GP or Enthusiast

When does somebody become an enthusiast? Would you say as soon they get excited about coasters and start to look into them or would somebody have to start knowing lots of stuff like who made what or when this was made?  Also do you think that the GP get as excited about a new ride as enthusiasts?
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Scream your coaster opinions and ideas! Its the ThemeParkBigShot!!!

All enthusiasts are GP, but not all GP are enthusiasts.

Well put Mamoosh!  Even if you're an enthusiast, you're just another guest as far as parks are concerned.

Well, some people who call themselves enthusiasts should have another name. Those people never have anything nice to say, rip rides before they have ridden them or been built, complain if a park doesn't get a certain ride(cough,PKI,cough), spends their whole time at a park complaining about the park and talking about how a certian park is so much better.
Hey, Mamosh you came up with the term anticipointment maybe we can come with a term for these people
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Barry Short
(who wants a percentage of the gross not the net)

*** This post was edited by Barry Short on 1/8/2002. ***

Barry - someone else already has:  enthusiasses. 

Sorry, I totally forgot about that.
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Barry Short
(who wants a percentage of the gross not the net)

I feel there are many types of enthusaists.  There's the Local enth. and the All-around enthusiasts.

Local is the type who know alot about their hometown park and the immediate surrounding parks.

All-around enthusaists have a well rounded knowledge of coasters in the USA and the world and could go on and on about them.

I consider myself to be a big-time enthusaist.  I love coasters and the amusement industry.  I could talk anyone's face off if they wanted me to.

Coasterman Mike

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Total rides on Phantom's Revenge: 49
Total rides on Pittfall: 255
Total rides on Superman:UE : 633

The title has been over-used so much it's become boring. "Enthusiast" and "GP" have become buzz words, used to place people in certain groups. What if you don't fit either?
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"Conviction is a luxury for those who sit on the sidelines"-A Beautiful Mind(best film of 2001)

I'm getting real tired of people using "GP" too much.  If you're in the park, you're the "general public."  Nothing more, nothing less.

I think Intamin Fan says it best in his signature, "Unless you have a parking space with your name on it, your still part of the GP".
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Gravity is your friend!

I second that!  I loved it too.

This is more of a personal thing, but I didn't consider myself an enthusiast until I was willing to try any coaster or ride.

I become an enthusiast of rides long before I was willing to ride all of them... :)

As for enthusiasts being part of the GP, we are, but the idea is that we are a little more informed than the average parkgoer.

Secondly, anyone who visits a park and likes a ride can be an enthusiast, but at that point its more of a casual thing.  When you start devoting lots of time and energy into the hobby, you take a step above the average parkgoer, and become what we think of as an enthusiast.

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Xcelerator-
0-82 in 2.3 seconds! =Wow!

I don't consider myself an enthusiast.  Its more of a personal system that I have.  I figure until I hit 100 different coasters I'm just an opinionated coaster fan ;)

However, if you want to label yourself an enthusiast by whatever system you want, more power to you. 

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Just wait till next year!

I personally didn't consider myself an enthusiast until I started making regular trips to odd locales with the primary goal being coaster riding.

Enthusiasts tend to be better informed about parks throughout the country (and the world for that matter) than GP and also tend to be more likely to plan vacations that are centred on coaster riding. Obviously this definition isn't fair to our younger members but it works pretty well for adults.

Enthusiasts usually don't think much of taking a trip to the NE to ride SROS and BD while most GP, even coaster loving GP, usually think we're crazy devoting so much time, energy and fundage into going to new parks and riding new rides. GP tend to be content with just their local park or parks...they like the rides there and don't feel the need to try different ones constantly.

Enthusiasm is a bit of a bug that just bites you some days...GP don't suddenly get the urge to take the day off of work and drive 500 miles to ride the new Hyper in Pennsylvania while Enthusiasts do.

GP don't generally sit in their cubicle wishing they were on Magnum.

GP don't generally spend the off-season building coasters out of K'nex and playing RCT.

Finally, GP tend to be more numbers oriented, they think in concrete terms (biggest is best, woodies are all the same) while Enthusiasts are much more likely to look for the complete package and are less likely to be wooed by stats alone.
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* The Legend @ HW
* Superman: Ride of Steel @ SFNE
* Mondial Top Scan*** This post was edited by Colin W. on 1/9/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by Colin W. on 1/9/2002. ***

What's so stupid about asking about the speed of MF?

I do not really consider myself an Enthusiast, Sure I know the stats, can pretty much tell you the name of the coaster simply by seeing a pic, and rattle of stats, and physics, but I do not have the snotty "I am better than thou" attitude that many enthusiasts have....

Coaster enthusiast = enthusiastic about coasters, i guess more so then the average Joe.  That's all there is to it.  Its not like its a secret club.
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"When I come to a town I would love to see a children’s festival and children’s choirs singing my songs - maybe create a children’s day! A Holiday! With parades and songs - oh, I would love that!" - I swear to god its a Michael Jackson quote

Ravenguy98 - I agree.  Being a coaster enthusiast should not come with any baggage.  Yes, some enthusiasts have an attitude, but you'll find people like that in any large group.  I don't feel they represent the majority. 

Justin - some people with "holier than thou" attitudes are coaster enthusiasts, but not all coaster enthusiasts have a "holier than thou" attitude.  Its certainly OK if you don't consider yourself an enthusiast but you SHOULD be able to call yourself one without any negative implications.

Matthew - stepping off my soad box.

Heh, coaster enthusiasts are very similar to Star Wars groups, or Trekkies, or comic book collectors and people like that.  You are always going to find Simpsons-esque "Comic Book Store Guys" (Worst Coaster Ever!) in any group you enter into.  Also, a lot of us have very strong personal connections with some rides, so we are passionate about defending them.  I think as long as everybody tries to not take things to seriously all the time, there really isn't a problem.  I mean, if you get your feelings hurt because your homepark is SFNE, and I say that i think the management at SFNE is crap, then you had it coming anyways, you know?  Just makes me wonder what those sort of people are like in real life.  :) 

Moral of story:  Lets all get in a van and go down to IOA!  Woo!

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"When I come to a town I would love to see a children’s festival and children’s choirs singing my songs - maybe create a children’s day! A Holiday! With parades and songs - oh, I would love that!" - I swear to god its a Michael Jackson quote

I have always said what Mamoosh and MisterX said... all GP may not be "Enthusiasts", but all Enthusiasts are GP.  When we visit a park, as far as the park is concerned, we are a visitor... the general public.

Hate to say it, but with the stories that I read on the web and what I see at parks, there is a certain coaster snobbery that seems to go along with many who call themselves "enthusiasts".  Granted, not all, not most, but the ones that make the most noise seem to fall into this category, and they are the ones you take notice too.  Also, the "GP" term is thrown around and used as a disparaging term to describe anyone who does not measure up to their own defined level of expertise.

I swear, just to be a rebel-bad ***, I feel like creating a T-shirt to wear at the parks that says something like "GP and Proud!"

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."