timberskara

That's crazy! Thanks for sharing the video, very exciting to see daytime footage of it testing. Regardless of my overall "meh" attitutde on flying coasters, this is a great addition to the park and will certainly be enjoyed by many.

Great shots! Thanks for the update...this thing is really coming along .

^ I worked on Millie the year the seatbelts were shortened so I consider myself a veteran of "judging" if people will make it or not (pretty sweet quality to have, I know ). It was a sucky thing to ask people to try the test seat at the entrance, but it's FAR better than seeing them wait in line for 3 hours and then have to take the walk of shame (to Park Op to complain!). That being said, it really varies greatly. Unfortunately there's no magical number or dimension that won't fit because it really just depends on how you're built. I can say that women tend to have more problems on MF than dudes because of their thighs and butt. Truth be told, it's really not someone's stomach that can prevent it from working-- it's more their thighs. While this is generally true, be warned that there are people who can fit on MF but not TTD and vice-versa. There are also people who have no problem with the "lapbar" rides, but have problems on Raptor, WT, Corkscrew, Mantis and Maverick. As far as Millie goes, if you do end up going make sure to ride in the front row of a car; we'd have people not fit in the back row of a car but would have no problems up front. Also, if you're really worried about it, you might want to sit towards the middle of the car so you have some more time to get yourself situated before the ride op comes by. Things may have changed a bit since 2004, so it might be a good idea to poke around on CP's site or drop them an email inquiry to get their stock response which may include some generalized numbers for waist size and such. Best of luck.

Ha! Hopefully you won't be struck dead the minute you walk into the gates with your unholy comp tickets . Still waiting on mine also, although I haven't checked my mail in a few days. Maybe I'll do a Photo TR of checking my mail everyday until they get here....

LeBron @ CP like downunder said. I remember he was all trying to line jump on TTD because he thought he was cool. Weird Al also came in 2003 when I was working Magnum. The entire Cleveland Browns team came that year also...it was awkward having to kick most of them off Corkscrew because they were too huge for the OTSRs. I checked the lapbars of 3 Doors Down on MF in '04. Maury also rode when I was working MF...the station was going CRAZY "Maury! Maury!" Seems like there were rumored celebrities at the Point weekly, but that's all I saw first-hand. Tim Allen and his brother come to Michigan's Adventure every summer. I respect the ones that try to "go it alone" more than those that get Marketing to walk them around. Yea, they get to walk up the exit that way-- but then they're so much more in the public eye too.

Hey Sky...nice photos! Did you hit up Chet & Matts?

I was taking onride and JUST MISSED getting our crash on tape. The ride was over so I was turning off my video camera just when it hapenned --you can only see us all freak out for about 1/2 second (we went right through the brakes no grab and slammed into the car infront of us). I have footage afterward of the cars not where they're supposed to be and the less-than-stellar maintenance team trying to winch the cars back to the appropriate spots. At the time, it was kind of funny...it felt like a really intense crash on the bumper cars. Unfortunately it ended up being pretty serious for a good friend of mine who was in the second row and couldn't see it coming so couldn't prepare for the impact. He had multiple doctor visits for his whiplash and couldn't ride coasters for over a year. It's not something you're used to happening-- I guess braking systems were something I took for granted before that day. It could have been a lot worse, so I'm thankful it turned out the way that it did...but looking back it was some pretty serious business and to hear that other people may have experienced the same problems is simply unacceptable.

Hey, isn't that Rob?! Oh how I have fond memories of our trips there! From the Tilt-a-Whirl that didn't whirl, the air conditioned DDR, checking of restraints on the far side of Afterburner before being sent back through the loop, our Zyklon accident, the missing tubs on the flyers (at least they balanced it out, right?) and the "petting zoo." Sure the word "quality" isn't the first thing that came to mind, but you're right it was fun and I'll miss stopping by on the way to IB. Does anyone else find their statement and the method in which they posted it ...amusing? It's black and white, all right (). No press release, no "maybe next year" follow-up, no "thanks for the support all these years" ... nothing. Just flat-out due to the economy. God Bless America!

First of all...you're an ASL interpreter? AWESOME! After 7 semesters of sign, I would love to be involved with something like that. But for now, I just settle for the occasional deaf/HI customer at work. Second of all...you're the coolest parents ever! What an awesome, awesome surprise for Parker . Those are memories that will last a lifetime. I'm loving the pics so far-- the photo of you three on the beach is quite possibly the cutest family photo I've ever seen!

^ I was about to say the same thing! If only the "Courtesy Corps" was still around... Seriously, thanks for sharing. As a past employee, I find this stuff uber interesting!

Yes, it's for sure a facade...sorry for the freak-out. You can see that they have made cuts on one side to allow for the reach envelope to fit through, but the other (back) side still needs some adjusting. It's definitely possible that they knew this was going to be an issue all along and just wanted to wait to have the track constructed in there to see just how much and where they need to cut, but I can tell you that in-person it looked pretty haphazardly done. Regardless, seeing the little guy in the back not clear was pretty amusing at the time . Reach envelope FAIL

The ride really is looking amazing from all angles! A few of us were at the park on Sunday and noticed some funny business going on with the reach envelope on the portion that flies through the brick-looking building near Twister. I have some photos to upload soon, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that it it definitely didn't clear this portion. They're having to cut-away some more sections of the building to accommodate it...eek!

^^ Uhhhh....seriously? I am flying down South to ESCAPE the cold weather and snowy conditions! Oh well, I've done parks in the snow before and I'll do it again. Let's hope they stay open.

^That's the best thing I've heard all day. Never seen before...hah. I think this thread just makes me love Montana even more .

^ and ^^ have great advice on contacting SFOG about it. A few years back I had the same issue and what ended up working out best was for them to just place a comp ticket at Guest Services for me at SFOG. I could then hold on to my certificate and get it processed at the park I purchased from. Some parks these days are hesitant to process a season pass purchased at another one of their locations. I'm not sure if it's this way for them, but sometimes if you process your pass at a place different than your homepark the fear is that if you lose it you would have to go back to wherever you processed to get the replacement. Also, it's tricky on a financial end for allotting the revenue from the purchase. In the end, customer service wins out and they will do what it takes to make it work; it's just requires more paperwork on their end. Let us know how it goes!

I realllllly can't imagine it would be crowded seeing as how it's opening weekend and the weather is supposed to be less than stellar. Unless they have something special going on with a corporate client, I'd bet dollars to donuts it'll be dead. All the cool kids are going on Sunday! I anticipate a good time even if we do end up having to wait for Mindbender or Goliath. Can't wait. Peace up, A-town downnnnnn

I'm reallllllly digging these photos-- thanks for enduring the less than ideal weather in order to bring them to us!

Wow! I guess I really hadn't been keeping up on this thread-- the ride looks awesome . I'm trying to hold back being totally enamored with it because I've never been on anything substantial by Maurer Söhne....just Spinning Mice (which weren't particularly good, IMO). But, admittedly, it's getting more difficult not to be totally geeked about this ride!

That is one sexy ass photo! I think I need to get to SeaWorld...I hear it's lucky !

I would love to help out with this...I'll see what I can come up with! Best of luck with your project

It was 6 degrees in the Twin Cities? Wow, what a heat wave! Sure sounds nice compared to today. Awesome photos...God, I love those parks! I enjoyed hearing about your Boomer's experience, too-- glad you braved it out to ride the Hurricane! Thanks for posting, Matt!

Cedar Point definitely has a lot of employees from other states and countries! They do have housing for staff that live a certain distance (50 miles?) away from the park. Unfortunately, they aren't free and definitely aren't anything like a hotel. In case you're interested, here is the list of the different prisons--er facilities--they offer if you're interested. Several parks offer some sort of housing options for out-of-state employees-- some of them have their own facilities (CP, VF), some partner with local colleges and use their housing during the summer, and some offer a subsidy for you to put towards an apartment in the area. Just check out the employee section of the park's web site or give their HR department a call. Like a lot of people, it was an eye-opening experience for me working at CP right out of high school. Moving away from home and "living on my own" the summer between HS and College was good for me. I remember going to college orientation during the summer and everyone was asking questions about living on their own, away from family. It kind of made me feel like a rock star that I was ahead of the game in that regard . Man that was sooo long ago! Anyway, working for a park can definitely be a great experience for some of us, but not for others. I'd always recommend giving it a shot and seeing if it's your thing!

Hey Rob-- I think your place looks great and I'm sure all of your research and apartment hunting tips will help others looking for a place in O-Town in the future. I've heard it's not an easy city to find somewhere nice to call home, but at least it's not impossible. Maybe you should post some positive reviews to combat the bad ones ? It was great seeing all of your adventures thus far...be sure to keep us updated on future endeavors in adjusting to Orlando!

With a passion for the industry and a season of work as a ride op under your belt, you're already on your way! Everyone here has great and helpful advice, and mine would be to score an internship in the marketing department for a park. A seasonal internship is a really good idea for anyone wondering if working in the industry is right for them because it allows you to really experience the "other side" of the business. Many of the positions parks offer like this will give you experience in a TON of different areas including: -Advertising. This can be anything from learning the process of working with the park's ad agency and doing media buys (where and when do you want your message to be heard -- how to effectively reach the park's target audience) to brainstorming off-the-wall ideas to tap into different media channels. --Sales. In most parks the Group Sales staff fall under the Marketing Department. Working with a potential client from the initial contact all the way up to the day of their event by helping them to plan a great day of fun! Relationship building is a big part of the business...and there's no better thing to sell than FUN. -Promotions. Brainstorming sometimes crazy, off-the-wall ideas to get people to come to your destination. This can be simple things like parade appearances or coupon offers to insane contests and celebrity appearances. --Media communications. Authoring press releases for new attractions or upcoming events, escorting members of the media around the park or learning about how to handle a crisis are all big parts of a park's communication with the media. --Public relations. Some of the most credible "marketing" comes from PR. Get your park in the center of attention by holding special events, make public appearances or sponsoring local events. --Research. Ever see those survey takers wandering around the parks? People don't realize they are probably the most important part of the marketing department. Through the results of properly administered surveys, parks can evaluate how well their current strategies are performing, discover the new trends of their target market and decided what is the best medium in which to spend their advertising dollars. As you can imagine, learning about all of these areas can give you a great understanding about the day-to-day operation of the park itself, as well as the company's long-term goals. I think if you look at the individuals that have a lot of influence on the park and are "higher-up" in the chain of command, most of them have had some experience in the area of marketing...that's why I think it's a good place to start. Doing all of these things in an amusement park environment on an amusement park schedule isn't the right thing for everyone, but it's also a lot of fun for some! An internship can either reinforce your desire to work in the industry, or it can make you realize that maybe it's not right for you...but at least you'll know. And the best part is, getting a seasonal internship in marketing isn't impossible. Just check out the park's corporate Web site and find their information on internships, or call the park's HR department and ask when they start accepting applications for their summer internships. Again, this is just my 2 cents. In High School I got introduced to the idea that working full-time for a park one day could be a lot of fun. I worked two summers as a ride op at one park, interned two summers in Marketing at another and then got my "big break" so to speak and another park. And now I can't imagine doing anything else! Best of luck

Just a follow-up, I tried it on Renegade yesterday and it seems reasonably accurate. Here's a screenshot of a portion of the log: I wish there was a better way to capture/email the entire readout for comparison between rides, but for right now I can't figure it out. PS I don't think it really matters which way you put it in your pocket.