# Airtime Atlas — Help

> Airtime Atlas is a free, fan-made road-trip planner for theme-park and roller-coaster enthusiasts in the United States.
>
> - Planner: [https://app.airtimeatlas.com](https://app.airtimeatlas.com)
> - Marketing site: [https://airtimeatlas.com](https://airtimeatlas.com)
> - Inputs: a start and/or end location, optional park count, day count, and/or budget, plus optional credits and Love/Avoid prefs
> - Outputs: a day-by-day park order with overnight cities, drive-time estimates, and rough cost estimates
> - Limits: planning estimates only — not hotel booking, not ticket quotes; the in-app map is schematic (open the trip in Google Maps for driving directions); US currently operating coasters only; not affiliated with Coaster Count or any park
>
> This page is a Q&A operating manual. For a short human walkthrough, see [How it works](https://airtimeatlas.com/how-it-works/). Raw markdown: [https://airtimeatlas.com/help.md](https://airtimeatlas.com/help.md).

## What is Airtime Atlas?

Airtime Atlas builds a driving itinerary across US parks from your origin (and optional end), credits, and park preferences.

It does **not** book lodging or sell tickets. After you build a trip, **Download PDF** saves the plan as a file, **Copy itinerary** puts it on the clipboard, and **Open in Google Maps** (under the map) hands the route to Google Maps for driving directions. Airtime Atlas itself does not navigate live.

## Where is the planner vs the website?

- Use the planner at [https://app.airtimeatlas.com](https://app.airtimeatlas.com) (User / Trip / Help tabs; Trip is the default).
- The public site at [https://airtimeatlas.com](https://airtimeatlas.com) is marketing, guides, About, this Help page, Privacy, and Terms.
- Shared trip links and sign-in also live on the planner host.

## How do I build a trip?

1. Optional: on **User**, paste credits and set Love / Neutral / Avoid.
2. On **Trip**, enter a US origin (any address — home, hotel, or a friend’s city) and/or an end location.
3. Optionally set a target number of parks, exact days, and/or a budget cap.
4. Press **Build day-by-day plan**. Building requires a free account.
5. After the trip appears, use **Download PDF** or **Copy itinerary** if you want a snapshot off the site.

You need at least a start **or** an end. If you set neither parks nor days, the planner builds as long a trip as it can (within budget, when a budget is set).

Fill in the form first if you want — after you sign in, those details stay on this device so you do not start over.

## Do I need an account?

Browsing, pasting credits, and setting prefs does not require an account. **Building a trip does.**

Sign-in is free: Google, or a one-time email link (no password). Stay on the tab if you use the email code so you do not lose the draft.

Sign-in also syncs preferences, credits, and saved trips across devices.

## How do I import credits?

On the **User** tab, paste:

- [Coaster Count](https://coaster-count.com) **My ridden coasters** export
- A spreadsheet with Coaster and Park columns
- A freeform list: park names, or lines like `Ride (Park)` / `Ride - Park`

Airtime Atlas matches parks and individual coasters so it can prioritize **new** credits.

Does **not** reliably import every third-party app. Logride and similar lists may need cleanup.

## Which credits are recognized?

Only **US, currently operating** coasters. International credits, closed rides, and standing-but-not-operating (SBNO) rides are ignored.

## What do Love, Neutral, and Avoid mean?

Set on the **User** tab for every park with at least one operating coaster. Search by park name (spelling must match).

- **Avoid** — the park stays off trips until you change it.
- **Neutral** — default; the planner may include it when it fits.
- **Love** — the planner tries hard to include it when the trip can **reach** it.

Love does **not** teleport. A New York → Orlando trip still will not pull in Six Flags Magic Mountain.

## How do parks, days, and budget interact?

- Parks and/or days cap how long the trip is.
- A budget cap keeps the **estimated** total at or under that number.
- The solver prioritizes Loved parks, parks with unridden coasters, and larger parks (roughly 7+ coasters), then may fill long drives with smaller stops (family parks, mountain coasters, and similar). Turn filler off in **Advanced options**.

## What do cost estimates include?

When you set a budget (or view costs on a built trip), estimates can cover tickets, food, lodging, and a rental car when that option is on. A miscellaneous buffer (about 12% by default, adjustable in Advanced options) covers souvenirs, skip-the-line, and similar extras.

They are **planning guides, not booking quotes**. Prices are seeded for most parks, not all. There are no seasonal discount toggles yet (flat rates). Park-pass input (treat some parks as already paid) is not available yet.

## What does the map line mean?

The trip map line follows **approximate driving routes** between stops in visit order. It is a schematic of park order, not live navigation and not exact clock times. Use **Open in Google Maps** under the map for turn-by-turn driving. If the trip has more than 10 stops (including start and end), you get sequential overlapping links — open part 1, then part 2, and so on. Overnight cities are left off those links.

## What are overnight pins?

Overnight pins mark a **recommended city center** for that night. They are not a hotel reservation and not a specific property.

## Can I download a PDF of my trip?

Yes. After you build a trip, **Download PDF** saves a file with the summary, day-by-day plan, credits, full budget table, and the Google Maps driving link(s). **Copy itinerary** puts the same facts on the clipboard for Discord or email. Shared `/?trip=` pages have the same buttons.

The PDF is a snapshot. It does not include the interactive map. Use the Google Maps links in the file (or under the in-app map) for turn-by-turn driving.

## Where are my preferences stored?

Prefs, credits paste, and trip form details are saved in **this browser** until you sign in.

After sign-in, preferences, credits, and saved trips sync to your account across devices.

## Is Airtime Atlas affiliated with Coaster Count or the parks?

No. Airtime Atlas is independent and fan-made. It is **not affiliated with or endorsed by Coaster Count** or any park. “Coaster Count” is used only to describe an export format the planner can read.

## How do I send feedback?

Use the [feedback form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGzdqhkVDR_imG6zw7Gn09QoIRM-YMIncmcHWp06VwOcESxg/viewform) (about two minutes), or email [hello@airtimeatlas.com](mailto:hello@airtimeatlas.com).

## Glossary

- **Credits** — coasters you have already ridden; used to prefer parks with new rides.
- **Love / Neutral / Avoid** — park preference ranks on the User tab (see above).
- **Filler parks** — smaller stops used to break up long drives; can be turned off in Advanced options.
- **Overnight pin** — recommended overnight city center, not a hotel.
- **Trip PDF** — downloadable snapshot of the built plan (days, credits, budget, Google Maps links). Not the interactive map.
- **Schematic map line** — approximate drive path in visit order, not live navigation. Use the Google Maps links under the map for driving directions.
- **Misc buffer** — extra percentage on cost estimates (default about 12%) for unmodeled spending.
- **Limit driving on park days** — Advanced option that keeps park days from becoming long transfer days.

## What Airtime Atlas does not do

- Book hotels, rental cars, or park tickets
- Navigate in-app with live traffic (use the Google Maps links under the trip map instead)
- Quote guaranteed prices or seasonal discounts
- Plan international parks or closed/SBNO coasters
- Treat Love as a guarantee that a distant park appears on a short trip
- Replace your judgment on the road