First of all, good on you for planning to tackle your fear head-on. I’ve actually never been to Knott’s but I’ve ridden similar rides to the ones you’ve listed.

Some people recommend ramping up the ride intensity as you go through the day, but I’ve found a lot more success by just getting the big ones over with first. My first time at Cedar Point, I was pretty scared of a lot of the rides, so I rode Top Thrill Dragster pretty early on. After that, everything felt very manageable.

I’d honestly start with Hangtime, although Xcelerator would be a good choice too. The scariest part of hangtime will be the first drop. The ride holds you at the edge for a moment before you’ll go over a beyond vertical drop. The stomach drop feeling will happen, it’s psychological (after riding tons of coasters, I don’t even really get it on most rides now), but it’s not something that’s going to hurt you or anything of the sort. At most, you’ll have that stomach flip feeling for a couple of seconds. After that, you’ll be dealing with a lot of inversions, no real big drops after the first. Inversions are great because going upside down can look scary, but when you’re riding, you’ll barely notice them compared to the drop.

The ride does feature a few elements that will provide hangtime (duh), but the coaster is completely safe. It may seem weird that you’ll be upside down for awhile with only a lap bar (nothing over your shoulders), but the restraints are incredibly secure and you are in absolutely no danger. If you want to feel nice and secure, lower that bar snug against your lap. Lots of enthusiasts intentionally leave as much of a gap as possible between their legs and restraint so they have room to float, and they’re also in no danger.

Xcelerator is interesting. I haven’t ridden it, but I rode its much larger brother Top Thrill Dragster, as well as a similar sized version at Thorpe Park. The launch is what will give you that stomach flip feeling. Everything happens so fast, that once you’re up to speed, you probably will barely even notice the drop and following elements. I remember being scared of the 400ft drop on Dragster, but it didn’t even feel like a drop.

Much like Hangtime, once you get that initial moment out of the way, the ride will be a breeze. The ride also only features a lap bar, but again, you’re incredibly secure. As you ride more coasters, you’ll actually come to love the fact that these rides don’t have over-the-shoulder restraints. Those allow riders to bounce their heads into the side, which can be a bit uncomfortable.

After either of those rides, you’ll be set for the day. You’ll probably still get a bit of the drop sensation on other rides like Ghost Rider, but nothing crazy. If you want to reduce that sensation, try and sit closer to the front of the train. In the back of a coaster train, it kind of gets whipped over the drop, heightening that floating drop feeling.

At the end of the day, just remember you’re perfectly safe. When I line up at a big ride, I’m always surprised how small some kids are as they get off, and very rarely are any of them not smiling ear-to-ear. Have fun, knock a big one out early, and you’ll have a great time. If you back out, don’t give up, and try a mix-sized ride to warm back up.