"Enthusiast" a Misnomer?

Homey sez:

"I didn't ride Jr. Gemini because I'm a credit whore. I only have been on 123 coasters. It's not like I'm in competition with anyone. However, coasters to me ARE a collection of sorts. Very much like those folks that collect butterflies or rare LPs. Each coaster has a story as I can go into detail about every one I've ridden. Chances are, there's a funny anecdote that I could tell as well."

I completely agree! I'll ride any coaster, adult or kiddie, it the park rules allow me to do so alone or with a child. Most kiddie coasters are a real hoot, and I don't give a crap what people in the area or the ride op -- who I'll probably never see again -- think.

mOOSH [no need to pad my count!]

PS - Brian's got a girlfriend! Nya nya nya!

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Pokemon [n.] A Jamaican proctologist.

I hear you on that...kinda. I especially hear ya on the parks you travel to. I was outrageously lucky on the CPlaya 100 to catch SFGAM's Deja Vu and the very early LoCoSuMo as workers continued to labor away at its innards.

Don't think that my track record doesn't have a healthy number of kiddie coasters becasue I happen to have kids. But then again, I won't ride anything unless it looks like I'll have a good time. I could have easily padded my numbers with some Wisconsin kiddie coasters or clones of rides I had already experienced on the same said trip, but said naahhhhhh.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Why does being a so-called 'credit whore' have such a negative connotation among coaster enthusiasts? I'll admit to being a credit whore...see if I give a rodent's backside. :)

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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Jealousy, perhaps?

Let's face it, folks...some parks *are* worthy of only a credit whore stop. Yeah, earlier in the thread I extolled the virtues of taking one's time to explore all a park has to offer but sometimes that's just not possible [time constraints, for example].

Case in point [and someone could easily argue this] but Del Grosso's Amusement Park was a credit whore stop for me. We parked, rode the coaster, stopped in the gift shop, made note of the large grassy area where a small wooden coaster could fit, and then hightailed it to Lakemont for the rest of the night. There just wasn't much else we wanted to see there.

IMHO there's nothing inherently wrong with doing that, even though it's something I try to avoid doing as often as possible. And I don't think there should be any negative connotations to the term.

YMMV

mOOSH

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Pokemon [n.] A Jamaican proctologist.

I'd argue that Delgrosso's is worthy of much more then a "credit stop." It's the kind of place that you visit to see the park and ride the coaster because it's there rather than the other way around. I think it's a much better all around park than Lakemont (except in the coaster category). I wish I could have seen Lakemont "pre-Boyertown."

I admit that I picked up Jr. Gemini for the credit. It just irritated me that I've been visiting CP since I was 3 but never rode the dang thing. A visit with my nephew provided the opportunity. It wasn't worth it for either of us :) It was for a while the only ride in the park I never rode (except for upcharge attractions and the challenge park). That's not the case anymore though (WT, TTD, Chaos, Power Tower).
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Ripple Rock Amusement Park

During a 1 day / 3 park trip last year (Idlewild, Lakemont, Delgrossos), I will admit that I made a "credit/coaster stop" at Delgrosso's. However, once there, even though they only have one coaster (a Zyklon at that), I will agree with Millrace that it is worthy of more than just a credit stop. My wife had to work the saturday that I visited last year, so one of these days I'll make a return trip with her. The difference this time... Idlewild and DelGrosso's will be the main goals of the trip with Lakemont might a quick "coaster stop".

I did the "coaster stop" for Zyklon, but wound up walking around Delgrosso's a bit and looking around and even riding a few of the flats. Only the fact that I had a 2 and a half drive ahead of me to get home cut my visit short.

As it stands Delgrosso's is a great little park. IF you could take the atmosphere and flats of of Delgrossos and add the coasters of Lakemont (and also their Octopus ride), you would have a really GREAT little park in the Altoona / Tipton area.

Last year my wife and I made a trip through NY and PA that included Waldamere and Conneaut Lake. Both parks we stopped at strictly for the coasters... a quick "credit stop" if you will. HOWEVER, with the exception of my 11 rides on Conneaut's Blue Streak, we found that we spent more time walking around and exploring other parts of the parks. Come to think of it, at Waldamere, I actually only did one lap on Comet (and yes, even sneaked onto Ravine Flyer III for one lap), and then spent the rest of our time there exploring the rest of this little park, with the high points of the day being Pirates Cove and Wacky Shack (very few other places will have 2 dark attractions) and the flume. We find this to be true at many parks... may go for the coasters, but wind up enjoying other aspects of the park just as much, if not more. Delgrosso's and Idlewild fell into this category for me. As stated above, next western PA park swing will deifnately include Idlewild and Delgrosso's, but will include Lakemont only if there is extra time.
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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE 7/3/2003 3:50:40 PM ***
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE 7/3/2003 3:51:22 PM ***

The reason DG's was a credit whore stop for me was time constraints. It had little to do with the quality of the park. As I said, I try to avoid such stops as often as possible.

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Pokemon [n.] A Jamaican proctologist.

Maybe we could curb the temptation to credit-whore by assigning only a fraction of a point for coasters that are clones or relocations of ones already on one's list, or rides that are just plain ratty. ;-)

We? I don't care how other people count. Heck, if you want to count ferris wheels as coasters, be my guest. If you want to credit whore, more power to ya.

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff

I don't care about credits or laps or any of that junk.

I'm a coaster unenthusiast. I like them, but they are not my life, and enthusiasts generally annoy me.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Here's my theory on being an enthusiast:

Coaster enthusiasm, as a hobby, is a dorky thing. Just face up to it. We're driven by stats, mechanical details, and in-depth analyses of ride experiences. Put us in the same category as Trekkies and video gamers (and I know people in both categories who admit to being dorks too). Especially when at parks with non-enthusiast friends, I've been self-conscious about appearing as a complete coaster-tool, and I'm sure a lot of people have, too. As enthusiasts, we're all dorks.

But, for many of us, being an enthusiast is just one aspect of who we are: I like to think of myself as a normal (albeit long-winded ;) ) person with a dorky hobby. I've given up trying to tell myself that this isn't a dorky hobby, and this realization has allowed me to just go to parks and have a good time, which is the point of being a coaster enthusiast anyway. Having enthusiast friends helps too.

Now, some people, I think, grow so self-conscious and in an attempt to distance themselves from the dorkiness that is coaster enthusiasm, claim to be "unenthusiasts" or diss the credit whores and lapcounters. Let people have their fun. Of course, I've made fun of dorky enthusiasts many a time, too, but I think everyone does, because nobody wants to be the dorky enthusiast. I make fun of myself when I realize I'm approaching coaster-tooldom (which happens occasionally when I get excited--i.e. my first ride on X).

Anyway, if there's a coherent thought to be found anywhere in the above ramblings, it's "we're all dorks; the sooner we realize it and move on the more fun we'll all have."

And this theory of enthusiasm is a totally seperate issue from enthusiASSm. I have a lot less tolerance for complete asses than I do dorks.

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- Chris

I put the "D" in DDR.

Well said, Chris!

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Pokemon [n.] A Jamaican proctologist.

Feel sorry for those that look upon others with enthusiasm for anything as dorks because they are just 'too cool' to enjoy life. Sadly I find myself misplacing my enthusiasm and anticipation from time to time until I'm behind the bars (coaster lap-bars or motorcycle handle-bars) and see the travel/preparation time as too much work.

Must fight growing up, better to die still a 'kid' than an 'adult'.