How old were you when you rode your first looping roller coaster?

[mjdis17]

When I was 8 or 9. It was my first time riding Rockin Rollercoaster and Mom and I had been in line for forever and I happened to read one of those safety posters that mentioned it went upside down. I flipped out and my mom pretty much told me we weren't getting out of line and that was that. Happy to report I survived! Her pep talk prior to riding something for the first time was always "just scream if you need to" and it always did the trick.

 

[PollyannaMom]

When I was 8 or 9. It was my first time riding Rockin Rollercoaster and Mom and I had been in line for forever and I happened to read one of those safety posters that mentioned it went upside down. I flipped out and my mom pretty much told me we weren't getting out of line and that was that. Happy to report I survived! Her pep talk prior to riding something for the first time was always "just scream if you need to" and it always did the trick.

DH "helped" some kid ride that one year too. He was in line with his dad, and turned to us to ask if we'd ever been on it before and if it went upside down. DH had been years prior, and actually forgot and said he didn't think it did! Apparently he ran into them again in the bathroom after. Dad was fine, but DH said the kid gave him quite a glare. DS still laughs about it.

 

[design_mom]

Probably 8 or 9, whenever I was fall enough. I think it was probably Corkscrew at Cedar Point.

That was me, too. I think my first looping coaster was the Corkscrew. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but it was the first year I was tall enough to ride.

I was disappointed. I did not like it as well as I thought. Although I met the height requirement, the chest harness didn't fit very well and it was a rough ride. My head kept banging into the harness and it hurt. I got off with a headache.

I 'fit the harness' better now and that usually doesn't happen. I still think I like non-looping coasters better than looping ones, but I will still ride the looping ones.

 

[MGMmjl]

I don't know my exact age (probably 13 or 14), but it was the Mindbender at Six Flags Over Georgia.

 

[wvjules]

It was the Laser Loop at Kennywood in Pittsburgh, so I'm guessing middle school?

 

[Moliphino]

I don't remember. 12 at the oldest, as that's how old I was when Rock 'n' Roller Coaster opened. Maybe a little before that? I remember riding the Mind Eraser at Six Flags when I went with a friend, but I don't remember exactly when that was. That opened when I was 10.

 

[mjkacmom]

I was probably around 8, super dooper looper at Hershey park, my kids were younger when they rode it. Hershey does not have high height requirements for most coasters.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I want to say I was 12. I do know my first intense corkscrew and multiple loops was Alpengiest at BGW when I was I want to say 14/15 but I can’t remember my first basic loop…..

 

[BlueStarryHat]

The Sea Serpent opened in 1984.

There you go, thank you. I was fourteen or so. I remember having to stand in line to ride it in a corral type queue for a couple of hours. It's a very quaint coaster now, but at the time it was really something for the boardwalk.

 

[DLgal]

I think Scream Machine opened in 1989. I rode its clone at 6F Great America north of Chicago in 1988. A third one of the same style was at 6F Magic Mountain north of LA maybe in 1990.

Unfortunately all three of those became unridable headbangers to me within 5 years of opening.

In my old age I have to be careful about which coasters I ride. I generally avoid those with loops and inversions now, but there are a few exceptions.

Yep. Between 1990 and 1994, my BFF and I were marathon Scream Machine riders. Our record was 7 times in a row.

Once I moved to CA in 1994, I didn't make it to Magic Mountain until about 1998, but remember being SO excited to ride the Scream Machine clone (can't remember the name). It was ROUGH, even on my 20 year old body.

It's been awhile since I've ridden a coaster with numerous inversions. I think the last time was Hulk at IOA in 2014 (?) with the same BFF that used to be my Scream Machine partner in crime, and it kicked both our butts.

 

[DLgal]

The last time was when I was 64 with my Grandson. The last time I was in DHS I was 71 and had some mobility problems so I skipped that and went to Star Wars Land instead. Smugglers Run was the only one open at the time.

I hope to still be able to handle coasters at 64!

 

[bcla]

Back then loops needed to be supported by hanging from those parabolic arches.

The first corkscrews had parabolic truss arches. Not sure what it would be called, but the first modern looping coaster that went more or less vertically (and not a corkscrew) was Revolution at Magic Mountain. Not sure if that's an arch per se, but the truss was almost as tight as the loop. I saw that a few times on various TV shows - I think Wonder Woman and then later as a "stunt" that Super Dave Osborne did on Bizarre.

A lot of newer coasters will just support the loops like this:

 

[bcla]

How about the Anton Schwarzkopf shuttle loop? I think there were variations on that, including how the ride vehicle was launched.

Shuttle Loop - Schwarzkopf (Münsterhausen, Bavaria, Germany)
https://rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&ml=12167

I heard some story about early testing of the one that was installed at what was then Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California during a presentation by a ride engineer there when we were in high school. It was a special event called "Physics Day" where high school students were visiting and theoretically doing ride experiments. The chief ride engineer at the park was telling us the story of how the shuttle loop (called The Tidal Wave) was installed and tested. He made sure to mention that when he asked about whether or not they should test it with sandbags, the (very German) representative of the manufacturer was super confident and said absolutely - it was ready for that. So they loaded sandbags into the ride vehicle. But they had packed the ride vehicles with very heavy grease, and the first time they did it, it just stalled at the top of the loop and the sandbags just fell and deposited sand all over the track and then into the wheels when the vehicle finally came down.

So they had to try again after cleaning up all that mess. But they didn't have the original grease on hand and used what they had, which was lighter - to pack the wheel bearings after cleaning them out. So they crossed their fingers, and this time the ride went through the loop, only this too fast because of the lighter grease where it hit the end and knocked off the bumper and damaged the ride vehicle. Apparently they did it a bunch of times until they got it right, but I suppose that happens a lot when rides are installed, and even where rides are operated empty before any guests ride them.

The other really awesome thing about that day was that we got special tickets (5 each) that allowed the user to remain on a ride. Since there were a lot of no shows, my teacher had all the extras. He told us on the bus ride back that he (and I think another teacher) rode The Demon (the most popular ride in the park) about 12 straight times when there was only one train. And since guests line up for a spot for a specific location on the train, it was the same couple of people just waiting there.

 

[BrianL]

I just got curious, and my first coaster, The Revolution, was an Arrow Dynamics Loop & Corkscrew, and the ride lives on as Zimerman at an amusement park in The Philippines. Interesting!

 

[RedAngie]

Those Schwarzkopt shuttle loopers were better than the Arrow ones because they only had a lap bar and not the bulky over-the-shoulder harness that could cause headbanging.

 

[RedAngie]

Once I moved to CA in 1994, I didn't make it to Magic Mountain until about 1998, but remember being SO excited to ride the Scream Machine clone (can't remember the name). It was ROUGH, even on my 20 year old

The Magic Mountain clone was called The Viper. I don’t remember the name of the original at 6F Great America near Chicago.

 

[SgtTibbs]

Revolution at Magic Mountain opened in '76, so doing the math: 14.

 

[bcla]

Those Schwarzkopt shuttle loopers were better than the Arrow ones because they only had a lap bar and not the bulky over-the-shoulder harness that could cause headbanging.

At least the one I rode had seat belts. And as we found out with the New Texas Giant fatality, adding seatbelts when there are inversions and no shoulder harness is a good idea just in case the lap bar doesn't hold.

 

[wowsmom]

Revolution at Magic Mountain opened in '76, so doing the math: 14.

That was my first looping coaster too! The summer it opened. I was 12 and loved it!!

 

[JoanneAZ]

Mine was when I was in my teens at the Arizona state fair though it wasn’t a true coaster. It was just an upright circular track. The ride appeared under many names, I think the one I rode was called the ring of fire. I’ll put a picture below.
I also rode Montezooma’s Revenge and the Boomerang (inversion loop and triple corkscrew) at Knott’s in my 20s.