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Shocking First Rides

I haven't had too many FIRST impressions that blew me away. But the first time I rode El Toro in the back row...all I can say is, I will NEVER ride ANYWHERE other than the back again. It was the first ride since Superman Ride of Steel that has begged for my number 1 spot and it was an amazing ride. Also, riding Kingda Ka in the front seat blew me away, and pretty much rivals my rides on El Toro and Superman for awesomeness. Rock N' Roller Coaster's launch DID impress me the first time I rode it. It's one of my favorites, actually, for one that isn't that fast.
 
haven't ridden too many coasters, so I have to stick Space Mountain at Walt Disney World (Orlando) at the top of my list. You look right, they throw you left, and when you drop it almost feels like you stepped off an unseen cliff.
 
Terroriser/Circulator now the Obliterator at Pleasure Island.

When I hit the height mark for "Red Rides" at Flamingo Land, that was the first one I went on, and got I was spinning around thinking to myself... WHY? WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS ONE FIRST?! scary as ****!
 
Definitely Boulder Dash for me. I wasn't expecting anything from it when I first rode it, but it was absolutely incredible. Not many rides really blow me away, but that certainly did.

The only other ride that I can think of is Phoenix at Knoebel's. I was just expecting a standard old rickety woody, but my God was I wrong! Incredible airtime, and such a fun ride. :)
 
walker1104 said:
The Hulk.

The first time I went on that I was completely blown away. The launch and then the Zero G Roll into the drop. It was just amazing.
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Jump on Voyage and RFII.. feel the same.. except RFII is smoother. :)
 
Cop Car Chase which is now non exsistant was my first non-kiddie coaster and first with inversions. I spent the whole thing with my mouth open and just couldn't believe how good it was.

Colossus was my first BIG coaster and I just was blown away first time. Unfortunatley it does nothing for me now, but the first time was amazing.

Stealth first launch and first 100ft+ coaster. Wow. I still love it.

PMBO only for the drop. I was trying to work out what the **** had just happened as we went up the next hill.

Crush's coaster. Words can't describe it. Ride it. Best coaster ever.
 
Furius Baco, got me really badly.

Wait for launch = 30 sec (very nerving)
Launch = 0-84 in 3.5 (Not as powerful as Stealth but my legs were forced backwards! Making an intense ride more intense!)
Drop = Ejector (I left my seat. Let me re-word that; I catapulted out of my seat :p)

Never been so shocked in my life! Took my breath away the whole ride. The most effective ejector ever! :)
 
Top Thrill Dragster, everytime. The reason is pretty self-explanatory, I mean, you can't really prepare to go that fast or know how it feels which makes the first ride especially awesome.

I thought Millennium was over rated the first time I went on it, but the first drop was amazing.

Shivering Timbers was a coaster I definitely was not expecting to be as good as it was.

Again, Maverick, after hearing all the hype and everything, I still didn't think it'd be that great, but it was!
 
Well this is gonna take a while!

-Pepsi Max Big One. First rode this in 1999 when I was 15 and didn't have a clue about coasters. Thought it was 'da bomb'. The sheer size was enough to scare me, and the first drop is still a pretty mental experience.

-Tonnere de Zeus. This was the last ride of the day I did at Parc Asterix with Kax, Katie and Mark back in 2005. It was a hot, tiring day and we hoped it would end on a high. After the end of the ride, Zeus quickly became my favourite wooden coaster, and is still one of my faves today.

-Kumba. This was one of the rides I'd always wanted to go on since I was a kid. I'd seen it in travel brouchures and on TV adverts, but I was 21 by the time I got to ride it, and I really hoped it would still live up to those childhood fantasies. And it didn't disappoint.

-Avalanche, I was expecting pretty decent things from this coaster, but I didn't expect to become my favourite woddie out of thoe many I rode on my trip with Ian back on 2007. It was just non-stop fun from start to finish, and that's what rides should be about. Which neatly brings me onto...

-Kentucky Rumbler. Now I wasn't immediatley blown away by the ride, but seeing as we took our second rides very soon after our first it didn't take for this to shoot right up my flagpole. It's just a hoot from the drop to the stop.

-Dodonpa. Now first of all I will admit that it's not one the best rides in the world. It wouldn't make my top 100 if I'm honest, but the experience of going from 0-110 is about 2 seconds is unbelievable. I was so pumped up of adrenaline I almost forgot it had happened. The top hat was insane, and the rest of the ride was quite forgettable. But that launch will srtick with me for some time to come.

-Eagle Fortress. Could well be my favourite ride ever. I can't describe how amazing I found this, but you should ride it for yourself before it's too late. Breathtaking.
 
Before I knew anything about coasters, I went to Alton with my family when I was about 17 or so and we queued for about an hour for Rita. I kept watching the launch and didn't think it looked all that really. I started to get quite nervous as I pulled down my restraint, and it rolled backwards and forwards slightly.

The lights went green and I felt like I'd been kicked in the chest, I couldn't actually breath for a second, I was utterly shocked. Then we piled into the first corner, and up to the first hill. Back then, I had no idea there would be airtime over that hill, and I can still remember being violently ejected into my restraint and looking out over the cars in front and over Corkscrew.

Those 10 seconds took my breath away, and in a way it's a shame that with my coaster knowledge as it is now I'll probably never have quite such a massive surprise again!
 
Long list for me too...

Pre-Enthusiast:

Corkscrew at Alton - Just mind blowing back in 1980. I was convinced the first drop was vertical!

Revolution at Blackpool - Scared me ****less. From the walk up the mezzanine tower to the whole waiting for the launch thing. Terrifying at eight years old.

PMBO - 1994. Just WOW! I was just getting over the adrenaline rush from the insane drop when I realised the ride was over :lol:

Nemesis 1995. Again, just a 'nothing has ever prepared me for this' kind of experience. Real rush.

Post Enthusiast? Thunder Coaster shocked me. Shockwave had said it was pretty good, but I didn't quite expect it to be just as great as it was.

Still waiting for the next surprise, fingers crossed for Khan! :)
 
Mike said:
The only other ride that I can think of is Phoenix at Knoebel's. I was just expecting a standard old rickety woody, but my God was I wrong! Incredible airtime, and such a fun ride. :)
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Oh hell yes. That "holy ****" moment when you get your first massive dose of airtime with single position lap bars and about six inches of space. Followed by that feeling of "is this really safe?" as you fly over airtime hills more or less stood up in the seat.

Oh, and the likes of Velocity and Rita certainly left a big impression when I rode them for the very first time.
 
^And VERY OMFG when you cross over the seat divider and land in the lap of the person next to you.

I nominate Phoenix as well. I did know it was going to be good... but THAT good!

In row three as well, it was madness! Very scary I could actually get out without undoing the restraint as well... not sure I've ever been *that* close to dying on a coaster as I was there...
 
Montu. It was my first B&M Invert and still my favourite. ( I kinda feel like i'm butting into the conversation here, as it's my first post!) :oops:
 
furie said:
Still waiting for the next surprise, fingers crossed for Khan! :)
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Not as insane as you would expect it to be; but compared to every other B&M on the planet it is bloody forceful :p

First impressions will be very good nonetheless.
 
Ben said:
^And VERY OMFG when you cross over the seat divider and land in the lap of the person next to you.
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Luckily that didn't happen to me on Phoenix. I did land on one of the seat dividers on one of the coasters on the trip, but I forget which one. That hurt.

Ben said:
In row three as well, it was madness! Very scary I could actually get out without undoing the restraint as well... not sure I've ever been *that* close to dying on a coaster as I was there...
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Row four, yellow train FTW. And I know exactly what you mean. I'm fairly sure I could have got out as well, pretty much my entire first run was spent hanging on to the bar just to be sure that I wasn't going to leave the train, followed by me quickly checking once I reached the station that yes, the bar was going to hold me in (just!). I'm only a 28 inch waist, so there was a huge gap between me and that bar.

It wasn't just the airtime, either. It was going under parts of the ride whilst standing up in your seat because of the airtime, arms in the air, wondering (because it's really dark by this point) whether there's really enough clearance for you to make it underneath whilst in that position. Madness.
 
Stealth, as my first lauched coaster and first 200fter it was most shocking to me. Completely different to anything i'd been on before.
 
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