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Which Coasters Have You Had a Zen Ride On?

Benenen

Benenen

Hyper Poster
I'm not sure if this is the official term but a zen ride is when you ride a coaster as the only person on the train. If you've ever had one, let's hear your story!

I've been lucky enough to have 3 and each time I've found it surreal to have a coaster dispatched just for me. The silence is odd, like you're watching a POV of the first test run of water dummies.

- Flying Aces (Ferrari World). Weirdly the park was quite busy during the day but it emptied out an hour before close. I spent that hour reriding Flying Aces and one time I got to the airgates and no other riders were there so I had the whole train to myself.

- Nitro (Six Flags Great Adventure). It rained heavily in the afternoon but the last half hour before closing was bright and dry. Most guests had left but I hung around and went to Nitro for my last rides. I had a lap in the front then upon returning to the station there was no one waiting in my airgates so I stayed in my seat and went round again. On the lift hill I noticed it was quiet and I later realised when getting off that I was the only person to do so.

- Wicked Cyclone (Six Flags New England). Went here at rope drop and stayed for a couple of rerides. Once the initial rope drop gang went elsewhere in the park there was a brief lul where I was the only person in the station so had a zen ride in the front. When the train got back half the airgates were full so I got very lucky with the timing of that one.

I've also had a few of those sad moments where I'm the only person on a wacky worm.
 
Apart from the obvious one car train coasters...

-Rage (also LROTN)
-Güven Runaway Train, Brooklands Fair
-Single Helix Runaway Train, Brooklands Fair
-Big Apple, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
-Crazy Caterpillar, Wonderland Lakeside
-Shrek, Watford Fair
-Ocean Coaster, Harbour Park Amusements
-Go Gator, Funland Theme Park

Admittedly the portfolio is a little less impressive than I originally thought.
 
Call me a curmudgeon, but I don’t find zen rides to be a good thing. It means the train lacks mass so it’s going to fizzle out quicker than normal. I truly don’t get why it’s such a coveted thing. It’s a nice idea, but not good in practicality.

[steps off soap box]
  • Chang
  • Millennium Force
  • Mantis
  • Raptor
  • Phobia
  • Skyliner
 
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Big One at Blackpool, midweek, very low season, about twenty years ago.
Front seat.
Just me and a book..."How to Bluff your way in Teaching".
Thin paperback.
Every ten minutes, "Put that away sir", and off we went.
About an hour, very strange, just me.
Four solo rides without leaving my seat, they were very kind in not making me walk round.
Edit...And one train operations too...shocking!
 
According to that definition of zen ride, I've only had one - the boomerang at Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes, 2009ish.
Fun fact #1: despite being 35 at the time and into this hobby for over 2 decades, this was my first ever ride on a Vekoma boomerang.
Fun fact #2: I think this may have been my 100th cred? For ages I'd kinda forgotten what my 100th cred was but the more I think about it, the more I think it must have been this one. I definitely remember Saw being #99 and I rode that shortly after it opened which was Spring 2009, right? And I can't remember if I went anywhere else in that year sooo... maybe, I guess?

Thing is though, I wouldn't call the experience very zen-like. Bit of a non event tbh. I was in the area, popped in to get the cred and popped out again. I was sat at the front, on my own, quietly sizzling in the glaring sun for 10 minutes before the operators eventually decided that yeah, nobody else is coming, send this c*** round. And that was that.
Pleasure Island, done! ✔
 
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So we can agree the ten minute wait for solo zen riders is an industry standard then.
Had quite a few in my time, I would say every last coaster at Blackpool, apart from Icon and the kiddie ones.
The Big Dipper stopped on the lift hill when I was riding solo in the rain, then I heard the laughter from the operators box.
Rotters.
 
The only one that springs to mind is Montanha da Leba at Ulengo Center, Angola. I can be fairly sure that I was actually the only person in the entire country to be riding a roller coaster at the time!
 
I guess I've been on a few, but you kinda need to be lucky for a park to be that quiet on your visit. I'm going to keep these separated between pay-one-price parks and pay-per-ride coasters (and I'm not including any of the single car coasters):

Pay-one-price:
  • Toverland was pretty much dead on my first visit, so I'm pretty sure that I got at least a few rides on Booster Bike and Dwervelwind with only me in the train. Troy was on a more limited operating schedule back then, so there were always other riders in the train with me.
  • Dragon Coaster at Dinopark Funtana: a ride that I found and first reported to the broader enthusiast community. Went there on a Saturday in October when the admission ticket was at half price, since they weren't running any of their shows in the low season. I think there was just about one other family in the park that day. I've also filmed this lovely POV while there (definitely very Zen)
  • Bobbejaanland was very quiet the day I went, so I just ended up sitting in the back row of Oki Doki for about 4 rides in a row.
  • Janfusun Fancyworld was the furthest away from crowded and after a couple of strong showers in the afteroon, the park was virtually dead, so I ended up having both of the B&Ms to myself. The ride-op on Insane Speed kept running around with a towel to clean whichever seat I wanted to ride in and I ended up striking a pretty nice conversation about Slovenia with the guy that was running Diving Machine G5. Good times.
  • Farglory Ocean Park was an odd one. It was fairly lively in the park, but the crowds seemed to be moving around with the shows and riding whichever rides were close to the show that was due to start. While I had to wait a couple of trains for my early afternoon ride on their Rollerskater, I ended up scaring the crap out of the ride-op when I tapped his shoulder and ask whether he could start the ride a few hours later.
Pay-per-ride:
  • Super 8er Bahn: I visited Prater for the first time on a Friday in November. Only a few of the rides were running and I was pretty much the only person there apart from the ride ops
  • A bunch of fairground rides at Slovenian funfairs (Space Train, Grisu, Grand Canyon, Gold Mine Express): for some reason these always used to be completely dead, but lately they seemed to have picked up some steam, so hopefully more are popping up in the future
  • A couple of the rides at Feria de Abril in Barcelona. I think I managed to get there just as they opened the place for the day and it was dead. I think I rode Uve and the creatively named Disney World by myself on that visit. Again, the POV.

And yeah, I believe that's it for zen-ish stuff.
 
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I've had the obligatory solo rides on numerous big apples before, but off the top of my head can't think of any major ones. Had to find a ride op to open this up for just me though: https://rcdb.com/11037.htm

Also, at least once I've had where the ride needs at least 2 people to ride due to weight restrictions, so a ride op has jumped in the car with me. On the wildcat at Jolly Roger (Ocean City, MD), the ride op who had to ride with me ducked out the way of the camera, so the on-ride photo showed just me! Still not a true solo ride though...
 
I've had zen rides on Goliath, Blue Hawk, and Dahlonega Mine Train all at Six Flags Over Georgia. Blue Hawk isn't well liked by the locals because of its reputation as Ninja with the old trains so never has much of a crowd, I've had several zen rides on it. The other 2 have all just been timing on light crowd days.
 
Revolution at BPB
Helix at Liseberg (this was the Monday following a busy opening weekend and the park was DEAD)
Cyclone at Pleasureland Southport
Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure (did the anti-clockwise trick and managed x3 zen rides in a row thanks to everybody else heading clockwise)
Plus all Toverland creds minus Fenix
 
Had to think a lot on this one, and honestly not an impressive list whatsoever. 😅

- Disaster Transport
- Timber Wolf
- Cedar Creek Mine Ride
- Mean Streak
 
Of stuff that's worth mentioning/that I can remember:

Kärnan (very first lap, alone in that tower, terrified)
Revenge of the Mummy (also amazing for that scary ambience)

Python in Bamboo Forest
Coaster through the Clouds
Jungle Trailblazers (various)
Fenix
 
MestnyiGeroi said:
What other definition is there? A coaster ride in which you achieve Enlightenment?

“I got off Octonauts and realized that self is an illusion.”
Click to expand...

Tbf I'm sure I've been beaten up on an SLC so much that I've temporarily gone to heaven.


---

I haven't had any major solo rides. I got on the duo at Clarence by myself, but I don't think riding an SBF spinner solo, for example, is anything to shout about.
I might have gotten a solo ride on X at Thorpe before the two-per-row rule was introduced; memory is a bit hazy on that one though.
 
Nothing special, Just in my home park

Giant Digger-》2 zen ride (rainy day, no one in the train. only me in the front and back seat.) I already had 20+ rides on that after 1 month of grand opening. That day was raining. The rain was so hurt to my face. I barely opened my eyes from start to finish. A closed-eye experience was much different and cool for me. The same day I had 2 consecutive rides without taking off that thing. "Guys, would you ride one more time?"
20220605_191947.jpg
20220605_185210.jpg
Giant Splash -》1 zen ride (Grand Opening weekend Sunday night)
Only 6000 guests reservation required on that day, literary no one was there at night at 7:30PM. With only me drenched at the front seat. That was my 1st ride on Giant Splash. The multi-launch was powerful, and the final splash was rather cold. After the ride while stacked at turntable, I was pretty scared to be the only one on the boat.
20220403_193602.jpg

Kudos for Lotte to dispatch a train only for me
 
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MestnyiGeroi said:
What other definition is there? A coaster ride in which you achieve Enlightenment?
Click to expand...

Well... yeah, I mean... sort of. You know sometimes when you get that perfect ride? That once in a blue moon kinda thing where everything comes together beautifully to create that one, exquisite, sublime moment that can seldom be replicated? The perfect coaster in a great location, in the right seat, at the right time - maybe a beautiful sunset or with a backdrop of fireworks. And also, possibly, with the perfect riding companion sitting next to you. To me, all of these things seem more synonymous with the word 'zen' than simply being the only person riding the coaster. My one and only zen ride was a bit meh, but I've had several coaster experiences that, due to a combination of the above factors were far more zen-like than a +1 boomerang in crappy Cleethorpes. First and only ride on the Beast, night ride, pitch black, fireflies zooming past, best bud sat next you - surreal man. Or front row of Shambhala at sunset, warm breeze, no trims and a handful of like-minded goons to share it with - just 2 examples off the top of my head.
Spiritual enlightenment? Perhaps not... but definitely a better use of the word zen, than just having a wacky worm all to yourself, I feel.
 
Excluding Kiddie Coasters, actually quite a lot come to my mind. All of them between 2018 and 2021:

-Wildfire at Kolmarden
First Ride of the Day. I took the hotel entrance and had a shorter walk to Wildfire, so the first ride was me alone in the train.

-Magnum-XL 200 at Cedar Point
On a rainy morning, one of the first rides I did that day. Of course on the Magic Seat. A few people were in the train before me, but empty air gates on my ride.

-Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion
Rainy Day with minimal queues, even though it was a Sunday. One of the rides in the Front Row was a Zen Ride during the rain.

-Hyper Coaster at Land of Legends
Visited in Winter and the park was dead, managed to get several Zen Rides, especially in the morning. Never had a full train that day.

-Dynamite at Freizeitpark Plohn
Another rainy visit in a dead park, wasn't hard to get a Zen Ride. This one even in Boost Mode were the Lifthill Chain doesn't slow down at the top.

-El Toro at Freizeitpark Plohn
Same visit, was a rain ride as well in the front row.

-Taiga at Linnanmaki
Last Ride of the Day, no one was in the station anymore so got any incredible Zen Ride in the front row.

-Lech Coaster at Legendia
A rainy day and the park was really empty. First two rides of the day were Zen Rides before a few other people showed up.

-Wilde Hilde at Schwaben Park
Of course, another rainy visit. If 20 people were in the whole park, it would be a lot. Was one of the only ones who rode Wilde Hilde that day and on both rides in got stuck on the last brakes before the final "drop" because it was way to cold and the train to light. The operator needed to climb up and push my train through the brakes.

-Gipfelstürmer at Freizeitpark Ruhrpolding
Were there on a cold day first thing in the morning when the ride opened up. Park was empty and no one was at the coaster, all 3 rides were Zen Rides.

-Big Bang at Freizeitpark Familienland Pillersee
On the same trip the next stop was in Austria at Familienland Pillersee. A few people in the park, but still Big Bang was really empty and lots of people got Zen Rides.

-Wild Train at Fantasiana
Last stop of the same trip, park was open till the evening. Wasn't empty, but not a lot of people rode Wild Train during the night, so was able to secure a Zen Ride.
 
I've had a few, excluding the kiddy creds, some of my faves;
  • Prowler @ Worlds of Fun - CF platinum pass gives(gave?) you 15 mins early access, went in via the waterpark entrance and managed 3 solo rides before Howie was let in the park 😂
  • Wildfire @ Kolmarden - The week it opened the park was super quiet, walk on all afternoon, including a couple of solo rides towards the end of the day
  • Hydra @ Dorney - Park opening, everyone went to either Talon or Steel Force, front row solo ride
  • Corkscrew @ Valleyfair! - Halloween event in the evening, but it had no lights on so no-one thought it was open, tried my luck and had a solo ride
It's a weird sensation knowing you're the only one on the train, but they were all a bit sluggish due to lack of weight.

Agree with Howie about Zen rides meaning something else for me. Yeah there's no-one screaming in front/behind so it's just you and the hardware, but I'll take night rides on Taron with CF or that Beast ride over any Solo experience.
 
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