I have decided that I absolutely abhor roller coasters. I’ve always thought that they weren’t for me. These flying machines on tracks that speed past at inhumane rates… Then all the loops and drops… The thought did not excite me, but made me want to run to the nearest toilet.
But today, we had a class trip. And decided to be a bit brave (and a little stupid…). Normally, I would not succumb to the pressure of my dad calling me a wimp by deciding not to go on any roller coasters. Nor would I give in to the guilt when he tells me all the money he’s spent on taking us to an amusement park. Roller coasters are not my thing, yet I decided that I should be spending time with my friends and I should try to enjoy myself.
The first roller coaster of the day was El Toro. The massive wooden roller coaster was intimidating, but I didn’t have time to get scared. Since it was a Wednesday, and it is still very early in the summer season, the lines were short and we had to wait less than five minutes to board the ride. Did you know the El Toro is the third highest and third fastest wooden roller coaster in the world?! (According to Wikipedia, of course.) I found out the hard way – on the top of the roller coaster. Just the replaying the course of the ride is enough to make me feel light-headed. I couldn’t imagine why plunging towards the earth at a death-defying speed would causes someone to glee with joy. I tried to make myself feel the fun; I couldn’t. While my head was whipping around, all I could think about was: I CANNOT WAIT TO GET OFF THIS THING!
I felt like a downer, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t for me. So I thought that Nitro might be the coaster for me. Everyone raves about Nitro. Sunny says it’s her favorite ride, so it had to be good. But apparently, it’s only “good” if you liked roller coasters. It went too high. It went too fast. I was lucky that I opened my eyes for a little bit. I was holding on so tight and I was so afraid of popping out of that chair. I just get dizzy thinking about the countless number of drops. I can’t imagine how my other friends were able to go on the ride for a total of six times.
So of course, I sat out on the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka. Us coaster newbies asked our friends Chris his intensity rating of El Toro. He said that El Toro was expert level on the intensity scale. My mind boggled on how high on the scale Kingda Ka would be. His reply: “It’s intense in a whole different level.” I’d rather not know for myself.
What I learned from this experience: I get no thrill from roller coasters. I can’t find them fun. But if I had to pick from El Toro and Nitro, Nitro would win by just a smidgen.