Worst Coaster Experiences

The former Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Closely followed by the former Zonga which was at Six Flags Marine World (Discovery Kingdom) at the time.

Both were brutally painful. Wasn't just head banging, those rides left bruises on your sides due to the lack of padding on the restraints and sides of the coaches.

For the longest time, the stand up coaster Apocalypse at Six Flags New England (or as I knew it, Iron Wolf at Great America) was the most painful coaster I've ever been on. With those supports placed squarely between the legs, it was quite discomforting for any man. Yesterday, I tried Vortex at Carowinds to see if maybe Iron Wolf was a fluke.

Yada, yada, yada, I am off stand up coasters forever.

I'm going with Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando. I know that ride has quite a few fans on this site, but I've never understood the love. It's one of the roughest, most uncomfortable things I've even been on.

Boomerang at Knott's Berry Farm

When I went through the first half of the cobra roll, everything was fine. However, when the train hit the second half, the OTSRs started to do a drum roll with my head. The experience was really painful, and my friend who rode with me had to rest on a bench for 5 minutes after we got off in order to recover.

"Ride Boomerang, they said. It will be fun, they said"

Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun... it is both painful and slow. A terrible combination.

Any Vekoma SLC (or POS as I like to refer them as).

I'd also add Hercules at Dorney Park, which had an interesting design, but terrible execution with a drop that was so rough that it had to be trimmed nearly it's entire length.

@Melanie - What other coasters have you ridden? Kraken may be rough when compared with other slower, less intense coasters, but is smoother than other B&Ms loopers in Florida like Kumba and Hulk. I still think the best floorless coasters would be Kraken, Hydra, which replaced Hercules, and Superman Krypton Coaster at SFFT.

James, Iron Wolf was moved to Six Flags America (outside Washington DC) as Apocalypse, and I think it's better than Mantis was before it changed to Rougarou. Stand-ups in general are pretty painful, which is why they're slowly being phased out.

Doh. Shows how much I know (or care) about it.

Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion. Should be called Rebel Hell. Oh the horror...

Worlds of Fun also has one of the smoothest, enjoyable wooden roller coasters I've ever ridden - The Prowler. The other one James mentioned is pretty terrible though.

Three words: Windjammer Surf Racers. This ride was only at Knott's Berry Farm for a few years, but it was an absolutely horrible roller coaster. The ride looked interesting, but it was very rough (to the point that it hurt), never raced (even though it was designed to do so), broke down frequently, and went so slowly that a 5 MPH headwind could stall trains. I rode twice (once on each track) and was not at all disappointed when the ride's closure was announced. I think sitting in a chair and hitting your head with ping pong paddles while your friend tips the chair around would be a more enjoyable experience.

At this stage of my life, any Inverted coaster. Being in the front seat of one makes the experience slightly more tolerable for me, but something about the way the body takes the G-forces on an inverted turns my stomach like on no other model of coaster.

I thought I was going to die riding the Raven train on the the Voyage at Holiday World, but given that I didn't, I'd actually rate that a pretty awesome experience. Mystery Mine at Dollywood, however, was the most pain I've ever experienced on a coaster. Definitely should not have kept my head back for that one.

In the "first world problems" subcategory here, coaster experiences can get nasty when you're recording RPOV video and doing multiple rides to get the right take and you're stuck out on a block brake in the sun for 10 minutes between rides as the crew swaps out SD cards and makes adjustments on the other train. I know no one cares about that, but... yeah.

@Russell -- I've ridden all the Orlando coasters and Busch Gardens in Tampa. I agree that the Hulk can rattle the brain a bit, but it doesn't bother me near as much as Kraken. And I absolutely LOVE Kumba -- I don't get to it that often, but every time I go on it I'm reminded that it really is one of my favorites.

Just proves there's something for everyone :-).

The late and unlamented Son of Beast at Kings Island. I rode it once. When we got back to the station my knuckles were literally bleeding from the violence of the ride.

Wind Jammer was pretty awful at Knotts. That was a close contender for me as well, but the others actually left black bruises.

I was terrified out of my life when I was coerced into riding X Scream at the stratosphere. While technically not a roller coaster in the traditional sense, that thing breaks and you're screwed

The roller coaster at New York New York (formerly the Manhattan Express) in Las Vegas was once a favorite of mine, but when I rode it this spring, the banging by the over-the-shoulder constraints was nothing short of brutal.

Not sure if they've changed the restraints on the cars, or if I just can't take the physical strain anymore in my middle age, or some combination of the two.

This wasn't a bad roller coaster experience, but I just came back froma trip to central California that included my first ride on the Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz in about 20 years. I remember this as one of my favorite coasters, but I felt kind of beat up after getting off the ride, which I never did before. Another sign that age and roller coasters don't necessarily go well together.

I love Kraken, fwiw. I rode it last year and didn't find it to be rough whatsoever.

I've heard horror stories of Son of Beast, including my dad's. But my worst experience has been Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa. Holy Cow.

It sucks to be scared of roller coasters when they're so much fun.

All standups are bad for me.

The Ninja at any Six Flags park is the worst for me. Guaranteed headache and a good way to ruin your day.

Ninja at SFMM is pretty decent, and one of the last remaining Arrow suspended coaster still operating. I would agree that Ninja at SFoG and SFStL, both Arrow loopers, leave much to be desired.

Seems we have a consensus on the pain of standups... I rode Freestyle at Cavallino Matto in Italy a couple weeks back, and honestly thought I lost a tooth. Thank God they're not more common.

Meanwhile, let's give props to Universal for giving Hulk the love needed to keep it off this list.

Two definite worsts:
Boomerang at Six Flags St. Louis
Mean Streak at Cedar Point

Both of these did not only give me a headache, but felt like they were going to crack my head open from how many times it bangs. Plus Mean Streak is a back-breaker as well, even on the front.
On a side-note, I am a guy who LOVES stand-ups and I'm sad to see them go. They only hurt if you stand straight up and down. Stand at a ~165 degree angle and it's one of the most interesting, different rides there are. Rougarou was SO much better as a stand-up. Lots of the elements don't work for a suspended coaster, such as the ~45 degree first drop and the twisty turns towards the end of the coaster. Probably won't ever ride Rougarou again, but I rode Mantis multiple times every time I went to Cedar Point.

Easily Flashback at SFMM - it had been Z-Force at another park. It was a prototype. Easy to see why only one was made. I never rode it without getting a headache.

EDIT: Canyon Blaster at the Adventuredome. It seems fine when you are on it, but when you get off a few minutes later you will feel like you have a concussion. Also honorable mention the the Manhattan Express.

Riddler at SFMM and Matterhorn at DLR is painful.