From: libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes)
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster
Subject: through a novice's eyes
Date: 31 Jul 92 07:55:48 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology

Went to KD last week - had never been to a roller coaster park before.
Figuring we should warm up on something easy, we headed for the
Grizzly.  Somehow we assumed since so little of it was poking up above
the forest tree tops, it couldn't be that bad.  Oh what a mistake.  My
SO lost her hat on the first drop, and the inside of my elbow soon
became welded to the pathetically flimsy bar that doesn't come down
nearly enough as I cowered in my seat in terror.  (What is the right
way to hang on with such loose restraints?)  As if the ride itself
wasn't bad enough, the feeling of emminent decapitation as we plunged
into that tunnel at the end was an incredible shock.

While I was still in a daze, my friends took advantage of this to put
me on Rebel Yell.  It was frightening, too, but thankfully was a
little less severe than the Grizzly.  Later we saw some people riding
it backwards while standing up - not officially permitted, but what
the hell - anyone who gets on these rides is clearly insane.

At that point we did some water coaster rides including the river
rapids (6 of you sitting upright in a huge inner tube) - fun to see
your friends get soaked while you stay dry; a hollowed-out log ride
(not so scary, but a real bruiser nonetheless); and a short loop which
just has a single large hill up which you go, only to be slammed into
the water with a good soak at the bottom.  This last one appeared to
be just as enjoyable to the on-lookers who strategically position
themselves in a walkway directly over the ride for maximum drenching.
(Are roller coaster enthusiasts into S&M, too?)

We did the other rides, in fact, I think we did almost every ride in
the park.  We even went on the Smurf ride, for godsakes.  (We were the
only ones screaming - mostly to wake up the other passengers and amuse
ourselves.)

We went on a couple rides twice (avoiding Grizzly), and the terror
definitely lessened the second time.  In particular, the Avalanche
(bobsled) became quite tame (although I remember coming away with a
great deal more respect for the Jamaican bobsled team), which made me
wonder if being on a coaster is an entirely different experience for a
novice (like me) than an experienced you.  I read about people who do
a ride 10 times in a row.  Doesn't it get boring?  What's the thrill?
(Heck, you must stop throwing up after the 3rd or 4th time.)  Me, I
had this uncontrollable urge to flee from the loading area of each
ride, and I had a terrible pain in my gut as I went down each drop.
One of my friends was saying how much he envies me because he no
longer gets those kinds of feelings.  (What a pity, eh?)  I get them
just going in an automobile going over a rise sometimes.

It was kind of hard to say the whole experience was "fun".  Well, the
Anaconda was fun, a very very smooth ride.  But otherwise, I thought I
was really just testing my courage, patience, endurance, and
stupidity.

I saw quite a few people coming off the Shockwave (stand-up coaster)
looking like they had injured themselves, and one woman appeared to
have had a near-death experience on the pirate ship (whirls you in a
giant circle, in a very unnatural way).  I refused to go on the pirate
ship - it seemed like the worst thing at the park for my tender gut.
But it was fun to watch things fall out of people's pockets as they
were held upside down.

The whole time, I couldn't stop thinking of the De Palma movie "The Fury"
in which a telekenetic woman happens to get really annoyed while at an
amusement park, and while her temples are throbbing, a bunch of cars
go shooting off one of the rides like Roman candles.  Fun stuff, eh?

PS: I must've screamed off a couple layers of skin.  My throat was
pretty sore the next day.

Don Libes          libes@cme.nist.gov      ...!uunet!cme-durer!libes
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster