Danny
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I used to be embarrassed somewhat when first telling people about this hobby, it almost felt as if I were coming out to an extent. But the longer you do it and the more different people you meet from all walks of life, you realise it's just another hobby. My grandad always tried to encourage me to settle down rather than throwing money on a trip abroad for coasters, yet I'd find his idea of fun standing at the side of lakes fishing all day utterly dull. We all have different hobbies and different interpretations of them, no matter how niche. The main thing is that you do something you enjoy with like-minded people.
I mentioned theme parks briefly as a hobby in the interview for my new job recently and had an introductory lunch with my manager and his manager last week. They got quite in-depth with questions and seemed interested in where my passion had come from, the process of going abroad to visit parks rather than the usual touristy stuff, The Smiler accident, and various other tidbits. I've found that as time has gone on, and the more I've spoken to people about it, it's become naturally easier to outright talk about as a hobby.
I wouldn't say my mum LOVES theme parks, but it was always Blackpool, Camelot and Gullivers as a kid, with the occasional visit to Legoland and then abroad to DLP and Orlando (never Thorpe or Chessington, though!). She's fully to blame for the interest I've inherited, and I think it surprised her that it has now become a hobby from which I've built a core friend group around and have travelled to various countries as a part of. It was a bizarre concept to explain at first, but nowadays she feels like she knows most people from observing my travels and antics on social media (and has unfortunately met a few...). My friends outside of the theme park circle just tend to laugh when I say I'm off to a park, whether it be here or abroad ("oh of COURSE he's off to Towers again").
I mentioned theme parks briefly as a hobby in the interview for my new job recently and had an introductory lunch with my manager and his manager last week. They got quite in-depth with questions and seemed interested in where my passion had come from, the process of going abroad to visit parks rather than the usual touristy stuff, The Smiler accident, and various other tidbits. I've found that as time has gone on, and the more I've spoken to people about it, it's become naturally easier to outright talk about as a hobby.
I wouldn't say my mum LOVES theme parks, but it was always Blackpool, Camelot and Gullivers as a kid, with the occasional visit to Legoland and then abroad to DLP and Orlando (never Thorpe or Chessington, though!). She's fully to blame for the interest I've inherited, and I think it surprised her that it has now become a hobby from which I've built a core friend group around and have travelled to various countries as a part of. It was a bizarre concept to explain at first, but nowadays she feels like she knows most people from observing my travels and antics on social media (and has unfortunately met a few...). My friends outside of the theme park circle just tend to laugh when I say I'm off to a park, whether it be here or abroad ("oh of COURSE he's off to Towers again").
