I guarantee if I took a break from being an enthusiast for 5 years, and then came back, the thrill factor would be much higher. I'd be amazed at things at that point that enthusiasts would consider tame.
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I'm living proof of this. I was a die-hard coaster fan during High School and College. I visited SFGam 7 to 8 times a year, and tried to visit other parks (PKI, etc.) when I could. Around 1993 or so, I became more immersed in pursuing various career paths (DJing, freelance journalism, video production, etc.). Responsibilities like rent & bills made frequent trips to amusement parks increasingly difficult, and as a result I quickly became "out of the loop".
Fast forward to 1999/2000... My visits to SFGam had been reduced to once every other year, but fortunately ' 99 was one of my 'on' years. Raging Bull became my first coaster over 200ft, and I thought it was the best ride on the planet (It's still in my top 3). I had taken up website design as a second career, and as a result began doing a lot more web surfing. Out of boredom one night, I decided to search the web to see what other amazing advancements had been made in coaster technology. It was then that I discovered amazing sites like Thrillride & Coasterbuzz... both of which I credit for re-igniting my interest in coasters. It was via these sites (and Cedar Point's own webpage) that I first heard that Millennium Force would be opening in May 2000. I immediately planned a weekday visit in June 2000 with a group of friends, my first to The Point since 1985, and from then on I've been hooked.
That one trip introduced me to several rides that absolutely blew me away, even though I imagine many enthusiasts considered them commonplace or even passé (Mantis, Raptor, Magnum, & yes, even Mean Streak). Millennium Force was the highlight. 310 feet seemed mind boggling, especially since my tallest coaster prior to '99 had been the now defunct Shockwave megalooper.
My enthusiasm for rollercoasters became so intense that I decided to schedule a 7 park Rollercoaster Road Trip for my 30th birthday in August of 2002. I ended up spending 2 weeks with a group of friends visiting various parks throughout the midwest (SFGam, SFstl, PKI, BGW, Kennywood, SFWoa, & Cedar Point), stopping in various cities to play DJ gigs to help pay for my newfound coaster addiction.
This summer, I will hopefully be traveling to several parts of the country for gigs that will allow me to visit some parks that I've never experienced but always wanted to (IOA, SFMM, SFKK, SFA, etc.). If side-trips to those places don't work out, I still have planned 2003 visits to Cedar Point, SFGam, Michigan's Adventure, & Indiana Beach.
Will I "lose it" again? It's possible... I suppose it depends on where my job(s) and personal relationships take me. But for now, I'll be anxious to visit as many new parks as often as I can for as long as I can afford to do so.
*** This post was edited by djgreghaus 6/4/2003 3:51:27 PM ***
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