For me, some of my favourite and most memorable moments on coasters come from those instances where you haven't a fucking clue what is going on or where you are. You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that make a little bit of poo come out where for a split second you're convinced you're going to die and your life flashes before your eyes. then comes the sweet, sweet rush of adrenaline. Here's a breakdown of some of the best instances of those moments. Spoilers ahead, obvs.
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First Drop
Anybody who's ridden this beautiful piece of yellow excellence will know that the whole coaster is littered with ridiculous transitions and generous dollops of extreme airtime. Just looking at it you can basically SEE the airtime coming at you as you pleasurably crest each hill. Yh I love this ride, no denying it. The ridiculous WTF IS HAPPENING moment on Skyrush though, comes very early on, as it descends it's very first drop.
Not only is your breath taken away slightly as the faster-than-you're-used-to lifthill catches you by surprise, but somehow when you're halfway down the hill you're met with the most brutal shunt of airtime and if it weren't for the small restraint straddling your thighs you'd be a goner for sure. It's so unnatural, there's no reason for it, but all of a sudden the coaster decides it's done with you and tries to fling you from your seat. The first time I rode I believe I literally exclaimed a selection of swear words in my gaudy Essex accent, much to the disgust of the local wholesome Americans. It's awesome.
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Big BOOM
I'd ridden Sierra Sidewinder and Euro Mir before boarding the direct ticket to fucked up land that is Space Fantasy, and I couldn't even begin to guess what the big SURPRISE was going to be that the likes of TPR always go on and on about. So before we even get to that, the theme is so weird on its own. Ususally the suffix 'The Ride' is attached after some kind of IP: 'SAW: The Ride', etc. So, what the bloody hell is 'Space Fantasy'? Nothing, it's nothing. It's just Japan being weird. And I can get on board with that.
So the shit-your-pants moment comes when you're flying through space and all kinds of ridiculous neon holograms and pretty lights and mirrors and going 'ooh' and 'aah' and then, out of nowhere, there's a massive loud BOOM! Literally ear-shatteringly loud, and then your little coaster train just minces out of the room like nothing ever happened and everyone just sits there going 'eh?' Japan.
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S-Bend Ejector
The first time I rode Taron I was a little let down. I'd hyped this beast up so much in my head that it was almost unfair, nothing could come close to what I was expecting and that first morning ride was right. Fun, sure, but not a patch on the Skyrush-level insanity the layout had lead me to believe awaited me. Then the sun went down and Taron woke up in the best way possible.
After the first launch and corners there's a silky-smooth looking S-Bend that looks like it'd be as elegant as Cinderella slipping on a glass slipper. WRONG. After dark this transition is an absolute cunt, pretty much flinging you like a ragdoll from one direction to the complete other. You feel completely helpless and given how exposed the restraints are, it's pretty fucking terrifying. And fun. But you feel like you're going to die? But...it's fun. Yh. Just go ride it!
Wildfire, Kolmarden
Zero-G Stall
Lord knows I'm no inversion fan. If the coaster gods blessed me by removing all the inversions known to man and replaced them with awesome airtime hills I'd be a happy gal. But alas, we can't always get what we want (*sulks*) and luckily for me there exists an inversion that's actually pretty kickass. I'm speaking of course about the obscene zero-g stall, in particular the one on Wildfire in Kolmarden because that's the only one I've ridden #biased.
I don't even bloody LIKE hangtime, but the moment Wildfire flips you upside down everything feels like it's going in slow motion. Your hair hangs from your head and you slowly look around and make a kind of Macauly-Culkin-putting-aftershave-on-in-Home-Alone face at each other. You're surrounded by wood at every angle and it's just so surreal and exhilarating, before you speed up again and rush away from it, almost as if it never happened.
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Pretty much the whole damn thing
When I was growing up my dad used to joke to me as we queued for the infamous Wild Mouse coaster that somebody had died when the coaster train took a corner too quickly and just toppled off. And for anybody who's ridden this contraption you can see why it wasn't hard for me to believe him. The minute you leave the station you're sure you've made a terrible mistake, and as coaster track pretty much skims your head as you make sure way up the wibbly-wobbly lift-hill you're pretty much certain death is imminent.
And from then on out you do not stay in your seat the entire time. It's THE definition of a white-knuckle ride because you're gripping on so hard to prevent actually flying towards the cold stony ground. And then there's the bloody airtime hill which, no matter how many times I ride, I cannot prevent my legs from flailing around madly as I hop over it. And I always come off in a fit of laughter because it's hilarious.
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THAT tophat
Dodonpa is one of those coasters you watch videos of when you're a sprightly young enthusiast exploring what the world has on offer. It's one of those ones I'd always dreamed of riding, and always knew I'd shit myself on whilst I was waiting for it to launch. Little did I know that gut-puncher of a launch was the least of my worries on this bad boy.
Maybe I'd just ignored it before, but I'd never ever heard anybody talking about the brutality of the airtime on the tophat of Dodonpa before? It took me completely by surprise, and if I was sat in the station wondering why the hell there was so much padding on my restraint in front of me all was soon explained as I was thrust full force into it as we crested the top hat. What the hell? I'm surprised there hasn't been some severe snapping of spinal cords on this thing before, it's insane how powerful it is!
Lost Gravity, Walibi Holland
First Drop
Watching this THING being constructed last off season I was so often left going 'huh?' with every update. I convinced myself it'd make more sense once the whole thing was built. Nope. To look at, Lost Gravity is an enigma in itself. It just looks like it doesn't fit together and the angles are all slightly wrong, like a badly made custom coaster on RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. And it rides exactly how it looks.
The biggest WTF moment of all though is the first drop, especially if you're sat on one of the outer seats. The angle at which you turn and descend just feels SO wrong that it catches you completely off guard, takes your breath away and then before you have a chance to get your bearings it throws you over another airtime hill. It's such an awesome and underrated coaster!
Winjas Fear & Force, Phantasialand
Trick track
I've always been intrigued by Winjas. It's got that indoor/outdoor vibe, it's kind of a duelling coaster and it's got that cool anime girl Wuze Town theme that nobody knows what it really is but we all agree it's definitely kinda funky. But then, spinning coasters, fun as they are, they're not exactly the most exciting of coaster types, what could they really do to break the mould?
Well let me tell you, Winjas is all kinds of fucked up in the best way possible. From the 'oh, OK we're doing this now' elevator lift hill, to the unexpectedly tilting track to the final bounce once you think it's all over. It's one of those coasters that I LOVE taking people on for the first time and just watching their reactions.
Yep, it's definitely the purely crazy moments on coasters that make them memorable for me! Even just sat here writing this and remembering all the wacky moments I've experienced has left me with a massive smile on my face.
Talk later xoxo,
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