Cedar Point – Water Park
Pokémon. Gotta catch ‘em all, right? Why does a 32 year old geek still feel the need to accept such a quest? Because who doesn’t like finding a Pikachu in the booze section of a grocery store on a lunch break, am I right? Pokémon GO was unleashed on the world last week and has swiftly taken over the lives of the young and not-so-young. The game is truly addictive, even if it isn’t truly as innovative as it seems upon launching the app on your phone. There is a certain level of charm surrounding the cute little monsters already and when paired with people’s obsessive nature and desire to collect all of them; it is a force to be reckoned with. Look around you, trainers are everywhere and they’re easy to spot. They have their eyes plastered to their phone’s screen and wear the grin of a five year old on their face.
On to the meat of the discussion this week: theme/amusement parks. Craig Layne joins this week to chat with Andrew about his recent adventures at Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Carowinds. Andrew is a Kings Island season pass holder and spent some time recently in Orlando at Walt Disney World. The discussion started with a comparison of the three Cedar Fair Parks, starting with Cedar Point.
Cedar Point is clearly the crown jewel of Cedar Fair Amusements, outside of their year round park in California, Knott’s Berry Farm. Known as the roller coaster capitol of the world, the park is known for high-speed thrills and towering lift-hills. Craig spent a day there recently and experienced a taste of the post-apocalyptic world when a storm blew through, rendering the park power-less for most of the late-afternoon.
Cedar Point Power Failure #CPblackout
Carowinds is a distinctive park due to the fact that is sits squarely on the border of North and South Carolina. You can ride rides and be in two places simultaneously. The park also is home to the new behemoth of a steel coaster, Fury 325. Is the thrill of the newer record breaking ride enough to overcome the apathetic park staff?
Fury 325 – Carowinds
Kings Island Is both Craig and Andrew’s home turf; a former theme park that still claims to be one, but has slipped into the “thrill” mentality of the above mentioned Cedar Fair parks. The land marks in the park still exist, the specific areas of the park still exist, but the attention to the small details make each location blend in with the next, resulting in an identity crisis.
Kings Island – Eiffel Tower
To wrap the conversation, the guys talk a bit about Universal Studios and Magic Kingdom in Orlando and compare how those parks work and the rides themselves with the Midwestern parks. Why are the experiences so different? Maybe they are supposed to be? Listen in and come to your own conclusions.