Someone on another roller coaster web site posted this topic and I thought I would bring it up here (because the newsgroups on that other site are a pain to read).
What do you miss most from you pre-enthusiast days?
For example, I was thinking that in some ways it was more fun going to a park when you didn’t know anything about the rides. When I first started going to CP, I had no clue who built the coasters, how they compared to other parks coasters, or how other people felt about the coasters. I just knew what I liked and had fun. I didn’t know anything about ‘airtime’ or ‘g-forces’. Now I find myself over analyzing every ride and have to tell my self just to relax and enjoy it. That is not to say that I want to know less about coasters, just that there is something lost when you gain that knowledge. Kind of like learning the secret to a magic trick.
I miss riding a coaster for the first time without knowing every part of the layout and every stat before hand. There are few surprises left anymore, everything about a new coaster is dissected down to a science before you even step aboard. I really envy those people who went to CP or SFMM this year and seeing the finished MF and Goliath for the first time. I few people I spoke with didn't have a clue SFMM was even building a new coaster this year. And do you think their ride was more enjoyable not knowing exactly what the coasters were going to do next?
I miss riding a coaster that was a personal favorite of mine without having to worry where it fit in my top 10. Now it seems every coaster has to either be a top 10, or it's terrible or something. Can't a coaster just be fun?
I take my kids to parks now, and they marvel at the things that I and others just take for granted now. Do you think they care whether Superman:The Escape is a coaster or not? Or that Goliath's drop is "only" 61 degress? It feels darn steep to them.
I wish I could go back to those days where going to a park was an adventure and you had no idea what new coaster the park was going to come up with next. Every park was equally facinating in it's own way instead of the stupid park wars we have today. Heck, I didn't even know who the heck owned the park, and assumed every park built and designed their own coasters lol! And trim brakes? Well, I never even noticed them, making for a FAR more plesurable ride IMO.
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The new KING of coasters:
SFNE Superman
Unforgettable!!!
*** This post was edited by Simcoaster on 9/7/2000. ***
*** This post was edited by Simcoaster on 9/7/2000. ***
AMEN Simcoaster!
My thoughts exactly!
I remember my first-ever coaster ride, the Blue Streak at CP. Actually, the moment I stepped off that ride I decided I loved roller coasters.
Still, I was only six years old and I had no clue what a roller coaster even was or what it did. All I knew was that there was a big hill which the riders went down. Imagine my surprise when that big hill was followed by a series of littler hills traveled at a fast speed!
Now, I know the layout of every coaster before I even go on it, and I can practically ride the Blue Streak, the Magnum, or any of CP's other coasters in my sleep because I now know every little nuance of the ride.
I miss being ignorant!
Well I've been an enthusiast since I was about 8. I didnt like to ride them at that time, but was facinated by them. I really think that they are beautiful to look at. I would like to think that not much about me has changed, bt I'm sure there are some who would disagree. I can't say that I miss anything, but there are some things that I wish I had never learned/read/heard.
1. That Arrow coasters (megaloopers in particular) are rough. Now I find myself constantly telling other coaster nuts that they really arent bad.
2. That no coaster/ride goes faster than 100mph ('cept S:TE and TOT). I always thought all coasters darn near broke the sound barrier (LOL).
3. That ALL Six Flags parks are JUST alike and ALL suck. Even writing that doesn't make sense. in my pre-nut days I went to SFGAm, SFStl, SFMM, and SFoG and none of the parks seemed ANYTHING like the others. Now I find myself looking for similarities.
4. That *insert coaster name* is the best ride on the planet. This year, I have enjoyed rides that I heard nothing about (e.g. Top Gun @ Carowinds) MUCH more than rides that have been praised six ways from sunday (SOB, Spidey, HULK!).
5. CLONES. If we didnt travel all across the world like nomads in search of water, would we even know they existed?
I think that's about all I should write. I'll holla.
lata,
jcsn
one other thing I forgot at first. I used to LOVE OTSRs. I thought any coaster that didnt have them (especially woodies) was unsafe and was trying to kill people. (headbanging? isn't that supposed to be part of it?)
*** This post was edited by 2Hostyl on 9/7/2000. ***
I think that the internet had a big part in this too, because of the internet we are now able to see how fast a coaster will go at any given time and the exact layout. So enthusiests probably had more fun before 1992 when we could first use the intenet. Damn the system!
Yeah, I missed that too, but this year, I got my chance because I went to PKI, and the only coaster layouts I knew were SOB and Face-Off.
Just think without the net how many of the new coasters would you have know about. Most of us wouldn't have know about Steel Dragon, Boulder Dash, or even Shimbering Timbers. Sure we probaly would have seen them on a tv show or heard from word of mouth. Now we can find out everything about it. It does kinda ruin the surprise when you get to a park and know the layout of all the coasters and the entire park. At least we can get to the rides we want without getting lost. ;)
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Parks Hit For 2000! PKD, BGW,DP,HP,PKI,HW,SFKK,SFA,GAdv,SFNE,LC,GE,QP,CDP,LP,KG,SFO,WG,GE,KW,IW,WL,
I seem to look at it differently than most of you. I'll compare it with music. As a musician, I never just listen to a song or a movie score anymore, I now listen to what the composer did, and how it's arranged. But I find this to be just as enjoyable - hell, probably even more so. The only thing that's lost is the first-time thrill, but that will be lost to any rider who has ridden it once. From that point on, he/she will never be able to have the experience of soaring on that coaster for the first time. However, he/she will be able to enjoy (after multiple rides) finding out what it is that makes that coaster unique and fun. And if finding out Millenium's exact angle on the first drop only makes that more intense to experience, well then, I want to know.
Jason
