Sunday, March 22, 2009
By John Benson
Cleveland attraction celebrates 20 years
The popular spring break destination has featured a who’s who of rising stars.
More than four million screaming visitors (mostly kids), hundreds of thousands of gallons of pop, one incessant radio commercial and Luke Perry.
That’s what the I-X Indoor Amusement Park has to show for itself over the past two decades of springtime frivolity and parental cabin fever respite.
Entering its 20th year at the 20-plus acre Cleveland venue, the popular spring break destination site has featured a who’s who of rising pinup stars – Perry (“Beverly Hills 90210”), Brian Austin Greene (“Beverly Hills 90210”), Mario Lopez (“Saved by the Bell”), Mark Paul Gosselaar (“Saved by the Bell”), Jonathan Taylor Thomas (“Home Improvement”), Andrew Shue (“Melrose Place”) – and even popular teen musical acts such as Kris Kross, The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, Lil Romeo and Rihanna.
Considering its vaulted history, The Vindicator talked to I-X Center Vice President Eric German, the one person who has been there for the entire existence of the I-X Indoor Amusement Park.
Q. Let’s start at the beginning. What was the initial idea behind the I-X Indoor Amusement Park?
A. I first did a site visit to the I-X Center in 1987 because it was new as a convention center and we were marketing and producing family shows in the Midwest at that time. We saw this building, it was huge and we talked to the owners about different ideas we had. One of those ideas was something that had been done the year before in New Orleans at the Superdome, where they put carnival rides inside the building in August because it’s so hot in the summer. So it was a way for people to get in out of the heat and ride rides. We thought, we have the ceiling height, we could put rides in the wintertime and it would be just the opposite and give people a break from the harsh winters and ride rides.
Q. As it enters its second decade, how has the I-X Indoor Amusement Park changed with the times?
A. You always want to keep things fresh, so I guess it has changed, but the whole essence is rides inside of a building. And that part hasn’t changed. What we try to do is each year bring in different pop culture entertainment for people to come out and do meet-and-greets like The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, or wrestlers. Or this year, Emily Osment from “Hannah Montana” and David Archuleta will do meet-and-greets. So that we try to change each year but the core, the rides, pretty much stays the same.
Q. Among the many celebrity guests you’ve had since the late ’80s, what acts standout in your memory?
A. I remember back in the early ’90s we had Kris Kross. They were two boys from Atlanta that had the song “Jump.” They came in, performed their song and literally 15,000 people came out to see them. It was mayhem. I also remember with Luke Perry (in the early ’90s) we had about 7,000 screaming girls and security had to literally pick him up and carry him back to his dressing room because the girls surrounded the stage. The other kind-of-fun story was Mick Foley, a WWF star back in the day, had a break between meet-and-greet events and asked if he could take some fans and go on rides. So we put a security guard with him and they just ran around the park and rode all of these rides together. So there are probably two dozen people out there that can say they went on rides with Mick Foley all day long.
Q. In your press materials, it says the I-X ferris wheel remains the most popular ride at the I-X Indoor Amusement Park. Is that really true?
A. We survey people every year and it always pops up as No. 1. I think it’s just a lot of fun. The idea behind installing a permanent ride at the amusement park was growing and the owners had the idea to cut a hole in the roof and put this big ferris wheel up. We actually talked at one time about putting a monorail that would go around the perimeter of the I-X Center on the inside but that never came to fruition.
Q. Finally, why does the I-X Indoor Amusement Park continue to average more than 200,000 visitors annually?
A. At the end of the day, it’s just a good value family entertainment experience, especially this year with the economy being tough. We haven’t increased the price of the event in the last four years. People who have the extra money to spare know they can come out and spend the entire day and have a great time.