What made you fall in love with coasters?

[JackFish]

Personally for me it was during covid I got Planet Coaster. I didn't like me coasters so I started researching realistic coasters and trying to get to learn about them. It was that fateful time that I came across El Toro Ryans Youtube Channel. Watched all of his videos, and all the Coaster Idiots videos. Then found Coaster Studios and Coastoons. Never looked back since. They made me find my love for the massive machines that work perfectly just for people like us.

 

[ValravnIsElite]

Powder Keg's launch

 

[RevolutionRuleZ]

The Grand National, age 4. First ever coaster (bar the Little Dipper) it was a night ride, my dad was holding me in and I absolutely loved it! Hooked ever since.

 

[j-cat5]

Hyperion back left middle seat ride

 

[Peet]

I'm pretty sure it was Roller Coaster Tycoon (the original, plus the Added Attractions and Loopy Landscapes expansions) for me, plus growing up very close to Alton Towers

 

[Flash Shift]

I'm pretty sure it was Roller Coaster Tycoon (the original, plus the Added Attractions and Loopy Landscapes expansions) for me, plus growing up very close to Alton Towers

This but it was Drayton Manor, followed by Great Yarmouth, then Drayton again once I was able to brave Shockwave. Having Alton Towers not super far from me has also been a boon.

 

[CoasterGoji_501]

for me it was roblox's theme park tycoon 2 & one of Theme Park Crazy videos which had me searching for a cobra roll.

 

[Hyde]

There are wrong answers, and then there are folks who say Roller Coaster Tycoon.

 

[Graeme]

For me it was probably the 1977 film, Rollercoaster, before I'd even ridden one. Something about the big, wooden structures fascinated me and I somehow knew I'd like them. Fast-foward 10 years or so, I rode the Ladybird at Pleasurewood Hills, and yes indeed I did like them.

 

[JackFish]

There are wrong answers, and then there are folks who say Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Thats what got me into Coasters with my dad when I was little and then our computer broke. When We got a new one we couldn't download it again.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I liked Roller Coaster Tycoon when I got it in a cereal box as a kid, but I think when I first started playing around on the computer I got obsessed with looking up statistics for coasters I was going to ride on an upcoming trip I had planned to Geauga Lake. I also always used to rewatch family video footage of our trips to Darien Lake and Geauga Lake, and when I had finally done all the coasters at those parks it really took off when I asked to go to Cedar Point.

Also, anyone remember the episode of Mighty Machines where they went to Magic Mountain? There was also a weird VHS tape of a son and a his dad that my mom came across and bought for me where I believe they were also at Magic Mountain.

So yes, a combo of all those things.

 

[I'veGotFourB&MsInMyGarden]

The initial spark was September 1st 2018 at Thorpe Park, shortly after 10am when 11 year old me had just come off SAW: The Ride (first big rollercoaster) for the first time.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

I gained interest when I was really really young, kindergarten age. My father took me to see the local carnival setting rides up way back in 2008/2009. It started with fairground rides and the waterpark a few minutes away, and eventually morphed into theme parks when I was able to learn more about Canada's Wonderland and visit in the third grade.

I was never allowed video games and to date have never touched any coaster design software. Most of what I knew about parks and coasters came from brochures or magazines. My internet allowance remained... limited until I was 10, when I was allowed to watch a little bit of YouTube on weekends and would spend Sunday mornings scrolling through the Wikipedia compilation pages. Learned about a lot of parks then, which kind of fueled me into becoming a bit of a nerd. I even created a notebook listing "All The Roller Coasters of the World" based off of the manufacturer page lists. Granted this was all happening while I lived in the Dominican Republic, which is not well known for amusement parks.

All this kind of lead to me just embracing attractions as a whole. I visit waterparks if I have the opportunity because I can, and visit/work at fairs only because I enjoy being there. I credit hunt with the best of them for dinner table stories, but also have a good time visiting parks. At this point as a college student majoring in robotics I'm wondering what can I do as a career in all of this, because this is what I enjoy and would like further work/learning opportunities.

 

[Projektion]

For the longest time when I was younger, I was more an RCT player and while I had an interest in irl coasters and even visited a few parks due to family holidays, I only really had a passing interest towards the industry and didn't really know much about anything. The only memories I have of anything industry related around this time were the new B&M hyper trains for Behemoth and the initial rumours of Ferrari World and Formula Rossa.
Towards the end of the 00s, my interest in coasters started to wane as I became more interested in Music and doing concerts and festivals.
My interest in coasters then got reignited in 2013 when, while browsing Youtube, a video randomly popped up in my recommendations for the Media Day for Gatekeeper. After this, I went on a binge of everything coaster related, finding out about all the things that have been happening in the industry (B&M producing wings/gigas, RMC coming to be, etc) and I've been hooked since.

 

[uwurawrus]

RCT1! Discovery Channel also played a huge part.

 

[InvertsAreMyJam]

Years of not being able to go on coasters because I was scared. After getting through that hurdle of riding my first coaster, I’ve started to become obsessed…I guess I’m making up for those lost years.

 

[Steely Dan]

1989.

I was 13.

First trip to CP.

Mind = spectacularly thoroughly irrevocably hopelessly eternally blown.

My first ride on Magnum was a watershed life event for me, like losing my virginity, or the day my wife said yes to me, or the births of my children, etc.

 

[DannyZeebub]

Kidsongs: Ride the Roller Coaster, mainly. There was some other stuff, but Kidsongs mainly.

 

[Inverting_Thrills]

Boredom and Planet Coaster.

I got Planet Coaster after seeing a few videos online and thinking it looked pretty neat. I'd always enjoyed theme parks so it felt like a good fit for me. I ended up falling in love with the game and played it non-stop during quarantine. The single thing that really got me into the hobby was seeing a video online about Fireball at the Ohio State Fair by Coaster College. I ended up watching more and more coaster related content from that point onward and eventually got where I am now.

 

[Jerrybubbles]

My parents were annual pass holders for walbi belgium (six flags Belgium when I first went) and they took me about 3-4 times a year. Vampire was the big new coaster in Belgium and that thing fascinated me so much. It was my first inverting coaster and it felt really special. Nowadays it's just another slc but it got me into coasters.