True Coaster Credits

[Angle O. Descent]

Hi all,

 

With all the "credit whoring" out there, I had a thought today: based on the largely accepted definition of roller coaster "credits", people who have been on 8 Vekoma boomerangs, 7 B&M Batmans, and 5 Zamperla Wild Mice can say that they have been on 20 roller coasters. Technically, yes, it's 20 coasters. But essentially, how true is this?

 

With this theory, how many different coasters have you been on?

[SteelForceless]

My low credit number (36) stays the same.

[larrygator]

I think we will let this stay as a stand alone thread for awhile, but may merge it into the Coaster Credit thread.

 

I have to be honest, I no time or inclination to figure this out. Especially since they may be coasters that appear to be clones that may have a slight track variation.

[robbalvey]

While we will leave this thread open, I just want to say a few things that I hope some of you will really take into consideration...

 

In the past, I used to promote the idea of "counting roller coasters" along with everyone else. While I never was as insane as some taking trips to "pad their count" full of kiddie coasters and butterfly shuttles, I had been known to go out of my way for "credits" to increase the number.

 

That was up until about 2011 or 2012 where we found ourselves on several trips cannibalizing days at legit GOOD parks with GOOD roller coasters to go run over to some crappy kiddie coaster "credit" to add it to the count.

 

I got back from that trip, realized I had added another 100 or so, looked at the pictures of pure crap coasters and thought to myself "Why does it really matter?"

 

Why does it matter if someone has 600 credits versus 700 credits? What does that actually get you? Street cred among coaster enthusiasts? Bragging rights?

 

WHO CARES?!?!?

 

This was also around the time that we started getting people who didn't want to do certain trips because "Oh, I've already been there and there aren't enough new credits for me." "But we are going to amazing parks like Europa or Tokyo Disney!" "Yeah, I've ridden those credits already. Don't need to go back."

 

It was at that point that I thought to myself "I want promote going to parks that I *LIKE* and ride roller coasters that are *FUN* and not do it just to count credits."

 

Look I get it, there's a lot of OCD in the world and there's a lot of people who like the "completion" idea of collecting something, whether it's baseball cards or experiences riding roller coasters.

 

But maybe we should start looking at things differently. Is riding a kiddie coaster REALLY a "good experience?" No. Will those rides actually ADD any value to your life other than a number of a spreadsheet? No. To be honest, the same goes for ANY ride that you are riding simply for the "count" and not for "fun."

 

Would you go see a movie that you know you're not going to like just so you can add it to a list? Would you go eat at a restaurant that you know sucks just to add one more "restaurant credit?"

 

While I know that people are still going to count credits no matter what I say, please just try to put things into perspective. Why are you riding roller coasters? Is it to increase a number on a spreadsheet or is it for FUN?

 

I've seen people spend *THOUSANDS* of dollars recently to travel to far off places mainly to ride kiddie coasters. I'll tell you, the last 4 or 5 years or so, there were lots of kiddie coasters that were within 30 minutes of wherever we were in some of our even exotic travels that we chose to skip. We wanted better experiences, not a larger number that is completely meaningless to most people.

 

I have actually met people who look down on others with a lower coaster count and that is a behavior I just don't understand at all. The idea that someone would think they are in any way "better" than someone else because they've ridden more roller coasters is, IMO, laughable.

 

So in short, what I'm trying to say here is, while I don't expect people to stop "counting" but maybe think about WHY you're counting. And consider skipping that kiddie coaster or Boomerang and go ride stuff that is fun, enjoyable, etc. Rides you can laugh with your friends, appreciate the design that went into it, etc.

 

RIDE FOR FUN!!!!

 

That's what it's all supposed to be about, right?

 

My rant is now over...

[GCI Wooden]

^This. I do count coasters, but it's just so that I can keep a personal track record of my travels. My count doesn't effect how I'm spending my time at a park (You're not going to see me riding Woodstock Express when I could be going Maverick. That's ridiculous).

 

When I'm planning trips, I'm looking at what parks I'm visiting, not how many credits I'm accumulating on the trip, because no one cares.

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ & ^^

 

These are both exactly how I feel. I use to be one of those who were all like "OMG! Must go to x park to get x credit. . ." and such, but I realized that by doing so I was taking the fun out of the hobby. I wasn't enjoying myself nearly as much when all I was doing was trying to count credits. Now I go to the parks to enjoy the parks, and enjoy the coasters. Yes I still "count my credits" but it's only to keep a running total. I'm no longer planning trips just to get new credits, nor will I be riding unnecessary coasters (ie: Kiddie coasters) at a park because "OMG! I need the credit."

 

With all that being said, I did go back through my entire coaster count to be able to answer the OP's question. And in response to the "true coaster credits" by taking out all of the clones I have ridden my coaster count dropped 23 coasters. Granted, I thought it'd be more. But eh. It is what it is.

 

Now the real question is: Are we counting each side of a racing/dueling coaster as separate credits??

[Angle O. Descent]

^^^ I am happy to hear your thoughts, thank you!

I just like keeping track of what I ride is all. In the end, what matters most to me is going to parks I like and riding coasters I like. I visited Texas for the first time this past spring... not to gain a bunch of credits, but because I wanted to ride New Texas Giant and Iron Rattler. Now they are two of my favourites. That is the kind of thing I remember from a trip.

 

Ride for fun

[LiftThrill]

I honestly do think going out of your way for obscure credits can be fun. I wouldn't pay thousands of dollars or anything but if there's a park nearby somewhere with a kiddie coaster and I'm with some buddies that enjoy coasters we might do it just for the experience. I'm definitely not bothered with count padding though, I've been to SFOT a few times times and never ridden Mini Mine Train, we also skipped all kiddie coasters on the Uber Midwest(ish) trip we did earlier in the summer.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^^^ I am happy to hear your thoughts, thank you!

I just like keeping track of what I ride is all. In the end, what matters most to me is going to parks I like and riding coasters I like. I visited Texas for the first time this past spring... not to gain a bunch of credits, but because I wanted to ride New Texas Giant and Iron Rattler. Now they are two of my favourites. That is the kind of thing I remember from a trip.

 

Ride for fun

This is pretty much exactly how I look at it. I don't even call it a "credit," since that's a line of thinking that I just don't adhere to. I'm not riding something to get credit for having ridden it; I'm riding it to have fun. I just say I've ridden x coasters, and only if someone asks.

 

Some of the coasters I've ridden turned out not to be fun. Sometimes I just didn't know it would be bad. Sometimes I've heard it's bad but I want to experience it for myself. I've found my opinions are different than other people's, and so I can't always trust that a coaster's reputation will predict how it is for me.

 

I have ridden a few children’s coasters, but I'm proud to say all of them were ridden either when I was a child myself or when I was with my children. Family coasters I will sometimes ride when I'm on my own, if I think they'll be fun. A coaster doesn't have to be huge and intense for me to have a good time.

 

So that's where I stand right now. My count is pretty small, but I see that as a good thing. 90% of the coasters on the list are good ones, and they all are in parks I enjoyed visiting. I don't see any point at all in doing something that wasn't fun for you so you can tell other people you did it.

 

Oh, and I'm in the early planning stages of a Dollywood trip next year. I want to stop by Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. Zero "new credits" for me in either of those two parks. I expect each to be an awesome day.

[robbalvey]

I honestly do think going out of your way for obscure credits can be fun. I wouldn't pay thousands of dollars or anything but if there's a park nearby somewhere with a kiddie coaster and I'm with some buddies that enjoy coasters we might do it just for the experience.

There is a huge difference between going out of your way for an obscure coaster and cannibalizing time at a good park for something crappy and stupid.

 

Personally, I stopped counting completely so that I wouldn't be tempted with a crappy and stupid roller coaster.

 

Something "obscure and unique" is one thing. Leaving a decent park, getting in your car, and driving an hour for some shitty Wacky Worm is another. IMO, if that's the thing kind thing you're into, that's great, knock yourself out, but we would have little in common.

 

As an example... When we went to India. We went out of our way to do the funky indoor looping roller coaster in a mall, but we skipped the crappy parks with shitty kiddie coasters that were only 30 minutes away in favor of spending more time at Adlabs Imagica and actually seeing Mumbai. Since I no longer count "credits" I didn't care about making an extra trip to ride dumb roller coasters and instead chose "quality over quantity."

 

That's all I'm trying to say.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter...

Edited September 14, 2016 by robbalvey

[DILinator]

While I still keep track of my coaster "credits", and enjoy attempting to rank the top 100 or so (because I love to rank pretty much anything!), long gone are the days of stressing over racking up silly little kiddie credits, or driving all around to hit random crappy looking coasters just to add to my total. Now, I'm not saying I'll never ride kiddie coasters (I just did at Waldameer, and have the embarrassing picture to prove it), and won't grab an isolated coaster if it's convenient. However, as I've gotten older, I've just started caring less and less about how many coasters I ride, and focusing more on enjoying the heck out of the each experience I do have on one, even if I've already ridden it a bunch. Also, finding new people to experience said coasters with is a big part of the fun. I have friends who do go the other route, and more power to them. That's just not for me anymore.

[CoasterDirected]

I'm a huge statistics and math dude so I only keep credits/number of rides on a coaster for me to screw around with numbers later. The big thing I've done this last two years is after it's all finished around November/December, I open the spreadsheet that I created for credits/times ridden and do some math. I add up miles I've ridden on coasters (107 Miles in 2015) number of inversions I've done (318), etc. Just keeps me busy during the offseason and gives me a chance to look back on the year and dig through the memories I had with family and friends. I understand why people solely collect credits, but I'd take a day with my best friend at a park I've been to a thousand times than a park I have never been to by myself. My coaster count of 100 means nothing compared to the memories of I've made riding them, my first time on Dragster with my father, the time I got hailed on while riding Maverick, riding Diamondback so many times till all of us were feeling nauseous. Great times that can never be replaced

[cookiex]

If I go to a park for the first time I'll make sure to get all the credits I can, partially because I want to give everything a chance and partially because who knows when I'll get to go there again. If it's a park I've been to before I skip the stuff I don't believe is worth my time and effort.

 

I don't go out of my way to find obscure credits either since traveling is expensive and what parks I go to depends on their overall line-up and if something really draws me to them. For example I wouldn't have gone to Kolmården if it wasn't for Wildfire (there's Copenhagen Zoo about an hour away from me if I just wanted to see animals).

 

I'm probably going to stop caring once I'm up in the multiple hundreds, but I'm looking forward to the big #100, whichever coaster that would be.

Edited September 14, 2016 by cookiex

[viking86]

When I ride a new coaster I do add it to my list on http://www.coaster-count.com to have a bit of an overview. However I don't care about having as many rides as possible on the list. For example during my trip to Kolmården this summer I didn't bother to ride the two kiddie coasters at the park. I could have done it, but I figured it was better use of the time to get an extra ride on Wildfire.

 

Thinking about it, I've actually never been to my closest park. Okay so it's about 5 hours away which doesn't exactly help, but either way it's gonna take a bit more than a Vekoma family coaster and a Reverchon spinner for me to do that trip.

 

 

PS! My current count is about #150 (total), but I have absolutely no idea what coaster was my #100. And neither do I care...

[flaffstar]

I don't really think counting coasters is stupid, but it turns ridiculous when you count every kiddy coaster just to have more counts than someone else. As Robb mentioned: Ride coasters for the fun!

I have 101 btw

[coasterer]

To answer the original question, (I also love lists and numbers), I did a quick scan of my count and found that if I took out clones, my count decreased by a little less than 40%, give or take. Rough estimate.

 

I agree that a hobby should really only be about what you enjoy doing. I also don't really spend time in the larger enthusiast community, so I never really engage with people where comparison is a thing. I go to parks with my wife or my close friends, and I keep my numbers and count pretty much to myself. I have my own way of doing things, and my own standards of what's worth it to me and what's not.

 

I will generally ride everything I can when I'm at a new park, but I will generally only go to parks that have standout attractions, which to me are primarily any B&M, Intamin, RMC, or wooden coaster. Any parks without an attraction like that, or one-off kiddie coasters, aren't worth it to me.

 

Now I will say that I've spent a good amount of time in developing countries, and in those countries my paradigms change. If I'm in an obscure part of the world and there's a small park or kiddie coaster nearby, I may indulge if I have the time (though not always). They're cheap, they're fun, the parks themselves are somewhat culturally interesting, it's often an experience even getting there - I enjoy that. But If there are a lot of options, I prioritize with the biggest draws, and will generally limit myself to a few of the bigger parks and ignore small single credits. And at this point in my life, I will usually only go to parks when I have a good excuse to be in that area/city. Rarely will I go to a place JUST for the roller coaster - if that is the case, then it's usually a top-notch attraction.

[viking86]

Just for fun I decided to kill some time and go through my list to see how much it would change. According to coaster-count.com I have ridden 153 coasters + 1 travelling which is not listed on the site. After removing all the clones, meaning listing only one of each ride, my count was reduced by 28, to 125 coasters. Which means that most of the coasters I have ridden have been unique rides for me.

[coasterbill]

We never make trips specifically to credit whore. If we go out of our way to make a park a destination then it's because it's a park we really want to go to and when we get there we'll probably be there from open to close. We definitely never leave to go somewhere that sucks just to get a credit.

 

That being said I'm not against credit whoring (of adult coasters, we don't ride kids rides) and usually when we go somewhere for a weekend we find some credit stops on the way home, obviously making adjustments to the route if needed. Driving home from destination parks is generally where we get our whoring done.

 

Just this year we did that a few times. We made our annual trip to Cedar Point but rather than taking I-80 home we took I-90 and hit Darien Lake and Seabreeze. When we went to Wildwood we stopped at Seaside and Jenkinsons on the way home. That's generally how we rack up stupid credits. It's not like I would ever go out of my way to ride the Casino Pier pirate coaster.

[bubala]

I have made MANY out of the way trips to get a credit. My rule, however, is that a coaster has to be considered an "adult" coaster for me to go out my way to ride it. In other words, I will not go out of my way to get to a park that only has a kiddie coaster, but I will go out of my way to go to a park that has an adult coaster and then ride the kiddie coaster while I am there for the credit. As far as what constitutes an adult coaster, I base that on the size of the coaster and the height requirements for the coaster. I use my own personal discretion, and that works for me. That doesn't mean that you should follow the same guidelines.

 

As far as counting clones is concerned, I count every coaster individually, even if it is a clone. Every park setting provides a unique experience for every ride, and identical twins are in fact two different people, so I count coaster clones as two separate and unique rides. I will not count a ride that has been moved to another park if I already rode it in it's original location. And, I do not count coasters that have gotten new, different trains or that have had slight modifications made to the ride experiences. Once again, just my way of doing things.

 

In my opinion, counting coasters is really a personal thing. It should not be a contest, and it should not be a cause for argument among coaster enthusiasts. Do it however you want to. Whatever makes you happy. Just make sure that you are (Like Robb says!) HAVING FUN!

 

- Jason

[boldikus]

I count but only have credit whore'd Wildwood and Great Adv cause I'm there so much, its fun to mix it up with a kiddie ride with my nephew from time to time. Otherwise who cares. Ride to have fun, although with my Joker lap this weekend I can once again say Ive ridden every operating coaster at both of those parks lol. Really tho who cares.

[Henry M]

My low credit number (36) stays the same.

I too don't think I have been on two of a clone, so 49 it is. So...close.

[coasterbill]

By the way I realize that i totally ignored part of the question but there's no way in hell I'm going through and trying to figure out what's a clone and what's not. I just do whatever Coaster Grotto says (yeah... I still use Coaster Grotto).

[kickflipbacktail]

81. I don't ride kiddie coasters at parks anymore, so it could be way higher but it really doesn't matter. I'd rather go home with one less credit then face the shame/embarrassment of being 20 years old by myself riding a kiddie coaster in a park that has a hyper coaster 2 minutes walk away.

[prozach626]

I've calculated my coasters as per the OP's request and my final tally is....

 

 

Seven.... Seven roller coasters.

[XII]

I'm somewhat of a credit whore. I'll almost always ride all of the coasters at a park that I'm visiting, and sometimes I'll go out of my way to get some credits. For instance, I did go about 45 min out of my way up in Nor Cal to get that Crazy Dane Coaster at Scandia this year, and I enjoyed doing that, plus I got to see Sacramento. It really all depends on "Do I want to do this?".

 

On a trip, I'll keep credit whoring places as optional places that I might go to if I'm in the mood. For instance, going to the Deep South this summer, I hit up that Dixieland Park in GA to get that Screaming Eagle credit after landing. It wasn't too far out of the way, it was a fun little ride, and it gave me something to do before driving up to Charlotte. But later that same trip, I was thinking about doing that NASCAR park in Pigeon Forge after Dollywood to get that credit, but I just wasn't in the mood to stop there after a long day at Dollywood and skipped it (though I did do Sideshow Spin that day).

 

All in all, my credit count is just for fun. It's just a sport and a hobby for me (Count is 534 right now). And whether I do go out of my way to get a kiddy credit pretty much boils down to one question. "Am I in the mood to do this or would I rather be doing something else?". For instance, I thought about doing a weekend trip to get all those kiddy credits in Nor Cal, but always figured I'd rather spend that money on other stuff. But you never know. I may decide to do it one of those days. Though I won't go to some third world country for a Wacky Worm since I'd rather go other places, if I do go there, I'd want to do other non-coaster stuff (though who knows? If it's in the middle of the city and I'm in a whorish mood, I might make a quick stop and get it), cause at the end of the day, like everyone else said, it's all about having fun and enjoying yourself.