AndrewRnR

Spare parts for Corkscrew or the other Arrow coasters.

Just got back from a weekend at SFOG. The park was great -not too crowded, friendly employees everywhere, good efficiency on rides, etc. Wanted to give everyone a heads up about Dare Devil Dive. In order to ride everyone must reserve a time. It is similar to the Ticket To Ride program Cedar Point did when Millennium Force opened... starting at park open they give everyone an one hour time frame to return between (they stamp your arm). When you return you are allowed in the queue - this was the only way to to ride during the day. It actually worked out quite well. We got our stamp around noon for 4-5pm and walked by shortly after 4pm to see a 60min wait, decided to grab some food and came back around 4:45 and only had to wait 30 mins... not too bad for a holiday weekend/second day of operation for a new ride!

The water park is the main attraction at the park so with the weather being less than stellar I'm not too shocked about the crowds. I've been there on a busy weekend in the middle of July and the coasters will be walk-ons because everyone is in the water park. It may be a holiday weekend but having grown up just north of Detroit on weekends like Memorial Day nearly everyone heads up to their cottage "up-north." I don't think it is a terrible fit for Cedar Fair. Photos don't make it seem great but it isn't a terrible park and it can stand on its own two feet. Wasn't there talk for a while of an indoor water park being built (though the park never did get the 215 foot hyper the original ownership had penciled in)? None the less I think this park was bought, in part, as a way to control the competition. It was bought around the times SFO/WOA was growing fast and Kinzel kept saying publicly how he regretted not buying Geauga Lake when he had the chance pre-SF. I'm sure Kinzel/CF didn't want to lose MiA to another chain. I know from my old house about 20 miles north of Detroit that MiA was only 30 mins farther away than CP. A few big-ticket rides and some good marketing by a competitor could've have turned some people away from CP.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spots but I can't seem to find any information anywhere on the net about Hurlfest this year. Can anyone shed any light on the event? Thanks!

I think a lot of it doesn't have to do with rain/snow/whatever but the company's trends. Back 10 years ago or so reports of rides testing back in March were a common thing. By mid-April reports would be flooding in from employees who were there running the rides daily. I remember once being in Sandusky in late April and drove by the park and you would have thought it was open - constant cycling on all the rides. Word is that over the years and with different management (or a different CFO...) that has all been about stopped. Now ride crews are lucky to get a day or two of cycling in where years ago it used to be a few weeks. I got no hard facts to back that up just word on the midway but it makes sense - last few years mid-April and things arn't really testing. Heck the surprising thing is the number of rides (especially Millennium, Force) that doesn't have all its trains ready to go! I remember when the new roller coasters would first test in March and all of April. I remember going to Battery Park and watching MF in early April back in 2000. Now the new rides arn't even done by opening day. There has been some brutal winters but you can't tell me they were able to build MF (minus land clearing vertical construction started in Sept/Oct) by March (when it started testing) yet now they can't move a flat ride across the park in the winter? I'm no expert I'm just thinking out loud.

I didn't want to quote both of your posts but sorry for the confusion/contradiction. A degree is important. These days it is hard to move up in any company without one but it usually doesn't matter for entry level management in the parks. A degree is vital - if you want to make it past an entry level manager but experience is going to get you that first real management spot. It is a crappy catch 22 - how do you get that first spot without experience but no one wants to give it to you if you have none. There is where networking comes in and lots of luck. I was lucky to go to school and work my way up in management at the same time. And you degree doesn't have to be hospitality. General business and marketing are two great areas to study for this industry but like I mentioned before I know many managers who work in the same building as me and no one has a degree in hospitality. Not even the bigger bosses. You need at least a bachelor degree to get into middle management and a MBA if you are looking at the bigger roles. To be honest the faster/more efficient would be to work and go to school at both time. Someone else mentioned seasonal parks are their only chance because of school but to be honest if you really want to be in the industry (and I don't mean to sound rude here) you can move and go to school in SoCal, Orlando or even Texas where there are more chances. To top it off big parks will pay for you to go to school (ie Disney and Universal). I saw I wouldn't be able to move up in a seasonal park and I didn't want to finish my degree and be 22/23 and not be a manager so I moved across the country worked and went to school (got my company to pay for school) and became a manager at one of the largest attractions in the area shortly after my 21st birthday. If you are set at staying at the school you are at great then don't just settle for seasonal hourly employment. So many parks, if not nearly every park, offers sometime of decent internship programs. Six Flags has a variety of management programs, ditto for Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, same goes for Cedar Fair. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also has some. Those let you get into that supervisor role level without having to wait two or three seasonal. Let me know if you want more info on them. Believe it or not seasonal parks are horrible when it comes to moving up. It isn't too hard to become a lead or whatnot but after that its near impossible to move into a full time year around role (even a big park like CP has maybe only 10 full time/year-round management roles in operations) where Disney has 10 full time operations managers in Tomorrowland alone. Another thing to consider. Attend IAAPA trade show. That is a great great great networking tool. I personally know several students who got some pretty nice jobs (upper management) right out of school from their networking there.

It really depends on experience. Seasonal or not you won't get a stage management role without experience. Do you do any stage work at local schools/churches/etc? Moving won't do you any good if you don't have experience. I would say build up some experience at a local park as maybe a tech then following year as a stage manager then start networking with people at Disney (if you are still in school they offer internship for both management and non management stage positions). The only accreditation it takes is to be good with people. I would say if possible work hard in school, and get a job at a hotel. If you are good with people and work hard you'll move up. When it comes time to graduate start looking at internships - almost every big park offers some form of management ones (with Disney and Universal Orlando's programs being the stand outs). You'll be able to bring a few years of guest service experience to the table and that will do wonders. What you get your degree in really doesn't matter if you are looking for operations side (engineering it matters of course) again it comes down to can you work with guests. Sure you can transfer to a school in SoCal/Orlando but it almost is as good staying put and just getting a hospitality job. That's good advice but if you really want management fast seasonal parks arn't the place to work up. Nothing against people when I say this as some of my best friends took this route... but it takes what a season to become a lead? Another season or (usually) two to become a supervisor? You go to a big park such as Disney or Universal and work hard you could be a team lead after 6 months or two. A salaried supervisor/manager, who would make far more than what an are supervisor or manager would at a seasonal park, after a year and a half two years. I just caution the seasonal route. You get stuck in the parks. You work a summer then get roped into to a lead for the next summer or two then supervisor for a few years, than maybe, in extreme rare cases after a few more years you can become a full time manager. I know of one person who worked his way up at a big name seasonal park and after 7 years, 6 of which were team leader or higher, still couldn't get a full time spot. UCF does have a unique program and I think it has the right idea but it doesn't matter in this industry. It is all about guest service and experience. I've been to numerous interviews, and conducted numerous interviews myself, and it comes down to what kind of experience and are they good with people. Everything else you learn on the job (for the most part). Just focus on getting a degree. I've worked for and with a lot of managers in the industry and I can't think of one that has a hospitality degree but they are all good with people and worked their way up.

From my experience you got to move where the full time jobs are. With this industry being as small as it is you must go to the jobs and can't hope and wait for a job to open up around you. My best recommendation would be to move to Orlando or SoCal where you can go full time in a front line position. Disney, Universal and Sea World all have programs to help groom people for leadership (at least here in Orlando) and if you work hard you could move up to a lead probably after a year and a manager after two. Get some management experience and then move to a park elsewhere. Where is a park like Coney Island or Kings Island by you may have only one full time opening a year if that, the year-round parks are always looking for management at all levels in all areas. If you are looking to stay in the area then Chuck E Cheese is good that you are at least in a customer service role but I would recommend looking at hotels. A good website to check is HCareers.Com. Hotels, especially larger ones, operator similar in structure to a theme park. Just by reading the job descriptions of management job posting throughout the industry I have been surprised how often parks are looking for people with hotel experience because not only do they no the customer service piece but working at a hotel, especially at a management level, lets you really learn the processes of revenue management and finance in the hospitality industry.

I'm sitting in my hotel room right by KD after logging several rides on I305 tonight. This was my first time at KD so you could say I'm not a fanboy. But here is my review of the ride: Is it a great ride? Absolutely. Is it one of the craziest rides out there? Yup. I heard rumors of trims over the last week but I didn't know if it was confirmed or not (have been traveling from Orlando to KD over the last few days). You can certainly feel them. I knew without looking. My first ride was in the second row and the ride didn't do much for me. The first drop didn't have pop to it and felt like it didn't get crazy till the bottom. No air on the second hill. I rode it 4 times in the last few rows and was blown away - thrown over the top of the first hill, airtime everywhere, etc. My ride up front didn't do much but the back seat ride put the ride right up there with MF for me. I don't think the trims are bad... especially if they help the transitions in the second half of the ride. The only drawback is since the trims are from the crest to at-least the half way mark the drop seems "slow" at first where I find MF or even Diamondback's first hill out of control from the crest down. But honestly that me just being picky. The rides in the back were crazy and provided some of the best rides ever on a steel coaster. As for the "grey-outs"... I still greyed out every-time but not till the end of the turn/while going up the second hill. I never rode it "pre-trims" but honestly while it might have gave the first drop less of a pop and take some air out of the second hill (I only know this because up front I didn't get any air over the second hill) it certainly doesn't ruin the ride. The ride is still one of the best and I really don't think the trims will cause the ride to "drop in the rankings."

While I agree those coasters are the most enjoyable I wouldn't like if they were given steel track like the Texas Giant. I would much rather see them retracked or new trains or whatever just not steel track that kinda ruins the whole wooden coaster thing for me.

I hate to bring up a thread from a few weeks ago but I just want to confirm... the parking season pass is printed on your season pass? It is not a decal they put in the car? I ask because I will be road tripping up to SFA in a few weeks and plan on taking one car but will visit SFoG several times this season with a different car. In theory if the parking is printed on the pass as long as I'm driving it shouldn't matter what car... correct?

Keep the pictures coming - they're great! I'm really excited because I'm doing the exact same trip in two weeks!

Has anyone done or heard of someone doing SFA and KD in one day? It would be more like we would go to KD Friday night (in May) process passes, jump on a few rides, Saturday morning drive up to SFA do the major stuff, then come back to finish KD. Is that even feasible or just crazy?

While some events and such are open to members (students) only you are more than welcome to swing by the meetings and events. Just shoot me a message when it gets closer and I'll give the info.

Spring? Fall? I worked in the same area that fall! And nothing wrong with being older and still in school... I'm in the same boat. Shoot me a message... I have some experience there. The college program is great. Sure there are some drawbacks (crazy hours, housing rules, low pay, etc) but it is worth it. Disney operates like nothing else and is something great to learn. And like others have touched on it really is what you make of it. I busted my butt during mine and it certainly paid off as I have worked my way up. Networking is key... there may be like 60,000+ cast members in Florida but seriously everyone knows everyone. Again it all comes down to the effort you want to put in... there are networking events at the housing complexes or at the parks quite a lot. Talk to your managers and fine one you can connect with and set up networking with their bosses and such. Some people complain to me they didn't get a professional internship and I am surprised because they didn't even tell me they applied for it. Just remember it is Disney it is different. I hear and worked with people all the time that have "years of experience" working and XYZ park and they get there and are shocked about working. Disney is different. Disney has different standards (not saying one is better than the other, Disney is just different). As for UCF... like others have said it is hard to take classes outside of Disney because of the open-scheduling thing but it is possible. If you work at one of the parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot mainly) you will almost always close which means going into work after 12pm so you might be able to sneak a class in during the morning. It would also help if you started working a month or two before classes (like started in May/June, and classes start in August) that way you can feel out the situation and perhaps talk to your leaders. But it is possible just requires some flexibility. A shameless plug for anyone in Orlando on the college program or thinking about UCF. They have a great organization called the Future Theme Park Leaders Association. It is made up of a group of students who want to well be managers in the industry. It has a great mix of people who are managers to people who arn't. If are interested in that and are just down on the college program send me a message and I can give you some info and you can swing by a meeting to check it out. The alumni of the organization are all over the world including a few in senior level management jobs (and they arn't even 25!). Again if anyone has any more detailed questions about the program or UCF just shoot me a message I don't want to get too in-depth here due to my job.

Did you get a message saying "You will not be able to purchase the video for this song" or something along those lines? That will come up if you correctly enter a bonus track.

Yeah but is this person the same person that told you it would open "this weekend" (in reference to your post last week about it soft opening this past weekend)?

I don't know how the rumor started about it opening this weekend. They arn't nearly ready to be open yet. Heck besides a few maintenance guys no one else has even ridden it. Yet alone they haven't done the usual day-long of non-stop cycling. I thought the date thrown out was end of July. That would be my guess with the earliest soft opening no earlier then next weekend. As for t-shirts they've been selling them for atleast a month or two now. Worst t-shirt ever: "I ripped it, I rocked it, I rode it."

How do you figure? Have you seen the thing in person... its pretty damn big. Trains are usually one of the more expensive things when it comes to a coaster and this one has what six of them? Also factor in the cost of all the A/V equipment, the LED lights, etc. Licensing for songs ain't cheap either. And not to sound rude but who cares how much it costs? I'm not directly writing the check for it (though all the money I have dropped in the park and at CityWalk for beverages might have helped fund it).

That figure doesn't really take into account Cypress Garden's situation. Busch Gardens is super easy to get to. It is right near a casino and the state fair grounds. It is literally 2-3 miles off the expressway. Cypress is way out in the middle of no where. Assuming people drive to Busch doesn't mean they will drive small roads to get to Cypress. I live in Orlando and I went to Busch more despite loving Starliner just because it was a pain to get to Cypress Gardens. Also remember busses run from Sea World/Universal/other attractions in Orlando to Busch Gardens (and its free for people with multi-park tickets and such) so I would say a decent amount of Orlando visitors who go to BGT take the bus and don't drive.

I believe there was a tour of a HHN house or two at Universal that attendees could participate in but since its in Vegas this year and Universal is not near Vegas...

The convention is open to anyone. Does that mean anyone should go? No. It is a convention not an indoor amusement park. - Prices are for the week and usually are $100+ depending on if you are a member or not and when you register. - Its not "fun" in the sense going on a roller coaster is fun. Sure you got the any and all the companies related to the amusement industry under one roof but they are there for business not to entertain fan boys. The rides are there for potential clients to preview them.... while they do allow anyone to ride them (well its up to the company) do be warned they can and may turn you down from riding or testing a product. I've heard stories of people going up to some coaster companies booth and wanting pictures of them in the cars on displayed and were asked to step away because they cars are for clients to see not for play. With all that being said if you really want to go they usually, key word usually and not always, offer discounted admission (to the tune of 25 bucks) for Friday only. They generally don't announce that promotion until Wednesday or Thursday in that week. Just remember if you do go it is a business convention and not a fun house.

When has they ever said they want to keep it exclusive? I thought that was just a rumor circuiting in the enthusiast circles. Even their website talks about making your "existing wooden coaster fly." Granted they won't just sell you the train they say they have to make sure the coaster meets strict standards but I'm sure if said standards are not met GCI would be more than willing to make it meet said standards for a price.

I always thought/heard Mean Streak was trimmed because the trains were creating too much stress and were tearing the structure apart. Sure Millennium Flyer trains look and ride great and I would assume be able to navigate the track and turns better they are still very much heavy (or atleast appear so) and that goes back to the first problem - trains causing stress. I think the answer would be the Timberliner trains after-all Gravity Group mentioned the trains as being "lightweight and distribute forces better to the track." But thats just a random guess and thought of mine.

Learned what? The lift didn't go up as planned, heck Universal publicly announced there was a delay in the construction. Going up as planned would have meant the lift would have been completed a month ago. You don't build half the hill, then remove the crane, then restart back up a month later. Trust me there was some issues they had to work out.