Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Milestones in Your Counts

Congrats! Loving the photos you and the rest of the gang are posting to Facebook.
 
gavin said:
I don't get Americans' refusal to get on planes. Domestic fights there really don't cost much.
Click to expand...

I think it has more to do with cars then pricing. I'd rather take an extra day, make the drive, and have my car available for things I want to do then to rely on public transport or renting a car. For instance, I could have flown to Boston (1.5 hour flight) for my recent trip instead of driving 10 hours, but the 10 hour drive was 1. more fun (couldn't have stopped at Waldy if I flew), 2. I could do whatever the hell I wanted without having to worry about the time restrictions of flight/rental car return.

As Canobie said, lets not group everyone together, as I'll fly when I need to, but the American culture relies a lot heavier on driving their personal vehicle instead of short, regional flights and/or public transport.
 
American mass transit also blows.

Gavin is right, flying isn't too cost prohibitive - it just requires more prior planning in order to get a good rate.
 
I get it, to an extent. But....

While your public transport doesn't come close to Asian or European standards, you're in no way as stranded as people like to make out. I was always led to believe that "LA/California is impossible without a car!!!". Bulls**t.

Regardless, hiring a car is hardly a huge chore or expense in the US.

I get that some people have a preference for driving. That's absolutely not the point I was making, but there really is a prevalence between many US enthusiasts of "I CAN'T GET THERE!!!!!", and it's a load of crap if we're being honest.

The fact that a lot of UK/European enthusiasts have been to more US parks than some Americans who label themselves as such speaks volumes.

Not an attack by the way. There are UK "enthusiasts" who haven't made it to f**king Blackpool, which is beyond ridiculous and even worse than Americans who "can't get to California".

I feel a topic coming on: are you actually an enthusiast if you make zero effort to get to any parks?
 
gavin said:
I get it, to an extent. But....

While you're public transport doesn't come close to Asian or European standards, you're in no way as stranded as people like to make out. I was always led to believe that "LA/California is impossible without a car!!!". Bulls**t.
Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly. However, outside of major metropolitan areas, public transport is non-existent and CAN more trouble then simply driving. Of course, EVERYTHING depends on the logistics of where you are going.

For instance, when I went to Texas a few years ago, the parks/places we wanted to visit weren't economically/time span intelligent to simply fly/rent a car. That being considered, it was definitely part of the conversation during planning, but it ended up taking more time (as many of us were on a restricted schedule) and had too much jumbling of inbound/outbound flights (2 Brits + 4 American work schedules) for a trip of only 5 days. Of course, 19 straight hours of driving overnight is something I never want to experience again.

Now, had the trip been longer/we had a little more time to plan things out/been less restricted by different members, it would have made more sense to fly.

gavin said:
Regardless, hiring a car is hardly a huge chore or expense in the US.

I get that some people have a preference for driving. That's absolutely not the point I was making, but there really is a prevalence between many US enthusiasts of "I CAN'T GET THERE!!!!!", and it's a load of crap if we're being honest.

The fact that a lot of UK/European enthusiasts have been to more US parks than some Americans who label themselves as such speaks volumes.
Click to expand...

I think it's pure unfamiliarity for some people to a certain degree that shy some people (Americans especially) into the 'I can only do it this way because I don't wanna change." I personally have only ever used public transport once or twice.. and it was weird. I'm not from a big center of population and buses/taxis are a rare site for me living in the suburbs. My car lets me do everything I need to do without any restrictions.

Of course, that stubbornness is quite prevalent in many facets of American society, as many social and economic changes have stagnated because of pure stupidity.

gavin said:
Not an attack by the way. There are UK "enthusiasts" who haven't made it to f**king Blackpool, which is beyond ridiculous and even worse than Americans who "can't get to California".

I feel a topic coming on: are you actually an enthusiast if you make zero effort to get to any parks?
Click to expand...

Of course, that mentality isn't just limited to Americans, as it tends to be a human race kind of thing. I just wanted to point out how I feel, on a personal level, why I and possibility many other Americans tend to shy away from doing the sometimes logical thing in using public transportation/renting a car instead of making the extra long drive themselves.
 
For me I just have a different way of doing parks for right now. I am only 19 so I don't have the option of renting a car. Public transit would be my only way to get around which is fine but I would much rather drive myself then have someone else drive me. When I turn 21 and can rent a car my big trips are going to be to Florida and California so I can schlep myself all over the two states.

Like I mentioned before I go on two or three massive road trips a year. I am going to Ohio next week and Texas in August. When I can't go on big week long road trip because of work, I like to do small day trips to places I need to go on my days off like Rye this past week and Great Escape this Sunday. I think I've done pretty well since I am at 175 coasters and the farthest west I have been is Holiday World. For me it isn't necessarily saying I can't get to places but more of why go far away to get coasters when I still have some within a 4 or 5 hour drive. Hopefully by the end of this year I will be getting all of Jersey and most of New York so I can set my sights for the next year on completing states like Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia with of course those just being weekend trips. Like Snoo said it is so much better to drive because it is so much fun and you can stop other places. Like my aunt wanted to fly to Cedar Point when we went in 2013 but she would of missed Hershey, Kennywood, and Knoebels if she wouldn't of drove all the way out there. For me also another big kicker is even a cheap flight to Ohio is still more expensive then driving down. In October when I went to KI and HW with Jarrett I saved much more money by driving than flying. My thoughts are if I can drive there I will but If its some place I am not wiling to drive to I will totally fly. California and Florida being prime examples.
 
Ok so public transport isn't great in the US, but it's much cheaper to own/drive a car in the US.

I hired a car in Texas a few weeks ago and filled up a full tank on a Toyota Corolla for US$22.70. That's £14.82 according to my bank. To put that into perspective, it typically costs me £65-70 (US$101-109) at the moment for a similar size tank back in the UK! (and petrol has actually gone down in the last year or so).

Alright, I'm aware that Texas is an extreme for fuel prices but cars are much cheaper to buy and to hire in the US than in Europe. Like half or a third of the cost. For example - a quick Google suggests that a Ford Focus in the UK is £14-26k (US$22-41) while in the US they sell for £11-15k (US$17-24) - based on Parkers and US News figures. That's before you even get onto European levels of car tax (another £265 a year for me).

What I'm saying is, there's really no excuse not to be able to travel.
Different infrastructure for different countries, but if you have the inclination, there's always a way.
 
Well, some people have reasons such as full time job (unable to get paid time off), children (something not exactly common around here), or willingness to go alone.

I find those all valid. :p
 
When I finally get off my butt and go back to SFMM, Twisted Colossus will be coaster number 80 for me. I know it's not many compared to a lot of people on this site, but traveling is expensive.
 
Bringing the topic back to milestones I got to 500 on saturday I like to make my milestones unremarkable so this was the volare at coney island - which wasnt as awful as the rye onel
 
My 100th was Blue fire. I didn't mean for this but when I updated my Coaster count blue fire happened to be 100th. 200th was kinda ka Which I made a special visit to for my 200th.
 
Basically there's no reason anyone from any country can't find a way to get places if they want to. But, if people choose to stay local or just in their country/region then that's personal choice and ultimately you're the one missing out. I wouldn't say a full time job is a reason not to travel considering everyone on here pretty much has a full time job. :p

I'll be getting my 400th tomorrow. Not too fussed about it. 500 will be a bigger one.
 
^ Cheap flights + couchsurfing/hostels? Unless you're really broke, but again, I doubt that anyone of the active members is...
 
LiveForTheLaunch said:
Basically there's no reason anyone from any country can't find a way to get places if they want to. But, if people choose to stay local or just in their country/region then that's personal choice and ultimately you're the one missing out. I wouldn't say a full time job is a reason not to travel considering everyone on here pretty much has a full time job. :p
Click to expand...

I know healthcare is free in Canada, but you surely must have to pay for your own vacations? Here in America, working full time doesn't guarantee you can even pay your normal bills sometimes, let alone vacations for roller coasting.

I'd love to go to Ferrari World, but just the plane ticket would cost more than I make in an entire month (before taxes), and I'm reasonably above minimum wage.
 
LiveForTheLaunch said:
Basically there's no reason anyone from any country can't find a way to get places if they want to. But, if people choose to stay local or just in their country/region then that's personal choice and ultimately you're the one missing out. I wouldn't say a full time job is a reason not to travel considering everyone on here pretty much has a full time job. :p

I'll be getting my 400th tomorrow. Not too fussed about it. 500 will be a bigger one.
Click to expand...

Kids.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top