Rollercoaster expert reveals the mistake everyone makes on rides that’ll make you feel sick

A ROLLERCOASTER expert has revealed a big mistake that people make when visiting theme parks that could be making them feel unwell.

John Burton is one of Merlin Entertainments' rollercoaster designer, and has created some of the UK's most exhilarating rides, including Mandrill Mayhem at Chessington World of Adventures.

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He explained that when people feel scared on rollercoasters, they often close their eyes to try and avoid the feeling of the ride.

However, that could be counter-productive and instead could make people feel even worse.

Instead, he claims people should keep their eyes open, so their bodies can prepare for what's to come, and avoid feelings of nausea.

He told Sun Travel: "Sometimes when people feel scared on a rollercoaster, they close their eyes, and they think that's going to make it all go away.

"Actually, it's probably the worst thing you could possibly do because the sensation that you're putting your body through, that butterfly feeling, is basically your body not knowing what's happening to it.

"Being on a rollercoaster, you turn left, right upside down or launch backwards and forwards and if you close your eyes, you can't see what you're actually doing.

"Whereas if you open your eyes, your body knows what's happening to it, you can see what's about to happen, whether you're about to turn left or right or go upside down.

"And that feeling, that anxiety feeling that some people get, that butterfly tingly feeling, actually goes away more.

"So if you keep your eyes open at all times, you will not only feel a lot better, you'll probably enjoy the ride a lot more too."

For those who are too scared to get on the coaster in the first place, John recommends a gentle approach that will allow people to slowly get used to the feeling of being on thrill rides.

He said people should start by trying out less exciting rides to begin with, before working their way up to the faster and more terrifying ones.

He believes that choosing the right theme park is vital to this process and recommends Chessington as a good place to do it.

He continued: "When I was a kid I used to be terrified of rollercoasters and now I'm designing the things.

"But I think it's just one of those things, the more you experience them and work your way up, you actually can get used to the sensation and actually start to enjoy them more.

"What I think is great is somewhere like Chessington has a such a breadth of different rides on offer, that actually you can work your way up through the intensity up to something like Mandrill Mayhem.

"That has the first inversion for a rollercoaster at Chessington and actually has a turn which is like an upside down loop on it.

"It might mean that you could start on something tame, maybe something a bit like the rattlesnake rollercoaster, which is just quick and goes round quick corners.

"Then you might work your way up to something like Vampire which is a suspended coaster where it's hanging below the track like a bat, and it's kind of going round swinging left and right.

"Then you could move on to something like Mandrill Mayhem, where it does go upside down, has four launches, goes forwards and backwards. And it's a wing rollercoaster, so it has a lot more going on."

Meanwhile, Thorpe Park has finally reopened the tallest and fastest ride in the UK after closing it down immediately.

And there are plans for a massive Universal theme park in the UK.

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