Could Steel Vengeance have a media event?

At the end of the day, it's up to the park. If they want to invite enthusiasts to media day, they'll do that. But saying that we "deserve" to be there is asinine. And shamelessly begging for it over and over again on a forum probably isn't the way to go about getting that invitation.

I think it really depends on how the person comes across in their criticism. I see a lot of enthusiast that seem to criticize from a personal point of view. Stuff like being angry they didn't get X during the event or angry the lines were too long for an enthusiast event. There's where I believe opposition to that attitude is justifiable. But I think too many enthusiasts think alike and see opposition to their criticism as a personal attack or the notion that we condemn any negative criticism of the park. Neither which is true. Opinions are one thing but we can't dive into this mentality that the park should be putting us up on some kind of pedestal.

What makes me critical of people who demand that we get special treatment is based on what I saw happen at these past events. The park, obviously, decided it was not in their best interest to host those kinds of events anymore. But to try and justify that a few bad apples shouldn't ruin it for the rest of us is, in my opinion, ignorant. Sure, many of us may not fall under the "entitled" category. But the entire fan base is a mixed bag of personalities ranging from appreciation to complete condemnation when things don't go exactly like they were expecting.

That's why I (and I assume the majority of us who have been condemning the push for these events) feel more understanding for the reasons behind the park not doing them. This isn't a personal act of you Giga, as I see your opinion to be more thought out and justifiable in the argument.

Also, I'm a member on a few various forums from this to reddit. It's a reoccurring theme in the community that enthusiasts have gotten out of control with their entitlement and a lot of parks and clubs have been reducing what they do because of it. So it's not just a CP and CP fan issue but a greater problem within the community.

My distaste for enthusiast clubs started in 2001 when I worked at GL and saw the obnoxious behaviors of roller coaster club members during ERT events, including things like trying to defeat safety restraints to get more airtime on rides. It's just things parks don't want to deal with. Unfortunately 1 or 2 bad apples can and do ruin it for the larger community. Until we self police the community as a whole and get those bad apples out and earn the trust of parks I'm afraid you'll see less and less open invites to multiple clubs.

I'm assuming for media day there will more then likely be 1 club invited, ACE for example. That's how the last couple events have been handled by other CF parks in recent years.

I completely agree. If the park decides to let a club(s) into media day, it'll come with some guidelines that will definitely be enforced. For example, for Banshee's media day, they were asking participants to wear plain colors or Kings Island related clothing. I heard of multiple people being turned away because they completely ignored the warning and decided to wear shirts that violated the rules.

And one person in particular made such a big fuss that he threatened to boycott the park because he felt it was his constitutional right to wear whatever he wanted. Never mind the fact that KI has every right to enforce a dress code for an event they're hosting on their property.

^I still don't see the logic in a few crazy idiots loudly complaining about their clothing convincing a multi-million dollar company to cancel an event where >90% of the attendees loved the event. I can't imagine that was the reason. I could see return on investment being a reason, unfortunately.

Perhaps the sense of entitlement is the ugly end result of longing for the former status of the enthusiast community, how it was before it became more disconnected from the industry as said in that essay? Anybody who's been in this community for a while have any more to say about how things have changed from, say, 1990 to 2018? (I've only been in an enthusiast club since 2010.)

Giga, I don't know how old you are but since you said you joined the enthusiast community in 2010 I'm gonna assume you're fairly young. Correct me if I'm wrong and please don't take this as a personal attack or me being rude.

I'm 34. One thing I've learned in life and it doesn't matter if it's within a hobby such as amusement parks or something like school or work is that 1 or 2 idiots can ruin things for the entire community, school, coworkers, etc. Most rules, company policies, laws, etc are created because 1 or 2 idiots took advantage of a situation and/or became abusive with some form of entitled behavior. Unfortunately as humans we have to deal with the idiots who are often times louder than the average person. And in a day of social media where anyone can have a voice, the loudest, craziest and often most idiotic voices are the ones who are heard the most.

This unfortunately is the issue with enthusiast events and perks like being invited to media events. The loud, rude and undesirable minority have ruined it for the majority. Next time you're at a park, and this is any park, and you see the typical rude enthusiast complaining he didn't get enough free swag or ERT or in general just being an obnoxious a**hole, thank him, for that person ruined it for the 99 other people who are genuinely thankful for a free button and a few extra rides on a coaster after hours.

^I am young. I totally understand that, but I just find this case a bit different. It just seems that all the small fraction of complaining enthusiasts do little more than to insult a multi-million dollar corporation while many others appreciate the company's event.

In some cases in life, the few bad apples are genuinely hurting people, which leads to those rules at school or work.

But in this case I don't see how, for example, the guy from Banshee media day complaining about logo clothing hurt anybody, especially when those who complain about free swag, etc. should be drowned out by the outpouring of positive feedback. The worst consequence I can think of is possible bad reputation, but the news media who are there to report on the ride are not going to care about some guy blabbering about his alleged rights to wear logos during a private business' filming shoot.

When Cedar Point opened its doors for everyone for Gatekeeper media day, my reaction was first that it was an amazing event. But it was also shock that they did it, and I never expected them to do it again afterward. They went all out for that event, and they presumably spent a lot of money, between all of the food services and logistics to make it happen.

The only reason I expect they invited enthusiasts to the Gemini Midway event was that it was a much smaller opening, and they probably expected a significantly smaller crowd. So they likely figured that they could "throw the bone" to the enthusiasts, while not hitting the checkbook too hard. But as others have said, even with the park inviting the enthusiasts, people still found a reason to be extraordinarily rude. And if I'm a business, I look back at those events and ask myself "was it worth it?" The answer is almost certainly no.

My overall thought is that the park does plenty for us already. Coastermania is one of my favorite days of the year. So anything that they do beyond that is just an added bonus. But they certainly don't have to. Asking for handouts is pretty rude, in my opinion. Thinking we deserve them is just silly.

Here’s how I see it, when a news crew goes and does a report on a ride on media day, they don’t send every single person who works for that station over to ride the new ride. They send a few representatives. Enough for a camera/sound crew and a reporter. So even IF they should invite folks from Pointbuzz, it should only be Walt and Jeff or some other representative of their choosing, not every single one of us. There would be thousands of people there.

GigaG said:
Perhaps the sense of entitlement is the ugly end result of longing for the former status of the enthusiast community, how it was before it became more disconnected from the industry as said in that essay?

I would say that's a very good way to look at the issue. Soo many things have changed and evolved for parks around the world. Especially for a park of Cedar Point's caliber. I have no doubt the park appreciates those in the community who show gratitude and express constructive criticism. The unfortunate truth is how things have changed because of a rotten few. You may not agree with it but it is just the truth.

The park may surprise us but I wouldn't hold my breath.

GigaG said:

But in this case I don't see how, for example, the guy from Banshee media day complaining about logo clothing hurt anybody, especially when those who complain about free swag, etc. should be drowned out by the outpouring of positive feedback. The worst consequence I can think of is possible bad reputation, but the news media who are there to report on the ride are not going to care about some guy blabbering about his alleged rights to wear logos during a private business' filming shoot.

But I think what you are missing is that the guy who had the wrong logo clothing on is a annoyance the parks don't need. If an invited guest that may appear on TV riding Kings Island's shiny new coaster doesn't have a clue that the park doesn't want to advertise, let's say Holiday World on their new coaster, doesn't that make all enthusiasts look bad? What if the guy had a jacket on and didn't get caught but then rode the coaster with his jacket off? Doesn't that reflect that enthusiasts can't be trusted to respect the park? A King's Island media day is about showing off King's Island, why would the park want to deal with clueless idiots who disrespect the park? The easiest way to stop that is to not invite any enthusiasts even if it was just one person.

The point is that parks do not need enthusiasts at these events in the slightest. One or two idiots IS enough to stop the enthusiast invitations. I'm sure King's Island would not have had any problem getting their seasonal employees to ride Banshee to fill the trains for media day and give interviews about how great the ride is to the media. Do you think TV Personality A cares if they want a "this ride is great" interview that the subject is a coaster enthusiast? I don't think so, matter of fact most people watching would not care either, they would think it is cool to see the coaster and an enthusiastic person (not enthusiast) riding it. I think you are greatly overestimating the importance of enthusiasts to the parks Giga.

How many non-media enthusiasts showed up for GateKeeper & Banshee media days? Are we talking a few hundred, or thousands?

Can someone fill me in on what the whole logo clothing thing was about at Banshee’s media day?

Enthusiasts attending were asked to wear plain clothing/shirts/etc. no logos.

An enthusiast showed up with logo'd clothing and refused to change when asked to change into plain clothes because they believed it was their right to wear whatever they wanted.

Also, keep in mind the parks are extremely busy getting the property ready for the opening of the season.
They have enough on their plates without having to worry about planning additional event logistics, period. Especially when that additional work can lead to babysitting people in attendance for something showcased on media.

Trust me, I'm under no impression that enthusiasts have a big pull in the industry at the moment. The article explains it quite well.. I even bolded one of the parts that compares it to other entertainment industries in how it interacts with its fans.

It wasn't just clothing with logos on it, there were multiple attendees that showed up wearing their t-shirts/apparel from other amusement parks. There was very clear communication, both on the registration page for the event, and an e-mail sent out to everyone that registered, being incredibly specific that the only park/ride related clothing that would be allowed was KI branded.

Kings Island even handed out event t-shirts to be worn for the day, and you still had problem individuals asserting their "rights" to market other parks during KI's media day.

As for attendance, I think both events were opened up to 1,000-1,200 registered attendees.

Rules are rules. You give up your rights when you enter those gates. You can’t say what you want or wear what you want. If you don’t want to wear an appropriate shirt for the event, then you don’t get to ride nor be on tv. I’m with Pete, it’s an unneeded annoyance.

I may be missing the point here or taking this in the wrong direction, but isn't the whole "enthusiasts belong at media events" argument based primarily on getting bragging rights to say "I was one of the first X,000 people to ride this new ride before it was 'open' to the general public and that somehow makes me more relevant than you or anyone else who is merely a 'casual' coaster rider and not a 'dedicated enthusiast' like me..."

If that artificial and manufactured in your own mind relevance is such a high priority for someone, I have some serious sympathy for that person and their personal values and priorities. In my opinion, whether you are the very first person to ride SV or were the very last person to ride MS, you are no more relevant than the several million other people who have ridden or will ride those rides.

I'm glad that I was able to get in one last painful ride on MS on its funeral night in 2016, but had I not it wouldn't have been a big deal. I do not intend on riding SV on opening day (or raising a ruckus because I was not invited to ride it before hand on a day devoted to a class/profession of people of which I am not a part of). I have no idea when I will ride it - but the bottom line is that I will at some point and it will be fun. First day ride, last ride of the season, or anywhere in the middle - it is the same ride!

TTD opened in 2003 and Maverick opened in 2007. I did not get my first ride on either of them until 2015 even though I visited the park pretty regularly from 2000-2003 and from 2012-now (with several spotty visits in between). But I've ridden both several times the past three years. Am I less relevant than the inaugural riders or the person who has ridden one or the other of them 12,827½* times?

All I know is that when I die, there will not be a CP related epitaph on my tombstone (and I am okay with that). Nobody in my family is going to remember me for what special privileges or swag I got from Cedar Point in the 2010's or beyond or for any related bragging rights. But my daughters and hopefully some grandchildren in future years will remember in general the several dozens to hundreds of rides they had with me on whatever ride is ultimately their favorite. And they will be able to say "Thank you, Cedar Point, for those special times and memories!" rather than "Curse you, Cedar Point, for preventing us from getting into a media day event and forever stealing that special moment from us!"

*Gotta account for those three different rollbacks that particular enthusiast has been on which exponentially increases his relevance even further...

^^Yes, a lot of times enthusiasts/fans like to use media events and other forms of ERT events to show how much bigger their roller coaster pickle is compared to everyone else. When in fact, no one cares. Like the people who NEED the attention from riding rides X amount of times. No one CARES.

Maybe I'll take a pic after my first ride with a sign that reads "this is my 1,000th ride" just to mess with people, cause in the end who can prove I didn't ride SV 1,000 times on opening day!

I don't recall any incidents in recorded history where a ride burned to the ground or was sucked into a sink hole or any other forms of permanent destruction the day after a media event but before it opened with the park. I don't think any of us have anything to worry about. But who knows, there's always a first time!