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When I first arrive at a park ...

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Which one describes your plan of attack when you arrive at a park that is new to you?

When I first arrive at a new park, most often I ...

A. Duh -- I'm an enthusiast: I head straight to the headline attraction at the park. Gotta get in as many rides as possible, so why not start right away, before the hordes arrive?

B. I research in advance which ride has the slowest operations and therefore usually has the longest line. Regardless of how good it is, I head there to get it done before the crowds arrive.

C. I keep in mind the ride that has the biggest reputation for breaking down and I head to that one first. Better safe than sorry.

D. OK, maybe I'm a little OCD, but I always make my way around a park methodically in a clockwise/counter-clockwise(anti-clockwise) pattern. I just find it efficient and satisfying, and that way I know I won't miss anything I want to ride.

E. I know it's a little risky, but I often save the very best ride or two for the afternoon or evening. That way I have the sense of building up to something, and the day doesn't feel anti-climactic and haphazard.

F. I head straight to the back of the park and make my way forward from there. This is the opposite of what most people do, and I'm just smart like that.

G. I consult my personal astrologer who maps out the most fortuitous route for me.

H. Other.
 
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Coaster Hipster

Giga Poster
Depends on whether I stay several days or not at a park and if the headline coaster has a reputation for breaking down or poor operations, but I am generally a "save the best for later" person. Although at Energylandia my friend and I were tired of ticking off crappy creds so headed for F1 in fourth! We did waited the end of the day for the SFC however.

At Six Flags Great Adventure, El Toro was among the last creds I went on.
Superman SFNE was the final new coaster of my day there.
I got my first ride on Taron late in the afternoon.

So yeah, definitely a E for me!
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Depends on whether I stay several days or not at a park and if the headline coaster has a reputation for breaking down or poor operations, but I am generally a "save the best for later" person. Although at Energylandia my friend and I were tired of ticking off crappy creds so headed for F1 in fourth! We did waited the end of the day for the SFC however.

At Six Flags Great Adventure, El Toro was among the last creds I went on.
Superman SFNE was the final new coaster of my day there.
I got my first ride on Taron late in the afternoon.

So yeah, definitely a E for me!
Part of the reason I asked this question is because I generally like to save the best for last, too, and I have the impression that this habit is common among a lot of the general public, but rare among enthusiasts, who might even consider our delaying approach a bit stupid. :D

But at the end of this month I am going to Dollywood for the first time, and there I'll be breaking my habit and heading straight to LR. No way am I risking that.
 

oriolat2

Giga Poster
A mix between B and C.

B because I have a bit of an operations-OCD and I analyse everything operations-wise on rides. So if I know a ride is going to be have bad capacity (especially if it's not really worth a long wait because it's a clone or just another +1) I try to have that out of the way as soon as possible so I can have more rerides on the rides I predict I will enjoy the most.

Having said this, C comes into play. B&Ms, I don't care when I ride them because they tend to be reliable (except maybe flyers). But if a park has an Intamin coaster, especially sensitive models such as Accelerators or prototypes, I prefer to at least ride them once. It wouldn't be the first time someone has been spited because they wanted to "save the best for last".
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
Depends on the day in question.

If I'm trying to fit a lot in a day it will be B, time is of the essence.
If there's time to kill and whoring sessions to be had, A.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
A mix of a few of the options really, and totally depends on the park.

At Europa, Hershey and Dorney I made a beeline for the mouse before heading to the back of the park.
Cedar Point was focused on getting TTD done early in case of spite, then Mav and then back to front. Similar with Dollywood, straight to Lightning Rod, and also Fury @ Carowinds.
Some need no real plan but I'll usually look up the park and head for something with high downtime or low capacity and try to avoid the general crowds wherever possible.
 

caffeine_demon

Strata Poster
I usually plan to do some B or C, with a bit of A mixed in. and end up doing D when I get there!

If it's busy I may go for H and buy a fast track!
 

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
F/A. It truly depends on the park. KI, for example, I head straight for Rivertown/Mystic Timbers, then make my way over to X-Base to get on Firehawk/FoF.
HOWEVER, at Cedar Point, I just head straight for the back of the park to hop on Maverick.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
A mix of a few of the options really, and totally depends on the park.

At Europa, Hershey and Dorney I made a beeline for the mouse before heading to the back of the park.
Cedar Point was focused on getting TTD done early in case of spite, then Mav and then back to front. Similar with Dollywood, straight to Lightning Rod, and also Fury @ Carowinds.
Some need no real plan but I'll usually look up the park and head for something with high downtime or low capacity and try to avoid the general crowds wherever possible.
Tomorrow I'm going to Dorney for the first time, and then the next day I'm going to Hershey for the first time in a long time (they didn't have Skyrush last time I was there). So you'd recommend heading to the wild mouse rides? I was under the impression that Laff Trakk had horrendous operations, so my plan was to hit that first at Hershey.
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
Again, I'm a mixture of all.

All depends on the park for me. I tend to try and work up to the main attraction rather than doing it first as I enjoy the anticipation rather than the thought that the best ride has already been experienced at the beginning of the day.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
As others have said, I am a combination of all of these, and my plan often depends on what I know about the park. However, in part I asked this question because I had the impression that most serious coaster enthusiasts are all about A, B, C, and F, whereas my two most consistent answers are probably D and E. I'm glad to know there are at least some fellow Es out there (though no Ds so far, I think).

EDIT: I guess D has been mentioned by some, too.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Tomorrow I'm going to Dorney for the first time, and then the next day I'm going to Hershey for the first time in a long time (they didn't have Skyrush last time I was there). So you'd recommend heading to the wild mouse rides? I was under the impression that Laff Trakk had horrendous operations, so my plan was to hit that first at Hershey.
Laff Track, then Mouse, then Fahrenheit, then go back to the woodies before coming back to Stormrunner. Spinners are basically mice, definitely hit that first at rope drop.
Mouse then Hydra then down the hill at Dorney, leave Talon to last, but Dorney is an easy park to clear even when busy.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Laff Track, then Mouse, then Fahrenheit, then go back to the woodies before coming back to Stormrunner. Spinners are basically mice, definitely hit that first at rope drop.
Mouse then Hydra then down the hill at Dorney, leave Talon to last, but Dorney is an easy park to clear even when busy.
Thanks! I already have two-thirds of the credits at Hershey, so I don't feel too anxious about it, but if possible I would like to ride everything again and, of course, get repeat rides on the headliners. Anyway, I'll try to follow your plan more or less.

And that's good to know about Dorney being easily doable even on a busy day.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
Thanks! I already have two-thirds of the credits at Hershey, so I don't feel too anxious about it, but if possible I would like to ride everything again and, of course, get repeat rides on the headliners. Anyway, I'll try to follow your plan more or less.

And that's good to know about Dorney being easily doable even on a busy day.
You're welcome. By doing those 3 first you'll save a massive amount of queuing time, and by the time you've finished the woodies there will be a stream of people around, but that's a massive chunk of the park done within 2 hours I think. The Skyrush area seems to empty around 8-8:30, but Great Bear keeps the queue until very late so I'd do it around lunch if the queue drops a bit.
 

Ian

From CoasterForce
Staff member
Administrator
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If it's a new park, creds take priority. So I do my research first and tick off the creds, usually starting with the ones with the slowest throughput and/or the "big" ones. Obviously time is important, so there's no strict route around the park, I usually grab whatever is closest and fits the criteria in my first sentence. Once I've got the creds, it's time to relax and then I'll spend whatever time is left re-riding or seeking out the fab dark/quirky/thrill rides.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
You're welcome. By doing those 3 first you'll save a massive amount of queuing time, and by the time you've finished the woodies there will be a stream of people around, but that's a massive chunk of the park done within 2 hours I think. The Skyrush area seems to empty around 8-8:30, but Great Bear keeps the queue until very late so I'd do it around lunch if the queue drops a bit.
Turned out to be an off-and-on-drizzly Tuesday at Dorney -- I could have done all eight coasters in an hour and half if I'd wanted. After noon now and everything's still a walk-on.

Only downside: rain felt like little needles in the eyes on Steel Force. :-D
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Strange not to see an option I) there - walk in a random direction on a whim, ride things as you pass them if they look interesting. You know, not really having a plan at all. Then again, coaster enthusiasts in new parks aren't exactly known for their spontaneity, so maybe that situation will never materialize in practise.

As for me, I tend to go for a mix of A, B and C. Ride the rides where availability later in the day may be a problem, for one reason or another.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Strange not to see an option I) there - walk in a random direction on a whim, ride things as you pass them if they look interesting. You know, not really having a plan at all.

I think we can call that H. Other. The random whim approach is definitely not me normally, and I'd only entertain it at all if I were very confident of getting all the credits.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
You're welcome. By doing those 3 first you'll save a massive amount of queuing time, and by the time you've finished the woodies there will be a stream of people around, but that's a massive chunk of the park done within 2 hours I think. The Skyrush area seems to empty around 8-8:30, but Great Bear keeps the queue until very late so I'd do it around lunch if the queue drops a bit.
Sort of kept your plan. I got to the park an hour before opening, and to my surprise there was already a big crowd of people there. And to my second surprise, they were already letting people in. And to my third surprise a select few rides were already open (wish I'd known exactly which before I wandered off in the wrong direction). Managed to do Sooperdooperlooper once and Skyrush twice before the park "opened," and then I did Laff Trakk, Wild Mouse, Wildcat (cute that it's next to Wild Mouse), and then Fahrenheit. Thanks for the plan!
 
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