A Belgian thrill-seeker who tackled one of the world’s ‘most dangerous’ fairground rides revealed he’d give it a second whirl – despite admitting he felt as if it could have collapsed at any moment.
Robin Demyttenaere, 33, from Aalter, has spent a whopping £87,000 on more than 5,000 rides across the globe, and most recently set his sights on ‘The Wave’ – a notoriously risky thrill ride at a funfair in Medan, Indonesia.
The daredevil took it on during a three-month trip through Asia, visiting countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore – all for just £9,000.
But it was his stop in Medan, a city he describes as ‘Gotham City’ due to its rough reputation, that gave him the biggest rush.
The Wave is infamous in the region as it allows riders to literally hang off of it as it human operators spin the ride around by hand at high speeds – something that would be entirely prohibited in Europe, according to the content creator.
The full-time YouTuber, who regularly documents his adventures on the channel Funfair Worldwide, described the ride as ‘crazy,’ ‘unsafe’ and ‘completely unique’ – and he loved every second of it.
Robin, who’s been a self-confessed adrenaline junkie since the age of 11, said he did not feel scared as the attraction is ‘not that high of a ride,’ but noted he was a little nervous as there was ‘a feeling the ride will collapse.’
As reported by the Mirror, he added: ‘You can feel and hear the ride clicking, which is not a good noise you want to hear while on a ride. The ride makes you feel unsafe. I liked the ride because it was unique and a different experience than I had had before.’
Robin Demyttenaere, 33, from Aalter, has spent a whopping £87,000 on more than 5,000 rides across the globe, and most recently set his sights on ‘The Wave’ – a notoriously risky thrill ride at a funfair in Medan, Indonesia
The Wave is infamous in the region as it allows riders to literally hang off of it as it human operators spin the ride around by hand at high speeds
Despite the unnerving sounds and the obvious lack of safety, Robin said this made for a more thrilling experience on the ride – which cost him just £2 for a ten-minute spin.
Back home in Europe, Robin is no stranger to extreme rides, having tried everything from Alton Towers and Thorpe Park to the infamous Nottingham Goose Fair.
But nothing compares to The Wave, which the content creator described as the ‘craziest’ ride he has ever experienced. He even joked that he initially assumed it was a ‘circus act’ prior to jumping on.
However, he added that his fellow riders were ‘lovely’ and had a ‘great time,’ and that he’d go on the ride again.
Meanwhile, a theme park in North America has released first-look footage of a groundbreaking new rollercoaster that disconnects at the tracks – but even adrenaline junkies have given the ‘heart pumping’ ride a hard pass.
Cedar Point, located in Sandusky, Ohio, is renowned as ‘The Roller Coaster Capital of the World’ thanks to its collection of 18 world-class rides, including Top Thrill 2, Steel Vengeance and Millennium Force.
Siren’s Curse, described as the ‘tallest, longest and fastest’ tilt coaster in North America, is a unique ride that promises to plunge guests ‘into the abyss’ as they flee the beckoning call of the siren.
The mythical-themed attraction is inspired from the legend and lore of mysterious creatures living beneath the surface of Lake Erie, where the park is located on a peninsula.
Robin, who’s been a self-confessed adrenaline junkie since the age of 11, said he did not feel scared as the attraction is ‘not that high of a ride,’ but noted he was a little nervous as there was ‘a feeling the ride will collapse’
Despite the unnerving sounds and the obvious lack of safety, Robin said this made for a more thrilling experience on the ride – which cost him just £2 for a ten-minute spin
On Cedar’s Point website, the description reads: ‘Come face-to-face with 13 weightless airtime moments, two 360-degree, zero-gravity barrel rolls and a high-speed “triple-down” element with twisted and overbanked track.’
However, the ride features a hair-raising experience where riders ascend the 160-foot lift hill and then experience a dead stop on a ‘broken off’ piece of track that tilts into a 90-degree vertical position.
The track then connects, and the train plunges through 2,966 feet of twisted track at speeds of up to 58 mph.
Further advice regarding health and safety reads: ‘Riders will experience changes in speed and direction, weightlessness, and rapid movements from side to side.’
