Commercial Shoot: Dragster May Be Down
AGAIN, I was not there yesterday. AGAIN, my point is that some of you were giving those who voiced concerns about this a somewhat hard time and basically implying they are dumb for thinking it would be running. Then a bunch of you who are locals to the park talked about how it didnt bother you because you would hit it later in the season and everyone else should look at it from the same perspective. I was simply pointing out for those (including the original poster) that can only get there once a year and have to drive 3 or more hours this isnt an option. AGAIN, I said mechanical problems can be expected. BUT shutting it down on purpose during public hours for non mechanical/weather reasons would be upsetting to me and many others that meet this criteria. Why is that a difficult concept?
Last time I checked, they have commercial already for this ride. Sure, its animation, but I dont think live action shots are going to sway the GP to get there. WE (coaster nuts) will think the shots are cool. But the GP see's tallest and fastest and that is all it really takes. So those were my points. Thats why I posted what I did. I dont know how much clearer I can get than that.
CP is the greatest park on the planet with what appears to be one of the greatest rides built. I dont think it is to much to ask to have the ride running for the customers that paid to get in that day if there is nothing mechanically wrong with it or if the weather is no factor.
I know it sucks for someone who may only be able to go once a season (I used to live 3 hours away too), but shooting a commercial is extremely important for the life of a company. Dragster was constructed to attract more customers. New attractions are built to bring people through the gate. In order to accomplish this, you must be able to market your product successfully (with a good commercial). It's my understanding that the week the park was closed the bugs were being worked out. If they shot the commercial that week, we would probably still see only 3 trains running today.
Since that was not an option, they probably had to shoot the commercial this week (and I would bet very reluctantly too).
The other option would be not making as much money as they need to to pay this coaster off. This could mean:
1. Not able to build more coasters in the future
2. Having to raise your season pass/ticket prices.
It's a big enough investment that it must be marketed well. Take it from a business major.
I realize this sucks for people making the trip this week, but I would guess that they were left with no other chioce.
But I will offer some advice from personal experience; let a new ride run for a while before you make that trip. I waited until Feb 2003 to take the 2000 mile trek to ride X, after I was sure it was running and running consistantly. What did I get? Four rides and a great time. I did the same thing with S:ROS at SFNE, Phantom's Revenge, and quite a few others.
While there's obviously no guarantees, patience will improve your odds greatly.
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Without upstops, airtime would have a whole new meaning!
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If beat old people is wrong, i don't want to be right! hehe
trips to CP:3 Dragster:1 MFer:4 Magnum: 8 doesn't get any better then a nice day in may!
Superstew: The reason for the closure is one of control, and knowing how paranoid the park is, probably some reduction in risk by putting the public on a ride that has all kinds of non-manufacturer "stuff" on it.
Additionally, they need hands down and holding on, no logos on shirts, and generally employees since they're on the clock and not entitled to anything extra. Besides, you're looking at three or four trains total in an hour (trust me... I've been there and that's a long time to sit on the ride), so you'd service 1% of a line full of irritated people baking in the sun.
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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM
There were signs at the gates saying that Dragster was going to be open later in the day. Call me crazy but 2:30 isnt that bad. That leaves 5.5 hours for people to ride. I got in line and was on the ride in 20 minutes. Figures the ride was having problems later, but what can we do about it?
Its pretty much luck of the draw at most parks, we just happen to be lucky that our park has a great track record. Cedar Point is a business, based around customer service, but they are still a business. And while a b'ness is in b'ness to create satisfaction, they also have to make money. And making commercials is part of making money.
So unless anyone has a good chunk of $25M to throw at Cedar Point for the ride, no one really has any room to complain. It is all b'ness common sense, and its very hard to make money and make 20,000 different people equally happy at the same time.
*** This post was edited by BadInfluence 5/14/2003 11:10:49 PM ***
In addition to the ones Jeff mentioned, I know that at the commercial and TV shoots I've been at I had to sign explicit permission to "use my likeness". Now, not ALL shoots may require that, but I've seen the form. One more hassle to deal with that's best left to a controlled environment.
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--Greg
My Home
MF count: 54 TDD: 4
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MF Circuts=327
TTD Launches=9
Launch that sucker...Yeah!
Anyway... they were using the coolest thing I have ever seen for filming. A little remote controled helocopter. It had a camera on the front and would follow the train when it launched.
Oh, and if these are light crowds I dont want to be near the park later this summer.
3+ hour wait for Dragster
1+ hour for MF
1/2 hour for Magnum
About 1/2 for Mantis (which looks great BTW)
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"I can't make a movie or write a song either, but that doesn't mean I'm not entitled to think they suck."
-Jeff
Drags: 1 Forces: 1 Twists: 1 Kick the Sky: 2
I rode all the coasters except Mantis and Raptor because both had a 45-60 minute wait. I didn't think the crowds were exceptionally less than in the summer
*** This post was edited by bholcomb 5/15/2003 12:52:52 AM ***
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030514/NEWS17/105140092
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Steve Sergent
MF count: 233
TTD: 9
*** This post was edited by shorty 5/15/2003 1:45:32 AM ***
Try flying from Michigan to California in hopes of riding Xcelerator, only to discover that it was down for repair. And then getting to KBF on the day that the rain record for the state in a 24 hour period was broken(4.24"), so no Ghost Rider. Believe me, I do know the feeling.
I think that as long as the line does open at some point during the day you really can't complain. I was surprised that Dragster was open on Sunday 5-11. The wind was outrageous and I'm sure that they went the extra mile to get it up and running during adverse weather conditions which had stopped MF, Magnum,MS, Gemini and Raptor from opening at all.
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Millennium Force Laps-104
**Vertigo Launches-21**
Dragster Launches-2
Whose fault was that? Is it bad customer service?
I would not make a trip to an amusement park, any amusement park, strictly for one ride. You are setting yourself up for disappointment. Disney closes down attractions very often, sometimes strictly for publicity reasons. I consider that part of the business...not bad customer service.
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Life is too short...go ride a coaster!!
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If beating old people is wrong, i don't want to be right! hehe
trips to CP:3 Dragster:1 MFer:4 Magnum: 8 doesn't get any better then a nice day in may!
what did you do last year when you went to the point? stand in line for TTD?
Wouldn't that be funny if someone was standing there all winter just to get on the first ride?
"I've been queuing for Roller Coaster 1 for ages."
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The Point of Cedars
Pointing you in the right direction!
http://www.thepointofcedars.tk
Closed topic.