Visioneer

I drove by yesterday on my way back from St. Pete. The traffic was too heavy to try and take a picture. The slide tower line was about half-way down the stairs from the top. Here's the slide tower from their fb page: There are more pictures on their fb page. I'm not sure I can link per the rules (not enough post). Do a quick search for "coco key resort orlando" and look for the fb link.

Is that actually HDR? It just looks like a typical picture from one of the really large sensor DSLRs. But then again I ain't no photo expert. It could be! The higher end cameras basically do the same thing in camera. The second released photo is much better! @ Jew

Anyone else thinking the first picture looks like one of those Avatar movie blue things? Who knew lemurs would evolve? James Cameron.

An example when HDR photo processing is taken just a bit too far. With proper lighting, this would've been a better shot ... still not a great promo shot considering all they could have done.

I'm glad to learn that! I'm looking forward to your future announcement ... even if it may be quite some time from now. Failure is not an option. Adapt, and you'll succeed. These responses have been fun to read too.

1. Who’s your target market? Your target market and attraction mix (a coaster and a ferris wheel?) will determine the best choice. Both are good choices. 1a. If it’s a mix entertainment venue, like you’ve stated, what’s that mix? If you have more family oriented venues, stick with family (i.e. wood coaster). If you plan to expand the mix and if family is decently covered, go with a thrill (i.e. inverted coaster). If it’s a -would be- teen hangout like malls, movies, etc., it would really depend on your long term goals. Most will only ride one available coaster a limited number of times. Remember, noise. Will there be neighbors (i.e. NIMBY) prior to development? A wood coaster may be out and the non-dampened B&M roar even more so. There's additional cost to quiet them. 2. You’re very focused on GCI and B&M. You said you haven’t contacted them yet. Will they and can they make the product you seek in your project timeline? 3. What’s your projected attendance and do those numbers support a $15 million attraction? 4. If you can invest up to $15 million in one attraction, could you split the difference and gain two solid attractions instead of one? Perhaps a solid wood coaster with a couple of thrilling flat rides? These questions aren’t meant to be answered here. Just possibly helping you go deeper to find the right answer to this question along with the responses you receive. You may already know these things. My answer: A steel mega-lite or hyper by Intamin. I know that isn’t a given option, but it’s the best of both your options. It meets all criteria. Any dueling coaster wouldn’t be the best for your initial resources.

^ @Jew Agreed. Waiting in line is part of the strategy. Typically, that’s why you see “long” waits with one train ops. Parks are designed with targets for # of attractions per hour. They need the majority of guest in their park for a specific period of time to make money. Attractions / target guest time in park = capacity … this is the rough equation. There’s more to it. You increase or decrease various factors based on this. USO w/ HP isn’t meant to be a one day trip. Parks wouldn’t make money if every attraction was built with huge capacity and little waiting. They will stretch the HP experience, because it’s smart business. The area is meant to be explored. It’s not just about the rides. We’ve become too “ride” centric. It will be a challenge for parks to help guest understand that. You’ll see more overall experiences, non-ride centric, as theme parks evolve.

Dino update = Hilarious! I laughed so many times at your captions. Thank you! I'm moving to Orlando in about a month, so all of your updates are priceless. I'm hooked.

It's an extremely well done High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo. Wikipedia: High dynamic range imaging

hyyyper, marcelous43245, usirocksit1 ... this contest was fun.

usirocksit1 ... very nice! I also like J man's and hyyyper's (that one inspired me).

Incredible Rigatoni featuring Shamise Final image