The "updated" Shooting Gallery

My daughter and I played it every visit for the last couple of years.

noggin said:
The company -- any company -- makes decisions based on a number of considerations. What's there now mayn't be an improvement to fans of what was there before, but it seems clear the change was considered viable.

How so? I really don't think anyone knows the real answer here so now we're relegated to the usual assumptions.

noggin said:
If it were up to me, Cedar Point would still have a double Ferris wheel, the Mill Race, Jumbo Jet, and no Corkscrew, Magnum, Soak City or Gemini: the park in the mid-70s is still "the" Cedar Point to me.

What? What does this have to do with the prior aesthetically fitting saloon shooting gallery vs. a small corner of chickens, a couple video games and toy claw machines? I'd fire the designer.

So, noggin, let me ask--if you are leaving Mill Race (and I 100% agree), where would you put Raptor?

And Corkscrew opened in 1976, which is pretty much the definition of "the park in the mid-70s"

BTW, if we kept "he park in the mid-70s" who would replace Jungle Larry and where would you put TTD, Power Tower, et al. Also, with the Frontier Lift still there, where do you put Millennium Force?

Not critisizing, just trying to reconcile your dream with reality. :)

Just to clarify things, there are now two "old" Frontier Town shooting galleries. The first one had some medieval theming to it and is shown in the video from this thread. That original shooting gallery went away in 2004 when it was converted into space for the General Store.

The most recent shooting gallery to be removed is the one that was installed the year Maverick opened (2007). It was appropriately themed, as you can see from the picture here...
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3/jph1589/1731639524_925c38e749.jpg

I noticed last weekend that it had been replaced with a smaller 3 or 4 gun gallery which had very little in the way of animation or targets to entice anyone to play. Aside from the chickens, there really isn't much to it. If folks weren't playing the game before, then this new version isn't going to change things.

That same visit I asked one of the 2 animation guys left working at the park when and why the old/new gallery left. His reply was that the new Comfort Station needed the space. I didn't question him or press him for more info, but I'm confused about his answer because the first aid/comfort station is more in the old frontier arcade. Unless there's more that I'm not remembering behind those building walls, something about that story doesn't make sense.

Take the info for what it's worth. This is what you get when you ask employees off the wall fanboy questions.

Thank you, Rihard, I agree, the Comfort Station explanation doesn't make sense. The whole space is still there, just a half-baked thrown together missmash.

I noticed that they moved that shooting gallery to the arcade on the main midway, towards the front of the arcade on the left hand side. At least they didn't get rid of it and just relocated it, unless I'm mistaken and that shooting gallery has always been in the arcade?

Backwards funhouse: it seems clear the change was considered viable because they made the change.

As for your other question: I was just noting that each of us have different things we like about the park. And, that as much as I enjoy the park today, those parks visits of my childhood are very special memories. But I recognize change is inevitable.

Clearly you prefer the previous shooting gallery to the new one, and you would fire the designer. Okay, but why would you approve the design in the first place if you didn't like it? That is: the park didn't hire a designer and say, here, just do whatever, totally cool with us, let us know when it's done. The gallery you disdain is there because it was run up the chain of command and was signed off on.

Captain Hawkeye: It's not a dream. Just cherished memories. If you gave me a magic wand and said I could change the park to the way it was 40 years ago, I wouldn't do it.

Sorry, noggin, from a purely objective aesthetic point of view, it looks like crap and a third of what was there. The arcade games and claw crane machines are filler. I would even call it a detraction to the area and a decision signed off is up for criticism. I will laugh at any executive who would dare say this was an improvement.

Nostalgia would be pining for the old Gemini midway, asphalt and all and dismissing the beauty that they have created there. There are things I'm nostalgic about but I think you are going off in a different direction with that argument. I've seen better looking western saloon themed shooting galleries than what CP did have, an improvement would be making it look even better with that theme. Whatever this is looks like shot at and missed.

There's nothing nostalgic about the old asphalt Gemini midway...

That's the point.

The shooting gallery isn't a make or break decision to attend the park but if TPTB think people don't notice the little things and their attractiveness or lack of, especially when the obvious has super long lines, they are mistaken.

3snoH un=l said:
I will laugh at any executive who would dare say this was an improvement.

Even if the decision that hurt your feelings was a very wise business decision?

Look, I get the idea that there are nostalgic things we all sort of "latch on to" for one reason or another. And it can be disappointing when those things are changed. But you're almost certainly vastly overestimating how many people will even notice, let alone care about this.

Once again - the shooting gallery was NEVER busy during ANY of my visits in probably the last 5 years. And "not busy" would be a gentle way to say "complete and utter ghost town".

CP is a business, not a museum. They're in the business of providing entertainment in exchange for money. Apparently the shooting gallery was not facilitating that exchange, so they replaced with what they though might facilitate that exchange.

Even museums have to keep people coming through the door so they need to make sure their exhibits are interesting to the masses. :)

The arcade games and claw crane machines aren't "filler", they're revenue generators.

noggin, please explain to me where "nostalgia" fits into anything here. You have been reaching with this argument. I've said my opinion, the downgraded shooting gallery looks worse and thrown together and I gave my reasons, none of it was nostalgia based. If you want to keep talking about nostalgia and old CP, fine, but this was about the shooting gallery. The change was noticed and not looking good.

3snoH un=l said:
...the downgraded shooting gallery looks worse and thrown together and I gave my reasons, none of it was nostalgia based.

But here's the thing - just saying "it's not nostalgia based" doesn't make it so.

Your only justifications for your opinion that the old, unpopular game was superior to the new one have been:
- the old game had "charm"
- it was "basically functional"
- it wasn't as unpopular as other unpopular games in the park
- it fit the FT theme

There's not exactly a strong business case in that list. That's why it's clear you're letting your nostalgia cloud your vision. And again, saying otherwise doesn't make it so.

Keep dreaming up the nostalgia angle. Apparently you have no sense of design either. How about they put back that medieval theme gallery in FT, right? Get my drift? It's not nostalgia, I've only played it since last summer. But it was the entire space and had a good fitting theme. It looks like a crappy space now, and that's pretty much the end of it short of hearing from CP why they did that.

So the change was noticed by you and you don't like it, since it no longer has the charm you're now nostalgic for. Got it.

I can't believe they messed up the shooting gallery. I loved the old one. When I saw it was changed, I was mad!!!!

3snoH un=l said:
Keep dreaming up the nostalgia angle.

The dictionary definition of nostalgia: "a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time"

Based on your posts, yeah, you're motivated by nostalgia.

I agree, but I totally get it where Kris is coming from. She remembers the past, and has family members that gravitate toward the types of rides that no longer exist at the park. Since my first visit to Cedar Point was in 1963 and I was an employee in the 70's I've seen it all from "the beginning". I tend to get nostalgic for old rides and attractions too.

But those who wish they could take another trip through San Francisco Earthquake, Mill Race, and even the Upside Down Funhouse might be disappointed when they see what dogs they really were. Not that they weren't fun back in the day, but by today's standards they just wouldn't hold up and the replacements that followed make for a better park today.

Nothing makes me happier than to visit an "old fashioned" park like Kennywood or Lakeside where they still lovingly maintain their museum pieces. Cedar Point has taken a slightly different path- I would accuse them of developing a modern, up to date park with an eye toward history. Classic attractions like the carousels are some of the oldest things they have, and they still operate iconic attractions like C.P.&L.E.R.R. and the Sky Ride, when a lot of other parks out there have abandoned those rides. And those are the important things, as far as I'm concerned. Hell, even the historic Hotel Breakers is getting a gut remodel. Are we nostalgics sad about it? Yes, because it will never again be like it was. But it really is necessary in order for the resort to compete and stay up to date.

Now, as far as the shooting gallery goes? Rest assured that Cedar Point knows the theme that surrounds Frontiertown, and that the old-timey stuff plays well there. I'll allow that some of the choices for that space have been puzzling, but the real goal there was to get quarters out of pockets. Let's hope, for our sake if no one else's, that when park officials stroll through IAPPA this fall they stop by one of the many interactive companies at the show and order an updated game with a western look.

Now that I think about it, I'd be happy with more ice cream. Or a walk up bar for draught beer. Maybe it's a good location for future Freestyle machines...