Riding Problems

[Beast1979]

My little brother Joe who is 10 years old goes to Kings Island with me. I have managed to get him on The Racer and Flight Deck, but he won't ride anything else. He refuses to even try anything else, and he says it's because of the First drop. He hates the feeling he gets in his stomach when he goes down the drops.

I would at least like to try to get him on a few rides so he conqures this fear, are there any tips or advice you can give me to help get him on some new rides?

Thanks.

[Justin_M17]

Relentlessly nag him about it. Everytime you pass a coaster you want him to ride ask him if he wants to ride it over and over.

Worked with my brother (12) and my girlfriend (24). Although more often than not I ended up getting yelled at.

[Beast1979]

^I've tried that. All he'll do is just ignore it.

[tigellinus]

IMHO...you gotta take your time and take it step by step...rushing into rides will make things WORSE from my experience.

There's really nothing else you can do...it's a process, starting from small rides to bigger rides.

Usually somewhere along the way there might a "ah-ha!" moment when he takes on something scary and then loves it (like in my experience many people do after after their first Delirium or Slingshot ride and discover they're not bad at all and pure fun!!), but otherwise, progress from one ride to the next.

Has he done BLSC yet?? Also, what about AE? Those are obviously pretty tame...other than that, I'd say the next coaster for him to move up to is The Beast...the drop is slow and trimmed and not very high, and tell him he can close his eyes if he wants (plus, a lot of The Beast is "hidden" from view anyway). Try to tell him The Beast isn't that much bigger than Racer and try riding in a very pedestrian middle train seat. But The Beast is your best bet for the next step in coasters at KI.

And btw, at this rate, you're not even in this decade for him getting on Diamondback!! D-back without question will be KI's most intense coaster, and the lift hill climb will also be pretty intimdating if you've never been on a B&M hyper.

I think for him KI's coaster prgression would be:

Beast

FOF (no hill, get him used to loops)

Vortex/SOB

Invertigo/Firehawk

Alright...I've sufficiently burned enough time to 5:00 pm to leave the office for the day!! Yeah!!

[fanofki]

I was almost just like your brother. I had always wanted to go on Vortex but the only thing that I was afraid of was the first drop. After a lot of nagging from my friend and the fact that I never really went on anything big, I decided to go on The Beast and was freaked out as we slowly climbed the first lift hill. Then after I found out I enjoyed The Beast, I decided to go on Vortex, even though I was still freaked out as we were going up the hill. But after Vortex, I rode everything and have liked everything since. Thats not really advice, but your brother should definately not feel alone.

You could also show him all the kids that are the same size or smaller than him that are riding those coasters because that always made me feel less scared when I saw people smaller and younger than me could ride them.

[Beast1979]

Thanks I'll see what I can do with him.

[The Interpreter]

And whatever you do, tell him you love him anyway and it is perfectly okay if he doesn't ride the coasters, but that you greatly enjoy them and would like to be able to share that experience. Do NOT belittle him for not riding. That will get you nowhere.

[Guest rcfreak339]

Also don't force your brother to ride ANYTHING! He could get hurt...

[Ogrmac]

Last month I took my 8 year old niece for her first trip to KI. She said she wanted to ride The Beast first because her cousin rode it and said it was fun. Poor kid didn't know what she was getting herself into because she had never rode a coaster before, but I obliged. She was a little gun shy for the rest of the trip, so I started explaining things to her mid-ride so she would know what to expect. For example, on AE as we were going up the hill I told her we were going to curve down the hill, not just drop straight down. On BLSC, I told her we were going to go in a tunnel and it would be really dark, but we were just going to swerve back and forth. It really seemed to help her to know what to expect. BLSC ended up being her favorite because there was no big hill. I also told her that we would only ride once and if she didn't like it, we wouldn't ride it anymore. After she saw that the rides weren't as bad as they looked she was fine. She was even willing to go a second time on The Beast by the end of the trip. Sorry to write you an entire essay on the subject... long story short, maybe if you build him up slowly and help him know what to expect, he will soon be riding the bigger coasters right beside you!

[fan of beast]

my grandson would ride scrambler and shake,rattle, and roll, then claim that rides in nick u were too tall or fast.

i could never quite figure out his logic. so i threw him over my shoulder and put him on beastie, avatar, and reptar.

now these are must rides when we go. he even demands front seat on reptar.

i have since thrown him over the shoulder and got him on ae, junklot, racer, and flightdeck.

he now demands front seat on flightdeck.

i'll wait till next year, then it's over the shoulder and beast.

he doesn't want to take that first step to get in line, but once he's there he seems fine.

[BavarianBeatle]

My advice is take someone smaller than him, tell him its ok to wait in the cage while the smaller child rides with you (be very reassuring)... Then let him listen to the smaller child tell him how much fun it was....... Jealousy trumps fear!!!!

--Beatle, who knows from the experience of having an apprehensive older son with a fearless younger brother.......

[Jasper]

I would let him ride The Racers over and over until he really just convinced himself that there is nothing to be afraid of and then just volunteered himself to go ride something bigger. You cant push things too much. The fear of coasters can be strong in some. Now as for Drop Tower if you are with me, you ride it no matter what the conditions.

[Justin_M17]

My advice is take someone smaller than him, tell him its ok to wait in the cage while the smaller child rides with you (be very reassuring)... Then let him listen to the smaller child tell him how much fun it was....... Jealousy trumps fear!!!!

--Beatle, who knows from the experience of having an apprehensive older son with a fearless younger brother.......

This seems like a much better idea than what I did...I'm going to try that next time. XD

[Beast1979]

I would let him ride The Racers over and over until he really just convinced himself that there is nothing to be afraid of and then just volunteered himself to go ride something bigger. You cant push things too much. The fear of coasters can be strong in some. Now as for Drop Tower if you are with me, you ride it no matter what the conditions.

I'd be happy to ride DT. I'll ride anything you throw at me, no matter what.

[KIFAN!]

When i was little i hated the feeling in my stomach and RUFUSED to go on a ride w/ a loop i remember how hard my dad tried to get me on SOB the year it opened i was about 8 or 9 and only went to Kings Island like once a year and i wuld only go on racer, top gun, and AE but thot i was to big for kiddy rides and for some reason hated The Beast (wow how things have changed w/ me) but anyway i didn't go to Kings Island for 2yrs and then i met my older friend down ther one day and i remember going on SOB for the first time and loving the feeling i got in my stomach and the loop i thot was the coolest thing ever. now i get a season pass and go atleast 8 times a year now and go on everything but what im trying to say is go w/ someone who he would feel brave in front of and feel like he has to go on the bigger rides. worked for me

[TheKlockster]

I used to get the same thing. You eventually get immune to it. Racer backward used to get some good "drop out" feeling on the drop - but Racer forward doesn't really have it. Top Gun or whatever they call it these days has a good dose especially if you ride in the back. If he can handle Top Gun then Beast should be alright. If you aren't sure - riding in the front seat will minimize the dropping feeling. And believe it or not Son of Beast does nothing on the first drop. It is basically just speeding up real fast. You don't get that dropping sensation.

Vortex in the very front of the train is not an intense drop. But the back seat will put the fear of God into you. So I would really recommend riding Vortex in the very front seat. By the time the train builds up enough speed for you to start plummeting, the front seat is almost at the bottom of the drop. I had to ride Vortex exclusively in the front two cars for a really long time before I moved my way to the middle, and eventually the back.

Invertigo in the middle of the train is pretty easy on you if drops scare you. And Adventure Express anywhere is good. Delirium is an intense ride, but you don't get a dropping feeling at all. It is like a huge swingset.

Drop Zone is the worst ride for the plummeting feeling in your stomach. I can still feel it for like an hour after I ride.

[Thrill_Biscuit]

Walk out the distance of a particular coaster's drop. Then tell him it's just the same distance, only slanted like a hill. Compare the experience to sledding or go-cart racing. Explain the safety systems built in to a coaster (how restraints work, the chain dogs, sensors, the way the wheels are both over and under the track, etc.). Those worked in getting me over my fears.

Another trick I learned when I was a kid: pretend to be "in control" of the acceleration during the drop (imagine a 'gas pedal'). I don't know how, but this reduces the severity of the gut reaction from painful to thrilling.

[ZukoGirl]

I know that feels to have the that problem. It's sometimes best to try a taming method. Like what my Mom did for me. Ensuring that like with The Racers knowing how big they are so you would say the The Beast is slightly bigger so you should be alright with handling it. But then again it's not always good to try to make kids ride something they feel they're not ready for yet.

I also agree with what the others said though.

[fanofki]

I think if you make them go on (without too much force) they will enjoy it and want to go on it again (unless they were freaked out by it and don't ever trust you anymore).

[Jasper]

I would let him ride The Racers over and over until he really just convinced himself that there is nothing to be afraid of and then just volunteered himself to go ride something bigger. You cant push things too much. The fear of coasters can be strong in some. Now as for Drop Tower if you are with me, you ride it no matter what the conditions.

I'd be happy to ride DT. I'll ride anything you throw at me, no matter what.

You are my type of amusement park person. Fearless and love to have fun.

[Beast1979]

Fearless and love to have fun.

Isn't that what amusement parks are all about?

[The Interpreter]

I think if you make them go on (without too much force) they will enjoy it and want to go on it again (unless they were freaked out by it and don't ever trust you anymore).

This is a gamble I would not take unless it were my son or daughter and I knew they really wanted me to force them...even then, I doubt I would. How could you ever live with yourself if something truly tragic happened on that one forced ride?

[KIFAN!]

What about The Italian Job ( Or Backlot whatever coaster) thats really not intense not tall no steep drops the launch is the scariest part just destract him when it launches i got my 7 and 6 year old cousins to ride it.

[fanofki]

I think if you make them go on (without too much force) they will enjoy it and want to go on it again (unless they were freaked out by it and don't ever trust you anymore).

This is a gamble I would not take unless it were my son or daughter and I knew they really wanted me to force them...even then, I doubt I would. How could you ever live with yourself if something truly tragic happened on that one forced ride?

What do you mean by truly tragic?

[The Interpreter]

Let's say the little guy or gal gets afraid and decides to attempt to exit the ride...and somehow succeeds. People who do not want to ride should not be forced to. Period. At least in my humble opinion. Or what if the child has a panic attack, or worse, a heart attack? Stranger things have happened.

[sheikra_rocks]

Tell them that Sheikra_rocks 3 year old nephew gives evil looks to the guy out in front checking heights at The Beast when he was told he couldn't ride The Beast!

And don't get me started about Reptar, he wants to ride it so bad but they made him get off before we started. Strainge thing is, he is tall enough to ride Avatar, but not tall enough to ride Reptar. THEY ARE THE SAME HEIGHT REQUIREMENT!

[fanofki]

Let's say the little guy or gal gets afraid and decides to attempt to exit the ride...and somehow succeeds. People who do not want to ride should not be forced to. Period. At least in my humble opinion. Or what if the child has a panic attack, or worse, a heart attack? Stranger things have happened.

Ok, I would know what too much force is. I don't think I would pick up my kid (if I had one) and carry him into the line while he is screaming, but I would be like hey we are riding this and see what he (or she) does and maybe keep nagging them a little, but my hope is that they will end up wanting to go on it.

But yeah, I would never force someone to go on it if they absolutely are freaked out and DO NOT want to ride it. I would (hopefully) know what is too much.

[Guest TombraiderTy]

^^Just get ask for a height requirement wrist band at Avatar and show it to the staff at Runaway Reptar.

It seems like your little brother doesn't like air time, which is usually felt on the first drop. Is this correct?

[Beast1979]

^^Just get ask for a height requirement wrist band at Avatar and show it to the staff at Runaway Reptar.

It seems like your little brother doesn't like air time, which is usually felt on the first drop. Is this correct?

Correct. He rode racer a few times and won't ride it again.