SFNE Photo & Video TR... in 3D

On Father's Day, June 19th - 10 days after graduating high school - I decided to go to Six Flags New England. Why? Because I was bored 10 days into summer vacation, which is not a good sign. Luckily, I live 20 minutes away - so off I went for my first theme park trip of the year! I happened to get a neat little trinket for Christmas last year - a 3D camera. I figured I might as well take it with me and get a few shots.

Let me tell you something about film and photography students. We can NOT "get a few shots"... that stereotype about always looking for things that would look great on camera is pretty much true (though I haven't framed any scenes in my fingers for a while). And if we HAVE a camera, forget about it. I ended up with 109 pictures, 71 of which were of usable quality. No, not all of those are going to be posted here - could you imagine? - but I figured I may as well whet everyone's appetite for the upcoming Bizarro Bash and do a delayed Trip Report!

All the images here are in RED/CYAN ANAGLYPH format - the kind you get with DVDs of Spy Kids 3D and the like. I've attached a link with all the side-by-side views (you can crop these for 2D images or freeview them in parallel form, and some 3D displays also accept this, mut you may need to switch the left and right eye images). If anyone has a different type of 3D glasses or a 3D-specific display, let me know and I can post them in that format as well. Also already attached are the high-res versions of the images, which are less compressed and so have less "ghosting". I also have Youtube links to some 3D video clips I took. You need to click the link and watch them on YouTube to see them in 3D. You can choose the viewing method for yourself - they obviously look best in HD and the 3D effect works better if you set it to "Optimized (Dubois)" instead of "Full Color" if you're using anaglyph glasses.

So without any further ado...

...well, okay, SOME further ado. I had to cross the bridge into the park - PHOTO OP! - and stop to get my season pass voucher turned into shiny plastic with the magic of theme park alchemy. Then I had to stop and get my Flash Pass. But THEN...

That's right, it was time to get on the short ride with the ridiculously long name! "Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape from Arkham Asylum". The display on the Flash Pass just called it "The Gauntlet", which I'm going to stick to from now on.

As you'd expect from a hand-me-down wild mouse, it wasn't very good. The little girl I ended up in the same car with seemed to enjoy it, though. There's not that much themeing, but what's there is okay.

I walked back up on the ramp so I could get some shots of Bizarro.

The fire effects were off that day, probably because it was so hot. The audio wasn't running, either. The mist was on in full force, though!

The ride seemed to be running pretty well, and the new paint job is holding up (for those of you who care about that).

SUPER EXTREME TINY ULTRA WIDESCREEN SHOT!

You know what they say about men in spandex with big coasters...

On my way to get some lunch (I arrived there about 11:30), I passed Scream, which wasn't running any towers in combo mode

I also passed "Kidzopolis". Apparently Six Flags lost their Wiggles license.

But wait... what's this? It appears they're also no longer partnered with Papa John's pizza. This "Primo's" stuff was nowhere near as good.

More in the next post! (I'm breaking them up because it wouldn't take it as one big one.)

Part 2 - Coaster Boogaloo.

After lunch, I rode Twister. Unfortunately, it was running the same wussy program as always and the subpar pizza remained in my belly

((Speaking of twisters, earlier that month there were three tornadoes in one evening near the park. The closest caused a lot of property damage in Springfield, and you can still see places where it tore the branches off of trees.))

Ah, the Mind Eraser. No, they didn't paint it black - it's a side effect of the anaglyph display format.

The ride itself was the same as always - entertaining if painful. Two kids behind me were discussing whether they'd gotten concussions on the brake run.

Buzzsaw got a new sign, and it's just as fun as always.

The park was surprisingly crowded for a holiday like Father's Day.

...well, parts of the park, anyway.

I didn't actually go into Crackaxle Canyon, I just took this picture on my way to Splashwater Falls. Notice the Asian lady with the park map - I always seem to see a lot of Asian women on this side of the park. I still haven't figured out why (and no, I'm not going to say it's because that's the side with the Panda Express).

It's just like Jaws 3D - except this shark looks more realistic.

Yes, Thunderbolt is still standing - and still only running one train.

I can't remember if it happened this year or last, but Flashback's track is red now.

Pandemonium looks the same as ever, though.

Fun fact: last year I put on an accent and convinced the family riding Pandemonium with me that I was a foreign exchange student from Germany.

These two have to keep this arch company now that Time Warp's been removed.

I couldn't wait for a train or I'd be late to the Survivor show, but Flashback's train is painted to advertise candy now. I can't remember if it was Skittles, Starburst, or some kind of gum...

You'll find video of Survivor Live farther down in the pose thread. It's basically just a kid-friendly game show where four contestants are picked from the audience to complete three challenges, and losing doesn't get you eliminated - you just get added to another team. The prize for the winner is a free "skip the line" pass. I actually got picked to be in the show - it was fun, but I lost on the first challenge. Then my new team lost the second. Then my new new team won the third challenge - but it was a relay and I finished my leg last There's also a dance show element, where the "natives" perform choreographed routines to modern pop music for some reason. The dancing was good, but seemed out of place. All the actors were very nice, though. I came back to see the show from offstage later on, which is when I took the video. The object was to replicate a finished puzzle before your opponent and raise your team flag. Like all good reality TV, this video cuts off right before the deciding vote! Be SURE to watch this in Optimized (Dubois) Mode if you're using anaglyph glasses - the set was so colorful that the 3D doesn't work otherwise.

_____

EXTRAS:

High-Res Anaglyphs: http://imageshack.us/g/832/june19001.jpg/

Side-by-Side Pics: http://imageshack.us/g/705/pict0001ey.jpg/

And videos! Youtube links only since CoasterTube doesn't support 3D... click through to the actual Youtube page to see the extra dimension!

Survivor Live!

Pandemonium!

Mind Eraser!

Twister and the woman who won't ride it!

Bizarro!

Gauntlet!

More Gauntlet!

Shipwreck Falls!

Water jets!

All that failure made me sweaty, so I rode Splashwater Falls. This thing still draws pretty long lines on hot days.

Right around 3:00, a bunch of people showed up and made a beeline for the water park.

I followed them so I could sneak off and ride Batman while no one was looking!

I really didn't need to use my Flash Pass - Batman's line was pretty short all day.

It looks really nice and it's loads of fun - you'd figure more people would want to go on.

I stopped in at the Hall of Justice, where Batman was busy showing off his giant Amiga computer.

They bill it as an "interactive experience", but there's really nothing to do, and even the little kids seemed bored.

I rode Gauntlet again - this time it actually gave me a bruise or two.

Yes, I know you all wanted to see this in 3D.

I reserved my ride on Bizarro while I was in line for Catwoman's Whip. Both coasters were quite fun... but we all know which was better, don't we?

The garden in the queue area made a lot more sense when the ride was called Poison Ivy.

I mean, they could've at least repainted the green track. Nerdragenerdragegaaaah

Thunderbolt's sign is still cool!

Thunderbolt was running okay, but the operating staff were a bit slow.

Ladies and gentlemen, my dinner. Three strips of buffalo chicken, a handful of fries, and a small soda for which they had no lids. It cost $17.

At least I was able to alleviate my frustration with a spin on "Concrete: The Ride"!

Blizzard River was running with a LOT of fog, and I think they added a tunnel (though I could've just forgotten it). The water jet before the final tunnel was turned off, though.

This shot has no real reason to be here, it just has nice depth.

More gratuitous 3D!

The new Topper Track on Cyclone is unpainted, ugly, and makes a loud screeching noise. It did smooth things out quite a bit, but it also removed the ejector air from the big drop by the station.

Catapult looks pretty in silhouette. And yes, the G-forces are still more efficient at squeezing air from your lungs than a reticulated python.

The little... ski lifty-thingy is surprisingly popular, especially considering it only goes from the middle of the park to the end with fewer attractions.

I didn't go on Pandemonium because the wait was way too long, even with a Flash Pass.

The last good shot of the day before my battery died - I managed to get a night ride in on Bizarro, but sadly no pictures...

This is amazing! I got my old 3D glasses out, and was just blown away!! It is amazing! Thanks for sharing! Hope there are more TR's like this!

~Matt

This was very cool! I would have never expected to see a 3D report.... and I like how you mentioned Spy Kids 3D... that's the glasses I used to see the pictures (which were great, by the way)!

Very cool report! Wish I had some 3D glasses, but your pics and report were still great anyway. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you guys liked them! If I end up going to Bizarro Bash I'll bring it again... unfortunately, I'm off to college in August, so I won't be getting around to other parks much.

Awesomeness! Luckily I just happened to find my niece's Hanna Montana 3D glasses. Photos looked great!

Wow 3D! That was pretty awesome. I look forward to seeing more 3D stuff in the future!

Just a quick update - firstly, I've redone this TR so the photos are hosted on TPR itself. Secondly, I've reserved my ticket to Bizarro Bash and I'll be sure to bring my camera again! Can your mind handle the thought of crazy TPR member antics in 3D? (If not, EMAIL DAN! Except don't.)

Good job dude, glad I swiped a pair of glasses from the local Imax.

Note to Robb: 3D glasses in bags of crap would kick ass.

...your IMAX shows 3D movies in anaglyph instead of polarized or active shutter? Weird. Unless you mean you have one of those screens and you downloaded the stereo pairs.

...your IMAX shows 3D movies in anaglyph instead of polarized or active shutter? Weird. Unless you mean you have one of those screens and you downloaded the stereo pairs.

That's what I was wondering!

But very nice photos, if only I had some glasses I'm sure they would be even more amazing!

Nice report!

BTW - Bizarro's flame cannons were removed last season, presumably to be installed on the revamped Texas Giant. Next time you're there, you'll notice the 'Lexcorp' propane tank that fueled them is also gone.

Ah, thanks for the explanation! Shame... that was my favorite effect!

^ Yeah, those were quite the thing. My favorite things were the audio (when it worked properly) and the first drop into the first tunnel, especially with the mist running. The flame cannons were completely removed sometime around Labor Day, the propane tank was removed during the off-season.