Can I Take My Phone on to a Roller Coaster

Use your head, theme park fans: Never take a phone on a roller coaster

June 9, 2017, 10:46 AM · We get it. You love your phone. With every major park now offering an official app, your phone can be the way you get into the park, manage your reservations, find your way around, and track the wait times for all your favorite rides. It's how you take pictures, snap, and keep in touch with your friends. Phones are great.

But, for the love of all that is holy and for the sake of everyone else in the park, please don't take the darned things on a roller coaster.

Look, if you want to take your phone on It's a Small World — either to record the one-trillionth on-ride video of the attraction, or just to play slyly some music through your earbuds in order to avoid having to listen to that song again — go ahead. Take selfies with every character in the park, if you want. (Just, please, no sticks.) Be that person who Instagrams everything you order to eat or drink.

But, please, no phones on roller coasters, or any other high speed, volatile thrill rides. Here's your latest horror story:

I was at SFGAm today, and my friend and I were on Goliath back row. Directly In front of us were two young women. During the ride, a phone flew out of some lady's pocket (or hand) during the airtime hill, and it hit the head of the girl in front of me. During the rest of the ride, she was bleeding very badly, and my friend and I had to cover our faces. On top of that, when we arrived at the station, there was panic among many guests, and they had to shut down the ride for a good while. The poor girl had to be heavily bandaged on her head, and strolled out on a wheelchair.

Okay, it's a Reddit post, so veracity's a coin flip. But I would need no more than one phone call to a publicity rep from any park with a major roller coaster to verify a similar event. That's why I stand up to applaud theme parks that do this:

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???????…??#USJ pic.twitter.com/3Xi2O2g34j

— USJ.???®? (@USJ_Love_331) May 28, 2017

And this:

Ongoing metal detector test at Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. pic.twitter.com/HIQFvtdius

— Orlando Informer (@OrlandoInformer) April 18, 2015

Because I would rather endure the hassle of storing my stuff in a locker and going without my phone for an hour in line, or even sit on a lift of a stalled roller coaster for 20 minutes, than take an iPhone to my face at 50 mph.

So even if a park doesn't make you go through metal detectors at a coaster's queue, stow the phone anyway. And that means leaving it at the station, in a locker, or at the very least inside a closed pocket where it can't fly out during the ride. That goes for anything you're carrying with you in the park, too.

Inconvenience? I'll tell you what's inconvenient — missing the rest of your day in the park because you're heading to the first aid center or hospital. Or if that doesn't move you, how about having to go back to the store to replace your phone?

Stow the phones, enjoy your ride, then get back online and tell us how awesome it was... after you're done. Have a great summer, Theme Park Insiders!

How to Stay Safe on Vacation:

• Top 10 Theme Park Safety Tips

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Can I Take My Phone on to a Roller Coaster

Source: https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201706/5607/#:~:text=It's%20how%20you%20take%20pictures,things%20on%20a%20roller%20coaster.

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