Why I don't advertise on Facebook.

If you look at the image on the left side you will see an ad that would lead me to Etsy as it appears on my personal Facebook page.  The problem?  The link is to one the many items in my store.  This would be ok if it was only a random occurrence.  All the tags on the prints for sale match a majority of the pages I have liked on Facebook.  The only problem with that is that I receive at two to three of these ads a day and the only items being shown to me are my own.  (These ads are paid for by Etsy, not buy me.)

It doesn't stop there however.  Lately I have also been getting bombarded with suggested pages.  Ones that say hey, so and so likes this page and so should you.  The thing is the page they are promoting is a page that I already like.  Sometimes they go so far as suggesting a page that I visit a few times a day.

If they are showing me this stuff then I'm going to assume the thing will happen if I pay to promote a post.

Do you use Facebook's pay to promote feature?  If so does it work for you at all?

Update: All of the sponsored Facebook posts on my wall in the past couple of days have been to pages I have already liked.  Every. Single. One.

What kind of enthusiast are you?

The Phoenix at Knoebels Amusement Resort

I've been a fan of roller coasters and amusement parks for as long as I could remember.  We lived 45 minutes from Hersheypark but only ever made it to their regular season once.  Maybe it was that denial that led me to want to learn more about them and eventually work at one.  My employment with Hersheypark allowed my love to grow and gave me eagerness to understand how everything worked on every ride.

Once the internet and Facebook entered the scene the obsession was complete.  I now have a season pass to the Six Flags franchise, the Cedar Fair franchise and to my home park, Hersheypark.  I've also joined two coaster clubs which brought me to the realization that there are so many types of fans.

The “No way, Jose” – These people won’t even venture near an amusement park, they will drive 2 miles out of the way if it means they can avoid seeing those roller coasters reaching into the sky.

The Casual Observer – These people like to people watch, whether it’s watching their kids or grand kids on a ride to watching people screaming on the latest crazy scream machines.  They may enjoy the monorail or giant wheel and meandering.

The “I’m Just Here for the ride crowd” – These people are just here to ride whatever strikes their fancy.  They don’t care much about statistics or even what the rides called, they just want to know where to get on.

The Screamer – these are the people that scream on almost everything, big rides, kiddie coasters, the Ferris Wheel and the carousel.  (That may have been an over exaggeration.)

The Safety Patrol – These people swear that every ride they are on is going to fall to pieces at any second.  They wish there was a seat belt on the carousel and monorail.  If anyone so much as blinks they are freaking out that someone is going to get hurt.

The Technical Geek – These people love statistics and they love to know how the ride works.  When you talk to one of these people in line you will probably have to repeat yourself because they are too busy figuring things out.  Chances are they have liked every manufacturer of theme park equipment on Facebook.

The Know-It-All – Sadly, these are the most annoying of the amusement park community.  They spend hours a day stating how the park should operate and what they should add.  Usually they are not pleasant with their opinions and if you try to disagree with them they will shut you down.  Sad little trolls of the internet, they just need a hug.  It should be noted that they act like they know everything but quite often don’t know anything of how a business is run.

This list is not a complete list and most people are probably a mixture of two or more.  I would say in my younger days I was a mix of “I’m just here for the ride” and technical geek.  Now a day I’m more of a casual observer mixed with technical geek.

What kind of amusement park person are you?




Check out some of my amusement park stuff for sale at www.etsy.com/shop/supkophoto and follow me on facebook at www.facebook.com/supkophoto.

Amusement park not so news

As I scrolled through the morning links on twitter I came across this article detailing the 14 most anticipated rides of 2014.  I am heavily involved in following what’s going on in the amusement industry considering that a majority of my photography work revolves around it.  My Facebook page and my Twitter account are full of amusement parks, manufacturers, vendors and enthusiast pages.  I also belong to two coaster clubs.  I’m left to wonder why such an article would come out before a majority of the amusement parks have made their announcements for 2014.

Amusement parks use to keep their projects top secret until the end of the summer.  This way kept people from postponing trips until the big attraction was installed.  It seems these days that theme parks take one of three approaches to announcing an attraction.

Fahrenheit was one of the parks first teaser
campaigns.

The first is that they start a teaser campaign by social media, by physical mail or both.  They hype up the attraction and keep people focused on them and their brand.  Hersheypark developed to very elaborate marketing campaigns for recent coasters.  In 2007 the park announced that a company called Nantimi would be handling a part of their marketing.  The park went so far as to create a fake PR site that held clues to what the new attraction would be.  The park then released the news that Fahrenheit would be built and the company Nantimi was actually an anagram for Intamin, the design company for the new coaster.  In 2011 the park once again started a viral marketing campaign.  A website for the Ride Institute of Technology was created and featured clues.  Several fake websites were linked to the original website in this elaborate guessing game.

The second trend that has popped up recently is parks waiting until the off season to announce a new project.  Last year Hersheypark shocked the amusement community with an announcement of the removal of Roller Soaker and the addition of more water slides and a spray ground after the park had closed for the season.  Stratosfear, a drop tower at Knoebels, wasn’t announced until after they closed for the season.

Stratosfear added to the ride line up
at Knoebels with very little advanced
notice.

Of course there are parks that announce new attractions before the end of the season.  Some of these parks do it if a ride construction is going to take more than a year to complete.  Other parks make announcement because they may have to remove a ride or two to make room for the new attraction, requiring them to remove a ride in the middle of peak season.  Busch Gardens Tampa recently announced the removal of a ride to make way for a drop tower.

This article doesn't even make mention of the construction of a new roller coaster at Kings Island.  A mystery ride and a new park entrance made the list however.  When all is said and done this article felt like filler.  There was no reason to write it until a majority of the announcements were made.  It seems these days that they try to write the news before it happens.

/End Rant

Skyrush was added to the park line up in 2012.  In 2011 they used a viral campaign with clues from the made up
Ride Institute of Technology.

Check out some of my amusement park stuff for sale at www.etsy.com/shop/supkophoto and follow me on facebook at www.facebook.com/supkophoto.

Something's Missing at Hersheypark

Demolition work on the originals Hershey's Chocolate Factory

I walked around Hersheypark on Tuesday, July 2^nd and I noticed one of the star attractions of the park was missing.  It was that delicious smell of Hershey’s chocolate that no longer filled the air.  The insane humidity that has been plaguing the mid-state the past couple of weeks would have brought that wonderful intoxicating smell to the park.  The odor of chocolate in the air continues to disappear along with the original chocolate factory.

I’ve overheard people in the past asking how the park piped that sweet aroma into the park.  Not too many people realized that the overwhelming smell was caused by high humidity and was often a sign that rain was on the way.

The original chocolate factory ceased production after operations were moved to the updated Hershey West plant.  It was determined that renovations to update the facility would have been more costly than demolition.  There are currently no plans for the grounds the factory sits on.  There will be a few pieces of the factory that will remain including the smokestacks and a newer portion of the factory.  Plans for the silos that use to house the coco beans have not been released at this time.

Update:  According to a reliable source the silos have been bought by an independent developer.  Plans for the silos still have not been released but it is rumored that them may be developed into a hotel or condos.

The Original Hershey's Chocolate factory before demolition began

See more photos at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151504854615843.1073741856.85142180842

Coasting for the Kids

Riders in Red Shirts Ride Talon

It was a beautiful day for riders in red shirts to ride roller coasters and raise money for charity in Allentown, PA yesterday.  Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom was one of eleven Cedar Fair amusement parks that ran the fifth annual Coasting for Kids event.  Riders that paid a 25 dollar registration fee and raised 75 or more dollars in donations were able to come to the park and enjoy marathon rides on four of the parks roller coasters.

Webpages and additional tools were set up to help individuals and teams throughout the 11 parks in Cedar Fair’s chain collect money as well as accept offline donations.  Coaster clubs, including American Coaster Enthusiasts, The Coaster Crew and Great Ohio Coaster Club helped promoted the event.  Riders received a t-shirt and certificate for participating in the event.  They were also given other prizes if they reached a certain level of donations.

Riding for a cause on Hydra, The Revenge Coaster

One hundred percent of the registration fees and all donations went to Give Kids the World located in Orlando, Fl.  Give Kids the World is a non-profit organization that allows children with life threatening illnesses and their families to enjoy all that the destination has to offer, including Walt Disney World, free of charge.  The organization has a 70 acre resort with 140 villas for the families to enjoy when they need a break from the action.

Riders at Dorney Park were able to enjoy an hour and a half or more on Steel Force, Stinger, Talon and Hydra the Revenge at specific times.   Participants could stay on each ride and enjoy a marathon riding session but it was not a requirement.  There was at least a half hour break period between each ride session.

Dorney Park tweeted that the park raised over $20,000 in donations from this event.  A combined total from all 11 parks is said to be over $150k.

Riders were given the opportunity to enjoy Stinger,
Dorney Park's Newest Coaster

Dorney Park opened in 1860 as a fish hatchery and was slowly converted into the theme park it is today.  In 1992 the park was purchased by Cedar Fair.  Cedar Fair properties include Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

The sun sets behind Steel Force at Dorney Park
Coasting for Kids participants enjoyed some ride time on
this earlier in the day.

For information on Give Kids the World and how you can help please visit http://www.gktw.org

Travel Channel Filming at Hersheypark

The camera crew prepares the helicopter cam for flight

The email and Facebook notification came Monday night.  Hersheypark was looking for riders for a Travel Channel Show.  They were looking for a few dozen people to ride Fahrenheit multiple times for their hit show, Insane Coaster Wars.  Insane Coaster Wars is a half hour show that pits 4 roller coasters from a catagory (height, speed or type of coaster for example) from different parks together and allows coaster lovers to vote on their favorite.  The ride that receives the most votes is revealed at the end of the show.

Indigo Films is the production company responsible for producing these episodes for the Travel Channel.  They have worked with other networks including National Geographic, A&E and The History Channel.  Shows they have produced include I Faked My Own Death, Wives With Knives and I Almost Got Away With It.

Coaster fans that signed up for the event were required to arrive at the employee gate by 7 AM.  We were greeted by Hersheypark public relations and the Indigo Films crew.  Once the releases were filled out we

The operations department watches over
the shoot to ensure safety

were directed to one of the parks catering areas to enjoy some coffee and breakfast pastries.

While we enjoyed our breakfast we watched them prep for filming.  Maintenance was preforming their morning check of the ride, including checking brakes and gears, stopping the train on the lift and reversing the train from mid lift.  While maintenance preformed their checks the camera crew attached GoPros to several points on one of the trains.

As the film crew finished up we were briefed by the director of ride operations, the public relations manager and by the field producer.  They informed us of what to expect and what was expected of us.  It was almost time to ride.

We headed into the station and watched as final preparations were made.  The ride was running with two trains.  One train was set up with cameras and one was not.  I much prefer to be behind the camera lens than in front of it so my co-rider and I opted for the front seat of the train without cameras.  We picked out our seats and then were instructed to return to the stairs so they could film us coming into the station.

The cameras on the train were put into final position and sent out on a test run to ensure they were at the
proper angle and height.  Microphones were placed on the two ladies riding in the front seat of the camera train and we were ready to go.  We loaded into the trains and it was time to enjoy our rides.

Ride time with cameras on the front and middle of the train

The station was loaded with video cameras and sound equipment to record the action of the operators checking our lap bars, the excited/nervous look on riders faces and the people anxiously waiting to ride in the queue.  The crew also captured the look of joy and/or relief on the faces of riders as the train returned to the station and the ride came to a stop.  A remote controlled helicopter, also known as an octocopter filmed off ride views of the ride and riders.

Filming lasted until about 10 AM and park guests began filtering into the park.  Once the riding was over we gathered to vote on our favorite coaster.  The voting booth remained in place throughout the day to allow regular park guests a chance to cast their votes.

Voting took place outside the exit of Fahrenheit

Indigo Films' Insane Coaster Wars second season will premiere this Sunday, June 9th, at 8:30 PM.  The portion of the episode filmed at Hersheypark's Fahrenheit is not expected to air until 2014.  A previous episode filmed last year at Hersheypark's Skyrush is expected to air some time in June.

See more photos from the day at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151455773190843.1073741847.85142180842

Check out the Etsy store featuring over 200 prints including amusement parks at http://wwww.etsy.com/shop/supkophoto

Coaster Safety - the Block Sections

Did you ever see a roller coaster train stopped on the lift or held on a brake run in the middle of the course?  Do you ever wonder how a coaster trains can run for 12 or more hours a day and not run into each other? How about how they pull within inches of each other?  The answer is programmable logic controllers, also known as PLC's.  Systems similar to what are used in assembly lines and warehouse automation are used to watch over roller coasters and other rides.

A pair of sensors on the Maverick roller Coaster at
Cedar Point that report a trains location to the PLC.

On most coasters you will see little green sensors around the track.  These sensors watch over the ride and create block sections.  For safety's sake the ride prevents two trains from entering the same block.  When sensors indicate a train has entered or is about to enter a block occupied by another train the ride shuts down.  All emergency brakes close and the lift stops.

When it comes to block violations; shutdowns are sometimes caused by something other than two trains in the same block.  This can include spiders or other insects blocking the eye or sunlight directly hitting the eye.  For safety purposes the ride will shut down until the cause is found.

In addition to sensing a train's location these sensors may also time how long a train takes to get from point A to point B.  Roller coaster designers determine the temperature at which the ride can operate at.  Colder temperatures cause trains to move slower mostly due to cold track grease.  They also determine at what wind speed the coasters can operate at.  In the event that a train doesn't clear a sensor in the time allotted the ride will shut down.

When you notice the track sensors you may notice that they are in pairs.  This is because two different PLC's watch the ride.  In the event that one sensor picks up a trains motion and the other does not the ride will shut down.  This is known as a PLC mismatch.

These amazing little sensors tell the ride when to apply or open brakes and when to pull trains forward in the station.  This is how they can pull a train within inches of another train.  They also watch when the air gates at a ride are open as well as when the trains restraints are unlocked to prevent trains from being dispatched in these situations.  Newer roller coaster such even have sensors in the seats to determine when a lap bar is locked and ready to go. 

Photoshopped image of Skyrush at Hersheypark
If a train would have entered the lift while another train
was on the track the ride would shut down.
The ride only operates a maximum of two trains.

The Gatekeeper at Cedar Point does operate 3 trains but
if they were this close it would be a block violation.

The Skyrush at Hersheypark print can be purchased at www.etsy.com/listing/152982055/multiplicity-on-skyrush-11x14-print

The Gatekeeper at Cedar Point print can be purchased at www.etsy.com/listing/152978614/multiplicity-on-gatekeeper-11x14-print

Follow my adventures and see more photos at facebook.com/supkophoto

Check out more of my Etsy prints at www.etsy.com/shop/supkophoto