1Xbf9ItSQ

I screamed a lot more than those guys

Chincymcchilla

I also had the luck of going with a friend who works there and got to hear a bunch of stories about how theme parks are run and yo that is CRAZY

1500 employees at any one time, an enormous intranet to run everything, the IT setup alone is absolutely fascinating.

Are there any good theme park/roller coaster documentaries on Netflix?

Krieghund

About ten years ago I took a trip with some friends to Cedar Point and got to ride, this bad boy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbXPhOFRxTc

And this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAOQBlDDC7M

But, I live in Florida, so Islands of Adventure has this I get to ride a few times a year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjdYQJc748

Bucketman

I use to love roller coasters. When I was a kid my mom and I had ridden every single roller coaster in the midwest and eastern coast.

Then sometime in my mid 20's I became too fat for them. I don't fit anymore. Which sucks because a lot of times its due to the bars not going over my muscular thighs, or my shoulders being too wide for the harness. I've seen much fatter people get on roller coasters I don't fit on.

Seatbelts are less of an issue, I can usually get them on.

Chincymcchilla

Bucketman wrote: »

I use to love roller coasters. When I was a kid my mom and I had ridden every single roller coaster in the midwest and eastern coast.

Then sometime in my mid 20's I became too fat for them. I don't fit anymore. Which sucks because a lot of times its due to the bars not going over my muscular thighs, or my shoulders being too wide for the harness. I've seen much fatter people get on roller coasters I don't fit on.

Seatbelts are less of an issue, I can usually get them on.

Try advent of harnesses and hanging coasters has definitely restricted who can ride them and its a real shame

Krieghund wrote: »

About ten years ago I took a trip with some friends to Cedar Point and got to ride, this bad boy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbXPhOFRxTc

And this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAOQBlDDC7M

But, I live in Florida, so Islands of Adventure has this I get to ride a few times a year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjdYQJc748

That's a great coaster at islands

I've never been to cedar point but apparently they just launched a coaster that ratchets up at a 90 degree angle and I'm not going to lie, fuuuuck that

That's my least favorite part already

Krieghund

Sad part is, now that I'm getting past 40, I'm starting to get a little motion sick on a few rides. But if you get the chance to get to Cedar Point, take it, that place is amazing. Definitely need more than one day to hit all the rides. Just save Mean Streak for last. That ride will fuck you up.

Chincymcchilla

Krieghund wrote: »

Sad part is, now that I'm getting past 40, I'm starting to get a little motion sick on a few rides. But if you get the chance to get to Cedar Point, take it, that place is amazing. Definitely need more than one day to hit all the rides. Just save Mean Streak for last. That ride will fuck you up.

I want to get up there

Carowinds is affiliated with them and my buddy said he could get us a doscount

Pretty far away from me though

Duke 2.0

The Six Flags in Maryland is pretty small and most of the coasters don't handle turns very well

Our hypercoaster, Superman: The Ride of Steel, is probably the major highlight and it's voted mediocre compared to other hypercoasters

Chincymcchilla

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

The Six Flags in Maryland is pretty small and most of the coasters don't handle turns very well

Our hypercoaster, Superman: The Ride of Steel, is probably the major highlight and it's voted mediocre compared to other hypercoasters

That's a bummer, apparently Fury counts as a "gigacoaster" and I dont know what that means but its bigger than hyper

Stilts

When I was younger (like, 14 or so), I absolutely refused to go on rollercoasters that had loops. I was far too scared of them.

But later on in high school (I think my junior or senior year), my dad convinced me to try one when we were visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain as part of a trip to California that my school's band did every year.

So I went on the Viper.



And I really liked it.

facetious

Best rollercoaster is Maverick at Cedar Point.

Duke 2.0

You fool you didn't add a poll to vote on favorite coaster type!

Lalar option is Wooden

Stilts

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

You fool you didn't add a poll to vote on favorite coaster type!

Lalar option is Wooden

Fuuuuuck youuuuuuuu

Sheri

1,500 employees

How cute

Duke 2.0

I like what they do and the aesthetic, but they physically hurt me so fuck em

Chincymcchilla

Sheri wrote: »

1,500 employees

How cute

Listen Ms Disney

That's still a lot of people!

Nirya

I am at Disneyland RIGHT NOW!

Chincymcchilla

Actually @sheri my friend who works there was telling me about their 'best day ever' policy, which basically says if someone isn't having a good time give them free stuff to cheer them up

I have heard Disney has a similar policy, especially towards upset chipdren

That kind of fascinates me

Can you confirm or deny these allegations

A Dabble Of Thelonius

I
Love
Roller coasters.

I went to universal a few months back and it was so deserted. I rode all the coasters. Back to back. Never waited more than 10 minutes.

Chincymcchilla

Stilts wrote: »

Duke 2.0 wrote: »

You fool you didn't add a poll to vote on favorite coaster type!

Lalar option is Wooden

Fuuuuuck youuuuuuuu

I rode my first one yesterday

I can't say I particularly get the appeal

facetious

New techniques in building wooden rollercoasters have made them completely amazing. Old, rickety wooden coasters are fucking terrible though. (Seriously, Mean Streak should have been torn down like 10 years ago. It's unrideable behind, like, the first four rows.)

facetious

Seriously, look

at

this

shit

Chincymcchilla

Oh here we go

Height classifications!

Several height classifications have been used by parks and manufacturers for marketing their roller coasters. As a result, some classifications are not always agreed upon or defined consistently throughout the roller coaster industry.

One classification known as a kiddie coaster is a roller coaster specifically designed for younger riders including toddlers. Following World War II, parks began pushing for more of them to be built due to the height and age restrictions of standard designs. Companies like Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) developed scaled-down versions of their larger models to accommodate the demand. These typically featured lift hills smaller than 25 feet (7.6 m), and still do today. The rise of kiddie coasters soon led to the development of "junior" models that had lift hills up to 45 feet (14 m). A notable example of a junior coaster is the Sea Dragon – the oldest operating roller coaster from PTC's legendary designer John Allen – which opened at Wyandot Lake in 1956 near Powell, Ohio.[6]

A hypercoaster (occasionally stylized as hyper coaster) is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that ranges from 200 feet (61 m) to 299 feet (91 m) and completes a full circuit. The first roller coaster to be classified as a hyper coaster is Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point designed by Arrow Dynamics. Since its debut, hyper coasters have become one of the most predominant types of roller coasters worldwide. Bolliger & Mabillard and Intamin are the leading manufacturers of this type.

A giga coaster is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that ranges from 300 feet (91 m) to 399 feet (122 m) and completes a full circuit. The term was coined during a partnership between Cedar Point and Intamin on the construction of Millennium Force. The only other giga coaster built by the same company is Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion.[15] Although Morgan and Bolliger & Mabillard have not used the term giga,[16] both have a roller coaster in this class.

A strata coaster is a type of roller coaster with a height or drop that is 400 feet (120 m) or more and completes a full circuit. Only two strata coasters have been built, both of which utilize Intamin's hydraulically launched accelerator coaster design. The first was Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, which opened in 2003 at a height of 420 feet (130 m). The second was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, which opened in 2005 at a height of 456 feet (139 m) – also making it the tallest roller coaster in the world. Superman: Escape From Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain was the first to break the 400-foot (120 m) barrier, but since it is a shuttle roller coaster that does not complete a full circuit and its drop is only 328 feet (100 m), some do not classify it as a strata roller coaster.[who?]

I gotta say

STRATACOASTER is a great fucking name

Zonugal

I grew up right down the street from a small amusement/water park in Washington state.



I even worked there for a summer, running the carnival games & such.

I think I'd like to go there next summer as a full on adult, enjoy the beer garden & such.

Chincymcchilla

facetious wrote: »

Seriously, look

at

this

shit

That first image is scary as hell

It looks like a portal to a hellscape

Stilts

I mostly just love the look of wooden coasters

They're giant behemoths of interlocking beams

It's beautiful to me

Chincymcchilla

Stilts wrote: »

I mostly just love the look of wooden coasters

They're giant behemoths of interlocking beams

It's beautiful to me

I kind of feel this way about most roller coasters

theyre beautiful pieces of engineering

I want to find a documentary about the process of building one

LuvTheMonkey

HersheyPark is mostly a place for family stuff, however the last few coasters they've installed are Intamin-built monsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ATVrK_Y_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBSbdvFuwKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UEKXMN3IZ0

Chincymcchilla

LuvTheMonkey wrote: »

HersheyPark is mostly a place for family stuff, however the last few coasters they've installed are Intanim-built monsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ATVrK_Y_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBSbdvFuwKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UEKXMN3IZ0

That dip on the second one was terrifying

Sheri

Chincymcchilla wrote: »

Actually @sheri my friend who works there was telling me about their 'best day ever' policy, which basically says if someone isn't having a good time give them free stuff to cheer them up

I have heard Disney has a similar policy, especially towards upset chipdren

That kind of fascinates me

Can you confirm or deny these allegations

Sure can't

LuvTheMonkey

Chincymcchilla wrote: »

LuvTheMonkey wrote: »

HersheyPark is mostly a place for family stuff, however the last few coasters they've installed are Intanim-built monsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ATVrK_Y_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBSbdvFuwKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UEKXMN3IZ0

That dip on the second one was terrifying

When it opened it was the steepest first drop in the world at 97 degrees. It's tons of fun!

Etchwarts

I went to Cedar Point and rode just about every coaster, which is good for someone who's still mostly scared of thrill rides

Chincymcchilla

SirEtchwarts wrote: »

I went to Cedar Point and rode just about every coaster, which is good for someone who's still mostly scared of thrill rides

My buddies were like... are you having a good time?

and I said yeah why

Weeeell... because you're screaming your head off constantly

doesn't mean I'm not having fun!

Chincymcchilla

LuvTheMonkey wrote: »

Chincymcchilla wrote: »

LuvTheMonkey wrote: »

HersheyPark is mostly a place for family stuff, however the last few coasters they've installed are Intanim-built monsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ATVrK_Y_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBSbdvFuwKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UEKXMN3IZ0

That dip on the second one was terrifying

When it opened it was the steepest first drop in the world at 97 degrees. It's tons of fun!

that things scary as hell

I've never been on one that steep

I think Fury has a 91 degree slope

very fast though

Abracadaniel

I went to Wet-N-Wild the other weekend.

Rode a ride @Cello designed!

It was pretty cool

Lazy river + Private Cabana + Piña Coladas = Good Times.

Chincymcchilla

Abracadaniel wrote: »

I went to Wet-N-Wild the other weekend.

Rode a ride @Cello designed!

It was pretty cool

Lazy river + Private Cabana + Piña Coladas = Good Times.

I didn't know that wet-n-wild was a chain until this moment

neat

Cello

I didn't personally design that one (it was right before I started there) but the lady who carpools with me did and she is pretty cool!

Some of the rides I've designed might get built in the next year or so though. Such. Excitement.

Chincymcchilla

After checking out Hershey it seems like I should get up there

I should also bring up my favorite park, which is Bush Gardens in Virginia

I haven't been in 4 years and they've got two new coasters, one of which is a gimmick 'in the dark' coaster, which I always love

I gotta get back out there too

-Tal

I don't think I can ride roller coasters anymore, these days I get persistent nausea and headaches from them

Romanian My Escutcheon

Krieghund wrote: »

But, I live in Florida, so Islands of Adventure has this I get to ride a few times a year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjdYQJc748

Hulk is love, Hulk is life.

Chincymcchilla

Romanian My Escutcheon wrote: »

Krieghund wrote: »

But, I live in Florida, so Islands of Adventure has this I get to ride a few times a year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjdYQJc748

Hulk is love, Hulk is life.

pretty sure that saying is supposed to be for a different big green guy