Voyager Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I went to ACE Spring Con at Hersheypark and Knoebels, and then a friend and I stopped by Cedar Point for a couple of days on the way home. Hersheypark was full of high school groups, but we had no problems getting our rides in during ERT and during the less busy mornings. I really enjoyed Fahrenheit, Great Bear, and the Lightning Racer. Springsteen was playing a concert in the stadium in front of the park, and I'll never forget my zen ride on Great Bear while listening to the concert. The weather was generally good, with the only serious rain coming during dinner on Saturday night at Knoebels. This cleared out the park, and wet the tracks of the Phoenix and Twister, and they were FLYING all night after that during ERT in the humidity, light fog, and lightning off on the horizon. I ended up prefering Twister of Phoenix. I loved Phoenix's airtime, but it seemed every time you were off your seat you landed hard, and I got punched in the stomach by the lap bar at one point, literally knocking the wind out of me. Twister was trying to do a Voyage impression, and I really liked that, especially in the dark. Cedar Point also had high school groups. Monday featured downtime of most of the coasters, but crowds lightened on Tuesday (compared to Monday) and rides were running more dependably. I got enough rides in Monday and early Tuesday that I decided to take lots of photos on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of my favorite photos. -Mike And finally, while some riders are corkscrewing, some are being corkscrewed. You decide which is which. Proper MF riding technique - just have fun It's "Choke your friend for the on-ride photo" Day here at Cedar Point. Join the fun! (Seriously, this isn't funny not that someone on every train is doing it.) See shirtless guy - make up your own caption! Girl in pink - "I can't believe you're going on a TPR trip and you're not taking me!" Shirtless guys and scared kids Girl in white is scared by the orange tape of death Person on the right - "I have the coolest socks in the park" Nearing the end of the ride, but still hauling a$$ Corkscrew! Wheeeeeee!!!! Okay, that wasn't funny - whose cell phone just hit me in the eye? Hairtime fun! Guy in back seat - too scared to look, or maybe a double bug strike.... Possibly my favorite shot of the trip - three great expressions (girls in blue, guy in green) Hey... we're leveling off... we survived! More twisting.... Twisting.... More Dragster - "Oh no we're gonna hit the yellow thing!!!!" A tough shot to get - Magnum flies over its next to last airtime hill - happy riders rejoice. Finally, two people demonstrating proper riding technique. Screaming schoolgirls! Must.... pose.... for... the.... camera.... The girl in pink's expression is priceless. I think we have a future enthusiast here..... Ah, terrified Dragster riders, what great photo subjects. The green shirt is a Kingda Ka shirt, but strangely the guy is still hanging onto the lap bar. Get those hands up! Well, if you see me taking a photo of you, I recommend that you smile. Otherwise you'll look like a moron on the internet for eternity. Take that, guy making faces and trying to ruin my shot. Most riders enjoy dropping down into the second part of the ride.... Raptor riders "kick the sky" On to Cedar Point - I caught this shot with my pocket camera while waiting in line for Maxair. Twins and enthusiasts love the Phoenix! Kids love the Phoenix! The Phoenix flies down from the second turnaround - the front wheel of the third car is clearly seen off the track. Twister riders wonder what is next as they near the end of their ride. Riders endure the aggressive first part of Twister's helix. On to Knoebels - The Flying Turns is still not done. I describe it as a bowling alley on acid. Can't wait to try it out in a month/year/decade. Riders look a bit more relaxed after about four inversions. Only one hands-up rider on this train. I enjoyed the drop about 18 times during my time there. More of a side view of the drop. ....and this is the second car of the same train. Terror achieved! The lift of Fahrenheit goes straight up - 90 degrees. The first drop is 97 degrees. This makes for great reaction shots! This is the front car of a train going over the first drop.... Fahrenheit has an amazing looking station with laminated wood beams. The ride is a tangled mass of track. Some riders on Superdooper Looper fear the first drop and loop - others are simply bored. (It's a fun ride, especially in the dark.) "If I think hard enough, the ride will be over... If I think hard enough, the ride will be over....." Riders on Great Bear - "Oh crap, I'm upside down!" I wait for my first ride on Great Bear, a ride that turned out to be one of my favorites. Hersheypark - The Comet is taken over by a high school group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanthonyam Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Those are some really funny expressions! You should send those pics to the Ellen show. She likes to put things like this on her show. Im sure she would get a kick out of it, and who knows, she might air some of them on tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicknixon Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Hair-time freaking mania!!! Especially that first one of the Comet. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the ghost Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Some awesome pictures as well as some hilarious captions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movieguy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Wow, those are some funny rider pics...I should take photos like that when I go on my trip, now that I've got a digital camera. Farenheit looks like it's such a rush. Can't wait to try that one. Great TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STR8FXXXINEDGE Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 You've got some awesome photos here! Thanks a lot for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeboy23 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Nice photos! Very different approach from many trip reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Great photo's! I love to look at people's expressions...priceless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 You love that 200mm, Mike! Haha. Grr...I need to get up to CP with my camera! Hopefully this year. Two years is too long! -Zach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenaapple1974 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Definitely some great rider shots there! I love the expressions of some of the riders. It makes me wonder who likes to ride, who is on a dare, who is riding that for their first time... lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPCrazy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Nice pics of the expressions of the rider's faces. No Boardwalk update though, oh well.... I loved the Millennium Force and Fahrenheit shots. I'm excited about hitting Fahrenheit again this year and the Millennium photos have me all hyped up for when I go out there this August. Good T/R by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirouettes907 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Not only do you take some unique and different shots, you add some humorous captions to them, too. I really like these reaction-type pictures--some of those faces are indeed priceless (makes me wonder what I look like when I ride!). Also, is it just me, or were way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyweird Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Those pictures are AWESOME!! You really have a knack for photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em-Z Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Wow amazing pictures of rider reactions with great captions too! Also, is it just me, or were way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots? Yeah I've noticed that, especially in Cedar Point...they must really like those stores in Ohio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electerik Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Lots of great reaction shots there! Ah, terrified Dragster riders, what great photo subjects. The green shirt is a Kingda Ka shirt, but strangely the guy is still hanging onto the lap bar. Get those hands up! You may simply have been joking, of course--but, Dragster very specifically forbids riders from putting their arms up. In fact, during at least the first year of operation, they would actually hold the launch if anyone tried it. They did seem to have relaxed a bit on my last visit, but there's still an autospiel to that effect to riders waiting to launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voyager Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 Thanks to everyone for the compliments. I'm glad you're enjoying the photos, I sure had fun getting them. Also, is it just me, or were way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots? Yes! I already used the caption "I'm catching lots of Aero" in my Diamondback TR, and I suspect I'll use it again soon. Way too many of these seen on rides these days. Ah, terrified Dragster riders, what great photo subjects. The green shirt is a Kingda Ka shirt, but strangely the guy is still hanging onto the lap bar. Get those hands up! You may simply have been joking, of course--but, Dragster very specifically forbids riders from putting their arms up. In fact, during at least the first year of operation, they would actually hold the launch if anyone tried it. They did seem to have relaxed a bit on my last visit, but there's still an autospiel to that effect to riders waiting to launch. Yeah, I was joking - he just looks too serious! (The photo was taken a bit after launch, actually.) It seemed to be relaxed maybe a little bit (saw a couple of launches with a few hands up), but most people, myself included, put them up just after launch begins, and as the "voice" requests. -Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPCrazy Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Those pictures are AWESOME!! You really have a knack for photography. ^ I totally agree with you! I just loved the close up expressions of the rider's faces. I really should try doing some shots like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I definitely will have to remember to smile if some stranger takes my picture. That was too funny. Great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Great TR Mike it was a fun weekend we had! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Linn Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Also, is it just me, or were way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots? Shame on us for liking and wearing good clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicknixon Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots qft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrocoasterkid Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 The "guy with the coolest socks in the park" on Skyhawk, is almost definitely a girl! Eek for her. Hope shes not a member here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Great photos. I hope to get to Hershey this year. Haven't been there in years. nicole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Also, is it just me, or were way too many people wearing Aeropostale/Abercrombie/Hollister-labeled shirts in those shots? Nope, it's definitely not just you. I'm right there with ya. Great shots, and a great report though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Those close-ups are amazing! The expressions of the riders is absolutely priceless! I especially love the shots with people posing and the ones where the riders are freaking out. There needs to be more PTRs with close-ups at the riders. The captions are also hilarious as well... Thanks for posting these.... Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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