Scaparri

^I was originally assigned Turnpike Cars/Calypso, but I requested a move to Millennium Force and was granted it after a few weeks, so that became my permanent ride. I also got sent to Raptor, Mantis, and Wildcat every now and then. All were fun rides, though I definitely preferred MF (though it's the most stressful of those) and Raptor. But really, the crew can make the difference in the world. An awesome crew can make a bad ride a lot of fun. You'll mostly be living with other college students or kids your age. That's half the fun. There aren't a lot of older people working seasonal positions, and of the few there are, most live with friends from previous seasons or live in Sandusky.

If you are familiar enough with angles, then it's pretty easy to make a fairly good guess, plus or minus a few degrees. Trying telling the city of Vallejo, CA that. Anyway, I'm personally not buying the 85 degree bit. If a surveyor can prove it's 85 degrees, ok, I'll buy it. But given the various angled shots shown, it looks about 75 degrees to me, MAYBE 80 but that's probably pushing it.

^The interview will be over the phone. Also, a few notes about money. First, I should probably mention that I did some fun stuff like a few road trips that summer so that's part of the reason I didn't walk away with very much money at the end. Second, if you aren't dead set on working a ride, then you might consider trying to get a job waiting, as I know the people who work as waiters at places like Johnny Rocket's, Famous Dave's, and TGI Friday's make ridiculous cash. Seeing how it's a huge tourist spot, people come and throw their money around. So that's one option to think about if you want to try and make a little more cash. Though, I assume you probably want to work a ride, which I completely understand. Oh, and your badge doubles as a Cedar Fair season pass.

^I worked there one summer too, and I must say, it was an awesome experience. However, if it's something you want to do, you have to be going just for the experience. If you don't want to have to work while you're in school, CP is definitely not the job for you because you won't make any money. As Hector said, it's not uncommon to work 70-80 hour weeks, but you also get paid below minimum wage (clause in Ohio state law) and you don't get paid overtime (clause in Ohio state law). Then you have to pay for rent, which isn't that bad (about $30 a week) and you'll have to eat most of your meals at restaurants so that takes a lot of money. With that said though, I reiterate that it was an awesome experience that I also wouldn't trade for anything. Because of the hours you work, you become very close with your crew and almost become like family. Some of the friendships I formed during my three months there are some of the best and strongest friendships I have today. At the end of the summer, I had an awesome experience, awesome stories, awesome friends, and absolutely no money, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. As for your questions: Do you get to pick which ride you would like to work at or are they randomly assigned? It depends on how your interview goes. I didn't get to pick, while I found out some other people did. It just depends. On a separate note, if after a few weeks you aren't happy with your ride but have done a decent/good job, you can ask to be moved to another ride (usually needs to be within one of the four zones your assigned ride is in) and if they can make it work, then you'll get moved. Chances are you'll get moved halfway through the summer anyway. Which housing do you recommend? I was recommended the 1400's and I loved it. For how little you are there, it worked great for me. It's just a dorm style room, but it had AC and was cheaper than the apartment style rooms (that I wasn't terribly impressed with). Do you think it is likely that they would hire me from out of state (Alabama) with only 2 jobs prior (Carmike Cinemas for 2 months and a crew leader at Chick Fil A for 8 months)? Yes, residency has nothing to do with it. Plus, the fact that you are a crew leader at a restaurant looks good. On top of that, I heard from a few friends working there this past summer that they were fairly understaffed, so I doubt you'll have a problem. If you still want to do it, be sure and apply early. They usually open the application in December.

^YES! I'm only one away! As has been said, it's all about what you find fun. I really enjoy keeping count, but I'm not a straight out whore. I have willingly missed credits in parks I have visited because I didn't feel like taking the time or effort.

^Did you even read the entire conversation? There's nothing fanboyish about what he said. The kid just mentioned that it looks short, so he's putting it into perspective by comparing it's height to Griffon's.

Dude!!! You mixed chili, Spaghetti-O's, and pasta sauce together! That's like creating a suicide with Sprite, Yoohoo, and beer! Sure, they are all delicious by themselves and are in the same category, but that doesn't mean it should be done! Nevertheless, I'm intrigued and still awkwardly curious to try this stuff. Cool TR. The CwJ series tends to be one of the highlights of the offseason.

Nickel Creek is pretty much the most ridiculous band ever.

Wait, what happpened to Robbie Williams?

Definites: Dollywood Ghost Town in the Sky Beech Bend As of now, the big plan is to drive across America to California on spring break and finally hit the SoCal parks, with a likely revisit to SFOT. If I can't get it as cheap as I want it though, then I'll probably just end up doing a Texas touring, hitting Kemah, SFFT, SWT, and SFOT, or just a small trip to BGE and KD for opening weekend. Other than the definites, everything is really up in there. Hopefully the California trip will come to frusion. I'd also like to try and make it to Hard Rock Park, Hershey, and SFGAdv. I probably should have just signed up for the East Coast trip!

"Brand New Song"- Reel Big Fish

Yes, But T2 is actually T^2: Terror to the Second Power, but it's still called 'T Two.' Personally, I'm hoping they rename and repaint Goliath Jr. and call it X^(1/2), or Square Root of X.

This TR reminds me of a why I like Pennsylvania so much. The scenery is just awesome. Cool take on a photo TR, Derek.

So wait, do you have your own room with these beds? So nothing is really stopping you then, other than maybe your wussy conscience? On the other hand, doesn't that kind of spoiling the adventure of joining the mile-high club? I thought half the fun was cramming into a bathroom the size of a cupboard and getting things hot and steamy?

Do you have the entire TPR dvd collection yet? Aside from that, I'd ask for season passes if I were you.

Raging Bull- This ride annoys me just because it underachieves compared to its earlier days. This used to be unbelievably good. Opening year, it was nothing short of awesome. Even a few years later, it was still running pretty darn sweet, but now it's brake raped to hell. People don't realize how much that first trim takes away from the ride if they've never been on the trim-less version. I'm sure there is a good reason it has been trimmed, but nevertheless, it's still frustrating. Boss- Kind of the same deal with Raging Bull. Opening year, this thing was incredible. It was my favorite woodie for a short while. Since then though, it has also become trimmed, as well as really rough. The latter is accented by it's G-trains. It could be so good if it was done right.

It's all about the Amber Bock whenever you are at a Busch park.

^Dude, you're awesome! Thanks man! Hopefully I'll have a few more updates before long.

"Foggy Mountain Breakdown"- Earl Scruggs & Friends

The weight distribution and speed of the train was just perfect. I worked there that summer and I remember walking back to my ride and seeing it stuck there with people, which kinda shocked me. The same thing happened earlier in the summer during morning testing while it was empty. They simply have a guy take the elevator up to the top and push the train over.

Now, I'm not in the roller coaster industry, but back when Oblivion was built, I heard a figure of $300,000 thrown around as the cost of just one of it's two-car, eight-wide trains. Given the sheer size and complexity of these, if that Oblivion figure is true, it wouldn't surprise me if well over half of this money is going to the new trains alone. Can somebody with a little more knowledge provide a little more insight to this?

Dude, awesome TR!!! Great pics from Dollywood, and what a game to go to! Go Gators! (Note: I am NOT a bandwagon fan.)

I unfortunately don't this very often 'cause there aren't any stores I know of around here that carry a superb beer selection, plus I'm po'. Anyway, tonight I had Leinenkugel's Apple Spice. It is a very fruity beer, much like their Berry Weiss. It's got a very strong cider flavor with lighter cinnamon flavor. It makes for a very tasty combo, but just like the Berry Weiss, they could definitely tone back the fruit flavors a little. I'd prefer it to be more like Buffalo Bill's Orange Cream Ale, where there is a very noticeable citrus flavor, but you still get a full ale flavor. The flavors in the Apple Spice over power the beer flavor a little too much. Despite the lack of a beer taste, it still gets my nod. Oh, that's a nice cider flavor. Leinenkugel's Apple Spice

But that's exactly what Shapiro wants... less of a thrill park image and more of a family image. He's doing exactly what he said. He's taking out a few of the coasters to decrease the thrill image and he's upping the family image. Take a look at SFGAm. They already had Bugs Bunny National Park and Camp Cartoon Network and they still got Wiggles World this year. With how many major coasters SFMM has, I'll be really surprised if they get a big coaster any time in the near future.

^Yes, I'll give you guys that. But if there was a dive machine that was 3500-4000 ft long and still had the 200ft vertical drop with the holding brake, as well as a vertical drop after the mid-course brakes, wouldn't that still make the big vertical drop the trademark of the ride? I understand what you guys are saying. I'd just like to have a 'little more' before the mid-course brakes instead of having the momentum and pace killed so fast.