Why I'm no longer a roller coaster enthusiast

There definitely is a difference between Loving theme parks and loving coasters

Park culture is an important part, and not just theming. The employee friendliness, ride operations, food, layout, ride portfolio, etc all combine into one package. This is why Holiday World, Kings Island, and Knoebels have such fans. They are run well with a pleasant vibe felt throughout the park.

Truthfully, if all of the rides are walk-ons, I don't care much about theming. But mostly, you spend most of your time queueing. And the difference between being in a park that makes queueing pleasant, and a park that just makes you line up in an open pen is huge.

Miserable queue lines with no theming or shade really do suck the fun out of most U.S. parks. Combine that with obnoxious patrons, overpriced trash food and almost no theming and really the only time I'm enjoying myself at most U.S. parks is when I'm on the actual rides and that's it.

Prediction, you are now an amusement park enthusiast?? Edit: oops

I think it comes from what we grew up with. You come from Europe, parks littered with theming. I come from Ohio. Intense thrill coasters (with next to no theming) were part of my childhood. Our upbringing builds our expectations.

It's alright for our interests to shift as time passes! I'm not much of one either anymore, but specifically because I have a spinal injury that has changed a lot of things for me, and doctors have all suggested I stay away from coasters for the rest of my life.

Goodbye coasterbot hello just uhh.. Bot. Or HarryBot.

This video hits hard for me, because i completely agree witb everything you said. I grew up visiting US theme parks and Amusement parks as thats where i lived. I always enjoyed the likes of Universal/Disney/ Busch gardens more than the rest but i never really knew why as i was younger. For the last 3 years in my early 20s I have lived in europe. Ive had the opportunity of visiting Phantasialand and Europa Park multiple times as well as also going to Efteling, Toverland, Plopsaland de Panne, Walibi Belgium, and Walibi Holland. During my time here i have realized that while I still consider myself a rollercoaster enthusiast, I dont always share the same tenacity as others do at non Theme parks. Theres a reason Taron is #1 on my list even though ive ridden objectively better coasters. The atmosphere, the music, the environment, the near misses and the way it flows perfectly with everything around it creates peak enjoyment for me. Fury 325 has always been one of my top 5, but it just doesnt hit the same as something like F.L.Y., Voltron, or RtH. I will say though my one critique about theme parks is when they dont have at least 1 really good roller coaster then i can feel a bit let down as the combination of theming and coaster is my favorite part of a park. Efteling while beautiful felt like that, but wouldnt be my favorite park to revisit as they didnt have one roller coaster that i really wanted to reride over and over again. Overall great video Coaster Bot, i completely agree with you so much!

I like theming but I'm not typically bowled over by it, with a few exceptions. I mostly prefer landscaping to theming. Give me great coasters surrounded by trees and colorful flowers and I'm happy.

I completely understand. I strongly consider myself to be a roller coaster enthusiast, but I still love it when parks go out of their way to immerse you. I still enjoy roller coasters without theming, but I totally get how it can be boring to someone who likes theme parks specifically.

Harry: riding roller coaster 15 days in a row isn't a common thing... "Taylor from CS has entered the chat"

I think there are really three categories in the US. There are the large theme parks, which include the whole top tier: Disney and Universal, and some other players like Dollywood and Busch Gardens. There are the Six Flags-type large regional amusement parks, which do a lot of "ride plunked down on asphalt" and can be kind of unpleasant places aside from the rides. (I think the management of the companies that run these things all realize that plussing them into family theme parks is the way to go for future viability, but that takes money, effort and time.) And then there are the small local parks, like Knoebels or Seabreeze or Canobie Lake Park, often family-owned (though some are now run by chains like Palace/Parques Reunidos), which may not have elaborate theming but can have an intimate, nostalgic vibe that the big parks don't. There used to be hundreds and hundreds of these; they used to be the dominant form of amusement park. Today, the bigger players have driven most of them out of business. But some of them survive, especially in markets like the US Northeast that the big boys haven't seen fit to completely saturate. Most of these, I would categorize more as amusement parks than as theme parks (though some of them do have theming, which is often quirky and homespun--many little independent parks with fairy-tale themes popped up across America around the same time Disneyland opened, and a few of them are still operating). But they have genuine charm. Like you, I definitely prefer a good theme park over a big chain amusement park, even if the latter have some of my favorite rides. The last park I visited was Tokyo DisneySea, possibly the theme-iest theme park in the entire world; it's often said that you could spend a day at Tokyo DisneySea, ride no rides and feel you'd gotten your money's worth just from the astounding atmospheric theming, and it's really true. But I think the little players may actually be my favorite category. I live just down the road from Canobie Lake Park and I feel blessed to be so close to that place. It's nice just to be there, too.

8:33 “Amusement parks are not designed with humans in mind.” What a good, fitting, true quote. I personally have little interest in amusement parks, but I love theme parks. I don’t really go searching for big thrills anyway. I love getting lost in different worlds, experiencing almost otherworldly places. And a queue line doesn’t have to be such a bad thing for a ride if it’s themed. As a Dutchman, I don’t feel that big of a rush to go to Walibi. But Efteling, I absolutely adore and I have to come back at least annually. It’s just a nice place to be. To just vibe, as you said. In my last visit, it was nice and warm, but not too warm. And it was lovely to just bask in the sun near Fata Morgana with fruit I brought from home. And just walking around in the fairytale forest, you don’t encounter much action. You just wander about and have a fun time doing so. Just walking around there at all is just part of the fun. For me, Efteling is a great theme park with some coasters as a nice bonus. And I’d love to visit other European theme parks. Such American parks definitely seem like they would be a culture shock to me too.

Good on ya, Harry. Roller coasters are definitely a big part of theme parks, maybe they're even the core of the theme park experience, but yeah, you can't just visit them for the coasters alone, or more broadly, the rides. Because of that I can now appreciate parks like the Islands for what they truly should be: escapes

It’s actually crazy how much better a coaster can be when it’s immersive, well maintained, exciting air conditioned queue.

Good thing you didn’t visit Six Flags America. They just opened their Steam Town area that supposed to be rethemed and rejuvenated. There was no music, minimal theming, and now some of the attractions won’t stay open. This has made me appreciate parks like Busch Gardens, Universal, and Disney even if they don’t have the most thrilling rides. Experiences is what keeps guests coming back for more.

I spent two days at Carowinds and Chiz was the best ride op I've ever seen. The only reason he EVER compromises speed of dispatches is for fun and hype. He gets you on that ride ASAP and gets you pumped up in the process.

I can relate to this. When I was 16, I just wanted the most intense rides possible. Now I'm almost 30, and I appreciate theming, and smooth rides more

I found this video oddly surprising and illuminating but maybe because, even with the channel/podcast name, I had never really considered the idea that it was ONLY rollercoasters that were the point of interest and not wider theme park topics. Perhaps, also being a Brit, I am used to the heavier theming but I also just felt the theming was part of the package. This has given me a lot to think about. Life has been odd and disruptive at the moment and something here has resonated with me (perhaps just in hope/cope) and I'm glad you have found a wider world to love & enjoy