Britin Frazey

For the first time in several years, I was able to go to Kings Island on May 23. I went in a group of five people to celebrate the birthday of one of my best friends, Sabrina, and had such a blast!

My Rollercoaster History

I live in the Dayton area, so Kings Island is the nearest amusement park to me. Growing up, through middle school and up until COVID happened, I went with family all the time. We had passes that allowed us to get in free, have free drinks, and come early to the park. Safe to say, I used to know my way around, and always loved going.

After COVID, I’m not sure we ever went again, though my memory of the timeframe from mid 2019 to early 2022 are admittedly spotty. I definitely hadn’t been on Orion, which opened to the public in July 2020. We definitely would’ve waited in that line to try the new ride, so I don’t think I’d been since then. Well, last week, that changed!

However, while I may have been a rollercoaster adrenaline junkie in middle school, riding as many rides as possible— even the dangerous or painful ones— I’ve since undergone a lot of changes that forced that to shift.

My POTS Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) a little over one year ago, and— while this post is not going to be a list of my symptoms or experiences— I can easily say that it has caused my motion sickness to increase dramatically. I never used to have issues with it, but since a short while before my diagnosis, I started regularly throwing up in cars (don’t worry, I always had a bag and/or window— except for that one time…).

Due to my love for cheap thrills, one of the first questions that I asked my cardiologist was whether or not I could still ride rollercoasters. He laughed and told me that yes, it was safe for me to do— but that if I struggle with riding in cars, I’d likely need to be cautious. Fair enough.

Since then, I tested the waters on a handful of carnival rides, and did okay. I mostly attribute this to my prescription medicine that I take for my POTS, which really lessens my symptoms and makes it a lot more manageable. In any case, when Sabrina and her boyfriend, Josh, asked my fiancé and I to go with them and Ella, sharing that they all had passes that allowed them and us to get in for free, I was so excited.

How the Day Started

Naturally, the first thing that we did after entering the park and getting our pictures taken was to head straight for one of the biggest rides in the park. My fiancé isn’t the biggest fan of rollercoasters, so he sat out and held our items while the rest of the group and I went on the Diamondback.

The line was remarkably short, which is awesome, because if you know anything about POTS (I’ll write an informative post on my personal lived experiences and that of others I know, if anyone is interested), then you know that waiting in lines can be TOUGH. In that very short period of time, however, my Apple Watch died— meaning that I wouldn’t be able to use my heartrate monitor app for the rest of the day. This was a little unfortunate, because sometimes, I can’t really tell when symptoms are going to come on, but my heartrate will spike, and the app will buzz to let me know. But I figured that would be fine— maybe even ideal, since my heartrate was likely to fluctuate a lot, the same way that anyone’s would on such a ride, so not knowing would mean I wasn’t constantly worried about having an episode all day long.

After the ride, I felt mostly alright. I was a little nauseous, and saw a couple of stars, but the short period where the carts had us stop and chill out before returning to the loading zone to let us off mostly evened me out. I stood up slowly, and I’m pretty sure I grabbed onto my friend Ella’s arm until we got to the railing, but I felt okay.

We returned to where my fiancé was waiting, and I sat down. Then, I felt actually pretty good, and I was happy that I’d gone on the ride. It was as much fun as I remembered!

Other Activities We Did

We walked around for a long time debating which games we should play to win stuffed animals, and ultimately ended up not playing any of them. The decision was just too hard, and the prices were a little bit too high to pick several.

Eventually, we got to The Beast, a ride which I swore I would never go on again— it’s just too rough for my liking— until my fiancé declared that he was willing to go on this one, and that it was the only ride he’d go on. I couldn’t pass up this one opportunity to go on a rollercoaster with him, so I went. There was a bad omen: someone on the ride before us puked, meaning we had to wait in line a longer while they cleaned it up, and Sabrina and Josh had to wait for the next car. We also had to sit several rows in front of Ella, but we got to sit together and hold onto one another.

The Beast doesn’t have an operating camera, so sadly there is no photographic evidence, but if there were, it would look something like the two of us fighting for our lives, because we were. Personally, I was locked in the entire time, because my glasses were in my leggings’ pocket, and the ride was trying to throw my full body weight onto them. In hindsight, I’m glad I had something else to focus on, other than how jerked around I was being. If I’d focused on that, I might have yacked in the middle of it. For me, the worst part of this ride was actually the time after getting off the ride. We stood and waited for Sabrina and Josh to get off their ride, and I was so nauseous and hot from the ride that I had to lean heavily on the railing, and pull out both of the two mini fans I’d brought. When they got off, we made a beeline to go get water, and I chugged more than my fair share, while basking in my fans’ breeze. We sat in the shade for a while— probably longer than anyone else in the group actually wanted to, but they’re all incredibly good friends and didn’t complain or leave me behind.

Bumper cars was a lot of fun; I played passenger princess to my fiancé because I was still recovering from my time on The Beast. While that might sound counterintuitive, I was no longer insanely nauseous, so I felt comfortable bumping around. However, I had some brain fog and was a little bit disassociated— a symptom that I can barely describe, other than that it makes me feel funny— so I didn’t want to operate a vehicle. I was afraid I’d get stuck or accidentally bully a random 7-year-old. Instead, I stayed as alert as possible, and pointed my fiancé in the direction of our friends. That way, we were targeting them! And, with the weight of two people, we really sent them flying when we hit them! It was great.

Ella, Josh, and Sabrina all squeezed into one car on the Scrambler, which was a lot of fun to watch from a nearby bench. I wasn’t willing to waste my minimal rollercoaster juice on a ride that can be found at most fairs, but they looked like they had a blast, even if they complained about all having squished together. A ladybug joined my fiancé and I on the bench, and I picked it up— it sat on my hand for the entire time, and it made me unreasonably happy.

The old “Boo Blaster” ride has been rebranded to “Phantom Theatre: Opening Nightmare,” which I found to be a lot more charming and original, compared to the old version. In fairness, I can’t really remember it very well, other than being frustrated that I never hit the targets. The waiting area seems a little unfinished, or perhaps like it could just be a bit more decked out, but the ride itself is so much fun, and the new mechanism is a lot easier to operate than the old one. Next time I go to Kings Island, I plan to ride this approximately 29 times. The line is always long, but it’s air conditioned, and there are railings to sit on, so it’s fine.

Finally Riding Orion

Having been curious about it since it was announced, I was finally at Kings Island with Orion, and I knew that I had to ride it. And oh, boy, did I!

I was pleasantly surprised by the branding of the entire area; it’s all a fun play on the idea of Area 51, and I just found it fun. Josh and Ella had both been on it before, but Sabrina and I were both experiencing it for the first time. I can’t really speak for her, but I really don’t think either of us knew what we were getting into.

I saw stars for the entirety of the ride, and my vision went almost completely white for at least some amount of it. I don’t think I passed out— personally, I never have from my POTS before, so I kind of doubt it— but I definitely struggled. However, I also had a BLAST on it. I feel like both of these factors come through in the image above.

After Orion, I’m shocked I didn’t puke. I’m pretty sure it was only because I had very little in my stomach— my body probably having sweated out all the McDonald’s hashbrowns I’d fed it that morning. I know for a FACT that I clutched onto Ella and Sabrina on our way to the railing, and then leaned on it heavily. While we stood in line to wait for pictures, my brain was fogging way harder than it had recently. Somehow, I made it back to the table where my fiancé was waiting with the fans. Sabrina and I both needed to just… sit. And recover.

But Josh and Ella went and rode The Flight of Fear, because they’re crazy. Meanwhile, I browsed the official Harry Potter website aimlessly. When they got back, I felt almost normal again. We were able to keep moving on with the rest of our time at the park, anyway.

The End of the Day

Still not feeling awesome, I sat out while the other three rode The Banshee, even though that was always one of my favorite rides, alongside Diamondback. I just couldn’t imagine going upside down without puking and/or finally passing out. So, my fiancé and I remained in the cool shade, and were eventually joined by yet another lovely little ladybug. I wish I’d taken a picture.

All in all, it was a fantastic day! I didn’t have any episodes, just a lot of annoying symptoms, but I managed them by staying hydrated. I decided a while ago that I would refuse to let POTS prevent me from doing the things I enjoyed, and I’m so beyond happy that I was able to have a fun time at Kings Island for the first time in many years. While it may look a little different now, compared to how I used to get on every possible ride, there’s a lot to enjoy at amusement parks, even for those who can’t ride rollercoasters back-to-back all day.

Best of all, we got to celebrate with our friends! It was such an incredible day, celebrating one of the most remarkable women I know!

Happy birthday, Sabrina! You should know that you mean the world to me. You always manage to make me laugh, allow me to cry, and to be my truest self at all times. I’m so glad that you’re in my life, and that we get to spend time together. I’m beyond lucky to have you as one of my best friends!