Paddle-wheel Excursions RIP

I'd say they are about par with most other "amusement parks" when it comes to "family friendliness" but they are short of most "resorts" when it comes to the same thing. Granted, there aren't many family friendly resorts outside of Disney and Universal but the European parks do it pretty well.

And yes, I do think one ride might at least begin to turn the tide. I don't think the Dino attraction will have that impact. In fact, will you and Jeff be starting a Dino topic to replace the Windseeker topic? Doubt it. My guess is people will be more interested in talking about the slide in Soak City.

No, I doubt it. But we didn't start one for Starlight Experience either. I'd say the two are similar, you know, outside of the upcharge and boat killing. :)

I haven't seen Starlight but if it is as advertised I'm sure it is a fine effort. What time does it start? I think we watched Summer Spectacular when my son was 6 and my daughter was 3. Well, my wife and I watched it. They both fell asleep after about nearly killing us with their impatience while we sat and waited for it. To be fair though...same thing generally happens to us at Disney.

Interesting thing about Starlight (which starts more or less at sundown)...

At the very end of the (horrid!) video program, there is a "slide" on the screen advertising the Starlight Spectacular, with a big animated arrow pointing the way down the Frontier Trail.

The interesting thing about that is that there are NO park exits in that direction. Remember, at this point, the park is not only closed most nights, it has been closed for about a half-hour. To follow the advice on the sign, you will be walking down a midway that takes you to the point in the park that is farthest away from the front gate, and in the general direction of the Soak City/Challenge Park exit.

It's an interesting tactic, obviously intended to solve the problem of everyone trying to leave at once.

Personally, I would have been happier if the announcement also indicated that they were going to extend the Starlight treatment throughout Frontiertown and down the Gemini midway....

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I think the idea RideMan shared earlier is a brilliant one. Bring back a revamped Paddlewheel/Western Cruise after the dinos leave, and use "Adventure Island" as a large ropes course/zip line/play structure sort of thing. They could even keep the upcharge for that, or at least the ropes course and zipline.

It sounds like a perfect addition to the park.

Um, paging Mr. Ouimet....

Heck, why not extend the docking channel a couple of boat lengths thus dramatically reducing the distance the bridge has to cover, then install a small bascule bridge to get across the channel?

On an unrelated note...when did they remove the side wheels from the boats? I know they used to be there, in fact I remember remarking how silly they were because of he full cowling so you could barely see them. Today I noticed that they are missing!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Chief Wahoo said:
To me a family is a group of people that can spend MOST of their day together. When I go to WDW or USF (and when we start going to Legoland) there are very few attractions that we can't all enjoy at the same time. No matter what anyone says, that is not the case for Cedar Point and that...in my opinion...is a huge void.

As a relatively new parent, this is the thing that I'm becoming painfully aware of. At a year and a half, obviously Simon isn't going to ride much stuff at all. But looking at the next five years or so, it's that part about watching him do stuff and not doing it with him that I have great concerns about. Indeed, there is a big difference between "kid friendly" and "family friendly," and I worry that CP is not the latter. There are carousels and trains, and a few Zamperla rides, and that's the bulk of what we can do together. When I think about what we can do at Magic Kingdom, it makes me want to relocate to Orlando.

I suppose I'm lucky that because he's such a big kid, he might be 36" before he's even 3 (he's at 30" at 17 months). At least that will open up a number of rides for us to do together.

You might want to think about investing in some Payless Shoes stock. He might be 36" at 3 years old but you are going to spend a ton of money on shoes!

And yes, I've been preaching about this for 8 years because I've been dealing with it as a parent for 8 years. If Cedar Point (and Dick in parcitular) didn't keep suggesting that they were really going to do something about it then I guess I would be less vocal in my criticism. But, to keep saying they are going to start focusing on the young family demographic and then continuall introduce rides and attractions that are not meant for the young family it is just frustrating.

According to what I read it's already closed forever.

OOPS! my bad...the 5th is the last day.

http://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/26935.aspx

With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive!, the Paddlewheel Excursions boat cruise will be retired from the park. The pioneer-themed boat ride will be in daily operation through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5.

We had our last ride sometime in May.We were there last week,but had no idea they were shutting it down. We did not ride it....I will miss all the corny jokes from the "Captains".

Just had to check in to say I am definitely feeling a twinge of sadness at the retirement of PWE! I also give CP a side-eye for adding a "family" attraction that will cost families $5 per person to enjoy. While it may be designed for families, it's certainly not family friendly!

It does seem that in recent years, it has been in the way more than it has been an asset so I'm not shocked or appalled at the decision.

I was a captain in 2001 and I've not ridden it or been to the park since 2004, but it is still a little sad to think it'll no longer be there!

To be fair,CP is a advertised as a Coaster park mainly,so perhaps we should not be surprised that all the other attractions are secondary.

I'll have to disagree with that. For quite a few years, Cedar Point has marketed itself with a three-pronged approach: as a megacenter of coasters and thrill rides, yes; a family destination, with all that entails; and as an all-inclusive resort.

It's disingenuous to suggest they only, or even mainly, advertise as just a coaster park.

Rollercoast? I respectfully disagree.When people talk about CP here in Illinois,it's only about the great coasters.For me personally,it's the ambiance,but that's just me.

That may be the only thing you folks talk about in Illinois, but in point of fact it's not the only focus with which Cedar Point markets itself.

Chief Wahoo said:

And yes, I've been preaching about this for 8 years because I've been dealing with it as a parent for 8 years. If Cedar Point (and Dick in parcitular) didn't keep suggesting that they were really going to do something about it then I guess I would be less vocal in my criticism. But, to keep saying they are going to start focusing on the young family demographic and then continuall introduce rides and attractions that are not meant for the young family it is just frustrating.

Family yes, but I don't remember them saying they were going to focus on the young family aspect. It gets back to what I asked earlier - how does Cedar Fair define a family? If it includes the word young then I agree with you 100% - they are not doing that. But if all they care about is having families around rather than gangs of teenagers then I disagree with you.

Big problem with the "family" ride concept is how its defined. In my own immediate family, its tough because there are varying interests in what we want/will tolerate in rides. And thats with two kids who are only 2 years apart in age.

Cedar Point was close to home for me for my entire childhood. I have been very saddened to see many areas changed. With CP being the second oldest park in the USA, why wouldn't they want to preserve some of that? The dense forests and the lagoons were unique to CP, and that is now to be totally ruined. It was very cool to take the Western Cruise back "into the woods", especially at night. You were in another world. The loss of Western Cruise was the killer for me. I miss the Upside Down Funhouse, Earthquake, Pirate Ride too. So much uniqueness is lost. Yes, the PE was a sad reminder of what was, but at least it was still there. Now, I and my family have no reason to go back anymore. We can't ride the megathings because they make us sick. And the family and historic areas are all now ruined. Sad.