Sell me on it......

Well, here's my outlook on carivals. The only carnival that I had fun at was the IX indoor amusement park in Cleveland that comes in april each year. Bit from my past experiences at recent outdoor summer carnivals, this is what I have about advice:

Reasons to go to the carnival: If you like being stared at by creepy carnies, getting ripped off on money, rides that fall apart, looking at butts, boobs, and belly rings, then the carnival is the right place for you. ( and maybe the kids, if they can handle it)

Reasons to go to CP: If you like to be safe, ride nice coasters of a large amount, have workers that are clean and smart, meeting a large variety of people other than just teens, and getting your money's worth out if things you buy (all except food), then CP is the place for you and your kids. :)

Miss_Maverick07 said:
Reasons to go to the carnival: If you like being stared looking at butts, boobs, and belly rings,

And this doesn't happen at CP??

Homer said it best....

"He's not just some guy, Marge. He's a carny and part of a noble tradition. Carnies built this country. The carnival part of it anyway ... and though they may be rat-like in appearance, they are truly kings among men!"

"Uh, you can't outsmart carnival folk. They're the cleverest folks in the world. Just look at the way they sucker regular folk with those crooked games--That's it! Fire!"

I guess we all spelled carny wrong too. ;)

JuggaLotus said:

Apparently you haven't eaten at Midway Market yet.

Actually I have, but I won't try it again. Thanks for the warning. :)

JuggaLotus said:

Apparently you haven't eaten at Midway Market yet.

Actually, when I went with my parents at the ned of June we decided to give Midway Market a go, and it seemed to me like there's been a decent amount of improvement. The burger that I ate was actually pretty darn good, and my mom was impressed by the quality of the hot ham they served alongside the corn on the cob.

While we mostly ate salad, and a couple of other things, the employees had a much better attitude than I have seen in the past, and the food was better than what I'd remembered to expect.

Come on, no 12/10 year old kid wants to go to a carnival over CP...
Also, CP has some of the trademark fair rides in a much safer environment.
Ferris Wheel.....check
Swinging Ship....check
Himalaya.....check
Spinning rides....check

cpdad said:
We don't go to carnivals,safety reason. If I were to take my 9yr old daughter to a carnival insted of CP she would be pissed.She is 52 inches and can ride all but a couple of the coasters.I had a bad time on a bullet ride at a carnival when I was dating my wife and have not been to one since.

If your 9 year old is tall enough to ride most of the coasters, than this guys 10 and 12 year old are probably tall enough.

Like I said, if your kids are tall enough to ride the coasters it is a completely different story. I grew up in New Baltimore, Michigan and we had the Bay-Rama or Fishfly festival come to our town every June. And every June we would go.

Although it was fun, and not as bad as some of you are making carnivals out to be, it was in no comparison to Cedar Point. Flat rides are fun and will give you a bit of a thrill, but they have nothing on coasters.

If your kids are tall enough to ride the coasters, then go to CP. They will have a blast. CP has the best collection of roller coasters in the world. Trust me, if CP wasn't that great then we wouldn't be obesssing over it the way we do. ;)

It is definately worth the money. You can save money too by packing your lunch, and eating in the car. Bring a water bottle and when you and your kids get thirsty fill it up in the drinking fountain. Or if you want the entire CP experience, then eat there. Since it sounds like you don't go to CP a lot, I'm sure one trip won't break you.

Whatever your decision is, have fun! :)

It seems everyone is fixed on the coasters at CP. I just took by 1 and 3 year old in May and we spent most of the day between all 4 kids sections of the park. If you add up all the kiddie rides at CP, there's a lot more here to ride than at a carnival. Another factor here is landscaping and the atmosphere of being on the peninsula. What carnival have you been to that's landscaped? You're either staring at beaten down grass or a parking lot.

Price is also something to look for. Lately, a wristband at a carnival costs almost 2/3rds of an admission ticket to CP. You end up getting alot more for your money at CP.

It seems you messed up your quote there, I said getting stared at by those carnies. :)

Cedar point has many different types of people around the park to be seen. But most carnivals have NOTHING but what I said in my above post. If you want to know more, go to the Strongsville carnival here in ohio, just south of Cleveland where I am from. ( I live near Strongsville)

I used to go to carnivals all the time as a child. My grandma took me and my sister there, and we loved them. But that was back in the 90's before the style standards have changed.......

Well, the obvious answers like saftey and bathrooms instead of port-a-johns aside, consider the costs:

A family of 4 like mine, with two adults, a junior and a toddler would pay 22.00/ea at the carnival for a ride-all-day wristband (no child discount). That's 88.00 on tickets alone. For Cedar Point tickets, with discounted admission from AAA, two adults, one junior and one child under 3 comes to 84.95. So, literally, a wash. Food prices, also a wash, as the carnival food is similar in price to CP's food. So the only additonal cost is gas and parking. 150 miles each way at 25mpg at 3.71/gallon + parking=54.52.

So an entire one day getaway at a beachside, well-groomed, well kept park with an excellent safety record, 75 rides and numerous family-oriented shows that will keep the entire family entertained and busy for 12 hours or more is a mere $13.63* per person more than four hours of questionable saftey and vulgar astmosphere at a local carnival.

*taxes not included

^ Wow, for wrist bands at our local carnival it was only $12 a person.

It is easier (and cooler) to write the essay "What I did this Summer" about Cedar Point rather than about the local Carnival.

Memories with children=priceless
they will remember Cedar Point forever.

They will probably forget about the carnival by the end of the week.

I've probably been to every county fair within 100 miles, but I haven't been to one in about 12 years. The rides suck and they're boring and trashy.

If you want rides, an amusement park provides much more than a fair for better value, IMHO.

For whatever a wrist band costs at a fair ($10? $15? I don't even know), you get what, like five rides to choose from?

For $30-something at CP, you get over 70, plus 17 actual roller coasters (how many fairs have a roller coaster that isn't a self-propelled caterpillar on a lame oval track?).

You'll buy food at either place, so that's a wash. Parking is probably comparable. Gas cost can be amortized across the number of tickets you buy. It doesn't cost that much.

On top of the rides, there's also world-class entertainment, more dining options than the usual carnival food, a water park, go-karts, putt-putt golf, a beach, etc. Some things cost extra, but they're there to enjoy if you want them. There are a lot more options than at a fair.

In addition to CP, I'd also happily pay for the gas to go a bit farther to King's Island, Michigan's Adventure, or Holiday World over a county fair any day. Any of them would be a better value, with more to do for what they cost.

Am I the only crazy that enjoys a good ride on the Zipper?

The BayRama had more than 5 rides. And most of them were if not thrilling, then a lot of fun. They had all of the classics that CP had (Tilta Whirl, Scrambler, Matter Horn) and a few more.

They did not have coasters though. So CP wins hands down there. ;)

Comparing county fairs and festivals to Cedar Point is like comparing apples to oranges. At most fairs rides are not really the focus. Most fair visitors usually don't ride a single ride. Most of the fairs the exhibits, shows and especially the FOOD is the attraction here. I am guessing most people at CP eat because they have to. I try to eat as little as possible at the park and try to eat afterwards {I do have a weakness for the park's homemade fries}. But at the fair it is just fun to walk around and try some goodies.

As for kids I can only speak for myself when I was a kid. The fair was the big event of the riding year. Our fair is in September so we had to wait until after school to go and you could barely wait. The rides were so much fun. The week before the fair was exciting to go out to the fairgrounds just to see what rides were going to be there and see if your favorites were going to be here. In my case my absolute favorite was the Sky Wheel or double ferris wheel and if it was there I was good to go.

I didn't really get into coasters until my preteens and probably coasters didn't come my main focus until about 13-14.

Still the trip to the county fair is fun in its own right and is classic Americana. And many types of rides are scarce of not found at parks anymore like my beloved Sky Wheel so its fairs or nothing on these. And for a scare few rides have anything on the Zipper.

bholcomb said:
Am I the only crazy that enjoys a good ride on the Zipper?

Nope, not at all. Its been a while since I've been on a Zipper too.

I know this is sad and wrong for me to be thinking this way....but I'm very excited about this...Usually, when I start a topic, it gets 5-10 posts before it fades to black. So, I'm going to be selfish and pat myself on the back for this one.

NOTE: Poster has declared he is selfish. No need to let him have it on this one.

Miss_Maverick07 said:
have workers that are clean and smart

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

excuse me...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Maybe its because I live with them, but your average cedar point employee is the most disgusting human being possible. I poop in the park whenever possible because the bathrooms in the park are so much cleaner than the ones in employee housing. Yes, thats right, a bathroom used by thousands of people a day is cleaner than the bathrooms used by about 200.

As far as intelligence goes, you can think what you want but if I didn't know how much you had to do wrong to actually hurt someone on the rides at CP I would never trust my life to 90% of the people that work there.

Ben I'm with you all the way about the Zipper! :)