Roller coasters: How I love thee

By sovknight | January 30, 2008

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love roller coasters.  To me, they are the single biggest reason to go to any amusement park, and definitely the most fun of any of the rides.  There’s just something special about strapping yourself into a big metal seat and letting gravity take you where it will.  Take you FAST.  Preferably with lots of twists and turns and maybe a couple of loops for good measure. 

My introduction to coasters actually came pretty late.  I’m pretty sure I was 18 before I ever stepped into one.  Most of my friends had been riding them for a few years at that point, but although I’d been to the parks, I’d never had more than a passing interest in the coasters.  The summer after high school though, my friend introduced me to The Beast at King’s Island near Cincinnati Ohio, and I was hooked forever forward.

The Beast. Best roller coaster in the world.

Growing up in Ohio, we had our choice of several theme parks.  In the south, by Cincinnati, was King’s Island, home of not only several prime roller coasters, but THE prime, and what I (and most others) consider to be the BEST coaster on the planet.  Ohio is also home of Cedar Point, near Cleveland, (what is that smell?) owner of the largest collection of coasters (17) in the entire world.  Not only that, but Cedar Point had an ongoing tradition of creating the world’s tallest and fastest coasters every few years.  The last of the major parks in Ohio was Geauga Lake.  G-Lake had a few coasters and a few good rides, but was never actually able to compete with the bigger parks, and although they were bought out by Six Flags (and subsequently sold not long after), the park is now closed after a 119 year history of fun.

But this post isn’t about parks, it’s about roller coasters!  Wood, metal, or a combination of both, roller coasters are the premiere attraction at most parks.  In 1994 I had the opportunity to work a summer job at Cedar Point, and one of the best things about that is the fact that I got to ride roller coasters every single day, for free, before the park opened.  The reason for that is simple.  You have to “warm up” the coasters before the general public can ride them.  It’s sort of a safety thing.  So every morning before our shifts, the coaster crews would run the trains a couple of times empty, then we (the park employees) would climb in and take a few trips to make sure everything was in working order.

The Millennium Force. 300ft straight down at an 80-degree angle and at 93mph.

Sometimes it was difficult.  Cedar Point is on a peninsula on Lake (seriously… what is that smell?) Erie.  In the mornings, it could be cold with the wind blowing off the lake.  Couple that with occasional rain, and the experience could turn out to be miserable.  I remember a couple of occasions where we’d climb the lift (literally climb the ladder going up the first hill of the ride… coaster warming wasn’t for those afraid of heights) and find a nice, wet car and do the whole ride with stinging rain blowing into our faces.  This was necessary, because unless there’s lightning and thunder, most coasters will still operate in the rain.  Sometimes we went around three, four, even five times before we were able to get off.  Even the most hardy coaster riders had trouble with this.  Riding once is fine, but several times with no stops doesn’t do much for your stomach.  Then there are rollbacks.  A rollback occurs when the coaster is still cold and there’s not enough momentum for it to make the second hill of the ride.  So literally, it creeps to a stop, then rolls backward.  Makes for a fun ride, but it’s a very bad thing and requires a crane to come and take the train down car by car.  A very expensive event, but also very rare.

I suppose my love for coasters was cemented by that experience.  I was 22 in 1994, so I had been riding for five years or so in the summers.  Even though I rode coasters every single day for an entire season, I still never got tired of them.  There’s just something about the complete loss of control that you have, while still knowing you are perfectly safe.  Some people assume that coasters have some sort of control or guidance.  Nope, once they are clear of the lift, it’s all gravity and Mother Nature from then on.  True, most coasters have braking systems at various places in the ride, but for the most part, it’s just you and physics.

The Raptor. Suspended from the top and a Cobra roll? I want more!

I took a trip home to Ohio last year.  I was there for a couple of reasons.  One, to see my friends and family, and two, to help an old friend move his life to another state.  Remembering all the awesome summers that he and I had in the past (he being the one to introduce me to coasters), we decided to take one last trip down to Cincinnati and hit the coasters one more time.  For old time’s sake.  Since both of us now live thousands of miles from those great theme parks, we thought it would be a fitting goodbye.  Sadly, our aging, decrepit bodies just don’t tolerate the extremes that roller coasters offer quite as well as they did in past days, but we still had a blast nonetheless. 

My personal top five roller coasters, as judged by me and all my riding experience.

1. The Beast (King’s Island).  Everyone that knows coasters knows the Beast is the best.  Period.  To ride this coaster at night, in the dark, back through the forest is an experience unlike any other.
2. The Vortex (King’s Island).  Just a short distance from the Beast, the Vortex is all steel and smooth as silk.  One of the best double-loops on any coaster.
3. The Gemini (Cedar Point).   This was the main coaster that I test-rode in the mornings.  I’ve ridden it literally hundreds of times, and it deserves a special place in my heart.
4. The Millennium Force (Cedar Point).  Good God what a coaster.  310 feet tall and 92 miles-per-hour, it just doesn’t get much better than that.
5. The Raptor (Cedar Point).  I was among the first to ride this, and was even in one of the commercials for it.  A spectacular coaster from start to finish.

Roller coasters:  How I love thee.