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Okay, so if you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that in the warmer months, we do a lot of traveling – traveling specifically to ride roller coasters.
I’ve written about our story at length before, but in a nutshell: I’m married to a roller coaster enthusiast. In fact, one of the very first questions that Derrick asked me when we met & were first chatting (literally: within the first few sentences that we spoke to one another), he asked if I liked roller coasters.
He has told me multiple times in the 13 years since that day, that if I had answered: “No, not really,” he would have walked away & never looked back.
Thankfully, I answered: “Yes! I do!” (and even tried to impress him with a little bit of roller coaster trivia, that actually turned out to be incorrect).
So, I thought it might be fun to shed a little light into what it really looks like to be the wife of a roller coaster enthusiast!
I’ll preface this by saying: the fact that Derrick & I both enjoy roller coasters is extremely rare.
In fact, in the “coaster community”, it’s few & far between to find both a husband and a wife who love roller coasters. Usually, one is obsessed, while the other could care less (whether they have an extreme fear of heights or maybe riding coasters makes them sick).
So, we are the exception – not the rule.
Vacation Planning Is Different
There is no such thing as a “relaxing” vacation for a roller coaster enthusiast. Every trip is centered around an amusement park (or two) and while you might get a “quiet” day in between park days to sit on the beach or go out sightseeing, the trip’s “focus” is always roller coasters.
I honestly don’t even know what it is to plan a vacation not centered around amusement parks anymore. Like, how do people plan to go to the beach for an entire week? What in the world do they do with all that time, just sitting out on the sand?
The Daily News Is Different
While Derrick & I enjoy staying up on the current events of the day & some politics, you better believe, if there is big “roller coaster” or “amusement park” news, it’s probably the first thing I’m hearing about.
If a park has announced a new attraction for next year or the year after, if it’s been broadcast that certain coasters are down for maintenance or refurbishment, maybe opening dates of new rides have been announced – you can be sure that that is what I hear about first & foremost.
How We Visit Parks Is Different
We arrive at amusement parks before they open & are typically one of the first people thru the front gate. Then, we are typically running to the “main” coaster in the park – which is usually in the back – in order to get those rides in first.
Literally our whole day in an amusement park is based around certain strategies that we have learned from visiting tons of parks (and talking to other people who have visited more parks than we have).
Additionally, we are never just going to an amusement park to ride the roller coasters, because we also need to take photos & get video footage of the park & rides for Derrick’s YouTube channel. This adds another layer of challenge to our days, because we have a lot to “squeeze” into a small window of time. (Being the wife of a YouTuber is a whole other post for another time.)
On top of that, we have two kids & they want to ride rides & have fun too (imagine that). They aren’t quite old or tall enough yet to ride most of the “big” coasters, so it’s just another layer of challenge to our day. We utilize the “parent swap” system that every park has & it’s just one more thing we have to think about.
In other words, while you might think that we just go to amusement parks & have fun, it’s actually quite a bit of “work” in order to plan out & conquer an amusement park so that we all have fun, we all get to do what we want, and we walk away with all the footage we need.
How We Walk Is Different
We walk really fast through amusement parks (some might describe it as “running”). There is no lolligagging or “casually” strolling thru a park. We walk with purpose.
I, specifically, tease Derrick all the time about how he likes to leave me “in the dust” at amusement parks (and he’s gotten much better about this over the years). It’s probably just because I’m fairly short (I’m 5’2″) and he’s fairly tall (he’s 6’3″), but his walking speed is much faster than my walking speed. And if he is “walking fast”, then I am actually “running” to keep up to him.
I used to think that me, not being able to keep up with Derrick at an amusement park was more of a “tall vs. short” person thing, instead of an enthusiast thing, but after visiting an amusement park with other “non-enthusiasts”, I’ve come to realize that regardless of how tall Derrick is, we simply walk with purpose at amusement parks & there is no dilly-dallying.
When We Enter An Amusement Park, I Have One Goal
I know that Derrick is super jazzed walking into an amusement park (especially if we’ve never been there before), and so his excitement level is thru the roof. This means that he doesn’t speak in complete sentences, he walks even faster, & he’s giddy like a senior on his last day of high school.
I know, that as soon as he rides his first roller coaster – he will calm down & return to a much more normal “mode” – so my goal, upon entering a park, is to get Derrick on a roller coaster ASAP. Even if this means running with him all the way to the back of Cedar Point to get on Steel Vengeance (which, no joke, is a little over a mile).
The Ups And Downs
Being the wife of a roller coaster enthusiast comes with it’s ups & downs (get it?) It’s an expensive, time-consuming, travel-heavy hobby, but it’s definitely super fun and it’s something that our entire family can enjoy together. Sure, Braelynn & Leander aren’t quite tall enough to ride most of the roller coasters at parks we visit (although Braelynn is getting really close!) but at least we can all have FUN together. Even though the kids can’t ride the “big” rides, they can ride the kiddie rides & family rides – and that makes their waiting for us to ride the “big” coasters worth it.
Do I enjoy being the wife of a roller coaster enthusiast? Yes.
It’s way better than being the wife of a sports enthusiast, or a car enthusiast, or a fishing enthusiast (all wonderful hobbies, I’m sure, but they all sound so boring!)
Of all the hobbies in the world, being obsessed with roller coasters sure is a fun one. I might get tired of constantly hearing about roller coaster stats, news, and “roller coaster nerd stuff”, but I sure don’t mind getting out there, traveling, and riding the magnificent beasts! We have tons of fun in our travels & as the kids get older, we only have more fun.
I’m thankful to be the wife of a roller coaster enthusiast.
Okay, one last thing, but SHAMELESS PLUG – Derrick was featured on a podcast this week! He’s interviewed for several podcasts in the past, but this was the first podcast that he was the star for the entirety of the episode! You can listen to it over on YouTube – the link is here: Coaster Conventional, Episode 4. (We’ve met a lot of fun people thru this journey of being “coaster enthusiasts”, but Austin is definitely one of the best!)
