End of Season Reflections

Thanks to hectic work commitments this year, my coaster season was three weeks long in orlando at the back end of october!

That said, it's been five years since we hit the states, so a lot of new coasters to catch up on.....

HIGHS: Behind the scenes coaster tour at BGT, and Cheetah Hunt in general - some serious kick on that coaster, and long too! Hollywood RRR at Universal was a real surprise - it just doesn't let up once you're over the top of the lift until you reach the station. Couldn't do more than a couple of rides at a time though!

Manta - that pretzel loop gets me every time, pushing your organs through the back of the seat.... Coastersaurus at Legoland - I never got to ride while it was still cypress gardens, so i jumped at the chance as we had free tickets for it, surprisingly quick little woodie. All round legoland was actually a brilliant day, and their technic mouse coaster, while an off-the-shelf design from what i've seen is still very good.

WWoHP - great immersive experience, which leads me on to the lows......

LOWS: Forbidden Journey - rode five times over the course of our trip and didn't make a single clear round without a technical stop. Also the quality of the projection leaves a little to be desired, I hope the rumoured upgrade will up the resolution to somewhere near 4k as, to me as a techie geek anyway, the clarity and quality of the projections were all to obviously projections, i felt they weren't immersive enough.

Dragon Challenge - really is showing it's age, was rough as hell. Rode both sides to be sure it wasn't just the train heading toward going for overhaul, but nope, just rough as hell.

Overall a great season, and lots of fun! Our last sunday in FL we ended up having to park hop all four disney parks in a single day... we wanted to ride ToT a bit more before leaving so hit MGM Studios first (it'll always be MGM to me, I refuse to acknowledge the name change lol) and managed 5 in a row with a fastpass for an hour. didn't end up using it so gave it to a passing couple as we were leaving, to head for... Magic Kingdom, where we needed to get photos with da mouse. Fell over backwards when he started talking. Then on to EPCOT as their was some particular merchandise we wanted to get that didn't seem to be on sale anywhere else in disney. Lastly AK as our photos with Mickey & Minnie together hadn't been logged on their photocard system, so we got them again, hung around for a couple of hours waiting for them to 'develop' so we could check our photo card, and off we went! A serious blast in one day, would never do it again if I could help it though!

Bring on Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Disney Paris next year, then 2015 will be florida again along with a week at the front to do a road trip for first time visits to Carowinds, Dollywood, SFoG, and Wild Adventures before they close for the season!

2013 was a very slow season for me. I only visited two parks, Busch Gardens Va and Hersheypark, much less than normal. Mostly due to investing a lot of money and time in another passion of mine, photography, and having an unwillingness to go to parks alone so much this year. My trip to Busch Gardens however was alone and I spent an hour of my day taking photos. Had a great time riding whatever coasters I wanted and taking pictures so it wasn't a horrible trip by any means. My second park trip to Hersheypark however was with one of my dearest friends in the world and was definitely the high of my season. She isn't a coaster enthusiast but does love coasters and is more than willing to stay until close and make the most of the park experience. This, accompanied with very short lines, beautiful weather, my first ride on skyrush, and just the sheer joy of spending a roller coaster filled day with one of my best friends was enough to make me see how precious days like these are and how little they come around. This brings me to my low. Sitting back looking at the calender and realizing another park season has come and gone. Another year of "oh sorry, I don't have the money to go with you" Or, "I have other plans" The painful realization that my friends have moved on from the amusement/theme park world and did not, and never will share the same passion that I do. Some have kids, some have very hectic work lives and it is understandable why they can't go. So I ask myself, "why do I keep clinging onto these few people?" They are still great friends but have different interest and just don't have time. There is a whole community of people like me. Why have I never made an effort to reach out? Why have I not gone to an enthusiast event? Joined a club? Anything to meet people like me? Am I gonna do something about this in 2014? The answer to that is HELL YES! lol. The best times of my life have been spent at parks and I can't even imagine the fun I could have with enthusiast friends. Parks and coasters make me happy like nothing else and I want some enthusiast friends to share that joy with. For me, sharing the joy is a big part of the experience. It seems like next year is the time to make it happen. I will be on Coasterbuzz a lot more often than I have been and posting a lot more and hope to make some friends on here. I would like to take a moment to apologize for the sappiness of my post but I was reflecting and feeling very deep lol. I did not mean for it to sound like an episode of Dr. Phil, lol.

I like the sappiness. The only thing I didn't like about your nice post was that it was on big wall of text instead of easily-digestible paragraphs. :)

I bet if you post a lot more around here, you will change your mind about wanting to meet these people in person. HAHA.

I've met plenty of people here in person and built lasting friendships...

"I've been to a park with Clint".... LOL!

I don't like anybody I've ever met. Ever.

I don't like Stupid Jam Bands. Ever.

I do apologize for my lack of paragraphs but I wasn't feeling well and my Nyquil was kicking in, so I was in a hurry lol.

Seems like there is a lot of great people on here and I enjoy craziness lol. So I am definitely looking forward to 2014 :)

Krause, what's your take on NyQuil? :)

Depends, does it skip lines and smell like popcorn?

I've liked everyone more after I've met them. It goes a long way towards adding context to their posts.

People are Stupid.

Raven-Phile said:

Krause, what's your take on NyQuil? :)

Nyquil is NOT a beverage...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNHuevdkxk0

Josh R., meeting other enthusiasts can really put your hobby into a very interesting new light. I too was lonely at parks for the most part, but after joining just one club and participating in only 2-3 events, I made some new and true friends, and I've made memories that don't just consist of how many times I rode Coaster XYZ. Love your friends that you have, but definitely make some coaster geek friends as well! Sometimes they even all end up meshing together in a fortunate way (I think my husband and good friend are both way more excited about coasting since we went to some private events and experienced the parks in a new way). Now everyone's talking Six Flags this, Cedar Point that, Busch Gardens, Universal, etc...I barely have said anything and apparently am going to at least three major parks next season).

I digress (which I do a lot). I'm glad you had the opportunity to have good days with good friends this year, and hopefully you have a great season next year! Maybe we'll see you out and about!