Simple really. When you were a part of the GP, what did you do, what did you think of enthusiasts, can you even remember what you did before you became an enthusiast. And even better, what brought you into becoming an enthusiast?

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Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens Europe!?
Take THAT Magic Kingdom!

I was seriously afraid to ride any thing at any park. My first coaster was corkscrew and that scared the crap out of me. I didnt even know that there was a whole group of people who posted on boards or anything. I thought I was going solo on this enthouisiast thing.

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iPhone

Pre-enthusiast days? I don't remember having any.

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It was the late 80's-early to mid 90's for me. The Great American Scream Machine came out as a big astonishing monster in 1989 with the 3 huge loops, 7 inversions in all. People spoke of it and it had the aura that it was evil. Even in 1995 for a freshmen year class trip to the park I would not ride it or any other looper. Batman the Ride in its black looked like with a razor sharp cut my head would fall off if I rode it. In 1997 for a class trip at Dorney Park I would not ride Laser either for the loops were demonic. I had this thing for not wanting to loop until I was forced onto the Dark Knight by my uncle and father that summer. I worked at Batman & Robin: The CHILLER, my DNA must have somehow changed for too many launches; now I'm a rollercoaster enthusiast. The internet with Thrillride! and later this site made me who I am now.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

I used to be deathly affraid of roller coasters and flat rides, (I was 11 at the time) but one of my friends had her birthday party at Valleyfair so I went. She begged me to go on Wild Thing (never been on it before) So I rode it. I remember I almost started crying while we were going up the lift hill because I was so scared. I also conquered Power Tower that day. That pretty much stated my love for coasters.

When I was a tyke, I had this cheesy sing-a-long video called"Lets ride the rollercoaster", and then when I was 4 my uncle noticed how much I loved it and bought me the first "Rollercoaster Thrills(in 3D)". I became obsessed with Raptor, Steel Phantom, and Kumba and instantly memorized Arrow Dynamics, Ron Toomer, and the names Bolliger and Mabillard. It wasn't long before I found some coaster sites, the first was Captain Joel(now coastergallery), then RCDB, then, of course, here. I've been riding coasters since I first had the chance to. I guess I was kind of always an enthusiast.

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"Hey Mark!"

I remember always being afraid of coasters all the way till 2000 and about 2002 steel force realy kicked off my coaster enthusiasm going to CP shortly after. I was always inrested in the roller coaster shows on discovery though more than average but never thought about them till I became an enthusiast.

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HAPPY 100 HERSHEY!

As a non-enthusiast, I always thought coasters looked/appears far more interesting than I do now, minus the few that stick in my mind (IE Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster).

The more average rides always appeared more amazing and fascinating as a average rider. Stuff like B:TR, Top Gun and such always appeared pretty neat/cool looking. Now when I see that stuff, I get visions of how dissapointing it is compared to some of the other stuff I've ridden.

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Thornton to Heatley all day, every day.

I don't think I ever had any pre-enthusiast days. When I was a baby I was even fascinated by them. Byt the time I was 9 I knew the height, speed, length, and maximum g forces of every coaster at CP. I also had the layouts all memorized.

That's me as well. I was raised on coasters.

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......was a long time ago.

I went to AT many times since about 1992, and went to Florida in 1997, but it wasn't until about early 1999 that I would say I was an enthusiast, with another trip to At and Florida in late 1999.

I was only 15 then though. started posting here only 18 months later.

I was seven and went on Matterhorn Bobsleds and Gadgets Go Coaster. I didn't really care for roller coasters though and I never knew that Marine World was changing. In 2000 I saw a commercial of Medusa and Roar and wondered why I never noticed them being constructed. And then I saw the new "45 degrees of fun" Vertical Velocity (so I never experienced the original). But I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon and became obsessed, and got more and more games and rode the real things (my first true trip for roller coasters was with a friend while using his season pass perks) and I went on Medusa. Hence, my username. Even though I'm fifteen, I will consider myself an enthusiast because I'll always bug my parents to take me to an amusement park.

On this day seven years ago, September 22, 1999 -- at the golden age of 20 years old -- was the day I proclaimed myself captivated as what I had conceived a coaster enthusiast. On this day, I went on my first ever looping coaster, Joker's Revenge at Fiesta Texas back then, and it was looping backwards to boot.

But my interest started more than a year and half earlier......in May of 1998 after I graduated from high school, when I recieved a computer (among a few other really nice things) for my graduation presents. I decided to explore the Six Flags website after seeing a commercial on the former Astroworld. I was so hooked on reading everything on the Six Flags site not just the three we had in Texas, but the other five parks elsewhere in the nation -- yes there were only eight Six Flags parks in 1998, the original Time Warner eight (3 in Texas + 5 elsewhere). But all that is whole different story.

Anyway, it led to discovering other park sites such as Holiday World, Paramount King's Island, Cedar Point, and Busch Gardens (Tampa and Williamsburg), as well as other sites like RCDB, Screamscape, Thrillrides (the eventual reason for me being here on TN). And then my interest really took off from there.

I also have to say that in my eight years being a part of different coaster-related message boards, that I can't believe how the message boards have evolved over those eight years -- back then, in some sites, you didn't even need to register to post, anyone could post at any time, nor did they have moderators of any kind.

Before my 20th birthday, having lived in Texas all my life, the only thing I ever knew about the coaster industry was Six Flags. Sea World didn't even have a coaster until 1997, so Six Flags was all I ever knew about the park industry.

So in summary, the internet made me into the enthusiast I am today.

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ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

What a cool thread topic. I was a closet enthusiast until I was about 24. I read anything about rides and parks I could get ahold of. Since that was before the web there was not much out there. Then a friend in the ride biz was looking because he was short staffed. So I went to work. I had a regular full time job but I ran the rides at night. My fam and my friends thought I was cracked. It was something I wanted to do and be around since I was a kid. Its much more common with the net and discovery channel and how much stuff is in the news. I new there was enthusiasts around when I was like 20 but I did not know until I was 25 that clubs existed. I then joined ACE but I'm not a member now.

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Please remain seated until the ride comes to a full and complete stop.

I've been an enthusiast as long as can remember...

When I was 3 my dad took me to King's Dominion, and we rode the Scoobie Doo Coaster, and he got me hooked. When I turned 4, we were living in California, and we decided to go to Disneyland and ride the rides. I was already 40 inches (I'm relatively short.) and able to ride Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Star Tours (One of my favorite rides ever!) I continued going every year until I turned 6 and moved to Florida. We went and had occasional days at Disneyworld, but we realised there was so much to do. We stayed at the Polynesian, where, unfortunately, I discovered I had allergies: I missed the Electric Water Pagent. After hearing about Millennium Force, that summer we decided to make a trip up north, in My Dad's new Minivan. We went through The Carolinas, Virginia, up to New York, We stopped at a few places in Virginia. Mountain Lake (A cool cabin resort) Appomattox (I was bored crapless) King's Dominion (Where it rained, and turned cold, and I rode Hypersonic in the Rain) Busch Gardens, where I enjoyed Alpengeist for the first time, and finally, In New York, we visited some relatives, and we took my cousin to Six Flags Darien Lake, where he got over his fear of rollercoasters (Particularly the Mind Eraser) We left my relatives after a few days and visited Cedar Point. I was blown away as we drove towards the now predominantly blue skyline. I rode Millennium, and was locked in as an enthusiast. We went back to Florida after two days at CP (stopping at King's Dominion again- It wasn't raining this time) We later got annual passes to Disneyworld, because they were cheap (ish), gave benefits, and so we renewed them yearly until this last year, because we moved here, to Arizona. And now, this, TV, and NoLimits, RCT, and other coaster games keep me from coaster withdrawl.

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o hai. i herd u liek mudkipz?

I never rode anything that had inversions until I was 14, and with a friend at SFOG for his birthday. Peer pressure pretty much forced me on to it, and I've loved coasters since.

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Lifetime SFOG Goliath Count: 131
2007 Goliath Count: 36
2007 Deja Vu Count: 1

^At least you remember your first inversions. Now that I look back on it, I was probably a little too young to ride Demon at SFGAm back in 1998. I remember clutching my dad in line, the first drop, and the first loop, but that's about it.

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It really boils down to one word:

Kumba.

In 1998, when I first laid eyes on Kumba, I was mesmerized. It was so enormous, and I was intrigued. And although I had never ridden a big coaster up to this point, I had to ride it. I told myself it was going to be alright because I would just close my eyes the whole time....but I didn't. I kept them open, and when it was all over, I realized that I was obsessed with coasters.

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HANNAH MONTANA!!!!!!!!!
TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM!!!!!
"I'm living proof....THAT GIRLS CAN ROCK!!!!!!"

My first enthusiast memory...

Standing in line for Wild Thing @ Valleyfair! for the first time (I was very young). Another kid, about my age, next to me goes, "This thing is like 100 feet tall! I don't know if I really want to ride this." I was pretty much an ace on coasters by then, so i pointed out, "Its actully 207 feet".

He left the line.

Basicly, I don't remember not liking coasters. I would draw coasters non-stop on the bus. I made fair rides out of EVERYTHING.
I would make a pretend ride, ask my little sister if she would ride. After many minutes of explaining the rides stats, and she would be hyped to ride my (fake) ride, I would sadly announce she was too short, and it wasn't safe to ride. Oh well...

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Pay no attention to me.

I've always been obssesed with coasters...it's only been recently that I've evolved to another level, as in I learned the companies and the terms and the lingo.

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Some of my most recent credits: Superman Krypton Coaster, Dueling Dragons and Hulk, Firehawk and Italian Job
* Wii friend code: 0538 6357 5445 8967

I never rode coasters. I was scared to death of them then one day i just got tired of people asking me and begging me to ride one so i went back to the park the next day alone and stared at it for about 30 min then got on. I was hooked from the first drop.

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2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

I used to draw coasters in class and obsess over them...I guess I've grown up, because that kind of obsession really isn't there anymore. I think I've just ridden so many I've become jaded. I still love visiting other parks, but that stomach churning excitement is gone.

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HANNAH MONTANA!!!!!!!!!
TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM!!!!!
"I'm living proof....THAT GIRLS CAN ROCK!!!!!!"

I just realized something, I've yet to post how I became an enthusiast!
I didn't bring my family into this, I was pretty much born into a family that was part of the GP, but really enjoys the parks, and every year got their Busch Gardens Olde Country and Water Country USA EuroSplash passes. Awkwardly enough, neither of what I believe to be my "landmark" coasters were at BGW. My first ever roller coaster was the Scooby Doo Ghoster Coaster at Paramount's Kings Dominion and then some many years later after a few trips to Disney and countless trips to Busch Gardens, I went on my first looping coaster at Kings Dominion: Anaconda. I rode it three times that day and felt so amazing, my parents complained it beat them up too much, so the third time I really beefed up and rode it alone.
By the time I was in the 7th grade I really started looking at rides, I was not into the details as far as stats yet, but I had the layout of all Busch Gardens's coasters memorized, and knew just about everything about the park you can know without doing research.
By about early 2004 I got impatient with Busch Garden's lack of new rides and did many google searches to find info on whether the park would be getting a new ride, it was in these searches that I found Coasterforce, thispagecannotbedisplayed, xtremecoasters, and of course, ThrillNetwork, which I joined much later that year, just after DarKastle's press release. In the first day of 9th grade in one of those "go around the room, say your name and something about yourself" I introduced myself as having an "undying love for roller coasters and amusement parks." By this time I knew that I had become one of those enthusiasts that I had only heard about now-and-then on a discovery or travel channel program. It's kind of hard to tell where it happened, but I can definitely look back and see when I was definitely a fan, and now I am a definite enthusiast.

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Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens Europe!?
Take THAT Magic Kingdom!

I used to be afraid of anything that was over like 75 feet.

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werent we all at some point?

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Nitro got me addicted to them.

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I've been visiting Cedar Point at least once every year with my family since I was born (with the exception of the 2000 and 2002 seasons), so I was kind of raised on parks and coasters, though I never really go into them as much as I am now until the 2002-'03 off-season, when I was glued to TTD construction stuff. My family has actually been going to Cedar Point for many generations; since about or before the time the first coaster was put up, the Switchback Railway by the beach.

I guess since I was raised on coasters, I've always been a bit of an enthusiast, I just realized it back in 2002.

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Point Xtreme: Your Xtreme Guide to America's Roller Coast!

8 bits and Goomba-stomping fun is all you need for a fun afternoon. Forget shooting and thousands of polygons, I want bits and funny sounds.

Check the Town Square forum. Several of us have our stories there. At least mine is, posted way back in 2003 or something like that.

Great idea for a thread though. I'm surprised we haven't had one like this before.

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Have you read my number 1 best seller? There will be a test! ~God
Life with God is one thrill ride you'll never want to get off of.
My park & coaster photos: Sir Willow's Smugmug pictures

Speaking of that forum, this thread is a bit more fitting for it.

So, I moved it.

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ThrillNetwork Webmaster/Systems Administrator -- My Official Fansite -- Get Firefox!
Everytime I ride a coaster, it valleys. I've never been on a stalled coaster or had one roll back (except Wicked Twister and what was Superman: Ultimate Escape, which does that by design).

I never really knew there was an enthusiast community before I got into coasters about 95.

I think I had heard of ACE, but only vaguely.

I started traveling to parks in about 95 and then some time after that discovered that there were actually groups of people that did this too!

Oh and they like buffets too.

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Intimidator Coming in 2010 to Carowinds!