When Rides don't quite Live Up to your Expectations & Let You Down!
Rides that leave you Feeling Let Down! There’s nothing worse is there?
Have you ever stepped off a ride having completely hyped it up to find out you really shouldn’t have bothered?
If you answered YES, then believe us when we say, you’re not the only one.
Now, we know what you’re probably thinking – “this is just going to be one of those articles where they moan throughout”.
Stick with us.
For the most part, when we think something looks incredible, it usually is (and that’s not being big headed either).
There is of course always that one time though when that doesn’t quite turn out to be the case.
It’s very rare, and in all fairness we can only really think of a few instances, but it does happen none the less.
So which rides didn’t quite cut it for us? Which ones left us feeling very underwhelmed and dissatisfied at the end?
Let’s take a look together!
Hero - Flamingo Land Resort
When you first see Hero at Flamingo Land Resort, there’s no denying it looks fun and very unique to say the least.
What you do get however is the ride experience equivalent to visiting a chiropractor!
This absolute monstrosity definitely peaked our curiosity when we first saw it.
Needless to say we jumped in the queue full of anticipation and eager to try it as it had to be good right?
WRONG!!
What we actually got was a ride equivalent to being thrown around the inside of a washing machine for just over a minute or so!
We then disembarked the ride and waddled off the station platform (like Donald Duck after a heavy night out) deflated & feeling incredibly underwhelmed.
If there was ever a perfect example of a ride not meeting your expectations, then it’s definitely this one!
Grand National - Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Ahhh, Grand National you look so good and yet, you fall so short of all expectations!
There’s no denying that a racing wooden roller coaster definitely looks fun, are we right?
Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is by far the complete opposite of fun though.
In our opinion, it’s rough, outdated and leaves you feeling like you’ve just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
Regardless, we had high hopes for this unique looking ride when we first rode it. Needless to say that soon changed.
Now, don’t get us wrong, we appreciate the heritage the ride commands, however once your time is up it’s up.
Although we haven’t rode it since it got refurbished last winter, we have heard from a few reliable sources that nothing has really changed (which we can believe).
Needless to say, we definitely didn’t feel the hype after our first ride on this classic woodie.
Th13teen - Alton Towers.
Last but not least (we said there wasn’t really many didn’t we?) we have Th13teen at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire.
Now then, don’t get me wrong, Th13teen is still an incredibly fun ride.
We do still in fact enjoy rides on it every time we go to this day.
Did it meet our initial expectations though? The answer is quite simple – NO, it did not.
When it came to it’s marketing the resort lead all to believe it would scary, intense & incredibly frightening.
What you actually got was a bog standard family coaster with a drop track (yes that bit is still very cool) and a backwards section at the end.
What we had expected however was a much longer ride involving possible inversions (we didn’t know rcdb.com was a thing back then) and a much more terrifying experience overall.
Needless to say our initial reaction having ridden it was “is that it?”!
Regardless Th13teen is still very fun and proves a continuing crowd pleaser to this day.
Rides That EXCEEDED The Hype!
Okay, so we’ve moaned about the ones that didn’t meet our expectations, but what about the ones that beat them altogether?
There have been a few rides over the years that have exceeded all expectations, and it’s very hard to choose which ones beat them the most.
Regardless there are two that stand out as well and truly taking that title and those are The Swarm at Thorpe Park Resort & The Smiler at Alton Towers.
When we stepped onto both of the above we had no idea JUST HOW AWESOME they would really be!
Whilst the Smiler looks intense, it is infact filled with hilarity, has you grinning from ear to ear throughout and does exactly what it says on the tin.
The Swarm on the other hand is beautiful both on and off ride.
The attention to detail is immaculate, the ride is insanely smooth and the forces you experience are exquisite and incredibly well balanced throughout.
Overall, two of the most stand out additions here in the UK we have ever experienced.
Let's Wrap This Up!
In the end not every ride is going to be absolutely incredible.
In the rare instance where you do feel let down though try to focus on the positives instead of your disappointing experience.
There will always be times when you go in with high expectations and they’re not met.
The trick though is to not let it get you down.
Regardless, always try to experience new rides for yourself first (no matter how bad the reviews may be).
Who knows? You may end up being pleasantly surprised!
Which ride has left you feeling most underwhelmed? Is there one that stands out as being your least favourite? We’d love to know below!
Thank you very much for reading!
*P.S. – If you enjoyed this then why not check out “ROLLER COASTERS That Helped DEFINE a GENERATION?”