Bilby_AUS

Well I think you are almost there! Try shooting in RAW format next time and tweaking the colouring, contrast etc, It all adds extra richness, creativity and character to the Image. And try cropping/zooming right in on the riders faces to make it even more of a focus! I don't know many pro photographers that don't do post processing. Most DSLR cameras will come with processing software and Nikon have a good one that is a free download from their website.

It is definitely a thing to have these days. In Australia, you see so many people with their entry level DSLR's (nothing wrong with owning an entry level DSLR by the way) walking around just doing happy snaps and then getting frustrated with having to carry them around, and getting even more frustrated when they look at the photos and see that they could have gotten better shots on a point and shoot... It definitely takes a strong commitment to image making get to a point where you can use a DSLR to it's full potential easily, and most people are not prepared for that... I was definitely one of those people in the beginning. I had my D60 walking around and at most, using aperture priority mode would take shots and then load them on my computer and that was it. But what changed the whole thing for me was when I started shooting in RAW, got a better understanding of histograms, and was bracketing everything... On top of the fundamentals, when I got my head around that, there was no looking back! I am heading to the US this Autumn and will be hitting several parks and cannot wait to get some great shots with my new Nikon D7100 and new Nikkor f2.8 and f1.8 glass. I wont be without my point and shoot though (still in RAW format for PP) as I wont have my DSLR with me for the full day... perfect for candids and happy snaps, because lets face it, no matter how many beautifully executed images we get of Coasters and parks, people back home will always want to see some nice smiley shots of you and the other people you are with...

My real name is Bill and when I went to the states to work at a summer camp, the kids just started calling me Bilby. They thought it was cool to call an aussie named Bill after an Australian native desert dwelling marsupial with a similar name... Anyway it has stuck and most of my friends will call me bilby now

Hi Everyone! My name is Bill and I am from Australia. Home park was Australia's Wonderland (modelled of Paramount parks beast themed woodie, Hanna-Barbera themes kids area and all). Unfortunately It has closed now By trade I am an Architect/Interior designer, who also does competitive latin american dancing on the side. I'm into hiking, rowing... Architecture, Design, photography... dancing I'm going back to university next year to do a research masters, which I am really looking forward to, but not before I do a little more travel this year including the US this sep-oct peace!

Oh boy!! I hope El Toro is up again when I am there in October

OHHHH!! That would be awesome!!!

I am really glad to see so many gay coaster enthusiasts like me!!! BTW.. I will be coming over to the US from Australia and will be at CP on the 5th & 6th Oct (with my sis), SFGAdv on the 12th Oct (alone) and SFMM on Columbus day (alone).... If anyone wants to join me, some company at SFMM, SFGAdv or CP would awesome!!!

Columbus Day is always extremely dead! It's a really great day to go! Just watch out for all the one train operations. SWEEEEEET!! I may not need to fork out for a flash pass now!

Hi everyone... again.. SFMM on Columbus day? good, bad, busy, dead? I have had to tweak my itinerary and will be hitting the park on the 14th oct instead of the last week of September

Thanks for all the advice guys! So many options!

G'day Smallish! Thanks for the detailed plan! You really have hit a soft spot there for me because I love a good plan, and that is a great one! But I think at this stage I wont have my own car which means going off site for lunch probably isn't really much of an option... that said, is the SFMM food really that bad? In Australia part of the experience of going to a park is the bad, unhealthy yet shamefully delicious amusement park food, so I'm kinda expecting a $15-20 dollar one way ticket to a coronary washed down with a gallon of coke . I will definitely be walking into the park with a loose plan of attack, but given that this will be probably the only opportunity I will have to come here for another 4-5 years I certainly don't want to be rushing between things and waiting excessive amounts of time in line, but rather give myself the time to take everything in, take some photos (I am a bit of an enthusiast) and ride the rides as much as I like. Yes I want to ride all of them and there will be energy in my approach, but I don't want to be stressing about it and if a flash pass even at $80-100 bucks will make things more enjoyable I think it will be worth it. Totally cant wait though! Hopefully there wont be too many closures... the Saturday that I can go will be the last weekend of September. Will that be the last weekend before the Halloween stuff? will it mean that some rides are more likely to be closed in prep for it? I totally agree, definitely don't want to be stressing out about this one I was going to pre-order the flash pass but I will wait until I am there just in case the weather is bad and it is a ghost town. I'll be getting a season pass as I will be going to SFGAdv too, I cant believe how cheap they are!

Hi there Downunder! Cheers for the advice! I am definitely considering going to Knotts on the friday I arrive. I have seen a few pics and videos of past years and it looks like a riot! I hear your point with the local hotel, however if my focus whilst being in LA was solely on going to SFMM, it would be a no brainer, but as an architect I want to be going to some notable LA buildings too and other areas to take photos, and other touristy stuff. Perhaps all I need to do is spend a night before and after my visit to SFMM at a local hotel and shuttle back into town to stay somewhere more convenient... It may be likely that I will be getting a hire car but only if it doesn't blow out the budget! Good call!

Definitely wait until you arrive. The park is not likely to sell out of Flash Passes, especially in the off-season. Besides, you might not even need one. I've visited on off-season Saturdays and gotten on every coaster without a problem (though re-rides were limited, but that could be because I left the park and had lunch at a sit-down restaurant). If you do get one, I'd recommend sticking with Gold unless you plan to use the YOLOcoaster upcharge as Platinum is very expensive for what it offers. Thanks for the advice rcdude!

If you stay off property, just ask the hotel that you'll need late check-in, and they'll be happy to hold a room for you. I would recommend that you stay in the same place on both nights, because it's a pain in the butt to switch hotels while at an amusement park. It's just more hassle than what it's worth. Cedar Point Halloweekend Saturdays are some of the busiest days of the year. You must buy Fast Lane Plus for these days, especially if you are traveling half way across the world. Sundays are much less crowded, but still could be busy. It depends how the parking lot looks when you arrive. If you can arrive on Friday, the crowds are lighter (possibly due to High School Football?) and the haunted houses open only 2 hours after the park opens. Raptor, thanks for the advice much appreciated! I am really looking forward to this trip!!

Hi everyone!! I will be coming to the USA (from Australia) from last weekend of september till the 17th October. I will be in LA for 2 days and I am wanting to spend a day at SFMM on the saturday 28th. (open 1030-1800) I will be at the park the whole time and I will probably get flash pass (gold or Platinum, not sure). Would it be worth getting it before I arrive (no risk of them having ran out)? or will it be OK to wait to get it when I arrive to suss out crowds, weather, ride closures and so on?

Hi Gay Coaster Guy! You know, you make a really good point there, Waldemeer will be right on our way to Niagra Falls coming from Sandusky and I would love to check it out and especially ride Ravine Flyer (looks amazing) BUT they will be closed for the season even before I get to the US . Hersheypark would be awesome!!! But they are not open for the dates that I will be on the east coast and Knoebles like Hershey are just a little bit too far out of the way . I would love to go to some of these other places but I don't think it will work out this time. I think if I had the opportunity to travel earlier I would definitely be going to these kinds of places!!

Thanks for the tips guys!! I think you are right about the public transport thing especially for CP. Also for arrival by train at 535 in the morning is ridiculous, and I have done my fair share of waiting around in hotel lobbies all through Europe! no thanks! Thanks for reminding me, the excitement of the trip has clouded my judgement! As I will be meeting my sister at some point on the friday, who will be flying in from Boston, I think it will be best to meet her in Cleveland instead, stay the night there, rent a car and drive to CP sat morning. It is only a 1-1.5 ish hour drive... or meet her at the airport then drive to sandusky that night staying there for 3 instead of two. When I went to SFGAdv the first time back in 2003 me and a couple of friends used the public buses, and yes the trip was tedious, but wasn't so bad that I would not do it again. The only difference there was that we left the park at about 7pm so got back to NYC around 9pm. This time I am wanting to stay to get some night rides. My main concern here is trying to keep costs down and not having to use hire cars too much because being a native left side road user, I don't want to be leaving too much destruction behind me on your crazy roads!

Wow that is a great deal, although I don't think I would ever have the opportunity to use it again after this trip.... The thought of spending only 78 bucks for 4 days of rides and 2 parks is absolutely to good to pass up!

G'day all! I did start a new thread to ask a few questions about a trip I will be taking on October, but figured that it would get lost with all the action the other park specific threads are getting. So here goes: (BTW if I am putting this in the wrong place let me know, and sorry in advance I'm a noob here ) I'm a 28y/o Aussie who finally has the opportunity now to hit Cedar Point and a few other parks (SFMM and SFGAdv) spread over 3 weeks in the USA. First up will be CP for Halloweekends (sat 5th and Sunday the 6th October - maybe friday the 4th too) and I'm trying to figure out some of the details to make it smooth sailing. So far the plan is that we (my sister and I) will be driving from Cleveland in the morning on sat, aiming to be at the park by 10am for 11am opening, spending the full day in the park on both Saturday and Sunday and then heading off on a bit of a driving tour eventually getting to NYC on Thursday. The first thing I am trying to work out is accommodation. Looking on the CP website it seems that on point accommodation does not operate Sunday nights, Just Fri and Sat. So because of that and the fact that we will have a hire car, I'm thinking that we will go off Point so we can stay in the same place for both nights. That said, I am not sure at what point we will have the opportunity to check into the hotel during the day. I can't imagine that anywhere would let us check in at 11pm (I could be wrong).. The other option of course is to stay at say Breakers for the Saturday night (closer/Parking/check-in convenience) and then go off Point for the Sunday night (given that the park closes at 8pm it should not be an issue checking in?) So what are your thoughts on the best way to approach accommodation? Am I making too much of a fuss about late check-ins and so on... So we have established that we will be there on Saturday and Sunday and I already know that we will need two days, but will it be worth getting a Fast Pass Plus for the Saturday? And if so, should I pre-order online? And how far in advance will I need to do it? I have seen some October pictures of last years Halloweekends at CP and it looked PACKED!!! Does the FP+ make much of a difference in your wait time? Are we talking 30min compared to 2hr in the normal line? The other thing that might be fun to do is to meet up with a few people from TPR if any of you are interested? We are two fun loving 28-30y/o's (I'm an Interior Designer and my sister works for HP) who love serious thrills, sharing stories and being silly! Thanks for your help!

Oh the other question that I cannot seem to be able to figure out the answer to online... Would a season Pass be worth getting? are they valid for Fright fest? And can I use it for both SFMM and SFGAdv?

Superman at Six Flags Great Adventure 2003, the year it opened then Batman, Nitro and Medusa. We do not have any B&M in Aus (one day) and I remember think how smooooooth they were!

Cheers Biker! I was thinking that. Maybe get the 8pm one or something.

The Beast (woodie- basically a poor mans version of the beast at KI. Even had the same sign) at Australia's Wonderland (paramount). I was 14.

Hello Hello.... From down under (there I said it) My name is Bilby and as a coaster enthusiast I feel like a rare breed here in Australia, just as rare as a decent amusement park is here! Anyway, I am a noob here, among other things, and need a little help planning a trip I will be doing this October. I will be doing things other than going to parks, but the whole trip for me will be centered around going to a couple of US parks that I have wanted to go to ever since I started drooling over Millie back in 2000. The plan so far (parks wise) is this: Cedar Point Halloweekend 4-6th October Six Flags Great Adventure 12 or13th October (maybe both but I have already been to this park) Six Flags Magic Mountain 19th or 20th October (maybe both) So the plan for Cedar point is this: Arrive in Sandusky friday morning 5:35 I will be coming from Chicago on the red eye (train). Give myself time to get settled and so on and to meet my sister that evening somewhere as she will be coming from Boston for a work thing. Not sure where to stay yet. A few issues we will have; we will not have our own transport and will be relying on public services and we are wanting to stay Sunday night also. So we are wanting to stay at Breakers so we get early entry and don't have to drive through traffic to get to the park, but they are not offering rooms on the Sunday night. Just Friday and Saturday. So maybe we sacrifice closeness for a hotel that we can stay at on the Sunday too, but then how do we get to the park? So my questions are: What do you all think would be the best option? Stay at Breakers fri and sat night and then somehow find a place in Sandusky after Sunday in the park? How would we get from the park to Sandusky; shuttle, Taxi? OR Find a place off the penninsula where we can stay 3 nights? but transport again. Are there hire car places in Sandusky (Avis etc)? or are there shuttle services? Also I will be in the park by myself on the Friday night. I'm a 6'1" 170lb 28 year old Aussie guy. Will there be a security issue with me walking around alone... OR will there be anyone on here that will be there that weekend who would be willing to show me around?? Or will it be easy to pick up a couple of cool randoms to show me around? The other option would be to ditch the friday at the park and meet my sister in Cleveland (easier for her) stay there friday night hire a car and drive to sandusky sat morning.... Looking at how packed the place gets on Halloweekends i would like to go friday too. Thoughts? Six Flags Great Adventure: Not too many hassles here. We will be staying in NYC and catching NJTrasit bus to and from the park. I will be with my sister. Will catching the last bus at 10pm back to NYC be a bit of a security issue or is it usually ok? Also, should we allow for both days? or will one day be enough? And if so will the Sunday be a better day to go? Or will they both be busy because of the Columbus day long weekend? The park is open Monday... Should we go Monday? Quieter? Six Flags Magic Mountain: I may or may not be going alone. It just depends on where and what my sister will be doing and on what weekend I choose to go: 28th or29th September (6pm close), or 19th or20th October. Either way we/I will be again using public transport to/from LA Unless it is way better to just hire a car. If I were alone, security wise what are the issues at night coming home? Also one or two day in the park? And would there be anyone interested in Showing me/us around (rollercoasters no1 priority, naturally). Is there much benefit staying closer to the park? what is traffic like between LA and the park if we were to drive? So there it is.... well the weekends anyway I would LOVE your feedback and advice, and If anyone will be at any of these parks on those dates and would like a couple of Aussies in your entourage that would be AWESOME!!! Thanks Everyone!!!