Attention, roller coaster and thrill ride people

I found parachuting to be the best thrill ride of all. Most jump centers will set you up with a one-day training/jump -- no net, no jumpmaster clinging to your ass, no bungee cord -- just you, your rational fears and the gay art of cloud-riding.

 

By "gay" you mean ....

 

Top Thrill is the shit.

I was at Cedar Point about two months ago and rode that beast again. Great time. Every once in a while the cart doesn't get enough momentum to carry over the hill and it stalls at the top and rolls backwards. That's never happened to me on the five or so times I've rode it, but I saw it happen once. Definitely looks boss.

A few years ago I was with some buddies, a few of them who heavily indulged in some beer at the park's sports bar, and we waited for about an hour in line. The beer shot through one buddy pretty quick but he was holding it like a trooper. We got on the ride, shot to 120 mph, got to the top and just before we begin our descent, he said, 'I just peed my pants.' We exited the ride and he sprinted to the bathroom to clean himself. Poor bastard.

 

By the way, TTD has magnetic brakes at the start and the finish of the ride. The magnets actually get the cars moving at the start, but if the train rolls back down, they stop the train so it doesn't go crashing through.

If coaster porn isn't your thing, try the Maverick. It has a first drop of only 105 feet, but it's at 95 degrees (second-most in the world -- some other park did 96 just to beat it), meaning you're going slightly upside down. Midway through you stop and get launched at 72 mph. Speaking of coaster porn, this shot is from Roller Coasters in the Raw, which my son owns. My wife and I prescreened it before we gave it to him for Christmas because we wanted to make doubly sure it wasn't naked coaster riding or something.

And how about this one? Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind., next summer will open a water ride with a 131-foot drop, the world's tallest. The link has a CGI video embedded. You'll go up an elevator and then get dropped at a 45-degree angle. Water ride porn from a park that's added a lot of really cool rides the last few years.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/Aug/26/holiday-world-unveil-plans-huge-new-ride/

 

I can remember going to Holiday World when I was really little.