Cedar Point and Technology

This question is a direct product of another discussion the forum is having regarding arcades at the Point. it got me thinking about other realms of technology that CEdar Point could possibly venture into to further enhance a guest's experience.

Question: With the world being so wired to the internet, do you feel that as a resort, it would be to CP's benefit to provide capacities through which the internet and other technologies could be accessed; ie: clusters or even more interactive manifestations at the hotels, etc? If so, talk about some ways this could be achieved or just general thoughts and input.

Dave Kochman
Home for the Holidays in Pittsburgh

I think that you would get too many kids going to site where they definitely shouldn't be...

They had net terminals at the resort I stayed at in Hawaii, but keep in mind there are no kids there (the locals speak of tourists as "newlywed or mostly dead").

That said, it is nice to at least check your mail from time to time while out there for several days.

-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
Millennium Force laps: 50

I had this brain storm one time that I never really thought about posting,but now looks good.
If you could walk up to a self serve terminal near the on ride picture booth's and pay say 4 or 5 bucks (or less if possible)and be able to e-mail your on ride pic to any e-mail address wouldn't it be cool?
I know nothing of the technology behind the on ride cameras and all,but I'd suppose this is at least a possible option,maybe someone reading this knows more or can actually consider looking into it?!
after all,it wouldn't required printers or paper or much personnel

-------------
if I used spell check on this post,this signature will not have any misspellings!!!!

That would be awesome. Just think of that for a few bucks have your onride pic e-mailed to your e-mail address. I know I would buy more of them. The main reason I don't get them is becasue of the price and when I do actually buy one I hate having to carry it with me where ever I go. They could do it for half the price of the regular price and still make money hand over fist on it!

-------------
daniel j. haverlock
Magnum Count: 1266
MF Count: 117
spiritofthepoint.com

Hasn't this already been thought of? I thought I remembered seeing an article about PKI or some park doing this next year... maybe it was Cedar Point. Any help?

-------------
How dare you vanquish the Steel Phantom without his consent? Fear the Phantom's Revenge.

CP!! are you reading this!! :)

-------------
http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
mf laps = 100! No More No Less!!

A business colleague approached the park a few years ago with a plan to install information kiosks.

I think some well placed terminals throughout the park with information on food, current queue status for major rides, show times, *advertising*, ability to make resort reservations, etc., would be beneficial.

-------------
Cedar Point Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini on 1/2/2001. ***

Hi y'all. Some of you might recognize my nick from coasterbuzz, but this is my first post over here. Even though I've been reading this longer even than CB, I've just not had much to say, till now.

Lynch, PKI does indeed let you see some pics online. It's not the on-ride photos though; it's the pictures they take of you near the main gate. You can buy your pic onsite or later via the internet.
jeremy

Gemini, I had a similar idea as yours. It is a great Idea except its missing one thing. THE WEATHER CHANNEL. They should display the Local Forecast every 10 minutes. What would be even better is if CP had its own set of meteorologist that came on and gave a forecast. The thing I would want the most on the terminals is the local Doppler radar.
GREAT IDEA.

I know that Disney World has something to this effect. Last year one of my co-workers went there and the park had a place where they would film a 10-second clip of you and then you could give them some e-mail addresses of where you wanted them to send it.

-------------
Brandon Sorc
Millennium Force count:67
www.spiritofthepoint.com

It would be nice to have an internet connections in some of the rooms at the resorts. However, when I'm at CP I enjoy the break from the wired world. I still carry a cell phone for emergencies, but that's it. When I'm at CP I don't really want contact with the outside world.

A few thoughts came to mind when I first read this.

First: Would Cedar Point want ask the guest to pay? I could see them selling cards, with an amount of minutes, like calling cards. This could allow guest to use the terminals several times a day.

Second: Lines! Do you think there would be long lines to us the internet?

Third: I think it would be cool, with what Gemini is saying, to also put some fun facts about the park at that very moment. Example the park population, how many pizzas they have made in that day, and the population of the staff that are working, ect.

Joe E:
Why do I have a strange feeling that Gemini thinks the park could use a staff meteorologist...:)

Actually, the A-#1 thing they ought to do is set up some kind of messaging system so that at the entrance to any given major ride, you can learn the current status and wait times for the other major rides. I believe such a system would be far more successful and much better liked than TTR for solving the crowd distribution "problem".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Joe E. Says:

>THE WEATHER CHANNEL. They should display the >Local Forecast every 10 minutes.

This is a great idea. Reminds me of going to Florida a couple of years ago, pulled into Shell to get some gas and was treated to news/weather on the pump!! If Shell can do it CP can!

BTW: I haven't seen that anywhere since!

-cm

Whoever, Please reread your post before you post it. Thanks!

OK, I can understand someone paying 40 bucks and spending most of their day in an arcade at the Point. I think it's silly, but I can understand it. But why would someone spend 40 bucks to get in and then want to spend the time and money to line up at a kiosk to surf the Internet? Public internet terminals in the hotel lobbies would be cool. How would Cedar Point deal with people in public areas checking out porno sites, though?

I would like to say a filter, but they don't work. My high school had BESS (I think that is the name) but it did not work at all. For our newspaper we did research and BESS blocked anything that had to do with the word TEEN. Real good for a high school were everybody is a Teen. We had no problem getting into some nasty sites though. BLAA!

I don't know about paying. Our mall recently installed internet terminals, for FREE use. A lot of people use them, there are about 20 terminals in a big stainless steel case. Itd be good for a hotel, but not inside the park.

I love the idea of boards with wait times posted on them.

The first internet terminal I saw was at The Eighth Wonder of the World, the Angola Trucker's Mall in Angola, IN. $1 gave you five minutes on the 'net, which was just enough time to check in with my buddies back home (given the slow connection). I don't know of any protection programs guarding against porn or anything, though, because, well, I wasn't trying to find any.

-------------
How dare you vanquish the Steel Phantom without his consent? Fear the Phantom's Revenge.