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What type of enthusiast are you?

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
So in my past season going to all these coaster events and meeting all these enthusiasts, I noticed that we don't all enjoy the hobby in the exact same way. Some of them would attend for one reason, some would attend for another, and we would all do different things at the parks. So with this in mind, exactly what kind of enthusiast are you? How do you enjoy the hobby? And what other kinds of ways have you seen the hobby manifest itself?

At various events over the summer I've noticed...

The Roller Coaster Enthusiast- I'm sure we all have some of this in us. These people just love to ride coasters, plain and simple. They don't care who made it, they don't care how the brakes work, they don't care that the coaster was shipped board-by-board halfway around the world in a relocation of biblical proportions. They only care how it rides and what they think of it.

The Park Enthusiast- This person loves the industry as a whole and while there's nothing that makes a day on the midway more fun than a good old fashioned roller coaster, they aren't the only thing worth doing. This enthusiast will make sure to ride the major rides, try the park's world-famous drippy and greasy deep fried conglomerate of something or another, take a spin on that one-of-a-kind flat ride, and wait two hours for the dark ride before cleaning out the park with the kiddie creds. It can take them a whole day to get their fill of what it would take a typical coaster enthusiast an hour at most.

The Filthy Whore- Over 75% of this person's coaster count consists of Big Apples, Go Gators, Dragon Wagons, Nautic Jets, Wacky Worms, Butterflies, those vile Zamperla helix things, and Ridge Riders. This person cares only about that number on Coaster-Count and will gladly run to the park restroom and cut their kidney out with their car keys for that ride op's dying uncle to bribe their way onto that Miner Mike. Sure it might not be the best, but it counts just as much as any Intamin thrill machine.

The Social Enthusiast- This person wouldn't even be at the park if they weren't surrounded by their partners-in-crime. Probably part of a coaster club, this person sees theme parks and roller coasters as a catalyst for social bonds to form. They'll go for that cred if enough people in the group need it, but most of the day is spent fooling around about the park, trying to see who can snap those flying scooters the highest or getting a good group laugh out of a game of Money Train.

The Enginerd- This person looks at a ride for what it took to get it there. The design process, the track fabrication, anything that was being taken for a test drive, the inner workings, and the final product and how good of an idea it was in the first place. This person gets mesmerized watching ride hardware in action, is more excited to try out that quirky little prototype than the big bad B&M hyper on their upcoming trip, enjoys ride walkbacks more than anyone else in the coaster club, can talk your ear off for an hour over how the sensors in that coaster work when you don't care, and IAAPA is like Christmas to them. This person probably wants to be the next Alan Schilke.

The Historian- This person would gladly take a day on a classic Americana park midway riding quirky flat rides and eating funnel cake as that white wooden coaster clatters away in the background before setting foot in a Six Flags park. They'll gladly sit in the car for nine hours to get to that park to ride the only coaster left of the three some guy you've never heard of designed. Half of their top ten was built before 1940 and how much historical worth the coaster has is a factor in its level of quality.

The Extreme Marathoner- Add up how much coastering this person has done and you'll get astonishing numbers. They've fallen from the moon back to Earth four times over, traveled around the world nine times on coaster track, been flipped upside down millions of times, and been subjected to more force over the course of their life than that of four USAF fighter pilots. And they have a coaster count of fifty-seven. This person has fallen in love with one specific coaster and has taken the concept of whoring a good ride to the next level, showing up at this park just to keep riding this ride over and over again, adding on to a count of thousands of rides they've gotten on it. This person is a local legend among their region and they probably have a nickname like [NAME OF COASTER] [FIRST NAME]. They might not care about their count as much their friends, but does that matter when you've found your perfect coaster?

As for me, I consider myself an enginerd and a coaster enthusiast with a bit of park enthusiast thrown in there. I do enjoy the experience of visiting a park as a whole but the reason I enjoy being there the most is to go after coasters and watch those incredible machines in action. I pass time waiting in line watching the ride do its thing and noticing in which direction the structure sways and the like, and once I'm done with all the big ones I'll go knock out that kiddie cred and then maybe get in a few rerides or check out that weird-looking thing I've not seen at a park before.

So what kind of enthusiast are you? Have you seen any others that don't necessarily match any of the judgmental profiles I've outlined?
 

BigBad

Mega Poster
Your favorites are Cedar Point and Skyrush. My favorites are Cedar Point and Skyrush, except then it started twisting hard enough that I had to hold on to keep my torso from snapping (nice going, Intamin), so it's Diamondback. (Skyrush is still top five for me.)

No surprise that we're the same kind of enthusiast: coaster enthusiast and enginerd, with some park enthusiast thrown in. For the most part, I don't care about the attractions other than the coasters. However, some of the animal exhibits are pretty cool. I went to Great Adventure on that ridiculously hot day in late July (PA, NJ, and NY folks know the one I mean), and I really liked seeing the sea lion show when I didn't want to stand in line in the 3pm sun. My preference would have been to try every seat of El Toro, yes, but those animals were pretty cool. They've also had tigers and some other animals.

Oddly, I've not done their safari.

Some parks also have amazing theming. SFGA is fine, but I'm thinking of something like Islands of Adventure. If I could build a park, it would put SFGA's quality of coasters in an environment like IOA where you can argue with a talking fountain.

(Well, no, I'd put in the crazy NL2 designs that I've seen.)

I like eating, too.
 

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
I guess I'm the same. As you two.

I love watching timelapses of construction, what the latest track at CSF is, I'm mesmerized on how the structure of a wooden coaster is like, looking at how the restraint systems work, the wheel assemblies are, etc. I just love Engineering.

I also like to ride coasters(obviously). I don't have too big of a coaster count, but I still love traveling and going to new parks. The coasters are what usually draw me(the main reason I went to KK was for Lightning Run), and everything else keeps a firm grip on me. 65% of my time at a park is in the vicinity of a coaster, the rest is looking at the other things the park has to offer. When I went to Dollywood, I went and rode everything I wanted to, then I walked around, looked at the beautiful scenery, had some Cinnamon Bread(which is amazing), fed some ducks, rode a few more things, then went to the hotel. Not all parks are based on coasters and rides.
 

Pink Cadillac

Giga Poster
Well... when I actually go, I'd ride mostly everything and see as much as I can at my favourite parks, but I'd solely focus on coasters everywhere else. I also love appreciating theming and that plays a large role in my overall enjoyment of these parks. So mix of coasters, parks and theming.
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
I'm definitely in the "Enginerd" and "Roller Coaster Enthusiast" categories.

I basically started life as a coaster enthusiast in the enginerd group. I did a few trips to Alton Towers before even riding Oblivion, but would happily sit and watch it all day long. I've always been fascinated by how things work generally, especially big mechanical systems, and roller coasters are just a great example of that. I've studied a lot of engineering, and like to think I know most of what's going on with coasters from that point of view, but a season rarely goes by that I don't end up having to read into a new technology. This is a big part of the hobby for me.

Once I'd gotten big enough to ride everything, and gained the courage to strap myself in, the roller coaster enthusiast part of me started to come out. I love riding coasters! I rarely find myself getting properly scared any more, but I still get a buzz from pulling the restraint down and knowing I'm in until the end. I love the forces, speed and creativity of coasters, and am perfectly happy riding them on my own or with friends (I do prefer with friends though, of course).

Combined, these two are great. I get to enjoy them in different ways and don't think that'll ever change, and it also means that I can enjoy going to parks with anyone. Myself, with 'non-coaster' friends, with enthusiasts, I'm always going to be able to have something to keep me excited. I don't really care about the parks side of things as much. Obviously Silver Dollar City is a nicer park than Cedar Point, but I'd happily spend a day in either - if anything I think the mix is nice.
 

SilverArrow

Certified Ride Geek
Great thread!

I am a park enthusiast/historian.

Park enthusiast reasoning:
I can enjoy certain flats as much as a coaster and I am interested in other park attractions such as animal attractions and appreciate themed area ambiances and atmospheres. I am, however NOT a big dark ride fan unlike most park enthusiasts.

Historian wise:
You can probably tell this already as my sig and photo are give aways. I cringe at the thought of RMC modifying too many classic woodies, am guilty of being on the Schwarzkopf fan bandwagon and spent a while debating how high I could place Black hole and Corkscrew in my top 20 based on nostalgic value. I also really like Revolution and Avalanche at Blackpool (along with the usual classics). My desired to-ride list includes the likes of Olympia Looping, Mindbender, The Bat and the Loch Ness Monster and I would have loved to have even just seen one of the Harry Traver crazy coasters for real. I am also disappointed that we don't have Virginia reels anymore. I can also get through coaster droughts by reading nerdy history stuff.

So yeah. :D
 

Ian

From CoasterForce
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
I fit somewhere between Park Enthusiast and Social Enthusiast.

Aside from a pub beer garden in summer, a theme park is the best place to bond with mates. I love hearing everybody's different opinions and being puzzled by how somebody's ride tolerance is different to mine...whilst exploring a safe environment full of thrills and surprises.
 

Thekingin64

Strata Poster
I'm definitely the park enthusiast. I don't go to parks to get the rides done and go, I am there to enjoy my day and fully enjoy my park. I nearly always end up doing absolutely everything in the park (especially new-to-me parks), even if it means sacrificing re-rides on the thrill rides.
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Hmm, I'd probably put myself somewhere between park and historical enthusiast. Although I don't have many old rides in my top ten, I probably give more weight to old wooden and nostalgic rides than most. I'd happily travel a few hours out of my way to pick up an old brake man coaster no matter how crap the ride and Leap the Dips is at the top of my bucket list.

But parks aren't all about creds and I never feel satisfied just cred running a park. I like to try other rides there, epically an old dark ride or ghost train as they give you a glimpse into the real character of a park and the imagination of its creators. Also, I love a good spin and spew.
 

Casio

Mega Poster
Like so many people on the site, I'm an engineering student and it was coasters that got me interested in engineering. So I'm definitely an enginerd. After that I'm probably a park enthusiast; I have no interest in going on kiddie coasters, and I'd much rather do rides like Transformers, Hex and Valhalla than big, crappy coasters. That said, I'll never bother getting on every flat and water ride in a park unless I have loads of spare time.
 

mouse

Giga Poster
Your definitions for the different types are spot on!
I'm very much a park enthusiast, for me it is about the whole experience including theming, dark rides and everything else. I haven't been to Phantasialand or Cedar Point, but if I had the choice to go to one of them for a day it would easily be Phantasialand. To me coasters are just one aspect of the overall park experience.
 

Rachel

Coaster MILF
Coaster and Park enthusiast. As much as I love coasters, I also enjoy many other types of rides and like to get the most out of a day at a park and ride as much as possible.
 

steel

Mega Poster
I guess of the cute little descriptors you've written up I'm mostly a Park Enthusiast. I just really love amusement parks. :) I like how they look, I like going on rides, I like hearing and seeing people having a good time. I'm fascinated by the demographics of amusement park guests and the different roles amusement parks play in their communities. I love the history, I loved the way American amusement parks were when I was a kid (ie the 90s), I loved the way they changed in the 00s, I love a lot about the direction they seem to be heading now. I love introducing people to amusement parks, I love visiting new amusement parks with people who grew up with them. I really really love and deeply cherish all the times I got to road trip to amusement parks around the country with my dad when I was growing up.

There's so much to love. We spend a lot of time complaining and being super critical and cynical (every once in a while with good reason), so it's nice to have this thread to remind me why I got into this stuff in the first place. Makes me want to go back and browse joyrides.com again.
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
I'm a park enthusiast. This is especially true at the Disney parks where I squeeze as much out of the day as I can, usually staying from opening to closing, re-riding favorites, eating their most famous treats, and riding all of the "underrated classics". However, even at seasonal parks, I just love the atmosphere of a park. The coasters are the biggest part of the day, but I also try and explore the parks to get a real feeling for them. I don't rank my favorite parks by their coasters but by how the park feels.
 

TommyAlex

Mega Poster
Park Enthusiast/ The Engineered/ The Historian. I love everything about a park from its history to its dark rides to its flat rides to its coasters. I like to Mak the most of my day at a park, trying to get in as many rides as possible, rather than queing hours just to get on one ride. I love knowing about who built a coaster, when it was build, who designed it etc, and love reading about any stuff that never made it off the planning stages. And finally, I love classic stuff. I love the charm of a classic wooden coaster, and the feel of steel coasters such as Arrows that aren't perfectly designed by a computer for the ultimate smooth ride. I prefer a rougher ride.
 
Roller coaster enthusiast, park enthusiast, and social enthusiast. I joined this site when I was only twelve (I'm 23 now) and back then I was a bit of an enginerd as I wouldn't ride everything, but loved learning about how coasters work. Now that I'm a bit older, I have to say I just enjoy riding coasters and spending a relaxed day at a nice park with some friends, riding some dark rides and flats as well. Don't get me wrong, the history and the engineering part of coasters is fascinating, but my biggest enjoyment these days is just laid back park days with fun people. As much as it can be interesting, you'll never find me on here writing seven paragraphs about a mechanism on a coaster!
 

tomahawk

Strata Poster
I've become more social, but definitely a coaster and historian. History is my passion besides coasters, so mixing them is great. I will never go two hours out of my way for a go gator, he'll even 10 mins. I like going to parks with family or friends and just having a great time. I won't chase kiddie creds, I'll ride other things, and if I'm with my friends, it will be experiences I won't forget, especially the friends I've made on here.

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