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

[bcla]

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!

Where was that? The only ride with that name I recall was at Magic Mountain, and that one was made by Schwarzkopf and was remade as New Revolution.

OK - looked it up. Surprised they got away with possible trademark infringement.

 

[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.

The 25th anniversary tribute they did talked about the commercial that Marriott's had for the ride. I can't find it, but I definitely remember it. It featured a German "mad scientist" talking about how diabolical his new creation was. The head of park PR in that piece said that Anton Schwarzkopf would probably have approved even though he wasn't exactly a mad scientist.

 

[BrianL]

Where was that? The only ride with that name I recall was at Magic Mountain, and that one was made by Schwarzkopf and was remade as New Revolution.

OK - looked it up. Surprised they got away with possible trademark infringement.

It was Libertyland in Memphis, TN. The whole park was themed toward American history/freedom, etc. It opened on July 4, 1976 even. The Zippin Pippin (a famous wooden roller coaster thantElvis liked to ride) and Grand Carousel predated the park, but a lot of the other rides were named things like Old Hickory (log ride) and Twain's Twister (basic Scrambler). Man, I had so much fun there!

 

[bcla]

It was Libertyland in Memphis, TN. The whole park was themed toward American history/Freedom, etc. It opened on July 4, 1976 even. The Zippin Pippin (a famous wooden roller coaster thantElvis liked to ride) and Grand Carousel predated the park, but a lot of the other rides were named things like Old Hickory (log ride) and Twain's Twister (basic Scrambler). Man, I had so much fun there!

The whole American experience thing was also the idea behind Marriott's Great America. And they didn't get the park near DC that they wanted to be the showpiece though. They didn't quite open on July 4, 1976 but in May.

 

[tvguy]

My first looping roller coaster? Late 20's. Prior to that I only rode roller coasters at Disneyland and the first looping roller coaster there opened in California Adventure in 2001 when I was 44.

 

[ChrisFL]

I was around 13 or 14, rode Scorpion at Busch Gardens Tampa....that would have been around 1994

 

[Babs Johnson]

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

I turned 64 in November and still enjoy coasters, but not all of them.

My first looping coaster was The Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Either 1978 or 79.

I remember those corkscrew coasters being a BIG DEAL in the late 70s.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

A young adult, I think? Early 20s.

 

[mumto3girls]

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

This was mine too. I just looked and it ran from 1980-1990 (now for sale BTW, has been in Mexico). I would have just turned 11 in the summer of 1980.

 

[melk]

Rock-n-Roller Coaster at age 37

 

[scrump]

I was six, on a loop coaster at Six Flags in Illinois. I went on with my dad. I was so excited to ride it until I actually got in the vehicle and realized there was so much room between me and the harness! I didn't say anything, but after the coaster started and we came around to the loop, I saw my dad get concerned and try to hold me down during the ride - while we are going upside down. I laugh about it now, but at the time I thought I was going to die.

 

[hopemax]

4. See my avatar, same trip as that. 1980, first trip to Disneyland and we went to Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm where I rode the Corkscrew. My Dad says he had no idea 4-year olds had that much grip strength! He was fine, I was fine and as I grew up I used it as an example of what I could do. If I could ride that at 4, I could do other coasters, water slides, etc.

Fast-forward about 20 years, and the Corkscrew was moved to Silverwood Theme Park in Coeur D'Alene, ID. We didn't have a lot of theme park options in the PacNW, so my DH had never done non-Disney roller coasters. So the Corkscrew was also his first upside-down coaster.

 

[JLTraveling]

I was 7. I LOVED non-looping coasters, but I was scared to death of going upside down. My summer day camp program took us to Busch Gardens that summer, and my friends really wanted to go on the Python. I was going to wait by the exit, but they talked me into waiting in line with them. My plan was to cross through the ride vehicle to the exit, but naturally when we got there my friends pushed me down in a seat and pulled the restraint down! I kept my eyes closed and screamed my head off the whole ride, but then I realized I actually kind of loved it lol. Been a coaster enthusiast ever since.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

I think I was about 10 or 11. I was in line for the Demon at Great America with my parents. My mom swore I could leave if I was scared at the front. Yeah she lied! It took my until I was about 14 to open my eyes on upside coasters.

14 or 15 - also at the Demon at Great America (in Cali). This was back in 1980, so that was about as early as I could have ridden one, without a trip to SoCal. Absolutely loved it, but these days my acrophobia usually trumps my adrenaline urges. That’s another reason I love Disney - their enclosed coasters deliver all the fun without the deathly fear.