Reduced tolerance for rides as you get older?

Well, I came back from a short vacation, and these responses were exactly what I was hoping for, so thanks everyone!

One of the things I was thinking about when creating this thread was my trip to Cedar Point with my sister last Halloweekends. We would always go at least a dozen times in a year, and I just remember her riding everything with me (even Witches Wheel! Ah!)...but these memories are from her being about 15 and me being 12.

Well, life goes on, and she moved to NY. Now nearly 30, she hadn't been to Cedar Point since the opening of TTD, which she enjoyed. I kept bragging up Maverick to her as the sleeper roller coaster that packed a serious punch. I told her that she just had to come take a trip with me so that we could relive the past, and finally she did just this for Halloweekends 2009.

Well, I excitedly boarded the front seat of a Maverick train with her as the first ride of the day, and we rode it. I excitedly asked, "Wasn't that just great?!?!" at the end of the ride, and she was very quiet. She kind of gave a nod that she liked it (to please me), but I could tell something was wrong. She confessed that it made her feel sick. We proceeded to ride other roller coasters like Gemini & Magnum, and she let me know that we needed to take a break.

At the time, I was kind of annoyed, as we had hardly ridden anything, and getting sick was never a problem with her in the past. She then stated that getting 10 years older had really taken its toll, and that her body just couldn't handle the rides anymore (made her nauseous / dizzy), which made me pretty sad. I backed off at that point, and we rode rides like Cadillac Cars, Space Spiral, and Sky Ride for the rest of the day.

Then, I realized I was experiencing this problem as time went on too, and it was depressing to think about. Something I had invested so much of my life and time in growing up was fading away from me. Not so fast.

I have no doubt now that as we get older, motion sickness tends to increase, it's more difficult to make it through a full day, and the day-after recovery is more draining. However, there were some excellent points that I feel could really reverse this process:

Water. I don't drink enough of it at Cedar Point. I always take a sip when walking past a drinking fountain, but in comparison to what I usually drink on a day-to-day basis, I'm not getting nearly enough. I will note this for future trips.

Secondly, I think conditioning could be the key to most of our motion sickness problems. No, I don't recommend having someone spin you in your computer chair all day...though it might work! ;) It really makes sense now that I think about it. When I was going to Cedar Point 25 times in a season (when younger), I had a very high tolerance by the end of the season...and I think I do remember the starts of the seasons being rougher.

Now that I'm usually going just 2-4 times per season, it could be that I'm just not adapting and building up that tolerance. For my sister, 7 years of no motion conditioning is why a single roller coaster was making her sick?

I would love to test this theory and see if it works, but I don't have enough time for many more visits per season. So, for those of us feeling depressed that Cedar Point might be slipping away from us, just go more often and push harder! Once you build up your muscles, callous your feet, Mean Streak your back, and MaxAir your equilibrium, you'll be back in your teens! ...at least I can hope. :)

The past couple of years Ive noticed I cant ride MaxAir cause I feel like Im gonna hurl. I cant do spinny rides anyway (not even Monster) cause they make me sick.

However, I can ride Raptor over and over and be fine. The most rerides Ive gotten was 21 during Millennium Mania and no prob but that was 10 years ago. Now Ive gotten at least 5 rerides up to 18 and have been fine.

After a long day in the park my legs and feet may be alittle sore the next day but thats about it. And the funny thing is my right foot (heel) more then my left cause of the long drive!

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2231 :)