Everybody likes to be scared on a thrill-ride, but nobody wants to be scared for their life.
Such was the case for Florida real estate broker Eve Brock when she and her boyfriend’s nine-year-old son boarded the Spin Out at Florida State Fair in Tampa, Fla. — one of a series of mishaps on rollercoasters and rides which have terrified riders across the country.
The ride lifted off the ground, as it was supposed to, and began spinning as Brock had anticipated.
“It spun sideways, and the main hatch, containing the motor and electronics, flew open from centrifugal force,” Brock, 46, told The Post.
“It covered the whole center of the ride. My feet were hanging down and I put them up to stop the hatch.
‘It was hitting my feet. I feared that it would break and slam into me. I screamed at the top of my lungs for the operator to stop the ride. But people scream on these rides all the time and he didn’t respond.”
Brock’s boyfriend Bryon Glass got the attention of the operator who stopped the Spin Out.
“I was up there for 5 to 8 minutes after the ride stopped, but it felt like a long time,” Brock said. “I was terrified, having a panic attack, unable to catch my breath. I thought the hinges were getting weaker and weaker.
“The ride really scared my boyfriend’s son. And his sister was screaming from the ground. I went to the emergency room and found out that my ankles were sprained.
“A manager said they would comp the ticket and we can come back later. I thought, ‘Heck no.’ I thought of people getting chopped in half by this kind of stuff.”
Frank Zaitshik, owner of Wade Shows, which manages and operates rides at the Florida State Fair, told The Post, “When the incident occurred, the ride operator followed proper safety protocol. The E stop [safety mechanism] was engaged and the ride was returned to the stationary position as quickly as possible.”
Brock is not alone in having a thrill ride turn into a fear ride. In Crandon, Wi., this month, at the Forest County Festival, passengers were not only stuck on a fair-ground roller coaster, but they hung upside down for some three hours.
As described in a press release put out by the Crandon Fire Department, they were “near the top of the loop … held in inverted position by safety harnesses.” The mishap was attributed to “mechanical failure.”
In Clyattville, Ga., at the Wild Adventures amusement park, a stalled Boomerang roller coaster, this month drew emotional responses from frightened riders. “We were crying,” Kennedi Johnson told WALB. “We were scared.”
Another rider, Rishon Phillips, said that he “had a panic attack.”
Others takes incidents such as this in stride. In Toronto, when riders on the Flight Deck coaster at Canada’s Wonderland got stuck with their feet dangling at the ride’s highpoint, 105 feet in the air, a TikTok video showed them smiling and waving and patiently waiting to be rescued.
It was a different response for Emily Parker, from Napa, Ca., when she got stuck on the Rampage at Napa Town and Country Fair last August.
Being up there for a few hours as the ride continued to spin was frightening enough. “We were screaming at them to stop the ride, saw there was nobody [manning the ride] and realized that they had no control over it,” Palmer told The Post.
As fellow passenger Jacob DeGraw told ABC-7 News San Francisco, “They just left us swirling up there and didn’t tell us it was broke down.”
But Palmer reacted in a serious way when the paramedics and fire department finally arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
“I have PTSD from flashing lights and sirens due to an accident I witnessed,” said the 18-year-old hotel worker. “I couldn’t control my emotions. I was crying and shaking and unable to focus. Then everybody [who was stuck on the ride] turned and focused on me. That made things worse.”
Plus, between the time she and 11 other passengers got on the ride and got taken off, the sun went down and the temperature dipped precipitously. As rider Emery Land told ABC-7, “It was really cold. I was trying to text my parents, but my hands were shaking.”
Corey Oakley, CEO of Napa Valley Expo, which puts on the fair, did not respond to The Post. But he did tell ABC-7, “This is a great company, with a great safety record. All their protocols worked.”
As proven by a roller coaster rider who got stuck on the Flying Cobra at Carowinds theme park in Fort Mill, SC, the worst case scenario may be when you board the coaster to conquer a fear. “I’ve always been terrified of heights,” Brandon Allen told Queen City News, recalling the 45 minute ordeal. “I personally watched my tears fall from the sky. It was terrifying.”
That said, he acknowledged, park employees “did their best to keep everyone calm.”
Management told Queen City News, “At no time were guests in danger.”
As far as Brock is concerned, however, attempts at TLC might be beside the point after her experience at the Florida State Fair. “To get on a ride and fear that you might die?” she said. “It has to be better.”