What got you started?

Well, Im not sure how "off topic" this discussion is, but I'll put it here. How did you get started into coasters. We all someday said "Hey Im gonna search coasters on the web", And found this website. Whats your story? [?]

For me it was back in 2003. My friend invited me to his birthday party at MM. At the time I absolutely hated coasters. They terrified me. So I went around all day with my friends skipping every ride untill the very end of the day. I said to mysrelf "This is pathetic, your being a pussy". So I took a spin on the brand new SCREAM! (it was opening week). It was my first real coaster other than the mountains at disneyland. I was absolutely pinned to coasters ever since. I went back the next week and rode everything in the park. [redsmoke]

[jayman]

i got to ride the matterhorn when i was two, and we went to magic mountain just after it opened and i remember the gold rusher. when i was 6 we got to ride the brand new corkscrew at knott's.. my dad made me.. my dad used to tell stories about the old la beach rollercoasters too, and that really used to fascinate me..i grew up 2 miles from knotts..

Rollercoaster Tycoon was what really got me into coasters. I began experimenting with them, and once I got RCT 2 and the Six Flags parks I really started to get interested. I studied the layout of SFMM on RCT 2 and learned what the coasters did. Then I wasn't so scared. My first trip to a park just for coasters was December '03 to SFMM. I started on the less intense rides: Revolution, Psyclone, Collossus. Then I moved up to Viper and my first B&M--Batman. Before the trip however, I also got NL and spent hours looking and building coasters. That's when I came across WWS, which I found while searching for a good coaster exchange. I joined to download Bobcoaster's Lakeside Cyclone recreation because that was a coaster I had been on. It took me a while to gain confidence on the forums, but I started posting and that's where I am today.

Ever since the '03 SFMM trip I've been trying to get back to the park to go on many of the coasters that I missed. Park trips so far have been to SFEG, Knott's, Disneyland, DCA, and Lakeside. It's surprising I didn't get into coasters earlier. I used to live very close to Disneyland and Knotts.

I always loved coasters. I didnt really go on any until like 1999 because i was to afraid. My first big coaster was grizzle 12 times in a row. A few years ago when they were building x and de ja vu I went on revy twice then went straight to viper. I have gone on any coaster I can get to ever since.

well here is my little story how i started to like coaster, well it was the season "05" at the paramount canada's wonderland, and my friend pushed me to go on the arrow looping coaster named (dragon fire). So i liked it and decided to go on more coaster, and i allmost did all the coaster in the park.

Before that i was looking at them and i was afraid of falling out of the seats, then until this year they are really fun and safe, that is why i am trying to plan little trips to some other parks, and try there coaster and thrill ride.

Back in the day of the Soap Box Derby Racers at Knotts like 8 years ago... That ride would get anyone addicted. After that i bought a bunch of books and ordered those 'Most Extreme Rollercoasters 3d' movies, and then it just got worse and worse from then on, when i realized there was so much more greatness out there.

This is going to sound stupid, but i cant remember a time when i wasnt interested in roller coasters. I guess it started when the fair came to my home town when i was about 2, and i loved watching them apparently. I stayed their for ages watching flat rides, and was obsessed with the "whirly slide" [:D] lol. Anyway, yeah i was always interested in coasters, but i rode my first one when i was 5. It was the Hornet at Flambards Village in Cornwall, a Zierer Hornet, the same as Vol D'Icare at Parc Asterix. Then i rode my first vekoma at the age of 6 at Pleasure Island my home park. It was a Vekoma Junior 207m coaster. Erm, at this time i was interested, but not REALLY interested. But then i rode SKY LOOPER at American Adventure, now known as twin looper, when i was about 7, it was my first looping coaster, a Soquet double loop! In the same year i rode a Pinfari TL59, which does have a loop, a very circular, uncomfortable one at that. lol. This is when i got really interested in coasters. My family then booked a trip to florida when i was 8, i did not get on much, but i bought my first roller coaster book then, "Roller Coaster" by David Bennet, im sure most of you have it. I had read that in a few weeks, quite a task for an 8 year old. Then i found rcdb when i was 9, on the school internet. lol. This was when it took about a year for one page to load. lol. Found lots of other sites, and joined WWS about 2 and a half years ago? I cant really remember. ANyway now i have a HUGE collection of ride videos, DVDs, pictures, Books...... lol.

[rcmaniac25]

I was a bit interested in roller coasters but didn't care much. Then I had to go on a field trip to Dorney Park. My first real coaster (Not like those kiddy coasters at fairs) that got me interested was Laser, First coaster, Front seat. Later on I saw an advertisement for RCT, the first one, bought it was have been hooked ever since. If it weren't for Laser I probably won't have bought RCT, and won't have gotten into roller coasters.

O I was like 6 when this happened.

Goliath with an ERT do i have to say more?

Just like woodie man, it was RCT that made me a coaster fanatic I had gone to Disneyland and Europapark before, but always would've been much too terrified to ride, say, silverstar, or even euromir - the drops frightened me. But the curiosity to know all about the rides that came with RCT just made me forget about that fear. That's why I still love this game! [:D]

Astroworld in Houston opened "Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride" in 1972. I couldn't wait to ride it, since my mom had so often spoken in terror of her ride on the Coney Cyclone years before, and like any 5yo boy, I was WAY braver than a girl, even my mom! As the train rounded the big turn at the top, I saw the front cars disappear over the drop and felt our car pick up speed. I don't remember anything else. I was shaking, crying, and had to be helped out of the train when it got back to the station.
I was fascinated. I loved all the other rides and wasn't scared at all, but the coaster had power over me and I had to know why. I got every book I could find (almost NONE back then!) and read about what made them work, why they didn't jump the track, etc. It was FOUR YEARS before I got back on it.
That year was 1976. I was nine years old now, and my neighbors were going to Astroworld to ride the brand new Texas Cyclone and wanted to know if I would go. TC was a copy of the Coney Cyclone, only bigger, so it was (as my mom would say) a REAL rollercoaster. I had to do it.
We first went back to Dexter and I took my first ride on it in four years. I was scared, but I made it. Then to the Cyclone. My neighbor, who had taunted me as a "scaredy cat" for four long years, absolutely made the wait in line miserable. I was terrified by the time we sat in the car. He and his dad just in front of me and his mom.
As scared as I was going up the lift, I really loved the sounds the woodie made. I loved the feel of the trains, the latticework structure was amazing, and those old PTC trains left you a lot of room to bounce around. But it was HIGH! As we crested the hill, I held on to the bar until my hands were numb.
We dropped. TxCyclone in those days was the undisputed #1 coaster in the world, and for good reason. That first drop was INSANE. Everyone but the back car would just float down the drop. The back car would get catapulted. Either way, there was a feeling that the car had jumped the track and was just plummeting to its grave somewhere in the depths of hell. That's when I heard the most blood-curdling scream... from my neighbor in the seat in front of me. He was clutching his father for dear life and WAILING. He cried, he shook, he kept saying "DADDY, MAKE IT STOP!!!!". His mom kept asking me "are you ok?" and I would just be laughing.
When the ride was over, I knew I was hooked. I wanted to go again. I wanted to go MANY more times. But Lee, my taunting neighbor, was a mess. We ended up just going home.
Coastering has been an obsession since then. I've ridden more than 450 coasters in 11 countries. In the 29 years that the TxCyclone ran, I racked up more than 10,000 rides on it. It was like an old friend. When they bulldozed it this year, I stood by the fence and cried. Never again will there be stories like mine, where an enthusiast was born and a bratty neighbor kid's taunts silenced all in 3 minutes and 12 seconds of engineered adrenaline on wooden track.
It's been an obsession since then.

Actually, it was RCDB that got me into NoLimits [an add].

But for me...I used to be afraid of rollercoasters...and to admit it, I refused to go upside down until I was 12 or 13. Even on fair rides! But I think I got it when my cousin in New York forced me onto Storm Runner...literally. I guess I just loved the feeling of actually being absolutely terrified, lol. But after that I looked on the web to see other coasters and others I had been on so I could kinda...relive that feeling, I guess.

i remember i used to only go on the oittle coasters (when i was around 7) and in fifth grade i went on goliath for my first big coaster (sfmm) and i was like "this is insane i gotta do it again!!!!!" and that day i went on every one i was tall enough to go on. but this was after i became a RCT freak and disney coaster and all that. then i found this site, then i found no limits.

yeah

yeah i used to be scared of them too. it was cuase im terrafied of hights, but then one day... i gathered my testicles and rode my first coaster. after that, i was like obsessed and started traveling around america to ride more coasters. i still have so much more to ride but basicly, i find roller coasters to be an art. i could just watch them all day....... but it much rather ride them

I found this site when i was looking for videos when i was in like 7th grade or something (10th grade currently)and i liked it cause of the colors so i stuck around!

Googled "roller coaster" after a day at SFStl and found NL. From NL I found thrillnetwork and away we go.

I was about 5, and visited my first fun-fair here in Bolton, i went on a Zipper for my first ever ride, and i absolutely loved it. Everything about it, speed, being upside down, although the pain was a little too intense .
After that ride every-time i even saw i ride or came within a 100 meter radius of a ride, rollercoaster or fun-fair i got very, very exited.
As i grew up i bought videos, books and lots of magazines and learnt the technical side to rollercoasters. As technology progressed i discovered the internet.
I would just sit there for hours on end just looking at rollercoasters and learning stats, manufacturers, designers and all that kind of stuff.
I discovered 'Advanced Roller-coaster Design'. Hyper rails being the first, and now NL. Which grew understanding and made my love of coasters to an even higher extent.
Due to alot of Blagging every time i go on vacation, i make my parents book a hotel near to theme-parks, including spain and other european countries.
We've had great holidays in Orlando+Tampa bay in Florida. And occasionally i travel the country myself.
Thus getting my coaster count up to about 110 coasters due to a recent count.
Im really lucky to have been to so many parks, and i thank my parents for support.

[hyyyper]

Somehow i think SFMMhomie can read minds because i was about the post a similar topic....

Anyways

My family used to have an annual trip to The Efteling, a small but beautifull park in Holland, with a vekoma corkscew and an intamin woodie in the beginning, later they added a vekoma indoor and are now building a kumbak watercoaster.
At some point when i was still very young and not tall enough to ride, i used to go the dock where you could manouver boats in a small pond while the ones who where tall enough got on the Python (the corkscrew). As i was at the boates once again, some guy from the control house walked up to my dad and told him he had something for me. We followed him inside and he gave me this huge poster of the first loop of the Python with the train upside-down, as i would find out later, they where from an old Coke-marketing "You can't beat the feeling".
As soon as we got home (according to my parent i never let go of the poster that day untill we got home) we hung it up my wall in my room and marked how tall i should be to ride the Python.
So after two years or something, i was finally tall enough to ride and it was the best thing i ever felt.
The following years my parent decided to visit other parks aswell, such as Walibi Flevo (currently WWO) and some small parks in Holland, Belgium and Germany.
When RCT came out, i got into coasters even more and it wasn't untill RCT2 when i started to search the net for coasters, allmost similar i found some exchange sites and rcdb.com, on one the exchanges i saw a coaster uploaded that was in full 3d and stuff and i came to NL, i downloaded it, purchaced it, and registerd to cs.com, and got banned not so long after. Meanwhile i met dirk via cs.com and he pointed my to wws.com, and i never left.

In 1979 I rode the Cyclone at Astroland in Brooklyn, New York, and have honestly never looked back.

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As far as the simulators, RCT always pissed me off and I hated it, even to this day because I wanted to ride the rides, not sit and watch the trains in action. So, I went looking for a simulator and found NoLimits in like December, 2001 or 2002. Once I found NL, and bought it immediately and was hooked. From there I found coasters2k.com and after watching the site be run into the ground by management, I went looking for a better place to hang my hat and found CS and WWS at the same time. Since I was not cool enough to be part of the "gestapo" at cs, I hung my hat at WWS (while helping whenever I could at coasterfuel.com) and the rest is, well, the present.

Damned be the nay sayers! At WWS ... at least you are welcome and don't have to have a chip on your shoulder to feel that way.

Well, the first coaster I rode was Roller Coaster at Hoffman's Playland when I was 3, but I don't remember that, that was just a ride my mom claims I rode. Anways, the next year, I rode Tivoli Coaster at Marine Land, and then I rode Roller Coaster at Magic Forest Park a year or 2 later. Then, in 2000, I went to HP for the first time and rode Trailblazer and Wild Mouse. I loved Wild Mouse and ended up riding it 3 times in a row. That was my first real taste of a roller coaster. In 2001, I went to Seabreeze, riding Bobsleds and Beartrax, and rode an indoor kiddie coaster at around december 2001. But, 2002 was the year my obsession was given a 50 mph kick start, with Predator @ SFDL. When we reached the top of the lift, it scared the crap out of me, but by the time I got to the bottom of the first drop, I loved it. I didn't ride my first looper until next year (Sooperdooperlooper) The next milestone wouldn't come until 6-30-04, when I rode TTD. It was an amazing experience.

Well, my first non-kiddie coaster was the Pepsi Ripsaw at the Mall of America, which I probably went on within a year after it opened (I must have been 3 or 4). I also remember watching shows on the Discovery Channel when I was really young, noticing how much better coasters were everywhere else than here. Probably after that I went to Valleyfair for the first time, and I don't think I even dared go on any of the coasters, until the next year, when Wild Thing opened, and went on everything except for that. By the next year I went on Wild Thing (way before it was trimmed like crazy) and liked it more than anything I'd been on up until then. (Hopefully it opens back up safely soon, as it's still one of my favorite rides).

I got started on RCT back when I was little, I think 8 yrs old. then if I recall correctly, we got cable internet before rct2 came out and once it did, I was sooo syked. however, I got really bored with it so I was lookin in what seemed like such an unknown world at the time (google).

I kept searching and searching and finally I got NL. I downloaded the demo and I was blasted away at how awesome it was (and still is). I saved up $25 in no time and bought it. soon after, I found wws.com.... man that opened up soooo many doors. This and I think one other site were the first things that got me into anything coaster related. Then I met a few people and a couple of em are still really good friends.

And in terms of real coasters, I had always liked em, just been to afraid to ride em. Then there was that first ride on SROS @ SFA back in 2002 and its all uphill from there.

Tanks -- stop -- you have been to Hoffman's? Man, that is like 12 mins from my parents house!! I've ridden "Roller Coaster" more times than I can count!!

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[Brtnboarder495]

RCT1/2 = park simulator, and awesome at it.
NL1/2 = coaster simulator, and awesome at it.
RCT3 = attempt at being a park and coaster simulator at the same time, and horrible at it.

Originally posted by Brtnboarder495

RCT1/2 = park simulator, and awesome at it.
NL1/2 = coaster simulator, and awesome at it.
RCT3 = attempt at being a park and coaster simulator at the same time, and horrible at it.

Heh, not sure that answers the question of this thread -- but thank you Captain Obvious for the recap of our suffering.