hi, im going to be riding roller coasters in about two weeks time for the first time (birthday party!) and yes im really scared. is there any real advice on riding? im not really scared of heights, just scared of flying out of the seat! are there like seat belts on them or do they just have the thing over your head?

hehe sorry!

It depends on what coaster you ride. Most of the steel coasters have over the shoulder restraints (OTSR), and a good majority of those have an additional seatbelt that connects the OSTR to the seat between your legs. Wooden coasters usually have a lap bar and seat belt combination.

As long as you are properly seated, and your restraint is secure, and you don't try to stand up, you'll be fine. 99.9999999% of ride injuries are caused by the rider doing something STUPID, rather than the ride malfunctioning.

Just out of curiosity, what park are you going to and what coaster will be your first?

Oh yeah, one more thing ... DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE!! Passing out from lack of oxygen as you're going down the first hill is no fun at all.

And have fun!!

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Perfectly good question.

Most coasters have a lap-bar of some sort, or even an over the shoulder restraint. As a secondary form of restraint, many coasters do have seat belts. I used to have the same fear myself, you never really know unless you ride for yourself. And it never hurts to hold on tight. I used to always "white-knuckle" rides when I was younger.

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There is something along the lines of 1 in 500,000,000 chance of you dying on a ride. Yes there is a somewhat higher chance of injury such as getting hit by something. Most of the time, these injuries are caused by not following the rules such as trying to grab supports and such.

As someone who has quite a bit of experience with rides and ride safety, I assure you that no American ride is permitted to operate in an unsafe condition. Some rides are in better mechanical condition than other but none are unsafe.

A good idea it to ensure than your own restraints are secured. Now, most rides have a seatbelt in addition to a harness or lapbar. Just make sure they are positioned and locked. In most cases they are either locked or not without grey area between. The lapbars are designed to fail in a safe mode. The few deaths that have occured are mostely a result of the rider and employees neglagence to properly secure the restraints. It's easy to tell if your restraint is locked or not.

Canays were used in mines for many years to detect toxic gas. They are so sensitive that they died quickly and severed as an indicator to the employees to get out of the mine. Same thing with rides, if people keep flying out, discontinue use.

Usually most people I know that aren't big time thrill seekers ride a short but scary ride such as a drop tower. Then the other rides don't seem so bad.

It would be helpful if you would inform us on which park you are thinking about attending.

all sitdown coasters use one of two differant types of restraints. the two types of restraints are the lapbar and the over the shoulder restraint. as a general rule (you will find some exceptions) rollercoasters that go upside down use the OTSR and rollercoasters that dont use the lapbar. to add to that, (as far as i know) no wooden rollercoaster has OTSR. under those two categories, there are a few differant types of each restraint.

coasters with lapbars are either individual lapbars or they is one that is shared for the two riders per row. the shared lapbars are only found on the smaller rollercoasters. you will also find some wooden coasters that have a lapbar as well as a seatbelt.
individual lapbars: http://rcdb.com/ig1845.htm?picture=25
two person lapbars: http://www.rcdb.com/ig320.htm?picture=4

the OTSR's are NORMALLY one of two kind. the differance between the major two kinds are that one has a seatbelt that buckles between the riders legs and the other doesnt. you will find OTSR that differ from those two but generally most of them look like this:
OTSR with seatbelt: http://www.rcdb.com/ig87.htm?picture=2
OTSR without seatbelt: http://www.rcdb.com/ig96.htm?picture=7

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I was once TN's top poster!
2007 Gadv Count: Kingda Ka-6, El Toro-6, Nitro-4, Medusa-2, S:UF-2, R:TC-1, B:TC-, GASM-0, Skull Mt-0, B:TR-0, RMT-0, RT-0

The only advice I have for you to add on top of that is do not close your eyes. It's scary enough just knowing what's going to happen. When your eyes are closed, all of the motion is heightened, so you are going to get even more frightened by the sudden motion. Just keep your eyes open and see that it's not as bad as you think it's going to be.

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I think everything has been covered for the most part.

I would also suggest starting out small. Don't go and ride the coaster with 5 inversions or 150 ft drop or anything.

Find a small coaster, maybe like a mine train coaster and start there. See if you like it and then progress to bigger coasters.

Your fears are normal, but coasters are actually very safe. Most have very sensative safety systems on them and will shut down if the sense anything out of the ordinary.

I've ridden 116 coasters and countless re-rides and never ever had a major problem. The one and only "injury" I ever had was because I didn't listen to the que speal.

And speaking as one of the staff members...Welcome to TN! I hope you stick around! We have a lot more to discuss than just coasters.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

I second Wes's suggestion. I started with Wild One at Six Flags America, worked my way through Roar, Superman, JJ, Mind Eraser then Batwing. Start our small. Most amusement parks have a small junior coaster you can ride to help alleviate your fear of coasters.

If you can let us know what park your going to, I bet you'll get alot of suggestions as to which one will be your first.

It's no secret that some coasters are very dangerous but you just gotta live with it. If you feel any danger during the ride just take off your belt and get out.

^You were sarcastic right?

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Uhhh.... what?

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"For each path you walk down, there are several others you have to bypass. Maybe walking those paths would have made you happy, maybe they wouldn't have. You'll never know. Choose your path, walk it, and make the best of it."

Tasha, don't listen to vampiredabest. He's apparently an idiot. Hey vampire, thanks for the wonderful help with this poor girl. Nice to know we still have kind, considerate people out there. ::evil glare::

Think about it this way, Tasha. Most coasters don't go faster than 70 mph. You do that on the interstate in your car. More people die in car wrecks than they do riding coasters. Does this mean you're going to stop riding in cars? No? I didn't think so.

You'll either love the first one you go on, or hate it and never want to get on another one. I've seen both happen. But you'll still have fun.

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I say, don't start off with a mine train, but start off with a loop so you can at least get a taste of being upside down. I started with Sooper Dooper Looper at Hersheypark.

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If I know what park it is, then I can tell you the specific order to work your way up. My advice is start with the smallest steel coaster there is. Unless it's something insane like a compact Shwarzkopf looper. My friend has a girlfriend who lives in Europe, and when she was visitng, the first coaster he took her on was Superman Ride of Steel at SFNE. That not only has a 220' drop and goes almost 80 mph, but it one of the longest and most intense coasters on the planet. Now every ride she goes on she just closes her eyes the whole time. Not good. I also have a friend who use to go to my school whos' afraid of every ride in the world and won't ride anything because that was also his first coaster ever. So start out small, just not a woodie because they have a much more insecure and unsafe feeling about them. Either way, whatever you ride first, you'll probably know right away whether you love it or hate it. And remember, being scared ****less your first ride does NOT mean you are not a coaster lover deep inside. When I was around 9, or 10 years old I chickened out on almost everything. Now I am obsessed with coasters and will ride anything out there.

^ same with me! I rode my first "loopy" coaster whe i was almost 13! (SLC)

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i say the first coaster she should go on is a B&M (not standup or hyper). one of me closest friends was scared ****less of coasters but went on S:ROS at SFDL which made him scared even more. we then went to IOA and hulk changed him. i think the combination of their comfortable seats, smooth rides, bulky OTSR, and forceless layouts (maybe not b:tr) can really get someone liking coasters. now, if only we can get which park she is going to....

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I was once TN's top poster!
2007 Gadv Count: Kingda Ka-6, El Toro-6, Nitro-4, Medusa-2, S:UF-2, R:TC-1, B:TC-, GASM-0, Skull Mt-0, B:TR-0, RMT-0, RT-0

You can take the safe rout like they did, or do what I did when I was still scared: Go in "big". My first coaster ever was Comet @ Hershey Park. It's not big, but for a first ever it was pretty crazy. Then for my first steel coaster ever I did the Robin side of The Chiller @ Great Adventure. Not only was that my first steel coaster, but it was my first coaster with inversions, first launched coaster, and first shuttle coaster. I chickened out of Batman The Ride later that day, but worked up the nerve to do three laps on Medusa to close out the day.

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So that's what is wrong with you! Your first steel coaster was a SLC!!! j/k

Silly South Africans, Vekomas are for kids.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

I started out just as big. I rode Flyer Comet (RIP) at Whalom Park when I was only about 5 or 6. There was no height restriction. At that age, to me, that first drop of 70' at a 40 degree angle felt like Nitro's drop!

If you do what works for me, don't jump right in to riding roller coasters yet, but first get all the info you can about stats, feedback, reviews. They don't actually mean much, but you can get a nice general feel for what is out there. Do some research online, read what is avilable to you. Participate in message boards and communicate with other enthusiasts as much as you can. Then when you -- and only you -- feel you are ready to ride after you get the idea, start out small like a mine train or something with a low intensity to get you started. Then work your way gradually up to the bigger, more intense rides. This method will reduce your nervousness and help you have a better time. That is how I became an enthusiast, and it worked for me. I'm not necessariliy saying this is how you should do it, but I'm just pointing out my method.

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ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

Oh that reminds me. Check out www.rcdb.com

It's a great source to search for coasters and you can also see what parks are close to you.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

Well, I have ridden 53 coasters so far, riding about 10 or 20 new coasters every year. (That trend has started in 2003 or 2004) The actual stats of dying on a coaster is actually 1 in 798,000,000. Not 1 in 500,000,000. (I'm not kidding) Roller coasters are very safe, unless as constantly aforementioned, you don't secure yourself properly. Anyways, all you need to worry about is just to secure youeself properly. Tasha, why don't you tell us what amusement park you are going to, so I or someone else may be able to give you more specific info on what to do.

I'll have to agree with you there vampire.

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GO MAGIC

I'm gonna have to agree, the seats are nice and snug, great for beginners.

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Well, I guess I started coaster riding pretty young. It was at Busch Gardens Europe, on Big Bad Wolf. I didn't know what was going to happen, I just got strapped in and went, and I loved it.

Has Tasha been back on since the post?
What coaster is it?

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Yea, best to know what park you're going to. And also, all those things about chances of getting hurt on a roller coaster, people stop saying them. People aren't worried about those things, even if the chance is 1/200000000000000000000000 it doesn't matter. Peopel want advice, noit statistics. Statistics are what scare people out of flying on airplanes or swimming at the beach. It doesn't matter, you won't get hurt on a roller coaster. Just pick any roller coaster that looks appealing to you, and listen to some music while waiting in line, don't pay attention to the ride itself. You'll have fun, as long as you go on your own will.

Uh......I don't think she actually wanted an answer.......she didn't come back yet.

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My friend's first coaster was a Vekoma SLC....BAD IDEA!Whatever you do...do NOT go on a Vekoma as your first coaster. My advice is to start with something decent sized and something that is smooth. The knocking around and roughness on some coasters can be a bit much for beginners.

thank you everyone for the advice, i now feel bit better =)

we are going to Paramounts Canada's Wonderland (which i've never actually never been to!) has anyone been there? i noticed some are you from the states

i got a few more silly questions if anybody doesnt mind:
are there weight requirements for roller coasters? cause im pretty skinny but tall(im gonna slip throught the restraints!)
do the otsr (restraints is what they are right) come down automatically? or do i pull them down? (and how tight are they!)
and is it better not to eat anything before going on any roller coaster? (im gonna be the first girl to throw up on a ride!)

hehe sorry again for being so scared