October Cedar Point Trip #3

Even since before my road trip, a few of my friends had talked about going to Cedar Point for Halloweekends (in October, the park gets festive and has haunted areas, etc.).  Last year we planned on going, too, but the weather was terrible, so we didn’t.  This year, we kept an eye on the weather all week in preparation for the trip.  Unfortunately, there was forecast of a 70% chance of rain all night Friday, up through 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon.  At that time, my friends and I decided to abandon our plan and postpone it by a week, even though that meant I would be unable to go the next time.  I decided I would instead go the next day by myself.  At 5 p.m. I checked the weather forecast again and it indicated that Cedar Point would be clear and dry the entire evening.  What a kick in the teeth.  Then at 5:10 p.m. I got an e-mail from Cedar Point announcing that I could bring a friend with me that night and my friend would get admission at half-price.  Kick #2.

On Saturday, I drove to Cedar Point by myself.  I think I had some stuff to do in the evening, so I decided not to stay really long.  A little disappointed with last trip’s performance, I drove my Mazda Millenia – a medium-large sedan.  In hindsight, a small U-Haul truck would have been more appropriate.

I started out with my usual route, from the back of the park toward the front.  My first stop was at the Ladder Climb, where I bought three tries and won one of them, earning myself a rather modest-sized dog.  As you can see, I’d have preferred to either win something bigger or at least win more of them.

Next I went to the easy Bank-a-Ball.  My recollection is that I won that one fairly easily.

Then, having warmed up, I decided to try my hand at the more difficult Bank-a-Ball game.  On the way, I passed a sort of crappy arcade game that gives away small prizes to suckers who pay to play and succeed.  The only notable feature of this game is that the game operator is locked in the middle of the booth with a microphone hooked up to a sound system.  I’m pretty sure the primary purpose of this game is to allow for someone to yell things loudly while I try to concentrate on the adjacent Wacky Wire game.  This time, I noticed that the Bank-a-Ball game operator from last time was working that game, so I stopped by and said hello.  As I walked away, the sound system clicked on and I heard “We’re going to see that guy walking around with a giant gorilla later.”

Infused with confidence, I proceeded to the Bank-a-Ball game.  Remembering a tip from a carny at the Big E, I bought ten balls at once so that I could easily make adjustments after each throw without any interruption.  A new girl was working the booth, who hadn’t operated the game before and didn’t really know the rules.  She did not monitor my elbow placement at all and initially let some other players lean way over, but I played it honestly and finally won a giant gorilla, impressing some nearby teenagers who kindly took my picture.  I also caught her attention and told her the elbow-not-past-the-counter rule so she wouldn’t get in trouble for having tons of winners in one day.

After claiming my gorilla, I was somewhat overloaded with prizes, so I decided to to head back to the car.  On the way, a guy offered to buy it from me and asked how much.  I said twenty dollars, but he misheard me and replied “Three Dollars?  Sure!”  When I corrected him on the amount, he lost interest.  I continued on to the carousel sign, where I had my picture taken.

A group of kids came up and gawked at my winnings for a minute and then one kid offered to buy the gorilla.  I explained that it took me ten tries and the price was $20, which he accepted.  He then turned to his friend and said, “hey, I’ll pay you two dollars to carry this around for me all day.”  Another kid in the group asked if I’d win one for him and I said I could probably win another in ten tries and would be happy to try, if he wanted to pay for it.  He ended up not wanting to.

I dropped my remaining prizes in the trunk of the car and returned for more, having earned back most of my previous expenditures.

My first stop was at the other ladder climb game.  I had a score to settle, after my embarrassing performance the previous time.  I paid for three attempts and came close on the first attempt and won on the second attempt, feeling pretty controlled when I reached the top and hit the buzzer.  On my third attempt, I got near the top and realized that on my previous try, I had knocked the buzzer way out of reach (it hangs down on a pole, which can swing), which caused me to pause, lose my balance, and fall.  I pointed it out to the operator and he agreed to let me to try it over.  On my last attempt, I focused in a little on the valuable advice I’d received on the earlier try.  I climbed up the ladder in perfect balance, paused and stood comfortably at the top, and reached out and touched the buzzer.  The game operator congratulated me and said, “why didn’t you just do that last time?”  My performance was so good, I think I might be ready for the big leagues, i.e., the more difficult ladders featured at every other park.

For whatever reason, the prizes at this ladder climb game were way better than the other one.  A couple boys and their parents were impressed by my winnings and asked me about the game.  I gave some general tips on it and then gave my additional valuable tip and the boys both tried a couple times.  It really comes down to balance and practice more than tips, though – they didn’t win.  But the thrill of trying and thinking you have a legitimate chance of winning is pretty exciting, and the parents played it up a little, encouraging their sons to mind my advice.

While they were playing, I got the parents to take my picture.  I also offered then one of my giant dogs, if they wanted it.  They gratefully accepted and the mother hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, calling me “really, really good-looking.”  Or maybe it was “generous.”  I don’t remember exactly.  But it was nice to not only make some people very happy, but also get rid of a prize I was unlikely to be able to fit in my car.

Returning back to the main Midway, I made another stop at the easy Bank-a-Ball game.  There was a group of guys trying to win, but not having very much success.  I stepped up next to them and won it on the first or second try.  One of the guys offered me $5 or something for the prize, which I accepted.  I started to leave, walking alongside one of the kids in the group and explaining how to win the game (he asked) when the prize-purchaser realized that the stuffed monkey was defective – a seam was split and it was spilling little foam pellets.  He went back to the booth to exchange it, which reminded me that I’d forgotten to get a picture, so I chased after him and got him to take a picture of me with the prize.

Finally, I was almost ready to leave, but I decided to stop by the more difficult Bank-a-Ball game again.  When I got there, there was a crowd of men and women in their mid-twenties or early thirties watching the game and debating about participating.  Someone asked some question about it and I chimed in to one of them something about how to win the game.  He then turned and said, “Hey, this guy’s about to play and seems to know what he’s talking about, so let’s watch him do it.”  Again, I bought ten balls and threw a couple of close ones before winning on my seventh or eighth ball.  Then, being the honest guy that I am, I admitted to having won earlier and thus reached my two-prize daily limit for the game.  I threw the last couple for practice and came close, but didn’t win.

The group watching was pretty impressed, but I also think they may have realized that I had had a lot of practice and that if I couldn’t do better than one out of ten, they were not very likely to win.  I think I mentioned that there was an easier version around the corner.  We chatted for a little bit while the manager went to get my giant gorilla and I explained the trip I had taken..  When the gorilla arrived, everyone was amazed at how large it was – they look far larger on the ground than they do hanging in the booth.  Someone asked me what I was going to do with the gorilla and I said I was going to struggle and struggle and struggle to jam it into my car and then hopefully drive home safely, but probably donate it to Toys for Tots afterwards.  They commented approvingly of this plan.  I would have been happy to give it to one of them, but I think my Toys for Tots comment discouraged them from expressing interest in taking it.

I ended up giving away a few of my prizes to my friends when I got home.  I sold a couple at reasonable prices on Craigslist, having found that people are unreliable in commitments to accept free stuff.  The exception was this one guy, who was very enthusiastic about taking a couple of them off my hands.

Then Toys-for-Tots donation centers opened up a bit later and I took several winnings over there, after a little bit of a run-around and misinformation from the Toys-for-Tots website.  The first toy drop-off I went to I walked up and said hello to a woman walking down the driveway.  Then I approached the apartment building to find it was totally locked up, with no main office or anything.  As I returned to my car, the same woman walked over, very friendly still, and asked what I had in the back seat, explaining that she didn’t mean to be nosy.  I told her about my carnival winnings and my plan to give them to toys for tots.  She mentioned she’d seen the giant Scruffy Doo (like Scooby Doo, but not licensed) and thought her daughter would love it.  I took the bait and offered it too her and she very graciously accepted.  She was very happy to have it and I couldn’t have thought of a better use for it.

Then I continued on to the next drop-off point on my list, “Adalon Housing.”  I pulled into where I thought it might be, didn’t see any signs or marking of the address, but I did notice a van that said “Avalon Housing” and had a phone number on the side.  I called the number and a woman explained that there was no sign and it was hard to find, but she’d come out to the corner to meet me and show me to the office.  That worked well enough and I disposed of the last of my prizes there.

Thus ends the 2009 carnival gaming.  This was a fantastic end to my tour.  I think I can honestly declare myself a competent player in Bank-a-Ball, Wacky Wire and the Ladder Climb.  If anyone knows of any good amusement parks, carnivals or boardwalks open in the winter, let me know.  Maybe I’ll fly in for a visit and win you a giant bear.