Aerosmith rollercoaster - G forces on roller coasters

WoodysRoundup

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In addition to being HI, DS has two heart conditions and an abnormal eeg. He is monitored bi-yearly w/ a holter and (so far) has no ride restrictions. I do remember the death on R&R rollercoaster a couple years back. I'm being a nervous mom (as you can probably imagine). Does anyone know the specific ride disclaimers/restrictions for this ride? It's never been an issue due to height restrictions. Now he's tall enough and wants to ride. I don't want him to "live in a bubble" since he has no restrictions as of yet. However, I do want to be informed and practical. TIA!
 
Thank you for posting that. It has the "catch all" ride disclaimer and our cardiologist says "no restrictions at this time". I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge specifically about the issues with this ride.
It's one I might suggest skipping even if the cardiologist says no restrictions. I would assume that unless the cardiologist has been on it, he might not know what it is like.

The ride car goes from 0 to 60 mile per hour in 2.8 seconds. It has a lot of sudden twists, turns and sharp drops. It also has several complete inversions (where you are turned upside down). I don't know how many inversions it has, but there are definately more than one.
 

My DD is being evaluated for heart problems as well (she also uses a wheelchair, but that's a completely different story). Her cardiologist initially said that she didn't have any ride restrictions, but then we took her to the local county fair, where she went on that ride that spins so fast that you stick to the walls when the bottom falls out. She's a complete thrill ride junkie, but on after this ride she felt dizzy and nauseous afterwards, and her heart rate was extremely high. The doc said it might be a result of the high G-forces produced by the ride, but he wasn't sure it was a problem with her heart per se, since that type of ride could make anyone sick like that. Nevertheless, I've been nervous about coasters that go upside down (like Rock n Roller Coaster) since that experience. We're going to double check before our next WDW trip, because more of her testing should be back by then. Also, the intense (Orange) version of Mission Space produces high G-forces as well. Of course, everyone's health concerns are different, but it might help you to double check one more time before you go.


Good luck,
Mary
 
It's one I might suggest skipping even if the cardiologist says no restrictions. I would assume that unless the cardiologist has been on it, he might not know what it is like.

The ride car goes from 0 to 60 mile per hour in 2.8 seconds. It has a lot of sudden twists, turns and sharp drops. It also has several complete inversions (where you are turned upside down). I don't know how many inversions it has, but there are definately more than one.

Thanks for that. Good point about "unless the cardiologist has been on it". We've already had him skip the intense version of Mission Space. Even though there are no restrictions from cardio or neuro "at this time", I feel like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We will keep him off R&R. :sad1:

Would you say that R&R and MS are the roughest rides in the parks? That would be my guess.
 
My DD is being evaluated for heart problems as well (she also uses a wheelchair, but that's a completely different story). Her cardiologist initially said that she didn't have any ride restrictions, but then we took her to the local county fair, where she went on that ride that spins so fast that you stick to the walls when the bottom falls out. She's a complete thrill ride junkie, but on after this ride she felt dizzy and nauseous afterwards, and her heart rate was extremely high. The doc said it might be a result of the high G-forces produced by the ride, but he wasn't sure it was a problem with her heart per se, since that type of ride could make anyone sick like that. Nevertheless, I've been nervous about coasters that go upside down (like Rock n Roller Coaster) since that experience. We're going to double check before our next WDW trip, because more of her testing should be back by then. Also, the intense (Orange) version of Mission Space produces high G-forces as well. Of course, everyone's health concerns are different, but it might help you to double check one more time before you go.


Good luck,
Mary
Thanks for the info.
:goodvibes to you and DD...I feel for you. On top of everything else, it's so hard to balance being too careful and wondering if you're being careful enough, isn't it? :goodvibes
 
Thanks for that. Good point about "unless the cardiologist has been on it". We've already had him skip the intense version of Mission Space. Even though there are no restrictions from cardio or neuro "at this time", I feel like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We will keep him off R&R. :sad1:

Would you say that R&R and MS are the roughest rides in the parks? That would be my guess.
Both of them are very intense.
MS (the green version that does not spin) is still very rough and it has the element of scaring you (don't want to give anything away, but there are some tense moments when your 'mission' is in danger. I would not do the more intense (Orange version); it adds the whole ride spinning to the roughness, so it would have the same effect as the fair ride that Mary wrote about.
R&R has drops and things, but it is a smooth ride (you are in a limo, after all, rushing to a concert).

For roughness, I would rate Dinosaur at AK as rougher and it also has a high scare factor (get the adrenalin going). It is very rough and jerky. There are also a lot of times when your ride car is going slowly and then abruptly speeds up or turns in another direction - all with the possibility that you might be 'turned into dinosaur food' or 'crushed/burned' by an asteroid. Probably not much in terms of G forces though.

Primeval Whirl at AK is one that is deceptively rough. It looks like a tame little roller coaster, but it also spins randomly. I got my tag from describing it ("It's like combining the teacups with a roller coaster" in red under my signature - thank you, Tag Fairy).

Tower of Terror at the Studio also has a high 'make you sick' factor. your elevator drops at a faster than gravity speed and then is pulled up again. The pulling up and dropping cycle repeats several times - just how many is random. While you are falling and then being pulled up, you have a certain amount of air time when your body and the elevator are moving at a little different speeds. I don't know what the G forces are, but it seems like that might be a problem.

Star Tours at the Studio is quite rough, with a lot of changing direction, but probably little G forces.

If there are any you are concerned about, talk with the CM at the ride entrance. You may be able to arrange for one member of your party to check out the ride and give an opinion on whether it seems OK or not. I would suggest choosing your person carefully though. My DH rode Mission Space Orange version and R&R and said they were 'nothing', so I would not use his opinion. I would send my older DD on (but she is a ride wimp). Her DH is a good victim (I mean test subject) to trial rides and give an objective opinion.
 
http://www.rcdb.com/id560.htm
G force is 5 which is like me weighing 1400 pounds, ouch.

http://www.rcdb.com/pr.htm?parkname=disneyworld
you can choose a park to check out G forces on rides in WDW parks.

The problem with doctors is that they do not know what the ride specs are so they say roller coasters are safe but fail to understand that roller coasters are not the same. The mad mouse roller coaster like Mulholland Madness at DCA is a very very violent ride where you are suddenly whipped around corners. It is on my top 10 rides not to ride. Some like Rock n Roller have very high G force. Where as a kiddie coaster found at the local fair is a chain lift then slow undulating hills and a few gentle turns. Ride a coaster and feel your heart pounding then ask if the person with heart problems can handle their pulse racing like that.

I err on the side of caution as I so want to ride rides but rather not spend a week in bed in pain or dragging myself around the house barely able to make dinner and do simple chores.
 
http://www.rcdb.com/id560.htm
G force is 5 which is like me weighing 1400 pounds, ouch.

http://www.rcdb.com/pr.htm?parkname=disneyworld
you can choose a park to check out G forces on rides in WDW parks.

The problem with doctors is that they do not know what the ride specs are so they say roller coasters are safe but fail to understand that roller coasters are not the same. The mad mouse roller coaster like Mulholland Madness at DCA is a very very violent ride where you are suddenly whipped around corners. It is on my top 10 rides not to ride. Some like Rock n Roller have very high G force. Where as a kiddie coaster found at the local fair is a chain lift then slow undulating hills and a few gentle turns. Ride a coaster and feel your heart pounding then ask if the person with heart problems can handle their pulse racing like that.

I err on the side of caution as I so want to ride rides but rather not spend a week in bed in pain or dragging myself around the house barely able to make dinner and do simple chores.
That site about the roller coasters is good find:thumbsup2
I'm going to put a link to it in the disABILITIES FAQs thread because I think it might be useful to have.
 
Glad to find it and did you see that they have for the parks the following info:

Amusement Park: Walt Disney World - Disney's Hollywood Studios (2008 to ?)
Walt Disney World - Disney-MGM Studios (1989 to 2007)
Address: Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830 USA
Official web site: http://www.disneyworld.com
Status: Operating since 5/1/1989
Parks nearby: Existing · Defunct · All · Map
Maps: Google Maps (Road) · Google Maps (Satellite) · Windows Live Local (Road) · Windows Live Local (Satellite)

http://www.rcdb.com/ig560.htm?picture=1
Pictures of many rides in their database.

http://www.rcdb.com/g.htm
Glossary for us who are not up to speed on roller coasters.

http://www.rcdb.com/tv.htm
Cool feature lets you search by continent then choose country then state
 
I feel that Thunder Mountain is rougher than R&R. I would err on the side of caution though.
 
I feel that Thunder Mountain is rougher than R&R. I would err on the side of caution though.
I would agree that Thunder Mountain is rougher.
R&R is very smooth, but it has several inversions. I think the turning upside down probably makes it a concern despite being smooth.
 
I worry the most about high G-forces than I do about jerky/rough rides. Any "thrill" ride can raise your heart rate, but DD's cardiologist doesn't seem concerned about things like that. DD has never felt sick on Everest, ToT, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Dinosaur, or practically every other ride in the park (we keep her off Mission Space Orange, although she has ridden RnRC a couple times). Now, if you're someone like me, who feels sick on practically any major ride, that's a different story. As far as the heart problems are concerned though, I try and keep DD off rides with the G-force issue. As far as I know, the potentially problematic rides at WDW are RnRC and the Orange Mission Space.

Here's a link to a story outlining the G-force problem:
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200606/147/


Thanks for the info.
:goodvibes to you and DD...I feel for you. On top of everything else, it's so hard to balance being too careful and wondering if you're being careful enough, isn't it? :goodvibes

Especially when you have a teenager! She wants to go everywhere and do everything!

Mary
 
Here's a link to a story outlining the G-force problem:
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200606/147/




Especially when you have a teenager! She wants to go everywhere and do everything!

Mary
It would be nice if the G force information was easier to find, but it's great that they added it so people have the information. Since it's not official information, you may need to take it with a grain of salt. And, no listing doesn't mean no G forces, just that no one had that information to add.

I actually found another site where an Orlando TV station did a study on G forces where they actually rode with equipment that measured G forces on some of the more populat thrill rides. The story includes Universal, but since they only looked at the 'most popular thrill rides' there may be other attractions they didn't test that also had G forces. Here's what they showed for the WDW attractions:
  • Space Mountain: 3.5 Gs
  • Big Thunder Mountain: 2.5 Gs
  • Rock n Roller Coaster: 4.4 Gs (the other site lists it as 3.5 and a couple of other sites I found said it can be between 4 and 5 depending on where you are sitting).
  • Mission: Space: 2.1 Gs (but for 15 seconds in length) - I saw other places on the internet that listed it as 2.5 for sustained periods.
  • Test Track: 2 Gs
Expedition Everest was not open yet when that story was done. I found an article on wikipedia that lists it as a maximum of 2.2 going forward and 3 going backward.

This is a list of attractions with warnings. You can look at the park maps for the attractions with warnings - they are marked with a red triangle on the map and also on a sign at the entrance to the queue.
For Epcot:
  • Mission Space
  • Test Track
For Magic Kingdom:
  • Splash Mountain has nothing listed, but my guess is the big drop generates some when you come to a stop at the end - you are at a complete stop at the top of the drop and reach 40 miles per hour during the drop. Then you suddenly come to almost a complete stop at the bottom.
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Tomorrowland Indy Speedway is not very fast. I think the warning is more for other drivers hitting your car and causing jolts as they hit.
  • Space Mountain
  • Goofy's Barnstormer (this doesn't have a triangle warning sign on the map, but does say that pregnant women should not ride, so it's not totally tame). If Big Thunder Mountain generates 2.5, this would probably be at least 1.5-2, but it is a short ride.
For Disney Studio
  • Star Tours is rough, but I think it doesn't do anything that would generate G forces other than a few short sudden stops and changes of direction.
  • Rock N Roller Coaster
  • Tower of Terror has nothing listed. Just from how it feels, I would be surprised if it doesn't have at least a couple for very short periods. You are weightless during the falls, but as the elevator is going quickly back up, you do feel heavier than normal.
For Animal Kingdom:
  • Kilimanjaro Safari is mostly bumpy.
  • Kali River Rapids has several drops, one that is 30 feet, but nothing that would generate G forces.
  • Expedition Everest
  • Primeval Whirl -wikipedia lists it at Max 2.5 G
  • Dinosaur has some sudden stops and changes of direction, but doesn't go really fast.
 
I love the rollercoaster database!

Here is Xpress, at Walibi World, which is a copy of Rock n Roller Coaster. http://www.rcdb.com/ig769.htm?picture=8 Six Flags purchased this ride in 2000 for their Six Flags Holland and it is the basic version of the ride. Disney just got the same ride, added a brake zone, unload station and custom trains. They allo feature 3 inversions and a large banked turn.

The G forces don't really mean anything. 4.4 G's for Rock n Roller Coaster is only for a fraction of second when the train enter the double loop. Mission:Space is only 2.1 G... but, the 15 seconds duration make it a lot more intense and a lot more chance of getting you sick.

To give you an idea: Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain (in Los Angeles, CA) has a 255 feet drop, but, the ride worst point was the double helix after the midcourse brakes. When the train wasn't stopped on the brakes, passagers experienced 3.5 G's for a few seconds! People actually greyed out or saw black... The park then stopped the train completely on the brakes to reduce the speed and G's in the double helix.

The most intense rollercoaster in the world I have ever experienced (or suffered...) is the insane Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highlands in Japan. The launch is 0 to 107 mph in 1.7 seconds! Its the same thing as getting hit by a baseball bat in the back...
 
1) Knowing the G-Force is a good thing.
2) But, there are three main forces on a coaster that can affect the heart.
3) Plus, there are two types of acceleration g-forces (horizontal & vertical).
3) You need to know which one, of many, that affects your family.

NOTE: Rating the various forces in play on a coaster is a series of long calculations. There is no simple answer as to which force type will affect your family.
 












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