Fascination or Johnny Rockets?

I have always LOVED the game fascination. It was the best game CP had. When I visited CP last summer, I headed for fascination, only to find that fascination was gone and replaced by Johnny Rockets. I was so disappointed I actually had a tear slide down my cheek.

I am just wondering how everyone else feels about Fascination being replaced by Johnny Rockets.

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Everyone knows how I feel about it. I always flip JR the bird everytime I am at the park. I never steped foot in there this year and as long as I am able to move under my own power I will not step foot in that rat trap ever.

Then at the Gemini 100 Spartan coaxed me into eating a fry from there. It just wasn't the same.

I've had countless people offer to buy me lunch or dinner there, even a few silver tags offered to buy me a meal. Sorry!

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Daniel "PING" Haverlock
'01: 901
Total: 2166

I had been inside the Fascination building once, so I honestly don't care that much. The food is average, at best. I'd rather eat at Midway Market.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I miss fascination. It was fun, cheap, and a nice place to go on those hot, busy days.
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DT80: 30 and proud of it!
Member of the O.C.
Magnum '01 - 108 laps

Take it or leave it to be honest...

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http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
mf laps = 100! No More No Less!!
Wheres the Electricity!

The removal of Fascination really irked me--just like Dan, I flip JR the bird every time I went to the park in 2001, and am boycotting all CP games. I'll purposely walk close to the games to get the hawkers to try to get me to play, and my response is always the same--"I don't play games at Cedar Point anymore because they removed Fascination." Not that they really care, but I say it anyway.

Back in May, I wrote a letter to Kinzel expressing my extreme dissatisfaction about his decision (no matter what anyone official says, several sources have told me that many CP decisions are made by Kinzel and NOT CP's Director of Park Operations). I, not surprisingly, never received any sort of reply.

There have been several threads about this on these message boards (I'm too lazy to look them up) that should be easily found. In the meantime, I get my Fascination fix whenever I make the rare business trip to San Francisco, as there's a Fascination parlor on Market St. With no trips planned until 5/2003, my last Fascination fix (6/2001) may have been just that--my last fix. At least I won the last game I played, even if it wasn't at Table 21.

John

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FASCINATION (1955-2000): It *was* the game--the ONLY game--I came to Cedar Point to play

*** This post was edited by Michigan Man on 1/7/2002. ***

I loved Fascination, and was very sore to see it go, especially how they seemed so sneaky about it, leaving the announcement until after the park closed before saying that the game was to be removed. I understand that the decision wasn't made until that time, but it would have smoothed the way for the Fascination fans if they'd had the opportunity for that one last game. As for it becoming a restaurant, whatever, but I don't care for the fact that it's another 50's themed burger joint down the Midway from Coasters. One's enough in my opinion, and if they absolutely had to take the game out, I think they could have put in something better. Oh well, what's done is done.

I don't know how many of ya live near central NY, but there is a fascination, 25 cents a game, at the Sylvan Beach Amusement Park located on Oneida Lake NY. I am the announcer there. If you know of any other fascinations, e-mail me.
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I never even knew what fascination was. I love Johnny Rockets, it's different from Coasters and is a neat place to eat on the midway. There's an atmosphere there that is just fun. I guess you are either a fascination fan or a johnny rockets fan. C'est la vie, I guess.

I really miss fascination, it was my fav game in the park. Johnny rockets food is average. The thing that anoys me the most about johnny rockets is that they play the same 3 songs over, and over and over again.

1.love shack

2.staying alive

3.y.m.c.a

Losing Fascination is just another step towards losing the history of the park. The game, whether you played it or not, had a nice look to it and added a lot of character to the Midway. It was a throwback to when games were simpler in their premise. I liked the lights and the way it looked. I guess I am too much into the nostalgia of the park. I would love to see the Pirate Ride or Earthquake come back.

I like nostalgia as well, but I'll take food over games any day. As to the park itself, my primary interest is in seeing it succeed. If the Breakers Tower serves the purpose, then it's worth it loosing the historical landmark status for the hotel. Similarly, if Johnny Rockets brings people in, than so long Fascination.

The park is historical because of what has happened there over the years, and continues to this day. It's a process, not a building or a fixture. The process itself, among other things, is one of continual change, growth and rebirth. When that stops, we loose the true history of the park, because what the park is ceases to exist.

I thought I heard the reason they removed Fascination was due to the high cost of maintaining very old equipment. I played it as a kid, and I recall my mom would spend most of the day playing while my brother and I went on the rides. But I preferred riding than playing games, and when I did play games, I preferred skeeball.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

If you live in Northeast Ohio, there are still 2 Fascination "parlors" within a 90-minute drive. Conneaut Lake Park still has theirs, however with the minimal crowds there, it could be a while before you get a decent competition going. And there is also a Fascination house on "The Strip" in Geneva On The Lake, which is always doing a good business when I head out there. Sure, the prizes consist of outdated appliances, Def Leppard pins, and stale candy, but it's still a good time and only a quarter per game.

ProgRay (who never liked Johnny Rockets prior to it opening at the Point)

I miss Fascination greatly, although I agree with CPDave. Continual change, growth and rebirth is what gave us CP's history today, and is what will make the park succeed in the future. I don’t buy into the story that parts couldn’t be found. Maybe the original parts are hard to find, but fascination was just a primitive electric logic circuit made up of a bunch of switches, wires and probably some relays. Modern parts could have been adapted to the game. I bet the real reason for scrapping the game was that the return on investment for overhauling everything would have been much less than the ROI of building a new restaurant. And, let’s face it, as much as some people like to flip it the bird, it never seemed to lack customers, so it was probably a success for CP. Personally, I’d take Fascination over Johnny Rockets, that’s a no-brainer. Will today’s young kids fondly remember eating their first hamburger at CP’s Johnny Rockets, while viewing Raptor fly during their meal, 20 years from now? Only time will tell, but today’s modern Cedar Point is tomorrow’s historic Cedar Point. The park has continuously changed over its history. That’s what made it successful, and that’s part of the charm of a 131 year old park.
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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

*** This post was edited by Pete on 1/8/2002. ***

Times change, but some people don't. I would like to have Fascination back myself, but money may have been a reason. But, someday, Johnny Rocket's will become a classic too. Cedar Point has not lost all of its history. We still manage to hang on to the old favorites. Like the Blue Streak and the Sky Ride. The alure of the park is still there to a large degree. But expansion is the gateway to the future and it must be carried out for the park to remain highly competitive against other parks such as Six Flags and Busch Gardens. The park has endured depression, war, and changing times, so maybe your children and grandchildren will be able to eat at the then classic resturant of Johnny Rocket's.

Can someone explain exactly what kinda game Fascination was? I probably know what it is, but not by that name.

thanks

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Go Full Force

Here is the main underlying fact: Cedar Point does not exist because they want to create a place to entertain people. C.P. exists to make profit, plain and simple. They will always be in favor of whatever option will make the most profit in the long run. The only way they will keep an old attraction/restaurant/game around is if they can't find a way to make more profit by replacing it.

I think there are more and more new visitors to the park, which means that C.P. doesn't have to cater to the long-time park goers as much as they have in the past. New visitors aren't gonna care that there isn't a Fascination game, that they have never even heard of before. New visitors do care about having a clean, nice place to eat. (J.R. isn't the answer though.)

In 20 years, hopefully the J.R. franchise will be bankrupt and C.P. will have moved on. I keep thinking about "Back to the Future 2" when Marty eats at the "Cafe 80's". Since the restaurant is in the middle of the "Games" area, they could have themed the restaurant around games/arcades. I think there are many, many restaurant ideas that would have been a better fit than Johnny Rockets.

Well, CP does exist because it's a place to entertain people. Yes, they are a company that also exists to make a profit, but to make a profit people have to come. The only reason people come is because they know they will be entertained. So, the focus is to create the most profitable entertainment, the entertainment part is VERY important. Would you watch TV if they only played commercials? Same concept.
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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

I miss Fascination

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Excuse me, where is the 10:00 Laser Show Presented by FirstEnegry??