Help me date my video...

I'll post a clip once I get the encoding done. I have a fairly narrow window, but I am hoping you can help me narrow it down.

I know it was no later than 1993:
o Mill Race
o Unbutchered Blue Streak

I know it was 1991 or later:
o Mean Streak, without drop brake or extra supports on first drop
o ...but with drink stand and shade in the queue

And then there are other details
o No Skycoaster
o Entrance to Safari
o 100 Years of Roller Coasters sign on Corkscrew
o Frozen banana stand under Corkscrew, next to Paddlewheel Cafe
o Old Cedar Point logo (D and A run together in Cedar, Point spelled PO!NT)
o Troika in yellow and green
o No waterpark to the bay side of Magnum

Any ideas? Has to be 1991, 1992 or 1993. I don't think it was 1993 because it was shot with a CCD VHS camcorder and I didn't have access to that in 1993.

Once I get the clip exported I'll make it available somewhere...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The 100 Years of Roller Coasters signs went up in 1992, so that seems the most likely of the three years mentioned.

I agree.

For the moment at least, you can watch the unedited video HERE.

You're probably right about it being 1993. Take a look and see if there are any other telltale signs!

On a tangentially related note, when was the last time they stopped, loaded, and dispatched the Blue Streak in less than 20 seconds?

NOTE: On at least one of my computers, that link doesn't work right. I'm not sure whether it is a MIME-TYPES problem on the server, which I can't control, or on my ancient computer (expletive, Apple, when are you gonna update the Mac Pro?). That link is directly to the MP4 so if you get a screen full of moov atoms, try performing a "save as" on that link and playing it directly in your favorite MPEG-4 player...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Is your video hot? Does she have a friend? ;)

Somehow I knew somebody was gonna make a remark like that. :)

Actually it looks like it is a little hot; I think the setup level got boosted somewhere. Video geeks will know what that means.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

It's really kind of hard to tell, but if you think that 1993 was unlikely because of the camera, I would agree with Walt and Tim that the year is 1992.

And Dave, it's not your ancient computer. I have a 2011 Macbook Pro and the link wouldn't play, had to "save as". Most likely mime types on the server.

Fun video. The Blue Streak dispatch time was crazy fast. :)

It's definitely not 1991. There are go karts under Magnum and those weren't added until '92. If it were '93, wouldn't you have shot some footage of Snake River Falls?

Pete, it's more random than that. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro, and on this one it plays just fine. Go figure.

But yes, I assume the MIME-TYPES on that server are screwed up. I suppose I could change the file extension to .mov but that would cause other problems...

(MP4 files *are* mov files, so it's safe to change an MP4's file extension to .mov. It's worth noting, however, that while all MP4 files are MOV files, the reverse is NOT true: MP4 is a restricted subset of the QuickTime file format, so most MOV files are *not* MP4's.)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

In the video it appears that the two newer Sandcastle wings are in place (one is visible through Magnum's preztel turn), which would further support 1992 as the year in question.

1992, the reason I think is your footage of Mean Streak, you can tell it is recently built but you can also tell its been there long enough for some plant life to regrow. Also something about the waiting area. I cant put my finger on it. Since it went in 91 and I clearly remember the lines being extremely long that year (at least every time I was there) I think your video was shot in 92.

I thought the shade structures in the Mean Streak queue weren't there at all the first year. I could be mistaken about that.

The key is that nothing in there screams "1993!!!", at least nothing I know of.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.