Extended Closure

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The little things in life explain a lot more than the big things. Simple stuff like a Museum that requires next to nothing to operate is closed. I can only imagine it's because no one is left to care about the culture and the subtle things that add life to this park.

I have been saying things like this for years and usually get blasted for it.

I like the look and feel of the trail but I have never once in my life gone looking for unique homemade crafts at an amusement park. I’m sure most people younger than myself don’t either. I grew up in the 90s at CP and it was all about the rides then for me. Today I’m more about the varied experiences but still, just personally, never cared about the crafting side of things. I’ve also never seen a show at CP..it was always a bit cringe to me, knowing they were just some local kids or theater people doing it. Get off my lawn.

I’ve been going to Cedar Point since I was 8. Now I’m 37. It was always about squeezing in as many rides in as possible before the park closed. I remember my cousins, brother and I running to the rides, one after the other, with the parents trying their best to keep up with us. Never did we worry about crafts, petting zoos, shows, etc. All we wanted to do was ride. It stayed that way into my teens and 20s. I would say by the time I was 30 it was more about the atmosphere and the restaurants and the alcohol, etc. But now that I’m taking my little ones to the park I’m seeing that it’s back more towards the rides… only now it’s them running and I’m chasing after them. I think people put too much focus on the atmosphere. People come for the rides first and foremost. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Oh, these last two comments make my brain hurt. It’s ok to look at an activity or hobby or an attraction through the narrowest of lenses but it doesn’t mean that everyone else should have to.

But that’s the point. People speak with their wallets/attendance. You’re seeing these things (museum, craft stores, etc) disappear because people aren’t going into the museum, buying the crafts, etc. if people were spending on those things Cedar Point would not be eliminating them. Sounds like you’re in the minority as the GP is talking with their wallets and Cedar Point is listening. GP doesn’t care about the museum.

It’s not just the enthusiasts that are noticing a tonal shift in the parks. I’ll admit I don’t care too much about the animals and the crafts, however it’s become very noticeable because they keep closing things like that, and those things make the park feel alive, even if you’re just walking passed it.

RCMAC:

I’ll never forget the afternoon he and his dad hosted me and gave me a detailed tour of their Merry Go Round museum in town.

I've visited him at the merry go round museum just before Christmas a few years back. Neat little place, a ride on the vintage merry go round, plus I was able to purchace a few pieces of Paul's work. Oh yeah, his train set up is amazing.

Been a few days since we’ve really mentioned TT2 in here.

Has anyone seen any action or heard any rumors?

Oh, sorry. And word is it’s still closed.
Anyway, don’t set me aside when it comes to an interest in merchandise or live shows, I’m not the only one and the minority I occupy may be larger than you assume. I think a reason for perceived failure isn’t lack of interest, but instead lack of effective management. It’s takes a skilled, focused department to manage merchandise, especially when artisans are concerned. The t shirts and sunglasses are all they seem to want to handle. I’d also be willing to bet that if we asked for an honest answer Paul would have a story to tell about what it’s like to be the last crafter and why. But he’s a long term kind of company guy and we may have to wait until he’s retired outta there to know it all.

As for Live E I can remember not too long ago quite a bit of concern from enthusiasts here about the change to and/or complete lack of entertainment- shuttered shows, closed attractions, etc. I’m sorry for those that feel the need to make judgements about live entertainment and it’s cringe factor, particularly those who admit to not ever having set foot. The real shame is that a legitimate training ground for show business is becoming lost. No matter the genre- pop, country, or rock, Cedar Point teaches young performers what it’s like to be an entertainer. And you’d be surprised how many of today’s musical artists found college jobs working 18 shows a week at a theme park.
I’d also like to point to our nation’s shining examples of what works well in that regard, the Herschend parks. Dollywood and Silver Dollar City provide a wonderful experience that strives (and here’s a concept) to include everyone. Those parks have no end of home spun merchandise, crafts, and live demonstrations and it sells. SDC has an honest to goodness furniture store, beautiful glass, and pottery. The shows are numerous and well-produced and houses are packed. They’ve also thought to include thrilling rides for those that have the need to run from queue to queue from open to close. It’s amazing how all that is actually possible.
I firmly believe that there’s something wrong at Cedar Point all right, but it’s not that the GP is making the choice to vote with their wallets. If the park wanted to put their best foot forward they’d stop ignoring entire demographics who have the money for admission.

SRE123:

Everything else is just icing on the cake.

From now on, anytime you give your children cake, be sure to remove the icing first. Let me know what they think.

And first of all, by all means, enjoy Cedar Point the way you want to, and let your kids do their thing.

But I love that you gave the perfect analogy. Icing and everything else is what makes a cake a cake, right?. Are the rides the backbone of Cedar Point? I suppose, but Cedar Point is supposed to be a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. At least it used to be, and still almost is, but barely.

I almost don't want to post after what RCMAC said because he put it all quite eloquently, but I thought what Beanie said bears repeating:

Beanie :
those things make the park feel alive, even if you’re just walking passed it.

Very much so, and Beanie is exactly right.

I must have really weird kids. I mean, I know I do, but whenever we visit Dollywood they spend an inordinate amount of time in the various shops looking for that perfect souvenir to take home. On our last, albeit brief, trip to Cedar Point a couple weeks ago they watched for 20 minutes while Paul the woodworker-turned candle-maker helped a really young girl make her first candle to take home with her. They love the show at the blowing-glass theater. They could spend half the day at the petting zoo if we let them. They really miss Forbidden Frontier and everything that went with it. They also miss the show at Lusty Lills because it was in-your-face and absolutely hilarious and was always part of our trips.

Do they want to ride everything? Yea, and they do. They will out-marathon any kid on any roller coaster any day. But they also always ask what the Blacksmith sign is for and why there is a Jail that no one can go in and they also have really fond memories of spending hours in the Town Hall museum during storms just looking at all the weird niche stuff and talking to "the man with the eye-patch".

I guess next time I'll just tell them to enjoy the cake and quit wondering why there's no icing.

Because who wants that?

Jumping in just to say that those "local kids" that make live entertainment cringe, are actually professional performers, many who go on to perform on broadway or television. The backstage side also go on to work on broadway, film, and tour with some of the biggest musicians in the world. Very cringe indeed.

RCMAC, Kevin and 99er, well put! So well put I can't think of anything to add.

^^ as long as we’re bragging about LIVE E employees going on to do great things, I’d like to add as a former Ride Host, I’ve gone on to flip a mean burger at Mickey D’s!

Simple stuff like a Museum that requires next to nothing to operate is closed.

Woah!!! When was the Museum closed??? I was seriously looking forward to that as a first timer. Wasn’t there a miniature of steel vengeance in there?

2020TpForSale:
Has anyone seen any action or heard any rumors?

Nothing as of the last few days. Was at the park today (Sunday) and there was no activity all day or after park hours. I've seen a few rumors, one being thst they're possibly waiting for something to be shipped in order to continue work. The guess is they're waiting for the new "permanent" wheel carriers with the modifications built into the design.

Currently, silver train is still in a state of disassembly and they have some interesting wiring going through areas of the 3rd and 4th cars. Saw a rumor that they've been trying to troubleshoot something wrong with the seats and that it was "solved".

All just rumors of course. Well just have to hope the true fix is close to being implemented and I really hope there's some movement this week. But I wouldn't be shocked if this continues into August.

Kevinj:

On our last, albeit brief, trip to Cedar Point a couple weeks ago they watched for 20 minutes while Paul the woodworker-turned candle-maker helped a really young girl make her first candle to take home with her.

I have a core memory of my first time making (or, rather, coloring) a set of candles, and for many years those candles hung proudly on my wall. And it's experiences like those - browsing shops on Frontier Trail, taking in shows at Jungle Larry's, playing on the ship at Pirate Ride, etc. - that stand out the most after all these years. The rides are the main draw, no doubt, and I have many fond memories of those as well, but it's the other stuff that laid the foundation for my love for the park. And it's also those memories that made it easy to justify spending vacation money to hopefully create similar lasting memories with my kids.

It's a bummer to see the park lose focus on that stuff.

In regards to TT2 I just completed a shift in the Morton Salt Mine and this is what I heard. With the limited information coming from the park things are hard to prove or disprove at this point although a lot of what this particular salt miner has said kind of matches with what has been observed going on at the park - so far at least.

Initial rumors of fatigue were supposedly correct although at that point it was not an issue with the train bodies as a lot had thought but rather the wheel assemblies. A simple modification was made for testing purposes to see if it would address the problem and testing was started. During that testing there was an additional problem that surfaced. Apparently the cause of this closure was forces on the ride not adequately being captured in the initial modeling. Could be due to the increased height of the trains causing the stresses on the wheel assemblies from the spirals on the top hat. Unfortunately the testing resulted in another issue which simply moved the stress point from the wheel assemblies to the anchor points on the train bodies themselves. The salt miner has not heard anything since then and that was about 2 weeks ago or so when the third party testing firm was on site, I cannot recall the exact timing of when they were there.

All of this is nothing more than rumor and speculation but since this thread is about the status of TT2 why not talk about it. Since this person works in a salt mine and not Cedar Flags there is nothing they can get in trouble for sharing these rumors right?

Kevinj:

...anytime you give your children cake, be sure to remove the icing first. Let me know what they think.

It wasn't that many years ago that we had to remove the icing from cake/cupcakes so that our youngest son would eat the cake/cupcake. He hated icing. In fact he still is not a big fan of it now that he is almost 20.

Now who has the weird kid???

The weird one is the guy sharing his private conversations from a mine shaft.

I’d really like to have Ouimet/McClure back, I’d have a lot more confidence in this situation overall, the Cedar Flags combine doesn’t instill any confidence for the future.

djDaemon:

I have a core memory...

My first memory of CP is riding Mine Ride over and over and over with my uncle. Apparently I was destined to have my focus be on the ride side of the park.

Based on my memories they could remove Frontier Trail with one exception - they have to keep the pillories. Lots of pictures of us kids in them, as well as our kids.