Coasting for Kids 2011

Maybe the ERT will be moved to Big Dipper.

I wish Canada's Wonderland wasn't 13hrs from my house...Behemoth is their weapon of choice!! That would be a nice marathon there eh!

http://www.givekidstheworld.org/coastingforkids/

Looks like there is a $40 registration fee and then depending on the park a minimum fund raising on top of this. For Cedar Point and Kings Island the additional requirement is $35 for a minimum of $75 per person.

The line up so far looks like

CGA - TBA
C Wonderland - Behemoth
Carowinds - TBA
CP - Magnum/Gemini
Dorney - TBA
KD - TBA
KI - Racer
KBF - Jaguar
MiA - Thunderhawk/Shivering Timbers
VF - TBA
WOF - Mamba

Ouch. That's going to be a very brief marathon on Magnum for me, the way it's been running this year. But if it's a nice day, it will be a good opportunity to go around and take pictures without a bunch of people in the park (assuming we're allowed to roam from the area). :)

The registration fee is perfectly understandable, I think. Last year Cedar Point had over 60 registrants, yet only about 40 showed up.

DaveStroem said:
http://www.givekidstheworld.org/coastingforkids/

Looks like there is a $40 registration fee and then depending on the park a minimum fund raising on top of this. For Cedar Point and Kings Island the additional requirement is $35 for a minimum of $75 per person.

The line up so far looks like

CGA - TBA
C Wonderland - Behemoth
Carowinds - TBA
CP - Magnum/Gemini
Dorney - TBA
KD - TBA
KI - Racer
KBF - Jaguar
MiA - Thunderhawk/Shivering Timbers
VF - TBA
WOF - Mamba

I'm pretty sure I saw something somewhere along the line that Steel Force was confirmed. I may be wrong.

Well, I hope I get a job before too long so I can afford to participate in it this year. Being unemployed sucks. :(

I understand why and support the reason for the registration fee though.

I do too, but I don't understand the need to raise the total to $75 per person. That is $300 for us. While we raised over twice that last year, I am not as sure it will happen this year.

LK, did you ever get your t-shirt from 2010 coasting for kids. We never did.

I didn't get my shirt from last year either!!! Let me guess you guys got X-Large's?
If I feel the need I wear my wife's...I'm partial to the 2009 design myself, my favorite event shirt to date.

DaveStroem said:
I do too, but I don't understand the need to raise the total to $75 per person. That is $300 for us. While we raised over twice that last year, I am not as sure it will happen this year.

Because I think the idea is more about raising money than paying for ERT.

I always thought the amount seemed awfully low to 'buy' your way onto a coaster for the day. I think it should be WAY higher.

Nope, Dave. I never did receive my t-shirt. I would have loved to have worn it on the day of the event, to show support and to advertise the event. It could have enticed some guests to donate right there at the park on the day of the marathon.

But oh well. I don't want to complain. I seem to remember hearing that because I couldn't just swing by the park to pick it up, they were going to have a hard time getting the t-shirt to me when they came in. I kind of expected that they would have it for me when I came back to receive my VIP prize. Oh well... I didn't do it for the t-shirt, or the ERT, or the VIP prize. I did it for the kids. It's probably Dick's fault anyways. :D

Right now I am having a hard time deciding what to do about this event, being unemployed and all. Money is VERY tight right now. I could easily raise some money by participating as a "Virtual Rider". What if I get a job before the event and can afford to participate in the marathon? Would I be able to change my status from "Virtual Rider" to "Participant"?

If I just wait and see, and decide what to do just before the deadline to enter, I will be wasting precious fundraising time, maybe even ending up just paying the $75 bucks myself. Dilemma dilemma...

I need a job, darnit.

Lord Gonchar said:

I always thought the amount seemed awfully low to 'buy' your way onto a coaster for the day. I think it should be WAY higher.

...For a good coaster, maybe I'd agree with you. For Racer, not so much. lol

My comment was based on the fact that fund raising is much tougher then it was even last year.

If I was only about "buying my way onto a coaster", I would not have worked so hard to raise over $700 last year. I could have stopped at $50.

I wasn't accusing.

It always seemed weird the for pretty much the price of a ticket, I could buy a day on a roller coaster. I mean, great cause and all and maybe that's the point to a degree, donate a few bucks to GKTW and we'll let you ride as much as you like.

LostKause said:

...For a good coaster, maybe I'd agree with you. For Racer, not so much. lol

Good point. :)

I see the increase may keep some from even trying. I have a lot of KI friends that are 20 somethings that don't have two nickels to rub together. They had to dig in the couch to find the money for their pass.

Last year I think CP was the only park that had full participation. Some parks only had a handful of people. In those cases, it would have been better for CF to have just written the check to GKTW instead of the event.

I hope this year will out shine the last 2, but any thing that is done to hamper participation is not a good thing IMO.

I agree, I've participated at CP each year it's been held, just out of convenience from my house and the cause. I recently moved to NC so I'm trying to figure out which park to travel to for the event. Carowinds is the closest, but I don't think 10hrs on thunder road is even possible! If KD doesn't have a more back friendly ride it's off to KI or CP again! I think CP will be get even more participation than last year which was better than 2009. We'll have to wait and see about the others. The fact that some parks are doing 2 rides, I think will just sweeten the deal for the village!

I am thinking about Dorney or Worlds of Fun. I did CP in 2009 and KI last year. So maybe I should keep moving from park to park for the event. Mamba or Steel Force would be easy rides to marathon IMO.

I don't think the registration fee is designed to hamper participation at all. Like it or not, there is a higher demand at those two parks. And CP had a demand that exceeded capacity last year. It only makes sense to increase the registration fee at that point.

The sole purpose of this event is to raise as much money as possible for terminally Ill children. The objective is not to make it as easy as possible for people to participate. If folks don't have the funds in their own pockets then they're supposed to ask others to sponsor them. That's the entire name of the game in fundraising.

First off, the site wasn't exactly ready for public consumption. Thus the blanks from some parks.

Second, this isn't about scoring some ERT, and the minimums are not intended to minimize participation. I agree with Gonch that fifty bucks was too low. These are not impossible goals. Remember what the point in this is.

The $40 registration fee is really a pretty good value. All day at a park, some ERT, and lunch is included.

I got an easy $50 donation from my employer last year, and another $50 donation from the owner of my local grocery story. Others who donated were friends and family, co-workers, even the lady who frequently took my order at the local Burger King donated some. All you have to do is ask the people you see on a regular basis if they may be interested in donating, and you'll easily make the $35 minimum. If you can't do that, then just pay it.

Even fellow CoasterBuzzers added to the donation pot, thankfully. It was really fun watching the donation roll in last year.

I paid my $40 today, even though Dorney details aren't posted yet. So it looks like I'm gonna do this. I don't get excited easily, but I'm excited about this. My first time doing any kind of fundraiser thing...by CHOICE, anyway. Wish me luck! Anyone else does Dorney, lemme know.