Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

CF Meetups

Archie

Archie

Mega Poster
At some point I would like to join one of CF's Meetups in the UK but I have a few questions about them.
1. How do I find out about them?
2. How do I book to join one?
3. Are they safe? (as someone with diagnosed anxiety, I take my personal safety and security very seriously and I find meeting people for the first time frightening so I would like to be 100% sure that everyone is trustworthy, accommodating and not up to no-good.)
4. Will I get on with everyone? (again with having anxiety and autism, I find meeting people for the first time frightening. but I want to feel included and not isolated because of my differences, and just have a good day.)
 
Keep an eye out for CF-lives that have their own forum, or are mentioned on the various CF social media.

Just posting in the thread that you'll be coming along is usually enough for most of them.

100% - although you may find it helpful to talk to people on the forums and get familiar with them before jumping headfirst in to a meet. You will find that there are groups of people who stay with each other for most of the day but everyone is friendly and makes an effort to talk to people.

That's impossible to say - they/we are definitely a broad mix of characters and I've sometimes found it hard to get involved in some conversations - but that's moreso on me than a lack of effort from those attending.

In all honesty - I wouldn't force yourself to attend unless you were confident it was something you'd enjoy. The organisers in particular make a huge effort with each live to make sure everyone is catered for but there's no magic formula that can guarantee you can give everyone a good day.
 
You're meeting in a safe, familiar place (ie: inside a theme park) with people you know you've got at least one thing in common with. That's the advice I'd give. Think of it as the forum - but 'IRL' :) Start with your local (which I believe is Alton) and you've got an easy 'escape plan' if you do feel uncomfortable/overfaced - which I've never seen happen to anyone :)

Obviously, you're unlikely to get on with everyone - I've been meeting with goons for over 17 years now and quickly learned that, but by this point, some of those I have clicked with probably know me better than anyone I don't share genetic material with :)
 
Last edited:
Will said:
You're meeting in a safe, familiar place (ie: inside a theme park) with people you know you've got at least one thing in common with. That's the advice I'd give. Think of it as the forum - but 'IRL' :) Start with your local (which I believe is Alton) and you've got an easy 'escape plan' if you do feel uncomfortable/overfaced - which I've never seen happen to anyone :)

Obviously, you're unlikely to get on with everyone - I've been meeting with goons for over 17 years now and quickly learned that, but by this point, some of those I have clicked with probably know me better than anyone I don't share genetic material with :)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice, what I meant by getting on with everyone I meant that I will be comfortable around everyone.
My local is Alton and my original plan was to start there since its a place I know extremely well.
I don't know when the next meetup at Alton will be but I will do my best to get there.
 
Smithy said:
Keep an eye out for CF-lives that have their own forum, or are mentioned on the various CF social media.

Just posting in the thread that you'll be coming along is usually enough for most of them.

100% - although you may find it helpful to talk to people on the forums and get familiar with them before jumping headfirst in to a meet. You will find that there are groups of people who stay with each other for most of the day but everyone is friendly and makes an effort to talk to people.

That's impossible to say - they/we are definitely a broad mix of characters and I've sometimes found it hard to get involved in some conversations - but that's moreso on me than a lack of effort from those attending.

In all honesty - I wouldn't force yourself to attend unless you were confident it was something you'd enjoy. The organisers in particular make a huge effort with each live to make sure everyone is catered for but there's no magic formula that can guarantee you can give everyone a good day.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice, that's very helpful.
 
3 and 4 are tricky… Generally goons are a bit nerdy, and no danger to anyone but themselves… But as we’ve seen in the last 18 months with the whole ‘youtuber’ accusations, bad eggs exist everywhere.

As for getting on with everyone, I think a lot of us are a bit socially awkward, but generally I’ve found everyone that I’ve spoken to to be nice. Once or twice I’ve tried to engage with people and got nothing back, but that’s life, you aren’t going to get on with everyone. Just move on. Also, it’s worth mentioning, I’ve seen ‘faces’ on multiple meets (both CF and other groups) and still haven’t had chance to speak to them / get to know them!!!

You don’t have to go alone. Persuade a none goon friend or family member to join you for the first one or two. I had my kids with me on my first few enthusiast meets (not cf lives) 🙈😂
 
Was a long-time lurker and embarked on a CF Live (Thorpe Park) for the first time a few years back and was welcomed warmly by all.

Any hesitancy or partial social anxiety on my part was dissolved by the vibe of the group.

Laid back, friendly and generally lovely people as a collective.

I did (wrongly) suspect that there may be some element of competitiveness in park knowledge, snobbery of cred-count or clique-ness as is evidently present in other coaster clubs but no sign whatsoever with CF, everyone's cool as ****

Take the plunge
 
I'd say a fairly high proportion of those at a CF meet are socially awkward to a greater or lesser degree - it's just that some try to hide it by 'acting the fool' and generally being quite loud :p

I'd direct this advice towards @Matt N for one - I know a few people are curious to see if his level of enthusiasm is infectious :)
 
My biggest advice if you're feeling nervous would be somebody with you that you're comfortable with (a friend or relative for example). I found it really took the edge off and made chatting to people a lot easier as that person could act like a bit of support and familiarity in a new setting.

And like others have said, there's no guarantee you'll get on with everyone but I'm sure there'll be a handful of people you'll make relationships with. One thing I think you have to bear in mind is there are people who come to these meet-ups who've been building relationships with one another for literal decades at this point. Likelihood is you're not going to instantly become best friends with people but you will start to form friendships and those get stronger the more you meet and interact with people.
 
nadroJ said:
One thing I think you have to bear in mind is there are people who come to these meet-ups who've been building relationships with one another for literal decades at this point.
Click to expand...
Decades implies more than one, and CF Lives have only been a thing since 2003. Hi, my name's Will and I'm a pedant :D

I thought your first meet was Thorpe opening in 2008, but I'm prepared to be wrong :)

Seriously though, I went to my first gig with somebody I met at my first Live (and now that I think about it, I dragged a schoolfriend along to that in case everyone was big and scary - my youngest brother was also basically an honorary CFer until he 'grew up') and there's still at least four people from that day on my Facebook. Next year, I'll be going to see the same band with the same person. I think I know where I'm going with this, but I'm not certain, but basically, CF can be a lot more than just a website, if you want it to be :)
 
nadroJ said:
My biggest advice if you're feeling nervous would be somebody with you that you're comfortable with (a friend or relative for example). I found it really took the edge off and made chatting to people a lot easier as that person could act like a bit of support and familiarity in a new setting.

And like others have said, there's no guarantee you'll get on with everyone but I'm sure there'll be a handful of people you'll make relationships with. One thing I think you have to bear in mind is there are people who come to these meet-ups who've been building relationships with one another for literal decades at this point. Likelihood is you're not going to instantly become best friends with people but you will start to form friendships and those get stronger the more you meet and interact with people.
Click to expand...
This is both a good bit of advice and a very good point.

I’ve noticed that those who have been doing these meets for decades are very easy to spot, and as @nadroJ said, are very comfortable and relaxed together. Whilst very welcoming to newcomers on the whole, they do naturally tend to spend most of the day together, understandably.

On my first few lives, including the recent ghosterforce, it has really helped that I had people to join in with, who I’ve spent a fair bit of time with, outside of large meetups. Otherwise my social awkwardness and anxiety might have been a bit tougher to handle.

Taking friends and family is one great suggestion. Another might be to look out for opportunities to meet up with cf goons in smaller, unofficial, meetups first. They’re often happening all year. And you’ll often find open invitations to ‘meet up’ with other goons at UK parks on the forums throughout most of the season.

Sadly I don’t get to join in many, (like the fb cred whoring runs) as I work weekends. But I always jump at the opportunity to spend time with goons mid week. :)
 
Hi @Archie

It's great to hear you're interested in coming along to a CF meet up! To answer your questions, CF Meetups are called 'CoasterForce Live' or 'Lives'

You can see when and where they will be happening here: https://coasterforce.com/forums/forums/coasterforce-live.13/

We don't currently have anything scheduled for 2022 yet, but stay tuned! We are hoping to announce some great Lives for the upcoming year very soon :)

To join a Live, simply comment in the Forum Topic for the Live that you will be attending and the organisers will make note that you will be coming along. Meet up times and places will also be posted in the topic of the Live so you know where to go.

In terms of safety, at every Live event I have organised, I do my very best to make sure everyone feels safe and welcome. We have a huge range of people who attend, from families with kids to teens to older enthusiasts. It's all about the simple pleasure of going round a theme park together with a big group of fellow geeks :)
I like to provide lots of ice breaker stuff like quiz sheets, activity packs, little games for the queues, so if you're feeling new and anxious this is a really easy way to fall into conversation with people. If anyone does anything to make you feel uncomfortable at a Live (and I must say, this has never happened at any previous Lives) you can tell me or whoever is running the Live and we will deal with it immediately. We want everyone to feel welcome and secure.

In terms of getting on with everyone, some of us are loud, some of us are quiet, some of us are confident, some are more shy...but I can tell you one thing. We all love theme parks and that enthusiasm shines when we are all together, joking about rides and nerding out. As someone who is quite introverted, I was very nervous to go on my first Live all those years ago. I ended up making some of the best friends I've ever had.

If you have any further questions, please do let me know :) Hopefully see you at a Live in the future!
 
Serena said:
We don't currently have anything scheduled for 2022 yet, but stay tuned! We are hoping to announce some great Lives for the upcoming year very soon :)
Click to expand...
Not entirely on topic, but after two ****ed-up years, I'm sure I'm not alone in being very excited to hear that :D

Egotistical_Will also thinks he knows where and when we should start the season :p
 
CF is an interesting group, to say the least. There are people that have consistently attended events for over a decade, whilst others have come and gone in that time. Suffice to say, we're a fairly welcoming bunch, who make our way around parks as a group, so CF Lives are very much a shared experience. Inevitably, there will be some people that you get on better with, and have more in common with than others, but the vast majority of people who attend CF Lives are absolutely top people, even if I don't have a lot to do with many of them outside of CF.

I've travelled around Europe with people from CF. I've shared hotels and hire cars, and literally trust many of the CF regulars with my life. I have built friendships that have endured since I began attending events all the way back in 2008. The CF forums are all well and good, but it's the people that keep me coming back regularly. You wouldn't see me anywhere near as often, otherwise.

It's rare for anyone to cause problems within CF. On the few occasions where somebody has crossed a line, it's usually been addressed quickly and privately by the CF team, and doesn't tend to remain a problem for long. CFers tend to be relatively well adjusted, by coaster enthusiast standards, and we look out for our friends. Suffice to say, with a close knit group, there isn't a lot of opportunity for bad apples to hide in our ranks, and the tiny minority who cause problems tend not to be welcome in CF for very long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top