Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[thrillrider]

" I seriously have to go thru pages and pages just to get actual "news", updates or park pictures.

 

[CP Maverick]

All these complaints and I never finished Photoshopping the crane lifting a boat onto Mean Streak. You guys are no fun.

[bluestreak]

All these complaints and I never finished Photoshopping the crane lifting a boat onto Mean Streak. You guys are no fun.

 

Do it anyways. I need to see this.

[DoinItForTheFame]

. . . I seriously have to go thru pages and pages just to get actual "news", updates or park pictures.

 

Well, that's probably because there really hasn't been any "news" or updates, or park pictures in a while.

 

All these complaints and I never finished Photoshopping the crane lifting a boat onto Mean Streak. You guys are no fun.

 

Do it anyways. I need to see this.

 

I second this.

 

[hendrixmarshalljames]

How's this?

Edited September 26, 2016 by hendrixmarshalljames

[coasterbill]

There's a "leaked" Hurler RMC Layout in the Kings Dominion thread. Can we go back to using that as our designated dumpster fire so we can have our beloved Cedar Point thread back? Please. Go talk about the RMC Hurler layout. It looks awesome. Check it out. Go. You'll love it.

[Texascoaster89]

There's a "leaked" Hurler RMC Layout in the Kings Dominion thread. Can we go back to using that as our designated dumpster fire so we can have our beloved Cedar Point thread back? Please. Go talk about the RMC Hurler layout. It looks awesome. Check it out. Go. You'll love it.

 

I think the reaction in this thread is a direct testament to our society that can't stand not knowing something and the insanity that it causes.

[hendrixmarshalljames]

The salt is just so strong. Can't we just love the parks we love, and the rides they want to put in them?

[DoinItForTheFame]

The salt is just so strong. Can't we just love the parks we love, and the rides they want to put in them?

 

No.

[jedimaster1227]

HOLLOW STUDIOS has sent us a press release and Q&A about the opening of FEARVR at Cedar Point!

 

HOLLOW STUDIOS, immersive-based media production company, announces the opening of FEARVR, a 4D virtual reality horror experience debuting during the Halloween 2016 season at three Cedar Fair Entertainment locations: Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA (Knott’s Scary Farm), Canada’s Wonderland, Ontario, Canada (Halloween Haunt) California’s Great America, Santa Clara, CA (Halloween Haunt)Each of the three parks will offer their own version of real-life scare elements for FEARVR, creating variety between each venue.

 

A first for Cedar Fair, this groundbreaking 4D immersive experience is guaranteed to up the fright factor as guests find themselves trapped inside a real horror movie! Greeted by ominous nurses at the Meadowbrook Institute, visitors become the latest occupants inside the mysterious facility. Once checked-in, the new patients are warned of a dangerous, telekinetic female inmate known as “Katie,” who has just gone missing. Strapped to a specialized wheelchair, patients’ senses are bombarded while the facility walls unravel with horrific evil (FEARVR requires an additional fee and not included in Fright Lane or Skeleton Key).

 

Using Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus, the FEARVR high level of production quality creates a terrifying blend between true reality and the claustrophobic entrapment of virtual reality.

 

The entire production and presentation of FEARVR was a collaboration and partnership between Cedar Fair and Hollow Studios. Outside the virtual reality component of FEARV, all the 4D effects and thematic theatrical practical settings were designed by Knott’s Berry Farm’s Jon Cooke and produced by technicians and artists from Knott’s Berry Farm. FEARVR was directed by Ted Dougherty, who for nearly 20-years has worked as an expert in both the haunted attraction and Halloween theme park industries as a writer, actor, producer and creative director. The virtual reality media was produced in-house by Hollow Studios’ Chief Creative Executive, David Love and Ted Dougherty.

 

Both worked closely throughout the process with Art Director for the project, Jon Cooke. All virtual reality film set decorations, specialized properties, make-up and lighting were provided by several skilled artists and technicians from Knott’s Berry Farm. Stitching, visual effects, editing and post effects were completed by Hollow Studios.FEARVR was written by Ted Dougherty, Jon Cooke and David Love. Sound design by David Love, Ted Dougherty and Dan Bieranowski from Knott’s Berry Farm. Executive Producers are Brent Barr and Christian Dieckmann of Cedar Fair.

 

FEARVR is a 4D virtual reality horror experience premiering at three Cedar Fair parks for the 2016 Halloween season:

• Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA (Knott’s Scary Farm)
• Canada’s Wonderland, Ontario, Canada (Halloween Haunt)
• California’s Great America, Santa Clara, CA (Halloween Haunt)

 

FEARVR was directed by Ted Dougherty, and written by Ted Dougherty, Jon Cooke and David Love. Sound design by David Love, Ted Dougherty and Dan Bieranowski from Knott’s Berry Farm. Executive Producers: Brent Barr and Christian Dieckmann of Cedar Fair. David Love is Chief Creative Executive of Hollow Studios. Ted Dougherty’s company is Lunar Visions, Inc. The Experience Guests receive timed tickets and enter the venue, which is themed as the Meadowbrook Institute (ominous research facility) for their “appointments.” During the preshow, a video provides the backstory of Katie, a patient about to be transferred from the Institute because her supernatural, telekinetic abilities are more than the staff can handle. Then the alarm is raised: Katie has gone missing! Entering the showroom for the main experience, eight people at a time are loaded into 4D-effects seats disguised as wheelchairs. Once seated, they are provided with Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus headsets, headphones and a panic button. A safety message is displayed while each guest’s hands are strapped down to the wheelchair, and the terrifying, four-minute VR adventure begins. Through the VR goggles, each guest sees a 360 degree, first-person POV scenario as if they were an injured patient in a care facility with things going haywire all around. FEARVR: Q&A with David Love Without giving it all away, what are some of the scary things that happen in FEARVR? David Love: There’s one moment where you feel yourself getting an injection - which I imagine may never have happened before in a 4D experience. There’s a lot of mayhem and blood and some startling sound effects. You’re a helpless patient in this Institute where things are spiraling out of control in gruesome ways...

 

HOLLOW STUDIOS Where did you do the live action shoot? We used a studio that serendipitously is very near Knott’s Berry Farm and had a hospital set already in place, built out for 360-degrees. All that had to be done was black out the ceiling. It worked out perfectly for our needs. I have shot at many different hospitals in the course of my career – there are quite a few older facilities out there that are used just for film sets - but this worked out great.

 

Who was your cinematographer and what gear was used to shoot? We used a seasoned 360 cinematographer, Nick Lantz, and his GoPro rig. He had the gear, and knew how to use it - allowing me to focus on producing and Ted Dougherty to focus on directing.

 

What was the production timeline? The film set was available to us for three days. We spent one day on prep and two days filming, followed by about six weeks on post production in-house at Hollow Studios.

 

How do you pace the action of a VR horror experience? There needs to be something happening on screen constantly. It is designed to lull the viewer into a false sense of security which gets interrupted - over and over again. It is a constant build all the way to the end. It’s very similar to doing a ride film, in length and pacing, and in being designed around a passive protagonist – of course, VR can be interactive but in this case the passive experience helps maximize throughput. I think that Ted Dougherty’s background in the Halloween theme park industry, Jon Cooke’s experience at Knott’s Scary Farm and my own background in film production all really helped during the writing process for the pacing of the VR horror experience.

 

What were some special challenges in producing media for VR format? It helped that we have considerable past experience with narrative projects and media-based attractions. We look to the story to help prepare us to approach the filming. That said, we had to look at it in a much different way from traditional media because in VR it’s all first-person POV. The camera is now the audience. The person in the wheelchair is the guest – the protagonist, transported into the virtual environment which in this case is the institute scenario. All characters are speaking directly to them and looking at them. We had to visualize the project in 360 degrees and write in that context. In shooting, there are some special restrictions. You have to build a special set to conceal the photographer. None of the crew can be on set during shooting - they have to be hidden around corners or behind a wall. We were always behind a wall looking on monitors via webcam to make sure the action was right, the line was correct. And we couldn’t play it back right after filming because the footage from the seven cameras has to go through a stitching and blending process. So we had to shoot three or four takes to make sure we’d get what we needed. We did find a way to be on set during the shoot. In one instance, the director, Ted Dougherty actually dressed as a character in the show, which put him on the set during a particular scene. While Ted was directing specific elements of that sequence, I co-directed other elements going on at the same time behind and away from Ted. We had a lot more choreography and timing with the actors than we typically use in other productions.

 

Tell us about your ride film work. Hollow Studios was previously Hollow 4D Studios, and we launched in 2008 with an emphasis on ride films. Our first, “The Tomb,” was launched at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando. It was housed in a mobile trailer with a full Egyptian theme built around it. We won the IAAPA award for best exhibit that year, in our size category. Between then and now we produced a total of six ride films that have been licensed to various clients including SimEx-Iwerks, Dave & Busters and Ripley’s . The library is still available in formats that work for all motion theaters.

 

Does 360 VR production have similarities to producing a show for a digital planetarium or giant screen dome? Yes - a 360 dome or 360 cinema would be the giant screen equivalent, and the techniques are very similar. Have you done work with Knott’s in the past? Ted and I produced a documentary for Knott’s Berry Farm back in 2002 named “Season of Screams,” about the history of Knott’s Scary Farm. Ted also wrote the book about Knott’s Scary Farm named “Knott’s Halloween Haunt – A Picture History.”

 

How did your production team interface with the internal team at Cedar Fair and Knott’s?We worked closely with Cedar Fair’s Christian Dieckmann and Brent Barr, who were the executive producers. The conversation had begun early with Jon Cooke, Knott’s Art Director and one of the park’s Halloween designers. Jon came up with the overall design for the experience. The initial plan was just to do it for Knott’s but then Christian took an interest, and it expanded to two additional parks. We had bi-weekly phone calls with Christian and Brent and other executives throughout the process. They are great people to work with – they’re very open-minded, listen to ideas, ask questions. This was very much a team effort and for us, Cedar Fair is a dream client. On the production side, the Knott’s in-house team was amazing. Jon Cooke and Ted Dougherty did the casting. Knott’s has a superbly talented and professional in-house crew to work with. They built the 4D seats in-house and were our crew for the live action filming - from set dressing to hair and makeup and lighting. It’s like they have been doing film work all their lives. Post production was done in-house at Hollow Studios by me and Ted Dougherty. We both worked closely throughout the process with Jon Cooke. The Knott’s team is equally adept when it comes to technology and integration. They synchronized the phones to all play back at the same time, at the push of a button on the in-house show control player.

 

How does the show work with the VR playback devices? The Samsung Gear VR wireless headset powered by Oculus was found to be the best choice for the head-mounted display. It has a built-in app that plays back 360 video flawlessly, and that helped simplify the process – it was preferable to going through a game engine program. Once the content is output in its particular format, it is loaded directly onto the phone, and the Gear VR app recognizes it.

 

What do you think about the future of VR? VR is here to stay. It’s another great platform for media and it has applications to many industries including entertainment. It is another way to create a compelling experience and tell a story. It lends itself to the new wave of ride films in that it can be synced to motion seats just like a traditional ride film but brings the guest in much closer to the action than a traditional flat movie screen.

[TB305]

There's a "leaked" Hurler RMC Layout in the Kings Dominion thread. Can we go back to using that as our designated dumpster fire so we can have our beloved Cedar Point thread back? Please. Go talk about the RMC Hurler layout. It looks awesome. Check it out. Go. You'll love it.

I'd like to point out I know the guy who made that in Auto CAD, and it is 100% fake. If you want proof I'll send pictures of his RMC Wildcat blueprint from HP in the same format. Sorry guys.

 

Edit: I'm also not saying RMC Hurler won't happen or isn't plausible in the future, I'm simply stating that the picture posted is a fake render posted specifically to troll gullible enthusiasts.

[Masquerade]

[statement Redacted]

 

As apparently I'm the only one who doesn't believe in "too soon," I leave this here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FLGEr1zJYo

Edited September 27, 2016 by Masquerade

[bluestreak]

Deleted

Edited September 26, 2016 by bluestreak

[DirkFunk]

Edgelord phase of thread achieved.

[CP Maverick]

Sorry I never finished the photo edit. That's something I need to do in free time at work.

 

I did notice that the webcam is pointing towards the ride formerly known as Mean Streak again.

[coasterbill]

It's kind of sad that it's no longer lit up at night. That ride was stunning to look at with the lights on.

 

... Anyway ignore me. I'm incredibly excited to see this RMC monster but some screwed up part of me will always miss Mean Streak.

[CP Maverick]

It was definitely something to leave from the back and drive by that giant structure in the dark.

[PKI Jizzman]

Gotta be the longest press release I've ever seen

[DoinItForTheFame]

Gotta be the longest press release I've ever seen

 

 

Same.

[Cj1990]

Lol. And what does that press release have to do with Cedar Point. OTHER than cedar fair owning those parks as well?

Spoler alert... it has nothing to do with CP. lol

[prozach626]

Gotta be the longest press release I've ever seen

 

For me, it was the longest press release I never read.

[PKI Jizzman]

Gotta be the longest press release I've ever seen

 

For me, it was the longest press release I never read.

 

Hence why I said 'seen' and not 'read' haha

[bluestreak]

Am I the only one who never bothers with press releases because I know all the info I need will be elsewhere in a much shorter format?

[williamj2543]

It's kind of sad that it's no longer lit up at night. That ride was stunning to look at with the lights on.

 

... Anyway ignore me. I'm incredibly excited to see this RMC monster but some screwed up part of me will always miss Mean Streak.

Same. I actually enjoyed the ride (I am 16 so I guess my body can withstand it better than most older people), but it just wasn't special in terms of layout. But I rode it pretty much just for its beautiful and massive structure that looked so menacing. I will miss it greatly, but if an RMC is coming, I can reserve those thoughts haha.

[Vonni]

Am I the only one who never bothers with press releases because I know all the info I need will be elsewhere in a much shorter format?