Breaking in new riders....

A friend of my is extremely afraid of roller coasters, yet I have convinced her to come to CP and give them a try. I was thinking that if we took a "building-up" approach, like starting with the Mine Ride, then working up to Dragster some how... I was wondering if anyone had a good order of the coasters to break someone in who are afraid of them.

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Go Bucks! 2002 National Champions!!!!

Listen to the Cryami fans Whine! Feels good to be a Buckeye!

What i do is...annoy the person until they say yes and just get them to go on the big rides. Do this in advance though.

Great ride to start with is Iron Dragon.

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- Dennis
NYC Subways, The next best thing to riding roller coasters.

I agree... Iron Dragon is really mild, and it's not as "jerky" as the Mine Ride, in my opinion. You could even start with Disaster Transport, though your friend might be afraid of not being able to see what's coming up ahead. From there, I would head over to Blue Streak or Gemini. Just don't force her to do too much too fast, unless she's really resolved to get on Dragster by the end of the day... Good luck!

Of course, you could always just head in line for Millennium Force and tell her it's the "Blue Streak"... *evil cackle*
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~Lee~

Group Sales ATL '01
Group Sales TL '02
Park Admissions Supervisor '03
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"The greatest leaders don't take credit for their actions; they don't have to."

Iron Dragon

Blue Streak

Gemini

Raptor

Magnum

MF

Ride any others in between those.

MrScott

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"If we go any faster, she'll blow apart for sure!"

If she is not afraid of heights, I would recommend starting with Magnum. It's a nice mid-size (LOL) coaster and it's a famous classic. (Also happens to be where I lost my fear of coasters and gained my love.)

The reason I always suggest starting with Magnum is that its a fun ride, makes you realize its worth riding. If you start with something thats not a GREAT ride, she won't know what she's missing and the risk won't be worth it.
*** This post was edited by LiveEJon 2/9/2003 5:07:54 PM ***

Magnum is pretty rough, I'd save that one till al little later in the day. Depending on HOW afraid of coasters she is, Woodstock Express is a "family" coaster, and is actually kinda fun! My mom hates coasters and she will ride the Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Disaster Transport. That's about it! I would start with those three, just make sure your friend has plenty of time to watch the coasters before riding them, that will give a good idea of what to expect.

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ONE freeway stamp a day... ONE

Ride Millennium Force first. Then do all the rest in no specific order.

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager
My track record
My Cedar Point page

I say start out with Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster and you'll be set. You can go on anything, because you won't be afraid of the rides.

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New For 2003 Top Thrill Dragster Tallest Coaster Ever!!

Magnum was my first big coaster and look at me now, I'm on GTTP and Coasterbuzz everyday! LoL.

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AKA...Somewhatchewy, Joseph the White.
> Am I pretty? Tell me I'm pretty.

if (female) printf("You are pretty");
else printf("You are lonely");

My first big coaster was Gemini. I was seven and after that I didn't ride a coaster for five years. Don't start with Gemini.

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager
My track record
My Cedar Point page

If you start with something fairly large (Magnum, WT, Gemini) then she'll be less afraid of the smaller ones. My mom made me ride magnum when I was younger and wimpier, and after that I rode raptor and mantis with no problem.

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CP Fanatic Forever!!!

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Top Thrill Dragster said:
My first big coaster was Gemini. I was seven and after that I didn't ride a coaster for five years.

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager

Today that makes you. . . what? 12? 13?

:)

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I was the kid who, when the teacher asked all the students to pick up three pieces of paper off the floor, would just pick up one large piece and rip it into three smaller pieces.

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My First time to Cedar Point 2 years ago i hadnt really ridden any real coasters ive been to michigan adventure and rode shivering timbers thats a great coaster dont get me wrong but its nothing like what cedar point has my first real coaster was Raptor and i loved it! it looked scary but i was talked onto it and i loved it i'd say go with somthing like powertower first.. get her feet off the ground than head right to raptor while the adrenilin is pumping than when she gets off that she will be really flying head over to bluestreak than to meanstreak than to mine ride <====didnt like that at all! than take a break for a few and than hop on magnum! save millie for a night ride its big and she wont know whats coming by the time it happens it will be to late and the ride will be going so fast she will love it lol be sure to always walk behinde her so she cant leave the line .. talking to her on the way up the lifthills are a nice way to calm her to i know it helped me try to get her to look out over the trees or see the other parts of the park just never force her to ride anything cuz she will never lose her fear..

I would suggest starting your friend out with Wildcat. Even though the coaster packs a punch, it doesn't look as intimidating. Also, there are some nice breathers between some of the drops.

Then take her on Iron Dragon or Mine Ride, to get her used to bigger coasters.

You might want to hold off on coasters that feature a lot of airtime, such as Blue Streak or Magnum, until she gets comfortable with the other coasters.

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Florida may have Disneyworld and Key West,
but Ohio has Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay.
It's great to live in Ohio!

My first ride at Cedar Point was Gemini. I thought it was a good starter. Enough thrills to make it fun, mild enough to not scare you away from trying something bigger.

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2003 - Wicked Twister Crew

I agree that you want to avoid the airtime coasters at first.

I think Iron Dragon would be a good first coaster. For one, you are completely enclosed. For those afraid of heights, you feel much more protected.

Then I'd move to CCMR for the more "open" feeling. See how she's feeling after those and choose either Blue Streak or Gemini.

I would ride MF before Magnum, mostly because the lift on Magnum is so slow. On MF, you get to the top so much quicker and don't have a lot of time to THINK about that first drop.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Go on the larger rides. Save the smaller coasters for later. When I started to go on coasters(meaning when I started going with people who would ride them), I went on the Blue Streak. And I never went higher than Gemini. Then a year or so later, when I finally made it back, I was in a group and just skipped right over all the smaller rides and rode Mean Streak and Magnum--back when it was still the Tallest. And by going on the larger rides, it makes the other rides a breeze.

Sure your friend might be nervous and scared to death on the lift hill...but that is part of the fun! Go on Magnum, or Raptor first...they are good, smooth rides that leaves you laughing in the end! :)

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Metallica, Magnum and Mountain Dew, and finally turning 21...what could be better?

I don't think that Iron Dragon would be that great of a starter coaster. Even though it is enclosed, it's also dangling below the track (might create more insecurity) and it really doesn't sound very sturdy either.

I kinda agree with just coaxing her into a line, nicely. Don't use the whole "your'e a wimp routine" Make her feel comfortable and secure. Actually I usually pick a ride where you cannot see a lot of its structure (maybe mine ride) and go for that one. Or pick a huge one and lie about it's elements. Most people absolutely love a coaster after they get up the nerve to ride the first one. Or it'll scar them for life (not the usual case). I usually go with the whole, "I promise you, you'll love this, more people get hurt in car accidents, plane crashes etc., and let the person know " You know I would never make you do anything that would hurt you, blah blah blah......

Sounds corny, but like everything else in life, at least half the battle is your delivery and tact. The coaster itself really doesn't matter that much.

I would say let the person pick their poison or go with Wild Cat and Mine Ride. The magnum is good if you wanna go big because you really can't get close enough to it for it to look as big as it is and now with Millie and TTD, it will blend right in and look somewhat "sheepish ;)" in comparison.

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Cedar Point is closed for the season. Reason? Freezin!

One time we tricked a friend into going on Thunder Canyon. She didn't want to get wet that day... so we told her it was the line for the Swans.

Back on topic... perhaps you should show your friend the Cedar Point website so that she can see what the different coasters are. The number one thing you can do is NOT joke around with anything. If she asks things like, "Can you fall out?" or, "Has anyone been hurt before on this?" respond with POSITIVE reinforcement such as, "They are extra careful by using seat belts along with the lap bars," or, "Cedar Point takes the upmost precaution in safety." If you start explaining how one day the harnesses failed and someone fell into Lake Erie or something like that, they're going to become petrified since you're describing exactly what she's fearing most, even when you are joking about it.

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17 straight years of real thrills and counting...

[Edit] - Just remember, don't force her on anything she doesn't want to go on. It's a completely new experience, and there's a lot of fear involved. Let her tell you when she's ready, otherwise the trip will be ruined.
*** This post was edited by TekGuy 2/10/2003 10:57:27 AM ***

I agree with the others who say start small. I am married to the world's biggest coaster chicken. I had to start hubby with the Mine Ride and then work up to Iron Dragon and Disaster Transport. (It nearly killed me to wait!) We then worked up to Blue Streak and Corkscrew. Then Raptor, Gemini (the head chopper effect nearly ended his coaster career) and Mean Streak. We have to start with this ritual at the beginning of each season, although I can start him on Raptor now. He hated Wicked Twister, and has firmly stated that there will be no Maggie, Millie, or Dragster in his future...ever.

So, you have another option: find other people who love coasters if your friend freaks out. (And/Or do what we're doing and get those Nextel phones that function as "walkie talkies" and get in coaster lines while you leave them to entertain themselves. Check in often to meet at the end of the ride without waiting.)

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My need for speed is second only to my need to be inverted! No wonder Raptor is my favorite!