Are you REALLY a Coaster Enthusiast?

In a past post I mentioned that I met this guy from Europe who has been to 150 different parks and had been on 858 different coasters. I know that is not normal, but what is? When I met this guy I said "I thought I was an enthusiast, but I simply can't compete with those stats."

Who is this guy? Some trust fund kid who had endless funds to fly around the world and visit every park in the world? I'm not sure but that is exactly what this guy is doing.

Lets say this guy is a 10 on a scale of 1-10 for being an enthusiast. What would the members of Coaster Buzz consider themselves?

I'll start off - DoubleMeatTaco - 4

Was the enthusiast Irish?

I'd say a 5 or 6?

I am not a credit junkie for example and only ride things I deem worthwhile... Been to maybe 55-60 parks and my coaster count is just over 300ish at the moment, but probably would be 400+ if I didn't skip so many coasters that I just don't care about (SLC's, boomerangs, kid rides, etc...). If it doesn't look unique/fun/different, I can skip it and not care at all. I don't have credit FOMO, at all.

I enjoy the overall 'experience' of a park... Themeing, overall experience, ride collection, etc... So I won't be going out of my way to go to a park just to ride a single coaster.

We still plan all our vacations around visiting parks, though... Last year was a big year, hitting up the last few parks on my "Parks in the US I need to get to" list, including Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sea World San Antonio and San Diego, and getting back to Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, among others. I think the only park I really have left on my 'list' is Silver Dollar City, but it's location sucks so who knows when we get to it. This year, we might go to Kennywood and Hershey, and a few Orlando parks in fall, but that's all that is planned here at least.

Next month we head over to Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany) for parks primarily... Planning another trip to Spain in fall... Big UK trip next Spring... And Tentatively Denmark/Norway/Sweden in fall of 2024.

So yeah, still an enthusiast, but now parks are more of a good excuse to travel and see the world along the way than riding yet another RMC somewhere. Also, it fulfills another hobby of mine (aviation), so finding specific airlines/aircraft/etc... To travel on when flying around is another perk of it all.

If you boat a lot, you’re known as a boating enthusiast. I like to boat, but I just don’t ever want to be referred to as a “boating enthusiast”. I hope they call me “a guy who likes to boat.”

kpjb:

Was the enthusiast Irish?

I just did my 200th coaster. But I've had this site for 23 years. But I don't generally enjoy enthusiasts socially. But I've retained many long-standing relationships because of the hobby. But I don't travel for parks. But I visit local parks constantly because Orlando.

Why do we have to label everything?

Totally agree with you Jeff! No need to label everything! I have been loving roller coasters my whole life (40 + years!) whether it be riding them, looking at them, reading about them, etc... I love the engineering behind it. I have been on coaster trips with some people many years ago, but prefer going with my kids. Does that make me an enthusiast!? I guess but I just say I love roller coasters!

Am I a real “enthusiast”? God I hope not. Those people hate everything.

Look, I like roller coasters but there are many more things in life that I have greater passion for. Heck, I prefer a good dark ride to a good coaster these days. When I think of a coaster enthusiast I picture a guy whipping out his ACE card and correcting someone in line. That is not me.

I live and breathe rollercoasters, base my vacation travel destinations on cities close to theme parks. I still play rollercoaster tycoon. I have annual passes to Six Flags, Universal and Busch/Seaworld. I randomly drive by Universal Blvd to see the construction progress of Epic.

.....So yeah, I think I'm a 10 on the nut scale, but everyone's scale is different :)

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it probably is a duck…

I have no idea how many coasters I’ve ridden? I’ve never kept track but it’s alot.

So I guess im an enthusiast?

It's taken me about 40 years to get my count just shy of 500. And hell yes I count them. To get that many, we travel a lot and parks become part of the travel agenda along with history, sight seeing, and all the other things we travel for. But being an "enthusiast" has nothing to do with how many; it's about what you like and are interested in. I love the engineering and operations almost as much as riding.

I've met plenty of very enthusiastic riders that have low track records that are every bit as much of an "enthusiast" as anybody.

Well, my sister and I happened to be at Conneaut Lake on some sort of enthusiast day, as part of our own tour of Western PA parks, and looking a little askance at some of the, um, obsessiveness of the crowd. But we concluded that if you've gotten on a plane for the express purpose of riding a roller coaster, you're (in our terms) a roller coaster nerd.

Current AP holder for WDW, Universal, SEAS, Cedar Fair and Dollywood. I’m probably higher up on the scale but I would argue I’m more of a park enthusiast, roller coasters, while important are usually a minority of my day in parks.

The more coasters you have been on, the more of an enthusiast you are?

Non-enthusiasts are super-impressed when I tell them I have been on just over 200 coasters, but I always tell them "That's nothing. You should hear how many coasters some other enthusiasts have rode." It's taken me almost fifty years to get that many. I've been in love with them since my first memories. I was 9 months old when I got my first credit on Big Dipper at Camden Park, and I've been infatuated with roller coasters ever since. Decades later, now I like to make YouTube videos about my park visits. I've always been no less than a real coaster enthusiast.

My score between 1 and 10 would have been a 9 or 10 twenty years ago, but in my older age, I've kind of lost interest in remembering stats. Also, sometimes I don't keep up with new rides being installed like I used to. So my score drops a little...

LostKause- 7

I also don't like putting a number on it because I haven't had the luxury of traveling to that many parks. However, in the parks I do travel to, I do my best to hit every coaster there (multiple times if possible) and I do indeed track them. So my total number of rides is high, but my number of unique coasters is still slightly below 100.

*Side note -- That number will hopefully change with our first visit to Hersheypark this summer.

"Was the enthusiast Irish?" - I don't know for sure. Definitely from Europe and English was not his main language. I would say mid 40's, blonde, potbelly. Germany would be my guess, but who knows. He was the real deal because he was on a US tour and coming up from the South. He hit Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion then Six Flags. He was bummed because all parks had their major coasters closed (Pantheon, I305 and Superman). To test him I asked if he was ever at "Ferrari World." He quickly responded that he was there six years ago and going again this year in June! He then gave me a bunch of tips about International travel then my mind kind of blanked out. This guy is on such another crazy, enthusiast level then I am, I just had to smile, shake my head and wish him well. "Mind Eraser" was his next stop, however I pointed him away from "Coyote Creek" as that entire section of the park is closed.

Chatting here = 10 compared to people not here? ;)

I can name drop: Shwarzkoph, Miller, Bollinger, Vettel, Toomer, Traver, ... But when I went on a rollercoaster trip a few years ago, I was pretty done after a week.

Basically if your posting on this board your an enthusiast.

why would you be here otherwise?