Theme park moments that gave you goosebumps

[Dave]

Walking into Tokyo DisneySea
First rides on Mystery Castle, River Quest and Chipas!
The craziness of Colorado Adventure

^ This
- Hearing the first launch fart of Taron and descending into goon noises while waiting for Klugheim to open!
- Taron ERT at night, enough said.
- Oblivion's drop, every single time.
- Flying Dutchman at Efteling, love the indoor part, the music and atmosphere.
- Seeing Dragon Khan from across the park, slowly getting bigger and bigger and the night rides too!

 

[mo237]

The corridor between the preshow and traps in Subspecies. It's impossible not to get nervous <3

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

I have remember another one! Steel Dragon 2000, front row night ride!

 

[Phantasiastisch]

Going to Phantasialand for Klugheim's first weekend. Waiting for the area to open with a hoard of excited German people, then hearing the pre-area opening speech (I don't know if this still happens now?). Didn't understand a word of it, but really gave me chills, followed by then going into Klugheim the first time.

My first Face it Alone (/first extreme scare) experience at Thorpe. Going into it expecting just to be a bog standard maze but by yourself. The moment I realised what it was actually going to be gave me goosebumps, and that mixed feeling of excitement and bricking it.

You mean this opening soundtrack of Klugheim. This gives me goosebumps too! The voice is just so fitting for Klugheim. That man's voice sounds so mysterious. Just love it.

One of my other Phantasialand-goosebumps moments is walking from Berlin over the bridge seeing the bright Mexico with Chiapas on the right side and the dark, mysterious Klugheim on the left side. Both areas are epic.

Also just entering Deep in Africa and see a Black Mamba train passing by.

 

[Sandman]

^ I just got goosebumps watching that Taron video God I'm a bit lame. Seriously though, more parks need to have an opening track/monologue like that, it's so ****ing cool.

 

[henryjwillis]

The one that really springs to mind is seeing Oblivion's drop for the first time, sprinting from the entrance on my first visit to the Towers when I was about 11 after being ridiculously excited for months.

 

[Coaster Hipster]

Love this topic!

El Toro's airtime hill farting. You know the ride is going to be awesome when you see the train crawling through those big camelbacks!
Intamin LSM sound
My first ride on Lech Coaster
Hearing the John Williams theme in the lift hill of Superman SFNE

 

[Smithy]

Dragon Khan front row at night (when at the time I'd only really been to Alton, Drayton and Thorpe so it was a whole new world) on a hot evening.

First ride on Shambhala at sunset, front row.

Sitting on the first launch of Taron for hotel ERT in the evening after it's been closed due to storms for a while and we've been in the station waiting for a while watching empty trains go round.

First go on Helix, front row. Absolutely terrified of how free the restraints are and not having a clue what to expect. And then that airtime hill over the escalator <3

 

[Ploddish]

Two from Disneyland Shanghai:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure - realising just why the roof of the building was so tall. Also y'know, that bit after it.
The queueline reveal of the TRON coaster was also super cool.
Elsewhere, we somehow discovered I Corsari in Gardaland with absolutely no idea it was even there, which felt incredible. It's so rare to get that in parks.

 

[vaugc002]

Most memorable for me was heading into Gasten Ghost Hotel at Liseberg. I had no real idea of what to expect, whereas with the coasters I had watched their POVs dozens of times.
Our group rushed through the whole thing like maniacs, meaning the visit was one crazy whirlwind of stunning scenes, creepy corridors and sudden jump-scares without any break.

 

[Mysterious Sue]

Ah yes, the discovery of I Corsari was amazing. Thinking it was just a walkthrough on a boat and then realising there was a tunnel that went deeper and deeper until finally...

 

[GeodieCoasterFan]

As a kid:

First time seeing Oblivion back when it first opened and thinking how is it not going to fall off, in this day and age of beyond vertical drops being common place it may seem nothing but back then it was really something special

First ride on the bullet at Flamingo Land, it just seemed so fast at the time and even as I got older it still held up

As an Adult:

First morning in Magic Kingdom at disneyworld, finally hit me I had made a childhood dream come true and I was actually there

The bottom of the first drop on Leviathan, the way it just took my breath away as it accelerated back upwards

Going into the Haunt at Cedar Point, walking up past Millenium force where all the smoke first starts to appear

 

[zazobo]

Such a great thread. Kind of reminds me of why we love all this stuff so much. There's a fair bit of mediocrity in the industry (especially in the UK) but when you have those special 'Holy ****' moments, it's just totally worth it.

 

[Howie]

Ah yes, the discovery of I Corsari was amazing. Thinking it was just a walkthrough on a boat and then realising there was a tunnel that went deeper and deeper until finally...

Until what??? Gagging to know what this is now, never even heard of it.

Agree, proper good thread this is. Thought of a couple more;
Volcano, KD, night ride during a fireworks display.

Approaching Universal Studios for the first time and hearing this. Even my goosebumps had goosebumps;

 

[CSLKennyNI]

4 moments come to mind.
- Entering Klugheim for the first time and my first ever ride on Taron. (self explanatory)
- Phantasialand's 50th anniversary fireworks with all the remixed ride sountracks. The show was wonderful and the atmosphere was just unlike anything I've ever experienced.
- The mist from the tunnel rising, the sound of the bell as a train drops, that beautiful lifthill structure towering over you as you approach - seeing Baron 1898 for the first time was really exciting. (although it did make me all the more disappointed when the ride ended being a let down...)
- First ever ride on Flying Dutchman at Efteling. The queueline, the station, the dark ride section and the music... oh god it was spectacular. I knew nothing about it beforehand and it was such an amazing surprise. Still one of my favourite rides ever.

 

[codeman94]

-- Every time I stand in the station about to get on Millennium Force. The music, the way the train disappears up and out of the station.
-- Night time fireworks show at Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom in Disney World.
-- Front row of Top Thrill Dragster rolling up to the starting line before launch.
-- Dolphin Show at Sea World Orlando. Totally blew me away. Never in a million years did I think it could be that good.

 

[Howie]

Given who our illustrious topic starter is, I can't believe I forgot this one: climbing the lift hill of X2 with the opening bars of Metallica's Enter @Sandman pumping from the on-board audio. Sublime!

 

[sandgrown]

I know you all hate the ride but...

I was 17 years old and working in the cafeteria on Ocean Boulevard at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. I stepped outside for a cigarette and went and stood in a gap between two of the retail units on the prom. Suddenly there was a giant rumble from the structure of the newly-constructed PMBO above. The train went absolutely flying over me at 100 odd kph and I gazed upwards awestruck. I had no idea that there were going to do any testing then, there'd been no news to catering staff about it, and it just looked totally amazing to me. There was nothing remotely like it in scale at the park, and indeed in the UK at the time. I genuinely had my breath taken away by it.

A brilliant moment.

 

[Theme Park Plan]

Waiting for front row on Taron and hearing the music as the train departs the station, just incredible. Also the Wicker Man pre show got me as well.

 

[J Rod]

Some that stick out are that first glimpse of Cedar Point from the causeway, walking in IOA's Port of Entry, first rides on MF, Maverick, and TTD, and back row night rides on Montu.