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What Makes an Enthusiast?

Gavin

Gavin

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Since a flippant comment I made on the Milestone Coasters thread has turned into a bit of a debate and kind of gone off topic, I thought I'd start a new one.

I'm not intending this to be a place for more well-travelled members to attack people for being "basic", but rather as a place to discuss what labelling yourself as an "enthusiast" actually means.

Are you an enthusiast if the majority of your experience comes through YouTube and coaster forums, and there are no plans to really go beyond that? Are you an enthusiast if you have a low coaster count, but you're fairly new to the hobby and have plans to dig deeper into it? Are you an enthusiast if you spend most weekends at a theme park, but it just happens to be the same one?

For me, it's not about a coaster count. It's not about prioritising coasters and parks above other interests/family/work. It's not about finding the means to travel and visiting parks where time and money have to be sacrificed over other "real-life" things. It's a hobby, and not a lifestyle.

For me, I find it strange when people who do have the time and money to travel to new places choose instead to constantly revisit the same places over and over. That in itself isn't necessarily an issue - everyone should be free to spend their time and money how they want - but are you really a "coaster enthusiast" if you choose to visit Thorpe Park 4/5 times a year but have never been to Blackpool? Are you an enthusiast if you choose to spend your two weeks holiday in Florida for the 4th time rather than try somewhere new?

That, to me, is like saying "I'm a huge fan of musical theatre. I've seen Phantom of the Opera 10 times, but nothing else," or "I'm a real foodie; I've been to 25 Italian restaurants this year." The time and money is there, but the actual effort and ambition isn't.

It's not about the ability or means to try something else; it's about the lack of inclination or effort.

Discuss.
 
I agree to an extent that a small coaster count doesn't rule you out of being an enthusiast, but I'd argue that in your latter example that somebody who makes several visits to Thorpe Park a year but doesn't bother with Blackpool isn't is a bit off. I'd suppose it depends on the specifics, if they're making several visits to Thorpe but no other parks then aye, less of an enthusiast and more of a fan of Thorpe Park.

I don't think somebody who hasn't yet travelled to parks across the country can't be classed as an enthusiast, I think if they themselves have shown an effort to visit more than the one park they frequently visit (so several visits to Thorpe but been to Chessington, Legoland etc...) then it'd count I suppose.
 
When I saw this, I immediately thought of those hilarious things on Facebook.

Here is how God made a coaster enthusiast:
13.jpg


It makes me laugh every time - so true...

For me, to be an anything enthusiast, it's about wanting to expand your horizons, interests and experiences.

That can be done in any way as Gavin describes and I would agree that if you were to limit your experiences to a single entity then you're a "that thing" enthusiast. So in Gavin's example, a Thorpe Park enthusiast, not a coaster enthusiast. There's obviously nothing wrong if a park is local to you constantly going in favour of travelling further, IF you've already done the travelling further thing.

Of course, if you're limited by time, money or any way physically then it's different - but I'd say that to earn the moniker of "coaster enthusiast", you do need to have to desire (proven by making the effort if possible) to visit more parks.

Although the pedant in me says that enthusiasm is defined by more than physically visiting :lol:
 
For me a coaster or theme park enthusiast doesn't have to travel the world riding coasters, visiting theme parks necessarily. Three years ago when I was just being introduced to this as a hobby (I agree with Gavin, this isn't a lifestyle, it's a hobby), I used to visited Alton Towers and Thorpe Park several times a year, then stretched to Blackpool, then last year things spiralled more with Florida and Spain and this year there's, for me, Germany twice, Spain, Japan, Ireland plus a lot more of the smaller parks in the UK.

The thing for me with the travelling was there was never anyone to take me before I found out about CF. I would go to the Merlin parks with Dan and his family and that was great, I loved our days out, I'm hoping we'll get to do something this summer [/plug], but I could hardly expect them to drive 3 hours to Skegness or 6 hours to Cornwall and drag me, just a friend, along! (even if they did take me to Florida ;) ) Becoming members of CoasterForce, Dan and I have both broadened our horizons on the theme park front because many members are happy to drive hundreds of miles for that +1. Not everyone (like some of the members in the US that were talking about this in the other thread Gavin mentioned, I was going to post this in there but this seems more fitting) has a CF member with a car on their doorstep like I do :P (Stone Cold in Cambridge, Ian in Eastleigh) so I am very lucky, and of course ever so grateful for that. Anyway, that's a little bit off on a tangent.

The point I'm trying to make is, if you want to label yourself as a coaster/theme park enthusiast then you should do so. If you have 4 creds and have only ever visited one park then expect to take a little jokey stick from other members with counts of 700+ (when I first joined I had 30 creds and used to have the mick taken, but look at me now! :P ) but, for me, if you're a member of this forum, an enthusiasts forum, and you actively contribute in discussions and follow ride constructions etc. you are an enthusiast. It is you hobby which you show enthusiasm for. I have an attitude got geology, but off the top of my head I can't think of any world famous geologic formations I have actually been to but I know loads exist, I want to see them of course, but I just haven't got round to/haven't had the chance to see them.
 
Yeah, Jordan nailed it. To me it has nothing to do with coaster counts, it's all about how much coasters and theme parks fascinate you and how passionate you are about it. Even if you don't travel further than parks in your own country, I don't think that makes you less of an enthusiast, as long as that passion is there. Some people just have their reasons to not travel further. If I hadn't gotten into CF and if I didn't have so many foreign friends in general (in Finland, Sweden, etc.), I probably wouldn't travel much further than nearby countries either, since I don't have any friends nearby that are nearly as passionate about theme parks as I am, and I don't fancy traveling that far on my own.
 
This enthusiasm came for me before I'd ridden many major coasters, and instead came from watching POVs and joining in with CF discussion. I don't think you need to have been to lots of different parks, but rather have a fascination with coasters and a want to expand your knowledge on them. Sure, this often comes with riding more coasters, but this isn't necessary to be enthusiastic about them.
Enthusiasm is different to experience. There's often new members that sign up to this site with little experience, but they clearly have a passion for coasters and a desire to learn more about them through discussion. Does this make them any less of an enthusiast than established members with massive coaster counts? I don't think so, as they still have the same depth of interest despite their lack of experience.
If people only largely only go to Thorpe for example, and only join in with Thorpe related discussions then they probably aren't enthusiasts, as has been said before. If they show an interest in all coasters and parks, but only choose to visit Thorpe then so be it, they still show an active passion for all coasters. Of course this would be very odd to have an interest in other parks but not want to visit them, but the point is the enthusiasm is in the mind and not physical experiences, although of course it usually creates a desire to have more roller coaster experiences.
 
I think frequently visiting nearby parks often while ignoring major ones further afield is really odd. Limiting visits to "home parks" in the effort to save up for a weekend away just seems obvious. Also, I have seen enthusiasts make the decision to go back to the same destination year after year. I don't know if it's because they are satisfied with that experience or they don't realise what else is out there. I know Orlando is fab and I haven't been since I was 13, but I'm in no rush to go back. Get yourself in the trip report section. It's inspiring <3 If I've saved enough money, I might be off to Cali next year <3

(a bit of off-topic waffle to follow) However, even though I'm posting on this forum, I don't view myself as a coaster enthusiast, just something I'm really into atm. It was the same back when I made my first account 10 years ago. I was learning ride statistics from rcdb and following construction topics, but I kept it a secret from people. My interest started to fade as I wasn't going to any parks as no one I knew was into them to the point where there was a 5 year gap where I didn't go to a single theme park at all, apart from one day at at Thorpe Park when I was visiting a relative which would have got me back into theme parks if personal problems didn't develop afterwards lol. After learning about all the different Disney resorts which developed into coasters, my interest is back. Though it would be stupid to call myself an enthusiast if i'm going to go on hiatus. [/storytime]

Having a passion for riding coasters and having a high coaster count are not the same. I personally don't understand why people would use part of their life up to travel far and wide just to persuade a ride op to let you go on the big apple for the sake of gaining a "cred". The same with putting re-rides of great coasters on the back-burner to make make sure they ride the SLC and the boomerang.
 
Before I found sites like this, the definition of enthusiast to me was that person that shows up at parks decked out, head-to-toe, in coaster gear. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean someone who goes to a park in a ride or park t-shirt and/or a hat. I'm talking about someone you would look at and think, "well, that's a little bit of overkill."

I'm not trying to offend anyone with that view and I'm not saying it in a derogatory way. I see someone like that in line, my first thought was, "that's a true enthusiast and I'm a long way from that." Finding sites like this has opened my eyes to the fact that you don't have to be like that to be an enthusiast.


I guess you can say that the following is my backstory and where I'm at in my journey to feeling like I can call myself an enthusiast:
My coaster count is only 73 (18 of those were this month). I've only been to 13 parks and none of those outside of the US. Do I see myself as an enthusiast? Not yet, but I'm working on it. I feel like there is more for me to learn and explore before I can say that about myself.

I signed up on this site to learn more. Before finding you guys, I could pick out a B&M, an Intamin, a Vekoma, or Arrow coaster. Woodies or other steel manufacturers? Not so much. In general terms, I could tell someone how an LIM launch worked or how magnetic brakes work. I understand the physics of how a coaster works.

In my short time here, I've learned a lot more about parks outside of the US. I knew they were there, but up until a few months ago, I couldn't tell you the name of a single one. One day I will make it overseas to hit up the parks, but it's not something I can justify money-wise right now.

It's only been in the past 5-6 years that I could afford to fly to places in the US. So I haven't been able to get to a lot of places that would be too far to drive for me. I don't feel that the fact that I choose to make paying off debt and building an emergency savings account a priority would exclude me from calling myself, or anyone else, an enthusiast.

I mostly lurk because I don't really feel comfortable jumping into conversations about places I've never been to, or heard of. My posts would be along the lines of "well, that looks cool" and it really wouldn't contribute to the conversation. I'm a very shy person to begin with, so it's really hard for me to start posting regularly on sites like this. But I'm here, I'm reading, and I'm learning. :) I don't feel as if I'm there yet, but I'm way to the point where I'd consider myself an enthusiast.


Edited to make a bit more sense.
 
Passion is what makes an enthusiast. When you see someone's face light up as they talk about roller coasters, or when they become really animated upon entering their favourite park for the millionth time. You could have the highest coaster count in the world, but that means very little if you no longer get excited about riding them.

I think all the travelling and coaster knowledge is a by product of the passion for it. It's not essential, but it does seem to naturally occur the longer you are an enthusiast. But ultimately, it's not about how many you ride, but how much you enjoy what you do ride.
 
I'm a basic bitch, in fact, I'm the embassador for basic bitches everywhere, but I think I make a solid enthusiast still.

My idea of an enthusiast is someone who achieves what they want to achieve in a realistic amount of time. For example; I spent my first 3 years as an enthusiast just doing the standard Merlin/PBB parks (basic, right?) actually, no, I just didn't have the people to go with (my friends just don't have enough passion beyond the UK) and I didn't want to do foreign parks alone. So I signed up to a CF live in 2012, made some wonderful friends, and was given the opportunity to expand my horizons from there. Since then I've sought out the coasters that have interested me and I can safely say that I've been on 90% of the coasters in the world that I want too.

Moving forward I won't be bothering about a coaster count (although I'll still keep one) but instead seek out the coasters that I have most enjoyed in the past or ones that I want to ride in the future. Today I turned down 5/9 coasters at SFA to spend time in the Waterpark instead, and it felt great. I didn't have to put myself through the the hell of an SLC or a Flying Dutchman, just the ones I wanted to ride.

Ultimately being an enthusiast is achieving what YOU want to achieve and not what others expect you to achive!

Ps. I won't travel to Asia because I'm far too basic for that, Western world only, thanks.
 
For me, the definition of "enthusiast" lies in the eye of the beholder. If you want to say you're an enthusiast, you're an enthusiast. I saw people at Cedar Point for CoasterMania who had never been to Kings Island, I saw people wearing Smiler shirts. For me, an enthusiast is someone who likes and is knowledgeable about coasters and considers them a decent part of their life. I just described how I see myself as an enthusiast, it will likely differ for others.

I have 133 credits and when I tell the average joe that they think it's the coolest thing ever. Compared to most people I know, I do a heck of a lot of traveling and while my count might not exactly have four digits, I'm proud of it. I'm paying for my own school while working a blue collar job on the side to fund it, I make about four maybe five figures a year and most of it goes towards school. Whatever traveling I do is the result of really hard work and I do as much of it as I can. I rolled in from my Holiwood Nights trip back in May with literally 3 dollars in my bank account. I intend to do the same on the Pennsylvania trip in August if my car's up to it. I made an effort to work Camden into the Carowinds trip I'm doing in three weeks so I'll get four, maybe five creds out of that.

Once I'm out of school, I hope to work for the industry. I know a lot about how coasters work, I find it interesting, and I enjoy watching ride hardware do its thing. Once I have that college degree and full time job to go with it, I intend to get out a lot more. What I do now I work my butt off for, and what I do then I'll work my butt off for. In my opinion, if you like coasters and you work a reasonable amount to get to ride them, you're an enthusiast.
 
Pretty much what's been said. If you know a decent amount about coasters, and you call yourself an enthusiast, then you're an enthusiast.
 
Enthusiasm comes from passion. In my view to be a coaster enthusiast you have to travel for the purpose of riding coasters, visiting theme parks and have an interest in coasters. You don't have to be that well travelled but if you're planning future trips, then you are an enthusiast. That is certainly something I have done a lot more of, since becoming a member of CF. Before I was on CF I would ride coasters if they were nearby and if I had time. Now I just make time for coasters, because that is what I enjoy doing.
 
For me its knowing that I get more excited about riding roller coasters and visiting theme parks than most people. I won't pretend to know a lot of the technical details because I don't and most of the time I forget the names of elements, manufacturers etc. but at the end of the day I love riding and thats all that matters.
 
Radaxian said:
Passion is what makes an enthusiast. When you see someone's face light up as they talk about roller coasters, or when they become really animated upon entering their favourite park for the millionth time. You could have the highest coaster count in the world, but that means very little if you no longer get excited about riding them.
Click to expand...
This.
Recently in Italy I got off Raptor and started spouting off how brilliant the ride is, describing every feature I liked in an animated way, even comparing it to eating a slice of toast where thick butter has been spread to every corner. Delicious. I noticed that I had a couple of CFers attention, they were smiling at me (probably to humour me), but for that 45 seconds of enthusiastic and hyped up talking, I was a true enthusiast. Other stuff like cheering in sheer joy as I thundered over the air time hills on Boulder Dash. When I was stunned into silence after riding Outlaw Run for the first time.

If I were to personally define my level of enthusiasm, it's all about trying to find that next big thing that makes me go "WOW, **** YEAH!" I'll travel wherever I can afford to go to experience that.

I also LOVE to see reactions. I often sit by exits of the rides and hear people's comments as they leave. I feel very warm inside when I'm queueing up with a bunch of CFers and I can see their excitement. People are taking photos, there watching the train go round and that little grin is starting to appear as they get closer to the train. I love that stuff.

But yes, passion is the word that sums it up for me. Take Tina Beans and her fangirling over Thorpe for example. I love hearing her comments after the ride, how it compared to the ride she had on it last week, what's new about the ride and so on. Tina actually cares about it like it's precious to her and I admire that.

There is a time and a place for increasing my coaster count with meaningless rides, but over all it's all about the passion I share with other people, and the experience and knowledge I pick up along the way. Frankly put, I like bonding with people in my preferable habitat (a theme park) and sharing my passion.
 
As someone who hasn't had the opportunities (due to limited funds/time off work etc..) this thread is really interesting to read, and nice to see some of your comments.

I'd jump at the chance to go abroad more (I've only done three parks outside of the UK and haven't even exhausted the UK parks yet). I usually go with friends/bf/family but sadly it takes some persuasion to get them to go anywhere further than my home parks. Either that, or I offer to foot the bill to make it do-able money wise for the other person. That does mean that I'm usually paying for myself and my bf (flights, tickets, hotels etc) and then only one European park trip a year is affordable.

With that in mind, I'd still like to think of myself as an enthusiast.. I'm enthusiastic about theme parks?
 
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