Remember Your First Time On A Ride

Did the ride meet your expectations and how does it rate with you now ?

We all recall going on a particular ride or attraction for the first time. What one was it and did it live up your expectations or did it disappoint ?
If you really liked it then has it continued to please or has it lost it's appeal over the years either because you've outgrown it or maybe it's become old and worn ?

I have many. My first ever which kicked off my being interested in theme parks was riding Expedition Everest the first time. Even though I swear to this day it felt like there were many inversions in the darkness (aparently only two helixes) it was still an incredible ride, especially experiencing the first Yeti before they had to put it in B Mod... that thing was awesome.

I also remember getting ready and excited for X2 two years ago. That ride was also enjoyable, and actually still my favorite coaster to this day. Very thrilling, fast, and just CRAZY!
The last big one that I've seemingly planned an entire trip around happened last month: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Being my now experienced self, I found a way so that I could ride that thing six times in a row just because it was so fun!

I remember the first time I went on the Tower of Terror. Back then, they sometimes had an cast member play an ex maid who swears that her former place of work is "haunted" and she is trying to save us from disappearing. To a 9 year old going on for the first time, it was kinda freaky, but a nice touch looking back on it!

i remember going on Tower of Terror at DLand the wqeekend after it opened. It was a two hour wait and i was scared that it wouldn't have been worth it.but i still got on and it was great! I could right it all the time and not get tired of it.

i also remember going on Terminater: Salvation the ride at SFMM two days after it opened. It was a surpringly short line, about 45 minute wait, and i thought that since it wasn't long then it wasn't going to be any good. boy was i wrong. I still enjoy the ride every time i go.

i remember my first time on the finding nemo subs, i was so excited and being opening weekend i had waited 3 and a half hours i think. and i thought it was so worth the wait. so when we revisited disneyland this past february i was excited to ride it again. this time i found it too long and slowpaced, aka boring.

another memorable first experience was stormrunner at hershey. its kinda hidden in the trees, so i didn't know it went upside down. and i was in the back so i didn't see it coming. needless to say it was a BIG surprise, which made it ten times more awesome. makes me wish every roller coaster was hidden so the first time would be a surprise. i've ridden it since then and still find it amazing.

Victoria, I'm going to assume you haven't been on Voyage or Beast. You want hidden in the woods? You want to not know what's coming next? Those two rides fill that bill, and then some.

To this day, I still remember being in awe of Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion when I first rode them 23 years ago when I was 6 years old. I still have the same sense of awe for those rides today, and I still get excited to ride them on my yearly visits to the Magic Kingdom!

My biggest disappointment on any ride was probabuly my first stand up coaster. Vortex at Carowinds. I wasn't impressed with the ride or disappointed, but the stand up design is old. Now I see why they quit building them about 10 years ago. To get the seat right is important (especially for guys) and to get a whole train ready it takes quite a while. Loading took longer than the actual ride. I've been dissapointed by more than rides, too, but you never like every ride, and I just thought this one was the most recent.

I have to go way back. My first disappointment ride was a Ferris Wheel at a fair on Guam. I was about 4 and my brother rode with me. He reveled at scaring the C*&% out of me by rocking the bucket when we were stopped at the top. It took me years to get back on one.

My favorite first was the Matterhorn at DL. I was around 10 and finally tall enough and brave enough to try it out. I loved it and could not wait to ride it again.

Victoria, what Mike said about Voyage & Beast is so true, ESPECIALLY at night. You're in for one crazy ride & you won't know what's coming next [moreso Voyage than Beast, because Voyage is absolutely insane at anytime of the day].

Bradley, I agree with you on Vortex. That thing is a nightmare. I wasn't expecting it to be a great ride by any means, but man, that's an awful coaster. I felt like I was strapped into some sort of torture device & the ride was pretty close to that following the first drop.

As for my most memorable first rides, my very first vivid coaster memory is my first ride on Raptor at Cedar Point. I could recount that entire morning if I had to because I remember it so well. I was only 7 years old the season it opened, but I was tall enough to ride. I was so nervous in the queue with my dad, aunt, & cousin but my mind was blown by that ride. It was my favorite for years & years after, up until my motion sickness started to get worse.

The other one that stands out in my mind is my first ride on Voyage this past spring/summer. I had heard nothing but rave reviews about the coaster & my coaster buddies adore it, so I was obviously amped up about my first ride. While waiting in the station, I noticed riders coming back nearly breathless, which kind of surprised me because I've never seen that sort of reaction after a ride. Well, it lived up to all the hype & I understood why the riders were struggling to catch their breath. That coaster blows everything else out of the water. I was honestly near speechless after every ride that day. We rode 40+ times that weekend & I was covered in bruises, but I absolutely cannot wait to go back. I mean, I dream about riding this coaster again. I love it.

I remember my first theme park experience and first roller coaster. It was Kings Island, and I was maybe 6 years old. I was blown away by the visual fantasy of the Enchanted Voyage. Next I experienced my first roller coaster. At the time, the park owners called it the Scooby Doo. It was later changed to the more appropriate, the Beastie, because the Scooby Doo didn't sound so bad--until we hit that first hill and the unfamiliar (at the time) tickle hit my stomach. I tried to scream, "Make it stop!", for the longest 30 seconds of my little life. I didn't ride another roller coaster for 10 years.

I suppose I should have added that my first ride at Disney was the Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995. I had no expectation as , at the ripe old age of 39, I'd never been and had no intention of ever visiting a theme park. We were nearby and my wife suggested we go. I was, until then, completely ambivalent about Disneyland. Although I'd always loved Disney movies and characters. I just wasn't into Fairgrounds.
Boy did I change my point of view. From the moment I walked through that tunnel. Age became immaterial. My eyes opened. My jaw dropped and I became totally captivated. Like a small child again.
I loved the ride then and my feelings abut it haven't changed much over the years. Since that time we've been back to Disneyland 3 times and to Orlando 5 times.
We hope our adventure continues...............

The first major riDe I remember going on was the Kraken at Seaworld in Florida - I really really didn't want to go on it, but my mum forced me and i'm so glad she did! i was 10 and that was the first rollercoaster / thrill ride i'd been on and i've been hooked ever since!

My earliest first time ride memory was my first Disney World Trip at age 4. It's Snow White's Scary Adventures.

The ride gave me nightmares, and when we finally returned when I was 11, I was freaking out and nearly crying because I didn't want to ride it.

Now, it's probably my favorite Fantasyland dark ride.

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