Has any one here rode all the top 100 ranked coasters?

I get the urge to visit new parks every other year or so. It's getting harder and harder because I've been to every park within an unreasonable drive from Pittsburgh and I am not currently traveling for work at all. There's really only a few more in the US that I would really like to visit. Six Flags Over Georgia, Silver Dollar City, and Six Flags Magic Mountain (have a day planned in October.) Can't think of any others.

I don't consider myself someone who travels for coasters. I travel for leisure and adventure and try to plan for coasters and parks along the way. I've come to realize there are out of the way parks in the US that look great, that I'll likely never get to because it would be a coaster trip and not much else. And that's notbhow I like to travel.

We burned ourselves out with the coaster travel and, in hindsight, I have tons of respect for the stamina and enthusiasm of a Richard Bannister or even just any of you guys up around/over 1000 credits.

I recently noticed (and mentioned on Facebook) that I've been doing the enthusiast thing for 18 seasons now (2000-2017).

The first 9 years (2000-2008) I rode 302 new-to-me roller coasters. In the second 9 years (2009-2017) I've ridden just 16 new-to-me coasters.

It's twofold. The more you hit, the further you have to go to get new credits. And then the further you travel, the more you want to do things other than amusement parks. We just hit a wall with it all. My daughter had 284 credits by the time she turned 13. Even my kids were like, "Yeah, if we could do something besides roller coasters, that'd be great, Dad."

Even if we kept up the ridiculous pace of those first 9 years, I'd still only be around 700 credits. That's insane. I just don't have it in me.

And just for the record, I have 64 of the current CoasterBuzz Top 100.

The third-fold of the above is that as you get more credits, you have to go farther to find something new or interesting. I haven't been on any of the B&M wing riders, but having been on floorless coasters, X, and bunch of similar coasters, it's not something that I *need* to do right now. All the RMC rides coming out look great, but having lived in Fort Worth for 11 years, there's not much fundamentally different from a ride I've ridden 100 times.

We also don't do coaster-only trips anymore, if only because we have 3 small kids, but anytime we're near a park for work or pleasure, I try to sneak in a day or afternoon. On the plus side, having done Canada's Wonderland this summer, there aren't any 10+ credit parks in North America that I haven't been to so I don't have to commit large chunks of time to riding Boomerangs, SLC's, and other garbage.

Lord Gonchar said:

We burned ourselves out with the coaster travel and, in hindsight, I have tons of respect for the stamina and enthusiasm of a Richard Bannister or even just any of you guys up around/over 1000 credits.

For me the hobby has shifted away from pure credit runs towards experiencing interesting places. This year I've been to four new-to-me countries (Morocco, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Ukraine). I was able to tick off a bucket list item with the latter by visiting the Chernobyl exclusion zone:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155367500295915.1073741...b09127a3e7

Right now I'm in the midst of planning a run through Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. I might get ten coasters on that but I'll also see sights that I'd never have dreamed of visiting a few years ago. I'm also looking at a few places in Asia that'd be even further off the beaten track. Will I ride pathetic coasters in the process? Certainly. But that's no longer the primary motivation.

Im only at the 70/100 mark. I would love to aspire to ride more and one day I will. Right now Ive covered three different countries to ride and will hopefully be riding some in Europe for summer 2019. But as others have stated there is only so much time and money I can divest in the hunt of new thrills.

Did a fast count and I've done 68 which is way better than I expected.

I'm 34 now and my priorities have simply shifted. I like doing a couple of coaster trips a year but it's been a very long time I've gone long distance just to ride coasters I've never been on before. Was much easier to stay motivated when I was younger and giving up a weekend for roller coasters seemed like the most fun option.

Gonch's observations aside, my issue is just that riding more rides doesn't result in particularly new experiences. I'm sure that Fury 325 is amazing, and I know I'll get back to Carowinds eventually, but I doubt that it's so different from other coasters I've been on that I totally need to get there as soon as possible.

Well, I agree with that in a way. After all, it's unusual these days to see a new ride that doesn't include the typical elements, seats, track, and anything else that belong to it's particular manufacturer.

I'm not as much of a coaster enthusiast as I am an amusement park enthusiast. What excites me about traveling is that I might get to see a new park. I absolutely love studying and observing layout, look, landscaping, charm, and how they've incorporated rides into and around all of that. That's the new experience I actually crave.

I drove to Carowinds when Fury opened, but I was just as excited to visit a park I hadn't seen in a few years as I was to ride the new ride. The new coaster turned out to be one of my favorites, and it manages to incorporate the hallmarks of B&M in a most thrilling way. But that's not where I spent the majority of my day. I guess for me a new ride may serve as an impetus for a visit, but I'd still visit an amusement park if it had no coaster at all.

Last year I bought a season pass to Dollywood knowing that Lightning Rod was on the way. I didn't complain and try to get my money back, even though my first ride on the coaster didn't happen until November. I was still able to make several visits and enjoyed each one immensely in spite of knowing full well that the new ride wouldn't be available.

Mind you, I still keep a tally of rides I've ridden. But the real thrill for me is walking through the gate. I'm glad I'm not one of those enthusiasts who races for the newest coaster, buzzing past and absolutely ignoring every other thing the park has to offer. I see that a lot.

I've ridden 90 of the top 100. There are two I'll never get (BBW and Dania Beach's wooden) so my personal maximum is 98.

It's been a lot of fun to get on so many great coasters. With that said, I've always been a quality over quantity kind of guy. Upping my credit count by riding boomerangs/SLCs/Volares, etc. isn't worth it to me especially now that I know the unpleasantness that accompanies those rides. I remember ApolloAndy once said something to the effect of wanting to maximize the amount of fun he had, and that stuck with me. I've probably missed 50 different potential credits in my travels simply because I opted to get additional rides on better coasters. The tradeoff - to me - has been worth it.

I do keep track of the quantity of rides I'm missing from the good manufacturers. At this time I'm currently missing in the US & Canada:

• 4 B&Ms (Goliath at LaRonde, Patriot and Flight Deck at Great America, Medusa SFDK)
• 2 RMCs (the two in California)
• 2 GCIs (Goldstriker and Kentucky Rumbler)
• 3 Intamin launch/hypers (Ride of Steel - Darien Lake, California Screamin', Vertical Velocity SFDK)

Jeff said:

Gonch's observations aside, my issue is just that riding more rides doesn't result in particularly new experiences.

True if you're staying with America etc, but not even remotely true when you venture to places like Bangladesh. That's one of the reasons why I haven't been to the US this year and why I'm not currently planning to go next year either.

Well, I guess if I'm the closest *of those not missing any defunct rides* - I guess I should start a GoFu**Me account.

(*wink*)

Edit: Still a little disappointed no one picked up on the .38 Special joke....just because the music isn't good doesn't mean the joke wasn't funny. ;~P

Gary Dowdell said:

I remember ApolloAndy once said something to the effect of wanting to maximize the amount of fun he had,

See my sig. ;)

Richard Bannister said:

I've got 99 of them. Never did make it to LeSourdsville Lake.

You've actually got 98, since you later said you had not been to the USA this year, therefore you have not ridden Mystic Timbers at KI which is 16th and only opened this year.

I only noticed this since Mystic Timbers and Screachin' Eagle are the only two I haven't been on, so I am on 98 too (even though I haven't updated my track record on here in years).

I have been doing coasters since 2000, but this will be the first year I don't ride any. Not that I don't want to, but I have other commitments so can't travel. That being said, I find myself not enjoying theme park visits as much as I once did, although I still love riding coasters (well, good ones).

Grant said:

You've actually got 98, since you later said you had not been to the USA this year, therefore you have not ridden Mystic Timbers at KI which is 16th and only opened this year.

Whoops. Quite correct.

Slacker.

Traitor.

What can I say? Trying to make coastering great again!

It's the biased media. #FakeNews

I was surprised I got 69, as I am not as well-traveled as others out there. Plus, it's been 2 years since I've even been on a coaster.