Well, the cat is out of the bag. Worlds of Fun announced Prowler today, so I guess that means that I can officially talk about it, too.

A lot of the work I've been doing lately has been on Prowler, so it's nice to be able to bring it up here. Specifically, I have worked a lot lately with site clearing (to try to minimize the cleared area, of course) and the bridges (for crossovers and service drives).

It was also fun watching Jeff progress with the layout a while back and figuring out the topography we had to work with. I particularly enjoyed all of the buzz about the markers that people were spotting, since I was simultaneously working with the survey that resulted.

The initial reaction to the announcement has been great to read on the forums. It's nice to read that most people are happy to see a GCI going in at Worlds of Fun. I find it interesting that many people say that this ride is unlike anything we've ever done. Sure, it resembles more of an out-and-back than a twister, but all of the twister elements are still there in a more spread out footprint. Is that an oxymoron? I suppose the fact that we're not working on flat ground perhaps hides some of the dynamics of the ride, too. I am very excited about the "through the woods" aspect of it, though.

In any case, I'm looking forward to watching this ride progress with everyone else. I'll do my part and post as many photos of construction as I'm allowed to.

On some other fronts, the redesign of the Great Coasters website is almost done. It's making its rounds around the company and the content is being finalized. Everyone who has submitted photos for the site has been a big help to us. Though the "deadline" is today, we'll continue to accept submissions for ongoing addition to the site. The fan-submitted photos really add a unique element to the site that we're very happy about.

Also, we've officially moved on site to Forellenhof in Germany. Bent construction will begin very soon and we're looking forward to posting some photos of vertical construction as soon as that happens.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading!

Another short post for today, but I'll try to get something more substantial in soon.

As it was amusingly revealed on Theme Park Review after being posted at the park, we are building a ride for Forellenhof in Germany for their 2009 season. They've been working hard on site preparation and foundation work over there before we arrive on site.

I've just posted a few photos of the progress.

Just a quick note that we're hoping will reach as many people as possible...

We've come up with the idea to solicit anyone and everyone for great photos of our rides! If you have a good one that you've taken already or if you want to head out and take a photo specifically for this, we're all for it!

For all of the information and for submitting a photo, visit:

www.greatcoasters.com/submitphoto/

Thanks, everyone! We look forward to seeing your photos!

As Evan promised, I am finally posting on the blog! Here is an update on what I have done so far:
I started here at the Cincinnati office about two months ago to help while Evan was back a school. From what I have heard, my first days in the office were very similar to his. I started by studying the Renegade manual and then I was quizzed by Jeff. At first, I was totally overwhelmed by all of the new roller coaster terminology and methodology that I encountered in the manual. I spent my first three or four days mostly just absorbing information.
By my second week, I was busy putting finishing touches on some of the Evel Knievel drawings in AutoCAD. It was mostly cosmetic work, but it helped me build a basic understanding of how to use AutoCAD, and more importantly, it introduced me to the kind of work that Great Coasters does (at least in the Cincinnati office).
This post is getting long, so I will continue my ramblings in the next post. I will say though, that in the last two months, I have learned more than I thought my mind could retain and that the longer I am here, the more I realize I have to learn about roller coasters and the design process.
I am loving every minute of it, and I will post again soon!

It's been a while, but - at last - another update!

I was actually gone for the last two months, returning today from Boston where I got another couple of classes under my belt. To help out around the office, another intern, Scott, joined the crew and he'll be sticking around for a little while longer. (We'll get him posting on here soon, too.)

Clearly a lot happened while I was away, including the opening of our newest ride. There has been quite a buzz online about it, so it seems we've all done our job well.

Coming back today, I got right into working on some new and exciting things going on in the office. I'll be around for another six months now (before returning to Boston to finish school), so hopefully I'll get to post some fun happenings from Great Coasters.

On the side, I should also note that I've been working on a completely new website for Great Coasters, which I think Chris mentioned at Eastcoaster. Its launch date has yet to be determined, but stay tuned for that. I hope that everyone finds it to be an improvement from the current site (not to insult the current site; it's just a bit outdated).

I hope everyone's coaster season is going well. Thanks for reading.