What do your GP friends think of you?

When you go to a park with a group of the GP, what do they think of you when you can recite every stat from every coaster in the park. What do they think when your adrenaline rush gets out of control before riding a critically acclaimed coaster?
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Top 5: 1.MF
2.Raptor
3.Steel Force
4.Rock-n-rollercoaster
5.Talon

They get annoyed with me. And I'm just an enthusiast-lite, I can't recite statistics and rattle off jargon. I just really like going fast over hills and stuff. I know they're sick of me now, I can't stop daydreaming about opening day at SFGAm.

They think its a little weird, but I don't act too much of an enthusiast around them. If I start rattling off stats, they either think I'm weird or they don't really care, so I try not to give too much info about the rides. A few times they asked me a few stats on some rides, but I tried not to give too much info on my own.
As far as the adrenaline rush, I don't show that too much, except I rush for the first few rides in the day and am impatient with other slow people. The GP doesn't understand that if it takes 5 more minutes to get to a ride (when the park first opens), that could mean 10-20 minutes delay in actually riding the ride. If a lot of people get to the ride in those precious 5 minutes, you can be waiting a while.
Zimm
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www.themeparkbrochures.com - Theme Park Brochures and Maps

*** This post was edited by Zimm on 1/22/2002. ***

What's GP stand for?

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dream it, draw it, Build it on a 2X4!

Zimm, I agree with you about being impatient. Whenever I go to parks, the people I'm with want to use the bathroom as soon as they pass through the gates. Then they want to walk around and check the place out, and then they want to study the map and see where to go, and then they want to grab a snack, etc. Meanwhile, the lines have gone from nothing to hours long.

I am also impatient with people who don't want to wait in line. I have been at parks with GP who don't want to wait to do anything. They'd rather walk around the park all day and not ride anything than wait an hour for a ride. It's ridiculous.

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You can't spell "dishonorable" without "honorable."

My friends think I'm pretty cool, riding all these coasters and knowing who designed what ride. They're facinated by the fact that I can send them e-mails of coaster construction and park announcements. Ask me what I think of myself though, I think my hobby is dorky at best. Just can't help myself. ;)
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"Conviction is a luxury for those who sit on the sidelines"-A Beautiful Mind(best film of 2001)

most people think i'm weird, or a geek. i think anybody that is obsessed with anything is kinda geeky. i am a music freak and the people at those conventions are really strange.

Well actually i talk in thier language. I don't talk about who designed and the degree of the drop and such. Actually when we are in line for a ride i normally don't even talk about the coaster at all. I just talk about random topics to pass the time

When not at parks, one word comes to mind: freak. They've all come to know and love me as the coaster freak. But, suprisingly, my friends absolutely love going to parks with me. They think its so cool that I know everyone and everything. It's really amusing to go with friends that don't know much about coasters...by the end of the day I have them spouting off terms like no other.

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Kara
403 Laps

I would refer to my wife lovingly as a member of the GP, and she never ceases to be amazed at my love, and knowledge of coasters. I am not, by any means, a coaster geek. I am not a member of ACE (not a bad thing, I just don't have much need for it here in Seattle), and I don't spend my day perusing RCDB online, nor do I go to conventions. I do, however, love the ride, and will talk all day about the coasters I love. Ask me about Ghostrider, and I DO know the stats. Same for most of the Japanese coasters. My wife just shakes her head in amazement, and says something like "you could be on Beat the Geeks as the special geek on coasters." And I am not THAT bad.:)
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Check out my updated site!

nitro230ft said:
What's GP stand for?

Nitro - GP stands for "General Public." There is always a debate on who is in the GP and who isn't. Its basically all the people that go to the parks but aren't necessarily enthusiasts like a lot of us are. They go to the parks but its not a huge passion or anything like that.
Zimm
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Theme Park Brochures and Maps

Actually, even enthusiasts are GP. Yes, we are a higher level of GP. The park does not know you therefore GP. Employees of parks are not GP even if they dont like coasters.

But back to topic at hand, my friends think I am crazy. Since I am always talking about coasters.

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I have an opinion on the GP too. I think they can get really, really annoying at times. For example, someone who's hometown park is Hershey, (it is mine), tries to tell me that Great Bear is the greatest coaster in the world. And another thing that bothers me a bit is when they put "the" before everything. The Raptor, The Millenium Force. Does anyone else get annoyed by the GP at times?
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Top 5: 1.MF
2.Raptor
3.Steel Force
4.Rock-n-rollercoaster
5.Talon

My freinds and family all look at me funny when i tell them i travel to ride difrent coasters. Some of them acutaly understand me and for some it gos in one ear and out the other.But i acutaly have a cusin who has been in the coast gaurd for awhile now and he stops at amusments parks around the world when he travels around.

I don't get annoyed by the GP. Except when my family members insist on calling it Magnum Force. Their opinions may not be as well-informed as those of a hard-core enthusiast, but they are opinions nonetheless and are therefore subjective. As an enthusiast-lite, however, I know to keep my mouth shut when I don't know what I'm talking about.

They are used to it, plus they acknowledge the fact that I do a lot more than just ride rides. As an artist I contribute to the park world any way I can.....whether it's a model for a collector or drawings to help someone with a school project. For those that don't understand my "obsession" with a pile of steel, I simply ask them what trips their trigger with sports, gambling, tv, and anything else people usually do in their spare time. There are a lot of things out there that do nothing for society (not necessarily the things mentioned), so I am proud to be a part of something that promotes thrills, relaxation and togetherness. I will agree that it is difficult to talk with those that don't do the park scene religiously, but then it makes for a better conversation sometimes since you can expose them to great places like the smaller parks we never hear of (*cough*Conneaut Lake, Lake Winnie, Idlewild*cough*).
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Don't.....look.....back! The Headless Horseman awaits you in 2002!
Model coasters and rides

They usally cant stand me or I cant stand them. They tell me all these "Facts" about coasters like Nitro is the tallest in the world and they dont like it because "it doesnt have loops". I know what rides are good / bad and when they want to wait 1/2 an hour for a dumb flat ride i usually act like it hurts reall bad and say trust me and we skip it. Oh yeah and my friends also put the in front of everything, the nitro, the medusa.
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3...2...1 launch

*** This post was edited by B&R-The Chiller on 1/22/2002. ***

I do my best to try not to rattle on and on about stats about our coasters but when the topic of coasters comes up in a conversation I'll talk about them and work in a cuple of stats. While me and my friends are going up the lift on Top Gun I tend to give a cuple of stats.
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When will they get rid of the grizzly

I love the GPers that go to the park and the only line they get in all day is for the Lemon Chill (TM). Only problem with that is when I really need the "inside scoop"...
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

nasai said:
My wife just shakes her head in amazement, and says something like "you could be on Beat the Geeks as the special geek on coasters." And I am not THAT bad.
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Check out my updated site!

Where IS the coaster geek?? :)
I contain myself at school and don't talk too much about coasters, but if someone challenges me or thinks they know more than me, they are in for a treat. All of my friends know me as a coaster freak, but they probably already knew me as a "freak"!!
Whenever I go to a park my dad lets me control the day for all of the right reasons. He is glad that we always get to the shorter lines. There ARE some advantages to being a "coaster freak" after all!
It's harder with a group of your peers, because you shouldn't boss them around. Just have fun with coasters, that is what they are there for!
Den, I totally agree with you about bathroom breaks.

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"This feels like walking into pins and needles. Nice to Know You.
Goodbye."-Incubus