A.J.

Neither of those attractions appeal to families. Also, if this was for 2017, why would they send out a survey? The project should at least be in the planning stages right now.

Mine has and still does. Very proud to be an alum from that organization, even if I haven't actually broken into the industry myself as of yet.

Here's a third route for you. Busch Gardens Tampa, SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dollywood, Kings Dominion, Hersheypark, Knoebels, Waldameer. You could possibly cut Kings Dominion because you effectively backtrack forty miles south to get there, as well as SeaWorld because it's sort of redundant, but that's up to you. After the Orlando parks hop on the northbound Turnpike until it ends and then follow Interstate 75 northbound to the Atlanta GA area. Then I-85, I-26 and I-40 to Newport TN, which is an easy drive to and from Dollywood. Then I-81, I-64, I-295 and I-95 to Richmond VA. Then I-95, I-695, I-83 and US-322 to Hershey PA; I-83, I-81, PA-61 and PA-487 to Elysburg and Knoebels; and finally PA-487, PA-54, I-80 and I-79 to Erie.

Sorry, completely unrelated, but why are some people spelling the coaster's name in all capital letters?

You speak the troof. To add to this, I think that it's important, regardless of what part of the industry you intend to end up in, to have at least a working knowledge of what the people in the other departments deal with on a regular basis. You don't have to know everything, but I think you at least need to consider, "hey, what would the ___________s think of this?". But that's just me, I market myself as being able to both specialize AND bridge the gap between people of different disciplines (artists and designers, for example).

Yeah, Skyrush was pretty slow on opening day as well, but they were also dealing with those awful "spin bins" and the fact that you enter and exit on the same side.

But that's a difficult thing for parks to figure out. How high can a park raise their prices before they begin to lose business? Do they shoot for the moon, to make their spaces seem like "exclusive" or "luxury" experiences, or do they dial it back, getting less guests with deep pockets but more "normal" people?

Therein lies the point.

No! Save the Tivoli coasters!

That makes sense then. I'm not as well-seasoned as you are! I initially thought that Skyrush was pretty slow going over its hills when they started testing it.

So, basically, Skyrush again. Underwhelming at first glance but kick-butt to ride. Should've learned my lesson.

^ It's marketing. Just deal with it.

I'll push this past rides as well - I absolutely adore the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. The City Museum is definitely on my list.

I have to say, it's about time Tiana and Naveen get in a show. The Princess and the Frog is criminally under-rated. I hope they do a villain segment like in Dream Along with Mickey but include Facilier instead of Maleficent.

The Sky Roller's footprint isn't as small as you think it is. In fact, most of Gerstlauer's flat rides have larger footprints and flight paths compared to those of other manufacturers.

I highly doubt that. While I'm with the camp that says it'll probably get faster, I don't think it's going to be enough to make a huge difference. That being said, I've generally kept my expectations low for pretty much every coaster recently. It ends up better for me that way.

Exactly! I'm able to be active around here because A) I currently have the time; B) I like talking about the industry and what I learn; and C) I haven't actually worked for anywhere yet. Once I get working at [insert name here] design and planning firm, I'm basically going to pack my bags and retreat to the games forum again, because I won't be able to talk about anything in development due to the huge secrecy of the industry - I'll pretty much only be able to talk about and interact with stuff that's been made public. But right now, as I'm working on my own portfolio stuff in graduate school, I love talking about theme parks! I'll admit that I've definitely jumped the gun and been a little condescending, inaccurate, etc around here on occasion, but for the most part I like being both rational and enthusiastic when talking about whatever new ride Fårup has going on or whatever new themed area Disney is building. It's fun to hear what other people think as well as what the parks are doing, and how it can (or can't) influence my work. One thing that one of my colleagues told me a few days ago, and that I really agree with, is that my generation is, generally, with some exceptions from older generations for sure, the first one to actively pursue work in the themed entertainment industry directly out of college as a career path, and that as a result the big wigs in the industry aren't completely sure what to think in most cases. Most of the guys and gals who are working there now started as engineers, architects, artists, etc and found their way in because their specific skill was asked for in the context of a theme park. There's definitely a shifting dynamic - and the college theme park engineering / entertainment student organizations, companies' intern programs, and the Themed Entertainment Association's NextGen initiative are suddenly becoming very relevant.

Yes. In fact, I'm working on it.

No, silly, that's for the next German expansion. A roller coaster themed to the Moose test.

Or, maybe there are nice trees there that don't need to be removed.

It could be anything, from low screen resolution contributing to the 480p video to bad compression when exporting the video from whichever editor they used to make the titles. I use Premiere and After Effects and I always export my videos at the absolute highest quality (which results in 1 GB+ for even a couple of minutes of video) and then compress them down using Media Encoder. Sometimes, though, if you're not sure what you're doing, reducing the video resolution and frame rate will get the file size down to something more manageable.

Making the "fancy" kinds of preview videos isn't easy - I spend enough time and resources just making 3D stills for my own projects. It can even be a nightmare sometimes. The industry has been using NoLimits as a preview tool for years, and this sort of underestimation always happens. Recent examples (of which I too have been fooled by) include this one, Wildfire and Impulse. When you need to get buzz about a coaster out the door quickly and efficiently, NoLimits is your best bet. A roller coaster in a traditional amusement park is pretty self-explanatory, it doesn't need any fluff in its marketing. A quick POV, a logo and a few Photoshops and you're done. Going above and beyond that is basically just icing on the cake - it's no longer about what the park needs, but what it wants. Kolmården chooses to go above and beyond in their marketing because they're banking on Wildfire to be the best roller coaster in the world and make the park known as a bonafide holiday destination. Kentucky Kingdom is pretty established already, with Storm Chaser just being another great addition to the park instead of a shockwave game-changer. In reality, only we are really underwhelmed, whereas the public looks with optimism at the park's upcoming new ride.

Learned their lesson? What lesson is there to be learned?

Here you go, this is it. https://www.ezpassva.com/EZPages/New-Flex.aspx I believe the transponder can be used as a regular old EZPass on other toll roads like the ones in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and others.

Surprisingly restrained response there. Mateo, are you traveling with family? An EZPass Flex transponder lets you switch to HOV mode and drive in the 95 Express lanes for free if there are at least three people in the car.