-----------------
Goodbye...
I *know* you didn't just say Indiana Beach and Holiday World aren't great parks.
I just know you didn't. :-p
-----------------
Fiesta Fest Weakest Link contestant wannabe.
They are, but compared to the big 3, its not even close.
Dont wanna start any wars here, but the big 3 are destination resorts and those parks in Indiana are more regional
-----------------
Goodbye...
-----------------
Goodbye...
-----------------
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
Geauga Lake and Coney Island are trolley park survivors. As everyone knows, Coney Island moved in the 70's to become Kings Island due to flooding and expansion issues.
Geauga Lake survuved as a group picnic park, and was the favored park of Cleveland. Cedar Point, as its been repeated again and again, was around since like the mid 1800's as a resort. The Great Lakes at one time were a favored vacation spot, as this was before Orlando, Hawaii, and the other spots took over.
As what happened over the 60's was the intervention of the Ohio Turnpike, and other interstates that allowed the parks to come inot their own. And the parks responded accordingly. They all know their place and have never challenged the Orlando parks in any category. They know they have the summer to make or break the bankroll.
Geauga Lake leased property to Sea World. Kings Island built a hotel, campground, NCAA Hall of Fame, and a golf course, and pushed for zoning for the Beach to be built. And Cedar Point has pretty much written the rules on seasonal hotel operations and packages.
Michigan's big claim to fame isn't amusement parks, but the lake resorts.
Really?
-----------------
Goodbye...
Yesterday while in line for Raptor the op was asking the station where people were from, far more people from Michigan than Ohio because there are so many parks in Ohio.
Anyway I think the answer to why so many parks is the shear number of people who live in the great lakes region or even along the shore of Lake Erie. I have always figured Cedar Point draw a crowd from aound 20 Million people.
Detroit, Toledo, Ft. Wayne, Cleveland, and Columbus are just a few of the larger cities it draws from. With Ft. Wayne and Toledo being the smallest and each of those with quite a few 100 Thousand metro area. Detroit has a few million metro, so does Cleveland, and So does Columbus. Add all the in between areas, (Myself Included) and you can see why things are the way they are.
Michigan doesn't need a big park as most of the people live in South easter and Central Michigan and all these areas are within 3 hours of CP.
MIA draws from the western side of the state as Does Great America. Anyway Michigan and Ohio are the 5 and 6th largest states population wiee. SFWOA has ad a huge advertising campaign in Michigan now as they KNOW we all go to CP every year andyway, why not go to SFWOA instead.
I have lived in Michigan all my life and for our area of SE MI Cedar Point has been a Summer Tradition for 40 years. I think that is why MI as no huge park. As For Indiana they have IB, SFKK, SFGAM, HolidayWorld and PKI not too far away, at least one of those is within a couple hours drive of anywere in Indiana.
-----------------
The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
Jus another thing, I have always thought Traverse City would be a geat plae for a park as so many people go that way every summer. But I guess thats really not to far from Muskegon, anyway there is a reason te number one indusry of Michigan is not cars but Tourism and all this plus the fact that you don't pass through Michigan to get to somewhere else because it is surrounded by water. You only go to Michigan if you have a reason too.
-----------------
The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
-----------------
He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.
CP opened in (guesstimate) around 1860ish and SFWoA opened in 1888, im not sure when Coney Island opened, but PKI was opened around 1972ish. The ohio parks were not meant to be a destination resort like Disney, but just local parks that kept growing and growing.
Besides coasters Ohio is mediocre for just abput everything else. Bad football, ok baseball (indians went downhill...again), bad hockey, bad soccer and don't even get me started on basketball. Skiing is bad, gotta go 3 hours for good hills. The lake is okay, but nothing like an ocean. Bad rivers for kyaking. Rock & Roll hall of fame is pretty cool, so is the science center. Ohio should advertise, "Amusement Parks & Museums!!"
-----------------
HurricaneGeauga- Just in case
Where do you get Six? I count Cleveland, Columbus , and Cincinatti. The Next closest would be Toledo and Dayton and neither of those have over a million people.
The Largest Metro Area in Michigan is twice as large as the largest in Ohio. Also the population of Ohio and Michigan is nearly identical. Ohio beast Michigan by a couple ten thousand.
-----------------
The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 5/17/2002. ***
-----------------
Proud CB club member
Detroit is considerably larger then Cleveland. The sprawl is unreal. It's one city from Toledo to Flint and Throw in Ann Arbor, Ypsylanti, Dearborn etc etc. At least 5 Million people are in the DTW Metro area. The population of both states is nearly equal. Ohio has some great attractions and Ste Parks BTW. Hocking Hils is very cool, they have the AF Museum. Great Art Museums, The Toledo Zoo is one of the best in the country, COSI at Columbus and Toledo along with many other great things.
I have always said I live in Michigan but am from Ohio. I know more about Western Ohio than any part of Michigan. And I live just 5 miles from Ohio and 10 from Indiana. I call myslef a Hoosierbuckerine LOL
-----------------
The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 5/17/2002. ***
-----------------
Goodbye...
-----------------
Goodbye...
You must be logged in to post