Skycoastin' Steve's 2011 Season Extravaganza!!

[Hilltopper39]

 

Great pictures though and still a great park. How much was the Pinks hot dog and onion ringy dingy ding-a-ling dings? by Cedar Fair standards that was probably about $30 worth of food.

It was $17 and change (including the drink), but very worth it! Much better than if I had spent it on a lukewarm burger and mushy fries.

 

Eh, that's not awful I guess. The past couple of trips I've taken to Cedar Fairs parks it felt like the food prices were getting a little out of control but oh well. If a $15 hot dog helps pay for a $25million dollar Beamer I'm okay with it;.

[ABW]

Well well, a CP Trip Report and the first comment is a message against Millennium Force and there's another one criticizing the park's food as if it's a Six Flags park. Yep, this is Theme Park Review alright.

 

 

Great Trip Report Steve!

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Well I did sorta egg on the MF haters.

 

And I agree that CP's food selection deserves criticism for the most part, it's certainly an area they could improve in. However, getting a Pink's was a big step in the right direction, seeing how it's a non-local chain that provides a pretty good selection. I would certainly go there WAYYYY before I ever went to the Chick-Fil-A or Subway in the park (and I love both of those chains, just not at 2x the normal price).

 

And thank you for the praise, it's much appreciated!

[Skycoastin Steve]

Since I seem to have the captive audience now that my last update made the front page, might as well get these pics uploaded so you guys can enjoy them as much as I have!

 

I do need to preface all this by saying that TPR user Real's photo TR of Windseeker from a few weeks ago (viewable here) is what gave me the motivation to try taking these night time shots of Windseeker. Please go there, check out his pictures, and comment on them, as well! While I think the pictures I took turned out VERY well, his blow mine away! So please also give him his due credit!

 

Alright, and now onto the main attraction. I have to say, the lighting package on this ride at night is nothing short of incredible. I really, really hope they maintain the look of this ride for years to come, and I imagine it shouldn't be difficult with LEDs being the light source. You can see this thing at night from forever far away (at least as far away as Kelleys Island, it was clearly visible from the waterfront over there). As far as taking the long-shutter photos of the ride itself at night, I really can't explain the "Tetris" effect that occurs on many of these shots. It only did it when the ride was slowing down, my guess is the segmented nature of the LEDs and the extra time that the camera had to pick up on the colors were part of the reason. Some of these pictures look like a UFO, while others look like something out of a crazy 3D movie. It's far and away the most fun I've had taking pictures at an amusement park.

 

For those of you wondering, the shutter speed on all of these was four seconds, and it seemed to be pretty spot on for what I needed. I implore any of you with cameras that can take pictures like this to go out to the Point and try them out for yourself!

Before the Windseeker pics, I have a few great sunset shots of some Intamin beauty.

Maverick was built for sunset photos.

Postcard?

Airtime!

This one of Monster kinda looks like one of those old spirographs!

MaXair.

Wasn't quite enough light for the effect I wanted, but it still looks cool.

And now for the REALLY cool shots.

In the words of Joker, and here..........we...........go!

You can see a little of the Tetris effect.

The first of many with elaborate and spectacular colors.

Smurf: The Ride.

When the colors on the under side of the arms changed, it made a checker pattern in the picture.

Awesome.

A lot of them came out with this purple-ish color.

I typically had enough time to get 3-5 shots at the top before the ride started lowering again.

Not all of them escaped blurriness, but they still look cool.

After the first few ride cycles, I backed way up and it made it a lot easier to frame and time the pictures.

I'm waiting on the first "UFO sighting" phone call to the local authorities.

Very similar to the last one.

The lights at the top of the tower are peeking through on this one.

Totally dig it.

And there we go.

Now here's where the colors get crazy.

Kinda looks like what you would see in a dance club in the 70s.

This is actually the background image on my phone right now.

Crazy blue/purple combo there.

I honestly can't think of anything to say for this one, but it's amazing.

Background image on the laptop.

The lights on the bottom of the seats created a nice outline to all these pictures.

Kinda looks like a lamp shade.

Another wacky checker board pattern.

Probably my favorite of the entire bunch, it just came out perfect.

The best thing about taking these pictures was hitting the button, watching the ride change colors while the camera was recording, and then looking back down to see what the picture looked like. Couldn't help but smile every time.

Love it.

A tad blurry, but whatever!

And that'll be the last one!

I actually forgot to add this in the last report, it's a panorama I did of Maverick during the morning. The track in the horseshoe roll is a little misaligned (couldn't do much about that), but it still looks pretty good.

 

Thanks for reading!

[08stien]

^Amazing Stuff! Thank you for posting those.

[coastercub]

Fantastic Pics !!

[simon8899]

Judging by the night Windseeker pics the program controlling the ride was the Master Control Program from original Tron - damn looks like it....

 

You really are in counting all the credits....

 

I normally don't do any kiddie and only the taller family coasters - no wild mouses anymore (yes -I get old and they make my back hurt)....

[SFOGdude25]

Great Windseeker pics, Steve!

I can back you up here. I was at Kings Island yesterday riding Windseeker at dusk. Man oh man is that ride pretty! When we were in line, most of the people were looking straight up at the ride in motion. I love how these Windseekers are modern in every way, yet they also seem straight out of the golden days of amusement parks: an instant timeless classic to me.

[Electerik]

Nice photos! I'll go one further and say that Toft's is the best thing in Sandusky, period. (Millennium Force is second.)

 

And Caveman Chocolate is my favorite flavor.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Caveman Chocolate is the king of all ice cream.

[RoCo]

Many of these spectacular photos had me literally gasping and laughing out loud! Stunning!

[PhantomNick]

Steve, great trip report as always. Your shots of Windseeker are amazing! I still can't get over how incredible the lights look on that thing! Definitely looking forward to checking it out.

 

And okay, I have to ask, what all is in the Caveman Chocolate flavor? This ice cream lover wants to know!

[Real]

Steve, thanks for the shout out! Humbled by that.

 

Btw, I knew it would be irresistible after I got those shots. Heck, I'm trying to find another time to get up there for more night time shooting! Good stuff.

 

You own a tripod? Its basically an absolute necessity. You had some there that were very cool. Ill be playing with shutter speeds to get different effects by exposing the shots only for certain amounts of time. Too long and it all blurs together. too shot, it doesn't look as cool as the solid "UFO" style photos.

 

One of my shots is my background at work. Which happens to be a dual monitor setup LOL

 

 

Good stuff again and I love your insight into the park.

 

 

----EDIT----

 

Yes, the Tetris shapes you get are from the nature of the LED's and how they are operated. They change color instantly, NOT gradually from one color to another. So with the right shutter speed you can time it to get those effects. So many other lights either blur from one color to the next or simply fade in and out. Because the LED's change so instantaneously and the way they move, these patterns pop up. At least thats my take. Ill know more next time I get to spend an hour taking shots around there.

 

Im going to be hunting around the park with my big lens to find a really unique spot to get some more awesome pics from.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Real

[BkkMan13]

I hope Millennium Force's paint job is finished when I go there on the 22-23, can't wait, it'll be my first time goin to Cedar Point and Kings Island

[Real]

I hope Millennium Force's paint job is finished when I go there on the 22-23, can't wait, it'll be my first time goin to Cedar Point and Kings Island

 

Multi-year project. I heard 3 years I believe. I have a friend whos dad was contracted to help with Magnum and from him I heard around 3 years. I dont see them doing any painting once the years start and theres still a nice chunk of the ride to do. Especially the taller, more difficult sections.

[BigDipper 80]

Great TR, as always! Tofts is so fantastic. I don't remember if they give as much ice cream at the park, but I know that at their factory store up the road, a "small" is probably a good 8 inches of ice cream balanced precariously on top of a tiny cone! And I think it's clear given your and Real's photos that Windseeker has the coolest lighting package out there. I don't know if it was just me, but I found Magnum to be giving some extra kick-butt rides this along with Blue Streak. I used to only be able to ride on non-wheel seats, but this year it has been incredibly un-painful and even more crazy airtime than usual on the triangle hills!

[Ed Farmer]

 

I normally don't do any kiddie and only the taller family coasters - no wild mouses anymore (yes -I get old and they make my back hurt)....

 

I don't do the kiddie/mouse coasters either, but really only because they're awful- so you're not alone.

 

Great pics in the TR, Steve. The Point certainly is a fun place.

 

One thing- I feel like I've been taken when I get a polish w/ grilled onions and drink at for $10 @ Sox Park (US Cellular Field) here in Chicago, and their food is generally seen as some of the better ballpark food around. I guess that's the advantage of operating on a peninsula in Sandusky, though. It looked pretty good though (the pinks dog).

[Skycoastin Steve]

Steve, thanks for the shout out! Humbled by that.

 

Btw, I knew it would be irresistible after I got those shots. Heck, I'm trying to find another time to get up there for more night time shooting! Good stuff.

 

You own a tripod? Its basically an absolute necessity. You had some there that were very cool. Ill be playing with shutter speeds to get different effects by exposing the shots only for certain amounts of time. Too long and it all blurs together. too shot, it doesn't look as cool as the solid "UFO" style photos.

No problem at all, your shots were insane!

 

I do own a tripod, I just got a little 6-inch one before I left for this trip. Used trash cans for platforms (see? they do serve a common good!). I just have a point and shoot camera, and for whatever reason, the only way I can get the long shutter time is in fireworks mode. Which is actually surprising considering it's a Nikon, but it still worked out fine for me. I should have done more homework on long-shutter speeds before I bought the camera, but I've been very happy with it so far, so it's no big deal. If I could afford a really nice DSLR, I would get one in a heartbeat, but a purchase like that is a ways down the road.

 

 

And okay, I have to ask, what all is in the Caveman Chocolate flavor? This ice cream lover wants to know!

 

According to the Toft's website, Caveman Chocolate is "Fudge-filled chocolate chunks and swirls of thick chocolate fudge in dark chocolate ice cream."

 

 

And thank you to everyone for the comments, I really appreciate them!

[Real]

You can do better even with a point and shoot!

 

Try this: does your camera have a timer mode? You were getting massive shake from simply pressing the shutter button. I don't have a shutter relesae cable yet so this is how I get around it.

 

Set the timer mode on, focus, press button, then step away. You have less control but it should stop vibrating by the 2 or 10 seconds and then it'll take the pic. Try it at home, see if you have that. Pics should come out clean and shake free!

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I don't have the slightest clue why I didn't think of that before.

 

Although I will say, it would have taken a little more skill with timing when the ride would be framed properly, but I would have figured it out. I wish I could go back and get more shots, but unfortunately that was most likely my one and only visit for the year.

[sfnesros]

Well I hope a dingo doesn't eat their baby.

 

This was the new method of protecting loose article bins from theft. The seatbelts are the ones from kiddie rides that the operators have to unlock themselves. Pretty good idea, as long as they lock them.

 

I'm not sure if you tried to do two seinfeld refference's there but I caught them and roller coasters and that show are a good enough mix for me for a trip report! Awesome picture's though!!

[Skycoastin Steve]

^The dingo eating babies was definitely a Seinfeld reference, although the seatbelt one wasn't. I'm not even sure which reference it would have been, enlighten me!

[sfnesros]

^The part where jerry's tv gets stolen because Kramer left Jerrys door open to his apartment, and then jerry explained he got a new lock for the door but the only flaw of it is that the door needs too be shut and locked...I didnt think it was one but it did make me think of that episode

[slither37]

Great TR, nice photos.

 

As a Columbus native and resident, always nice to see my hometown show up in a TR.

 

It was $17 and change (including the drink), but very worth it! Much better than if I had spent it on a lukewarm burger and mushy fries.

 

I agree completely. I do not mind paying a little more at a park, as long as the food is decent. CP's walk up burger and dog stands are, in my opinion, horrible. If really hungry I go to Midway Market, where quantity is a good thing. The pulled pork is good at the saloons. Or to the Marina for Famous Dave's.

 

Going to CP tomorrow, will try Pink's.

[Real]

Ill be there. If you see someone with a huge camera and a large tripod, thats me. Ill be spotting up the front end of the park for premium pictures. Wont be hard to miss me with a huge tripod, trust me! LOL

 

I gotta go back to Columbus zoo with my new lens...Nothing will be too far away! I keep revisiting this thread and I look at my schedule to try and get back to Columbus Zoo.