NuttySquirrel
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Batman: Gotham City Escape
Thought it would be interesting to initiate a discussion around ageing and its effect on how we experience rollercoasters/other thrill rides.
A couple of recent discussions have had me thinking about age and why it seems people 'grow out' of riding rollercoasters - namely the discussion about second-tier parks and why the average regional park seems so tame nowadays, and also this comment by Naga Munchetty (in the LWV news report on BBC breakfast) that one becomes less tolerant of riding rollercoasters as one gets older. I suppose there could be a number of reasons for this - greater susceptibility to motion sickness perhaps, concerns around physical injuries and increased recovery time, or the burden of adult responsibilities making people more risk averse.
So the question is (to our older members in particular!) - has your enjoyment of riding extreme rides changed at all as you've got older? Are there types of rides you used to enjoy but can no longer tolerate? And has your perception of risk/fear changed at all between your teens and your thirties, for example?
For myself, I'd say things seem to be moving in the opposite direction - I was extremely risk averse as a teenager, terrified of the idea of being hurled around a track or thrown around the air on a flat ride. I only ever rode Nemesis for the first time when I was 21, and I very nearly chickened out. Now I'm 35 and I barely feel fear at all - even of new rides where I don't really know what to expect. I'll even happily jump on most flat rides now which I wouldn't have done even 3-4 years ago. The only thing I can't do without feeling extremely nauseous is pirate ships, which other people I know seem fine with!
I'm curious as well if any of our older members think they might eventually 'retire' from extreme thrill rides (specific medical conditions notwithstanding), or do you plan to keep going into your 50s, 60s, 70s? I'm sure someone said they were planning to take their 70-year-old grandfather on Oblivion; I'd like to think I'll still be up for those types of exprience when I reach that age!
A couple of recent discussions have had me thinking about age and why it seems people 'grow out' of riding rollercoasters - namely the discussion about second-tier parks and why the average regional park seems so tame nowadays, and also this comment by Naga Munchetty (in the LWV news report on BBC breakfast) that one becomes less tolerant of riding rollercoasters as one gets older. I suppose there could be a number of reasons for this - greater susceptibility to motion sickness perhaps, concerns around physical injuries and increased recovery time, or the burden of adult responsibilities making people more risk averse.
So the question is (to our older members in particular!) - has your enjoyment of riding extreme rides changed at all as you've got older? Are there types of rides you used to enjoy but can no longer tolerate? And has your perception of risk/fear changed at all between your teens and your thirties, for example?
For myself, I'd say things seem to be moving in the opposite direction - I was extremely risk averse as a teenager, terrified of the idea of being hurled around a track or thrown around the air on a flat ride. I only ever rode Nemesis for the first time when I was 21, and I very nearly chickened out. Now I'm 35 and I barely feel fear at all - even of new rides where I don't really know what to expect. I'll even happily jump on most flat rides now which I wouldn't have done even 3-4 years ago. The only thing I can't do without feeling extremely nauseous is pirate ships, which other people I know seem fine with!
I'm curious as well if any of our older members think they might eventually 'retire' from extreme thrill rides (specific medical conditions notwithstanding), or do you plan to keep going into your 50s, 60s, 70s? I'm sure someone said they were planning to take their 70-year-old grandfather on Oblivion; I'd like to think I'll still be up for those types of exprience when I reach that age!