Kentucky Kingdom announces Storm Chaser

It was commissioned it to Ed Hart's 13-year-old nephew, perhaps. LOL

Most of the time, parks commission companies like VIP (formerly BadNitrus, former member of CoasterBuzz) to do it. And as far as I've seen, there's VIP and there's everyone else.

Edit: although interestingly, it doesn't look like Keith has updated his website in a while...and come to think of it, I can't think of the last time I saw a VIP animation.

What if he did approach a reputable animator, like BadNitrus, but only offered him $50 for the video. I suspect this is what you get for $50.

A freelance animator buddy of mine often complains about some of the offers he gets. Like a 60 second commercial, completely animated, total package, for $50. He ignores those offers.

Yeah, I can assure you that parks that are serious about having animated renderings are going to spend five figures for the end product.

Are you kidding?

I knew it wasn't cheap, but I really had no idea it may cost that much for a coaster video.

I don't think a lot of people understand how much well-done, professional things cost anymore because it always seems like you're able to find someone to do it "good enough" who has no idea what the value of the work is.

In this case, paying someone's kid to create the ride in No Limits was 'good enough' and some kid was probably happy to get paid a few bucks to play with No Limits for an afternoon.

^Exactly right.

Lord Gonchar said:

I don't think a lot of people understand how much well-done, professional things cost anymore because it always seems like you're able to find someone to do it "good enough" who has no idea what the value of the work is.

Yes, this. People have asked me, "So, I know a guy who needs a web site with some basic forms and such, what do you charge for something like that?" Then they seem all offended when I tell them that I won't touch anything for less than $25k.

It can take weeks to model a ride and the surrounding park (assuming you're really good at it and proficient with the tools), and then days of several computers working together to render it.

What? So... giving the animator specs the Monday before Thursday's announcement doesn't cut it?

I didn't see anyone else mention it in the thread, but All American Thrills posted a drone video of the construction recently. It looks like the second track is coming down completely, so no chance of a two-phase project here.

Got to ride Storm Chaser, my first RMC, and all I can say is wow! The elements before and after the first overbank provide some of the strongest airtime I've ever felt on a roller coaster before. You get airtime while spinning upside down on the barrel roll drop. The ride runs out of steam at the very end but overall it's just pure, laugh out loud fun.

Another surprise for me was how the coaster is positioned right next to the flight path of planes landing at the Louisville airport. Is there an amusement park located closer to an airport than Kentucky Kingdom is? I think their Ferris wheel is one of the taller rides in the park because it is positioned in between the runways.

One of my best memories is a late-night ride session on the Sisters. The sky was so dark, the lights from the road were a distraction, and the huge, brightly lit jets flew so close it seemed like you could throw a rock from the top of the lift and hit one. It was awe-inspiring and an added thrill. We thought the rides were A-ok, too, we rode over and over. I'll never forget it.

This ride looks like a lot of fun, but it does seem to limp in a little. Maybe that will improve as time goes.

Kentuckybuzz?

Or maybe make Fall Affair a 2 day event?

The Louisville airport is home to the North American main hub of UPS like Memphis is to Fed Ex. They have so many cargo planes flying in and out of the airport you can spend a day of just plane watching. There was a Discovery special about the facility and all the conveyer belts in it.

A moot point now that it is closed, but Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach was right under the approach to the airport. Very close, but not quite as close as SFKK. But with UPS, you'd get much bigger planes flying overhead than you ever will at Myrtle Beach, even though most of them fly at night.

When I first started working for an airline, I flew into Louisville, walked across the street to SFKK, stayed there for a few hours, walked back and flew home. It's a quarter mile, at best. Unfortunately, I never made it to HRP before it shut down.

The guys from Kentucky Kingdom, during their presentation at NoCoaster, told us that the park is so close to the airport that different areas of the park have different height restrictions. Also, that during construction on Storm Runner, the airport would close down the runway nearest the park on Mondays, making Mondays the one day they could work on the lift hill.