What parks or coasters are on your bucket list?

I've been fortunate enough to have visited all four of those parks. Very nice bucket list you have there.

Bobbie1951 said:

Definitely Carowinds, not only for the new giga but for Intimidator, as I'm baffled as to why Intimidator is ranked higher than I-305, one of my all-time favorites.

The main reason for me to vote I305 lower is because i would never vote a coaster with crappy restraints high on the list, and i see no reason for it to have otsr when it doesn't invert through the whole course. I also voted skyrush low on the list because those are the worst restraints on a coaster since Viper at gradv.

I dug through my Google drive last night and managed to find my Park Bucket List i made last year. While this is more of a dream list, i ended up with 25 of best/classic parks in North America that i wanted to hit and hope to make a stop at all in my lifetime. My top 2 that i have never been to are probably Magic Mountain and Great Adventure.

For parks:

• Dollywood
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• Canada's Wonderland
• Holiday World
• Thorpe Park

For coasters:

• Lightning Run
• Nemesis
• Leviathan
• Wild Eagle
• The Voyage
• Iron Rattler

The only places really left on my list are the California parks, particularly Magic Mountain and the boardwalk parks (Santa Cruz, etc.). I still enjoy long-distance trips and still plan routes around parks, but as others have said, there's definitely more to do when traveling; I'm looking forward to touring the west coast (only been once as a kid) just as much if not more.

As funny as it may sound, Carowinds and California's Great America are the two parks I want to visit the most currently, while they still have their B&M StandUps. There are also I-305, Flight Deck, and Afterburn between the two of them as added incentive.

I-305 is at Kings Dominion. I assume you mean Numberless Intimidator. :)

Indeed. And I forgot about the (numbered) Fury for 2015.

gamerguy said:

Bobbie1951 said:

Definitely Carowinds, not only for the new giga but for Intimidator, as I'm baffled as to why Intimidator is ranked higher than I-305, one of my all-time favorites.

The main reason for me to vote I305 lower is because i would never vote a coaster with crappy restraints high on the list, and i see no reason for it to have otsr when it doesn't invert through the whole course. I also voted skyrush low on the list because those are the worst restraints on a coaster since Viper at gradv.

Good point about I-305. The one thing I didn't like about it is the restraints and I totally agree that otsr's are unnecessary on that ride. Not only unnecessary but cumbersome; I actually had to have the ride ops help me to get out of them. Other than that, though, I absolutely love this coaster. As to Skyrush, it's in my top 5 and I wonder what could possibly be done to make the restraints - which are obviously going to have to be tight on such an extreme ride - more comfortable.

Don't the restraints on I305 just pull down over your head and have a buckle front and center? Like most other OTSRs?

I'll never get the animosity toward I305's restraints. I never had an issue with the old ones, though I can understand why they may have caused a headbang or two per ride...but the new ones are absolutely fine.

I'm interested in the comments from Jeff and Gonch on this one.

I'm one of the worst offenders in the enthusiast community when it comes to racking up obscure credits. In twelve years of travelling I've clocked up 2100 credits in over fifty countries.

Yet – I'm finding that my priorities have shifted somewhat too. These days I'd much rather take the time to relax and enjoy myself rather than run around incessantly. I'm doing a two week trip in the very near future that will have about eight new credits in it for me at the outside, yet I'm looking forward to that as much as any trip I've done in the last few years.

Sure, there are new rides that I'd like to ride. I'll probably get to a lot of them at some stage, but I'm really not in any rush any more.

To answer the question from the original poster, I've hit everything on my bucket list that's still operational. Some of the rides on it were:

- Anaconda / Gold Reef City
- Atlantis Adventure / Lotte World
- Blue Flash / John Ivers
- Cyclone / Nicco Park
- Eagle Fortress / Everland
- Fujiyama / Fuji-Q Highland
- Gravity Max / Lihpao Land
- Millennium Force / Cedar Point
- Olympia Looping / German Fairs
- Steel Dragon 2000 / Nagashima Spa Land

I'm raging that I never got to Screechin' Eagle at LeSourdsville – I had the option to go back in 2002 but chose Kings Island instead (oops).

Similarly, I'd have liked to have ridden Drachen Fire (I'm sure it sucked, but I'd have liked to have tried it...)

I almost mentioned you, Richard.

Clearly, there are enthusiasts like yourself that have the stamina to ride the world.

Then again, maybe it's about length of time spent and not the sheer number of rides taken?

You say it took you twelve years and you're now also getting to the point that you've slowed it down. That's interesting to me because it was at about the 10/12 year point that I kind of went, "I think I've done enough of this that I don't need to make it a priority any more."

Which is making suspect it's more of a time limit than an experience limit that kicks in....

For some of us at least - I have no explanation for people that have been riding coasters for decades. And it doesn't appear that there are many (any?) 2nd generation enthusiasts out there. That's still an interesting point to look at to me - will the children of enthusiasts continue on or burn out in the same way?

Is it weird that I consider it a small victory that I have one (and probably only one) credit Richard doesn't?

Seems like there's a "mellowing" process for many of us who enjoy coasters; over the years the quest for quantity becomes more about quality of experiences, from what many here have been saying.

Lord Gonchar said:

Which is making suspect it's more of a time limit than an experience limit that kicks in....

It's certainly possible.

It's worth noting that I'm not fed up with coasters. There are places I still want to explore, and I will be doing at least a few obscure and not-very-good credits this year - but that's as much about visiting the location as going to the parks.

The pace has definitely slowed, however. I'm no longer interested in running around like mad to get every new credit as quickly as possible. I could spend months in China racking up Jungle Mouse credits if I wanted to, but I'm just not motivated to do that.

Vater said:

Is it weird that I consider it a small victory that I have one (and probably only one) credit Richard doesn't?

My girlfriend never stops reminding me that she's ridden Drachen Fire. Apparently it cured her headaches.

So i need to go as many places and hit as many rides as i want in the next 10 years? I guess if you're telling me i have to....

I have slowed down while at the few parks I visit every year, but that's because I am older. I don't have the energy that I used to have. I'm still just as excited as ever about roller coasters and amusement parks though.

As far as number of new coasters per year goes, I haven't really cared about traveling far from home. If the big new ride is within a day's drive, I'll try to go. I don't rate my self-worth on how many different coasters I have been on.

About new "junior enthusiasts" go, I know a boy who is about 13 or 14 whose family befriended me over the years because of our interest in parks. He has gotten his mom and big brother into the hobby as well. I might meet them at Carowinds this year to ride Fury.

I don't go to a lot of events, but the few I have been to, I don't see a lot of kids. I find it very interesting that it's possible that this hobby could die out with our generation. I mean, a lot of people go to amusement parks, but do they think about it every day like me?

I had slight resurgences in interest with my current and previous romantic relationships. When I started dating Cath in 2006, she was terrified of all coasters. I took her on Mine Ride at Cedar Point and she cried the entire way. By the end of that summer, she wanted to go to every park we could reach. When Diana and I started dating, we did a lot of parks as well, I guess because I wanted to show her these cool places I had been previously.

So maybe there is a time window, but people can rope you back in when you don't expect it.

Kids did that for me (or at least one of my kids). I went to Cedar Point as a kid once per year. We went to Kings Island every couple of years. We went to Disney World a couple of times (last time being when Epcot was new) and another park here or there. Never any marathoning or any coaster events. Would have loved to do both but never had the opportunity.

Then I start taking my son to Cedar Point and he becomes an enthusiast from his first coaster ride. Get season passes to CP for the first time which later become Platinum Passes. Start attending coaster events. Power riding and marathoning every coaster we can. Now we look for amusement parks along the way or near vacation spots and spend a day or two there.

Wife and daughter are not enthusiasts. My only trip inside the gates to CP last year was spent with my daughter who maxes out on Mine Ride and Iron Dragon. Had a great time.

Will the coaster side trips on vacations and coaster events continue once my son no longer lives at home? Not sure. There is no one in my circle of friends who has any interest in amusement parks/coasters. Some of them think I am crazy. Maybe I will have to wait until grandkids. LOL

My bucket list is rather long. Most SF parks, as I haven't been to any, both Busch Gardens, Dorney, Carowinds (may be happening in March) Kings Dominion, and Knott's for the U.S. As for international parks, Alton Towers and Europa. I have a friend that lives in Switzerland that was an exchange student here a few years ago, Europa is his home park, so I'm hoping to get there with him some day.