What EXPERIENCES have you paid for?

Hi Gordon,

I'm trying to think of experiences people pay for that are not necessarily travel related. I'm also from cuyahoga falls, and I know a lot of my friends go to the old Mansfield prison for their ghost tours.

What about dinner theaters, like the cabaret, except on a smaller sale? Or the local renaissance fairs where everyone dresses up and plays the part? Civil war reenactments? The Christmas decorations tour at Stan Hewitt?

In hocking county there's the Zip lines...

Just a few quick ides of the top of my head.

Originally Posted by GordonJ

In a discussion today, we spoke of EXPERIENCES, like the people paying a couple of hundred bux in Vegas to play with heavy equipment...

We had a list of several things we did between us including...

Hang Glider
Real Glider
Bungee
Shooting an AK47 (yea, you can pay a couple hundred at some ranges and fire away)
And many other EXPERIENCES.

I mentioned the Big money ones, like a Tony Robbins seminar on his island...for 10 or 15 grand...and we discussed the BOOMING CHINESE RICH...who are seeking experiences here in USA.
'
Í am looking for the 200 to 300 dollar range experiences which you might have done...like the donkey ride into the Grand Canyon.

I'll share a couple later, which I think might be good money makers for any locale...but until then,

what experiences have you paid for?

Gordon

[GordonJ]

Hey Nick,

Things are pretty soggy here...about 5 days of rain...crappy Labor day.

Thanks for reminder. The Mansfield Prison, I haven't done it but my kids have...right after some movie Blair Witch maybe??

There is this restaurant somewhere around that cuts your tie off...if you come wearing one...and another one that doesn't have silverware...you eat with your hands...and the big BETCHA CAN'T EAT ONE...steak house that serves up gimungus cattle parts.

I see that people paid 200 bux a pop to see Elton John at Blossom...

And many people are making day trips to the Erie Casino.

We have plenty of Ghosts sites, including Mary Campbell's Cave...

And people come from all over the world to experience Firestone South...especially from Japan.

Let's brainstorm and see if we can adapt one of the 1200 or so experiences which Phil pointed out...and make it a Cuyahoga Falls experience.

Gordon (if you haven't read any of my stories on home page, I grew up at Barney's Busy Corners...Bailey Rd.)

PS. Maybe a Direct Marketers Tour...show people where Gary Halbert wrote his famous Nancy letter, or where Dan Kennedy used to eat lunch, or tour Ben Suarez company, Quaker Oats bldg...and go to where the Bailey Road mansion used to stand (now a park)...and be a living book on MY childhood....HA!

Originally Posted by nick

Hi Gordon,

I'm trying to think of experiences people pay for that are not necessarily travel related. I'm also from cuyahoga falls, and I know a lot of my friends go to the old Mansfield prison for their ghost tours.

What about dinner theaters, like the cabaret, except on a smaller sale? Or the local renaissance fairs where everyone dresses up and plays the part? Civil war reenactments? The Christmas decorations tour at Stan Hewitt?

In hocking county there's the Zip lines...

Just a few quick ides of the top of my head.

I'm living in Israel now, so things here are hot and dry...quite different than Cuyahoga Falls.

I have a few more ideas that are very local...

-The pontoon boat (My first job was as a guide on that boat). That's a relaxing experience people pay for. Last I heard, though, this was it's last year...
- Swenson's. Need I say more?
-Soap box derby
- How about spending some time with the Amish? Have some sort of experience where you pay to be hosted by a family and live that life for a few days.
-I know there's an old Cold War bomb shelter under the high school. I would pay for the experience to go and see what's there.
- What about a tour of interesting homes? Like LeBron's house in Bath, Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home, etc..Come to think of it there are a lot of interesting people/homes in that area!
-If you're dealing with foreigners, taking them to a Black Tigers football game would be a great experience...it's very Midwest Americana. Or to one of the high schools show choir contests ( I'm a former M&M's and loved that stuff)
- There was another restaurant up in the Flats (Cleveland) called Dick's the Last Resort. The servers were extremely rude as part of the package. That was always an experience.

Many of these seem very Americana...real America. If you could get some foreigners to want to see 'real America,' and not just touristy Disney World/NYC/Grand Canyon...our area would be great for that.

I'd like that Direct Marketers tour!!

-Nick
PS- That's also known as 6 corners, right? By Chapel hill? Please send me a link to your homepage, I haven't seen it. I'm from 7th St by Lion's Park.

Originally Posted by GordonJ

Hey Nick,

Things are pretty soggy here...about 5 days of rain...crappy Labor day.

Thanks for reminder. The Mansfield Prison, I haven't done it but my kids have...right after some movie Blair Witch maybe??

There is this restaurant somewhere around that cuts your tie off...if you come wearing one...and another one that doesn't have silverware...you eat with your hands...and the big BETCHA CAN'T EAT ONE...steak house that serves up gimungus cattle parts.

I see that people paid 200 bux a pop to see Elton John at Blossom...

And many people are making day trips to the Erie Casino.

We have plenty of Ghosts sites, including Mary Campbell's Cave...

And people come from all over the world to experience Firestone South...especially from Japan.

Let's brainstorm and see if we can adapt one of the 1200 or so experiences which Phil pointed out...and make it a Cuyahoga Falls experience.

Gordon (if you haven't read any of my stories on home page, I grew up at Barney's Busy Corners...Bailey Rd.)

PS. Maybe a Direct Marketers Tour...show people where Gary Halbert wrote his famous Nancy letter, or where Dan Kennedy used to eat lunch, or tour Ben Suarez company, Quaker Oats bldg...and go to where the Bailey Road mansion used to stand (now a park)...and be a living book on MY childhood....HA!

[GordonJ]

See home page at www.sowpub.com for some Falls stories.

Sweetest Girl EVER from the Falls lived on 8th a couple of houses down from Lion's Park...THE sweetest.

I'm a 68 grad so I'm OLD. But you gave me some GREAT ideas...

I like the MASS Murders of Summit County. Falls, Class of 67 had Robert Berdella.

Plus Dahmer and a few others...

We'll go late at night into the valley...where Dahmer may have performed his first experimental killing...feel the chill...feel the hair on your neck stand up...

What are those sounds? Ghosts?

It is a HAUNTED valley, you know. 200 bux a pop for a night in the Valley...IF you can make it...ah, Blair Witch FALLS experience.

Swenson's???? Great idea...we can have a Summit Taste Experience...some of the best restaurants in America...home to the original hamburger (one of 9 places which makes that claim)...

Hike to Mary Campbell's Cave from the valley, with the reward a Galley Boy and some Onion rings and a milkshake at Swenson's. I ride the pontoon every year.

How about a kayak the other direction, Over the FALLS to Lake Edison...

you've given me some ideas, thanks Fallsite...just attended a Football game last week...we lost in the fourth...had a 14-0 lead and let down.

Gordon

Originally Posted by nick

I'm living in Israel now, so things here are hot and dry...quite different than Cuyahoga Falls.

I have a few more ideas that are very local...

-The pontoon boat (My first job was as a guide on that boat). That's a relaxing experience people pay for. Last I heard, though, this was it's last year...
- Swenson's. Need I say more?
-Soap box derby
- How about spending some time with the Amish? Have some sort of experience where you pay to be hosted by a family and live that life for a few days.
-I know there's an old Cold War bomb shelter under the high school. I would pay for the experience to go and see what's there.
- What about a tour of interesting homes? Like LeBron's house in Bath, Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home, etc..Come to think of it there are a lot of interesting people/homes in that area!
-If you're dealing with foreigners, taking them to a Black Tigers football game would be a great experience...it's very Midwest Americana. Or to one of the high schools show choir contests ( I'm a former M&M's and loved that stuff)
- There was another restaurant up in the Flats (Cleveland) called Dick's the Last Resort. The servers were extremely rude as part of the package. That was always an experience.

Many of these seem very Americana...real America. If you could get some foreigners to want to see 'real America,' and not just touristy Disney World/NYC/Grand Canyon...our area would be great for that.

I'd like that Direct Marketers tour!!

-Nick
PS- That's also known as 6 corners, right? By Chapel hill? Please send me a link to your homepage, I haven't seen it. I'm from 7th St by Lion's Park.