Kings Dominion was a blast. I had a lot of fun although I only got on 4 rides since the lines were so long. Also we didn’t know that the park closed early (at 8) after the summer hours. I got on The Swings first, then the Triple Spin, of course everyone has to ride The Carousel ( I really don’t consider that even a ride) and finally, to my dismay, the Rebel Yell (RY).
Just some background on the RY; it’s the first, or second I think next to The Grizzly, roller coaster ever built at Kings Dominion so yes it is old, dirt old; it’s a wooden roller coaster. It has two cars on two separate tracks that run adjacent to each other; one rides forward (so you can see
everything) and one rides backwards (so you don’t see jack and don’t know what’s coming”. I know what you’re saying, “But you said you don’t like roller coasters so you weren’t going to get on one”, and you’re absolutely right I don’t. So let me tell you the story of how (And why) I got on it.
It all started when the park was about to close and my cousin Junior (age 13) says “Ooh! lets get on THAT” and points to the RY. My other cousin Caretta (age 25) says “SURE”. My mom’s godson, Tayvon (age 8), says he wants to get on too but doesn’t want to sit by himself. My sister says she doesn’t ride those *things*, asking my Mom to get on something like that is forbidden and my Aunt Nita in a nutshell said “hell no” too so Tayvon starts pouting. I felt bad for him because this would be the last ride of the night so Junior and Caretta go ahead in line to go. Tayvon continues to pout. I called Caretta at the ride asking which side she got on and she said “Backward”.
Now let’s stop here. For all those who know nothing of the RY, the roller coaster has two sides, one which you can ride going forward and one riding backwards so that’s what my cousin was referring to. Before getting on a ride, I like to see what the ride entails and I wanted to know how many dips it had. Psyclogically, I am willing to deal with a dip or two, maybe even three … HOWEVER I could not see the track because so many other rides were in front of it. I just went by my cousin’s word which she says “It’s not THAT bad”. I felt sorry for Tayvon and so I tell him, “C’mon let’s go before I change my mind”.
I was very nervous to get on and I felt bad because I saw little kids getting on and I was punking out. So we get on the roller coaster seated backwards and I tried to rile myself up by raising my hands when going up the first drop and to be honest, I really thought I had control of the ride. I heard my cousin behind me say “Shaunie, put your hands down” and so then I turned around to see if we were close to the top yet, and then my cousin says, “Shaunie, it’s best if you don’t look” but then when I looked up at how high we really were, and began to go down the “cliff”, 
I lost it all and the inertia got my stomach, I lost my cool; completely. Also, keep in mind, it is night time now so I couldn’t see much in front of me either, not the track since I was riding backwards. Jesus Christ, I thought my food was going to come straight up out of my mouth. The first drop was horrible and just when I thought it was only three drops, more of them kept coming like it was never going to end and the turnaround was worse.
I got jerked to the side like a rag doll. I grabbed on my cousin like I was about to die.
Getting on that ride was a mistake, I hated it, but my cousins thought it was funny as hell; I’m morbidly glad I amused them. But I swear to God I will never feel sorry for a child and get on a roller coaster for their sake again; no matter what age they are. no matter what sorry, lame excuse. Ironically though, I don’t think Tayvon knew what he was getting into because when the never ending ride finally came to an end, Tayvon was crying severely. The same kid who dragged me on that ride, was terrified of it so we had to calm him down.
Lesson learned? Stick to my guns and never get on a roller coaster again no matter who or what it is or how hard the person begs or pleads; I just wasn’t made for coasters; I HATE THEM and this confirms how much I do and I hate them more. There just isn’t an excuse logical enough to make me EVER get on one again. And to think, I didn’t get on just ANY roller coaster, but one of the LARGEST roller coasters in the whole goddamn park … just makes me sick.
The Rebel Yell is that white long fucker of a rollercoaster that covers the entire back of the picture. Looking at it from a distance, I was insane to get on that for the love of anybody.