Dorney Park - New Policy - No single riders on Ferris Wheel

Rob Ascough said:
but I don't buy into the fact that people get into amusement parks because of people.

I did, completely. I have little to no use going to a park or riding a great coaster if I don't have anyone to share the experience with. I want to ride and explore and share together, for me that's where the joy comes from. Riding a coaster alone might be "fun" but that's not what memories are made of for me.

But didn't roller coasters bring you to amusement parks? You can do pretty much anything if you want to be with people... why an amusement park? Not trying to pick a fight, just trying to understand...

Jeff to me you come off sounding anti-social, are you the type of person that stands in a line and doesn't talk to anyone else except the person your with? I like to meet and talk to other people in line. Thats how you get to meet other people and I actually have made friends with people that I met in lines at parks. I do go to parks with my kids or with friends but sometimes I perfer to go alone and its not just parks. When I want to meet women i go to nightclubs by myself because I don't have to worry about someone else needing a ride home so I can pick up a one night stand and leave when I want.

Rob Ascough said:
But didn't roller coasters bring you to amusement parks?

No, my parents did. I got hooked on coasters as a result at a very young age but the hobby has never appealed to me outside of the context of sharing and experiencing parks with people I love.

I'm really kind of shocked and depressed that this isn't like...readily apparent to everyone here. I mean I don't have a problem with people going to parks alone and maybe sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do but aren't all the best memories the ones when you've shared the experience with people you love?

I'm thankful I can still ride with my parents when I'm back home in KY but I'm also intensely jealous of people with children who have the chance to take their kids to these places. I can't imagine what it feels like to take your kid on Raven or Phoenix or Boulderdash for the first time!

If I can't potentially have an experience like that at a park I just won't go. More important things in life, better things to do. There's just no joy in it if there's not someone to share it with me.

So those without kids, parents, or friends should just sit in the corner and cry?

The choice is not always go with people or go alone. It's often go alone or don't go at all.

Why is the idea of going to an amusement park alone shocking and depressing? Besides, it's not like anyone here said that they always go to amusement parks alone. People like RGB and myself have said that there are advantages to going to parks alone and because of those advantages, we're not against that sort of thing at times.

I'm not sure if I'm going to have kids one day, but if I do, I can't wait for the day when I get to introduce them to all the things my wife and I love in this world. To experience my kid's first roller coaster ride like my father did with me will be pure bliss... if it happens, of course. But where is it written that people always have to go to an amusement park with people? Going to an amusement park to spend time with people is all well and good, but if I want to spend time with people, I can invite them over my house. Chances are I'm going to an amusement park because I want to ride amusements, and the fact that I sometimes get to do that with friends is the icing in the cake but far from a necessity.

Matt said:

I'm thankful I can still ride with my parents when I'm back home in KY but I'm also intensely jealous of people with children who have the chance to take their kids to these places. I can't imagine what it feels like to take your kid on Raven or Phoenix or Boulderdash for the first time!

I have done all that when they were younger. My kids are now in there teens so when I do take them they usually ride together or with their friends.

Millrace said:

The choice is not always go with people or go alone. It's often go alone or don't go at all.

Exactly right! If I want to go and no one else does I go alone. Its better than doing nothing.

Right. I prefer to go with people but I'm not going to wait around and do nothing if no one wants to go.

Everybody who goes to parks alone should plan to "meet" up somewhere. Then we can spend the entire day ignoring each other. :)

Rob Ascough said:
You're the one that came out all psycho about how weird it is to go to a park all alone.

Jeff said:
Your mileage may vary, and if it does, I don't care that much since this just happens to be what I think.

So there you have it.

Ajrides said:
Jeff to me you come off sounding anti-social, are you the type of person that stands in a line and doesn't talk to anyone else except the person your with?

What does that have to do with going to a park alone? I have a great story along those lines though.

In 2000 I visited CP with my best man, Frank, who flew in from California, and I hadn't seen him in several years. Old Timer Tim was also in the wedding party, so the three of us were having a good old time (weird too to think that Tim would go on to work at the park a couple years after that). Frank and I had a great deal of catching up to do since our post-college lives, especially with him working in Hollyweird.

So this kid in line for Millennium Force introduces himself when he recognizes me, and I thank him for visiting the sites and go back to chatting it up with Frank and Tim. The next day, I get this scathing e-mail from the kid about what a bastard I am for not talking to him more. Huh? So because I run a Web site you visit I'm supposed to be your best friend? I was there with a friend I hadn't seen in years!

Last June, I took my girlfriend, who I had only been on a few dates with at the time, to Cedar Point. We get in line for Maverick, and this kid gets in line behind us and introduces himself. While it freaked out Diana a little, we chatted for a while and that was that. The kid was very polite and that was the end of it.

What does any of this have to do with going to the parks alone? Nothing really, except to say that the expectation you have for social interaction is tied to others' expectations as well as your own. Managing your own expectations is what determines your sociability, and the ability to play well with others. So if you have a Letterman Top 10 on why it sucks to go with other people, maybe the issue isn't with them at all.

Your mileage may vary, and if it does, I don't care that much since this just happens to be what I think.

Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

I have a feeling I somehow started the argument....

^^ After that whole story, I still have no idea what you're talking about, especially the last line of that last paragraph. Who said that one's reasons for having a good time at an amusement park while flying solo was any kind of commentary on said person's social abilities? Sometimes it's fun to go to amusement parks with people (something that RGB obviously agrees with as he always seeks me out when I'm at Knoebels), and sometimes it's fun to go to amusement parks without people and have total control over the entire day. That has nothing at all to do with ability/inability to make/keep friends, nor is it a reflection of how that person views friendships and other relationships.

My point was, and still is, the people that find it necessary to judge one's decision to go to a park alone have more of an issue with being alone than the person in question.

Of course, your mileage may vary, and if it does, I don't care that much since this just happens to be what I think... even though I'm discussing it in a public forum.

Yes, I'm being judgmental, but it's not an indicator about any "issues" I have for myself. I'm pretty open about my issues, thank you, and you've not identified one that I have.

Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

Probably because I couldn't possibly care less about your issues. Why would I, or anyone else?

That's fine... you being judgmental isn't an indicator of any issues that you do have, so therefore stop acting like you know something about the people that decide to go to parks alone at times. And just so you can't come back with your usual, "I never said that", allow me to refresh your memory:

That list reads like someone who would wear a T-shirt that says "single rider." Why so anti-social?

Rob Ascough said:
Why is the idea of going to an amusement park alone shocking and depressing?

It's not, and that's not what I meant. I meant that for me personally, going to parks alone is far far inferior in every way to going parks with other people. It's not about "having a problem with being alone" or something like that, it's just about not wanting to do this certain activity alone because it's just not nearly as much fun.

I was just a bit shocked that for whatever reasons the human element of sharing these parks with other people seems so secondary to coasters, coasters, coasters. The "but I don't buy into the fact that people get into amusement parks because of people" comment was the one that really got me scratching my head just because for me that's where 90% of the enjoyment comes from.

I am in no way discounting the enjoyment that comes from visiting amusement parks with people. If I didn't have friends in the western PA/OH area, I wouldn't make the six-hour drive to Kennywood, Idlewild and Conneaut Lakr as often as I do. I like heading in that direction and knowing I have a number of friends out there that are more than willing to keep me from going to a park all by myself.

But there are times when I'd rather go to an amusement park alone instead of sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Each year when I vacation in Wildwood, I break away from my family for a few hours and spend the time riding the Great White over and over again. My father and my wife enjoy coasters but they have no desire to ride the coaster 20 or 30 times so I have no problem respecting their desires as they respect mine. I'm not going to deny myself what I enjoy because the whole "amusement park companionship" thing isn't happening at that time.

I'll go by myself and not think twice about it. For the most part I go with my family and friends. Every now then I have a free day(usually a week day) without the kids, and my friends and girl are all working. I'll go to Hersheypark to ride some rides solo.

I wouldn't usually make a long trip by myself, but I have been known to stop at a park when I am in the area by myself. Example: A few years back I had to take a seminar in Bordentown NJ, and had to stay over 2 nights. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to visit Great Adventure when I am so close. I tried to get some coworkers that were also taking the classes to go, but they would rather go out to party since they don't get a chance to be away from the family too often. Only option was to go by myself. It was a Wednesday night, so the crowds were light. I ended up having a great time.

Sometimes when I go solo I end up running into people I already know and catching up, or I meet new people altogether and end up spending the day riding with them. Other times I go I am by myself the whole time. I just go with the flow, and you never know what can happen. To me it's not really about being social or antisocial it's just a matter of going to enjoy a few rides. There isn't any crime in that.

Some people seem to have to go with other people in order to enjoy a park, or it makes them feel like a loser if they are by themselves. I don't know what it is, but there are just some people that can't go to a park alone.

To me it's just like any other hobby sometimes you want to share your passion with others, and sometime you just want to go at your own pace and take everything in alone.

We all get our kicks at parks for different reasons. Arguing about those reasons is as pointless as the typical "versus" threads.

Rob Ascough said:
...so therefore stop acting like you know something about the people...

Anyone who considers going to a park alone to be anti-social has serious fears of being alone.

The truth is, people who feel the need to always be surrounded by others do have some kind of issue of being alone.

You make it too easy.

Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

I'm pointing out actual facts that a psychologist will endorse, while you admit that you were just being judgmental. You've proven nothing.

*** Edited 8/10/2007 7:05:33 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***