Coasters that gave you the biggest sense of "danger"

[Rob Coasters]

Obligatory "coasters are obviously perfectly safe" but we can't deny the times where we have that "OH ****" feeling during a particular moment of a ride where we genuinely question if we're going to come off in one piece. I've personally had two very standout experiences of this phenomenon.

My first time was in July 2018 during a trip to Alton Towers where I rode The Smiler for the second ever time. We were coming off the second lift and on the drop into the corkscrew before the sea serpent, and suddenly my whole life flashes before my eyes. I have no idea what happened here, and it never happened again, but it was a wild moment and a strange section of the ride for it to happen. The real kicker is that the coaster has over the shoulder restraints, which makes me even more perplexed, but I had a very real feeling of "this moment may be my last" for about half a second.

My second time was much more prominent, in August 2023 at Tusenfryd when I got a ride in on Storm - The Dragon Legend nearer the front. By this point I'd already ridden it 3 or 4 times that day but they'd all been towards the back half of the train, and I had grown very aware of the insanity of this ride. But what I wasn't expecting was in the first dive loop where I get violently yanked into a right-angle as I twisted into it, which didn't happen nearer the back. This unexpected feeling of pure ragdoll combined with only a lap bar gave me a similar feeling of sheer unfiltered peril, being thrown into an odd shape as the train twisted through it.

Have you also had these moments of your life briefly flashing before your eyes during a certain moment of a coaster? These experiences have only ever happened twice, but are very prominent memories and moments that I remember very vividly.

 

[gavin]

I'll give it to the tilt coasters. It's very unnerving to have your whole bodyweight pushing against a restraint in a train that's itself hanging over empty space.

The big S&S 4Ds feel all kinds of wrong as well.

 

[ECG]

Not yet open, not yet inspected, no seat belts or restraints and I watched them still building it just a few hours before riding. Need I say more?

 

[hootie3]

X-Coaster at Magic Springs made me super uncomfortable. Also I would agree with tilt coasters, I've yet to ride one but they look very nerve wracking.

 

[AidanCKY]

Wild Mouse at Blackpool definitely had that vibe.

The Ultimate at Lightwater Valley always had me worrying how the hell it didn't derail.

 

[Boodangy]

X-Coaster at Magic Springs made me super uncomfortable.

Yep. Ukko at Linnanmäki so presumably any other Maurer Skyloop that I haven't done. You already feel like you're sliding out of your seat on the vertical lift and then you crest over backwards and hang upside down for a couple seconds on that lapbar that feels like it's pressing down on nothing in particular.

 

[vaugc002]

My first ride on Abismo - it's kinda scary anyway with the quarter loop vertical lift hill, but the ops didn't manually check the lap bar before sending - they literally stayed in their op cabin. I'm sure technically this is fine, but it made me think the bar would just pop open when I was hanging upside down

 

[Howie]

As has been mentioned - Blackpool's Wild Mouse. You know that high speed bend that came out over the pathway? The one where the inner wheels lifted off the track cos there were no upstop wheels, just that piddling little T-bar in a guide rail? Yeah... that.
Makes me shudder just thinking about it. That, plus the numerous knee and ankle bashings I sustained riding the bloody thing mean I don't miss it one bit. In fact, I'm  glad it's gone!
Fear of height, speed and extreme forces is one thing, it's a good fear, it's a buzz.
Fear of a spectacular and grizzly death is an entirely different kind of emotion and not one that I particularly enjoy. It's for this reason that you'll never find me riding a tilt coaster, even if I'm ever presented with one. Just... no.
If any other coaster fails catastrophically it's a tragic accident, whereas if a tilt coaster were to fail catastrophically it would be a genuine candidate for a Darwin award. Nah man, I ain't going out like that.

 

[jasone]

I have two candidates that spring to mind.

Stunt fall at Parque Warner: I was sitting back row being pulled up the first spike backwards. As my weight is completely being held by the restraint, the restraint did a little jolt where it seemed to click forward. It was obviously locked and safe, but man it scared the bejeezus out of me. Just the feeling of it being slightly janky and a bit of a monster, it got me. Damn it’s good though, really intense.

And very recently: back row wing seat on Hyperion at Energylandia: I’m not sure what freaked me out on this, I’ve done taller coasters etc and not thought anything of it. But I guess you just feel a lot more exposed on Hyperion. And it just feels really powerful. I kind of felt like my body wasn’t supported as much laterally, you really get flung sideways at times, in the dive turn around etc. Amazing coaster, but Zadra was the more enjoyable of the two to me.

 

[ECG]

As has been mentioned - Blackpool's Wild Mouse. ... I don't miss it one bit. In fact, I'm  glad it's gone!...

Couldn't disagree more. I rode that baby as much as I could every time I visited Blackpool, often multiple time in a row (as quite a few CFers can confirm). Ankle and knee bashing or not, it remains one of the best coaster experiences I ever had. So much so that it's still in my Top 20 (#18).
As far as biggest sense of danger - I completely agree, but that only contributed to making it such a great ride.

 

[TilenB]

I'm not sure on how many people on here have managed to ride it, but the big Pendolo shuttle coaster at Ai Pioppi was pretty damn terrifying. Everything in that place is home-made, the ride is pretty tall, powered by a sturdy diesel engine and with a train that was welded together using pieces of old car seats. And it reportedly went up to 100 kph. Sadly the ride has been closed for over 4 years (never reopened after covid shut down the playground for a couple of years), but I hope it will come back to thrilling and terrifying people before too long.

And another vote for Gravity Max. The park was absolutely dead when I went, so I could get all of my rides (bar the first when I wanted to try the front) in the back row. The ops didn't push down the restrains at all, so I could leave myself as much space as I wished for and was literally hanging on the restrain with my ass almost fully out of the seat as the train and tracks were slowly turned to the vertical position with nothing but the void in front of the train until the last few seconds when it re-connected with the track. Brilliant first element that.

 

[Ollie]

Blackpool's Wild Mouse.

I'm still devastated that it went. Genuinely one of the most insane and crazy coaster experiences out there. The fact that it felt like you were going to die at any moment added to the thrill and coming off with an injury was just a free souvenir.
Ducking as you go up the lift hill so you don't hit your head on the track above you, flying out your seat by what felt like 3 feet over the airtime hill with only a seat belt going across the top of the car and slamming into the corners giving you bruises and dead legs. It was amazing and still in my top 10.

 

[InvertsAreMyJam]

When I was recently at SeaWorld, I went on Kraken. And I accidentally got in one of the seats meant for bigger riders. For context, I am 5’6” and 97 pounds. Even at the tightest click, I still had multiple inches in between my chest and the restraint. Which kind of freaked me out. I wasn’t worried about falling out, but more about getting slammed into the restraint on some of the inversions and injuring myself.

So I had that restraint close to my body TIGHT. When I got off the ride my hands were hurting from how tight I held onto the restraint. So I guess that’s really the only time I’ve felt in any danger on a ride.

 

[Howie]

Ankle and knee bashing or not, it remains one of the best coaster experiences I ever had. So much so that it's still in my Top 20 (#18).

As I was writing that post, I thought to myself "Man, if Jerry reads this, he ain't gonna be happy!"
Wasn't it your actual number 1 coaster at one point? I'm sure I remember seeing it at the top of your list once.

 

[ECG]

As I was writing that post, I thought to myself "Man, if Jerry reads this, he ain't gonna be happy!"
Wasn't it your actual number 1 coaster at one point? I'm sure I remember seeing it at the top of your list once.

Never #1, but it did make it up as high as #4.
My #1 was El Toro for the longest until they put that trim on Boulder Dash's turnaround and the two switched places. Then came various RMCs until VelociCoaster, which only lasted a year as #1 until Iron Gwazi opened.

 

[djmcbell]

As many people have said, Blackpool's Wild Mouse. Felt about as safe as riding a pit barbeque down multiple flights of concrete stairs.

Still went on it practically every time we went though.

And LWV's Ultimate. Still can't fathom that it's gone. What does the park have left now?

 

[Sandman]

The old Pinfaris at M&D's definitely felt one step away from disaster during the times I rode them. And that's before the 2016 accident on Tsunami.

 

[Graeme]

The Black Hole at Alton Towers. As much as I love outdoor Jet Stars/Jumbo Jets etc, I fear what I can't see. Rationally, I know much taller people than me have ridden it without incident, on any given day, but I genuinely hated it. The on-ride photo was just me ducking down.

 

[Dar]

The turn over the path on Wild Mouse was scary, but it was the bunny hills behind the station that always scared the hell out of me. Getting fired out of the seat with only a seatbelt to stop you was terrifying!

The big airtime hills on Taron were a real squeaky bum experience on my first "warmed up" ride. I did find myself wondering if I could get squeezed like toothpaste through the gap between seat and restraint!

 

[Dan Nguyen]

Phoenix has a few low hanging beams above a few airtime hills. I've felt like my head would hit some of them or I'd come out of the train due to the airtime.

Skyrush before the newer trains had a bit of an unsafe feeling as well. The final turn over the river felt like it would yeet you right off.

Also my first night ride on Matterhorn. The train hit a turn and a sudden drop in the dark. I had to grab onto the handlebars because I felt like I was gonna fall out. The ride is surprisingly thrilling for a Disney ride, especially at night.