How do you act toward the GP?

Hey Ride of Steel - Did you notice you started your this based on other people's opinion? They're not GP opinions, just GP terms. They never said anything remotley stupid about the coasters there. Actually, their opinions of the rides were close to ours...

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LeWiS

The Most Widely used "Gpism" Is when they ask if a woodie has any loops. Which can only be said yes to for one coaster.

I think that is hilarious. I can't wait in line for a non-looping coaster without hearing "does this one go up-side-down?" The extreme fear of being flipped up-side-down for less than a second.

If there is anything I hear a LOT about, I hear a lot of rumors here and there. "Oh and did you hear one guy died on Batman because you get a choice to ride with or without a seat and he chose without and he fell out." No joke, I heard that in line for the Whizzer. And of course there's the rumor all over the internet "Magnum is sinking" but I'm sure you all have heard that to the point of annoyance so I'll shut up now.

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The below statement is true.
The above statement is false.

I used to blab to my friends about it all the time, until one day I was at Knoebels.

There was this nice guy there trying to hit on a couple of girls using his knowledge of coasters.

It made me shudder, especially since I noticed all of the errors he made.

I have never had the gall to correct a park guest. I don't like visiting the trash facilities head first that much:).

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How many rides must a man go on, before you may call him a fan?

One of my best friends the other day told someone else that the last time he was at Cedar Point, MF was shut down because they couldn't get it below 115 mph. It's the second time I've heard him tell this story to someone. But I'm not a jerk, so I didn't say anything.

It makes me wonder, though, how a normally extremely intelligent person can look at MF and think that its top speed can randomly vary up to 22 mph.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Generally, I don't like people. So I try not to pay attention to their little conversations. I know I would only get angry.

I can only remember three times when I corrected GP and all three times were in line for Xcelerator. Twice I had people tell me "Look how much those towers shake, that's not safe!" and of course I told them "If it doesn't bend, it'll break." The other time, some guys were discussing how the brakes worked and they seemed a bit confused, so I explained it to them. They seemed to understand what I was saying, and appreciated that I explained it to them because they said they really didn't have a clue how it worked and they were just guessing.

*** This post was edited by jeskola on 11/6/2002. ***

Like most everyone else, I get a kick out of listening to people talk and hear what their perceptions of height/speed are for a coaster. Just makes me giggle sometimes.

I will admit I've "butted in" to other conversations a couple times, but only when I hear someone ask a question that I can answer with certainty. Don't want to come off as TOO much of a geek (I do that in plenty of other ways ;)

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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com

It never ceases to amaze me that some people have no problem going 93 MPH on a coaster, ala MF, but the second a coaster 'goes upside down', they turn to jello. I guess it is just one of those things.

If they say something I don't like, I reach into their pants and pull their underwear up and over their head.

I have corrected people in the past, but only in two circumstances:

a) when they are in a conversation with me, or;

b) when they are perpetrating nasty rumors that should not be spread.

An example of the latter is: last year, waiting for the elevator at the Stratosphere, I heard a woman and her friend talking about coasters. The woman said she doesn't ride them because a co-worker of hers (who was a "large woman") rode a ride at PKI and fell out in the loop, and the train ran over her and killed her.

I interrupted and said politely that I think she's mistaken and that no person has ever died on a roller coaster at PKI. She insisted, but later admitted that she didn't really know the co-worker who had "died," she just heard it from a friend.

Despite that, she still would not believe me. I tried to tell her that maybe she was thinking about the Lightning Loops accident, and I told her about Black Sunday at PKI, where 3 people died, but not on roller coasters. I explained that I grew up near PKI, read the Cincinnati Enquirer every day and would know if something like that happened. She just wouldn't listen, though.

So anyhoo, I think in a case like that, it's worth butting in. But if it's just a bunch of teens bragging to each other, I don't bother.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

That gets me sometimes also. They are utterly convinced of a rumor they heard from their cousin's baby momma's best friend. There was this muchacha in front me at Westchester county fair who just knew that Doppel Looping was taller than Scream Machine even though she has never been to Great Adventure.

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I, am nobody, and nobody is pefect!

I avoid them at all cost, so I don't get Cooties.

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sonic life

*** This post was edited by chris on 11/6/2002. ***

First off, I get so sick of hearing about how "We're all GP" every time a conversation like this comes up. GP in coaster enthusiast terms usually just refers to a non-enthusiast, it's short hand, and I wish people would learn to deal with it.

Secondly, I hardly ever make a point of getting in conversations with non-enthusiasts inside parks unless they initiate it, the last thing someone wants is some know-it-all bastard butting into his conversation with some inane fact that they got wrong.

But I'm happy to talk with people who initiate. For example, I've had people ask me about coaster shirts I'm wearing like my Steel Phantom commemorative, and I'm more than happy to fill people in about Kennywood, the SP, and all that.

Sometimes I'll get involved in "what's being built" convos with people at the end of the season, but I always make it clear that anything I'm passing along is just internet rumours, nothing more, nothing less.

I never get into it with people over stats, or any of that rot. Does it really matter if everyone doesn't know that Magnum is 205 but only drops 194? Not in my opinion.

I suppose I'm a jackass. If I hear someone ask a roller coaster question, I will answer it, especially if one of their companions answers it wrong. I just don't like people to believe something that isn't true. I won't just butt in ramdomly, if I just hear an odd conversation on coasters. I will butt in, though, if I hear anything about a death on a ride, or a ride being un-safe. Comments that undermine the general feeling that these things are safe make me mad.

People in my school know that i am really into coasters, so they come up and talk to me about coasters. If they get something small wrong, like height, i don't really care.

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millenium force is 310 feet high and 80 degrees, hold on, im getting veclemt, talk amongst yourself, i'll give you a topic, Kings Island is neither the kings nor an island discuss

People were talking about it today actually in my class..

Get this.. A group decided that..

CP sucks.. Yes its true! Some GP actaully hate CP! lol! I told them that its alright, but there are much much better parks out there, like Hershey Park for example. One kid who was in the group who been there agreed. The people who been to PKI also said that it wasnt that great either at all. One person said the Beast and SOB sucked badly.

So, not all GP love CP and PKI ;)

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Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Online

MagnumForce said:

Hate to tell ya but we are all the GP.
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Nuh-uh!

I sometimes let little rollercoaster factoids "slip out" while I am at the park with "non-enthusiast" friends - and everyone either thinks I am: 1.) a freak; 2.) a genius; or 3.) hysterical.

I don't correct anyone, either, unless I am asked so to do: There's a fine line between being helpful and being irritating. I know - my toes are usually on this line.

I usually wait for the answer and if it's wrong I jump in front of them and laugh melodramatically right in their face while pointing. Then I call them an idiot and correct them making them feel small and insignificant.

www.blackpeopleloveus.com

I'm basically like most of you here.

I used to butt in a lot but now I've gotten over myself and just stay out of it and listen for self enjoyment. I remember one time in line for Chaos (Fall '01), which is right next to B:DK was like "Yep, they're building a standup roller coaster next year," and I was like thinking like Seinfeld's Elaine on the subway "NO NO NO, YOU'RE WRONG, HA HA HA!!!" I ended up keeping everything to myself. ;)

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SFNE Central- Online Six Flags New England Resource
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Devoted Intamin Lover for Life!