Going to parks alone?

One strange issue I am having is the awkward uncertainty of who I am going to hang out with at BeastBuzz. I have only met a few people on this site personally, and a few of us are Facebook friends, but I don't know how the hanging out dynamics are going to be at the event. I do feel a little anxiety about it. Is it going to be like going to a park alone?

I have the same type worries when doing any social events like BeastBuzz alone, which is why I usually skip them. Every year older I get, I realize what a terrible solution that is. You miss life experiences and potential friendships so that you can feel comfortable in the moment. Great logic.

I should force myself to go to BeastBuzz. With such scary, hateful beings like Gonch, it'd be the ultimate test. ;-) If a situation unfolded where Gonch started spitting fireballs and everyone else there only spoke in memes and 1-line jokes at your expense, I'd be happy to meet up with you as a fail-safe, Travis.

Jeph said:

I should force myself to go to BeastBuzz. With such scary, hateful beings like Gonch, it'd be the ultimate test. ;-) If a situation unfolded where Gonch started spitting fireballs and everyone else there only spoke in memes and 1-line jokes at your expense, I'd be happy to meet up with you as a fail-safe, Travis.

Sucks.

*fireball!*

LostKause said: but I don't know how the hanging out dynamics are going to be at the event.

Luckily, Travis, you have that all-around nice guy vibe. That doesn't assure yourself total comfort, but it's a nice quality to have. I, on the other hand, tend to be a little more tripolar.

To bunky666: Yes, better late than never! I can understand the problem of scheduling for those who have kids but actually haven't encountered many who are afraid to go on the big coasters. I have ridden with fairly small kids on some very big coasters and wonder whether I would have had the nerve to do this when I was their age.

To GayCoasterGuy: Yes, that was quite a story and quite an experience. If I ever find myself in the Chicago area I'll look you up. Curious to see what the coaster lineup is at your home park. The trips I have scheduled for this year revolve around Outlaw Run, Boulder Dash, Gatekeeper and Hades 360.

To Sarge 27: That's the right attitude! My friends likewise think that roller coasters are for kids but what do they know? In fact, one person told me that I was too old to ride coasters because if I did, I'd sustain internal injuries. What a load of rubbish! That did a lot to motivate me to take up coasters as a hobby; few things are more motivational than being told that I can't do something. I gather that Cedar Point is your home park; lucky you. I am actually planning to be there for Coastermania, which I believe is on June 7 so I'll look you up. Your home park is nicer than mine except for one thing: mine has a great hypercoaster and a great wooden coaster (best one I've ever ridden) and yours has a great gigacoaster but lacks a good wooden one.

Bobbie1951 said: The trips I have scheduled for this year revolve around Outlaw Run, Boulder Dash, Gatekeeper and Hades 360.

Don't miss all the little parks in-between! There are some gems in there. And when you go to ride Hades360, make sure to ride the back seat of Cyclops. No matter what they do to Hades, Cyclops will always kick its butt! My home park Great America has a great lineup, including the much-loved Schwarzkopf classic, Whizzer (but I have a feeling you are into more intense rides?). Some would even say Great America has a better lineup than Gatekeepers home :)

Whizzer looks like a fun coaster but you're right, I do tend to go for more intense rides. Raging Bull looks pretty good, and at that height, pretty intense. Will check out Cyclops. My ideal coaster is one with a sizeable first drop at a steep angle (e.g., El Toro and I305) followed by any number of elements such as overbanked turns and abrupt directional changes.

^Trust me, what Cyclops doesn't have in height, it makes up for in brute force. And you have the added pleasure of a high lap bar, so you move far out of the seat (safely, of course). If intensity is your thing, have you done Voyage?

I went to SFNE this past summer alone and it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, you're alone. On the other hand, I got to ride Bizarro 5 times in 20 minutes because no one else was in the single-riders line. The wait for all the non-alone people was like 45 mins, so you get like 5x more value out of your ticket lol.

And as we've all learned, that's immoral.

It's only immoral if they pay extra. For some reason. I guess cutting is perfectly acceptable if you're alone and haven't paid more than the losers in the regular line.

New for 2013 - the Super Cheapo Flash Pass! It's cheap, but you have to sit next to a stranger, sit where we tell you, and your party will be broken up.

Jeph said: I should force myself to go to BeastBuzz. With such scary, hateful beings like Gonch, it'd be the ultimate test. ;-) If a situation unfolded where Gonch started spitting fireballs and everyone else there only spoke in memes and 1-line jokes at your expense, I'd be happy to meet up with you as a fail-safe, Travis.

No, that's a good plan. Look for the group who are high-fiving each other and shouting, "Good one!" after everything someone says. I can only assume that's the real life version of the "vote up."

Is there a "vote-down" feature in real life too? If there is, I think I'm screwed.

LostKause said:

One strange issue I am having is the awkward uncertainty of who I am going to hang out with at BeastBuzz. I have only met a few people on this site personally, and a few of us are Facebook friends, but I don't know how the hanging out dynamics are going to be at the event. I do feel a little anxiety about it. Is it going to be like going to a park alone?

If I cannot find anyone to go with me in August, I'll look for you. ;) Actually I might look for you anyway because I need a ride partner. Usually my dad likes to come along because he still loves the Kings Island environment, but cannot do the rides anymore.

I just hope Tech doesn't want to fist fight in the parking lot. :)

Edit: I mean Tek. :p

^Be careful who and where you say that too online. Might get your season pass revoked ;)

Carrie, I wish I could have voted that up twice.

Is bunky your real name?

Who is Tech?