2016 season pass increase?

I love waking up early in the morning while camping at Lighthouse Point and sitting outside drinking a cup of coffee while listening to the park start to come alive for the morning. It's an experience I can't get anywhere else, and it is worth some extra $ to me. Again, to each their own, but I think a lot of people would agree with me. I wouldn't dream of trying to tell anyone how to spend their disposable income, but what Kevin is saying is 100% correct. Sometimes the experiences justify the expenditures.

Kevinj said:
Personally, I used to lie to myself into believing that the most important thing on any trip was how much of a deal I could get, or how much I could save doing this or doing that. In the end, the savings seem to be marginal at best, the experience is always worse, and I probably wasted more time searching for the "best deal" than I ever want to think about.

This is so entirely true, when it comes to vacations. I think it's true that generally you get what you pay for. I haven't been on a Carnival cruise, but with a cost way less than Disney, I have to imagine that something is not as good there (friends who have done both confirm it's not even close).

The Sandusky hotel situation kind of sucks, because most of the hotels suck. Breakers is night and day better than it used to be, and most importantly it delivers on atmosphere. I think that matters. I'm also a big fan of Great Wolf Lodge (disclaimer: my wife was previously on their moms panel).

^ and WalMart. WalMart is always a good time late at night...

I don't blink any eye at pass increases. Even IF they increased $100, I'd be paying it(increase). With going an average of 15 times a year to CP alone it's a bonus vs. any online deal/ resort guest discount when you average it out.

Jeff said:

I think it's true that generally you get what you pay for.

True, but ... when I'm on an ACE trip or a Cedar Point trip, generally what I want is a room to, mostly, be unconscious in. I'm not interested in spending money on aesthetics.

That said, when I went to ACE's Spring Conference in -- 2012? -- I asked the folks I was rooming with if we could stay at Breakers. Purely out of sentiment for me: I'm old enough to remember staying at Breakers and handing off the room keys to the little old ladies who sat at the and of the hallway.

That said, from all that I've heard, I could be persuaded to spend the money to stay at Breakers on my next visit.

I don't disagree with you one bit Noggin. It's all in what I'm looking for on a particular weekend. If the only reason I'm staying overnight is to, say, do an ERT one night and then go the park the next day, I'm with you. Give me a room with clean sheets and I'm pretty much good. For CM, we pretty much make it a full family weekend of not much besides CP. I doubt I'll even leave the peninsula that weekend. For that, I enjoy the benefits of being on property. Again, it's all in what type of experience you're looking for.

Any family activity anymore we just say screw it, and go for the best experience. We will never stay anywhere but Breakers while at Cedar Point. Our twins are 9yrs old, growing up too fast. Making some great memories for all four of us.

That has honestly spoiled us for other amusement parks. Its rare that you are able to wake up pretty much inside the park anywhere else.

Kevinj said:

Unfortunately for us amusement park trips aren't free, and when it comes to staying overnight, I would argue you certainly get what you pay for.

And I don't know where you're paying double at.

We have a family suite booked at Hotel Breakers, and it's only $13 more expensive per night than staying at a similar family suite at Best Western Suites off 250.

13 dollars well spent. Plus we get to stay at Breakers, which, I'm sorry, puts any hotel near Cedar Point to shame. When you get to the cabins and cottages, are you kidding? You have a frickin' cottage on the lake with your own BBQ. You're Jimmy Buffet with an amusement park in your back yard for Pete's sake! (no offense, Pete).

Saturday, June 11

Breakers = $289

Quality Inn, Huron = $130

I do not question that the Breakers room is of better quality. If brighter colors of paint and pictures of roller coasters increase the value for you then I agree – stay there. But for our family it does not. You know the old saying – the rooms all look the same when your eyes are closed.

At that price differential, we can make two trips which gives us twice as many enjoyable moments at the park. That is what is important to us. That is where our memories are made. To us that is more valuable than what a nicer hotel is offering. We’re not going to come home and say wow that painting on the wall was pretty. Instead we’re going to say remember when we rode Cedar Downs and mom came in first place.

If you are only paying $13 more then I absolutely agree with your choice. That is a no brainer even in my thrifty mind.

And I do understand the value of location. If we are on a beach vacation my room is ocean front, period. I guess I view the stays differently. If we are going to the beach I want to stay right on it because that is why we are going there. If we are going to the Point we are going to be at the park until it closes so staying on-site doesn’t mean or add anything to us. And if a bird craps on my shirt, I rinse it off and walk around with the stain - which makes for a real, funny memory that the kids will remember.

And as far as the grill at the cabins - I'll give you my wife's opinion on those - We're at an amusement park, why do I want to mess with cooking?

Everyone is different.

I'll confess: I have a driver's license, enjoy driving but don't own a car, so I look for excuses to drive when I do have a rental car. Part of the appeal of staying off property in Sandusky is getting to drive across the causeway and see that skyline every time I go. :-)

Shades said:
And as far as the grill at the cabins - I'll give you my wife's opinion on those - We're at an amusement park, why do I want to mess with cooking?

Because if you cook your own meals, you can easily save $60/day.

We like to stay at WDW's Fort Wilderness cabins for just that reason. We can load up on groceries at Aldi and Winn-Dixie, save a ton of money, make exactly what we want and have the housekeepers clean up our mess, and even enjoy grilling steak or chicken.

djDaemon said:
Because if you cook your own meals, you can easily save $60/day.

Even better idea - I'll take the kids to Chuck E Cheese and they can do the Blue Streak simulator. That only costs $0.25. That will save me even more than your proposed $60. Who needs to go to an amusement park?

There's a difference between eating a real, succulent, perfectly rare steak that you've grilled yourself, topped with a luxurious blue cheese butter sauce, with a side of roasted asparagus topped with a zesty lemon vinegarette, sitting at a picnic table under a clear, starry sky...

...and watching a virtual roller coaster.

I like to cook. And I'm a cheap bitch.

Shades said:

Saturday, June 11

Breakers = $289

Quality Inn, Huron = $130

I do not question that the Breakers room is of better quality. If brighter colors of paint and pictures of roller coasters increase the value for you then I agree – stay there. But for our family it does not. You know the old saying – the rooms all look the same when your eyes are closed.

Everyone is different.

Yes, everyone is different. Personally, I wouldn't get much value staying in Huron with a view of the grain elevator. I enjoy the atmosphere at Breakers and staying on the peninsula makes you feel a world away from every day crap.

The beauty of staying on site is that there is a great variety of things to do for everyone in the group. If you want to stay in the park all day, you can. If you want to hang at the pools or beach for much of the day, you can. If you want to relax at the fire pits with a bottle of wine while hearing the sound of the waves, you can. It turns a CP trip into a vacation.

I spoke with a lady last year who was very happy to sit at the Surf Lounge drinking martinis while other family members enjoyed the park. They would meet for dinner and then the whole group would relax in the hot tub. That is their way of enjoying Cedar Point and it wasn't an all day ride marathon, but I'm sure they had just as much fun. That's the beauty of CP, it is more than an amusement park and can easily be a complete vacation experience.

Pete said:

It turns a CP trip into a vacation.

Well said. I guess if the goal of your trip is to ride coasters and sleep in a "good enough" room, then sure, Quality Inn is fine. But if your goal is to have a vacation, then staying in a Quality Inn and driving into the park each day sounds far less appealing by comparison. But to each their own.

Breakers looks really nice. I would love to be able to stay there, but it's out of my price range. I'll be staying at Sandcastle for Coastermania, which will be my first experience of staying on-point. I do go to the park alot during the season, so I mostly go up for day trips and overnight stays aren't necessary. But I do like to make one multi-day visit a year. CM will be that for me. I normally do such a trip opening weekend, but since I'm going to Carowinds at the end of May, it's not in my budget to do an overnight trip. I look forward to staying at SS to see how good the luxury of staying on-point is.

djDaemon said:
But if your goal is to have a vacation...

I think that is the key difference between me and most people. I don't look at CP as a vacation. That is what a week at the beach or even a week in Orlando is for. I just don't equate a 1 night stay at CP to be a vacation.

...and reading this thread makes me grateful every day that I'm a local who only lives a half hour away. I will never have to stay on point or buy a Fast Lane Pass unless I choose to. Yes, Cedar Fair might hate me too, haha.

Now that I'm a non-local, Breakers is infinitely more interesting to me. I'd stay there every time.

I'm not a 1%-er or anything, but if I'm traveling for leisure, the room, location and atmosphere matters. It's why I would consistently stay on-property at Universal Orlando when I didn't live here. It's why even now I'll stay at Disney's Beach Club, probably six miles from my house, for a weekend getaway with my wife when they have off-season discounts (read: Epcot Sparking Dessert Party then the epic pool). I very much view the accommodations as an integral part of the experience. Paying $250 for two or three people to crash with better service and style is a pretty good deal to me.

Agreed. I'm staying at Cabana Bay at Universal and have stayed on the resort at WDW in years past but just can't justify Breakers to sleep since I live so close by. Lighthouse Point I might consider (with a group) some 4th of July weekend in the future (especially with the parking lots problems on this day) but for now, the drive home,close by, saves me the overnight money in staying.