Enjoying (some) Roller Coasters less as you age
I've been a member of this site for over 45% of my life, and one thread that's always stuck with me is a 2015 discussion post called "Worst Coaster Experiences." In it, Robert wrote: "At this stage of my life, any inverted coaster. Being in the front seat makes it slightly more tolerable, but something about how the body takes the G-forces on an inverted turns my stomach like no other model."
As a teenager, I couldn't wrap my head around that. Obviously, rough Vekoma SLCs with old-school OTSRs are uncomfortable for everyone, but I didn't get how a coaster like Batman: The Ride could be harmless at my age but potentially painful down the line.
Now that I'm in my mid-20s, I finally understand what Robert meant. Personally, my Achilles' heel is coasters built around a string of inversions (specifically B&M Floorless, Wing, and Inverted models). Whenever I ride these, I get uncomfortably dizzy, and I almost always need to rest afterwards. On my last visit to SFMM, I actually had to leave the park early because my head couldn't handle Scream!, Batman: The Ride, and Riddler's Revenge back-to-back-to-back the way it used to.
On top of this, I also just can't pull a lot of positives from these sorts of rides anymore. X2 is rough and disorienting, but I still loved my last ride on it (on that same day) and had an amazing time, even if it made me a little dizzy. On the other hand, something about the monotonous "Oh here's a loop, oh here's a dive loop, oh here's a corkscrew" of a B&M Floorless coaster just doesn't seem to do it for me anymore.
That being said, I still love airtime-heavy rides, but now I'm scared that 10 years from now I'll lose my love for these as well.
Anyone else relate to this?
Replies (11)
I don’t like inversions, but I have enjoyed some thrilling coasters and thought I would be ok on the single loop Stardust Racers during my visit earlier this year. Nope! The speed, acceleration and sudden turns in the dark were too much for my 60 year old self.
I slept off my dizziness and was fine by the morning. But at this point in my life Hiccups and Hagrids are more my speed.
For me, a 58 year old person that is 6’4” they are as fun as ever. The only thing is heights have started to be a little more scary, and Tormenta at Six Flags was the first coaster ever that caused a touch of fear. I loved it. Favorite coaster of all time? Hard to say. Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City, Expedition Everest, and Guardians of the Galaxy may be tied.
One day I will age out. Not now. Any attraction where half the riders vomit upon exiting is what I want to ride.
Well I am over 50 and not Yet getting dizzy.. But things do change.
I went on Hulk three times in a row - and after the 3rd time - I was like that is enough or I will have a protein spill.....
But Yes folks equilibriums and balance can change.... Just have to adjust and find other rides...
Remember we don't stop riding because we get old - we get old because we stop ridding....
Oddly mostly okay on coasters but some rides like Harry Potter could make me feel ill.
I'm in my mid 30s, and while I wouldn't say my tolerance to any one particular coaster type has noticeably changed, I am finding that my endurance isn't what it used to be when it comes to high intensity thrill rides. Ten years ago, it wasn't uncommon for me to visit a park like SFMM on a dead day and rack up 30-40 coaster rides with no ill effects, sometimes riding a coaster I really liked four or five times in a row before moving on. These days, I usually find myself starting to succumb to effects from repeated exposure to coasters once my ride count starts getting into that 20-25 range, so I usually cap my coasters before that unless I'm somewhere that warrants additional riding. I also have started following a three thrills rule...if crowds are light enough that I've ridden three thrill rides in a span of less than an hour, I take a 20 minute break before hopping on the next big coaster (either by riding something tamer or doing something not related to riding). While the coasters generally don't bother me that much, I will say that certain types of flat rides are starting to really get to me, and I've become far more selective on which of those I'll ride during a visit.
Unfortunately for me, adverse reactions to roller coasters run on my Mom's side of the family. While it hasn't hit me fully yet, and I certainly hope it never does, a long day at the parks often leaves me with a splitting headache. That rarely stops me from lapping some coasters, especially airtime-heavy ones, but means the loopier rides are one-and-dones.
You lucky people. I have to contend with a serene log flume these days.
Hey ProfPlum - what about rides like Spiderman at IOA - That type bothers my wife a bit - but she rides all the coasters with no issues.... Even crazy drops like on sheikra coaster st BGT are fine...
Brian, I tend to get motion sickness more and more as I get older. I ended up throwing up for half an hour the first time I did Back to the Future. Simulators and coasters that loop or go backwards are off-limits. Yes, I have done Spiderman many times and usually OK at the end but not always. I even dread Men in Black when you spin around at the end.
The worst I ever had was the first time I did Mission:Space, the extreme version. I had to be led out to a park bench by a member of staff then lay there motionless for an hour. Front seat on Maku had a similar effect.
I am fine on the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride and It's a Small World ha ha ha ha.
I didn’t expect this at all, but I have become more tolerant of coasters, spinning, and G-forces as I’ve aged (I’m 40). I’m not mad at that.
I don't know, but I feel like my body has similar tolerances for forces that it did 30+ years ago. The big difference that I see is that I have ridden enough coasters to know what's good and what's bad, so the days when I would repeatedly ride the likes of Mind Eraser (Vekoma SLC), Anaconda (Arrow Looper), and Shockwave (Togo stand-up) were mostly because I didn't know any better and had not ridden enough coasters to realize how truly rough they were. Coaster technology has advanced so much over the past 30 years that they are significantly smoother than what was built in the 80's and early 90's when designers started fiddling with inversions and unusual elements. That's not to say that there aren't some modern coasters that are rough, but it's far more obvious when there when minor design imperfections and variations in equipment (and even weather) on newer attractions because they are SO good and smooth. I think about a coaster like Raptera, which is a fine launched wing coaster, and if it debuted 30 years ago, it would probably have been considered one of the best coasters in the world, but given today's standards, it's frankly mediocre with a noticeable wobble during the launch and some rough spots that are magnified in the back row.
I will say that I do seem slightly more impacted by spinning flat rides than I used to be where I am rarely interested in doing them more than 2 times in a row when I used to marathon a half dozen or more times in a row in my younger years.