2010 Platinum Pass Question

Yeah, even more annoying was using my Platinum Pass at Michigan's Adventure. I got in the season pass entry line and was denied, "Sorry you can't use that here sir. You'll have to go get a ticket at the booth up front and then enter with that ticket."

Waited in a long line to get a ticket with my platinum pass, and she's like "Oh we can't give you the ticket here...you'll have to go to the window on the side over there (was like 2 windows away from her)."

It took over 30 minutes of confusion to get our damn ticket with our platinum pass to enter the park. I was just amazed at how a company could mess up a simple multi-park pass so bad...

Ah, yes, "Platinum Pass Roulette."

Last year, I took my Cedar Point-purchased voucher, processed it at Kings Island, then then had Platinum Pass Roulette...

o wins at Kings Island
o losses at Cedar Point
o wins at Cedar Point
o loss at Great America
o win at Gilroy Gardens
o win at Kings Dominion

In prior years I have had...
o wins and losses at Geauga Lake
o loss at Carowinds
o loss at Worlds of Fun
o loss at Knott's Berry Farm
o win at Dorney Park

On the last page someone talked about the "hassle cycle". Yeah, I can relate to that. Last year, Cedar Point held a season pass sale on a weekend that Kings Island wasn't open. Sold me my pass certificate for the renewal price, then told me I couldn't renew, and couldn't process. Now again, Kings Island opens a month earlier than Cedar Point, which means I have to confuse the heck out of Kings Island's pass department once again. And I won't bother to convert back to a Cedar Point pass because *I DON'T CARE* what park name appears on my pass, so long as it gets me through the gates!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I don't really care either. But I've heard a lot about having issues with renewing at years end. Lets say I buy my Platinum Pass at Cedar Point this year, and process it at KI. This summer, in August, Cedar Point runs a renewal promotion where you can renew your Platinum Pass for 2011 at a great low price. I get in line but am told I'm unable to do so (which people have stated is exactly what has happened to them), and need to process at KI, which I will not intend on going to again after the 1 time trip in late April/early May.

I don't have any problem buying (which I already did last night :)) from CP and processing at KI, I just want to know that I can renew my bought-at-CP-processed-at-KI pass at Cedar Point in September/October 2010 so I can avoid this whole mess in 2011.

Actually, Kyle, that is exactly what happened to me. Except it doesn't happen in August, it happens in September, when Cedar Point *finally* decides to start selling passes (almost a month after Kings Island) and offers a discount for one weekend while Kings Island is closed. That's why I have to go through pass processing again this year instead of doing an instant renewal last year. I'm hoping that Kings Island will simply take my Kings Island pass and my Cedar Point certificate and do the instant update thing.

This is one of those "solved problem" things that just drives us all bananas about Cedar Fair. The fact that the whole company operates in silos, that the pass processing procedure at Cedar Point continues to be a Stalinist mess, that there is no promotional coordination between parks, that the game of Platinum Pass Roulette even exists...and that's just in the area of season passes, something that Cedar Fair has been doing on a chainwide basis since the early 1990's!

(Admittedly, they were late to that party, but not as late as Paramount...FunTime was first, followed by Six Flags, then Cedar Fair, then Paramount, then Premier)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Would I be 100% in the clear if I just drive to Cedar Point's pass center and process there the Friday before I go to Kings Island on May 1st? I would have the pass in hand, fully functional and processed, ready to go, and be able to renew at CP towards year end?

And all I would need is my vouchers and driver's license to walk away with my sweet little credit card looking pass.

This is the reason I just get mine at kings island the first time I visit in the spring. To get a pass at cedarpoint, I have to jump thru too many hoops.

Kyle, it seems like that would indeed be the case based on people's experiences from last year. That's exactly what I would do if CP's pass office opened before KI's opening day. Since they don't, I suppose I just have to process at KI.

I hope the entire Cedar Fair corporation isn't run

the way the platinum pass dept. is.----

uh, it isn't, is it?

I thought about this yesterday. I seem to recall there being an option last year for people who got a KI pass to switch it for a CP pass after CP opened. Did anybody here do this switch? If the switch is possible, I imagine that would take care of the renewal hassles at the end of the season, although I'm purely just speculating.

I had heard about the switch. Personally, I am glad I didn't go to Kings Island until later in the year to ride Diamondback, thus I got a CP pass and renewed in September. No pass hassle.

If you can switch passes this year, I'd highly suggest everyone do that and break the vicious cycle.

It looks like, going back to the Kings Island ERT convo, Kings Island has changed their early entry, to begin on April 17th instead of May 1st for DB and Beast.

http://visitkingsisland.com/events/events.cfm?ec_id=27

Yah!

I scanned the forum and couldn't find anything on this. Did anyone try to process their Cedar Point Platinum pass voucher at Kings Dominion this year? Were head ing there for the weekend and was just curious as to what to expect. Also the passes were gifts paid for by a credit card. do I need the card to take also?

I believe you will only need your vouchers (probably a print out from online with the bar code) showing your name, and your drivers license. At least that's all I'm taking with me to King's Island.

Can anyone confirm?

Those were indeed the only requirements when I processed at CP last year. I can't imagine you'd need the actual credit card, but you might want to call KD to be sure.

Ok I am not going to start a new thread for this so here is my question.

Are Kings Island or Cedar Point still doing the buy 4 season passes and save $40 or however much it was? We are thinking about doing that this year if they still have it. We are going to Kings Island April 24th and would like to get them processed there. I had a pass last year if that makes any difference.

Oh, and we would be getting Platinum Passes.

Cedar Point and Kings Island are offering the 4 pass discount, but the passes must be bought online. Also if you buy them from Kings Island's website it says that the pass must be processed at Kings Island

Let me add my .02 about the renewal.....

The background...Platinum pass renewal purchased at CP at end of 09 season. The renewal was a gift, thus not purchased by me. I was not present at time of renewal, so I knew I would have to get a 'replacement' pass.

Fast forward to Easter weekend....I traveled to North Carolina and went to Carowinds for the first time since oh 1974-1975 when I was almost 10. Anyhow, I brought my receipt with me. (I wish CP had a season pass parking area)

Here is how it went down...first girl gave a shrug and said go inside when I showed her my CP receipt. I went inside. Girl at camera station did the same thing as girl #1 except pointed me to the Season Pass office window. First, they had girl#2 try to scan in the barcode on the CP receipt. That resulted in failure. Then, they told me that they will ring it up as an exchange. This was done successfully and I was now in the Carowinds system. Pass processing proceeded without a problem from there.

This happened in the span of about 15 minutes! All in all not as painful as I thought it would be. The only remaining question is will the scanners at Kings Island and CP read my pass which now says Carowinds?

My final challenge will be whether or not CP will be able to reload the existing card for the 2011 season once I am there in person during payment of the renewal?

Sledge

Unless things change from last year, I doubt you'll be able to reload the existing Carowinds card at CP at the end of this year. I witnessed people with KI passes being told they couldn't do that when renewing at CP last fall.

FUBAR

I believe RideMan was in my exact situation (2009 KI platinum pass, 2010 Cedar Point platinum pass certificate), but anyone else that was in this situation, please let me know...

I want to go to King's Island first. I'm wondering if I can hand King's Island my 2009 King's Island Platinum Pass and 2010 Cedar Point Platinum Pass certificate, and they can simply renew my 2009 KI PP, since CP could not do this for me in the fall...

If I'm going to have to go through the entire pass processing again for a new PP, then I'm just going to go to Cedar Point first, so that I can get out of this mess of a cycle.