WHY? (an editorial with much frustration)
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I'm not an old fogey, I'm just an old coaster rider..
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Natalie
Mine Ride '99
Thunder Canyon '00
Millennium Force '01
oldrider said:
Any ride thats being removed from any major park should be AT LEAST well ducumented with photos , video tape ,org.plans,and
I agree. I've tried to do that, at least to the extent that I'm able, with my site. That's why I'm glad they made the Schwabinchen closing announcement. It would have been terrible to learn about it during the off-season when it was too late to take photos and enjoy it one last time.
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
I can see keeping photos, documents, etc for historical preservation but I really don't see a compelling reason to keep pieces of rides. Disney has Dave Smith, an archivist, and I don't even think they keep chunks of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride lying around.
Jo
2000/2002 Raptor Crew
Lifetime Raptor flights: 708 :)
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It's all about getting around the barrels, or over the fences, right leads, no faults, fastest time and looking pretty when done. What's so hard about that? :)
One story I found amusing also involves "lost property". He remembers "tons" of slot machines being buried on the property! Could you imagine the contractor on #16 hitting the "jackpot" while excavating for a footer.
This conversation made me wonder how many great stories and facts are "dying" everyday without being properly documented. What a shame.
I remember closing day a few year ago. While walking down the main midway, I passed a guy carrying the v-shaped Jungle Larry showtime board. Apparently, he purchased it on the way out. Wow, what a great prize to have. I would love to have something like the Schwabinchen Dancers backdrop in my backyard. Or maybe a authenic "exit gate" for my fence.
As for the Cedar Point Historical Society idea, this sounds like a project I would put a lifetime into........
(P.S. - Raptor Jo, I have personally been told that the "So High" signs remain in storage.)
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DanB
*** This post was edited by DanB 11/21/2002 9:13:59 AM ***
RideMan said:
Speculating on which ride Dan wants a piece of...
I bet it isn't a ride, I feel that Dan is talking about some Fascination tables. I'm a right Dan?
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Florida may have Disneyworld and Key West,
but Ohio has Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay.
It's great to live in Ohio!
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"Uhhh I don't think my restraint is supposed to move like this. . ."
I think Kennywood does one of the best jobs of maintaining its history within the park: both from the classic rides (jackrabbit, the whip, the tumble bug, racer's restored facade) and the brief bits of history along the entranceway to Lost Kennywood. This is because Kennywood consciously makes its history part of its identity: it is a "traditional amusement park".
CP doesn't have that same ethos: it is "the amazement park." I think this is one area where Kennywood does a better job than CP, though the history section on the web site, some pieces of town hall, etc. at least show some effort.
I'll note that Disney seems to be very successful with its auctions of theme park odds and ends. It is possible that CP could do something similar. Heck, right now you can buy a pinocchio locater sign from the Disneyland parking lot for only $166!
Finally, my own experience is not quite as melancholy as Dan's. As a kid, I went to CP once or twice a year every year from the mid 70's to the mid 80's. My family moved to California, so my last trip to CP was 84. In that trip, the biggest coaster was Gemini. Must-sees included Jungle Larry, the Sky Slide, SF Earthquake, and the Frontier Lift.
Fast forward to my next trip, this past summer after an almost 20 year absence. I'm bringing my own kids, rather than visiting as one. The coaster count has tripled. Many rides are not where I remember them. Many others are gone.
However, as soon as I drove up the causeway (despite the missing sign :)) an enormous flood of memories came rushing back. When walking through the park, despite all the physical differences, it was still the same place. It was like I rediscovered the Point. It simultaneously has "grown up" while retaining the spirit of the park I remember as a kid. I was completely and totally hooked. Again.
Yes, the park is changing, and many things of the past exist only in the fading memories of us old farts who saw them way back when. Yes, CP/CF could do a much better job of preserving/distributing those artifacts. But, the essential nature of the park hasn't changed. And that's the most important historical connection for me.
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
Disney does keep stuff like that around. About a year ago, they auctioned off the shell of the first tram engine on Ebay. I believe they were donating the money to some charity also.
I do think its stupid for CP to just throw away some stuff. Garage sales are huge to the private sector. I would think that it would go over well in this case. And what do they have to loose? They can't depreciate it, its already fully depreciated. But they can sell it and then donate the money (or keep it if they are stingy).
I fear CP will lose more and more of it's uniqueness if they contunue to loose the historic character. i.e. ride signage.
Gemini said:
I've said it many times before, but it's worth saying again: the more Cedar Point changes, the more it stays the same. Attractions move, things change, but it always "feels" like the same place.
Cedar Point still feels unlike any other park to me (and still like "Cedar Point"). I guess the only noticable difference I can put my finger on is that certain little parts of the environment have become more sterile over the past two years or so. A good example of this is the replacement of the signs at the entrances to all the rides.
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James Draeger
-Captain Sarcasm
Dan, do you save your old toe-nail clippings, nostril hairs, and earwax??? I did not think so and neither should CP.
Saving a trashy, old, broken down and rusted ride all for the sake of "nostalga" reminds me of the old beer can collecting craze.
1 exception: a very few of the merry go rounds are works of art.
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-'Playa :)
(who really couldn't resist - sorry)
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
All manner of fine, historical and very MANLY machinery gets scrapped, smelted or recycled every day. It saddens me to watch a blade go through the structure of an old B-52D and turn it in to alminium ingots that are destined to become Budwieser cans. But what better fate for a machine than to be reused and reincarnated than to sit lonely, rusted and rotting in some dark abandoned warehouse?
*** This post was edited by kjetski 11/21/2002 4:14:33 PM ***
Then again, it was funny. ;)
-brian, who has seen some artful beer cans in his life. Anyone remember Billy Beer?
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
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