Do Your Friends Know of Your Coasterness?

[WillMontu]

I used to be somewhat of a coaster nerd, but it has since both scaled back and spread out to include amusement parks in general. EPCOT does not have any coasters, but it's one of my favorite parks.

I don't have many friends due to my social difficulties, but I just tell people that I enjoy amusement parks, which isn't that abnormal in Florida

[CoasterExpert13]

All my family & friends know about my coaster craze! They all think coasters are cool but majority of them are to scared of heights to ride them. My friends used to get annoyed sometimes because when I was in high school, all my projects we coaster based lol

[kumba830]

Yeah, pretty much all of my friends and family know. But usually they all say "Hey, aren't you obsessed with six flags", then I'll either roll my eyes at them or lecture them on how I don't necessarily just love Six Flags. Although I do have a few friends who I bring/plan to bring to coaster events.

 

Oh, I also get E-mail from my Mom's friend telling about "Oh this looks so scary!" or chain e-mails about TTD being the worlds tallest and fastest coaster around. That always gives me a good laugh.

[The SETGO Guys]

Removed by user

Edited January 5, 2012 by The SETGO Guys

[nagro5]

I'm pretty sure my friends know. I'm not ashamed of it or anything. I don't think there is anything to be ashamed of, really. I'm not sure they know how much I like them, though. Roller coasters just aren't something that we talk about that often. It's not that I hide it or anything, it's just that it has never come up. Besides, if we did talk about them they probably wouldn't have a clue to what I was talking about.

[VGplay]

It's not just my friends, I'm willing to tell anyone who's interested about me and coasters. I've never thought about it as a geeky hobby. Most people think it's pretty cool. I also enjoy bringing friends along to other parks to expand their horizons beyond just Cedar Point.

[Moose]

Pretty much everyone I know knows. It's kind of hard to hide the fact that I travel the world for coasters at least once a year. Just about everyone I talk to thinks it is pretty awesome. But then again, I do not do too much more coastering than the awesome TPR vacations.

[VelociRaptor]

Yeah, my friends all know about it. It's not really looked down upon, and I don't think anyone would consider it "social suicide"- I mean. I attend a school where Pokemon is the shiz.

[LoopLover]

Yes! My friends, family and even teachers know about my hobbie. My close friends accept it but I do get a lot of grief about liking coasters. It is apparently "Sad and pointless" and "gay" but I am straight. I love my coasters and will continue riding them forever!

[imawesome1124]

Some of my friends know. And like Tyler said everyone has nerd-ness in them. Like one of my friends is a band geek and she proclaims it to the world. I actually think it is good when people reveal the nerd in them.

[SamMarrs]

Most of my friends know because I'll be in study hall on the computer looking at TPR! Like many others have said, my friends treat it as they would any hobby. I just hate it when you're trying to explain a coaster but you use proper terminology for each ride element and no one has any idea what you're talking about!

[the ghost]

^ Yeah...that happened to me at knotts. We were outside the park and about to enter for silver bullets opening season.

 

Me:Look at the cobra roll

Friends...blank looks on their faces

Me: Ummm.... half loop half corkscrew half corkscrew half loop

Them:Ok...

 

I love to piss off my friends(sometimes) when were on a coaster and I will make my nerdiness known by yelling things like "AIRTIME" or yelling what element were going through while laughing my head off...which occurs naturally on any coaster for me.

 

My friends get it though...what not to like about an amusement park. One of my friends asked me whats so great about amusement parks and I said its an entire place where people literally create things to make you happy... thats the purpose of an amusement park. Most people do know about my nerdiness though, but my nerdiness becomes more nerdy on the rare occasion(except with my fellow disney nerd ap friends) then my nerdiness shoots up to super high levels. It seems weird coaster enthusiasts are looked down on. The average person loves roller coasters and theme parks, we just like them more. Essentially our hobby is having the most fun possible in the most fun way we know how, so its always been strange that it is sometimes looked down upon.

 

The next friday last disney/coaster run of 2010 Ghost

[AJClarke0912]

It seems weird coaster enthusiasts are looked down on. The average person loves roller coasters and theme parks, we just like them more. Essentially our hobby is having the most fun possible in the most fun way we know how, so its always been strange that it is sometimes looked down upon.

I have been wondering that myself! But since I'm like one-of-a-kind in this area, people would think I'm weird.

 

That's the thing people in Kentucky don't get. The nearest park is like 4 hours away. 50% of the population in my town says that the farthest they've gone is Kentucky Lake (45 minutes away). That's like Florida in Paducah-terms, so NOBODY goes up into the "BIG St. Louis", so nobody goes to amusement parks. Some people still think that amusement parks are for you to experience real danger (literally), which is wrong. There is not ONE coaster nerd within a 3 hour radius of where I live...I'm one of a kind.

[Mechanic]

I don't really consider my affinity for theme parks to be "nerdiness". I have no issues with my family and friends knowing that I enjoy parks and rides. My criteria for judging rides doesn't have a great deal to do with the nerdy (technical) aspects of them anyway. Sure, I enjoy learning about the various technologies in use and being developed, but my bottom line is whether or not I enjoy the rides and parks. I'm interested in the technology for the experience it can create, not for the sake of the technology alone. Interaction with family and friends is way more what I enjoy about parks than the exact specifications or design of any ride or show. In general, the more immersive the experience, the easier it is for me to suspend disbelief and enjoy the time I'm fortunate enough to spend at parks while putting my everyday concerns on the back burner. Throw in some food, fun people, ERT, TPR antics, and... Well, it just doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

 

[funkeymon]

Yeah they do, but it never really comes up. Its definitely not social suicide.

[LoopLover]

^ Yeah, same here! When I meet new people i always ask them if they are a member though!

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

Some do, some don't. Whenever the topic of Playland, Disneyland, other theme parks etc comes up, then I bring it on with the coasterness. They don't mind the fact that I can identify coasters by their make and model either. A lot of people can do that with other things too such as cars, buses, species of fish (my cousin does that), trains etc.

[The SETGO Guys]

Removed by user

Edited January 5, 2012 by The SETGO Guys

[LoopLover]

Yeayyy......Post a picture! I have ordered one!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

My close friends all know the weird hobbies I have. It's actually pretty funny sometimes when they tell me things that go on in the amusement industry that I'm already aware of. (I have a friend that just told me two weeks ago "Hey Eric, I just found out their reversing Superman! Did you hear about that?) I can't blame them though, as most of my friends do so in trying to share my hobby. However I have the advantage of having friends who are also coaster enthusiasts and some who like them, but can't tell the difference between Batman and Silver Bullet.

[CoastersNSich]

I have a couple of friends that, when they hear something about Kings Island or Cedar Point, they contact me first. Even though I haven't spent hardly any time in the parks the past couple of years, I remain the go-to guy! Lol.

[ScottBrown]

All of my friends know and for the most part they are fine with it especially when they need advice, there is one that does think it is a completely pointless hobby though and I hear about it when ever I bring it up

[Hugecoltsfan]

A few of my friends know but not all but im pretty sure they figure it out when they say a wrong fact and i just randomly correct them

[samisthabomb]

A few of my friends know but not all but im pretty sure they figure it out when they say a wrong fact and i just randomly correct them

 

Same here

 

My friends know, but they don't take it very seriously.