How I Became A Theme Park ENTHUSIAST!

[@Bayleaf_09]

Hi, my first ever rollercoaster was this year! I was at Alton towers with my friend for the first time and smashed the whole park immediately. I went on wickerman first and there and then I knew I was gonna love it. It was the best day I’ve had ever. I’ve only been to Alton towers, Thorpe park and flamingo land but I’ve done most coasters at them. Because of my friends Merlin pass I’ve gone to a theme park pretty much every month. I’ve even got my friend on rides like stealth and saw that she was terrified off. I’m autistic so the feeling of the rides is almost relaxing for me. I’m so glad I found them this year and I’m so excited for the 2024 season

[@CoasternautYT]

I’m so glad you’ve found somewhere you enjoy so much and a new hobby! Hopefully you’ll get to visit many more parks next year and ride lots of new coasters!

[@coolpaul6159]

in my younger years, my parents took me to legoland, disneyparis, chessington and i enjoyed them but I wasnt obsesessed with coasters and theme parks! It all started from a trip in 2018 to Alton towers where my love for theme parks began after my dad forced me onto Oblivion for the first time and i loved it! now 5 years later im on 80 creds and im always planning fantasy mega road trips and i have gone on a weekend trip to visit energylandia all from my dad forcing me on Oblivion!

[@CoasternautYT]

What an awesome story! Hopefully you can visit many other mega parks after energylandia!

[@chazgames3690]

2018 was about when I went on oblivion for the first time as well. I was like year 7/8

[@awesomepig99w]

Was never really that interested and was afraid of rollercoasters until a trip to Alton towers earlier this year. I only went on spinball whizzer but I suddenly became obsessed overnight despite my fear. I hope to go to more parks in the future and just go on as many coasters as I can to overcome my fear and just experience more coasters

[@chazgames3690]

I had this when I was about 13 and I went thorpe park with my mates and his older brother. I was shit scared of almost any thrill ride until I went on nemesis inferno and I absolutely loved it. Swarm, then colossus, then stealth twice I believe ( must’ve been good queues in hindsight because we lapped a few coasters that day which is unheard of for me now 😂 )

[@CoasternautYT]

Glad you’ve overcome your fear. What’s your favourite coaster and then park now that you’ve got over your fear?

[@CoasternautYT]

@@chazgames3690 lapping coasters at Thorpe or Alton nowadays is very hard! Unless you go on a work day in spring or autumn it’s usually always packed!

[@awesomepig99w]

@@CoasternautYT i would like go go to Alton towers again some time definitely but I think flamingo land or Blackpool pleasure beach would be fun too. Im not sure what my favourite coaster is right now but it will probably end up being icon once I go to Blackpool

[@Archie_T_Sharpe000]

I started my enthusiasm as much friends had Merlin passes to visit places like Alton towers and Legoland. When I was like 9 we went to Alton towers one day and I looked at Galactica as we walked in and I joked that I would never ride it. We entered the park and headed straight for CBeebies land getting on the octonouts and other rides I then asked if anyone wanted to ride Spinball which they did we went on and I loved it in fact I loved it so much my friend asked if I wanted to go do the big coasters I was nervous shitting myself but I power though we started on nemesis which I would say was the main reason I fell in love with coasters and ever since then I’ve been so fascinated by these metal structures we call roller coasters 😊❤

[@CoasternautYT]

Amazing story! Is alton your favourite theme park and nemesis your favourite coaster?

[@Archie_T_Sharpe000]

@@CoasternautYT Alton isn’t quite my favourite theme park but nemesis is my favourite coaster 😊

[@danielward4868]

I became an enthusiast in 2016 when I went to Thorpe Park and rode Nemesis Inferno. After that, I learned more about theme parks around the world and it grew from there.

[@CoasternautYT]

Great story! What’s your favourite park and coaster now?

[@olig5964]

For me when I was young I was watching videos of rollercoasters in the uk and that got me interested in going to places like Thorpe park and Alton towers but I was like 5 or 6 so I was too young and I sort of forgot about them but I would tell my parents everyday how I wanted to go so when I was 10 I went to Disney, universal, and sea world in California and that rlly got me into wanting to go to Thorpe park and Alton towers so when I was 12 I did, I went to Thorpe park where I got into thrill rides but I still wasn’t an enthusiast but a few months later I went to Alton towers where I rode the smiler for the first time and I thought it was so cool I got into rollercoasters so the smiler made me and enthusiast, now i have 72 coaster creds, I’ve ridden coasters from all sorts of manufacturers, I ridden coasters in the uk California and Holland, my top 10 is: 10.Joris en de draak at the Efteling 9.goliath at walibi Holland 8.wickerman at Alton towers 7.the swarm at Thorpe park (my home park) 6. Lost gravity at walibi Holland 5. Stealth at Thorpe park 4.Nemesis at Alton towers (the original) 3. The smiler at Alton towers 2.Icon/Enso at Blackpool pleasure beach (I’ve ridden both) 1.Untamed at walibi Holland (my first and only rmc). My first coaster was catapillar coaster at paultons park, my first launch coaster was manta and sea world San Diego, my first inversion on a coaster was on the incredicoaster at Disneyland Anaheim, my first invert was nemesis inferno at Thorpe park, my first beyond vertical drop was rage at fantasy island, my first hyper was stealth (big one was my first traditional hyper), my fastest acceleration is stealth at Thorpe park, and the most inversions on a coaster I’ve ridden is the smiler at Alton towers. Now my least favourite coaster is condor at walibi Holland, this is the prototype Vekoma slc and it rides like it, it has the same trains as T3 at Kentucky kingdom and was not enjoyable at all. My first Schwarzkopf was Olympia looping (I rode it at winter wonderland) and my most weird credit is called eurocoaster at winter wonderland, it’s an inverted wild mouse it’s actually a solid ride and has decent floater during the drops and valleys.

[@ThemeParkAspect]

I grew up going to wicksteed park and actually worked their this season which was actually really cool! I ultimately became an enthusiast over lockdown and following the construction of VelociCoaster! This has changed my life (for the better) forever!

[@CoasternautYT]

Construction of new coasters is always so cool to watch! What was working at wicksteed like, did you operate any of the coasters?

[@ThemeParkAspect]

@CoasternautYT it was great honestly! Unfortunately because of my age, I couldn't operate any of the rides but I was part of the customer service team which saw any and all ride closures, notably the new ferris wheel which couldn't stay open for anything lol. But overall it was a great experience and I will be returning next year for another season with them!

[@suiiiii841]

There the my first parks aswell my favourite was twinlakes I loved the log flume

[@CoasternautYT]

Twinlakes was awesome, I remember when they opened the buffalo coaster and I was so excited to ride it for the first time

[@Andreamartin7613]

My first big coaster was the vampire at chessington when it had the old vampire bats trains

[@CoasternautYT]

Awesome first major coaster, very unique!

[@dubcheck2943]

Similar. I became an enthuisat in lockdown watching POV's. We went to Phantasialand in the 2020 during break in travel restrictions. I wouldnt have known about that park if it wasnt for the youtube vloggers. Been to Poland and Turkey since then to ride coasters.

[@CoasternautYT]

Awesome to hear someone have a similar story to me, what’s your favourite park and coaster since you’ve started to travel the world?

[@dubcheck2943]

@@CoasternautYT Hard to say, Energylandia just because of its top 3. Favouite coaster also tricky. Lech, Taron, ShamB, Zadra, Hyperion, Hypercoster. All have a shout. Even Stealth could get a look in.

[@CoasternautYT]

@@dubcheck2943 all of these are fantastic I agree, it can be hard to rank them all as they’re all so different

[@psychopompinc.646]

My first roller coaster was an old wooden coaster named Judge Roy Scream at Six Flags Over Texas. I was around seven years old. We rode two other mine train coasters that day but I wasn't tall enough for the looping coaster they have (and to this day I still haven't been back to the park to ride Shock Wave). I loved riding, but wasn't necessarily an enthusiast until I was a teenager and read an article in the magazine Popular Mechanics about several coaster accidents. That flipped a switch in me and I started getting a bit obsessed with ride mechanics and the physics of how coasters work. I am old enough to say this was all pre-internet so any coaster videos I saw were on television (including a video about Nemesis when it was being built) or found material in libraries. As a kid I was lucky enough to be in a family that loved theme parks, especially my mother. We went to several Six Flags parks here, plus Kings Island, Disneyland and World, Universal, and one of the more local parks in Iowa named Adventureland. State and county fairs are also big in America and they always have carnival-type rides so I would jump on them any time I could. As an adult I haven't always been able to afford going to parks, but I am doing it again, more often and am making specific plans for road trips dedicated to parks and rides and maybe try to start my own riders club here.

[@CoasternautYT]

Awesome story! After being an enthusiast for so long now, what are your favourite park and coaster after riding and visiting so many?

[@psychopompinc.646]

@@CoasternautYT I think I would say my current favorite park is Knott's Berry Farm. It doesn't have the biggest ride collection, but the park is really charming, nicely themed, the rides are fun, and the food is amazing. Plus, you get the interactivity of Calico Ghost Town which is really unique and the Halloween version of the park is truly special. After a rough year, I hope the park gets the love and expansion it deserves. My favorite coaster is The Beast at King's island. Definitely a product of it's time so it's not as thrilling as some modern coasters, but it's everything I want it to be. Great speed, sprawling layout, incredible view from the first hill, and an absolutely amazing finale helix.

[@CoasternautYT]

@@psychopompinc.646 the beast is definitely on my bucket list, I can’t imagine a woodie that big, and I would also love to ride ghost rider at knots, that thing looks awesome

[@psychopompinc.646]

@@CoasternautYT Yes, the Beast certainly lives up to its name, and not too far away from it is another of the largest wooden coasters in the world, The Voyage at Holiday World which is getting its new family coaster, Good Gravy. The two parks are around 2.5 hours apart so if you are planning a Midwestern trip you can fairly easily hit them, plus Cedar Point. Ghost Rider is such a great addition to Knott's. Glad they retracked it. I should head down there before the end of the year. It's been a minute since i've been there.

[@anthonyredford1378]

I had a very similar experience. Absolutely loved playing rollercoaster tycoon 3 as a kid and loved going to theme parks, but then as a teenager I stopped. But lockdown made me into an enthusiast again and I have now been to many places around Europe and hoping to go to America someday.

[@CoasternautYT]

Great story! What’s your favourite park and coaster that you’ve visited and ridden over the past few years?

[@anthonyredford1378]

@@CoasternautYT easily phantasialand, absolutely love that theme park. Favourite coaster: 1. ride to happiness 2. toutatis 3. taron 4. Hyperion 5. Zadra

[@CoasternautYT]

@@anthonyredford1378 phantasialand is definitely in my top parks too and that’s one hell of a top five!

[@OshineTheOranguTANK]

There use to be a a ride here in texas at Six Flags called "The Texas Giant" and was undoubtedly the scariest roller coaster i have ever been on. It use to be so rough on your neck and was the only solid wood rollercoaster in the region. They ended up closing it down because people kept getting hurt on it, but if you have some extra time i'd suggest researching it

[@chrisjohnsonadventures]

I started mine just by watching theme park worldwide funny enough from 2014 got more into it

[@CoasternautYT]

Didn’t realise his channel had even been going that long! You must’ve been there from the start

[@Andreamartin7613]

My next big coaster was the big one at Blackpool pleasure beach

[@CoasternautYT]

Massive coaster for just a second major ride!

[@I_Dont_Care49]

I think that my dad regrets taking me to Thorpe park about 2-3 years ago on my 2nd visit I became obsessed with rollercoasters overcoming the fear of that stomoch drop feeling from facing it now I've been to Alton Towers and Energylandia in Poland I don't plan to go to blackpool pleasure beach that is until they get rid of their old rides to build new ones. In 2023 I've visited Thorpe Park about 50+ with my merlin platium pass and only 3 times to Alton Towers because the Intensity of the rides at Alton Towers isn't that good with only 2 rides that are really intense so I've just been going Thorpe Park I'll soon go to college get a job and from time to time I'll be slowly visiting all the major theme parks

[@CoasternautYT]

Hopefully you get to visit many more parks across the world! What’s your current favourite coaster?

[@I_Dont_Care49]

@@CoasternautYT It's Zadra at Energylandia but that could change once I get to ride The ride of happiness 😂

[@I_Dont_Care49]

@@CoasternautYT Zadra at Energylandia