Credit whores

182, 177, whatever. What matters is that we're both more important than Krause.

And anyway, I don't count carnival credits. That would be beneath my dignity.

;)

Yeah, well...my lack of dignity makes me more important than you.

On paper, at least.

In that case, I've got you both beat, because I count rolling down a hill while stuck inside of a giant tire as a credit, because I am from WV. I've done that at least 2,000 times! :D

If it hadn't been for my wife needing credit on Carolina Cobra, I would have not ridden it since I took credit for it at GL. Then I would have missed the chance of experiencing the new trains.

Ill take any credit I can get. However, I normally dont ride "kiddie" rides during peak hours or if they have long lines after that. I dont like the disapproving stares at parents as I "take" their child's seat and they have to wait longer in line.

One "kiddie" ride I really wanted to get and was really bummed about not getting was Pteranodon Flyers. Im a huge JP fan and wanted to experience flying over that section of the park. Ive also never been on that type of coaster so it would have been a differernet experience. So as it stands that is my most sought after credit that I'll have to try to "scam" somehow in the future.

P-Flyers - Run to it first thing in the morning. That early, especially in the off season, they usually need riders anyways to fill seats, so you might be good to go.

I never borrowed a kid, but I had a family borrow me so I could ride Thunderbolt with their 3rd child.

With the changes in my life over the past 3 years, I haven't had many opportunities to visit new parks and ride new coasters. I've pretty much stuck with the old familiar nearby rides. I guess that makes me coaster monogamous.

I'd say I'm a rational credit whore. With unlimited time, I'd hit all of a park's coasters excluding the ones you need to poach kids for. But, if there is limited time and I might not ever be back to a park, I'd choose a unique / interesting flat ride over scoring credit on another Vekoma Boomerang or generic clone. In the end, I'm going to regret missing a new ride experience more than one less check on a list.

But, there are some credits that I just had to have. One example would be Kingda Ka. I had ridden Top Thrill Dragster countless times over the years, and it was rated the better ride experience, but I just had to have the world's tallest coaster credit. Brace yourself for an intense credit-whoring story...

I had experienced every coaster at Great Adventure except Nitro and Kingda Ka with only 40 minutes to close (realize I drove over 10 hours to the park and might never be back). I nearly had my Nitro credit earlier in the day, but after sitting through an hour of mechanical problems and seeing the mechanics resort to whacking the station sensors with a height stick, I gave up.

We returned to the Nitro entrance at 9:20PM, and the ride host told us it was at least an hour wait. With only 40 minutes to close, my friend told me I had to choose Nitro or Kingda Ka. I was heart broken and said that Nitro would probably be the better choice, since it was rated one of the best. But, I told my friend there was no way this line was going to be an hour with B&M capacity, and we WOULD ride both. He looked at me like I was crazy.

Well, I was right about the line. It wasn't an hour, but only 25 minutes. We got off the ride with 10-15 minutes to close, and I was smiling ear-to-ear with a coaster-credit-craving grin.

My friend was not smiling, and my body was not. You see, my shoes had been destroyed on Roller Soaker at Hershey the day before. I was smart enough to bring a boxed backup pair of tennis shoes, but I didn't think about the required break-in period. As a result, my feet were solid blisters from heel to toes, and I winced in pain with every step, walking more awkwardly than a penguin in the Nitro line. My friend somehow felt it was a good idea to wear a pair of $5 flip flops for 5 days of amusement parks in a row. The area between his big toe and 2nd toe was raw, and he was in pain as well.

Once Nitro's restraints released, we both knew it was time for a sprint to Kingda Ka, which was roughly at the opposite end of the large park. Security was yelling at us to walk, my friend had resorted to running barefoot, and I probably appeared to be running sideways on a bed of knives. We made the Kingda Ka line with a couple minutes to spare, and I was heavily breathing victory & satisfaction. Kingda Ka had a nice, crisp check in my mind.

Then, Kingda Ka went down for mechanical problems for the night....no it didn't, but that would have been funny. We got the Kingda Ka credit! It was better than I was expecting it to be, and we headed straight for First Aid, as my friend's foot began bleeding quite a bit. I was admittedly very satisfied, but I questioned how rational that coaster credit was. Still, I imagine I'll be an old man one day, laughing back at this night with my friend.

TheHSBR said:

One "kiddie" ride I really wanted to get and was really bummed about not getting was Pteranodon Flyers. Im a huge JP fan and wanted to experience flying over that section of the park. Ive also never been on that type of coaster so it would have been a differernet experience. So as it stands that is my most sought after credit that I'll have to try to "scam" somehow in the future.

Whenever you do get back there for the credit, go to the ride early in day when it opens. The capacity really sucks for that type of ride. Our final day there, we went straight back to the area and only had to wait a couple of minutes when we saw a family coming up and asked if we could ride with the kids. Walked up and got right on without any waiting. During the day there is always a very long line.

LostKause said:

I have to ask, aren't you a little disappointed when you hear about how fun a mine ride is or how different the restraints are for a newly opened boomerang that you skipped though? Some of those rides are really superb. ;)

...Or Maverick.

Nah not really. If I'm ever back at park x-y-z, I might make time for that fun mine ride, but missing it on my last trip doesn't cause me to lose any sleep. A boomerang with the new chest-vest or lapbar restraints would be on a to-do list though - that's a new experience. It wouldn't cure the track design being coat-hangery, but it might make it possible to enjoy it, so I'd definitely give one of those a try.

Plus - personal recommendations from friends and fellow nerds though do have a tendency to skew my priorities (note: not limited to coasters). If enough people go "you HAVE to ride that mine train", I'd... well, I'd HAVE to ride that mine train, if only to see what all the fuss is about. With almost anything - if someone has had an experience that causes them to rave about it and recommend it breathlessly to other people... it's probably pretty cool, and at least worth trying, and that goes for coasters, food, places to visit, etc.

LostKause said:

P-Flyers - Run to it first thing in the morning. That early, especially in the off season, they usually need riders anyways to fill seats, so you might be good to go.

The running of the bulls; not to Dueling Dragons, Hulk, or even a Butterbeer stand- to Pteranodon Flyers.

When we were at IOA earlier this year we headed straight from HP to PF at the park opening. There was no one in line yet, but they still wouldn't let us ride without someone that was under their height requirement, and then only one adult was allowed to go with that person. Luckily for us, my wife was short enough to get us on. She had to ride it 3 times so we could all get the credit.

Thanks for all the tips. Next time I go (maybe not for a while) I'll definately try these ideas out and see if they work!

I wanted to do the PFlyers too but refused to poach a kid. I always poach kids to ride the Zipper at carnivals, and it nearly always ends badly (terrified, screaming child turning green).

Other than that, I am like Jeph: a reasonable credit ho. I'll ride anything once, but at the same time, if it is a clone of a mouse or a Vekoma, I'll ride other things first and then if I have time, I'll hit the "less desirable" ones. Sometimes I will even skip credits to repeat rides I truly love if it is at a park I will likely rarely, if ever, visit again (repeats of Millie, Maverick, Raptor, and TTD rather than hit the mine coaster and Corkscrew at CP, for example).

During my first 75 or do, I was much more of a credit whore though. I have become more reasonable/rational.

Still wanna ride Blackbeard though.

I don't poach kids for kiddy credits anymore. I was a handsome young man at one time, but as I grow older, I have started to look kind of creepy. lol

Whats funny is that when i was at the Wisc. State fair a few weeks back, kids were poaching me for rides because their parent didnt want to ride. Maybe those favors will be returned to me one day!

LostKause said:

I don't poach kids for kiddy credits anymore. I was a handsome young man at one time, but as I grow older, I have started to look kind of creepy. lol

Don't be so hard on yourself. You've always been kind of creepy. :-P

With THAT avatar, Josh....kinda looks like the pot calling the kettle creepy...ROFL!

Blake is far from creepy, and the bear coat is awesome. lol.