Should I ride CA Screamin?

[CraftyMouse]

I have also started having minor issues with motion sickness (primarily on rides) as I have gotten older. I now take a Bonine (motion sickness med.) tablet before heading to the parks and it works like a charm. You can get it at any drugstore/WalMart/etc. Just make sure to take it an hour or two before you ride as it needs time to work its way into your system!

 

[Sherry E]

I did it once to say I had done it and hated it, will never ride it again. I kept my eyes closed the whole time and was so relieved to get off it alive.

For, me, personally, I agree 100% with you. Otherwise, I admire all the folks who can ride stuff like that (and much worse!) and LOVE it, and more power to them, but I have no interest in it. Those rides too jarring for me! Ever since I was a kid going to Disneyland and other amusement parks, I have not been comfortable with roller coasters or thrill rides. I went on all the 'mountain' rides in DL a couple of times just to see what they were and now I leave them out of my repertoire when I am in the park. I even have trouble going on Indiana Jones because it is very bumpy and jerky - which is not good for a bad back, either - and I feel like I have been tossed in a blender by the time I get off of it! But I LOVE Star Tours, for some reason! It is the oddest thing because even the friends I knew who used to ride Star Tours with me will no longer ride it because they have become more motion sick over time! No one will go on it with me - they think it is a death machine! And yet, those same friends who can't do Star Tours love Indiana Jones and Soarin' Over California and even Space Mountain! How can that be? I also have a friend who won't get on Pirates because she hates those drops in the ride. She refuses. I was scared to death of Pirates when I was a kid but now it is one of my all-time favorites. But this same friend who hates drops has NO problem at all with spinning wildly and loves the Teacups and CarToon Spin and all that. Other friends I know will go on stuff that goes 60 miles an hour but will not ride anything that spins! I can tell you for certain that I will never be going on Orange Stinger either. Even the Monorail has a gotten a little 'wilder,' for lack of a better word, over the years, and makes us a little uneasy when it makes those turns a little sideways!!!

So we all have our little 'quirks' about what we don't like in certain rides. It could be speed, could be drops, could be heights, could be spinning, could be jerky/bumpy rides, could be 'motion simulation' rides, and it could be going upside down in loops! The great thing about Disneyland is that there is so much to do there for everyone - no matter what your aversion or preference! No one will be left out in the cold there. If I am with a group who are going on something I don't like, I have no problem splitting from them and sitting and people watching while they go on it, or going into shops and looking around, but it seems as we get older, more of my friends are avoiding things they used to like now, and we don't have to split up as often!

 

[mariezp]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to attempt CA Screamin on our next trip. As I have gotten older, my ability to tolerate some of the more "adventurous" rides has diminished. Also, I am wondering about motion sickness. I love roller coasters but have never attempted one with a "loop" and am wondering if motion sickness is a factor with this. I am curious as to the experiences of others in my "age group" also.......Let's say near the "big 50". Things just aren't the same as when I was in my 20's or 30's ......LOL

Glad you asked this question. I'm another of the, let's say, over 20 and 30 age group. I totally agree that I don't enjoy the thrill rides like I once did. Actually, most of the time I am quite happy I have an 8 year old who only likes the smaller rides so I have a good excuse to stay away from the "big" rides! (anybody else out there feel this way?)

So far I have been able to avoid riding Screamin, thanks to refurbs and break downs, but I'm pretty sure my time is drawing nearer to make the big attempt. My DS is now 17 and finds the prospect of getting poor old mom on the ride his current goal in life. While I may be a little nervous, I like to think that the main reason I have not ridden is not that I am scared or afraid it will make me sick but more that I just don't really think I will enjoy it.
We'll see... and if I change my mind, I'll let you know!

 

[missxjess]

You should definitely try it out just to say that you've done it. With that being said, that was the only ride that my mom felt slightly sick after she got off the ride. My mom NEVER does rides but seeing as how we were at DL/DCA she said she'd do it just for the experience. If you feel sick just close your eyes. The loop is nothing to worry about. It's such a small loop that the time your upside down is next to nothing. The only thing that really gets your stomach going is the launch and the first drop. Maybe just do a few smaller rides such as the splash mountain or space mountain and see if your stomach can handle it, and if you feel alright after that than maybe take a chance on DCA Screamin!

 

[FloraFauna]

Definitely ride it! I am a roller coaster chicken. I rode this and loved it.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm past 20 & 30 (&40) also and rode CA Screamin for the first time last year. Loved, loved, loved it!!!!

 

[avalon451]

You sound like me. I have loved roller coasters all my life, so has DH. We haven't had the opportunity to go on anything bigger than our state fair RC, which is relatively tame, for the last 15 years. I also suffer from positional vertigo and will get MUCH sicker on circular rides than most people. Some kind of inner ear thing, I guess. But drops and banked turns are great!

When we went, I LOVED Screamin'. As others have said, the loop happens SO quickly, you really don't notice a change. It was not a big deal at all for me. The ride is very smooth and thrilling.

That said, my DH was really surprised to find how much the ride bothered him. He broke out in a cold sweat and was really quite rattled by the time we got off. I was raring to go another time (we had extra FPs) but he just sort of tottered over to lean against a railing and said, "Go ahead, I'm just going to... kiss the ground, here, for awhile."

Now, when I got off the second time, I think my head had banged around on the padded headrests too much, because I had a pretty good headache along with a "rattled-brain" feeling. So that was it for me.

I have promised on my next trip to go on Teacups with DD13; in return she has pinky-sworn to go on Screamin' with me. I suspect I got the worst of the deal. I know I am going to be a lovely shade of green when I get off those blasted, twirly, spinny, round-and-round instruments of the devil.

 

[PRINCESSplazola]

i say give it a try...if for some reason you get sick, then you know not to ride it anymore...but more than likely you're going to LOVE it and ride it over and over again the loop is nothing to worry about...you hardley even notice that you're upside down (well, you'll know, but it wont really feel like it )

 

[quest4dl]

I had been planning to give this ride a try after all the great reviews and encouragements but once there I couldn't make myself do it. My ds 11 loves coasters and I had planned to brave it for him but once I saw the coaster up close I couldn't make myself do it. I told my ds that I would let him go single rider by himself but even he didn't want to go unless I went with him. I felt badly about that but I know my limits. I went on Space Mountain and relatively enjoyed that but I know that was the limit for g-forces for my body! I also prefer 'dark' coasters - would rather not see all the rails and how far up from the ground we are.

 

[bumbershoot]

quest, I solved that last part of your post by going for the first time at night.


To anyone worried about going and worried about liking it, be sure you do the single rider option (if you're OK not sitting next to a loved one...remember, with the shoulder restraints you can't even SEE the person next to you, so it doesn't really matter who is there) so that your time commitment to the ride is as small as possible.

 

[Wavy Blue]

If you can handle the tea cups, you can definitely handle 'Screamin. And personally I love the launch--just brace yourself. Don't lean forward or you just might hit your head.

 

[bumbershoot]

Another tip. Unless you are very very tall, if you don't want to look at the track, don't sit in the front. I sat in the front in the dark, and was so glad it was dark. When I rode during the day, I sat further back in the vehicle (what do you call the string of vehicles on a roller coaster?) and couldn't see out to the track, so it reduced the freakout factor.

 

[Sherry E]

If you can handle the tea cups, you can definitely handle 'Screamin. And personally I love the launch--just brace yourself. Don't lean forward or you just might hit your head.

You know what is funny with those Teacups? They are a different experience depending on who is turning the wheel! I have loved and ridden those my entire Disneyland-going life - since I was 5 years old. And they have never bothered me, and I never understood how anyone else was bothered by them.... UNTIL I rode with two VERY maniacal, STRONG men who did everything they could to make sure that cup spun off its axis and defied laws of gravity, breaking all sound and time barriers as well! They had such demonic glee on their faces, as though they were possessed by some evil spirit - not that I could really tell what their faces looked like because I was clinging to whatever was left of the side of the cup, certain that it was turning sideways and I would be decapitated by another whirling death machine passing by us! It literally felt like it was spinning so fast it was turning sideways and I felt the nausea building in me. Seeing that I didn't want to start spewing in mid-ride, I had to ask them to calm down just a tad on the spinning. Never before had I experienced the Teacups quite that way, and never since. If you go with really strong men, be aware that the Teacups will be a whole different can of worms than when you ride with your girlfriends! I still go on it, but I go on it with wimpy people who don't have much grip strength, who THINK they are going really fast!

 

[bumbershoot]

Sherry E,

I don't let DH and DS turn the wheel at all. If they want me in the cup, they know not to turn it.

And it's a reason I adore the similar ride in a bug's land, b/c you cannot turn the wheel.

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry E,

I don't let DH and DS turn the wheel at all. If they want me in the cup, they know not to turn it.

And it's a reason I adore the similar ride in a bug's land, b/c you cannot turn the wheel.

Hee hee. That is funny! Your DH and DS know better than to start turning that wheel with you in it! I almost think the men I was in the cup with WANTED to make me sick, and enjoyed seeing me pull myself out of the pink, swirly deathmobile, arms dragging like a primate, trying to get my footing back amid major equilibrium disturbance.

Anyway, I have not been on that ride in A Bug's Land yet, but that sounds like my cup of tea...no pun intended! I want to try that in October. I also like Buzz Lightyear because you can control your spinning and it does not go fast, as well as Car Toon Spin, because it never goes completely out of control like those Teacups can.

 

[Joy2theWorld]

For those that have been to WDW, is the take off like that on Rockin Rollercoaster? If so, there is no way I can do it when we are there in August. I came off of that so green. Expedition Everest broke me out in a cold sweat. My 60 year old mom did better on that than me!!

 

[aymekae]

Had to share a recent story about Screamin'... I was there on Monday with my new DH, and he is a roller coaster wimp, too, but since he's known the DL rides since he was a kid, it's all he will go on. I had all but convinced him to try it while we were waiting for TSMM, when he unfortunately saw the launch. I've never seen him turn so white just watching it!

Later that evening, my uncle and cousins were trying to get him to try it, too. My 8 year old female cousin turned her face up at him and in the cute 8 year old voice says, "But ya gotta, ya just gotta!"

 

[Sy-]

Had to share a recent story about Screamin'... I was there on Monday with my new DH, and he is a roller coaster wimp, too, but since he's known the DL rides since he was a kid, it's all he will go on. I had all but convinced him to try it while we were waiting for TSMM, when he unfortunately saw the launch. I've never seen him turn so white just watching it!

Later that evening, my uncle and cousins were trying to get him to try it, too. My 8 year old female cousin turned her face up at him and in the cute 8 year old voice says, "But ya gotta, ya just gotta!"

So... Did he go?

 

[minniecarousel]

Ok - here's the low-down on California Screamin': keep your eyes open - I found it worse with my eyes closed. I can't tolerate Space Mountain anymore (I'm in my 50's). I find CaSreamin' a fun treat, but I usually only ride it once per trip to Disneyland. I admitted to DH that our trip in June was probably my last ride on Space Mtn.

 

[avalon451]

... seeing me pull myself out of the pink, swirly deathmobile, arms dragging like a primate, trying to get my footing back amid major equilibrium disturbance.

I found Space much less scary than Screamin'.