Universal: Kids not done coasters before - Which to avoid?

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by deanobrown

Well you've definitely motivated me more than I was!
I think I'm going to give Skycoaster a try. Like you say, it's the rip cord part I'm already dreading the most! But I shall put that aside and just go for it. Thanks for the advice
You should be a therapist!

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You're welcome.

My daughter said we have to drive from the airport directly to Skycoaster and get it over with. Otherwise she'll be fretting the whole holiday

My better half hasn't pulled the rip-cord yet and claims that she could not do it, but I know she could. Don't hesitate, 3..2..1 pull it! Fear gone... instant pleasure. If for some reason you don't immediately pull it, then just take a deep breath, and count yourself out loud 3...2...1 and pull it.

I can't wait to read about how much you loved it!

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Forkbeard

Ideally no coasters need to be avoided.

The key thing is to attempt the coasters in order of severity. With our son, once he managed one reasonably intimidating coaster, he was good to go on all of them. Our daughter had no fear anyway, so she just rode them from the get go.

Some people suggest YouTube videos... I'd very much recommend avoiding this tactic. Looking at something you might be fearful of just builds the tension. Get in line, make no fuss and you should be good to go. If you make a fuss and repeatedly ask them if they want to do it... then they will likely say no.

Another big factor is parents that are themselves scared. My daughter has a son of her own now and she's told her hubby to keep his wussy attitude to rides to himself

I get sick from the head bashing sometimes, you might want to consider popping a Dramamine just to keep you free from sickness.

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It's not just about the "scariness" of coasters though. Big coasters by their very nature are more thrilling than other rides. They usually go faster, go higher, and generate more extreme forces than other rides. There's a reason why big coasters have health warnings on them - it's not because they want to scare people. As you point out, some people will get sick and that's just one effect of these rides. Some people will find big coasters too thrilling and the forces generated too much. This applies as much to kids as adults.

I agree though that for many people, it's about overcoming fear. They enjoy the coasters once they have got over their initial worry. Starting small and building up does help in this respect. And it does help if the parents aren't scared or apprehensive of the rides themselves.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by chickeninabun

My girls have not really done coasters before (I used to do but worried I might get sick now ) so don't want them terrified from the start! Which rides do we need to avoid at Universal?

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There's only a grand total of 6 "coasters" at Universal - RipRideRockit, Mummy, Gringotts, and Woody Woodpecker coaster at Universal Studios and Hulk and Hippogriff at Islands of Adventure. Four of these coasters you can see from the outside and therefore will know what they are like from watching them. Two are indoors - Mummy and Gringotts. They are medium intensity coasters at most; Gringotts is probably the less intense of the two.

I'd suggest starting with the least intense; either of Hippogriff or Woody coasters. Then try Gringotts. Then go for the bigger coasters like Hulk or RipRideRockit (I've never been on RRR but from looking at it it's the vertical hill climb that looks the worst part of it).

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

It's not just about the "scariness" of coasters though. Big coasters by their very nature are more thrilling than other rides. They usually go faster, go higher, and generate more extreme forces than other rides. There's a reason why big coasters have health warnings on them - it's not because they want to scare people. As you point out, some people will get sick and that's just one effect of these rides. Some people will find big coasters too thrilling and the forces generated too much. This applies as much to kids as adults.

I agree though that for many people, it's about overcoming fear. They enjoy the coasters once they have got over their initial worry. Starting small and building up does help in this respect. And it does help if the parents aren't scared or apprehensive of the rides themselves.

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Let's be clear about this... we all have to take responsibility for any physical ailments that might be affected by intense rides.

My mother is 80 and has a lot of terribly debilitating conditions. Some rides will hurt her more than others. Judging it right isn't always easy. Spider-Man jerked her neck pretty bad. It didn't stop her riding things, but she had neck pain for the rest of the day.

Only we know about how our bodies feel, but fear is more or less universal and can be dealt with as such. The way I look at it, if someone really wants to ride it but is scared then I'll help them with that. It's a fine line but we have to try and work out if they really would enjoy it or not. I haven't been wrong yet

Sickness is an interesting one. I get sick on some coasters. It's like my head has been bashed around. Fortunately we can take some over the counter drugs to deal with this depending on how much it affects you. Also VR on Kraken made me feel very sick. It passes soon enough, but still.

As a kid the Waltzer used to make me puke. I still rode it mind, but I'd more often than not chuck straight after ward. As I've got older I don't vomit but I can be taken out of the game for a few hours. It's very annoying. I've not used it enough to know for sure by Dramamine appears to work for me. I need to test it more though.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Forkbeard

Let's be clear about this... we all have to take responsibility for any physical ailments that might be affected by intense rides.

My mother is 80 and has a lot of terribly debilitating conditions. Some rides will hurt her more than others. Judging it right isn't always easy. Spider-Man jerked her neck pretty bad. It didn't stop her riding things, but she had neck pain for the rest of the day.

Only we know about how our bodies feel, but fear is more or less universal and can be dealt with as such. The way I look at it, if someone really wants to ride it but is scared then I'll help them with that. It's a fine line but we have to try and work out if they really would enjoy it or not. I haven't been wrong yet

Sickness is an interesting one. I get sick on some coasters. It's like my head has been bashed around. Fortunately we can take some over the counter drugs to deal with this depending on how much it affects you. Also VR on Kraken made me feel very sick. It passes soon enough, but still.

As a kid the Waltzer used to make me puke. I still rode it mind, but I'd more often than not chuck straight after ward. As I've got older I don't vomit but I can be taken out of the game for a few hours. It's very annoying. I've not used it enough to know for sure by Dramamine appears to work for me. I need to test it more though.

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I was merely stating that some people don't like going on coasters because of the physical forces and feelings involved. They may not be scared of the ride but they still don't like the ride because it's too thrilling. They may simply not enjoy the ride because of the movements, accelerations, speeds (etc) involved. In those cases, I wouldn't expect a normal person to continue to do something they didn't enjoy.

I would argue any ride where you have to take medication in order to have a chance of enjoying it is probably not worth it. Continuing to go on a ride that you know makes you puke sounds like a form of masochism to me.

BTW, the Waltzers also made me ill. I decided to stop going on them and the problem went away. I enjoyed funfairs much more after that. It's much better than continuing to subject myself to something I don't actually like. You should try it sometime.

[Holidaylover19]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

I was merely stating that some people don't like going on coasters because of the physical forces and feelings involved. They may not be scared of the ride but they still don't like the ride because it's too thrilling. They may simply not enjoy the ride because of the movements, accelerations, speeds (etc) involved. In those cases, I wouldn't expect a normal person to continue to do something they didn't enjoy.

I would argue any ride where you have to take medication in order to have a chance of enjoying it is probably not worth it. Continuing to go on a ride that you know makes you puke sounds like a form of masochism to me.

BTW, the Waltzers also made me ill. I decided to stop going on them and the problem went away. I enjoyed funfairs much more after that. It's much better than continuing to subject myself to something I don't actually like. You should try it sometime.

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I agree. My brain just can't get past the upside down element. I feel sick just thinking about a big coaster. So I just don't ride them

Plenty to keep me busy in Universal without them, and I save myself feeling poorly for the rest of the day.

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

I was merely stating that some people don't like going on coasters because of the physical forces and feelings involved. They may not be scared of the ride but they still don't like the ride because it's too thrilling. They may simply not enjoy the ride because of the movements, accelerations, speeds (etc) involved. In those cases, I wouldn't expect a normal person to continue to do something they didn't enjoy.

I would argue any ride where you have to take medication in order to have a chance of enjoying it is probably not worth it. Continuing to go on a ride that you know makes you puke sounds like a form of masochism to me.

BTW, the Waltzers also made me ill. I decided to stop going on them and the problem went away. I enjoyed funfairs much more after that. It's much better than continuing to subject myself to something I don't actually like. You should try it sometime.

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Motion sickness tablets for an experience that you love... nothing wrong with that imo

As for the Waltzers... I was a kid, nothing was going to put me off It was the gypsies and teddy boys that used to spin the hell out of them that made it so much worse.

I can spin the teacups at max speed non-stop without any medication. Makes me a bit wobbly when I get off though.

In terms of your point though... if you don't dig it, no one is going to force you ride

[NewtoOrlando]

My kids are 12 & 10, we first went to Florida when they were 10 & 8. Before this, we had merlin passes and went to Thorpe Park etc to get the used to the rides. My husband is an adrenalin junkie, and will go on everything and anything, whereas I used to do coasters when I was younger (reluctantly may I add lol) but now I can't do anything that goes upside down, mainly because I don't want to, and that I have a heart problem so it gets me out of doing so!

My kids however, both LOVE all rides, and will go on anything, I've never stopped them from going on what they wanted to or told them what they can/cant go on - unless they're too short for that particular ride. They did all the Universal coasters last time, and all the big seaworld coasters, they LOVED them! Let them make their own minds up, they wont know if they like them or not until they try, and if they see you a little anxious over it then it might put them off doing something they might really enjoy, and you never know, you might have a go and love them too!

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Forkbeard

In terms of your point though... if you don't dig it, no one is going to force you ride

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Ah okay. It's just that from your posts it sounded like you were encouraging people to continue to go on rides even if they felt sick on them and didn't enjoy them.

My mantra has generally been that everyone should try every ride for themselves at least once*. If you don't like it after trying it then, fair enough, don't go on it again. However, you never know; it might become your favourite ride ever!

(* admittedly, I don't always practice what I preach )

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Ah okay. It's just that from your posts it sounded like you were encouraging people to continue to go on rides even if they felt sick on them and didn't enjoy them.

My mantra has generally been that everyone should try every ride for themselves at least once*. If you don't like it after trying it then, fair enough, don't go on it again. However, you never know; it might become your favourite ride ever!

(* admittedly, I don't always practice what I preach )

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I would certainly say that if someone says they feel sick but expresses a desire to ride then Dramamine might do the trick. There are plenty of others but that product receives a lot of love as it were.

On the broader point we live in times of what I would call extreme weakness, safe spaces anyone? Fortunately people are waking up to this, so hopefully we can reverse the negative effects. So yes, I'm on the old school end of the argument, and I'm fairly sure you're not from the few conversations we've had, for example the conversation about understanding website data and more recently about costs of holidays. No sense in drilling into that, except to say that the desirability of outcomes is what motivates me. I'm Chomsky on this, not Sam Harris, if you get the reference

What I saw is that you latched onto what was a positive chat with someone who would like to ride Skycoaster with what was a negative outlook. The person seemed positive with the discussion and I think they might really enjoy the ride. If I'm wrong I'm wrong... and I'll happily apologise if the outcome proves to be a negative one.