Tomorrow it will be March, the month when theme parks across the country kick off their seasons. In honor of the start of the season I thought it’d be fun for everyone to share their first roller coaster ride.
Believe it or not, I’m not 100% sure what my first roller coaster was. Growing up in Virginia, I went to Kings Dominion often and I’m pretty sure that the Scooby Doo coaster was my first. Back in the 70’s and 80’s it was the centerpiece of the Hanna Barbera kiddie section. One of my favorite things about Kings Dominion was getting the sweet blue Smurf ice cream. My older brother and I were much too scared to tackle the larger coasters, but I do remember braving Scooby Doo. Those little hills felt enormous back then. Here’s a picture of it today.
One summer I remember going to Ocean City, Maryland. There, we rode the Toboggan at Trimpers Rides. It was a small, rickety contraption with golf cart-like cars and a scary vertical lift. Here’s a picture. Also, in the Summer of 88′ we made the long car trip down to Disney World. My brother and I weren’t up for Space Mountain, but we did ride Thunder Mountain Railroad. I remember thinking that it was a breeze because it didn’t really have any drops so I doubt that it was my first. Anyway, those were some of my early roller coaster experiences. What were yours?
Check out this pre-historic Kings Dominion commercial:
Okay, so it’s not that old. I was born the year after this was aired. Is that Dick Van Dyke? I barely know who that guy is…
Eric over at Theme Park Village just blogged about his first roller coaster experience. Check it out here.
Also, Pat from the A Walk in the Park Podcast, shared what his first roller coaster was on his Walk in the Park Blog.
What’s Your Take?
What was your first roller coaster? What was your first experience like? Leave a comment below.
Coaster Critic 
56 responses to “Your First Roller Coaster Ride”
Thats crazy because the scooby doo coaster at Kings Dominion was my first roller coaster too. But that was a loooong time ago and i completely forgot about it until i read about it here. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I'm sure a lot of kids got their first ride on Scooby Doo. I'm glad that I could take you back. Thanks for reading!
Hmmm…I think my first roller coaster was Loch Ness Monster when I was about 15…then Corkscrew at Myrtle Beach.
I jumped right in and rode an 84 foot tall, double loop Schwarzkopf (or however its spelled) coaster similar to Laser at Dorney Park!
My first roller coaster was Millenium Force– yikes! It made me deathly afraid of roller coasters for like five years!
You three had some pretty big first roller coasters compared to mine. I couldn't imagine riding Millennium Force as a kid. Heck, that was a little scary as a grown up!
My first coasters were Wild Maus at Busch Gardens Europe (now Cheetah Chase at BG Africa) Being 5 at the time, I loved it!
My first rollercoaster was Stealth, the worlds first flying coaster. i was 8. That ride was cool!!!
my first real coaster was the GA cyclone at six flags over GA
My first coaster, hmmm…… I think I was 3 or 4 when I first rode Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster.I thought that there was NO WAY AT ALL THAT THERE COULD BE A BETTER COASTER. I remember looking from the top of it over to the Hulk, probably a few thousand yards away, and laughing at the people waiting in like a 2 hour line, when I waited 2 trains for the front seat. I called all the people on that and Dueling Dragons suckers, and boy did my dad make me pay for that one. Was anyone else's first coaster Woody Woodpecker at Universal Orlando?
My first coaster was thunder road at carowinds. I thought it was a world of torture! I was 6
First roller coaster:
Tiger at pixieland, concord, CA
First real roller coaster:
Giant Dipper at santa cruz beach boardwalk, santa cruz, CA.
First roller coaster to go upsidedown:
Boomerang at six flags discovery kingdom, valajo, CA.
boomerang wow first flipping roller coaster: and it has a cobra roll!
Well, as I said above my first was Wild maus, first real one was Big Bad Wolf, my first loop is Loch Ness Monster, and my first (and only!) wood is Blue Streak @ CP. Sad part is that that is about 1/3 of the coasters I've ridden…
busch gardens is now the best place for people to overcome there fears of roller coasters. Now that they have the Sesame Street Place many little kids can ride that. Then Big Bad Wolf. Loch Ness Monster is the perfect roller coaster to overcome your fear of loops, well even though they have the roughest flips known to man kind. Alpengeist is perfect for flips. Very smooth and lots of them. Most people first experience the cobra roll. Now after that if you are a pretty big dare-devil you can go on Apollos Chariot. Trust me if you ride this ride, there is nothing to be afraid of on roller coasters. Then the best roller coaster in the world, Griffon. If you do this roller coaster, you will overcome your fear of heights. Trust me, getting hanged over for 5 seconds looking 205 ft. down!!! Yeah, Busch Gardens is a theme park that is getting more popular every day. If they get ONE wooden coaster all of Busch Gardens problems will be solved!!!
my favorite ride would probably griffon and loch ness monster and dominator
mine was drachen fire or loch ness monster and my sons was top thrill dragster and my seven year old daugters was apollos chariot then millennium force
does big bad wolf go upside down
My first coater (other than carnival dragon coasters) was likely Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I was still scared of coasters then, but BTMR was awesome to me. Loved it.
My first big coaster was Viper at Six Flags Over Georgia. When I first rode that thing, I HATED it! It scared the crap out of me soooo bad.
Then came Kings Island. Still too afraid to do much, I decided to try the then big and scary Top Gun (now Flight Deck.) Got off that thing with a HUGE smile on my face! We rode it over and over. I still love Flight Deck to this day. I hope it's days aren't numbered like Big Bad Wolf's are.
Then we took a trip that would forever change my outlook on coasters. We headed up to Six Flags Great America with my uncle. It was there that my entry into coaster fandom was confirmed. I rode everything! (except V2…still too scared of launched coasters after Viper) My favorite that day was Superman: Ultimate Flight, but nowadays my favorite at SFGAm is Raging Bull.
So yeah, that's the long-winded story of my journey towards coaster love. The year after SFGAm, I fell in love with launched coasters at Cedar Point.
-Josh
My first coaster was probably the canyon blaster at the great escape and splashwater kingdom. my first real coaster was the canyon blaster at the great escape and splash water kingdom…. when i first rode it i was 4 and i was sreaming like i was faling of a cliff. the canyon blaster is similar to the run away mine train at SFGA in jersey except that the canyon blaster is taller, faster and is more intense. but the runaway mine train has a better view and it isnt crammed into a small space. but how the canyon blaster`s crammed into a smal space makes it fun and adds to the intesitey. after that, i swore of coasters until the next year were i rode this little coaster at this mini theme park called hoffman`s. next, i rode the road-runner chase at the great escape (by then it had been bought by six flags) and rode the canyon blaster again this time i enjoyed it and was able to ride it whithout sreaming my head off. after that i went to disney world and rode every coaster there besides for rockin rollercoaster which was down when i went there. after that i rode my first flipping coaster called the steamin demon next the boomerang: coast to coaster at the great escape. next my first woodie:
the comet at the great escape(if busch gardens is the best place to start out at the great escape is the second) then i went to SFNE and rode S:ROS, mind eraser, batman ,pandemonium, thunder bolt and the cyclone. it was a big step for me except for the cyclone in which case it was a big bruise. after that we went to six flags,GA were i rode my fist launch coaster: Kingda Ka i also rode nitro, medusa, and el toro.
Wait a second! BGE is the (In my opinion) WORST PLACE POSSIBLE to start with coasters. First you ride this extremely tiny coaster, and then to NESSIE! You make a 100 ft. jump to your second coaster. Then you dicide which coaster to do third. Or dicide what you want third coaster to be. The one that goes upside down six times, the one that drops you 150ft. or more three times, or the one that will stop you looking face down 205ft. for five seconds.
Sorry if I hurt your feelings Matthew, but as the chicken on these boards, I think I know what I'm saying.
Once again I say, that was IN MY OPINION!
My first coaster was hey arnolds taxi jam at carowinds. My first real ride was thunder road at carowinds. My first looping coaster was the carolina cyclone at you guessed it Carowinds! My first launch coaster was Volcano at kings dominion. My favorite coaster at my local park of carowinds would have to be afterburn aka. TOP GUN. My highest coaster would have to be top thrill dragster.
P.S. I CANT WAIT FOR THE INTIMIDATOR!!!
I know this is a year late but I'm psyched for this year to get started. My 1st was Loch Ness Monster but I was a teenager already. I remember being a kid and my family always tried to get me to go on Scooby Doo at Kings Dominion and I never did. Then on Loch Ness the whole climb up I kept saying over and over "i'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die." Two girls in front turned around and looked at me like they wanted to slap me and I don't blame them. After that it was Big Bad Wolf which I liked and then Drachen Fire. Last year I rode Apollo's Chariot and Griffon and now I feel like I can ride anything.
well, i think that he posted way before they announced BBW was closing, so u gotta give that to him in his defense
no.
I remember being scared on Scooby Doo, but I was brave enough to handle that at least. It still took me years to make my way to the bigger coasters.
when me and my fam. went up there, my little bro. was scared too… dont feel bad!
when i was younger i needed to be pushed on rides instead of pushing others on rides.
Six flags magic mountain LA. Colossus:-D oldie. I was five. and i hated the Air time. Now i love it! haha
My first rollercoaster was Rattlesnake at chessing WoA but it was not a rollercoaster to me just some stupid invention
First real rollerocaster:
Vampire @ Chessington WoA
First Rollercoasters to go upsidedown
Nemesis Inferno @ Thorpe Park
Colossus @ Thorpe Park
First Vertical Drop Rollercoaster
SAW The Ride Thorpe Park
And last but not least my first launched rollercoaster is going to be Stealth thorpe park and i am scared!
Yep, my first real roller coaster ride was on the scooby doo. I was 6 and the trip to PKD was one of my birthday presents. After that, I was afraid of roller coasters for the longest time until I made up my mind to try them. The first full-sized roller coasters I got on were the Italian Job and Rebel Yell. I worked my way up to riding the Alpengeist and Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens recently and now I'm looking forward to riding the Dominator!
I remember riding various small family rollercoasters at some funfairs on holiday. My first big one, however, was the Bobsleigh at Europa Park, Germany.
I remember riding a very tame wild mouse at a French carnival about ten years ago, however, my first big ride would be Judge Roy Scream at Six Flags Fiesta Texas – which I loved. It was the end of the day and the only ride I had ridden was the rapids. When I visited Astroworld a year after, I rode my first looping coaster, which was viper.
My first coaster was Goofy's Barnstormer at Magic Kingdom. The first coaster that I actually enjoyed was the Dragon at Legoland California. My first coaster with inversions was Corkscrew at Cedar Point.
My first coaster was either Goofy's Barnstormer at Magic Kingdom or Fire in the Hole at Silver Dollar City. My first medium sized coaster was Thunderation at Silver Dollar City. My first coaster that I would consider a real coaster was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. My first big coaster was Magnum XL-200.
I was so afraid of rides when I was a kid that I only rode on any sort of roller coaster once before puberty: the Trailblazer, Hersheypark's short Arrow Mine Train. That was enough thrill for me, maybe more than enough.
My first big coaster was none other than Mister Twister at the original Elitch Gardens outside of Denver. That was an intense, scary ride, probably too much for a newbie; in hindsight I'd have done better to go on the Wildcat instead. I was proud of having faced my fear, but I didn't go on any coaster again until a few years later, when I once again rode Mister Twister and the Wildcat.
I think it was after that that I finally dared to go on the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens, which was at just the right thrill level to make me actually love riding it. That last drop was a special moment for me. So I suppose I think of each of those three as my first coaster, in a different way.
(My *second* ride on the Trailblazer was just this past summer, with my wife and daughter, and we missed the shaking from the Virginia earthquake by standing on the queue platform! I think my kid is going to be much more into coasters than I was.)
My first rollercoaster was Roar at SFDK.
Sometimes I feel as though my internal reading ears are in pain after reading some of my older comments…
My first coaster was Scooby Doo @ Carowinds (now Woodstock Express). It scared the living daylights out of me. Mind you I was either 5 or 6 and somewhat forced to get on. Because of that I didn't ride coasters willingly again until I was about 15. My second (and first steel) was Carolina Goldrusher and fell in love. After that I rode the likes of Thunder Road and the Hurler before braving my first looper…Carolina Cyclone and then my first Stand-up (& B&M): Vortex. All of the previous @ Carowinds.
The 2nd park I went to was BGW in '97. I was definitely intimidated by the sheer height of the coasters there, as I had only been to CW prior. I braved them all tho. Loch Ness Monster was the first coaster I tried there and still a fav. I had many firsts at this park including: Wild Maus (first wild mouse coaster now Sand Serpent @ BGT), Big Bad Wolf (the only suspended coaster I've ridden), and Alpengeist (first inverted and also the tallest I had ridden). That height record held until I rode SheiKra (first Dive) @ BGT 10 years later (Dec. '07) and then 6 months later (June '08) rode Griffon @ BGW; still the tallest I've been on….I really need to go to more parks…lol.
My first launch coaster (and Intamin) was Volcano: The Blast Coaster @ KD ('98). That is still my favorite ride there (last visit in '99). Flight Of Fear was my first enclosed ('98). My first Megacoaster ("Hyper") was Apollo's Chariot @ BGW ('99). The first "true hyper" was Goliath @ SFOGA (May '08). I still prefer AC over it…perhaps it's the terrain, or the fact I didn't have to wait 3 hours to ride…lol. My first flyer was Superman: UF (May '08), @ SFOGA, but have since ridden Nighthawk @ CW which to me is better, and then Manta @ SW which is far superior to the previous.
This made me disappointed- My first coaster was a pinfari big-apple coaster in Aberdeen,UK. 😦 Yours looks a lot more exciting.
Actually mine might of been at Six Flags New-England-I went when I was 1 so am completely unsure if I rode anything.
Mine was a wild mouse of some kind. Don't know the name, but it was in Sea Isle City. The first one I really remember was Comet at Hersheypark.
my first coaster was Crystal Wings at Happy Valley in China,when I was 8,surprisingly I liked it very much.
My first coaster with inversions is Rock N Rollercosster…
My first was racer at kings island
my first roller coaster with inversions was vortex
My first roller coaster was Woodstock Express at Cedar Point. Two years later at the age of 7, I endured Gemini and was traumatized by the experience. Two years later, I was convinced into going on Top Thrill Dragster, which I actually enjoyed. Now, I am a true roller coaster fanatic.
My first major coaster was the Pepsi Ripsaw Coaster at the Mall of America (now Pepsi Orange Streak) but I rode small wacky worms and such beforehand probably. I basically fell in love right away and now you can't get me off of a coaster!
My first coaster was Millenium Force at CedarPoint. I seriously thought I was going to die! Omg. But it was alot of fun, plus I wasn’t as scared for all of the other coasters.
First roller coaster: Sideshow Spin at Dollywood
First real roller coaster and first roller coaster to go upside down: Tennessee Tornado at Dollywood
First roller coaster to have a height over 163 ft tall: Millennium Force
First roller coaster to have a launch: Maverick
First roller coaster to go over 100mph: Top Thrill Dragster
Wow, I could go on forever!
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