Are enthusiasts cheap?

My wife doesn't usually allow for cheapness. She digs going to the parks but digs traveling and exploring even more. Our trips include a couple of days of park time and then a couple of days of local crap. Cheap and/or shared hotels are out of the question. Driving more than 7 hours in any direction is also out of the question.

Because we travel comfortably we knock our out of regions trips down to about 4 or 5 each year.

As I get older I definitely prefer the wife's way of doing things. It's just not a race for us. We'll get there when we get there.

Is the sky blue?

I'll add that we don't buy souvenirs of any kind but we do eat at the parks. When we're there we want to maximize the time that we spend in the park and eating there helps with that. We're also fans of certain park foods anyways.

I never said we don't eat at the park. I said we eat lunch in the park and cook a supper and have a few beers afterward back at the camp.

Chuck

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Jeff said:
Is the sky blue?

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I Agree!

Why do birds, suddenly appear?

Everytime Moosh is near. :)

Hows this for traveling Cheap? When ACE Announced they were planning a Conference at Blackpool in the early 1980s I began Saving up for it. In November of 1984 when ACE officially announced the Blackpool Conference I began budgeting a Trip where I would stay at Hotels and eat at Restaurants, ect. Saving up about $3,000.00, I figured I would have enough Money to Spend a Couple of weeks "Over There". Then I read about Youth Hosteling and the Eurailpass, and I found I could have a MUCH LONGER Trip What Started out as a Two Week Trip to London, Blackpool and Copenhagen turned into a SIX WEEK Odyssey that also had me visiting The Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland! All for the same price as a "Regular" Two weeker would have cost. I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE!

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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Jeff said:
Is the sky blue?

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I'll bet you don't have kids. I will only buy things like Icecream or fried dough things like that. As far as food I leave the park its not that I don't want to spend the money but I hate eating crappy food. I would rather go to a nice resturant and sit down and relax.I don't consider that being cheap.

Dont buy souvieners? Clearly you havent met most coaster entusiasts who only wear coaster t shirts ;). Disclaimer-I own quite a bit of these myself (its a vice) but they have been my souviener of choice for any place Ive visited (Natl Parks, cities, etc) so thats how I rationalize it :).

I agree with the sentiment that we are out to get the most bang for our buck, since lets face it we have a pretty expensive hobby. If packing a lunch to limit myself to one meal so that I can go to a park 1-2 more then I would otherwise then its worth it.

Jive my trips end up like that also. Depends where we go what else we do but the park is usually only one of several things we do. Things my wife and I look for when we go somewhere are Zoo, Aquariums, and Professional Baseball Games.

Has anyone else heard about the Double Play pass Worlds of Fun and the Kansas City Royals have it's a really good deal. One day admission to WOF and a ticket to a Royals game for only $29.50. It was advertised when I was listening to the Nebraska baseball game the other day. That is a heck of a deal.

If I had kids, I'd spend money on them too if it made their experience more fun. I'm on vacation, not shopping for shoes or produce.

Speaking for myself, I consider myself to be very economical. I don't like the word cheap. I will look for the best deal for tickets or season passes and such. Stay in the cheapest rooms. I was on a trip where the cheapest rooms available were in excess of $100. It was June, so I chose to sleep in my car. I refuse to pay that much for a bed to sleep in.

However, if I'm at a park and they have good food (i.e. Dollywood) I will be more than happy to spend the premium to eat in the park. Provided I'm being given a unique experience.

I don't buy souviners too often. I will buy the occasional T-Shirt if I find it ammusing or perticularly cool. I love to collect patches but don't see them at all parks.

One way you could look at it is this way. Familys who are only going to the park once or maybe twice a year, will have more money to spend at the park. Where as I will probably end up spening much more than that entire family by myself, I just need to spread it over the corse of a season when I plan to attend parks about 1/2 of the weekends between may and october.

If you go out to lunch every day of the week you will probably be more likely to get the Burger and fries. Where as the guy who goes out once a month will want to spend a little more and maybe get the steak.
*** Edited 3/31/2007 1:19:54 AM UTC by Jason Hammond***

Here's something to think about -

Are enthusiasts cheap? The majority might be, BUTT

If there are enthusiasts out there who stay in the most lavish hotels, and eat at the most expensive places, and spend the money on the nicest souvenirs, and generally blow their wad every time they take their kids to the park, do they -

a.) post on Coasterbuzz?
b.) go to enthusiast events?
and
c.) hang out with or generally make themselves known to other enthusiasts?

Probably "no" to all of the above. Just good to remember that when we think of "enthusiasts" it's really probably a pretty small slice of the community as a whole.

Most definitely yes, and it's already creating some friction for a trip coming up in June. Normally, there are two of us on a trip where we get lodging. We get two beds, I sleep by the air-conditioner (or I'm miserable) and everything's great.

This year we bumped that number up to four. I was like "Ok, so we'll get two rooms." My friend says "No, the idea is to have all four of us share the room to save on money. We'll sleep on the floor, we don't care." And then I bring up "Will we have enough towels for four people?", "What about showers?" "Oh, don't worry two of the guys will shower at night." I would rather see someone sleep on a rollaway cot than sleep on the floor.

Last year, the "Lord Gonchar" hotel snob came out in me big time at one place we stayed at in Indiana near the Kentucky line. There was hair all over the bedding, there were holes in the bedding, the beds were far too close together with no separate air-conditioner, there was no bathtub, the sink wasn't wide enough to hold both our toiletries, there were no drawers (just cubby-holes). I was seriously ready to walk out and go to the hotel next door (it just had to be better). Sometimes being cheap sucks.

I will say though that everyone of our motel rooms had no ambient noise waking me up at all hours, and that you can't put a price on. I was once put up in a four/five-star hotel after doing a live-sound gig and the wedding party could be clearly heard next door late into the morning.

Matt, I think Lord Gonchar might be the only person to answer yes to all of the above. I hang out with other enthusiasts and post on coasterbuzz on occasion. But events....ooohh..I don't do so well with those.

I wouldn't consider myself cheap either. I'll be the first to admit I'll sell my left testicle for a Q-bot. I hate waiting! I also prefer my hotel room not to be occupied by unwelcome guests (roaches, bugs, mice etc.) So I don't skimp on that either. It all comes down to what you are willing to accept.

I also think that it has a lot to do with the situation for instance Im extremely cheap when it comes to to going to my home park(s) ie the day trips, a lunch gets packed, I buy one meal (and zero if the food is bad) in park and use SPs to limit the price of admission. However, on longer trips I dont stay at dive hotels, and if Im tight on money then I wont take them, vacations are supposed to be times when you dont worry about money.

I actually enjoy camping, so that's how we keep the costs down on road trips.

I almost never buy anything inside a park unless it's Disney or Universal (then 1 meal at most) and at every park I'll put in a whole bunch of effort to make it cheaper (arrive early, pack lunch, do my homework). That said, I am totally a cheapo and I don't earn very much.

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Jeff said:
If I had kids, I'd spend money on them too if it made their experience more fun. I'm on vacation, not shopping for shoes or produce.

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I wasn't just talking about a weeks vacation once a year. I meant taking the family to alot of parks throughout the summer. I'm paying for 4 people every event I take them to as opposed to a single person paying for one. I just spent over $5000.00 last month when I took the family to Florida. The coaster season is just starting and we will be going to a lot more parks this summer. So yes I budget my money carefully so we can go to alot of parks. When I was single I used to spend like there was no tommorrow. When we go to CP I don't stay at one of there hotels because I can stay at a cheaper place like Budget INN to make my money last. So I guess you can call me cheap but my kids have fun and thats all that matters to me.

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Jason:
Familys who are only going to the park once or maybe twice a year, will have more money to spend at the park. Where as I will probably end up spening much more than that entire family by myself, I just need to spread it over the corse of a season...

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But what about enthusiast families. (and there are more than a few of us) - take everything you do and muliply by 4.

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matt.:
If there are enthusiasts out there who stay in the most lavish hotels, and eat at the most expensive places, and spend the money on the nicest souvenirs, and generally blow their wad every time they take their kids to the park, do they -

a.) post on Coasterbuzz?
b.) go to enthusiast events?
and
c.) hang out with or generally make themselves known to other enthusiasts?

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'Tuan:
Matt, I think Lord Gonchar might be the only person to answer yes to all of the above

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Christ, I've created a monster! :)

Most lavish hotels? Not even close. $50 a night? Not even close. Standard stuff - Hamptons, Fairfields, Courtyards, etc. Don't forget that my wife works in the hotel industry - that can go a long way.

Most expensive places to eat? Again, not even close. But I'm not going through the hassle of buying, packing and preparing food only to have to leave the park and sit an my car mowing down a ham sandwich. It's just so much easier to pay a few bucks, grab a bite to eat and keep moving.

Nicest souvenirs? Again, not even close. I don't even own a park or coaster related T-shirt. Crap for the kids? Sure.

a) Yes.
b) only CBuzz events (never been to any other)
c) Nope. Pretty much stay to myself, but am more than willing to talk and be perfectly friendly if you introduce yourself. (hopefully someone around here will confirm that :) )

And it's not blowing the wad every time. If anything I have to save, budget and plan as much as anyone. Remeber - the cost for the single enthusiast is 1/4 of what I have to suck up. (and there's no opportunity to split costs)

Don't confuse a willingness to spend with unlimited resources. We can do the parks like we do because we plan for it. Once I hit the car, I don't want to be worrying about this or that and counting change on the hotel floor. I make sure we're good to go and then we go for good.

For BooBuzz we were at Lighthouse Point. It was the last trip of the season and had done good with a very limited schedule over the summer due to our moving in June/July. We were able to easily do the $220 a night.

This year one of the first trips we're taking is opening day at CP. There's still a lot of summer after that & I want to be able to do as much as possible. Best to lay back for now. Guess where we have reservations for that weekend - the Hampton Inn.

To me it's posible to budget, save and plan but still be able to spend. Isn't that the point of budgeting, planning and saving in the first place?

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Intamin Fan:
Last year, the "Lord Gonchar" hotel snob came out in me big time at one place we stayed at in Indiana near the Kentucky line.

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Yes, I've accepted the moniker of hotel snob, but here's the ugly truth - it's not that I demand the best, I just won't accept the worst. I don't want or need a $300 hotel room for the most part and we rarely find ourselves in that situation. But I'm not staying in the low-end chains or worse. Hilton brands, Marriott brands and up.

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Lord Gonchar said:

c) Nope. Pretty much stay to myself, but am more than willing to talk and be perfectly friendly if you introduce yourself. (hopefully someone around here will confirm that )

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Sure, why not, Pat? I'll confirm that :) At the Coasterbuzz event @ Dorney.. I think it was May 2005? You didn't seem too much in outer space, and definitely weren't anti-social when I introduced myself.. :)