Picture Request - Berenstain Bear Country

Well that makes way more sense. :)

By the way, I'm pretty sure after some more research there were two of those big tree things. One looked like their house and was closer to the main midway. The other (which is still there as a stump) had a slide in it and was closer to Ocean Motion.

So, did they take the house one out?

$4.95 was the children's admission price for the entire park. It was still being promoted because the new lower price was only in its second season. In 1991, it was $11.95.

There was a structure that was the Bears' "home." It was in the corner near the Finance building and Pagoda Gift Shop. I think the spot is currently home to a baseball attraction now.

Yes, Walt is right. The family tree house has been removed. When you walked in, you were standing in the kitchen. There was a table and bench you could sit on. When you looked up, you could see the bedrooms and other floors. It had an inflatable top.

The other tree is partially still there. It was always gray but once had a top, too. It was themed to the book The Spooky Old Tree. The inside was painted with scenes from the book and always had a spiral slide in it. The words of the book said 'up a ladder, through the floor, down a slide, and out the door.'

And yes, the inside area was kind of dark. Yes, it also had telephones themed to different characters. They were both outside and inside. When you picked up the phone, that character would have a message to tell you.

I probably have close to a hundred or more pictures of Bear Country from the years I worked there. They are not digital, though, so I am not sure how to post them on here. Could I scan them and just attach them?

You can scan them and e-mail them to me at walt@schmidty.com. I might be able to use them in the history gallery.

^^ Wow, sweet! I never actually went into the area, but always thought it looked fun. A slide coming out of a tree? Is the slide still there? That sounds pretty fun. I'd love to see pics. Thanks for hosting them Walt.

Actually, now that you guys mention the home, I can remember going in there as a child...

The slide is still there, but I think there's a height restriction.

*** Edited 8/31/2007 4:28:32 PM UTC by Jason Hammond***

I worked there the last year it was Bear Country and the first year it was PEANUTS Playground. There were 2 very large trees. The tree that was the Bear's home is now the Ball Pitch area of PEANUTS and the Spooky old tree is there still and is still a slide. The first year the area was re-themed the spooky tree got a new top and became The Kite Eating Tree Slide. It too had an inflatable top.. however, the top met up with a really nice windy day and became a causality. I was there that day.. it looked like a bad macy's day parade. :) THere are a few strauctures left in the playground that you can definitely see were part of the old bear country. The building that was the school house and the storage shed behind the ball pitch area are definite throwbacks to the old bear country. I, too, have the non digital pics but to top that off they are on the other side of the state from me.. :) otherwise i'd post too.

correct me if I am wrong- I may be since I am working off of a faint memory, but didn't the Berenstain bears attraction open way back in the mid 80's, shortly after the earthquake ride closed? I think it may have been expanded out of the earthquake building into what was the old mini golf course and sky slide somewhere around 92, but I would guess the original opening to be around 86 or so. Anyone know for sure?
*** Edited 9/5/2007 3:44:06 PM UTC by DA20Pilot***

I'm not sure when the inside part of the Bears opened. But, Bear Country (the outside part with the blow up tree tops) opened in 1992.

The indoor stuff opened in 1983.

The outdoor area replaced Sky Slide and Cedar Classic Miniature Golf in 1992.

I found these in my 1986 Press release.

http://rollercoasterfreak.com/Cedar_Point/1986_Press_Release/bears1.jpg

http://rollercoasterfreak.com/Cedar_Point/1986_Press_Release/bears2.jpg

Thanks to Liz (yellowzigzag) who sent in these photos:

http://www.pointbuzz.com/photos/Gallery.aspx?id=589

Wow! I knew someone on here would have pictures. Those are great! Does anyone know why the Bears went away? Were they just not popular anymore? The outdoor section looks pretty elaborate for 1992. Call me impressed.

the bears went away when the dog moved in

I remeber the area indoors before they took out the mini golf and sky slide. Back when I was like 6, that was one of the coolest parts of the whole park to me. Bear Country and the Sky Slide that is...

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a mini golf on the same site years ago?

Yes. Mini golf and the sky slide was in that location until 1991.

Thats kind of cute. But I still like Snoopy!