CP needs more family coasters

Didn't a kid fall out of Mine Ride sometime in the early 80s? I'm not sure that's the whole story, but I remember hearing something about that from a somewhat reliable source. If so, then that probably explains why CP raised the height requirement to 48 in.

I would agree that CP needs at least one more junior coaster. Maybe a Beastie-type woodie or even a tame Setpoint Swing Thing would do the trick. I do think that the Kiddy Kingdom area needs something, if not a coaster, in order to continue to draw families there. That part of the park is in dire need of a new ride.
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- Chris Moore (who reminds everyone that he is "MooreOn" and NOT "Moron")

You endured the Gemini 100...You braved the DT 80...
Can you survive...THE CHEESE-ON-A-STICK 5??? Coming soon!

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loriu said:

Back to the topic, PKI is better than CP as far as kid/family coasters. Think about it, until you are 48", there are only 2 coasters at CP that you can ride. That can be a disappointing fact to some children, like my daughter and some other kids I know. I would love to see CP add a junior sized woodie, ala Beastie.

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Actually, there are four coasters that children under 48" can ride: Jr. Gemini, Woodstock Express, Iron Dragon, and Disaster Transport. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with what you guys are saying here, but by my count on CP's site, there are 49 rides that children under 48 inches can enjoy. That's hardly a shabby number and I doubt there are many parks around that can boast that type of stat. For children under 46 inches, there are 46 rides. And for children under 42 inches, there are 45 rides. Hell, there's even 39 rides for children under 36 inches.

Maybe this is something CP's marketing department needs to take a look at because clearly they are getting a reputation for being a record-breaking thrill ride park, but in reality they have TONS of stuff to do for people of all ages. They even have 11 rides that hand-held infants can be taken on for goodness sake! I think this is more of a perception than an actual "lacking" in CP's ride department. Sure another family coaster would be cool and I think something like that up in Kiddy Kingdom would rule, but to say that CP doesn't have stuff for little kids to do is kind of off the mark. It only seems this way because they ALSO have so much MORE that grown ups can do.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I totally agree. They don't push kid stuff and live entertainment hard enough. Heck, even the current radio spots seem to emphasize the "310-foot monster) more than the monsters roaming the Fright Zone.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

I Lived in South Toledo for most of this summer, And i have to say... The Response to CP was alot better than it was to PKI, more people preffer CP, even the little kids.

I think what makes PKI seem better than CP, once again, is that most of PKI's family/kiddie coasters are predominately in one area. It looks like more. Whereas CP's are spread out.

Camp SNoopy is at one end of the park, next to Gemini, Magnum. Then you have what used to be Berenstien Bear area (forget what they call it now) and the other kiddie rides near DT, WT, and Raptor.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Does Cedar Point really claim to be marketing towards kids though? I mean, I'm quite aware that they have been making strides at improving their family selection of rides and I've seen the Snoopy commericials in years past, but isn't their main aim still at being a thrill park?

Oh well...just my two cents...back to looking at porn.

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****Chris****Chris****Chris****Chris****

Maybe it is, but that's the point... it isn't a balanced focus. I think you fill hotel rooms with families, not couples, and families have kids. Families have 3.7 admissions and eat more food and buy more souveniers. If per capita spending is down I personally think it's because the ratio of single thrill junkies to families has gone out of favor.

But as I think we all agree, it's not that they don't have the right attractions. Snoopy Rocks on Ice kicks ass as one of the best family shows ever at the park. I just think they need to plug it harder, even on years when they build a "major thrill ride."

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

On the bright side, I've heard a ton of radio commercials for CP in the Detroit Area. At least my favorite classic rock station has several spots that are "sponsored by Cedar Point". I hear a CP plug at least once a day, and they have highlighted SRoI, Camp Snoopy and even the "childrens halloween area for the little spooks"

If that's not gearing to us old farts with families, I don't know what is.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Speaking as a father of two, 7 & 3 years, I would say that Cedar Point is only so-so as a family attraction. Despite the addition of Camp Snoopy and the ice skating show, the park as a whole has not really improved considerably in the family area. The problem with little ones is that they get hot, tired and overstimulated very easily. At CP, there are very few areas that are quiet and cool with simple attractions (Frontier Trail being the big exception - but even that has become less quiet in recent years). There are so many big thrill rides now that are so loud; the kid-oriented areas are few and far between; and generally the park requires a lot of walking.

Right now I would say the 7 year old is *starting* to really like it because she is starting to enjoy roller coasters and some bigger rides, but the 3 year old is pretty bored by a day at the point. They would both prefer a day at Disneyland to CP, and I think that speaks clearly about CP's priorities in market segmentation.

Really fixing it up would require a reasonably large amount of expensive rehauling, however, and I'm not sure whether CF management perceives that to be in their interest.

-- Harley
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CP fan since 68.

All good points Harley. That is one area that the old Geauga Lake excelled. They had the innovation to build Rainbow Island and Turtle Beach before any other parks and the popularity of both areas was remarkable.

It would be nice to see a major overhaul of Kiddy Kingdom to add a nice, comfortable family area near the front of the park.

Harley..Disneyland of Disney World?

Trying to keep track of your kids at Disneyland is like trying to roast ice cubes on the camp fire. You sit them down and they disappear into the sea of people. Then again...I guess Disney World isn't much different.

I have to agree on your point about a lot of walking. I get tired just walking around myself, let alone when I have my half-brother with me! I feel like one of those dogs at the race track chasing that little bone. You know there are some strange analogies in this post.

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****Chris****Chris****Chris****Chris****

I admit that I don't have kids, but Tim seems to have had lots of good times with his kids there. I agree about the walking between areas, but there are essentially only two areas. There is the original Kiddy Kingdom and Peanuts Playground (seperated by the Coliseum), and the Camp Snoopy and Gemini Kids Area. The only thing that PKI really has on CP is that their area is all together and they have a small flume and Beastie. Other than that, CP actually has more rides, classics at that.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

I have two children who have just passed through the 48" barrier -- a 6 year old who is now 49" and an 8 year old who just crossed the 54" mark. We live in Northwest Columbus suburb, therefore, we live about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours to each park. We have been to both parks each year multiple times since the boys were 6 months and 2 years old. Now, both of my boys clearly prefer CP (I almost have to BEG them to go to PKI -- I still really like the Beast). Last year, it was VERY difficult to convince my then-5-year-old to go to CP (Iron Dragon, DT and the Express were the only rides he really liked to ride). I very much agree with the initial comment in this thread. CP has PKI beat for the very little ones. CP has PKI beat for the 48"+ers as well. On the other hand, CP is much weaker than PKI in this "tweener" size area. I agree that a "suspended" coaster would be a nice addition to Camp Snoopy. On the other hand, I think that some minor design changes could be made to the restraints on the Blue Streak, Mine Ride, Gemini, Wildcat,Iron Dragon and Disaster Transport that would enable CP to lower the height requirement to 42" or 44". The Racer and the Blue Streak are extremely similar rides -- including the cars. The key is a seat belt and individual bars that lower to contact with the rider rather than stopping at a fixed stopping point. A restraint design change would certainly be less expensive than a number of new rides. Perhaps a "suspended" could be combined with a number of restraint redesigns that could lead to a very targeted marketing campaign to the type of family with multiple "shorties." Perhaps a non-major coaster year would be a good time to do this. I would also like to make one comment on the safety issue -- and the intelligence of parents allowing children to ride these coasters. Before I allow my boys to ride any ride (I never permit them to ride a ride at a "mobile park" -- i.e. the State Fair, County Fairs, etc.), I very closely inspect the restraints for the ride. Typically, I have been more concerned with rides like the Himalaya, Scrambler, Trabant, etc. than the Blue Streak, the Racer, etc.

I would say that the sheer number of rides is not really very important for a family, since you aren't likely to ride all that many regardless. Having a large number of course increases the odds that more will be suitable but a small number of well chosen rides is preferable to a large number of inappropriate ones. The overall atmosphere and support for the things families need to worry about (like quiet, cool, etc.) are more important.

For the person who made the remark about Disney's crowds, I agree, Disneyland (I live in California) is a disaster for kids when it is crowded. We always make an effort to go during the week, in the off season to avoid that issue. I found Disneyland Paris to be particularly bad in terms of crowd size and I'm not anxious to bring them back until they are bigger.

This summer we went twice to a local amusement park called Bonfante Gardens. This place is the best amusement park for kids I have ever seen, bar none. There aren't many rides at all (maybe twenty or so) but they are perfect for families. The place is calm, full of stunning gardens, plenty of places to sit in the shade, and the rides are the right scale. This is the model that CP needs to follow if they really want to work for families with smaller kids.

None of this, of course, is to take away from the awesome nature of CP when it comes to thrill rides. CP's evolution in this regard from what I would regard as a truly family park back in the 60's and 70's to a thrill park now has been quite impressive, and certainly appreciated by myself as a rider rather than as a father.

-- Harley

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CP fan since 68.

If you want Family go to Disney World. If you want fun and excitement go To CEDAR POINT. Hell you could even go to PKI for some FAMILY entertainment. Cedar Point has focused on Family stuff and rides. They are one of the only parks that let riders under the specified height ride with someone that is the right height. They make it family. They even lowered MF's height from the first year, from 54" to 48" so you see they do try...