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ITPBall
3 Posts |
 Posted - 09/20/2016 : 13:57:34
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| My son's team is considering a destination trip to next summer, with Cooperstown, Myrtle Beach and Panama City being discussed. We apparently have a Cooperstown Certificate so that may end up being the consensus, but It would be nice for our families to make an informed choice. For those that have been, what are the relative strengths and weaknesses of Cooperstown All-Star Village, Dreams Park, Myrtle Beach, Panama City, and Omaha? Thanks. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 14:16:26
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I've been to Cooperstown Dreams Park and Panama City.
First, let me say, Panama was decent, fairly expensive, got rained on a lot, but the kids had fun on the beach.
Now, let me say, you do understand that Cooperstown Dreams Park only runs for a limited time each summer and there are 103 teams PER WEEK with a waiting list as long as your whole body?!?!?!?!?! If you have a Certificate there should not even be a choice. There are hundreds of teams that would love to be in your position. Every boy will remember their Cooperstown experience and only a few actually get to go...living for a week with 103 other teams that are obsessed with baseball 24/7...it's like nothing your kid has experienced or will experience. Grown men still talk about when they went to Cooperstown, College players swap stories, high schoolers can be heard to say remember Cooperstown....no one remembers the summers they spent playing at PCB or Mrytle Beach...it was another beach and another tourney, but EVERYONE remembers their time at Cooperstown. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 15:13:52
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If you have the Cooperstown certificate, use it and go. No comparison to any other destination baseball tourney.
Also, ALL the other tourneys you mention have multiple age groups, so those same options will be available to you in future years. Cooperstown Dreams Park is 12u or bust.
Also, comparing All-Star Village to Dreams Park equates to comparing McDonalds to Bones. |
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BREAMKING
323 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 15:31:42
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| Dreams Park no contest. |
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TaxiMom
149 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 15:59:35
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quote:
Originally posted by ITPBall
My son's team is considering a destination trip to next summer, with Cooperstown, Myrtle Beach and Panama City being discussed. We apparently have a Cooperstown Certificate so that may end up being the consensus, but It would be nice for our families to make an informed choice. For those that have been, what are the relative strengths and weaknesses of Cooperstown All-Star Village, Dreams Park, Myrtle Beach, Panama City, and Omaha? Thanks.
I think you've missed the deadline for getting your application in for Cooperstown Dream Park, if you're talking about Summer 2017......notification letters re: week assignments go out in 10 days..... |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 16:30:45
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| No question - Cooperstown. My son finished his college baseball career this past spring. He still considers Cooperstown his most memorable baseball experience. That includes Myrtle Beach, Panama City, Ripken, all the PG WWBAs, World Underclass in Ft. Myers, 4 years of HS varsity ball and 4 college seasons including 2 regional appearances. It's saying a lot that Cooperstown is still his favorite. All the listed things he's done are great, but there is nothing like Cooperstown... |
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bfriendly
376 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 21:09:20
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We made Omaha our 12u trip, but only because we did not have the Cooperstown Cert..........Omaha was no disappointment and I cant say enough about how great it was. Same set up with the kids staying in bunks with the team and coaches, home run derby and skills challenges etc...Fantastic time and we went to a college world series game. Again I cant say enough about how AWESOME it was...........
Throw in Disney as another Fantastic trip! Playing at the ESPN Sports complex was Very Cool!
That being said, at 12u, Cooperstown is the Biggest deal blah blah blah........But No matter where you go, so long as you have a great time, there will be no regrets. Regrets happen because the parents invite them
My son does not think about NOT going to Cooperstown. He thinks about and remembers his struggle in the home run derby(got shut out) and his walk-off homer in the last pool game! |
Edited by - bfriendly on 09/20/2016 21:23:34 |
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Kory
50 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2016 : 23:28:29
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quote:
Originally posted by bballman
No question - Cooperstown. My son finished his college baseball career this past spring. He still considers Cooperstown his most memorable baseball experience. That includes Myrtle Beach, Panama City, Ripken, all the PG WWBAs, World Underclass in Ft. Myers, 4 years of HS varsity ball and 4 college seasons including 2 regional appearances. It's saying a lot that Cooperstown is still his favorite. All the listed things he's done are great, but there is nothing like Cooperstown...
This. This year, grown men have stopped my son in the street to talk about their experience at Cooperstown. The Mizuno rep at the Peachtree Expo, the guy in local sporting goods store, you name it. To the one, they have said that it was their favorite experience of their lives.
Go. To . Cooperstown. Don't listen to anyone who tells you anything else. Especially not anyone who reclassified so they could trophy hunt to compensate for not going to New York. Forget it. The rest of the 12U tournaments are all derivatives of Cooperstown Dreams Park.
Also remember that Cooperstown All-Star Village is NOT Cooperstown Dreams Park. Dreams Park is the destination that you want to go to. That is the one that everyone talks about. Not sure how it will run since Coach passed away this year. But his son was already the CEO from what I understand so I am thinking it will be as close to business as usual as can be expected. |
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OPHornets
135 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2016 : 07:30:08
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quote:
Originally posted by bfriendly
That being said, at 12u, Cooperstown is the Biggest deal blah blah blah........But No matter where you go, so long as you have a great time, there will be no regrets. Regrets happen because the parents invite them
My son does not think about NOT going to Cooperstown. He thinks about and remembers his struggle in the home run derby(got shut out) and his walk-off homer in the last pool game!
Well, I don't think about the steak and lobster dinner I DIDN'T have last night but it doesn't mean that it wouldn't have been light years better than the Wendy's I grabbed on my way to practice.
If you have a certificate, the choice to go to Cooperstown is a no brainer. During our trip, there was not a single "bad" moment and, when the umpire said "BALLGAME!" for the final time, there wasn't a dry eye on the field, in the stands, or in the dugout. |
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ToddH10
28 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2016 : 11:09:50
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| We went to Cooperstown this past summer and it was an unbelievable experience!! Would definitely go there if given the chance. Has your coach already sent in a request to play next year? If not, you may not get in unfortunately, even with a certificate. I know a team who had a certificate but waited until late July to submit an application/ request and they did not get in for the following year. TaxiMom is correct.....week assignments for Summer 2017 will be going out in the next couple of weeks. |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2016 : 12:38:07
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| Cooperstown, without question. We went to Omaha at 11, and had a blast. Will go back to the CWS some day. Went to Panama City at 10, and it's fine. It always rains there and is crazy humid, but kids love the beach. Went to Ripken with my middle son, and it was cool, though the turf burnt the kids feet. But Cooperstown is a religious experience. Even if you don't love the game, you will be able to feel what makes it so special to everyone else. I've talked to some friends and we agree that we'll have to coach a 12u team when we retire, so we can go back and experience it again. |
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ballfamily1
21 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2016 : 13:47:36
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| Cooperstown Dreams Park without a doubt!! No comparison for 12 yr olds. After this the game changes and some move on - definitely Cooperstown! |
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Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2016 : 14:19:41
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| Cooperstown....and you get to go to the HOF. |
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ITPBall
3 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2016 : 20:25:52
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| A consensus appears to have developed. Thanks for your responses. |
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brball
615 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2016 : 23:05:22
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quote:
Originally posted by ITPBall
A consensus appears to have developed. Thanks for your responses.
Just in case you haven't heard... Cooperstown!!! |
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dnp-cd
3 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2016 : 10:35:39
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| With regard to Cooperstown, someone mentioned above that comparing Dreams Park to All Star Village was like Bones compared to McDonald's. We've been to both with different kids, and that wasn't our experience. Both DP and ASV were great experiences, virtually identical in all material respects, main difference simply being size of the respective tournaments with DP about twice the size of ASV (~100 teams vs. ~50 teams). Format for the week was basically the same at both: Saturday was check-in, opening ceremonies, and skills competitions; Sun-Tues was six pool play games; Wed-Thurs was elimination bracket play, and closing ceremony. Kids got same kind of stuff at both places - game jerseys/pullovers/caps, fitted for a ring, entry to Hall of Fame. Really was the same overall fun experience for kids and parents at both. Advantages of ASV were slightly newer/nicer bunkhouse accommodations for players/coaches, nice outdoor/hilltop bar on site for adults, and a very picturesque setting. Advantage of DP was the big name recognition and sheer size of it. If we had another kid and got to do Cooperstown again, would be happy with either DP or ASV. For us, the comparison would be two steaks at Longhorn (Bones is out of my price range) - 12 oz filet vs. 6 oz filet. |
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2016 : 08:40:40
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Cooperstown!!! no question!
Forget the Florida trip and just do Cooperstown. I have to agree the Allstar one was nothing like the experience of Dream Parks.
The difference was in the number of teams and players participating.
It's like comparing a self hosted tournament of 8 teams to a Perfect Game event in my opinion. If you win or do well at the Allstar Village no one cares. Not that it is about winning but there are so many teams, every team usually finishes where or near they should finish after bracket play. You can go back for years and still see your sons team and individual pics on the website and recall all those games and experiences. Late in the week you start seeing teams leaving and the last 2 days it turns into a ghost village but your players realize they are one of the few teams left and get excited about playing more baseball. |
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Cooperstown or Other?
