Extreme Sandbox

[Micky]

Some of you might remember years ago when I had an idea I knew I would not pursue, so I offered it to anyone reading.

It was going to be something like Dollywood Park, Palisades Park, Riverside Park, Cascade Park, Dorneyville Park, Coney Island, Playland, Six Flags, an amusement park. To be called Industrial Park. But instead of rides like the ones I've listed, this one would let people use industrial machinery that normally they have little or no chance to use.

They could drive a forklift and move pallets around, run a jackhammer, use a riveting gun, a cutting torch, a welding torch, etc.

I don't think anyone took up my idea, but my friend saw on Sharktank, on TV a fairly new venture trying to expand called Extreme Sandbox. Get it, like kids play in the sandbox but "extreme" is the word these days, for extreme sports, for example.

Visitors get to drive a bulldozer, a large excavator, or a front-loader (that they call a skid steer). they can....

One difference is that I was going to charge 30, 40, maybe 50 a ticket

--- that seemed like enough to me, and more than what Six Flags charges --- but they 're charging 200 an hour for each person (skid steer only), or 300 for 90 minutes on any one piece of equipment. So they have enough money to pay for insurance, for when the newbies kill themselves and each other. They're certainly not going to get many middle income repeat customers, but I guess they wouldn't anyhow.

Also 250 an hour, 2 hour minimum, for a group to ride on a fire engine.

Also Sharks take what sharks want! To celebrate our Shark Tank appearance, we are offering an amazing deal- The Feeding Frenzy Special Offer! This 3 1/2 hour adventure gets you about 3 hours of equipment time broken out on the equipment any way YOU want! In fact, bring some other sharks along to the Feeding Frenzy for only $75/person extra. You have 1 Captain (Instructor) that can run up to two pieces of the same equipment at the same time; so break out the 3 hours any way you want!

Feeding Frenzy Special Offer ? $495 ? 3 1/2 hr adventure (20-25 min classroom training / 3 hours of equipment time)

-3 choices of equipment: excavator, bulldozer, skid steer

-1 Captain (Instructor)

-Add a Shark: $75/ person

-Package valued @ $695, you save $200!!

So, do you want to meet in Minnesota or Florida. I'm buying.

One in Minnesota and the new one after Sharktank in Texas.

[Stormin Mormon]

Looks like more fun than I've had, all year.

[gfretwell]

For a few hundred bucks you can rent one of those machines and actually get some work done around the house. When I did my rip rap I got a Bobcat and when we were taking down a big fichus tree I got a man lift with a very long reach. I got a mini excavator to do my septic field. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of running one and I am not nearly as fast as a real operator but you have it all day, maybe all weekend if you get it on Saturday. (Sunday is usually free)

[taxed and spent]

This has been done before.

[Micky]

Yeah, and "only" 169 for 90 minutes. $250 for the big excavator.

On a flat piece of land. One guy is just movign big tires around.

Fretwell is right. You can rent your own for a day and really get something done. I used to think that if my stream ever rose so high it was threatening the house, I'd rent one of these and dig out the gorge a bit downstream where it narrows, to lower the water level, but a) I can't tow even a little one. Have to wait until it's delivered. Since the stream subsides within 4 hours, maybe 2 hours, it would all be over before it came.

b) It would be impossible in high water to get downstream along the stream. Have to drive around and start downstream. That might work but i might get washed away with the machine on top of me.

c) If it hasn't gotten that high in 36 years, I'm probably safe.

[gfretwell]

They have machines that would go down there with 3 or 4 feet of water in the area you want to work. Our DOT has a machine they use to clean the swales that has 4 fully articulated wheels (up down left right and tilt.) and it will work just about anywhere

[>>>Ashton Crusher]

I had an idea for a "car park" or "car club" where members would join and the point of the club was to own a variety of old cars. Members could rent their old car of choice for a few days when they felt like something different. That way instead of the typical middle class "collector" having one or two classics they would be part owner in a fleet of classics and have a much wider choice of old cars to drive. It would be like the flying club I was in years ago, something like

100 members and 4 small planes to rent. No one I ever suggested it to thought much of the idea though.

[Micky]

Wow. That might do it. I'd only tried the local rental place down the street.

Of course I don't own this land. Although I could probably do what I wanted to the wooded part, where it gets narrow was owned by a swim club, which had two swimming pools, but which wasn't making money and finally was sold to a mosque. And the start of the narrow part has a bridge from the parking lot to where the buildings are. If I were to widen that part, it would probably take down the bridge, and they couldn't drive or even walk in. And the sides are vertical so I haven't gotten a good look at them but they might be made of the original stone (or maybe just dirt with some rocks in it), and the narrow part might be 25 feet long. That's the bad part.

The good part is that when the stream gets high enough to reach my yard (It's never quite reached it but it's come within one inch) it's also overflowing where the narrow channel is and flooding the parking lot, I think. And it should be flooding a nearby street. And back at my house, the ground is about 6 inches higher at my house than where the stream is at its height, and the window is 3 layers of brick higher than that. The big way in for water is the basement sink drain, so as long as I keep that stopped up with a 1x2 shoved between the rubber stopper and the shelf with 25 pounds on it, I think I'm safe.

[Taylor179]

What's the thrill? But being a farmer I use much of this equipment regularly. Maybe city folks would find it fun though...

Then there's the thought of driving an Army tank into Walmart, and firing a few rounds. Now THAT WOULD BE FUN!!! (even for me).

I actually have a far better idea, and I bet it would sell fast, and make a lot of money. Women's swimware made out of clear plastic! A guaranteed HIT !!!!!