What Is/Was Your Favorite or Least Favorite Amusement Park Ride

[Liberalynn]

We used to have a local small Amusement Park where we went about two or three times every summer. My cousins would all come down, one weekend day, almost every year, we'd have a picnic, then go ride.

There was also a report card day, where you got so many tickets for A's, B's, and C's. Plus I'd go one day each year with my friends.

We'd get cotton candy, dare each other to go on rides, play the skills games, I loved skeeball, and play in the arcade.

Even though I was in my twenties when it closed, I cried. They replaced it with lakeside condos. :grr:

My favorite rides used to be the train and the Merry Go Round when I was little.

Then as I got older the Flying Bobs, Tilt-A-Whirl, and the Golden Nugget spook house.

My least favorite was the Round Up cage type ride. I strained my neck on that thing.

At the bigger theme parks, I like Disney's Thunder Mountain and Universal's Back to the Future, and the Hannah Barbera Ride.

So what are some of your favorite/least favorite rides.

[TommyO]

1. If it spins, or if it's a roller coaster, I'll be on it

I'll ride almost anything. If it has hills, loops, twists, turns, or it spins, count me in. I'll agree with you that Roundups are among my least favorite rides, along with the Rotors.

I have a season pass for Dorney Park in Allentown, PA (really South Whitehall, but who's counting), and I'm there frequently, both for the rides and the waterpark. The season pass is also good at all other Cedarfair parks (with the exception of their standalone waterparks) and I head out to Cedarpoint several times a year - almost a mecca for amusement park enthusiasts.

[Liberalynn]

3. Our roller coaster

was an old fashioned wooden one that used to be called the Skyliner. It was sold at auction after the park closed and I think if I am remembering correctly it was bought by a park in PA and they combined it with another coaster.

At first I was scared to go on it, but my friends dared me one summer, and I gave in. I actually did love it.

[TommyO]

37. I believe you're thinking of Lakemont Park

in Altoona, PA. They bought Skyliner from Roseland and rebuilt it:

http://www.rcdb.com/ig246.htm

[Liberalynn]

50. Thank you for letting me know the name and

sharing the link. It looks huge. At least a few parts of Roseland survive. I really miss it.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. At Disney's California Adventure last year

California Screamin', a roller coaster, made me laugh my ass off.

Soaring Over California made me cry.

Loved 'em both equally.

[Liberalynn]

4. Those sound cool!

Some day I hope to visit the California Adventure. I have been to Florida Disney/Universal twice with my sister. She had to go down for conventions and she paid my way. They were a blast.

[TrogL]

5. Tilt - o - whirl (favourite) and steel coasters (least favourite)

[Liberalynn]

8. Another Tilt -O- Whirl Fan

Yay!



I have never had the courage to try one of the steel coasters. Only the wooden ones.

Have you ever gone on the Scrambler. I used to hate that one out doors but I liked when they moved it indoors with light effects and music. I learned never to sit in the middle or on the right side. Squish city. LOL.

[Nicole]

6. The Big Dipper was my favorite

It was a wooden roller coaster at Spring Lake Amusement Park in Oklahoma City.





Least favorite is a ride at Six Flags Over Texas where the floor drops from under you & you stick to walls. I don't remember the name but I hated it. :P

[Liberalynn]

9. That one from Oklahoma looks fun

The one from Texas looks scary. I wouldn't like the floor dropping at all either.

[Nicole]

42. Actually, those are the same ride

The second pic is from the top of one of the loops, hence the name The Big Dipper. It was a blast!
The last pic was taken after the park closed so the trees are covering parts of the ride.

The Texas thing was like an enclosed cylinder. I hated it.

[Liberalynn]

51. Now I understand!

The enclosed cylinder doesn't sound like it would have been much fun.

[pokerfan]

7. Big Shot = best thrill ride ever!

On top of the Strat tower in Vegas.

[Liberalynn]

10. I've never been to Vegas

but it does look like they have some great thrill rides there.

[skygazer]

11. My favorite ride is a roller coaster

Any roller coaster - big, small, wooden, steel, loops, no loops. I just LOVE roller coasters.

I also love antique carousels, with the real wooden hand-painted horses. Many of them are housed in their own building and they give off a nice whiff of nostalgia for me.

My least favorite rides are any that spin (Tilt-a-whirl, Scrambler, etc.) or swing (Pirate Ship, etc.) because I suffer vertigo when I experience that sort of movement and to get vertigo when you're trapped on a ride is NOT fun.

I also hate things like the Drop Zone just because it's such a stupid ride - you go up, you drop down. Big fucking deal.

[Liberalynn]

13. Know what you mean about the Pirate Ship!

I rode one at Six Flags Darian Lake in Upstate NY. It almost made me sick.

Love the old carousels too. Our park, Roseland in Canandaigua, had one too. It was a 1906 Phildelphia Toboggan Company hand carved one. Man I loved that thing. It was sold at auction and a mall developer bought it and placed it in a mall in Syracuse NY. They restored it.

I will post some pics after I get them scanned.

[skygazer]

19. Canandaigua

I have ancestors who lived in Canandaigua. Always liked the name.

Your OP made me smile, you know - I was remembering the park we used to go to when I was a kid. Mountain Park in Massachusetts. It was small, one roller coaster and a lot of little, fun rides but it was a great place to go for a good time when I was 13 or 14 years old. Same sort of thing, specials for certain things and they always had discount passes at the grocery store, good for a couple of dollars off admission. Good times.

[Liberalynn]

30. That is cool that you had ancestors from here.

Most people have never heard of Canandaigua, or think we are a suburb of Rochester. LOL.

The name is from the Seneca branch of the Iroquois, and means "place chosen to settle" which the Chamber of Commerce changed to the "Chosen Spot." It has it's good points and it's bad but mostly it is a nice place to live.

What you've said about the old time Amusement Parks is so true. They were the spot for so many good memories. The locals were really atttached to the park but when Six Flags Darian Lake opened near by, and the weather got more iffy, the owners said they just couldn't make a go of it any more.

They have re-opened a Water Park here.

[Sequoia]

12. I hate all rides that jerk, spin, upside down.

Makes me dizzy.

[Liberalynn]

14. Don't blame you!

I don't like to be upside down either.

[NewWaveChick1981]

15. I love rollercoasters, log flumes, and anything that's weird or

intense. :P I hate the kiddie rides---I even hated them when I WAS a kid. :)

[Liberalynn]

21. Never been on a log flume ride but always wanted to try one.

You must have been adventerous as a kid! :pals:

[NewWaveChick1981]

28. Yeah, I was a little thrill-seeker!

:rofl: I'm big thrill-seeker now. :P I loved amusement parks (and still do, but they're way too expensive now), and I made sure I got on all the cool rides as many times as I could. My sister (my partner in crime) and I would make a beeline for the intense rides as soon as we entered the park, and my parents just "supervised". :P We even got our little brother in on it too when he was old enough.

Log flumes are pretty fun. Depends on where you go, but Six Flags usually has good ones!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. I can't stand zero g

I feel like my brain and heart are going to explode simultaneously. And no, I don't have high blood pressure. I can never be an astronaut.

I do love the Rotor. I could have siesta in there.

[Liberalynn]

38. Can't Blame You There.

I went on one of the Marine Land rides that the bottom drops out and I hated the way it made me feel. I never felt like I was going to pass out before that ride.

[pokerfan]

55. I love the zero-g rides

Someday I would like to ride the Vomit Comet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomit_Comet

Skydiving is a rush the first few times, but you only have a few seconds of free fall before you reach terminal velocity and the feeling is gone.

Drop towers and rides like SFMM's Superman the Escape are capable of providing more air time because you can actually go ballistic on the way up as well as the way down.

[Patiod]

17. Bumper cars!!!! (can you tell I have no "adventure" gene)

Hate speed, and roller coasters are out every since I rode one all day in high school, and my contacts ended up cutting my cornea.

But I do love bumper cars, especially when you go on them with a lot of friends...

[Liberalynn]

35. The Bumper cars were great.

Used to get so mad when I couldn't go on them when I was really little because I didn't measure high enough. It was the first thing I went on as I got a little older.

I am sorry to hear about what your contacts did on the roller coaster. :hug:

[Liberalynn]

18. Roseland Carousel Photos

One of the most well known horses on the carousel
Last day at the Park


My favorite horse when I was growing up!




Me on the restored Carousel at it's new home in Syracuse when the mall first opened

[skygazer]

20. That's a beauty

We have a nice one at Santa Cruz and there was a great one at a little park in Rhode Island where I used to take my kids.

[Liberalynn]

22. It's great that the classic ones are being preserved.

They have one at Charlotte Beach in Rochester. They also had one at Seabreeze there but there was a fire, they couldn't save much, but they were going to try and build a replica.

[TommyO]

41. When I heard about the Seabreeze fire I was bummed

I have great memories on that particular carousel, and even bought the CD Carousel Breezes which was digitally recorded from the band organ there. The recording is great, you can even hear birds chirping in the carousel building.

[Liberalynn]

49. That was so sad.

It's wonderful that you have the recording. I miss hearing Roseland's carousel. I don't get down to Syracuse too often.

[RedStateShame]

23. The Gravitron is the greatest midway ride of all times!!

[Liberalynn]

32. I haven't heard of that one

but it sounds like it would be an exciting ride.

[begin_within]

24. Best thrill ride I've been on is still Space Mountain at Disneyland. The

light shows, darkness, sounds and complete theme in addition to the speed and turns put it in a class by itself. Best non-thrill ride ever was the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, which was in Disneyland in the 1960s and 1970s. The took it out and built Thunder Mountain in part of the area, but never used the rest of the area for anything good. They never should have taken out the Mine Train. Also Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion are classics.

[RebelOne]

27. Been on Space Mountain three times and hated it each time.

I was always talked into riding it.

[Liberalynn]

33. My sister

wanted to go on Space Mountain when we were there but I was too chicken and she wouldn't go without me.

[Liberalynn]

34. The Haunted Mansion was spectacular.

Also the Pirates of the Carribean. I wonder how much they've changed it?

[begin_within]

47. Don't know, but you might be able to find a description of the changes at

www.mouseplanet.com, if you search for recent articles. Both Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean have undergone renovations in the last year or so. Haunted Mansion probably never, because they don't want to touch the dust - they have purposely let the dust accumulate on a lot of things in it since it first opened in 1969.

[Liberalynn]

52. I never knew that about the Haunted Mansion.

I will check out the website. All the morning news programs shows was the Johnny Depp animatron they added. :)

[begin_within]

54. I wouldn't be surprised if that was all the added. Pirates was probably

the best-done Disney attraction, in my opinion, the complete self-contained setting (the nighttime sky, fireflies, the cool dark damp caves, etc.) The ultimate "dark ride." I don't think they need to change or add anything to it. As far as the Haunted Mansion, they have even bought dust to put in it. They also had live actors in it for a 2-year period in the early 1990s. There's a whole web site just about that ride, doombuggies.com. But mouseplanet.com is the best site to go for any Disney-related news.

[nosillies]

62. Well, I'm a couple of days late here, but in case you check

They added a few Johnny Depp animatronics. He's now the lone figure in the very last scene. Also, there's this really cool bit in the beginning with Davy Jones, where you go through a waterfall -- but I won't be a spoiler. And the sound seems to be much improved.

[begin_within]

65. Can't wait to go on it again - but only in the off-season when the crowds

are greatly reduced. My 4-year old nephew was terrified, in the line he was crying and even sat down on the ground in the line, but I picked him up and he cried the entire time in the line despite all our reassurances that it was all fake. He was fine in the boat until the first drop, after which he spent the entire ride laying down in the boat face down, in spite of my repeated attempts to interest him in the passing scenery. Afterwards he was wet and a little dirty and disconsolate for a while, but he got over it. I hope we didn't scar him for life. He likes the Pirates movie.

[HughBeaumont]

25. Any ride that spins would be on my AVOID like da PLAGUE list.

Witches Wheel, Matterhorn, Schwabinchen, Troika, Trabant . . . hell, I even hate carousels and giant swings.

Rollercoasters, shit, I can ride ANY of those. The Millenium at Cedar Point is the one I go on like mad. Go figure.

[Liberalynn]

39. That is funny that the roller coasters don't bother you.

The spinning rides can make you horribly dizzy. The last time I went on one of the spinny rides was in my late thirties. They never used to bother me but they did then.

sigh, I think I am getting old. :)

[HughBeaumont]

44. Rollercoasters are more of a eupohric rush . . .

. . . where the rotating, spinning rides just plain make me sick. I rode the Matterhorn at CP two years ago . .. simple ride, nothing elaborate. I literally had to sit for 20 minutes afterwards. I felt like I just swallowed oven grease and tobacco juice. Never rode another spinning throw-up ride again.

[TommyO]

43. I could tell you were talking about Cedarpoint

when the first ride you mentioned was "Witches Wheel."

I've already been out there once this year (I live on the far side of PA) and have another trip planned with some family members for the last week in August.

[HughBeaumont]

45. I'm getting a Season's pass next year.

I'm only like 40 minutes away. Used to live 20 minutes from it. I was there every other night during the college years, but that was when the Gemini and the Corkscrew weren't "walk on" rides.

They're making yet another coaster where the White Water Landing used to be (yep, it's gone). Nothing but foundation yet, but it looks pretty spacious.

[TommyO]

57. I have a Dorney Park season pass

which is good at all of the Cedar Fair parks, including Cedarpoint, which is why I get there as often as I do (it helps having friends in the area!).

If you want to see progress on the new coaster, check out http://pointbuzz.com - they have frequent updates. I'll be getting my shots later this month, hopefully some track is in place by then. CP is playing this one close to the vest, I suspect a few surprises.

updated to correct the link - never type a link, paste it in!

[last_texas_dem]

56. I'm pretty much the same way

I can handle any roller coaster (well, at least based on the ones I've tried) and they are probably my favorite kind of ride. What I can't handle is any ride in which the seat spins in one direction while the main ride spins in the other. This includes everything from something called "The Comet" at my local Lions Club Carnival to the "Mad Tea Party" at Disney World. It's always seemed weird to me that I can deal with any sort of roller-coaster yet I felt like throwing up after those freakin' tea cups!

[Mutley]

26. Roller coasters that go backward are my least favorite.

As well as rides that go upside-down. They make me nauseous, and give me a headache.

I LOVE wooden roller coasters, though. And spinner rides are fun, too.

[Liberalynn]

36. I'm with you there.

I'm not fond of backwards on roller coasters either. For some reason I didn't mind it on the Flying Bobs. It used to be a nice way to cool off on a warm day, especially when you could catch a cool breeze off the lake. I always loved the music too. They used to blast a rock station.

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. My favorite is the Scrambler...least favorite is the Zipper...but

only because my best friend in high school puked on me in it, and there was no where for it to go but bouncing around the cage. :puke: I haven't been on one since. :hi:

[Liberalynn]

40. OOh that must have been gross.

:yoiks:

One of my cousins Rick puked on the Teacups. Luckily he wasn't in my cup, but we never let him live that one down. ;)

[begin_within]

48. The Zipper made me feel like my stomach was up in my throat. Yuck.

[Liberalynn]

31. Roseland Roller Coaster and Gondola Ride

The Skyliner


Gondola Ride over Canandaigua Lake.

Drove my aunt nuts on this once when I was five. I kept worrying that my sandals were going to fall off into the water and then I would have to go barefoot for the rest of the day. She kept having to reassure me that they wouldn't during the whole ride, and it was supposed to be so peaceful. ;)

[Sequoia]

46. Oh, and that double-ferris wheel

What is that, the moon going around the Earth? That ride forever gave me virtago. Beware of it I'm telling ya! My favorite ride was the carousel in Spokane, WA a few years after the World's Fair. It went quite fast and you could throw in the brass ring and win another ride. And the carousel on the Santa Monica Pier is really cool.

[dropkickpa]

53. Thunderbolt at Kennywood Park.

I LOVE the use of the landscape, using the gorge for the big drops. And, I just have this thing for wodden coasters, I go nut wheneevr I hear the "clackity clackity" sound.

[datasuspect]

58. the vomit-o-whirl

yeah

[nosillies]

59. Living in central Florida, we go to parks all the time

I'm a junkie. And I've always been a thrill seeker, so the scarier, the better.

But now, my most thrilling rides are all the ones that make my sweet baby scream and laugh with wonder and amazement -- Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, etc.

Here's Baby BHole with his best friends.


(Sorry, just had to show off a picture today!)

:D

[noonwitch]

60. The Gemini at Cedar Point

I haven't been there in over 20 years, but I loved that roller coaster. I know they have newer and faster coasters now, but that was a good one.
The Jumbo Jet (from the 70s) was a great ride, too, but they got rid of it at some point prior to 1980. It probably wasn't their safest ride ever, though, as there were no security straps or anything like that, and you sat on it like it was a toboggan.

At traveling carnivals, I prefer the tilt a whirl or bumper cars. My mom would never let us ride on any of the other rides, especially the hammer ones. She thought the cars would fly off the ride and kill us.

[Arkansas Granny]

61. My least favorite rides would be anything I've seen someone

puke in or I've seen being hosed out because someone puked in it. Other than that, I like most of them.

[BreweryYardRat]

63. Coaster junkie.

I love Montu at the Tampa Bay Busch Gardens.

Need to get a season pass junior year so I can indulge myself on coasters whenever.

[blue neen]

64. Just tried the "Expedition Everest" at Disneyworld--Animal Kingdom.

It was so much fun and so awful at the same time! The coaster s-l-o-w-l-y climbs Mt. Everest, and when you get to the top of the mountain the track stops. In that moment of panic you realize you are going to go backwards back down Mt. Everest. Not only that, but you are routed through the mountain, so you're hurtling down the mountain backwards AND in pitch darkness! It's much, much more intense than Space Mountain.

I screamed my guts out. :)

[yellowdogintexas]

66. I hate anything which turns you upside down...

i used to like roller coasters, but my back does not like them at all.
/sigh/

[WannaBeGrumpy]

67. I love the TEACUPS

ever since I was about 2