Kings Island 2020

Or! They’re enthusiasts that actually like to compare as part of the fun?

Listen I’m not complaining about Orion and will make my way up next year for it. And only the business people know why they make the decisions they make.

Having said that, isn’t it pretty standard for people to want *more* of something they like? I definitely prefer Fury to Leviathan and part of that is the length. They’re both fun, but Fury is better. It’s longer and higher quality.

And even though SD2K is the longest, and I really did like it, it does lack a bit in quality compared to 325. I still probably like it better than Leviathan.

So as enthusiasts, of course we’re gonna want more of length and quality. Some people take it to the extreme, but not usually on this forum. It’s one thing when all a person does Is complain and compare, but I’ve definitely said a coaster was better because there was more amazingness to it. And I’ve far from forgotten how to have fun.

Huh. I was always told length didn’t matter.

Well, let's get to nitpicking Orion's girth then.

Tekwardo said:

So as enthusiasts, of course we’re gonna want more of length and quality.

Therein lies the heart of the issue; Orion wasn't built for coaster enthusiasts. Neither was Banshee (#22) Mystic Timbers (#23), Leviathan (#11) or Fury (#2). The community is comparing things that have no relation to one another outside of the community. Kings Island will likely have the best financial year they've ever had next year. The park is revered in the market and they have one of the largest season pass holder bases in North America. Does anything else really matter? The lack of perspective is a really unflattering characteristic of the coaster community as a whole.

It's not about length or girth, it's how much you like to ride it.

Seriously though, I've been at this for two decades now. If anything can be labeled consistent, besides the weird entitlement and bitching on the part of enthusiasts, it's that they're almost always wrong about rides before they've been on them.

"Something something motion of the ocean," but that's the wrong park.

I seem to be the only person in all of Coasterdom who thinks that Orion looks amazing. It's tall, fast, has great elements, and best of all, only 3.5 hours from my house, what's not to love?

EDIT: "What's not to love?" I'm not renewing my Platinum Pass next year because, well, Cedar Point is my home park.

bigboy said:

Since you’re splitting hairs like that, I casually compared videos of Orion and Fury 325. I believe that was the consensus ride that enthusiasses felt like Orion should match or best.

Yeah, they're suprisingly similar. At the very least if that last little moment at the end where Fury makes one more move after Orion hits the brakes is the decider, then...well, I don't know what to tell you. Flat out, it's a bull**** complaint and exactly the stuff that makes me sheepishly hang my head and mumble "coaster dork" when people ask what I'm into. It's not a position that's going to gain any traction with the CoasterBuzz crowd...or anyone with any perspective whatsoever.

Fun said:

Therein lies the heart of the issue...The community is comparing things that have no relation to one another outside of the community.

Yes they are...on a forum where it’s completely relevant. I’ve not seen anyone here say anything out of line as far as the coaster length goes. Would it be a better coaster for those of us in the hobby if it’s high quality and longer? Abosoeffingluely.

No one here is making claims that it will do anything but be successful. We’re enthusiasts saying “okay, but it could probably be better based off of a similar coaster that is longer and higher regarded than its shorter brethren”.

Or is that still an acceptable opinion to express in the community?

This is coasterbuzz. We don’t tend to get a lot of “Park X is going to go bankrupt because Roller Coaster 1 isn’t good because it’s too short” around here.

No one is telling you whether your opinion is acceptable; I'm making the argument that the opinions of coaster enthusiasts are largely irrelevant, and to Gonch's point, frequently contribute to a negative outward perception of the group.

I understand that opinions stated here aren’t relevant in the world at large. You’re the person that brought that up. In an enthusiast community, you’re tlling people who know their opinions AS STATED ON A COASTER FORUM don’t matter outside of here, not me.

No one in this thread that I saw was complaining much other than to say ‘it’s kind of short (in context:for what it is as compare to some other similar coasters).

And that’s a valid statement. No one here was trying to make an an argument that the ride won’t be popular outside of enthusiast communities (or in this community from what I see), and certainly not that the park mgt should listen to us. You seem to have brought that up out of context when others were talking within the confines of an established enthusiast community, making a counter argument to no one.

And true to this forum, now we're nitpicking about what we're nitpicking about. It's like nitpicking inception.

Lord Gonchar said:

...and exactly the stuff that makes me sheepishly hang my head and mumble "coaster dork" when people ask what I'm into.

I don't understand why saying that you are a coaster dork would make you hand your head in shame. Unless they are coaster dorks as well, or unless you start bringing up the bull**** complaints, how would they know the nitpicking crap that some enthusiasts do? My experience is that people get really excited when I tell them that I am a coaster guy and they like to talk about different coasters.

Maybe it is because I don't tell them they are dumb asses because they like coaster A? Maybe I am just a normal dork as compared to the rest of you all:)

It doesn't matter if they know. I do.

And yes, I find the "stereotypical" enthusiast behavior embarassing to be associated with. Thankfully, so does most of the regular crowd here which is why it will get shot down pretty quickly on the forums. I've spent my past nearly 20 years of online coaster enthusiasm here almost exclusively and established friendships that go beyond "rollie coasters is fun!" because we tend to share a mentality in that regard.

There's the standard forum response. The standard Gonch response goes something like this:

*facepalm*

Come on, you know what I'm getting at.

But if you are not "one of them" they why are you ashamed? I know that you really do not give a crap about what others think when they go off on the "it's 3 feet too short to be a good ride". I figure if people want to complain then let them. - just don't get caught up in it.

Or is it that the people that talk to me about coasters don't know the baggage like gravy and patches and jackets and buffets and all of that non-sense. Maybe the stereotypes really do not exist outside of this site (and the other coaster sites)?

I get it. I grew up with being associated with comic book nerds (before Kevin Smith made it cool...or did he?) since my dad was a career illustrator for Marvel, DC, and others. The comic book nerd stereotype is practically the same as the coaster dork stereotype. When I accompanied my dad at conventions, the conversations I overheard from people in line waiting to get autographed drawings make me cringe, usually far worse than most cringe-worthy debates on here. There's a reason Comic Book Guy exists on the Simpsons. It's a spot-on representation of "that guy".

Don't be that guy.

I like the "enthusiasts" that I've hung out with consistently over the years, but if I'm being honest, it's a pretty narrow scope of people, and they're the opposite of the stereotype. They're generally multi-dimensional, have other hobbies, and most importantly, have a fundamental understanding of how the world works. The stereotypes are none of those things, and I might go as far as to say they're the types who post on coaster forums (and now Facebook) the most. Except here, because apparently we're legendarily inhospitable to "those people."

But mostly, they're just no fun to be around.

Jeff said:

legendarily inhospitable

The fact that that tagline isn't emblazoned on the header of every last page on this website is a shame. A damn shame.

Shades said:

Or is it that the people that talk to me about coasters don't know the baggage like gravy and patches and jackets and buffets and all of that non-sense. Maybe the stereotypes really do not exist outside of this site (and the other coaster sites)?

Or maybe you're just way ovethinking a thiny veiled insult with, ironically, stereotypical CoasterBuzz forum pedantry.

Maybe I'm not thinking at all because I still do not see the insult. Oh well. Good to be oblivious sometimes.

I find it insulting that you do not see the insult.