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Most major parks and coasters tend to have their fanboys/girls but how do you think fanboyism is defined? Is it just someone who has a liking to a certain park/ride or would a fanboy be someone with an obsession with it?

Would you agree with the interpretation that fanboyism is disliked by the coaster community due to extreme fanboys, those who believe their park/ride is superior and every other opinion is invalid? Is there a point where fanboyism turns into an obsession or you get these extreme fanboys?

I thought of this topic as I saw this group on Facebook entitled "Nemesis is still the best ride at Alton Towers." I looked on the group page and a member had left a post saying:

"Hi all.

This ride was my first inversion. I have ridden it naked. I also have the track layout tattooed on my arm. I think I qualify for membership of this group :|"

My first thought was that the guy was a major wacko and was totally obsessed with it. Although it did get me thinking, (being sort of a big fanboy myself) is this what people would class a fanboy and will it become the general stereotype?

What do you think?
 
Well, I guess it depends on a person's definition of 'fanboy'.

As for me, a fanboy is someone who usually doesn't care for logic and maintains his/her position on his/her park without listening to anybody's opinions.

On the plus side, that person usually is the go-to guy/gal for any info concerning that park. So the word shouldn't have as much negative connotations as it does.

One more thing...they also generally have bad grammar. ;)
 
Mountain Madman said:
Well, I guess it depends on a person's definition of 'fanboy'.

As for me, a fanboy is someone who usually doesn't care for logic and maintains his/her position on his/her park without listening to anybody's opinions.

On the plus side, that person usually is the go-to guy/gal for any info concerning that park. So the word shouldn't have as much negative connotations as it does.

One more thing...they also generally have bad grammar. ;)
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This. I agree with everything he said.
 
If you have a narrow mind aimed at a specific park/ride/feeling.

Personally, I'm an ejector fanboy.. but having feelings towards airtime isn't nearly as bad as... Cedar Point.
 
As for me, a fanboy is someone who usually doesn't care for logic and maintains his/her position on his/her park without listening to anybody's opinions.

On the plus side, that person usually is the go-to guy/gal for any info concerning that park. So the word shouldn't have as much negative connotations as it does.
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This

Really, I don't even think I need to expand on what he said because he explained it ten times better than I ever could.
 
You come across many fanboys who are argumetative and protective over their favored park/ride. They only have to see a negative comparison or false fact and instantly correct it, I see this a lot on Youtube. I find a lot of Rita fanboys on Youtube, but they don't even know the actual speed of the coaster, they often exaggerate it saying "100mph" instead of "100kmh", that tends to piss me off.
 
"Hi all.

This ride was my first inversion. I have ridden it naked. I also have the track layout tattooed on my arm. I think I qualify for membership of this group Neutral"
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This is past the point of Fanboyism. If you have any ride's layout tattooed on you, in my mind, you reached the point of being a freak. How obsessed can you get?

I've always viewed Fanboys as people who have a certain affinity to a certain ride/park/company. The problem is that there are people who go to extreme lengths to express that feeling. (Which includes putting down other parks, ext..) For example, I am a fan of the Michigan Wolverines. Snoo is a fan of the ****ing buckeyes. Naturally we hate each other!
These people are automatically tagged as fanboys, giving the term a bad annotation.
 
^Dammit... There's goes my plan for having Chessie's map tattooed on my back :(

Getting tatoos is the person's choice, and is probably no different from if people get team logos on their arms... I wouldn't call them freaks, it's too harsh a word... That's the trainspotters... :lol:

In my view, there are two types of fanboys...

1 - Fan of a specific park or ride, but sees that it is not perfect...

2 - As above, but thinks that their preferred ride/park is perfect and can do no wrong...

The first one is the fanboy I see myself as when it comes to Chessie, I love it, but know it needs a lot of work done to it...
The second one is generally a Thorpe or Cedar Point fan... *looks at Ollie* :p
 
A fanboy is not just really liking a park/ride. For example, Cedar Point is my favorite park out of the 32 I've been to, but just because I really enjoyed the place does not mean I am obsessed with it and I would never call it the best park in the world...because I have not been to every park in the world.

A fanboy is just completely obsessed with a certain ride/park (like said above). They don't care what else is out there, and no matter what they ride (even if it is better than what they love) they will still call the ride/park they are a fan of their favorite. Removing it from their #1 spot is just not an option.
 
F.A.S.T. said:
"Hi all.

This ride was my first inversion. I have ridden it naked. I also have the track layout tattooed on my arm. I think I qualify for membership of this group Neutral"
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This is past the point of Fanboyism. If you have any ride's layout tattooed on you, in my mind, you reached the point of being a freak. How obsessed can you get?
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Nah - he should come back when he's got a nemesis train tattooed on his danglies
 
When a person sees a ride or park as always being perfect I think that they have gone over the edge. I haven't rated anything as a 10 yet because I always see room for improvement. I don't even go to my home parks every week because I want each experience to be new and fresh.
 
I dislike the term "fanboy". I'm not 100% sure what it means, but it's something negative, and I feel it has become overused in the coaster community.

There was a time when coaster enthusiasts enjoyed coasters. Whether it was a family coaster, a thrill coaster, steel, wood, whatever, fans enjoyed them for what they were - COASTERS! :p

Too many coaster fans nowadays have become more like critics. Sure not everything is perfect, but some people actually go as far to say that popular parks/rides are "a load of crap", or that they "should be blown up" etc.

Well, hang on a minute. You call yourself a "coaster enthusiast"? To me it seems like you hate the majority of them.

And the thing is, if you're not like this, if you actually enjoy the coasters you ride, you are often looked down on by fellow "fans" - sometimes spoken to with a somewhat aggressive tone.

My favourite park is Disneyland Paris. Not only do I love the the rides and attractions there, I love the extra effort put into the theming. But because I happen to like nearly every attraction at DLP, and because I stick up for the majority of their attractions when bashed by other "fans", too often I would be refered to as a "fanboy".*

So now I'm not liked because I'm supposedly a "fanboy". What is a fanboy anyway? Someone who likes something very much? It seems you have to hate the majority of rides nowadays to become respected amongst coaster enthusiasts.

You know what? I do like Rita, I do like Pepsi Max Big One - those are just two rides that so many coaster "enthusiasts" seem to hate. There are a few exceptions. For example, sometimes I won't like a ride if it's so rough it ends up being painful. But the majority of coasters I love - big or small - so I feel I can rightfully call myself a coaster enthusiast. :--D

I would be so much happier if more coaster fans would become like this. It doesn't mean you can't criticize little things on a ride (I quite often point out problems with maintenance for example), but as long as we enjoy them overall. :wink:

* for the record, there are actually lots of things I don't like about DLP. I feel there has been quite a big loss in quality in all Disney theme parks, hence why I have "let's put the Walt back in Disney" in my signature. I still love them, I still thoroughly enjoy all my visits, I'm just upset that the whole Disney experience is not as magical as it once was and really want it to return to it's former glory!
 
^Hear hear!

I'm not sure I completely agree with everything you say. Some rides do suck, but I agree that far too many are slated. Like you say, I like coasters because they're coasters and some happen to be a lot better than others. I rarely ride something that I genuinely hate.

As for Fanboys, well, they do exist. I someone can't listen, comprehend or acknowledge a different point of view on a ride or park, then they're a fanboy. Simple.
 
As long as I am not in pain or bored to death, I like every ride. I just think that it is funny when people on websites mark each coaster that they have ridden as being great. An average coaster may be liked more by an enthusiast than the gp but it should still be considered average.
 
jacoaster said:
I dislike the term "fanboy". I'm not 100% sure what it means, but it's something negative, and I feel it has become overused in the coaster community.

There was a time when coaster enthusiasts enjoyed coasters. Whether it was a family coaster, a thrill coaster, steel, wood, whatever, fans enjoyed them for what they were - COASTERS! :p

Too many coaster fans nowadays have become more like critics. Sure not everything is perfect, but some people actually go as far to say that popular parks/rides are "a load of crap", or that they "should be blown up" etc.

Well, hang on a minute. You call yourself a "coaster enthusiast"? To me it seems like you hate the majority of them.

And the thing is, if you're not like this, if you actually enjoy the coasters you ride, you are often looked down on by fellow "fans" - sometimes spoken to with a somewhat aggressive tone.

My favourite park is Disneyland Paris. Not only do I love the the rides and attractions there, I love the extra effort put into the theming. But because I happen to like nearly every attraction at DLP, and because I stick up for the majority of their attractions when bashed by other "fans", too often I would be refered to as a "fanboy".*

So now I'm not liked because I'm supposedly a "fanboy". What is a fanboy anyway? Someone who likes something very much? It seems you have to hate the majority of rides nowadays to become respected amongst coaster enthusiasts.

You know what? I do like Rita, I do like Pepsi Max Big One - those are just two rides that so many coaster "enthusiasts" seem to hate. There are a few exceptions. For example, sometimes I won't like a ride if it's so rough it ends up being painful. But the majority of coasters I love - big or small - so I feel I can rightfully call myself a coaster enthusiast. :--D

I would be so much happier if more coaster fans would become like this. It doesn't mean you can't criticize little things on a ride (I quite often point out problems with maintenance for example), but as long as we enjoy them overall. :wink:

* for the record, there are actually lots of things I don't like about DLP. I feel there has been quite a big loss in quality in all Disney theme parks, hence why I have "let's put the Walt back in Disney" in my signature. I still love them, I still thoroughly enjoy all my visits, I'm just upset that the whole Disney experience is not as magical as it once was and really want it to return to it's former glory!
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I see what you're saying. I used to think the same thing. All I used to ever hear about was that California coasters sucked, they didn't have airtime, etc. I had no idea what these people were talking about.

Then I rode more coasters, and I re-rode more of the coasters I had already ridden. I found that some really weren't that great afterall.

Before you start thinking I just "got sucked in by the coaster enthusiasts and changed my opinions just to be the same as others", let me tell you that is not true...I would never change an opinion of a coaster I've ridden just because other enthusiasts love/hate it. There are some rides I really enjoy that others seem to think are "meh" (SFMM Goliath, for example. This is a coaster I have ridden several times and still really like.)

I don't know how many times you've ridden the rides like Rita and PMBO that other people hate, or how many other coasters you've ridden (or maybe you have ridden Rita and PMBO a lot and traveled, and you just really like them) but that really does play a big role in the subject.

I laugh when I see n00bs with a coaster count of 10 saying they love Boomerangs and SLCs and don't see the roughness, because their opinion is bound to change once they ride more and re-ride more, and realize what a joke those coasters are.

Like Hixee said, there are fanboys...not nearly as many as coaster enthusiasts say (like just liking a ride makes you one) but there are people out there that are completely obsessed and will kill for their ride/park to be #1.
 
CreditCrazy said:
I laugh when I see n00bs with a coaster count of 10 saying they love Boomerangs and SLCs and don't see the roughness, because their opinion is bound to change once they ride more and re-ride more, and realize what a joke those coasters are.
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I disagree with that. I think it's perfectly okay for a person with a coaster count of 10 to say that an SLC is their favorite coaster, because, well, it is their favorite coaster.

Will that opinion change, as you said? Definitely. Is it right to laugh at these 'n00bs' because they haven't ridden enough coasters? No. We were all beginners once, and chances are we all thought, at one point or another, that we thought SLCs and Boomerangs were the bomb.
 
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