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Which Coasters Have You Had a Zen Ride On?

Howie said:
Well... yeah, I mean... sort of. You know sometimes when you get that perfect ride? That once in a blue moon kinda thing where everything comes together beautifully to create that one, exquisite, sublime moment that can seldom be replicated?
Spiritual enlightenment? Perhaps not...
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With that description, perhaps it is. At least enough to get off and tell the nearest hot dog vendor, “Make me one with everything.” 😝

Anyway, weirdest zen ride I ever had was on Verbolten. Just a very odd coaster to experience solo.
 
Only time I recall this happening (save for coasters with tiny cars like your average Wild Mouse or Gerstlauer Bobsled) was when I was the only person in the boat on Atlantica Supersplash. It was 10 in the morning in early June and the back end of Europa-Park was virtually dead save for a few people queueing up to Wodan and Blue Fire. They had like four boats running the course and at least two of them ran empty constantly. Given the massive crowds it saw just hours later, riding it all by myself in the morning was kinda surreal.
 
Rob Coasters said:
Apart from the obvious one car train coasters...

-Rage (also LROTN)
-Güven Runaway Train, Brooklands Fair
-Single Helix Runaway Train, Brooklands Fair
-Big Apple, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
-Crazy Caterpillar, Wonderland Lakeside
-Shrek, Watford Fair
-Ocean Coaster, Harbour Park Amusements
-Go Gator, Funland Theme Park

Admittedly the portfolio is a little less impressive than I originally thought.
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-Rocky Roller Coaster, Pettitts Animal Adventure Park
-Queen Bee, Bottons Pleasure Beach
-Crocodile Coaster, Oakwood Theme Park
-Speed, Oakwood Theme Park
-Nessi, Coney Beach Porthcawl
-Wacky Worm, Coney Beach Porthcawl
-Dragon Challenge, Barry Island Pleasure Park

I've also had a zen ride on some large flats:
-Dragons Claw, Adventure Island
-XXL, The Beach at Brent Cross
-Freak Out, funfair in Margate
 
Outlaw Run. It was after the park closed and I was invited by the park to stay on. The RMC guys were doing something or another to it and I just sat on the back seat, train to myself, as they let it whizz round.

Such a weird experience because I found myself yelling and raising arms in excitement. I always thought those attributes were something only done with others, almost like showing your fellow riders you’re loving it. But no, genuine joy took over and I loved it. Of course when I returned to the station, I was sat calm and expressionless.
 
Hyper Coaster @ the Land of Legends. Surreal experience having a 60m tall Mack Hyper all to myself. Still a majestic ride despite the lesser train weight.

Superman the Ride @ SFNE. Visit on a rainy Monday in November = walk on rides on what is still a top notch Intamin to my eyes.

Lech Coaster @ Legendia.
 
Kraken many times, kumba, Montu, sheikra, mako, journey to Atlantis many times,

Edit: I'm certain I've done a ride with only one other person (my grandpa) on Incredible Hulk during off season of its opening season.

Also adding both fire and ice sides of Dueling Dragons.
 
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Tantrum, Boomerang, and Motocoaster at Darien Lake. Bobsleds at Seabreeze. Backlot Stunt Coaster at Kings Island. Tig'rr at Indiana Beach. And both coasters that I rode in 2021 (SBF spinner in Ottawa and rust bucket funfair coaster in rural Dominican Republic) were zens.
 
Pretty much every coaster at Energylandia, Taron, Raik, F.L.Y., Kondaa would be the most noticable. I also technically had a Zen ride on Hals über Kopf, but those were not public runs, so I suppose this doesn't count.
 
Mako front row in the dark to round off a dozen rides in short succession. 5 stars french kiss for the available ingredients at the time.

Then there was Air Grover a few days later and it just wasn't the same.
 
The Swarm on its opening day. The ride went down and pretty much everyone left the station, except for me as I was geeking out watching the engineers from B&M working on some sensors. I then got the train to myself on the front row.
 
Except for the occasional wacky worm or wildmouse, I have done solos on 7 coasters.
  • Fiorano GT Challange at Ferrari World. This parks spends a couple of hours each day basically empty. Ones I rode all by myself and second time I had to wait about 10 minutes for someone to come and sit in the opposite train so I could duel.
  • Turbo Track at Ferrari World. Same story as above. Sadly never got solos on Formula Rossa and Flying aces :(.
  • Wildfire at Kolmården. The ride was a walk on all day, towards closing time I was able to get one solo ride.
  • Sky Scream at Holiday Park. This park was unusually quiet when I visited this year. Towards the evening the back of the park by Sky Scream was completely deserted so I got two solos on it. Ride ops seemed hesitant to dispatch me alone.
  • Canyon Blaster at Adventuredome. Due to the stupidly high price nobody ever rides anything here. Out of my about 20 rides, maybe 5 had others on. Rides ops made me walk round every bloody time.
  • El Loco at Adventuredome. Same story as above. They would only dispatch 2 trains simultaneously so always had to wait for people to sit in the other train.
The best of them all and one of my best coaster rides I have ever had was on Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The park had just closed and I was on Superman's last train of the day. As my fellow riders were leaving, I stepped off and had a small chat with the ride ops. Two super cool lads about my age. One thing led to another and I asked if I could go again. They agreed. I sad down, they secured me and dispatched that beast only for me. This ride was truly euphoric. Launching on Superman's forceful roaring launch to then experience complete quiet and weightlessness while overlooking a mostly closed Magic Mountain with all it's beautiful lights. The sun had already set but it wasn't completely dark yet. It was absolutely beautiful. I have never experienced anything like it since.

Edit: Forgot Adventuredome
 
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Believe I got one or two zen rides on Revolution at Bobbejaanland this past August. The weather was piss poor most of that day so the park was nearly dead, and Revolution was running so empty that I was allowed to stay in my seat as long as there wasn’t anyone waiting at the platform. Most people either went for the middle or the back cars, so I got to hug the front row for most of my rides.

Ride slaps, btw. It’s actually a ton of fun and has a weird but unique late 80s charm to it. Hope the park keeps it around.
 
My only zen coaster ride was Vogel Rok at Efteling when the park offered tickets that allowed you onto some rides 30 mins early.
 
What about a whole zen park?
A few years ago I strolled into the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool via the ice skating Arena entrance soon after ten on a Sunday morning, through open doors and gates.
Rides seemed slow to open...
Because the bloody park doesn't actually open until 11.
Nice slow stroll round the park, just me, the cleaners and repair staff.
 
Heth said:
My only zen coaster ride was Vogel Rok at Efteling when the park offered tickets that allowed you onto some rides 30 mins early.
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I actually found this ride to feel pretty Zen with a full train, would’ve loved to do it alone


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Not a coaster, but I had a zen-ride on Highlander at Hansa Park during a hailstorm, sat alone quietly at 103m whilst being pelted with ice was quite an experience
 
Taron and FLY on the same day (two zen rides on FLY actually). There were almost no queues that day because it was a non-holiday monday in december and it was much colder than usual, and we got to marathon and reride the coasters many, many times.

My Taron zen ride was at park opening, of a group of 33 people I was the last one to arrive at the station and get in line, so two trains were filled and sent before I got in the next train. Op decided to wait a bit but saw no one then sent just me on the course as someone went to check if there was something going on. I later found out the screens in the entrance incorrectly marked the ride as closed for a few minutes, so people would be waiting outside. It definitely was a great ride, although later I would ride again and see how "slow" it had been.

With FLY, the two zen rides were ~15 minutes before closing the queue. The ride op kept asking if people wanted to reride without even having to get off their seats if there was enough space for people in the queue. Some people would get in, others would get off. In the end, it was just me in the front row, then one guy and I, then just me again but in the last row. After that ride I asked to get off the ride and the staff decided to close the ride for the day, as no one else had entered the queue in those last minutes. It was amazing.
 
I’ve never actually had a zen ride on a coaster before, as far as I can remember. The closest would probably be Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee, where the train was empty other than our group, but seeing as my parents and sister were still on the train with me, I can’t really classify it as a zen ride.

I have, however, had zen rides on non-coasters. They are as follows:
  • Apocalypse at Drayton Manor
  • Stormforce 10 at Drayton Manor
  • Sheriff Showdown at Drayton Manor
  • Schlittenfahrt Schneefloecken (better known to many as BENCH) at Europa Park
 
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