Valleyfair announces new KidTrack program

Interesting. Cedar Point initiated the same program about a month ago, but while they have signs up in the park, I don't think they have made any kind of announcement about it.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

MiA also is using this program. I saw the signs for this yesterday when I was at the park.

DP announced it a little while back too.

On a slightly OT note...I just heard from an industry insider whose word I accept as law that next year's coaster will be built in the parking lot next to Challenge Park. This explains the lack of survey stakes and paint in the park. VF's website also includes a 'ticker tape' header that wasn't there a few weeks ago and their media page now cites a specific timeframe between a media alert and any media event (two weeks).

Buckle up, sports fans....

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Yes, Dorney just announced the same thing a month ago. While I see nothing in the park about it, it is all over their website. Must be a new CF thing. *** This post was edited by J2S on 7/31/2002. ***

Okay, not to be an assmunch or anything, but what ever happened to parent keeping up with their own snot-nosed brats? Is lost children that rampant in theme parks? I remember as a crumb-snatcher I had the fear of God instilled in me that if *I* managed to get myself lost, I was going to be left. (In actuallity, I did get lost once at DisneyLand and my pops was *very* nonchalant about it :)). But for the most part, cant people just hold on to their kids?

I see it all the time, and I know this will be racial, but so be it. I *keep* seeing white parents walking with their little children ( <7 years old) walking behind them. This was a HUGE no-no in my family and in most black families I know of. You HAD to walk in front of or directly to the side of the adult "So I can see you!" But this doesnt seem to be the case anymore as I have seen kids wandering around aimlessly whilst the "adults" (and I use the term loosely) meander off oblivious.

Those type of people need a good, old-fashioned, open-handed slap in the mouth!
jeremy

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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

When 'T' starts popping out little Hostyl Jrs. we'll share notes.

Kids of any race can just get caught up in the sights and sounds of the park and so can adults. It just happens that way.

For the record, I got lost an outrageous 5 times in one day during my first CP visit (1974) and was finally shoved in the Suburban while Dad took a nap for the ride home. I got lost twice in '75 and at least once in '76.

The next season, they quit with the 'all-together' crap and just started meeting us at various times and places.

Have I ever lost CBaby or Da Midget in seven years of park-hopping? In a word, no. But that's only because I remember how bad I was.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo. *** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 7/31/2002. ***

Times are a changin'. When I was younger, my mom would drop me and my younger brother and sister off at Geauga Lake with our annual pass. She would come back later in the day and pick us up.

In today's age of child abductions, you can't be too safe.

Yes, This system is also in place at Worlds of Fun, I'd guess at all Cedar Fair parks.

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Mamba;The inspiration for SD2K. It doesnt get much better than that. Come to the Midwest;and ride the most underrated coaster in the U.S.

Yeah, us white kids always trailed behind our parents.

Honestly, Jeremy, that was an unusually stupid thing for you to say.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, what am I gonna do with you?

Yeah, your statement was a little racial. So, just to let you know that this isn't just a white problem, I can think of many times, I've seen black kids running around without any parent within sight (white kids too).

I think this program is more of an assurance program than anything else. Recent events have parents nervous. I don't think that this is the admission of a problem, more of a proactive measure than anything else.

Hey...I thought I addressed the Hostyl statement already!

For those who didn't take my story in context, click my 'Info' link.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Why did this sink so low to a white/black thing? These days, I see poor parenting at an all time high in all races.

White / black thing? Never mind that--why does it have to equal a poor parenting thing? It's neither. It'a a 'stuff happens' thing.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Your right CPlaya, it is a "stuff happens" thing. I think people are just making sure that Jeremy understands this. I don't think anyone means to offend you. If I have, then I apologize.

If you wanna make a racial thing out of it, and you're talking about ambulatory kiddies mature enough to have a half a brain about them...and a possible reason the lost kid population tends to be unusually white...

It appears to me that these days, if you want to use a racial generalization, on the whole, the black kids are raised to be more self-reliant than the white kids, who seem to be the victims of a modern day excessive parentoia. Are white kids allowed to do anything by themselves before age 18 anymore? The result? The white kid who loses sight of Mom or Dad for a few seconds is a lost kid. The black kid who gets separated from Mom or Dad for a while isn't really lost, because, after all, they'll find each other eventually, and he isn't really lost until somebody starts looking for him... :)

(As a kid, I never got lost, I always knew exactly where I was. Now, Mom and Dad got lost from time to time... :) )

Actually, to go back to the topic at hand, KidTrack is nothing more than a formalization of a program parents have been using for decades, now made easier because so many people have portable phones.....!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Arrrrrrrggggghhh.....Just when you thought it was over, here comes Tito.

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It appears to me that these days, if you want to use a racial generalization...

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I gotta better idea....let's say we DON'T. White kids are generally lighter-skinned than black kids unless they get really really tanned, okay? There's a safe one.

Why can't we veer off-topic to VF's coaster rumors or something?

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

How about white kids account for a larger portion of the population? The Census Bureau can back that one up! :)

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

How about the fact that kids are more likely to be considered lost than grownups?

Just because they can walk into a gift shop and ask for a park map doesn't mean squat.

Thanks a lot, Jeremy. Go in your Daddy's closet and get him his big belt.

-'PlayaTang

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo. *** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 7/31/2002. ***

Oh, come on, Playa, you knew I had to get in on the action somehow... :)

But, to veer a little bit...to get entirely clear of the ethnic discussion and still stay on the topic at hand...does anybody have any thoughts on the current surge in parentoia that is bringing us things like kid tracking systems in selected waterparks, a percieved need for systems like KidTrack, and a whole generation of kids who never seem to go outside, who never participate in disorganized activity, and whose mommies and daddies won't allow them to be exposed to even minimal risk. Everything now has to be risk free, and preferrably, developmental in nature. I don't think anybody cares about "fun" anymore.

Ever thought about what that is doing to our culture? What it is doing to our coasters? If I am ever lucky enough to have children, I hope I can still give them some of the experiences I had as a kid without being packed off for child endangerment.....

--Dave Althoff, Jr.