[mightyray23]

HELP WANTED. I need desperate help the only big one I've rode was Night
Hawk and I'm trying to make afterburn my next

[tarheel1231]

This article should help you out: http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2009/06 ... sters.html

I've never really been afraid of coasters, but I feel like that article would help me if I wasn't an enthusiast. I do hope you get to ride Afterburn. It's my favorite ride in the park!

[FamousAmos]

The first time I ever rode a roller coaster was the first time I came to Carowinds, back in late 2010. Intimidator was new, and I knew nothing about the park. I started small and worked my way up. Sadly I did not ride Intimidator that day (but I LOVE it now). My fear was of heights, but that is long gone.

[Merthecat]

Usually it's just getting over the initial fear of actually committing to it that's so hard, but if you can do that, you'll probably love the ride and wonder why it took so long to get up the courage to ride it. That's how I've always found it.

[FamousAmos]

A friend of mine has a fear of falling. He doesn't mind the coaster, he's just scared of falling. When you come to Carowinds next year, first thing you should do is ride Fury, that will drop your fear(s) all together.

[tarheel1231]

^I actually disagree with this. If you are afraid of the dropping feeling on roller coasters, Fury 325 might be too intense. Work your way up before you get to the largest coaster. Fury 325 could ruin riding coasters for you.

[tylerSC]

The height makes me more nervous than speed. And ironically Windseeker scares me more than Intimidator. And it is a tame ride except for the height. And I don't think I could ride the Six Flags version, as it is more of a super high chain swing and more intense. But for some reason the height on coasters doesn't really bother me.

[arby]

HELP WANTED. I need desperate help the only big one I've rode was Night
Hawk and I'm trying to make afterburn my next

"Dr Phil" arby here. Hopefully you find this helpful.

1) Categorize your fear

What is it that you are afraid of? For me, it is fear of heights. Recognizing that fear helps me get beyond it.

2) Face your fear

The Marine Corps helped me with that. I have rappelled and fast roped many times and the first time always scared the crap out of me. We had a saying, 'Mind over matter. If you don't mind - it don't matter' (ignore the poor grammar). I knew I had to do it so I gritted my teeth and did it. Nearly every time, it was surprising that I completely loved the thrill of doing both. Granted, I never did either from a height of over 150 feet.

EDIT: I did refuse to go to jump school.

3) Do it with someone who you don't want to look like a wimp around.

The first time I did Top Thrill Dragster, I was scared to death. So much so that I nearly had a panic attack. But I was doing it with my older brother and daughter. I didn't want either to know I was afraid and my daughter was more afraid than I was. So I finally closed my eyes, took slow deep breaths through my nose then exhaled out of my mouth. I was able to move past my paralyzing fear and could then focus on logically reasoning with my daughter to convince her that it would be a blast. It ended up being a blast and we did it a few more times that night.

I was also very afraid to do Acrophobia but I went with some fellow coaster enthusiasts. I was able to pretend that I wasn't afraid and really enjoyed that ride.

Hope that helps.

[Bigcoasterguy]

HELP WANTED. I need desperate help the only big one I've rode was Night
Hawk and I'm trying to make afterburn my next

3) Do it with someone who you don't want to look like a wimp around.

This is how I rode intimidator for the first time. I was 12 years old and terrified of roller coasters and I went with one of my guy friends from school, being a teenager I let him convince me to ride because I wanted to look cool. I was absolutely terrified but after that first drop I fell in love with roller coasters, and here I am over 300 rides on intimidator later. I don't know how old you are so peer pressure may have no effect on you but it is good way to get started.

[mightyray23]

Guys im not scared of heights, its the g forces and the feeling I get in my stomach and bum

[ReillyK721]

Arby and bigcoasterguy hit the nail right on the head for this one. One of my friends was petrified of coasters, and had never even been on one. Our school went to BGW for a class trip, so we went straight to Griffon, the 200 foot tall dive coaster at the park. We just walked right into the line, forcing our friend to either watch us by himself, or come with us. He decided to go with us and of course he loved it, and was willing to ride everything else with us. Have some friends do this with you on Intimidator or Afterburn, and once you ride those you can pretty much ride anything. And don't worry about it being painful, because you've already ridden Nighthawk which is probably the most painful ride in the park.

[mightyray23]

HELP WANTED. I need desperate help the only big one I've rode was Night
Hawk and I'm trying to make afterburn my next

3) Do it with someone who you don't want to look like a wimp around.

This is how I rode intimidator for the first time. I was 12 years old and terrified of roller coasters and I went with one of my guy friends from school, being a teenager I let him convince me to ride because I wanted to look cool. I was absolutely terrified but after that first drop I fell in love with roller coasters, and here I am over 300 rides on intimidator later. I don't know how old you are so peer pressure may have no effect on you but it is good way to get started.

Im 13 so peer pressure has a great effect on me

[Axel]

now REALLY young kids can start on a roller coaster simulator... they look like they having a great time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHD42iLrnNw

[Towerdragon82]

As a child I used to be terrified of rollercoasters to me the initial fear is the lift hill after the first drop you are home free just sit back and enjoy the ride. The lift hill and drop always give me butterflies but after that its awesome. I agree with starting with smaller coasters first and work your way up try the Carolina Goldrusher.

[Mr.Nitro]

I'm nervous that I'll grey out on Fury's first hill :/ I do on Griffin.