Odd trips being offered on game shows

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 08:41 AM\']

I think the Space Camp prize was the top prize back in the Philadelphia WHYY days. [/quote]
 That or a Disney world Trip or a Busch Gardens Fla. trip(on the syndie run), or a mini racing car.

[That Don Guy]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 08:31 PM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 05:26 PM\'] PYL also offered trips to Lake Powell, Concord, Calif., and Montana(ski trip), locales I can't recall seeing on other shows. [/quote]
Trips to the Napa Valley wine country are given away all the time on game shows. Concord, CA is part of that area. [/quote]
Not quite (and I should know this, having worked in Concord from 1984 to 2001 and currently living 10 miles from there).  Concord is in what's usually called the "East Bay" part of the San Francisco Bay Area, but it's on the other side of a range of hills from better-known cities like Oakland and Berkeley; it's one of San Francisco's "hot spots" as it gets above 100 degrees on hotter days.  The "wine country", on the other hand, consists primarily of Sonoma and Napa counties, which are at the northern shore of San Francisco Bay.  (Most trips to the wine area that I've seen given away (usually TPIR's balloon rides over the area) are usually based either in San Francisco or at some B&B in the Napa area itself.)
Outside of Concord Pavillion, where a number of big-name music concerts take place, I can't think of anything about it that would attract tourists (unless you're a WWII history buff and want to see the site where the Port Chicago Explosion took place).  "The subway station is there; trains run to San Francisco every 15 minutes.  Just be warned that they can get quite crowded on the way back."

However, the strangest trip I've seen was on the old Dennis James TPIR; it was a trip to San Francisco - but it was by train, and "you get to keep the train" afterwards (they never did make that clear just what you won).

-- Don  (and didn't Bob explain once what happens if you win a trip to your own hometown?  At the very least, you get round-trip planefare to LA and a hotel stay at the hometown hotel...)

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 08:41 AM\'] [quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 05:33 AM\'] And of course, there's another odd trip Nick offered--A RETURN TRIP TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA!
 [/quote]
Yeah, I always thought that was really weird when I was watching as a kid. "Gee, I get to come back?"

I think the Space Camp prize was the top prize back in the Philadelphia WHYY days. Once they moved to Universal Studios Florida (before the park opened IIRC), then the top prize became a trip back. [/quote]
At your own cost.  This would also fit in the "cheapness" thread, because, IMO, it was a terrible prize--but at least you got a mid-sized car rental in the deal.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 01:29 PM\'] [quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 08:41 AM\'] [quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 05:33 AM\'] And of course, there's another odd trip Nick offered--A RETURN TRIP TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA!
 [/quote]
Yeah, I always thought that was really weird when I was watching as a kid. "Gee, I get to come back?"

I think the Space Camp prize was the top prize back in the Philadelphia WHYY days. Once they moved to Universal Studios Florida (before the park opened IIRC), then the top prize became a trip back. [/quote]
At your own cost.  This would also fit in the "cheapness" thread, because, IMO, it was a terrible prize--but at least you got a mid-sized car rental in the deal. [/quote]
 Weren't contestants also given spending money, or am I thinking of the actual bonus prize from Make the Grade?

[JasonA1]

Actually, one of the more popular 8th obstacle prizes in the early years (especially '86) was a trip to Walt Disney with this incredibly long spiel that Harvey had fun trying to fit in the short prize cue. I think the name of the hotel was mentioned already. I can't remember it for the life of me.

Anyway, other prizes include the aforementioned Space Camp trip, mini racing car, Apple II computer, Busch Gardens and some other theme park in Texas. By '89 they threw in trips to Puerto Vallarta and other locales.

Of course, the bottom 7 prizes were funny. By "Family Double Dare," they got as ridiculous as a <Harvey>whhhite willow pic-a-nic basket</H> and bowling balls.

-Jason

[rugrats1]

the strangest trip I've seen was on the old Dennis James TPIR; it was a trip to San Francisco - but it was by train, and "you get to keep the train" afterwards (they never did make that clear just what you won).

Either (a) a model train was included in the prize, or (b) they joked about the railroad industry, which was teetering towards economic collapse at the time (Remember "Penn Central"?).

[trainman]

[quote name=\'rugrats1\' date=\'Dec 21 2003, 03:43 PM\'] Either (a) a model train was included in the prize, or (b) they joked about the railroad industry, which was teetering towards economic collapse at the time (Remember "Penn Central"?). [/quote]
 At last, I get to be the Zach Horan of railroading:  back in the Dennis James TPIR days, Amtrak was new enough that they still had a lot of surplus passenger equipment that had been cast off by the former passenger-carrying railroads, and they were gradually retiring most of it, keeping only the best stuff.  So it's theoretically possible that the winner would have gotten to keep the train...

...but highly unlikely, for what should be fairly obvious reasons.  (That would indeed have been right around the time of the Penn Central bankruptcy, which was the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history at the time, big enough that the Federal government bailed them out by creating a new freight railroad called Conrail.)

[ChuckNet]

Actually, one of the more popular 8th obstacle prizes in the early years (especially '86) was a trip to Walt Disney with this incredibly long spiel that Harvey had fun trying to fit in the short prize cue. I think the name of the hotel was mentioned already. I can't remember it for the life of me.

"The Buena Vista Palace, in the heart of Walt Disney World village". :-)

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[JasonA1]

"The Buena Vista Palace, in the heart of Walt Disney World village". :-)

Wow thanks, that's it! And why not, I'll drag out a tape and transcribe the entire dealie.

Marc: "...do that in 60 seconds or less and you're gonna win this!"

Harvey: "A fabulous Disney vacation! The luxury Buena Vista Palace an official Walt Disney World hotel located in the heart of Walt Disney World village. You'll dine in award winning restaurants (and) enjoy unlimited transportation throughout the vacation kingdom!"

And in finding that I saw the whole saga in '88 of "Mr. Kay Bee" a sort of parody of Geoffrey the Giraffe being put on obstacles when the prize was a Toys R Us gift card. They always found ways to mutilate or insult the doll. I wonder what Kay Bee did... :)

-Jason

[Starkman]

For the trips back to Universal studios ill never forget this one quote from Marc Summers

"Well if you win here you win a trip...right back here...but at least you won't have to play double dare, you can do ummm whatever you want"

Summers could take veiled pot shots at the producers when he wanted to quite well

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 07:53 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 07:42 PM\'] [quote name=\'Fedya\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 01:46 PM\'] How about the trips to the Roseland "Dude Ranch" -- in Stanfordville, NY!  (That's about 45 minutes from here, and there ain't nothin' dude ranchy about this part of New York. [/quote]
And that's the destination of the "RANCH VACATION" given away on Whammy. [/quote]
I'm pretty sure I saw it on WinTuition as well. I'm guessing GSN has/had some sort of deal with the ranch?[/quote]
I remember seeing Roseland on other cable shows--and perhaps on New York-based shows back in the 70s or something similar (seemed to me that both "Concentration" and "$OTC" offered that prize at one time or the other).  As a quick weekend getaway from New York, it's plausible as a lower-priced trip option.

And of course, whenever "Concentration" did a themed trip/travel game, one of the gag prizes was "SUBWAY TO BROOKLYN."

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Dec 22 2003, 03:57 PM\']
And of course, whenever "Concentration" did a themed trip/travel game, one of the gag prizes was "SUBWAY TO BROOKLYN." [/quote]
 Not to be outdone, a Zonk on one of this weekend's GSN airings of 70s LMAD was a $33(at the time) bus trip from Hollywood to Tijuana.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'DaneFromKansas\' date=\'Dec 20 2003, 05:09 PM\'] I may be mistaken, but didn't the original Press Your Luck offer some odd trips?  I recall seeing a trip to Scottsdale, AZ on the board at one point, and I vaguely remember a trip to Knott's Berry Farm on there as well.  Any other ones I missed from PYL? [/quote]
 Banff, where ever that is.  I also seem to recall trips to San Diego, and LA Chinatown.

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Dec 24 2003, 06:17 AM\']Banff, where ever that is.[/quote]
Banff is in Alberta, Canada.

On F Troop, it was pronounced "Ban-f-f" when Agarn's lookalike relative hid out in Fort Courage, pursued (on a dogsled!) by everyone's favorite center square, Paul Lynde, who accused Agarn's twin of being the "Burglar of Ban-f-f" and claimed himself to be the "Singing Mountie," out to catch this menace to society.  In the end, the real Singing Mountie showed up on his own dogsled and unmasked Lynde's character as the real Burglar of Ban-f-f.

[ChuckNet]

How about the trips to the Roseland "Dude Ranch" -- in Stanfordville, NY! (That's about 45 minutes from here, and there ain't nothin' dude ranchy about this part of New York.

That was also offered as the Power Prize trip on Fun House, and was the grand prize at least once on the Travel Channel's 1990 entry, The Great Getaway Game.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")