This might sound like a strange edition of Coaster Questions, but after some comments I read about evening rides on Millennium Force, it’s not as weird as you may think.
Leave it to the Pros & Those with Permission
I’m a long-standing objector of sneaking cameras on roller coasters. Other than the fact that there already plenty of other good coaster videos out there, you can create a projectile that could fly out of your hand and injure someone. Case in point, we now have Dueling Dragons that no longer Duel as the dueling inverted coaster now called Dragon’s Challenge. Here’s more:
Instead of launching the vehicles together so they come very close to each other, the vehicles will be set in motion alternately.
The move was made last Thursday, on the same day that a park visitor was injured by something that struck him in the face and on his lower leg.
Officials said visitor Carlos Montalvo was struck in the right eye, leaving him mostly blind.
“As we continue to study these incidents, we will operate both coasters as separate experiences without their usual intersect points,” Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said.
But hinting that the injuries may be the result of objects flying from the hands of riders, Universal said, “We will continue our long-standing policy of advising guests to safely secure personal items before riding.”
Attack of the Bugs?
Okay, so there’s my public service announcement. On a different note, I’ve gotten a few rides under my belt over the years, but I can’t say that I remember experiencing anything like John did. Here’s his comment on my Millennium Force review:
I rode this at around 8:30 PM on August 7, 2012 and found out the hard way it wasn’t the best time to ride. I was bombarded by bugs! I could barely keep my eyes open throughout the ride. I definitely couldn’t open my mouth! When I got off the ride a veteran rider looked at me as I brushed the hundreds of bug carcasses off of my shirt and asked me, “Did you get them all?”
Great ride, but make sure to go when the bugs are asleep!
This hilarious and horrifying comment made me wonder if others have been hit by anything while riding. Living or otherwise. Share your experiences below.
December 28, 2012 at 16:11
I caught someone's keys in my hand while riding the Intimidator at Carowinds, and I gave them back after the ride. As you can imagine, he was very happy to get them back.
January 21, 2013 at 02:55
Don't ride in the back car if you don't like catching strangers stomach contents on your face(for some reason scream at SFMM makes people throw up alot and I knew better but didnt want to wait longer for the front of the train). Saw another guy come into a station of a B&M flyer with his head phones wrapped around his neck chocking him out, he eventually freed himself but I thought it was hilarious that him and everyone around him didn't realize that's a terrible idea.
February 10, 2013 at 20:58
My brother and I rode the Twister at Knoebel's one night, and this guy several seats in front of us was wearing a hat. My brother and I told him he'd better hang onto it, but he didn't think anything of it. During the big helix, my brother was hit in the face by the guy's hat as it went flying.
February 25, 2013 at 09:14
I've had a few over the years, of course the mayflies at Cedar Point on Magnum XL200, the front of the train was black, also got hit by a pair of sunglasses on Magnum's last airtime hills. On the late great Cylone at Astroworld Houston they had just added some new wood to the structure and the vibrations would sprinkle sawdust into the riders eyes, very irritating. I also got hit by a hat and heard the guy telling his buddy after the ride how his strap worked since he didn't lose his hat…he didn't know that he almost lost it when I thought about tossing it for him…it's a shame about Dueling Dragons, the same thing could've happened on any Rollercoaster.