Park Trip with Casual Parkgoers?

[MestnyiGeroi]

I am sure you have all been on park trips with friends/family who are not coaster enthusiasts. Do you make compromises when this is the case, and if so, how?

I recently went to two parks with casual parkgoers, all of whom knew I am a coaster junkie. On the one hand, my enthusiasm was kind of fun and contagious for them. They got into hitting all the rides and talking about the credits and learning the jargon, etc. They even happily rode both tracks of Rebel Yell with me when they learned it meant two separate credits (luckily, there was no line at all, so this was a painless thing).

On the other hand, I was very conscious of not becoming the man-child of the group. I accepted a much slower pace than I would have liked, I suggested breaks frequently, and I didn't even think about marathoning anything. The most that I pushed it was suggesting that we get to the parks a little before they open (which ended up making a huge difference).

So, do you ever find yourself pulling your own reins for your non-enthusiast friends? Have you ever felt you pushed it too far? What are the compromises you make when you're with the "G.P."?

 

[Howie]

I've given up going to parks with "G.P" friends. Too much of a burden.
I've got a few semi-goon mates who I go to Alton or Thorpe with once or twice a year and they know the drill, but trying to gather them all together to go somewhere new is such a ball-ache that I don't bother anymore.
As for anyone else (non-goon), forget it.
That's part of the reason I joined CoasterForce - at least you know you're gonna be going with the 'right sort', and there's also more chance of exciting new trips actually happening.

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

I've given up going to parks with "G.P" friends. Too much of a burden.
I've got a few semi-goon mates who I go to Alton or Thorpe with once or twice a year and they know the drill, but trying to gather them all together to go somewhere new is such a ball-ache that I don't bother anymore.
As for anyone else (non-goon), forget it.
That's part of the reason I joined CoasterForce - at least you know you're gonna be going with the 'right sort', and there's also more chance of exciting new trips actually happening.

Given up, eh? Well, I went mostly with people who live near BGW/KD (I don't), so it was no bother corralling people into it, and I have to say that I had a great time. But this was made possible because these were the least crowded major parks I'd ever experienced, so it was easy to go at a relaxed pace and still hit everything.

But when we first hit i305, one of them joined me (the others opted out because it looks too scary (which I understood as it does look terrifying)). Then later in the day, the others said they'd stay relaxing in the ice cream place we were visiting while I ran over solo and got in another ride on i305. This was a fantastic experience, but there was no line at all, and when I finished my ride, I had to think to myself, "I could go on this ten times in the next 45 minutes, but instead I'm walking away so as not to keep my friends waiting. This is hard to believe ..." Lol.

 

[Howie]

^Ooh, yes yes, I've had that. When I go to a park with Mrs Howie, sometimes she'll let me off the reigns for the last couple of hours to go and reride the best stuff while she goes and chills out somewhere. Remember that super quiet day at Magic Mountain I mentioned before? Mrs Howie called it a day at around 4pm and was happy to go and hang out in an internet cafe, leaving me to whore X2 and Tatsu etc... until 7pm.
One the happiest 3 hours of my life!

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

That's exactly the kind of hour I would have loved to have had at the end of the day, but in this case it would have made me a jerk as the others were clearly winding down after a long day and getting ready to leave. They were already indulging me in waiting while I ran off for one more ride. :-(

 

[CanobieFan]

I almost exclusively visit parks by myself or with other Enthusiasts. On the odd occasion I am visiting a park with a casual park goer....it's probably to a local Orlando park and I won't care if I do everything, or even anything. But I've also gotten to the point where unless it's a new for me park, I don't really care if I do everything. I've gone to parks that are not local but still been content just doing a handful of rides, so long as I visited before. Most of the time I go to Six Flags New England, a park that's well over a thousand miles from my current home. I'm still fine just doing three or four rides and then just leaving (but I've visited the park well over 100 times and have held a season pass some 17 years ha

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

I almost exclusively visit parks by myself or with other Enthusiasts. On the odd occasion I am visiting a park with a casual park goer....it's probably to a local Orlando park and I won't care if I do everything, or even anything. But I've also gotten to the point where unless it's a new for me park, I don't really care if I do everything. I've gone to parks that are not local but still been content just doing a handful of rides, so long as I visited before. Most of the time I go to Six Flags New England, apart that's well over a thousand miles from my current home. I'm still fine just doing three or four rides and then just leaving (but I've visited the park well over 100 times and have held a season pass some 17 years ha

Yeah, for me the issue only becomes ticklish when it's a new park, so it feels important to hit all the credits. I was nervous about getting all the rides at KI in one day while going at a "GP pace," but in this case it turned out to be easy.

And I take it you used to live in New England? I have never been to any park over 100 times.

 

[CanobieFan]

Indeed. I lived 3 miles from downtown Boston for 23 years before moving to Orlando.

 

[Bat Fastard]

Yes and no. Depends on the person. For example, my big cred trip I did last year, I was the only enthusiast (3 of us on the trip). One of the guys on that trip was a pain in the ass, he was complaining a lot and got sick too easily. My brother I frequently cred run with, but he isn't an enthusiast. However, he's completely ok with marathoning rides, and he doesn't complain. He doesn't like spending money on parks though, so he gets Cedar Fair and Six Flags passes and only goes to parks in those chains with me. He stays home or at the hotel when I hit parks not in those chains were his passes aren't valid. But I much prefer trips with other enthusiasts, I'm doing a month long massive cred run this summer with 3 other enthusiasts and I'm pumped.

 

[JJLehto]

Yes, compromises have to be made. In my experiences it's usually lack of stamina, not wanting to wait for certain rides, and generally not having the same pace.
Like once at Cedar Point, the group just didn't wanna wait for anything more than 30 minutes. Well that resulted in us riding antique cars several times in a row and some log flumes or whatever they were. It was their compromise, they knew I wanted to do lots of stuff but in reality of course I didn't care about the # of antique car rides ha

Another time, also at CP, the group burned out it cost me a ride on Maverick which I haven't yet done. "Eh there's an hour left, says 45 min wait, it may not be accurate and we're beat" "I promise it'll be faster than 45 likely and please, I missed this last year I want to bad" but was 3 against 1. Even friends that really like rides, do have a generally slower pace than I'd like and it does feel like dragging. As you put it, don't wanna be a manchild, I have never once griped and of course go with the flow and it's still a fun time. That said I've last gone to a park with "GP" in May 2012 for the opening of Skyrush. Since then I've either gone solo or with other enthusiasts. To echo what someone said above, that's also why I became active, both here and TPR, to go on trips or find locals willing to team up if I go to a park. Which has been great

 

[gavin]

I'll only do it these days at parks I've already been to and so don't need to worry about getting everything done.

A couple of friends visiting Hong Kong recently and wanted to go to Disneyland. One of them rode next to nothing and the other would have been happy to just walk past stuff if I hadn't strongly suggested trying it.

I would've totally lost my s**t if I hadn't been so many times.

 

[peep]

Yeah I did most of my China trip last year with non-goons and never again (unless I've been to the park before). Everything somehow takes forever, I feel like I'm having to persuade people to do anything and re-riding seems like a bizarre concept. It just all adds unnecessary anxiety and frustration to what should be a fun day out.

 

[Astro61201]

I always go with friends/ family so no other enthusiasts, but my friends will go all the rides anyway and my family no I'm a 'coaster junkie' so I end up getting on all the rides anyway just not as fast as I'd like. The most annoying thing is when the family want to take pictures, specifically if it's at a park that can get long queues, we had just got to Alton towers and they wanted to take pictures of everything, meanwhile I was trying to get to the smiler to get a ride in before the queues get too long as I had been spited years before (5 hour queues and a stall) but they 'needed' to take pictures, really grinds my gears tbh.

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

Yes, compromises have to be made. In my experiences it's usually lack of stamina, not wanting to wait for certain rides, and generally not having the same pace.
Like once at Cedar Point, the group just didn't wanna wait for anything more than 30 minutes. Well that resulted in us riding antique cars several times in a row and some log flumes or whatever they were. It was their compromise, they knew I wanted to do lots of stuff but in reality of course I didn't care about the # of antique car rides ha

Another time, also at CP, the group burned out it cost me a ride on Maverick which I haven't yet done. "Eh there's an hour left, says 45 min wait, it may not be accurate and we're beat" "I promise it'll be faster than 45 likely and please, I missed this last year I want to bad" but was 3 against 1. Even friends that really like rides, do have a generally slower pace than I'd like and it does feel like dragging. As you put it, don't wanna be a manchild, I have never once griped and of course go with the flow and it's still a fun time. That said I've last gone to a park with "GP" in May 2012 for the opening of Skyrush. Since then I've either gone solo or with other enthusiasts. To echo what someone said above, that's also why I became active, both here and TPR, to go on trips or find locals willing to team up if I go to a park. Which has been great

The difference boils down to stamina --that's my experience exactly. I have to worry constantly about how worn out others are getting, even if they're polite enough to say they're fine but I can read something else in their body language.

But your Maverick story is too much. You missed the ride the year before and they're saying they want to skip it again. And we're talking about a ride many consider one of the best in the world. No, I think I would have said, 'Fine, you guys do whatever you want, and I'll meet you at so-and-so at such-and-such o'clock.'

 

[Benenen]

I don't know too many nerds IRL so I do the UK parks with non goon mates. I've been to places like Thorpe so many times that I don't mind spending the day pissing about and potentially missing rides though sometimes the general lack of urgency frustrates me.

For European park trips I mainly go with my sister who likes a theme park but doesn't obsess in the same way I do. We can plough through a park super efficiently but I sometimes get the feeling towards the end of the day when we're doing rerides that she's burned out a bit and not enjoying it as much as I am.

One of the best trips I've done was a solo trip to Portaventura the week after finishing my degree to unwind myself a bit. It was great to do exactly what I wanted when I wanted and it meant I could get some solid marathoning done without wondering if the other person was still getting a kick out of the ride. It was a bit lonely but I definitely came away from the park content I'd used my time the best I could which never really happens with a group.

 

[Hyde]

You just have to temper expectations - this will not be a trip full of "CREDZ AND RERIDDESZ!"

Go with the flow, and be mindful of what makes for a fun trip for the group, not just your dorky, coaster nerd-self.

 

[Zek_Teh_Kek]

I got my friend, and possibly myself, into roller coasters at KI on Banshee.
My friend would never go on the big rides before riding it.

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

You just have to temper expectations - this will not be a trip full of "CREDZ AND RERIDDESZ!"

Go with the flow, and be mindful of what makes for a fun trip for the group, not just your dorky, coaster nerd-self.

That's exactly what I was trying to do -- and tbh, what I think I succeeded in doing on my recent trip. But what made it hard was going to two parks that were first-time visits and that are unlikely to have repeat visits any time soon. So I did want to hit everything if comfortably possible. Also, my companions knew I was a coaster freak so their sweet attitude was one of trying to accommodate me. But this meant that internally I was walking a tricky fine line.

 

[JJLehto]

Yes, no one think I'm some terrible ass. Of course when I am with non enthusiasts I don't dare whine or even make it known I feel a bit held back. Of course I enjoy time with my friends, and that does provide a different experience from "maximum rides!!!!" which is sometimes nice. Agreed what many of you have said: With parks I've been to many times/there's nothing new it's much easier. It really gets to me at Cedar Point, since there's so much, or a new park. Any new park I think I have to go solo or with enthusiasts.

The difference boils down to stamina --that's my experience exactly. I have to worry constantly about how worn out others are getting, even if they're polite enough to say they're fine but I can read something else in their body language.

But your Maverick story is too much. You missed the ride the year before and they're saying they want to skip it again. And we're talking about a ride many consider one of the best in the world. No, I think I would have said, 'Fine, you guys do whatever you want, and I'll meet you at so-and-so at such-and-such o'clock.'

Exactly, and I do try to be understanding. Again it's not always bad, while I love the rush I suppose it's nice to take it easy. And I get I'm a nut case lol so I don't make stamina a big deal I get it's a long day and people burn out. The waiting on line thing annoyed me, BUT I guess I get it.
Oh the Maverick incident...I bit my tongue but I was not happy. As you say, that was 2nd year in a row so I was not very happy. I did think about suggesting they do an arcade or another ride and I'll meet up with em but I didn't wanna be a weirdo/loner ha

 

[SimonSays99]

I like to show GP friends my fav parks like Europa, Phantasia, Efteling or Liseberg. Of course it is a completely different visit as we do only very little coasters if I visit with friends. First off they are not doing the extreme coasters and/or are happy after one ride - and I don't want them to wait all day while I wait in lines to ride the coasters. We more do all the stuff everyone likes to ride: waterrides, darkrides, ferris-wheels, oberservation towers.

This said I never do a first time park visit with GP friends as I want to ride coasters.