What's going wrong at Cedar Point?

They wouldn't send Disaster Transport to Knotts...SFMM had a ride like that a decade before! Oh, wait...never mind ;)

Jeffrey Seifert said:

I also think part of the reason it gets mentioned so often is the fact that it is just plain concrete. Most parks of this caliber have their walkways, particularly the main areas just inside the gate, covered with pavers, sprayed with gunite or use something with a texture like stamped concrete or asphalt. These are less garish and noticeable than plain old concrete and tend to make the area look much more aesthetically pleasing.

Jurassic Park at IoA has an abundance of concrete... very well done.

Of course it's also loaded with tropical vegetation, so... ;)

I like Disaster Transport. I could see Mean Streak and Corkscrew heading out before DT. Although I don't see anything wrong, as few as fun factor, with Mantis, it takes up a lot of space.

As far as the vast wasteland of concrete is concerned, I feel that their is a lot, especially around the back Skyride station and the Train station. With a park that can get as busy as Cedar Point, the wide paths, especially along the main midway from the main entrance to the back Skyride station, seems somewhat necessary.

...And yes, I agree that their are areas in the park without shade. Even Kings Islands "main midway", International Street, offers an abundance of shade trees.

A lot of other parks don't have a large, straight walkway like Cedar Point does, with the exception of the former Paramount parks. Would CP's main midway seem as wide if it winded around more and you couldn't see so far ahead?

Edited to add - this is the amusement park type stuff that I enjoy the most. The artistic direction of the layouts is what got me so interested in amusement parks in the first place.

If CP used different textures or patterens in the cement, it wouldn't seem as dull.

Or they could break up that sea of cement with a few, well-placed, aesthetically pleasing decorations. Say, some type of structure that offered cooling and shade....perhaps with some natural looking, leafy-like decor.

Hmmm. Nope. Can't think of what it might be.

You mean "trees?" :) I think some well-placed checked flag canopies would look good by TTD.

Do you know why you think $97.00 is a value? It's because the product quality is excellent. Whereas you (the GP) pays $45 for a CP day pass and feel gypped, to a degree. If the quality is crapola, they the price won't matter.

LuvRaptor said:

That is pretty funny considering when I was at Knotts last week they were still expecting Demon Drop! :)

Yeah, but then all those Los Angelenos had to get all hoity-toity and uppity-nosed. Now they're not getting Demon Dick for 2010! Looks like they'll have to settle for a new steelie at SFMM, a massive renovation of DCA and the expansion of Legoland down the road a'piece.

Poor bastards. ;)

Jeffrey Seifert said:
When you look at a satellite photo you can see there is quite a bit in the main midway, the midway leading to the train station, and the Oceana Midway... I also think part of the reason it gets mentioned so often is the fact that it is just plain concrete.

All of these areas are bordered by trees, in some cases trees that are older than most other parks. The main midway has trees right down the middle of it. I don't understand what point is trying to be made. Shall 3 million guests a year be required to swing from tree to tree? The midways are crowded enough.

And it's no longer "plain concrete." Maybe you haven't been there lately, but pavers can be found everywhere now, along with the formed and colored concrete. It has been part of every renovation in the last ten years.

Plus from the looks of things, the satellite capture was done in the fall. Things tend to look a lot more desolate with no leaves.

I go every year. Pavers everywhere? Please refresh my memory. Where are the pavers on the main midway or the midway between Iron Dragon and Wildcat, or in front of Wicked Twister?

What trees are in the middle of the midway? There are beautiful gardens with shrub like trees, but very little that offer any shade. Let's take a walk from the entrance. First you pass a small semi-circle garden--no trees, then the carousel, a small oval garden also without trees, then midway market and the gift shop, then the skyride station, then two more gardens without trees, including the garden with a design in it. Raptor is on the left, that whole area was bulldozed when it was built, so no large trees there, then Cedar Downs and the coliseum. Once you get past Cedar Downs there are lots of large trees in the Cadillac cars area, but that's pretty much it. Next to the coliseum is the snoopy boutique (the old earthquake ride)--again no trees. Then you get to the pagoda and other skyride station which is a huge concrete area all devoid of trees. If you don't remember, just take a look at the satellite photo and follow along. The photo I linked to was not taken in the fall, clearly what few trees are present are green and in full leaf.

Here are a few more photos:
http://www.cedarpoint.com/_upload/groups/midway04.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2637/4010302038_fb65baabfe.jpg

How can you not see the sea of mismatched concrete?

I'll agree that in many of the newer areas they've made an attempt to break up the concrete (literally and figuratively), but there's still plenty of plain old concrete out there, so it should not come as surprise when people make mention of it.

I've always thought that the area around the 'split' in the midways was an overly large open area that could probably benefit from a few trees without unduly impacting traffic flow. Of course, you have to watch out not to impede sight lines for the Summer Spec-Whatever It Is They're Calling It Now.

The side area behind Raptor and in front of Blue Streak has also been somewhat of an eyesore for the last decade or so. I had been hoping they would have moved the 'ball' fountain to that location, just to break things up. This is definitely one area that could benefit from the addition of 'charm' without hurting the little foot traffic they get back there.

The main midway itself is more problematic. This is the area that gets the heaviest, densest flow, and is also one of the areas that is most constrained by existing structures. Even if you sacrifice some of the central gardens (which I'm not advocating), you would have to plant trees with lower height maximums or keep other species pruned back (on account of those colorful gondolas floating overhead). There really isn't much the park can do about this area.

I wish that CP had been a little more judicious with the landscaping in some of the recent modifications to the front of the park. I'm thinking specifically of Planet Snoopy, which in its previous Peanuts Playground incarnation had a number of older, stately trees that were cut down and not replaced. Also, the refurbishment of the games along the right (as viewed from the park entrance) side of the main midway. Yes, I liked the new game booths with their music-synced lighting package. But the trees they cut down to put those in were older and (somewhat) taller; it will take many years for the saplings they put in their places to fill out.

Jeff said:

All of these areas are bordered by trees, in some cases trees that are older than most other parks. The main midway has trees right down the middle of it. I don't understand what point is trying to be made. Shall 3 million guests a year be required to swing from tree to tree? The midways are crowded enough.

The problem here is there's a discrepancy between what a concrete jungle is. I see the giant open area attached to there more as a concrete jungle. Difference is that some of these spaces are needed. The space from the main stretch to the rail station is pretty much needed for the laser/fireworks/etc show. But other places would benefit from a small redesign and some additional focal work. People notice the wide open areas because their eye is pulled down the midways, not broken up into more digestible chunks.

Two good examples of areas that have lots of open areas for viewing that have been broken up better is Main Street at WDW and the new WoC areas at DCA. Main Street uses low level trees, breaking up pavement by using curbs and different pavements, light poles, etc etc. The main walkway at CP up to the last sky ride station does this well (minus the the pavement). This falls apart on the way to the rail station. Since this is a performance avenue it should be more open, but DCA has changed this by putting in a well designed amphitheater separated by a small bank of trees from the main walkway, and by curving all the pathways, making it hard to focus down a straight pathway. The same can be applied to the walkway next to Wicked Twister.

CP doesn't have more pavement or more open areas than any other park, they just need to design them better.

(if any of this is confusing I'm in the middle of packing and tv)

You're in the middle of a tv?!!?! Good god, man! Do you need the Jaws of Life? We'll get you out of there -- whatever you do, don't panic! ;)

-- Ensign, who has been too serious for too long today.

Ensign Smith said:
You're in the middle of a tv?!!?! Good god, man! Do you need the Jaws of Life? We'll get you out of there -- whatever you do, don't panic! ;)

-- Ensign, who has been too serious for too long today.

Law & Order is so *gripping* :-P

Jeffrey Seifert said:
.....The photo I linked to was not taken in the fall, clearly what few trees are present are green and in full leaf.....

My bad, I was looking at a different link..

Jeffrey Seifert said:
I go every year. Pavers everywhere? Please refresh my memory. Where are the pavers on the main midway or the midway between Iron Dragon and Wildcat, or in front of Wicked Twister?

The main midway at the water fountains was entirely replaced, and is mostly pavers now. The area in front of the Coliseum building is all pavers. When they did the maXair midway, they added trees and used a combination of straight and formed concrete.

The midway between Iron Dragon and Wildcat is where they do the night time show. What do you expect to be there?

The trees on the Wicked Twister midway are a hundred feet tall, in clusters in the middle. Those adjacent to the Coliseum are slightly smaller, and those between the WT queue and giant wheel are also young, but tall enough to provide shade.

What trees are in the middle of the midway? ...but there's still plenty of plain old concrete out there, so it should not come as surprise when people make mention of it.

The trees along the games side of the midway are large, and those across from the fries joint are almost tall enough to be trimmed under the Sky Ride. There are some gardens, which are not concrete. Then there are trees along the side with the antique cars that are always in shade.

Again, I think you see what you want to see. Either you're expecting a jungle canopy over every midway or expect people to swing from trees. Either way, I don't see how any of the park's current state detracts from it or is "something wrong" to bring it back to the topic.

^In all fairness, the large concrete areas do have a purpose. I understand that. Geez, we were calling it concrete point back in '92 though...

I guess I'm also thinking about the mass land clearings everytime something goes in. The loss of 'charm' that some of us really love. Dorney used to be such a nice charming place. Now it's a little point. Just boring I guess.

No one is expecting a jungle canopy, nor is anyone denying that there are plenty of large trees. But when you try to pretend that large areas of treeless concrete do not exist, don't act surprised when people post evidence to the contrary--whether it is on topic or not.

Super, but for what purpose? I'll ask again, is it something that's "wrong" with Cedar Point? I can show you evidence of where there are restrooms too, so what?

I think it's nonsense when it comes to Dorney as well, but whatever.