[tarheel1231]

Idk, maybe my visits to Carowinds have gotten stale, or maybe I really don't care anymore. But I've found myself getting less and less interested in roller coasters. I've lost that sense of exhilaration I used to get, and I barely keep up with news/speculation anymore. That, and the community has gotten kind of unbearable, so it makes discussion unappealing. Maybe my interest in theme parks was just a phase.

Has anyone else felt like this before?

[Jonathan]

Nope.

People change, interests change, some things you stay interested in for life, some you don't.

[Edwardo]

How old are you now? I know you're young, so many of the things you were passionate about at 13 won't be what you're into at 16.

[coasterbruh]

That, and the community has gotten kind of unbearable, so it makes discussion unappealing.

Explain . . .

[tarheel1231]

That, and the community has gotten kind of unbearable, so it makes discussion unappealing.

Explain . . .

It's not all sites, but sometimes the discussions devolve into how parks are "neglected" and how they deserve a certain type of Coaster to fit whatever BS quota they have. And I used to be like this, but looking in on what feels like the "outside" it seems kinda pointless.

[Edwardo]

The community hasn't gotten unbearable it's just changed significantly online. You have long established general and local sites with established communities that are mostly made up of long time members. There are a lot of private online groups that are invite only on Facebook and other social media. Both private and established groups tend to weed out the undesirables quick and they're quick to start new open groups not realizing that the same types who've already been booted or marked from more established or invite only sites are all they're going to attract.

[aoriole19]

To answer your original question, I haven't felt exactly like that but I see where you are coming from. I'll offer my personal experience/thoughts, because hopefully it will help, but if not don't worry since everyone is different.

I got super into coasters when I was about 12, and they were my number one hobby for a couple years. I would go on several websites, researching, looking at pictures, keeping up with news, and of course going to Carowinds. It helped that my best friends at the time also loved Carowinds, so we went a lot.

Then, as I got older, I had less free time to focus on coasters (I got other hobbies, got a job, took AP classes, etc.) and on a couple of occasions I wondered something like "Am I losing my passion for roller coasters?" But really, I wasn't. A couple of ways I could tell: The idea of traveling to a new theme park still excited me A LOT. Any time someone mentioned a coaster or park I immediately get excited and wanted to join the conversation. These kinds of things can be signs that you still have a strong interest in coasters, even if they're not your number one obsession you think about 24/7.

Now, I pretty much only go on this forum and Twitter for coaster-related content (unless there's some specific coaster/park/rumor/news I want to look into), and I sometimes go weeks without really thinking about anything coaster-related. But any time I get the opportunity to travel (school breaks pretty much) I try really hard to go to a park. And I still talk about them a lot I'm even an ACE member now!

You may be in the same situation, or you may have legitimately lost interest. Either way, it's not a bad thing. Things may change again for you in a few years. I will say things can change quite a lot when you're older and you can make more of your own decisions regarding travel and you have your own money and things like that. Hope that makes sense. Sorry for the long post, but I may have appreciated someone sharing this experience with me when I was 16.

[FamousAmos]

Yay for being an ACE member, Are you gonna come down to C3 this year?

[aoriole19]

Not this year ): it's during my school's freshman orientation and I'm really involved with that. But hopefully next year!

[arby]

It could have been a phase for you. If so, no big deal. One thing for sure, never give up on your artistry - Some of the things I've seen you do (with Paint of all things) are quite remarkable.

For me, I see what you are talking about. I used to be involved in numerous groups, forums, websites, etc. I lost interest in most of them, not because I have lost my love for amusement parks but because I lost interest in the negativity, fighting, passive aggressiveness, complaining, etc... As a relief, I have cut ties with most groups and sites which I found most helpful. This site is probably the only place you will ever find me in regards to amusement parks.

Additionally, I used to travel extensively for amusement parks. I have cut back significantly on my travels, not because I lost interest but because I started to look very closely at my finances. Since doing that, I have cut my debt by over 50% and the snowball effect of that process has put me on a fast track to being completely debt free in the next few years.

The lack of travel to parks, along with the lack of constant bombardment of news about everything going on at every park around the world has actually increased my interest in amusement parks and I look forward to upcoming trips much more than ever in the past.

So either you have lost interest, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, or you have been overstimulated by exposing yourself to so much that it has overwhelmed you. For me, I am always excited by the prospect of riding a new or great coaster again and always will be. It is in my blood.

[coasterbruh]

I look at it like this. For me it is a hobby, but for some it's a way of life. I'm gonna use this quote as a basis of my post.

I lost interest in most of them, not because I have lost my love for amusement parks but because I lost interest in the negativity, fighting, passive aggressiveness, complaining, etc... As a relief, I have cut ties with most groups and sites which I found most helpful.

This hit the nail right on the head. I have seen, even on this site, people who don't get their way become combative and storm off the playground like a toddler. I have seen people go back and forth over things as simple as a schedule at an event in a negative manner and it makes you think, do they really wanna resolution or do they just wanna whine about it. Then when they get called out the passive aggressiveness kicks in and they start unfriending people vis social media and stepping down from positions because they have let this hobby really go to their head.

Me, personally, i'm just glad when I started liking coasters the internet wasn't that prevalent I relied on physically picking up the phone and making long distance calls to parks for any material they can send me lol. However, the internet isn't the issue its the fact that we let the community overpower our love for coasters. We let others opinions and thoughts kinda dictate ours to an extent. For example, because someone may have a bad experience one time out of many visits to a park doesn't mean we should write off said park and not make our own opinion. And don't get me started about how these coaster polls where farses lol.

But again, I try to steer clear of all that realize my main goal is to, firstly, make sure I can still fit in coasters lol and make the best out of every park experience. So my advice is to focus more on the hobby and coasters and no so much on the people you are riding them with.

[Sean978]

I figure I'll tell you what I've been doing as well, so you can have a variety of responses.

When I first got into coasters in the spring of 2014 I would constantly check here, Newsplusnotes, Screamscape, and read about parks on Wikipedia. While I still love coasters, my obsession has "Slowed down" quite a bit. Now I really only check CC maybe once a day. I still get excited going to a new park, and seeing new coasters, but I try to enjoy myself at a park above all else. I honestly don't even know what my coaster count is after visiting more than 5 new parks this summer.
I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that I used to be obsessed, and now I just enjoy the experiences that I get to have at parks.

Tl:dr- Don't make this hobby a chore, enjoy it.

[Edwardo]

It also helps to have multiple hobbies. I tend to add in my other hobbies on a trip so that I'm not only doing parks (I actually don't like multi day park trips and never have, though I do them).

[tarheel1231]

Thank you all for your responses. The one post I felt I could really relate to was aoriole's in that I haven't necessarily lost interest in coasters, but they're just not my number one interest anymore. The idea of visiting a new park or seeing a new ride still excites me, but just not in the way it used to when I was 13.

[Merthecat]

I actually feel the same way, tarheel, but I completely agree with aoriole19 that I haven't lost my interest in roller coasters, I just have other things to do that excite me. That's why I hardly ever log on to or post on coaster sites anymore. I still enjoy discussing rides and going to parks, but I have other interests too.