Conneaut to raise $125K to reopen Big Dipper

I have nothing against panhandling for restoration, but haven't these guys seen enough PBS pledge drives to know how it's done?

Donate $10 - Get an "I Streaked" or "I Saved Blue Streak" button.

Donate $50 - Get a "You're Welcome for Saving Blue Streak" t-shirt.

Donate $100 - Get unlimited rides during the 2010 summer season (or maybe unlimited re-rides or exit pass access for you and a guest).

Donate $1,000 - Get your name on a plaque in one of the coaster cars.

And I realize that the park isn't in a well-to-do area, but surely there must be some local company willing to put up $10k-$50k for naming rights on the Blue Streak for the season -- especially when the company will be perceived as a hometown hero for "saving" the coaster.

Blind PayPal contributions aren't going to work.

LostKause said:
Exactily my point, Jeff. If Conneaut can't be run as a successful business, why keep it open. Continuously asking for donations and volunteers to run a business seems to me as somewhat pathetic. That horse is dead, imo.

Walmart doesn't ask for donations and volunteers to keep their business running. They hire employees and charge customers for goods and services. Why should Conneaut be any different?

Couldn't the same be said about the chain that's in bankruptcy? Or the other chain that's whoring themselves out to a management company? Collapsing stock prices, billions of dollars in debt... not my idea of successful businesses. How much have the stockholders of both those companies "donated" to the businesses? Perhaps they should hang it up as well, just saying.

^? Because there is not yet a cure for cancer or HIV, should we stop 'throwing money at it'???

There is always hope. I can't wait to ride the only original Blue Streak ;)

My point about finding better "causes" to donate money to was more about me not finding the reopening of a failed amusement park as being a worthy charitable cause. If Freestyle Music Park asked for donations in order to open for the next season, or if Legoland asked for donations in order to build their park, would you donate? Or would you laugh it off, and tell them to find investors and take out loans like everyone else?

I simply do not understand why Conneaut needs donations and volunteers in order to run. Can't they advertise that they are going to open, charge admission, operate, and then profit, like everyone else? If it doesn't work out, make adjustments, or face the facts that it is not a viable business.

What make's Conneaut's situation unique compared to another park of the same size?

LostKause said:
What make's Conneaut's situation unique compared to another park of the same size?

Other than the fact that a judge ordered the place operated and managed by a group of incompetent trustees?

LostKause said:
My point about finding better "causes" to donate money to was more about me not finding the reopening of a failed amusement park as being a worthy charitable cause. If Freestyle Music Park asked for donations in order to open for the next season, or if Legoland asked for donations in order to build their park, would you donate? Or would you laugh it off, and tell them to find investors and take out loans like everyone else?

I simply do not understand why Conneaut needs donations and volunteers in order to run. Can't they advertise that they are going to open, charge admission, operate, and then profit, like everyone else? If it doesn't work out, make adjustments, or face the facts that it is not a viable business.

What make's Conneaut's situation unique compared to another park of the same size?

Well firstly - there is historical significance to Conneaut Lake Park that Freestyle has none of. While parks like Conneaut used to be all over the US, there are only a handful left.

Secondly, an open admission park the size of Conneaut (15 acres at the most) operates in a completely different manner than a large corporate park and caters to a completely different market. It's apples and oranges. Freestyle and Legoland were/are part of major corporate conglomerates that have access to large amounts of capital and credit.

Conneaut has faced hurdle after hurdle starting with the horrible Gary Harris, incompetent trustees, crumbling infrastructure, and arsons. Yet, major portions of the community have felt it important enough to save and have stepped forward to donate time and money. I can think of many examples of carousels that have been saved by volunteer groups around the country that operate on the basis of donations and volunteers. Rye Playland is always looking for benefactors to contribute to its historic infrastructure. Conneaut has not made a nationwide campaign for money, they have reached out to their community - we are simply aware of it because we're coaster enthusiasts.

If you have been to Conneaut Lake, you would know that it is a HUGE lake with many summer houses. It is has been a long time get-a-way location for families from both Pittsburgh and Erie. And while the park may not be the only thing to do in the area, it has definitely played an integral part in the life of the area and will hopefully continue to do so.

The current players involved seemed to determined to make it a viable business entity despite all of the hurdles and I wish them the best of luck.

Well, then, compare it to DelGrosso's Family Amusement Park (a.k.a Bland's park), or the park less than an hour north, Waldameer, or Lakemont Park, or Knoebels?

Williams Grove was closed a few years back. Sad? Yes. Fact of life? Yes.

I hate to see parks close. Photos of overgrowth taking over dilapidated wooden coasters brings a tear to my eye, but one needs to realize that zombies are fantasy, and you can't wake the dead.

The parks you list have not faced the hurdles that Conneaut has and are all still family owned and operated (with the exception of Lakemont). None of them operate as a public trust. None of them operate as part of a larger lakefront summer community (you could argue Waldameer does but it's within a major metropolitan area).

My impression is the Conneaut saw quite a number of improvements over the course of last season. If that continues, and the Blue Streak is able to be reopened I think there is far more hope than you give it.

LostKause said:
Well, then, compare it to DelGrosso's Family Amusement Park (a.k.a Bland's park), or the park less than an hour north, Waldameer, or Lakemont Park, or Knoebels?

Williams Grove was closed a few years back. Sad? Yes. Fact of life? Yes.

I hate to see parks close. Photos of overgrowth taking over dilapidated wooden coasters brings a tear to my eye, but one needs to realize that zombies are fantasy, and you can't wake the dead.

Getting poetic on us? ;) Anything and everything can be a fact of life.

I guess it's a moot point. It doesn't make sense to argue. And it won't matter when I'm riding Blue Streak next year ;)

I look at the front page of this site, 6/10 of the headlines are all about CFair... Maybe a little consolidation? Ah forget it, I think I get it now.

...I just want to get there this summer, stay at Camperland and ride the FlyingScooters all day and drink some PA beer.

:)

CoasterDemon said:
I look at the front page of this site, 6/10 of the headlines are all about CFair... Maybe a little consolidation? Ah forget it, I think I get it now.

Why don't you say what you really mean? Don't be shy.

jimvid: You've only explained why Conneaut is different, not why it deserves handouts.

^I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend. Sometimes I can have a big mouth, just the way I feel.

Differences in opinion give us something to talk about :) Would be a boring world if we all agreed...

I hope that this will answer your question Jeff:
it's really up to the those who live in that area to decide if they are going donate their money and/or time to save their heritage - and that is who the park is hitting up. The park has requested both money and volunteers in the past and the community has delivered. The community has felt it was important to preserve this part of their heritage. AND I don't look at as a handout, as the people who are giving their time and money obviously feel they are getting something back by trying to save something that makes their area special despite the extraordinary obstacles it has faced.

IMHO, I feel Conneaut deserves to be saved for history's sake. It has many unique features including a properly run tumble bug, a gravity pretzel ride, a beautiful carousel with a ring grab, a great (but bizarre) hotel, and (assuming that it runs again) an amazing Vettel coaster with amazing one-of-a-kind rolling stock. I think that these are all historically significant things that should be saved. Plus I've yet to find the atmosphere that Conneaut provides in many other venues. Again, that's my opinion.

For me it's an issue of passion - I do not want to see another historic amusement park that has the potential to be saved disappear. I make annual donations based on my passions to several historic amusement related charities as well as a number of humanitarian charities. If you don't feel Conneaut Lake Park is worth saving, then don't give them your money or time.

The problem when comparing historical privately-owned parks is, once again, location. Considering the comparision of Conneaut in its ok days (early 2000s) and Waldameer (Pre-RFII), they matched up very well in product. IMO, conneaut had more in regards to a major roller coaster, roll-o-plane, sky thriller, roundup, and tumble bug. However, Waldameer survived with location by Presque Isle in which Conneaut lake is a far cry from. Also, Waldameer did, when they had the money, was expanding their waterpark in the early 90s, which gave the two parks in one location. IMO, splash city is a joke and not a customer draw. Therefore, this brings another point, Conneaut is a historic melting pot, but the general public likes new and flashy. Unfortunately, Conneaut fell into legal problems when they had the funds, so new rides were out of the question. Now that their hole is dug, and older rides are disappearing, they cannot keep up with the demand for new things. Most people think the place is gone, and Waldameer has grown to be the best family park in the area.

This I believe is the truth. My gut says that history should never be lost, but since history doesn't lure the general public, the likelyhood of it being lost is high. For the history to be saved, another park is going to have to come forward for the rides and relocate.

After all they've been through, I just have a hard time believing that this is really the money that will get them over the hump.

Maybe it will get them out of the hump long enough for some people that have never enjoyed the Blue Streak to do so. If people get to ride, it will probably be worth it to the people that gave.

NewsPlusNotes said: To the longtime Conneaut Lake patron, perhaps the toughest pill to swallow is the condition of the park's main midway, the section of Park Avenue between Comstock Street and Lake Street. This stretch, once lined with concessions and bustling with activity, remains a shadow of its former self.

That was my Mom's experience last summer. She grew up with CLP. She had her first dance there and has lots of fond memories. But she went last summer and ended up feeling really sad to see the park in the condition it's in. She said she really would prefer the park stay closed than operate the way it was last summer.

jimvid said:
I hope that this will answer your question Jeff:
it's really up to the those who live in that area to decide if they are going donate their money and/or time to save their heritage - and that is who the park is hitting up.

To put this answer into nerdspeak, the people who live near the park may see a positive externality in the park's operation beyond the simple buying and selling of goods and services for profit.

In this case the externality could be historical significance, the fact that people just like having a local park, or some other benefit to society that isn't as clear to us folks that don't live there.

Parks are (generally) privately owned but they do undeniably provide some sort of public benefit beyond just pure commerce, so for CLP it's really a matter if the local government or grassroots organizations care enough to actually sustain the business. In the past it's generally looked like the answer has been "no" so who knows if this latest drive will work.

Then again I'm sure there are quite a few people on this board who would argue any business that can't sustain itself without intervention isn't legitimate to begin with, but that's a whole other pot of stew.

LostKause asked what Lakemont did differently. Well, the LTD was restored with donations as a separate entity. However, Lakemont Park insures the ride, buys parts, lumber, and staffs the ride. yes, they pay for everything. The donations would never cover expenses.

And considering the amount of money the US Government pisses away daily on these Obama programs, well, I would as soon give my loot to Conneaut Lake Park any day.

Thanks AJ. I'd like to point out that Lakemont makes money from the Leap-the-Dips by charging admission for patrons to ride the coaster.

LtD is really kind of cool. I've seen many older family members ride it, and reminisce about when they rode it when they were younger.

I'm not at all against Conneaut asking for donations, or "handout" as some have been calling it. It just seemed strange to me. I'm not very familiar with the park. If their campaign is successful, I'll be very happy about it, because, well, I am a coaster enthusiast.

The image of a closed down, rotting coaster awakens a sadness in me that is unexplainable. It reminds me that my childhood is not within my grasp anymore, and that the memories of those happy times are hazy, slowly fading away.

It seems to me that those who are supporting this are those who have visited the park before. From the photos that I have seen of the park over my lifetime, I have never felt compeled to pay Conneaut a visit. Maybe I would feel differently about the park asking for donations if I lived closer to them or had already visited.