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The I Feel Down Topic.

Right, this is going to sound either petty or moan worthy but I couldn't seem to find a place to write this down as I'm not sad per say but rather just utterly fed up.

What's making me feel this way? Honestly, just the coaster community as a whole either on here and elsewhere online is making me want to crash out as they are either moaning about how parks in this country are run or brag about their adventures overseas for vlogs from TPWW and others is just rubbing me up the wrong way making me despise them as I'll never get to experience all those great and so called magical places that I'll never experience that joy giving my current situation. Either I'm getting old or really my patience is running out fully of dealing with people and I will say the thought of leaving the community just to make my own opinion on how I'd feel if these places are as good or bad as they say they are but alas you'd be brave to say something different and or a nuance viewpoint which I feel I have but that sort of thing is never valued IMO.

However I won't leave as I'm already too deep in with the crowd to leave and I'm very lonely as a crave someone to meet up IRL just to chat about this hobby more than just online but there is nothing here unless I'm lucky by chance. All in all, I swear people are becoming more opinionated, too difficult high standards and just unlikable in this hobby that makes me wonder what really is the point?

Yeah, guess I just hate people yet crave someone just to sit down with and talk to in a calm and rational way which sadly I'm certain isn't going to happen soon.
 
So I don’t really want to turn this into a full on discussion in this topic, but a bit of my own opinion on this…

The enthusiast community has always been a critical bunch, but recently it’s clear the industry in the UK has been struggling for quite a while now. With ever cheaper flights and more importantly the tools to be able to access information on how to achieve trips abroad, more and more people are being exposed to how parks in other countries operate. That only increases the criticism that parks in the UK receive, and has only served to increase people’s strength of opinions over time too. It’s not something that can really be avoided, and often comes from a place of exasperation from seeing the success of parks elsewhere, and the lack of actual innovation going on in the UK these days. Let’s be brutal too, the average age of forum users is skewing a fair bit older these days too!

I do have to push back on you referring to vloggers “bragging” though - it’s a popular medium that unlike forums is perhaps skewing a little younger in terms of target market for you. Before Youtube, you had forums like this one, Coasterforce or TPR where people would post extensive trip reports complete with photos. Even before that you had magazines like First Drop or RCCGB’s Airtime Newsletter. A lot of vloggers are full time, ran as a business and so serve a market. If that market didn’t exist, they wouldn’t publish the content they do.

I’ve been extremely lucky in my time as an enthusiast to visit some amazing places, but there’s still a huge chunk of parks that I’ve never managed to get to. That said, I still always enjoy reading about them, or watching a video from people who have been lucky enough to visit - I’ve never particularly seen it as bragging. To me personally, it’s a great source of information and it’s nice to see what other people are up to. This sort of content has always existed, be that in print, pictures or in the videos as they do now. It’s the same sort of stuff it’s always been - it’s just the medium has changed. Thinking of it as someone bragging is instantly going bring a negative view of it before you’ve even hit that play button. It’s an informative source - just as the many websites that published extensive reviews of parks back in the day were.
 
Craig said:
So I don’t really want to turn this into a full on discussion in this topic, but a bit of my own opinion on this…
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With all due respect, nothing what you said makes me feel better...if anything much worse.

I can't look forward for anything like that, I'm from a part of the country when in this country and overseas in the community is a joke which makes me feel bad about myself and when those down south lament how bad things are domestically, I have to laugh as they don't know bad unless they saw it, I have no one IRL to talk to have a decent conversation about the state of the industry which honestly is more preferable than online which we can all agree makes a mountain from a mole hill and finally I'm getting to an age in which when I look at all those who have gone overseas and enjoy themselves, it makes me feel like I fail in this community as I've nothing to offer other than growing resentment I keep burried that I'll never feel happiness like all those who go all over.

You know, what am I talking about? Nothing will change, I'll try not to make them miserable by me just existing and try not to look at this place Stateside, Europe or Dubai. I've really been getting worse feeling this after all these years as I get older and no one can help me as all I can do is go my own nuance path and just be content with what I've got...perhaps that's all I need really.
 
I'm going to put my usual cynicism regarding the industry to one side for a moment, because I think what you're feeling is incredibly valid, and it's a sentiment that's rarely expressed so openly.

"Comparison is the thief of joy." It's a cliché because it is true.

When you're scrolling through a feed of people screaming on VelociCoaster or walking through Super Nintendo World, you aren't seeing their reality. You aren't seeing the maxed-out credit cards, the exhausted travel days, the loneliness of solo trips, or the desperate need for validation that drives the posting of that content. You're seeing a curated highlight reel.

You:re viewing their "best life" through a lens that highlights what you feel you are missing in yours. That doesn't make you bitter; it makes you human.

I want to challenge this notion that you're a "failure" as an enthusiast because you haven't crossed an ocean. Since when did this hobby become a competition about air miles?

Being an enthusiast isn't about how many credits you have, or whether you have been to Cedar Point. It's about whether you enjoy the mechanics, the atmosphere, the history, or just the sensation of a ride. You can be just as valid an enthusiast appreciating the nuance of a Pinfari on a rainy pier as someone who has lapped Iron Gwazi a hundred times. In fact, I would argue that finding joy in the "rubbish" local parks requires a more refined palate than simply enjoying a multi-million dollar hypercoaster that is designed to be perfect.

You mention having a "nuance viewpoint". That IS valuable. This community often descends into binary shouting matches, "Merlin Bad, Paultons Good", and voices that see the shades of grey are essential. We need them.

Regarding the loneliness; I can't wave a wand and conjure a local group of friends for you, much as I wish I could, but please remember that whilst online interaction is a poor substitute for a pint in a pub, it's still a connection. You have written this post, and people (and geese) are reading it. We are listening.

Do not let the "Olympics of Enthusiasm" make you feel like you're losing a race you never entered. If you need to step away from the vlogs and the trip reports for your own sanity, do it. Unsubscribe. Unfollow. Curate your own feed to protect your peace.

That being said, please don't feel like you have to leave the community entirely. There's a perch here for everyone, even those of us who just want to grumble about the rain in Staffordshire.

🪿
 
I would suggest trying some other hobbies to supplement your theme park enthusiasm. More time spent on other stuff will make you realize how unimportant this stuff is. You can still enjoy keeping tabs on everything rollercoasters etc without letting it consume you. Scotland is a beautiful country. I would go and explore as much as possible. If that's not your thing, that's fair enough, but there are literally thousands of things to get interested in in this world. Theme Parks are not everything. The online world is not everything. Good luck, and I hope you can get rid of some of these negative thoughts as you only damage yourself in the end.
 
Getting old.
Routine old age pain stopping me riding some rides...hip displacement on Steeplechase, which I always rode no handed, is a recent addition.
Losing enthusiasm.
Unwillingness to travel long distances to indulge any more.

I can relate to all.

But regardless, it will be Crevettes at twelve.
Literally doctors orders.

Chin up mate...If I recall correctly...go play with the trains more.

That's still fun, isn't it?
 
I think I had something similar around 2009, and it wasn't even to do with vlogs. I saw how Europe and the USA were getting better rides than the UK, and it wound me up. For personal reasons, I'm not much of a traveller, and realistically, I wasn't going to go and ride them. Perhaps coaster clubs were my equivalent of vloggers.

So I "left" the hobby, and largely missed out on what happened in the 2010s, which is a shame, as I think it was pretty good, really.

But I started getting interested again as a distraction from the dark times we've had recently (which I admit, I am sometimes guilty of bringing up), and am in the process of trying to catch up. It's hard to predict what you'll enjoy the most, as it's not always what you expect. From the past two years, I think I enjoyed getting back on Cannonball Express, and the simple coaster on Clarence Pier, more than going back to some of the more major parks. But then, sometimes I've enjoyed the major parks more. You just don't know.

I try to be realistic about how far I'm actually going to travel, and how often, and find other things to do instead. I really enjoy plotting out walks, for example, and general exploring. I've always though there were subtly different groups of enthusiasts, even in the UK, with northern-based people being more used to Blackpool, Alton and Drayton; and southerners having Thorpe, Chessington and Legoland. In Wales they could honestly say they had one of the best coasters, but I can see how it must have been tougher in Scotland.

I must admit, there have been a few times I've become a bit frustrated I haven't been to the places in the vlogs, but the truth is I could have done it if I'd wanted to. I do see content creators receiving abuse they don't deserve, and I think a lot of that is because of jealousy. Overwhelmingly, I just find them a source of great entertainment. Something to watch in the evening instead of broadcast TV.

As for whether forums have changed? Well, I think perhaps people try to be "correct" too much, rather than understand other people's point of view and experience. But then again, there have always been arguments. What I do think is definitely different, is that you see many more reports of people going to ride international rides than you used to, whereas I'm sure that used to be confined to the coaster clubs. It can seem like a bit of a competition at times.

Overall, we're getting older, we've been through tough times, and I think we could all do with a bit of a lift. All we can really do is look in the mirror, try to be as good as possible and try to get out there as much as we can.
 
I also took a sort of break in the late 2010s. Think I attended some meets but didn't do a particularly huge amount of stuff in 2018 and 2019. Then we had COVID and since then I've been back into it more. Not a full on break from visiting parks but I definitely did less. Nobody is going to judge for changing what you like or doing other things.

Regarding international, apart from a 2015 trip I've only got into it since 2021 when I finally had the income. Even then, I've probably done similar amounts of UK parks vs international parks and have spent more time in the UK parks in terms of visits overall. I don't write about them usually as most has been covered about AT/Thorpe/Lego/Chessie/Paultons etc. You'll get a warped view especially from content creators as they always want new content, not the same content. People are more likely to click on a Kings Island vlog than another Thorpe vlog, similar to the previous thousand the algorithm has pushed to them.
 
Right, I've been sitting on how to reply to what others have said on here about how I'm feeling and first off thanks for kind support. However, I have been feeling unwell this week suffering from cold spasms in my back and now a sore throat which I can barely speak so it's not been a good week for me, in fact ironically many things I have an interest in such as the UK theme park scene (fairly obvious), trains (future projects being cancelled), my football team (facing relegation) and other such things all seem to be going through a difficult time one way or the other which I wonder if I'm jinxed that all this seems to be happening to me.

Anyway, to reflect on what you have all said, guess for where I am in Scotland, it does come down to pride wanting a theme park to have our place in the sun so to speak, even if I got that, no, we almost had it with Loudoun back in the day which I'm still sad about, then I would feel a weight off my mind for that.

Also regarding what I do volunteering wise at a local heritage railway which I've done without complaint for 23 years now, we are only now to reach the culmination of our long held plans after all these years and in some ways why I do this is likely going back to that whole fighting for pride thing.

Where I am from Fife in case you don't know, is often looked down on by the rest of Scotland (almost what Yorkshire or Cornwall might be to the rest of England I guess) as where all the inbred farmers, junkies and all the poor people reside in and is the toilet of Scotland though I'd argue Glasgow is that but I digress, which is often said to me whenever I say I'm from Fife. Literally no respect and when I do what I do, I kinda feel I'm representing a part of the country that gets no respect and that by creating this tourist attraction in the area then it might finally see respect come our way that I literally built with my bare hands.

Maybe it's a feeling of a chip on my shoulder that I can't seem to shake off and to bring it back to a theme park related question regarding the disastrous opening for the 2026 season, I can't help but feel a cruel feeling of schadenfreude that all those vloggers who I've been increasingly growing to despise for either showing off or preaching doom about the industry all had a bad day which sounds petty as hell but in all truth they all seem to have it coming.

So yes I write this stuck in bed with a bad throat which I can't speak but I guess part of me feels better that after what happened yesterday, one minute you're down the next you're up.
 
Stuff 'em all mate, easiest to just stop looking at the vloggers.

And I always thought that if God was going to give the world an enema, he would stick the tube in Glasgow, not Fife, so you are ok.

Chin up, free pint of heavy in Crevettes on me in the summer if you can make it.

Free beer in Crevettes this afternoon as well for the over sixties apparently.
 
Sorry that you're feeling like this, however I am a bit surprised regarding the Fife comments, living there myself I can't say I've ever had that reaction about the place. There's typical banter sure, but that's nothing... I'd rather be a junkie than the people of Aberdeenshire and their fascination with sheep! 🐑
 
I know I’ve vented about my career a lot in this thread over the last few months, but following my failure to secure a permanent role, my job finished today and I’m officially out of a professional venture with nothing lined up in the pipeline for the first time in my life. And I’m not sure how I feel about it.

I go through periods where I’m level-headed and at peace with the situation. I’ve applied to a few roles, and it seems as though I have a few options and potential in-roads via both permanent roles and additional agency-based roles. I am already finding it easier to write CVs and applications even with only the 6 months of work experience, so I still feel roundly vindicated in having taken the agency role even though it didn’t lead to a permanent position. I booked a trip for April in an attempt to make lemonade out of the lemons I’ve been dealt, and with me having taken only 2 days of annual leave in the last 6 months, one of which was to attend my permanent job interview, and preceded that with 3 months of pretty much solid dissertation writing, a selfish part of me feels like a professionally quiet period might not be the worst thing.

But at the same time, I’m just utterly dejected to have reached this position. There’s a nagging part of me that feels like an utter failure for not only not having secured a permanent role at interview, but being told that I didn’t meet the grade standard for the role in interview (it wasn’t technically my exact role, but it was at the equivalent grade within the same team and so closely adjacent in duties and job title that it might as well have been the same role). I’ve never been so embarrassed as having to tell all the people who were rooting for me that I didn’t get the job, and I feel like I’ve let everybody down. I thought I was at peace with it and in many ways I am, but having my departure from my team confirmed in black and white and put through and being properly bade goodbye by my (now former) colleagues today brought my feelings of failure back and made it all hit home a little at points.

I also hate the uncertainty of not having anything lined up; at every prior stage of me leaving a professional venture, I’ve had something else lined up to go to that I can either anticipate or move straight into, but I currently don’t and the uncertainty terrifies me. I hate having to tell people who ask what I have lined up next that “I don’t know”, and in this job market where there are frequently hundreds or thousands of applicants per position, I fear that I’m unlikely to ever be the best candidate for anything and that I could be out of a job for months, at which point it just becomes a vicious cycle where I gradually become less and less employable.

And as much as the selfish part of me likes the thought of a quieter period and I’m looking forward to some tripping in April and May, I also feel guilty for even thinking about doing stuff like that when I am unemployed. I keep thinking to myself; should I really be rewarding myself for my failure with trips and relaxed time? Should I even be thinking about anything else aside from securing a new job at this point in time? And even though my parents have not only approved of my trip booking during my quiet period, but actively encouraged it, a small part of me feels like I’m exploiting their goodwill by booking myself trips when I’m living in their house and not earning anything.
 
Wow, I am sorry you are out of work again @Matt N, that is never a comfortable position to be in. However I think you need to re-frame how you think about this a bit. You did an agency role for a time which - although it didn't lead to a permanent position - has given you loads of experience you can talk to (and talk up - everyone does it!) when future opportunities arise. I wince a little when you use phrases like 'my failure' and 'I feel like I've let everybody down'. You are being much, much too hard on yourself.

I have some fantastic colleagues who are brilliant at their jobs, and I have seen them apply for internal opportunities and not get them. I know for a fact that this isn't because they aren't amazing at what they do, they were just unlucky. One colleague of mine who is an excellent project manager didn't even get an interview for a senior PM role, simply because didn't write the application in the right format to demonstrate the appropriate competencies (fortunately another opportunity arose four months later and she was successful). I would not be surprised if the reason you weren't offered a permanent role was more about the interview process and less about your ability to do the work. It does take time to get good at interviews, and it's even harder for those of us that are neurodivergent as there seem to be all sorts of unwritten rules other candidates instinctively understand. It's not fair, but it's not your fault either.

I would honestly urge you to take some time for yourself and enjoy some downtime. Studying is stressful, writing dissertations is exhausting, and the world of work is relentless, but now you have time and space to breathe and reflect on where you want to go next. It sounds like everyone around you is supportive of you having some time off and enjoying your travel, so please do just that - and absolutely do not feel guilty for having a good time while you can. If there is one thing I regret most about the times I was out of work, it is that I didn't take the opportunity to enjoy having free time - I wish I had spent less time fretting over job boards and trusted that things would all work out eventually.

I don't know your parents, but I imagine they just want to support you early on in your career, understanding that it's not as easy as just walking into a job and staying there for 40 years (it hasn't been like that for decades!). And most importantly of all, that you look after your mental health as well. Primarily I expect they just want you to be happy. So why not post in the 'I feel happy' topic and tell us all how much you're looking forward to your trip?
 
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