sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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 8/31/2005 11:27:03 PM
Can you help me out here? I know everyone here will go on just about any ride, so you all are probably wondering why I even joined the site, but hear me out  I'm going to Six Flags Great adventure this saturday, with a bunch of friends, and they're all going to go on Nitro. Now, I love rollercoasters (at least the ones I've been on )with a passion- Medusa, Scream Machine, Superman, Batman, Rolling thunder at Six flags, and great bear, comet, lightning racer at hershey, but I am SO freaked out about Nitro! I mean, I'm not scared of flips, loops, heights, or big curved drops-and I've been on so many of them that my stomach doesn't even drop anymore on them. but that vertical drop on Nitro is freaking me out. The biggest non-curving drop I've been on is Rolling Thunder, so this is a HUGE step for me! I'm seriously having nightmares about it! I'd really like to get over my fear and just do it, but I just can't bring myself to. I just went there last week and chickened out..I actually got in the seat, but then I started crying before it started and I had to get off My friends keep telling me 'It only lasts a few seconds', 'It's really fun', the usual, but it ain't really helping..anyone got some words of advice that will help me magically conquer my fear? Any techniques to subliminally brainwash myself not to be afraid of it? I'm desperate here, as you can see  Thanks! 
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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 8/31/2005 11:48:37 PM
Don't worry. Nitro is very safe. Only 12 people have died on it this year.
Just kidding, anyhow, nitro is a great ride. The drop isn't even vertical, it's only like, what 65 degrees? So yeah, you really should ride it, I'm sure you'll love it.
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sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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8/31/2005 11:55:30 PM
Haha, first line freaked me out for a second! I'm so gullible..
Yeah, it isnt completely vertical now that I think about it, but it's the most vertical thing I'll have been on considering everything else is just a curved drop like Batman or Medusa. Rolling thunder wasn't curved but it's really small by comparison... I didn't think it was 65 degrees though...that helps, kind of I'll think about that and hopefully get the nerve to go on it and not get off! Thanks!
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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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9/1/2005 12:00:26 AM
It really is worth the wait. I was just as scared as you when I first rode nitro. I was shaking. I got off of nitro, screaming "Let's go again" It really is a great ride.
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coaster05
Posts: 6207
Registered: 2/29/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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9/1/2005 12:05:07 AM
Lots of people on this site have had this fear. Mine was magnum. Eventually the only thing to do is just go. You will love it once the drop is done and you will probably have erased most of your fear.
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sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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9/1/2005 12:08:23 AM
That's good to know! Heh, the first time I went on Rolling Thunder when I was 11 or something I was crying, but it was too late for me to get off, then I wanted to go on again after. Maybe this will be like a modern day version of that little scenario, hopefully minus the crying though, that was pretty embarassing at my age Now that I think about it, I've never been on a ride and was still scared of it /after/ the ride...well, except for some stuff at the NJ state fair but that's only because it felt like it was going to collapse
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sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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9/1/2005 12:12:44 AM
Once the first drop is done? Does that mean I'm going to hate the first drop or something?  Lol, just kidding..thanks for the support. You're right, once the first drop is done it probably won't be a big deal, but I'm still stressing over the first drop itself. I hate how you have so much time to anticipate it on the lift- I wish you could just start out with the drop...haha..I can just imagine, a 230 foot high queue line..it would be like climbing a mountain to get to the ride!
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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9/1/2005 12:22:55 AM
sharkbait, I felt the very same way when I went on my first modern hyper (Steel Force). I looked at Dorney Park's website for days and had anxiety dreams several times about riding the coaster, as I'm to this day deathly afraid of heights. It seems funny looking back at it now, but I know exactly how you feel. Needless to say, I had a great experience and got back on the ride 10 or so times the same day. You're picking a great first hyper in Nitro. It's tall and fast but very smooth, and the transitions and G-forces aren't at all punishing. If you've enjoyed the other coasters you've mentioned, then I'm sure you'll love it. The only thing to be afraid of is that you'll end up like the rest of us, spending money and time that might otherwise be devoted to school, work, or relationships in your all-consuming obsession with roller coasters. One day you'll look back on how you're feeling right now with a twinge of nostalgia. As your coaster resume grows, you'll discover that capturing that feeling of nervous excitement before a ride becomes more and more difficult. It's a great feeling, though, especially when you conquer your fear and are rewarded with the Zen-like experience of existing wholly in the moment for about three minutes.
Seriously, though, do yourself a favor and get on Nitro at the first opportunity. I'll be looking forward to your review.
Message updated 9/1/2005 12:30:22 AM by Timberman
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sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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9/1/2005 12:44:20 AM
Wow! Thanks Timberman! That's very helpful. I know most people are afraid when going on a ride like this for the first time but I didn't think anyone else was that nervous until I read your post. Lol, I'm guilty of looking up pictures/stats/reviews etc on the 'net as well! I'm really going to try to push myself on it, I'm sure I'd love it but I just have this huge obstacle in my mind that I really need to get over...well, wish me luck! If I come back alive I'll write a review about it first thing when I get back 
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CoastrGlxy
Posts: 358
Registered: 5/23/2005
Rank: Silver Critic
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9/1/2005 11:16:42 AM
So Timberman, I guess these ultra-smooth modern coasters DO scare young riders and are something to conquer unlike you stated in this post:
"If the rides I had ridden back then were all like Lightening Racer or Nitro -- perfectly decent, fun rides that I have no problem admitting I enjoy -- then I would have been cheated out of the invaluable growth experience of feeling like I was staring down death, still forging ahead, taking my licks, and then realizing that conquering something demanding and scary is one of life's most vital and enriching accomplishments."
See, so if you were a young rider right now you'd be just like sharkbait here. And wouldn't have missed out so much on getting pummelled by some bruiser of a woodie. When conquering Nitro is challenging as well
Message updated 9/1/2005 11:18:43 AM by CoastrGlxy
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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9/1/2005 7:26:40 PM
The difference is sharkbait won't take any licks on Nitro. He just needs to get over the mental block of riding it. If he were riding SOB or the original Steel Phantom, for example, then his fears might actually be justified, because they are coasters that have the potential to hand you your ass. You make a valid point that riding a smooth hyper for the first time can be vital and enriching, but I would still draw a distinction between conquering Nitro and conquering something more demanding and dynamic.
But yes, I admit that I was scared of Steel Force -- a modern, smooth hyper -- until I actually rode it. However, the feeling afterwards wasn't so much that I had accomplished something as that I had worried for nothing. Nevertheless, riding Nitro is clearly a test for Sharkbait, and I recognize the courage it will take for him to do it.
Message updated 9/1/2005 7:40:20 PM by Timberman
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sharkbait
Posts: 48
Registered: 8/31/2005
Rank: Coaster Critic
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9/4/2005 5:48:43 PM
Well, I went on it. It was great! My friends all chipped in to buy a fast pass so we ended up going on this 5 times- the first time in the middle (heh heh), second/third times in the front, and fourth/fifth times in the back. Thanks for the advice, I'm really glad I did it
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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9/5/2005 12:27:32 PM
That's great, sharkbait. Welcome to the hyper-club. If you haven't already written a review, I'd be interested in your impressions, especially since you were initially so nervous. Was Nitro as scary as you thought it would be? Did the experience live up to your expectations? What did you like/dislike about it? Does riding Nitro make you eager to ride more hypers?
[edit] I just read your review. Good work. Obviously you liked it.
Message updated 9/5/2005 12:29:52 PM by Timberman
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coasterwom
Posts: 1446
Registered: 3/23/2001
Rank: Platinum Critic
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5/11/2006 12:09:20 AM
I was afraid when I rode my first coaster with my father. I was 13 and I closed my eyes up the lift hill and down the hill then I opened them this helped me. I have rode 400 feet coasters and this is something you can work up to if you can conquer your fear of 200 feet. They are alot of fun. The fear is part of the fun factor.
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