Why is CP still advertising TTD?

I sense the majority of responders believe the following general scenerio:

This is a new ride (specifically an Intamin) that pushes the limits of technology! Therefore we should expect that mechanical breakdowns are probable! As an enthusisast I REALLY should know this since I am well aware of the history of these types of situations (Xcelerator, SOB, etc...)! Therefore, I should not complain!

I agree with the sentiment desribed above 100%! I knew before coming to Coastermania that there was a good chance I would not ride TTD! Therefore I accept resonsibility for my role in the disappointment!

Can some of you CP defenders please explain to me how, as enthusiasts, we are supposed to be aware of probable breakdowns, and shrug it off when they happen as "just the way it is?" All the while, Cedarfair who makes a living off building and marketing amusement rides, advertises and continues to advertise a machine that they too, had to know, would in all probability, suffer excessive downtime! Cedarfair knows the history of these rides just as much as enthusiasts do! They have made the decision to advertise and continue advertising this thing!

There is no way any intellectually honest person can pawn this off as just an innocent mistake that we should accept without question! Cedarfair knows exactly what they are doing. They had every reason to expect problems with TTD prior to purchasing advertisement for it. They certainly know that this thing is a mechanical nightmare at this point of time and will continue to be so in the forseeable future! They still keep churning the nationwide add campaign!

I accept the breakdown as a problem that plagues most rides of this type! I accept the $1200 I spent on the trip to Coastermainia. I've asked nothing from CP in the way of compensation, nor should I deserve anything from them as they cannot control the mechanical difficulties! However, they can control when, where, and how to advertise TTD! Cedarfair needs to accept some responsibility for their deceptive advertisements that would lead any reasonable person to believe this thing is up and operating at their park! Even the few days this ride has operated, it has spent as much time down as up! Cedarfair knows this and chooses to do nothing about it!

As enthusiasts we can and should make every effort to support parks that build the rides we love! I commend CP for pushing the envelope on a relatively biannual basis! However, their behavior with respect to the entire marketing of TTD prior to the season beginning, and clear up to the present is terrible! It is rude and deceitful and it deserves to be called out!

As coaster lovers we are supposed to accept and expect these mechanical failures. Well Cedarfair has forgotten more about coasters than I will ever know! They should accept and expect these mechanical failures and advertise/market accordingly! It is a shame that they are taking advantage of the GP who honestly think they are coming to CP to ride TTD! The odds of that happening are well below 25% based upon the history of this ride and Xcelerator before it! Let us see them put that stat in the marketing campaign!!!

P.S. I gave the TTD passes to another coastermania local! If I had them I would mail them to you though! :-)

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Give me wood or give me B&M! :-)
(330 plus and rising)

I agree with the last thing you said, but how is CP supposed to do that? It would be a complete waste of money if for less than 2 weeks, using a commercial type adverstisement. Obviously, if they keep running the commercials, then they expect the ride to be up soon...hopefuly...

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LeWiS

I think we're making too much of this situation. The way I see it, EVERY park is going to advertise their new roller coaster. EVERY park knows that their new roller coaster is going to experience downtime (in some cases, significant downtime). It just seems to me that this is more of a CP bashing rant, than anything else. If you're going to fault CP for still advertising TTD, you need to fault EVERY park for advertising their new roller coaster EACH AND EVERY year.

I've never seen any ads for TTD over here in Jersey, but I'm just assuming that there is nothing in any advertisement that says, "We guarantee this ride will be open when you visit us." So until there's an ad that says that, I don't think anyone has any right to complain about advertising. This IS a business, and I see nothing wrong with what they or any other amusement park does in advertising a new coaster.

~Juan, who hates the WB for showing commercials which make me think the show is going to be much better than it really is! =)

i here ya it sucks, i flew out from long island,ny to see dragster during coastermania .it blows that it did not open but what are you going to do thats life.at least they gave freeway passes to cut the lines when it does open again.

I don't think anyone has any right to complain about advertising. This IS a business, and I see nothing wrong with what they or any other amusement park does in advertising a new coaster.

Juan, this is the problem. Let's say you're watching tv and you see an ad for Matrix: The Musical on Broadway. In the ads you see Keannu Reaves going through the motions. Come see Keannu live on stage, the ad goes.

You buy your ticket. Sure enough, Keannu's cramped up backstage. And there's no understudy. There's no Neo character at all to take his place. If you're a Matrix fan you're going to dig the play. Well, save for the third musical interlude. But you realize that it's not what you paid for. Was this a one day fluke? Because that's natural. No, he hasn't been on stage since last Wednesday, and over the past few weeks he was in half the time, he'd forget his lines, his performance was really more like a dress rehearsal the few times he did show up on stage.

At what point do you draw the line and belt out "Shenanigans" because you're not getting what was advertised and the theater company has known this for a month and still won't pull Neo from the ads.

You're saying that the park has every right to advertise its newest coaster? Yes, and more than half of the time that coaster has been Wicked Twister.

Do you really think that the average person who is exposed to the ad realizes what's been going on with the coaster? Cedar Point is a great park. It'd be a great park even if TTD became the next drummer for Spinal Tap. That's why it's surprising to see the ads continue. CP is much better than that.

Jeffrey: Cedar Fair understands good, fundamental business. It is not good business to intentionally sell something you can't deliver, and they know this. There is no deceitful intent. The big bad corporation is not out to screw you or anyone else.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Ah, this week on words to live by,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final break run wiping tears from your eyes"-me

If a ride is going to be down for a short period, it is unreasonable to expect a park to pull the adds. If a ride is going to be down for the season, they should change the adds. It's difficult to say where the break point is. I have seen parks abuse things by continuing to advertise a ride that is not expected to be operational for months. I certainly can't fault a park that continues to run adds when the ride will be down for a week or less. By the time people respond the add and go to the park, it will likely be up anyway.

The key point here is that TTD is broken, but construction is finished and it has run. Pulling ads won't make much difference with public perception, since TTD was advertised before the breakdown. People's expectations are that the ride is open for 2003. If they would have pulled the ads for two weeks, most people who have seen the ads before that time would still have the expectation of riding. I would totally agree with the original poster if the ride was still under construction, but that is clearly not the case here.

As far as advertising goes, Deja Vu is all over SFGAM map and brochure they hand out when you get their and they knew it wasnt going to be running for a while. Who knows when that thing will ever run again. They could have put Raging Bull on the brochure instead.
*** This post was edited by Tuffy303 6/13/2003 10:53:10 AM ***

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Paris said:But why would CP have any reason to believe that the ride will be running reliably any time soon?

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Simple, because the ride has run more and more reliably following each fix.

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

"because the ride has run more and more reliably following each fix."

This could become Cedar Point's new advertising slogan for the rest of the 2003! {TTD---It is Big---It is fast---It is broken most of the time---but.........you should come to Cedar Point and hope to get on TTD "because the ride has run more and more reliably following each fix."}

Sorry...I just couldn't help myself! It is obvious TCKR that you will defend CP until the end! I respect your right to do so! We just disagree on this one! Is there any action or inaction that the officials at CP could take that would make you doubt their sincerity in the least? Or is only the actions of whiner enthusiasts such as myself open to scrutiny? Is there any situation in which you might think the park has crossed an ethical line in their attempts to draw more people park through their advertising? Are they free to do whatever they want? At which point do we paying customers have the right to voice a concern? I've called the park and asked for an explanation as to why they are still advertising a ride that they themselves admit has no indication of reliable operations in the near future! Their own employees agree that it is rude and ridiculous that the advertisements continue! They have no answer for my reasonable question. They just ask me to fill out paperwork for a complaint! Their own employees agree it is rude and wrong, yet you still defend them! Do you work for Cedarfair? Why would you defend their actions at all costs? I know they have done some great things in the past and have a good collection of steel coasters! Is this enough reason to give them a free pass on any actions they may make now or in the future? We whiner enthusiasts must just expect too much....Like how dare us expect that a product a company is advertising nationwide actually operates even 1/2 the time!

All in all I would admit that Cedarfair has been one of the better corporate parks out there in terms of PR and customer service! They really have screwed up on this one though! This is just my firm opinion! Some obviously hold firm opinions on the other side. No disrespect meant here...just a strong argument from my point of view! They really have upset me with this one! Believe me, this is no CP or Cedarfair bashing, I would say the same if this was any other park doing the same actions!

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Give me wood or give me B&M! :-)
(330 plus and rising

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Give me wood or give me B&M! :-)
(330 plus and rising)

I have just read a report that TTD is now in the testing stage and the trains are clearing the top hat! No joke, I got a message from a friend who emailed me the story. I'll try to post the link.

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YOUNGSTOWN 2010

Jeffrey: What kind of answer do you think you're going to get? You don't call a business to put them on trial and expect them to agree with you. I'd consider it rude and I'd probably hang up on you.

And for the record, the ride at the very least tested today, though I haven't heard if it ran with people.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Jeffrey, let it go. I think you're getting way too emotional over the issue, although $1200 is a lot of money. As Jeff said, you went to Coastermania in lieu of advertising. I understand your concern for other patrons, but if you read any park map brochure there's always a disclaimer that certain rides may be closed, including new ones. There's certainly no malice on CP's part, and I'm sure they have been working their butts off to get the ride reopened. I think you've made your point pretty clear. There's no need to rehash the same points over and over again.
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If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.

I'm more than willing to let this go! I've said it before and I'll say it again---they have got me by the neck---where else can I go to get 120 mph?? I'll be back! I'm already saving money to get a late fall trip to Cleveland to catch the Browns and hopefully ride this thing! What can I do? I'm hooked on speed! I'm really not that emotional at all! I had a fine time at coastermania and never complained once for the entire weekend! I stayed through Sunday am! This is not a money or 'fun" issue at all! It is not a breakdown issue! I accept it all with a grain of salt! I became upset when I returned home an saw continued advertisement for TTD. My brother and friend confirm that they have seen advertisements for this ride in Tennessee and Indiana! This is what bothered me! I called the park and asked them why they continued to advertise. I was not confrontational at all! I explained to them that my perception and many of the people I talked to was that they were advertising for a service/product that they could not deliver at this time. There was and is no hostility. Their representative was understanding and even reported that she agreed with me! I love rollercoasters and hope only the best for CP! I think feedback from customers is needed so they can learn from their mistakes! It is my opinion that they are making a big mistake with respect to TTD marketing! Apparently some of you think I am emotional and rude on this issue! I think the perception comes from the nature of written expression! If you were talking to me in person, you would see that I am actually just going about my business and stating my opinion. As others respond with their opinions, I interact! I thought that was what coaster boards were all about?? We can discuss and disagree on coaster-related issues! In the end, we all share the same love....don't we? :-)

Hey Jeff...as far as your quote:

"You don't call a business to put them on trial and expect them to agree with you. I'd consider it rude and I'd probably hang up on you."

You must have misunderstood...I wrote:

"Their own employees agree that it is rude and ridiculous that the advertisements continue!"

They don't think I am being rude at all! In fact they agree that the ads should not be running! However, they are just hired to do a PR job! I understand that! In my opinion, you have to really try hard to defend the unethical actions presently happening with respect to TTD! You have every right to think I am a "rude" person for my actions! I personally don't see how asking a company why they are advertising an opportunity to utilize a product that does not exist is "rude"! That line of thinking seems backwards to me. But hey, they are Cedarfair and I'm just an enthusiast! What would I know about being rude? I happen to believe that the rude party in this case is Cedarfair! They continue to mislead...........I've been through it time and time again...no need to say it again! Apparently you disagree. That is your right! As I said to TCKR...we'll just have to agree to disagree!

Peace, love, and happy coastering to all! :-)

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Give me wood or give me B&M! :-)
(330 plus and rising)

You know, a speeding ticket for 120 mph is probably cheaper...

lol Comatose...

Anyways, this seems like your mad about your weekend and that you didn't get to ride TTD. Your only taking it out on the advertising thing because that is really the only last thing anyone could complain about and you already flat out stated that you weren't mad you didn't get to ride TTD, even though that seems to be the problem. It also seems you didn't want to complain about it not being open because that event had been discussed to death and you didn't want to get flamed. That's all it looks like to me though...

If it is your case, there is nothing wrong being mad about not riding TTD because you have every right to be. I'm not saying your lying about what your angry about, but the advertising thing isn't something people get furious and call the park and complain about. I all honesty, I DO hope you get to ride it later this year, and have fun doing so.

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LeWiS

Off topic comment: archived photo as of now (look at timestamp on post) shows a train traveling down the spiral. They have definetly resumed testing procedures.

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Well, I used to be able to see TTD from my house, then I moved.
Life's not fair.

I think everyone should get over coastermania. We had the same problem last year with WT. This year everyone was able to ride WT, so next year everyone will beable to ride TTD! After all CP still has 15 other coasters to ride.