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Rides that don't feel safe

Sandman

Sandman

Giga Poster
This isn't a thread to criticise safety measures or anything like that.

We all know rides are perfectly safe *insert cliched quote about how they're safer than driving to a theme park*

I just wondered if there's any ride you've been on before that felt unsafe, even if it's just a perception thing?

For example, that small treehouse tower ride at Tripsdrill (can't recall its name). First time I went on I didn't realise that the car starts shaking once you reach the top of the tower... which threw me off quite a bit. For a split second I actually thought something had gone wrong.
 
Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
I must admit, the last ride I had on Speed at Oakwood was somewhat disconcerting... it went up the vertical lift hill very slowly, and it creaked a lot as it went over the top. It was creaking so much and going so slowly that it almost felt like it wasn't going to make it over...

Now I know full well that Speed is 100% safe, but I must admit that it gave off a somewhat disconcerting impression...
 
Dar

Dar

Hyper Poster
Colorado adventure. Speaking as the fat friend, if you're sat next to someone fatter than you, you are not 'as' secured by the lapbar😂
There are a number of spots on the ride where it seems the reach envelope is more of a suggestion than a rule. And that's not mentioning some of the more courageous transitions that rattle you about!
 
Hyde

Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
I’ll include some element callouts:
  • Mosasaurus Roll on Velocicoaster - I don’t care, a high speed roll that low to the ground is nail biting every time.
  • Double Helix on Beast - I’m sure the tunnel passes the hand touch test… probably.
  • Georgia Cyclone - no wooden structure should tilt that much when running.
  • Wild Chipmunk - this actually is probably a highly unsafe roller coaster, given there’s no seat belts.
  • Anything Built by E&F Miler - just no.
 
Hutch

Hutch

Strata Poster
Flyers at Knoebels. No seat belt, and the freedom to test the structure the limit with the amount of snapping will leave you convinced that your carriage will be flung into some trees.

Some of the coasters at Grona Lund, while don't necessarily give a sense of danger, DON'T appear to leave you with much clearance. If you really wanted to, you could probably exit the ride missing a couple of limbs.
 
rob666

rob666

Hyper Poster
Perhaps the answer there is to limit the amount of snapping.
More the rider not being safe than the ride!
For me, Flying Machines at Blackpool.
Thirty feet above ground at forty miles per hour.
Not a seatbelt in sight for a hundred and twenty years.
 
witchfinder

witchfinder

Hyper Poster
Coaster at Playland in Vancouver. Not so much for adults but I have no idea how kids aren't thrown out of it as it yoinks you out of your seat in the back few rows, with only a buzz bar to keep you in that seems ornamental at best :D
 
redheadedRobin

redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
davidm said:
The old bucket-on-a-stick ride at Tibidabo.

Utterly terrified.
Click to expand...
I think I haven't gotten on it for like ten years. I have an uncle who is an ass and when I was little he always shook the bucket while we were riding, laughing at us (the kids) for being scared— he's the reason I now am afraid of rides that have any kind of suspended cabin. When I was 6 my mom decided to never ride (or let me ride) anything with him ever again after my uncle was escorted out of Tibidabo for violently swinging the cars on the park's suspended monorail.

He still thinks it was a fun prank and that he did nothing wrong.
 
davidm

davidm

Strata Poster
^ well the ONE TIME I ever rode it (as a fully grown adult, plenty used to these "amusement ride" things), I did not need anyone rocking the bucket to make me terrified.

I think if someone had done that to me I would have thrown them out of the bucket (and I am not a violent person)!
 
Howie

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Sandman's shout in the opening post about that shonky tree-tower thing at Tripsdrill is a good one. Genuinely unnerving stuff.

Any Star Flyer. It's those chains, man. They just look too thin.

Blackpool's Wild Mouse. Rickety as f***. Good riddance. Actually, all of Blackpool's woodies look and feel like they could just collapse at any moment. Me no likey.

The Smiler. Still don't trust it tbh. Every time I go on it I still look over my shoulder on the first lift to see if there's any stalled cars ahead.

And although I haven't ridden one (and have no intention of doing so), the mere concept of a tilt coaster I find fundamentally unsafe. I mean... why would you even design such a thing?
 
Furiustobaco

Furiustobaco

Mega Poster
Viking at Energylandia deserves a shoutout. Every movement feels janky, and the ride OP was on a whatsapp call on his Iphone while checking our restraints. Why does this exist anyway? Want more for yourself, Energylandia.
 
V

vapegirlclouds

Roller Poster
Matt N said:
I must admit, the last ride I had on Speed at Oakwood was somewhat disconcerting... it went up the vertical lift hill very slowly, and it creaked a lot as it went over the top. It was creaking so much and going so slowly that it almost felt like it wasn't going to make it over...

Now I know full well that Speed is 100% safe, but I must admit that it gave off a somewhat disconcerting impression...
Click to expand...
Mu last ride on Megaphobia a couple of years ago. Something felt off.
I'd previously ridden it 30x in a day with no issues. But that last visit.
Hmm
 
O

opivy028

Mega Poster
Twister II at Elitch Gardens. That thing was wobbling like it was made out of popsicle sticks and the trains shuffled massively through the entire layout. Still can’t believe I voluntarily got on that hunk of junk.
 
The Undead Creature

The Undead Creature

Mega Poster
Howie said:
And although I haven't ridden one (and have no intention of doing so), the mere concept of a tilt coaster I find fundamentally unsafe. I mean... why would you even design such a thing?
Click to expand...

One Vekoma engineer I knew was more concerned about dropping his lettuce than he was about the 10000 litres of hydraulic oil he just contaminated with it..... sooo....

Anyway, I remember thinking to myself this aint right the first time I went on Big Dipper at Blackpool. Feeling and seeing the car twist and bend as it shuffled itself around the tight curves.
 
Fleetwood_Mack

Fleetwood_Mack

Mega Poster
Fond memories of sitting on Euro Coaster one evening at Winter Wonderland, our car slowly moving along the station waiting for dispatch and watching one of the OPs somehow falling asleep sat on a stool. The coaster itself was... fine... I think? But I do remember thinking "this feels like a bit of a Final Destination moment".

+1 vote for the dreaded Star Flyer. You could make a safer looking ride out of a plastic garden chair and some string. 100% do not trust.
 
Peet

Peet

Giga Poster
The skate karts at Lightwater Valley, which I believe have made a return this season! They are surprisingly fun and I always felt like I was about to skin my knuckles on the floor.
Shame I'll never be bothering to go back to that place now.
 
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