2007 Operating Schedule Released

I also agree that it would be better to cut hours off the beginning of the day rather than the end. This is pretty disappointing. I always remember nights in July with still a fair amount of people at 11. Now having only Saturday open at 11 isn't so hot. Personally, I'd like to see the season extended rather than longer hours in may. I don't see why they couldn't open a little earlier in the year as most other parks do in similar climates. I like the bonus Halloweekend.

I know that CP needs to make cuts every now and again, and I really felt that last year's operationg calendar was a reasonable compromise. This isn't. I always thought that they've prided themselves on being the best amusement park in the world, but this is just another park trying to save every cent they can.

Bummer about the 7pm closing for weekdays in May. I guess I will no longer be leaving work and getting to the park with about 2 1/2 hours until closing. I would easily make a full circuit of all the coasters or do tons of re-rides.

Maybe Cedar Fair Entertainment is just being cautious, given the lower attendance figures and the acquisition of the Paramount parks this year. I'll worry if this trend continues for mroe then two seasons.

I don't think cutting off an hour during the May weekdays will be a significant downfall for the guests. I've spent many May weekdays at the park, and there's plenty of time to ride everything 3 or 4 times and still be done by late afternoon. Personally, I side with the people who would like to see them cut the hour off the morning rather than the evening, but with the school trips it makes sense to keep the early opening.

Also, they are closing at 11 on Saturdays in June. Did that do that this past season? I could have sworn that Saturdays in July and the first half of August were the only 11 PM Saturdays, but I don't have a 2006 schedule on hand.

I'm very excited about having 7 Halloweekends instead of 6 next year. Mr. Hildebrant told us about that before the Screamsters went out for our last night this year. It's a smart move for the park. The bonus weekends always seemed a little awkward and they don't draw nearly as big of a crowd as Halloweekends does. With some of the biggest crowds every year coming to see Halloweekends, it only makes sense to add more dates. I suspect it will only be another year or two before you see bonus weekends disappear entirely and have Halloweekends start the first weekend after Labor Day.

I am not really happy with the 7pm closing in May. I forget now what it had for Memorial Day.

If you are relying on locals for staffing in the shoulder seasons...and those staff members are high school students...then closing at 7pm is better. Perhaps it isn't an issue on Saturday nights but it certainly is on Sundays and weeknights when the kids have school the next day.

I suspect that plays a greater role in the decision to close at 7 more than anything.

Of course, it is cheaper to operate the park in the daytime. I'm sure the electric bill is pretty hefty after dark.

Lights are all still on though because they have to clean up.

I think I buy Ralph's reason for why they lopped off from the end of the day, school trips.

Ralph, I'd imagine the bonus weekends are there to keep the park open while allowing HW stuff to be set up. I don't know that they could get it all set up in 1 week. And I'd rather they have a "bonus" weekend than a half-assed (as opposed to 4-assed) halloweekend.

Take a look at that other park to the east of Cedar Point and see how they chopped its operating times. Then look back at CP’s schedule and you will be happy that’s all they did!

Yeah I agree with Chief Wahoo on this one.

Isn't the park usually understaffed at the beginning of the season due to colleges/schools still being in attendance? I know most colleges get out in May, but do you think this change makes it easier on the workers? and that's the reason for the cutback?

It sounds like a good business decision for me on their part. Look at McDonalds. For instance, in busy cities, they are usually open 24 hours a day. But in places (in the middle of nowhere) where they have a busy lunch, marginal dinner, and nothing much at night, they usually close early. You can apply that to CP and it's months.

*** Edited 11/3/2006 11:04:12 PM UTC by latinochicken***

Judging by this thread, it's going to be pretty dead when I go during the week in May. :)

I'm gonna miss the 11:00 closings on Friday. Friday's are not as busy as Saturdays and you can still get the extra hour of night riding. This cutting of operating hours is getting incredibly annoying. At this rate, in a few years, the park will be closing at 8 during the summer. I'm sure you employees will like that.

At least the park doesn't close at 5:00pm ALL SEASON like Alton Towers does. :) That's why their fireworks and other special events are packed - because its the only time the park is open until 9:00pm.

So, I guess it could be worse.

I agree with Ben, with all the crybabies around here the place will be empty in early May.

12-9...that doesn't even sound fun...think about it from an employees point of view...even if you don't work at cedar point...when work is not busy at all, would you rather wake up early and then have time at the end of the night to relax...YES! Rather then having to work late! YES! even if you are in highschool, would you rather get out of school earlier, or be in school later at night...you would want to get out earlier...this is just one way to think of 12-9! 10-7 is so much better! This is from an employees perspective...

Now a guests perspective...

Yes, it is fun to ride rides with the lights on and it is dark...but that is fun in the summer when it is warm...it is still cold in may! on the beach! and then think about little kids...they get up super early! Think about a 12-9...what would the parents do with their kids for 2 extra hours while they wait for the park to open...there isn't much to do in sandusky! there fore...this is from both perspectives...granted, no matter what i say...there is bound to be 3000000 whiners who think 12-9 is great, but cedar point does need to do things that benefit them as well as the guests...and cedar point has been running for...how many years...im going out on a limb here, but i think they know what they are doing... :-) *** Edited 11/4/2006 12:46:27 AM UTC by drewk***

I agree with most people here, that I would rather see the park lose an hour in the morning rather than the evening. However, for a buisness move, I think its better to take off the hour in the morning. Young kids tend to get up early, and go to bed early. If they opened later, it might discourage the famlies from visiting in May, and the family visits are the ones that bring in the most money.

I made a mid-may weekday trip to Cedar Point, in 2001 if I remember correctly, and was able to get three rides on Millennium Force in the 7-8 hour. I could have walked on to any other ride in the park. While I don't like to see an hour disappear, I can under stand why from a buisness perspective.

As for moving Haloweekends earlier, I think this is a good move. I have only made it for the last three years, but every time I have gone, I have been amazed by the crowds that show up. I don't know if the earlier weekeds are as popular as the later ones (any comment Ralph?), it would be nice to go before it gets too cold. I'll agree with Ralph in that if the earlier Haloweekends are popular enough, I suspect the bonous weekends will disappear entirely.

As far as setting up the park, I don't think its an issue to lose the extra week. They'll just start setting up the decorations a week earlier. The added decorations will just entice more people to come.

Seems to me like the people this hits the most are the season pass holders who might want to hit the park for a couple hours after work or something. Getting done at five and having three hours at work seems like it might be worth it. Maybe those people won't bother going for only two hours.

I think the school trips are the reason to chop the hour off the end of the day and not the beginning though.

This might make sales of Starlight passes these days non-existent. Maybe they already were though.

I guess it just feels to me that CP is trying too hard to cut costs and not hard enough to find new streams of revenue - like night life or debit on the season passes and resort cards or more amenities at the resorts, etc. They need to stop nipping away at their product and look at improving it and offering new interesting products.

What the heck does a 7pm closing time mean for Starlight admission? I believe it kicked in at 5pm for a 10pm-later closing, and 4pm for an 8pm closing. Does Starlight start at 3pm now for a 7pm closing? Not that it matters to me since I have a season pass, but I'm curious.

*EDIT* According to their ticket prices, Starlight starts at 4pm when they close earlier than 10pm. So on a May weekday, Starlight admission is $24.95 for THREE hours. I bet they'll sell a lot of those. :)

There have been several times when, in the afternoon, a friend and I would spontaneously decide to go to CP for the rest of the day. With a 7pm closing, this isn't feasible.

Regardless, weekdays in May are my favorite time to go. Shaving an hour off doesn't make a big difference since you can get on everything in no time because there are no lines. I do like the park after dark, but in May it doesn't get dark at 8 either.

Because of all that, I agree 12-9 would be preferable. Or even 1-10. I like to stay up late more than I like to get up early. Then again, if I take a day off work in May to visit at least I'll get home at a reasonable hour with a 7pm closing to get up the next morning.

Ah well, let's see how it goes. It'll probably be changed again for 2008.

*EDIT* Another change I noticed...they show Sunday Halloweekends as 10-8...wasn't it always noon-8? *** Edited 11/4/2006 2:57:46 AM UTC by Jeremy Sell***

The 10-7 in May, I'm not too excited about, but I'm sure there is good reason behind it and and I'll still come in May. Plus you have to look at the bright side. If this were last years schedule(2006), we'd have 3 weeks of the 10-7. Although Cedar Point was open until 8 in May, I believe it won't be that bad. I counted 11 days that Cedar Point is open until 7 during the week. Now the summer month schedule looks similar to this past seasons schedule which is a good enough time.

And by the way Ralph, during the month of July and first half of August Cedar Point was open Saturdays and Sundays from 10-11. The rest of the week was 10-10. So really the only difference is that just the fridays out of the picture as far as staying open until 11. The operating schedule other then May seems Awesome. RIDE ON!

Personally I enjoyed the night hours much more and don't care for all of the cutbacks in terms of hours each year that we've seen. It's a bit of an alarming trend. I still don't see why the first Saturday in June has a close time of 10 and not 11.

Like it was said above, the only people this really even has the potential to inconvenience are the season pass holders who might come into the park for a few hours of riding on some random weekeday in May. In all probability, those folks are probably generating zero or at most very little revenue for the park when they come. Despite all the complaining, Cedar Point is a business and it is obviously not worth it to them to be open for that extra hour just so that enthusiasts and locals (who make up a fairly small fraction of the clientele) can credit whore on the rides. It was correctly stated that a vast majority of CP's business comes from school groups in May, who are almost always gone well before closing.

Other than that, you're losing one hour, one night a week, for 4 or 5 weeks this summer. Let me repeat: 4 or 5 hours out of the entire season. Pardon me if I fail to see how this spells doom and gloom.

The earlier comment about everyone in this thread being a crybaby was totally uncalled for. Most opinions were well thought out, and worth reading, as I'm able to see both sides of the fence. Last time I checked, a large group of members in CP Place are crybabies, so when well thought out logic comes along, its a blessing.

And I don't think these are drastic cuts, but rather reflections of trends in the past few years. And like some people have mentioned, it could be Alton Towers...so I'm cool with it.