PiperArcher Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hey Y'all! I've finally convinced my little sister to go with me to Kings Island and ride a roller coaster with me. She rode Big Thunder Mountain at Disney World 5 years ago and has been scared to go on any roller coaster since. She finally promised me that she would try a coaster at Kings Island. I have a good feeling that she'll start to love them as she has gone ziplining and done many other intense and fast things since her ride on Thunder Mountain in 2010. My predicament is that the coaster she promised to ride with me first is Racer. I feel that the ride may be too rough and scare her away from more coasters, even though it is not an intense coaster compaired to others at KI. I've been on every coaster at KI except the Woodstock coaster, and I've been brainstorming as to what other coaster to try and get her on if she likes Racer. She's tall enough to ride everything. I was thinking BLSC or Bat. I'd prefer to not go on Adventure Express right away because it's too similar to Thunder Mountain and, again, scare her away. I'm assuming that she will refuse to ride anything with an inversion as well as Beast and Diamondback, so I am not even considering those, and I personally won't let her on Firehawk. Even I hate that ride... Any suggestions as to the best way to handle the coasters with her? Worse comes to worse, she'll have ridden racer and that will be it as far as coasters go. I won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it would be awesome to ride the coasters with her! What experiences have you guys had with scared family members on coasters? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyano Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I got my sister on Adventure Express and she loved it! It's not that high and you can barely see the ride coming from Banshee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Well if you ride Bat first I doubt there will be much of a line for her to psych herself out in 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 On Racer, sit in the middle seat (the second row) of a CAR. It's the smoothest by far. Do NOT sit in the back row of a CAR-right over the wheels--the roughest and bounciest. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Put in other terms, take any multiple of 3. Then subtract one from it. Those are the acceptable row numbers for the smoothest rides on Racer and Beast. Basically, you want rows 2, 5, 8, and so on in that fashion. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 As Marth said Bat usually has a short line so not much time to chicken out and it's a pretty smooth ride. BLSC would be my main suggestion to. It's not real big so shouldn't care her off but is very smooth and a lot of fun, and still has speed with the boosts without being real intense. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I'd probably say either Bat or Adventure Express. One thing Bat has going for it is that its not a loud ride plus its not as jerky as Backlot or AE. I think that helped me get accustomed back in the day. Woodstock Express and Flying Aces would be fine starters as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 AE is a lot of fun bu it is pretty jerky and if she was scared away from coasters after Big Thunder Mountain i'd probably avoid it until she rode some others and started to really like coasters. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindingSon Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Considering AE is the closest you're going to get to Big Thunder at Kings Island, I think I'd go with something else. Either Bat or BLSC. I find Bat to be less intense than BLSC though. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I'd go with Bat, since it's a really fun ride and it was one of my go-to coasters when I was a kid. If she's not afraid of launches, I'd also have her try Backlot. And although Adventure Express was also one of my go-to coasters when I was a kid, I wouldn't recommend it at first as it might bring up bad memories of Big Thunder Mountain; however, if she ends up liking coasters again, I'd definitely recommend it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I'd start her on Backlot, as it's slower and less intense than The Bat or The Racer and she'll have a chance to catch her breath when it stops at the helicopter scene. From there, if she's game for more, The Bat would be my next choice followed by Racer. Then, if she's still enjoying it, that might be the time to tackle Adventure Express to beat down the fear of Big Thunder Mountain once and for all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricsun Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 You have lots of really good tips above. Depending on how hesitant she is, Flying Ace and Surf Dog would be good starters, then move on to the bigger rides. Something that helps me with the niece and nephews is to watch the new ride and observe their reaction. If they are excited, hop in line. If they seem nervous, talk through how the ride will feel: bumpy or smooth, a dark or dim tunnel, lift out of the seat, feel pushed to the side, etc. I will say that Diamondback seems to be the ride that many kids have to get over the fear of the height and how the first drop looks. If you can get her on The Beast first, you can compare the first drop to Diamondback and that will likely help get over any fear. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 And where to sit on Beast is same as Racer--the middle of a CAR---NOT the back of a car. And how. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindingSon Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 What's the secret to Vortex? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 5-1. Front seat of the fifth car. Others say 7-1. 1-1 is also nice. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Just whatever one does, avoid cars 2 through 4 on Vortex. That way pain and madness lies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I prefer a seat on a nearby bench when it comes to Vortex.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBEASTunchained Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hey Y'all! I've finally convinced my little sister to go with me to Kings Island and ride a roller coaster with me. She rode Big Thunder Mountain at Disney World 5 years ago and has been scared to go on any roller coaster since. She finally promised me that she would try a coaster at Kings Island. I have a good feeling that she'll start to love them as she has gone ziplining and done many other intense and fast things since her ride on Thunder Mountain in 2010. My predicament is that the coaster she promised to ride with me first is Racer. I feel that the ride may be too rough and scare her away from more coasters, even though it is not an intense coaster compaired to others at KI. I've been on every coaster at KI except the Woodstock coaster, and I've been brainstorming as to what other coaster to try and get her on if she likes Racer. She's tall enough to ride everything. I was thinking BLSC or Bat. I'd prefer to not go on Adventure Express right away because it's too similar to Thunder Mountain and, again, scare her away. I'm assuming that she will refuse to ride anything with an inversion as well as Beast and Diamondback, so I am not even considering those, and I personally won't let her on Firehawk. Even I hate that ride... Any suggestions as to the best way to handle the coasters with her? Worse comes to worse, she'll have ridden racer and that will be it as far as coasters go. I won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, but it would be awesome to ride the coasters with her! What experiences have you guys had with scared family members on coasters? My number one suggestion is definitely The Bat, due to it's nature of being relatively smooth, short ride length, and exhilarating enough to make her possibly want to go ride Banshee on her way out. I've seen it happen with other folks who aren't necessarily into coasters, where they'll try out The Bat, and on their way back into Action Zone, they see another coaster suspended from the tracks and think Banshee would be a nice step up. Either way, I'd definitely recommend The Bat, it's a great "starting" coaster! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiperArcher Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Thank you all for the answers! I showed her POVs of Bat and BLSC and she seemed to like Bats short ride and how it is kind of like flying through a forest. I might be able to get her on that. She was not too keen on the launch of BLSC, but we will see what happens. We're going to the park on Thursday after 4PM. It should be fun! As far as Vortex is concerned, I haven't ever had a really bad ride on it in any seat. As long as you brace yourself accordingly, it is always a fun ride! It always reminds me of my rides on the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricsun Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 5-1. Front seat of the fifth car. Others say 7-1. 1-1 is also nice. Okay, my friend and I have done 5-1 which is way better but...still lots of head banging. We are visiting Saturday and we want to ride with minimal pain. Other tips? Staple the OTS? Keep it loose? My upper body prevents me from getting it too tight as I'm *thisclose* to one more more click down. And I'm not tall enough to push myself up against the harness. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Lean forward during the head banging parts. It can help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCandyManCan Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 7-1, the one and only. Ejector rows on Arrows, all day, everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Lean forward during the head banging parts. It can help. And hold onto the horse collar for dear life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoChickens Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 While bracing can help, don't fight the ride too much. Being overly tensed up and fighting against the ride can actually make it worse. I'm not saying to ride like a rag doll, but flow with it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The last few times I've ridden (in 7-1) I've had almost no trouble, except for the neck-punch. For some reason that alarms me more than it should. I keep worrying I'm going to bust my jugular. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medford Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Flying Ace Arial Chase is the smoothest coaster in the park, its not so fast to jerk you around too much, but fast enough to provide a good dose of fun. its only problem is that its a 1 train ride, and therefor slow to load. Perhaps I'm weird, definently against the grain on this thread, but I'd personally choose The Racers over The Bat in terms of being less scary. Something about that transition from having a "floor" under the coaster on the lift hill to having nothing but air under you still gets to me on that "slow" turn around to the start of the desent. Neither FAAC nor Banshee give me that same psychological thrill despite actually having my legs swinging under me when getting off the lift hill. Middle hill, blue train I've found to be realitively smooth. Its wood, so its going to bounce you around a bit, but no worse, IMHO than many other coasters in the park. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Middle hill? Confused Terp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I'm guessing he meant "middle row". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medford Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 ERR.. yes, middle row, properly 'terped by jcgoble3. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 In which case we need to stress the middle of a CAR, not of the train. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.