2020 announcement just posted

The river expedition could be a redo of Thunder Canyon, like Knott's just did on there Calico River Rapids. or smaller boats out and back on just part of the lagoon, with a sound track playing in each boat.

djDaemon said:

SSL488 said:

...Perhaps PW is coming back? Or bringing back the Mill Race in a new form...

I don't see how PWE comes back with Forbidden Frontier blocking the path on both sides of the island.

While it's unlikely I don't think it would be impossible. I know the back side of the island where the employee backstage area is has a floating bridge. I don't know if the same goes for the main entrance bridge. Never paid too close attention. They could put in a larger bridge that would allow for PW to go under.

“In general terms, it will travel in the same waters as the former Paddlewheel Excursions, but will be a completely new experience,” said Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark.

From an article on Cleveland.com

source: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/08/cedar-points-150th-...ation.html

A combo between PWE and a shooting game like Boo Blasters. Bam, nailed it. Thank me later.

In all seriousness, I am glad to see PWE coming back in some form.

^Please don’t give them any ideas. That sounds like a complete mess and disaster waiting to happen.

A “river expedition” might just be a riverfront expansion of Forbidden Frontier, it doesn’t necessarily me YOU go on the water.

Riverboat gambling would be a completely new experience and a way to shake out the pockets of us dinning plan holders. $$$$$$

I am thrilled about the addition of the Gold pass. We've been Platinum Pass holders for 3 years, but visit CP almost exclusively - but the free parking perk of Platinum made it a worthwhile investment over a regular season pass. The 30 minute cut to ERT does hurt a little bit (I was at the park mid-week last week and Steel Vengeance was a 90 minute wait 20 minutes into ERT), but that's not significant enough to be a dealbreaker.

We'll definitely go Gold next year, and I bet this becomes their most popular pass option.

I was sort of expecting them to go all Six Flags with their passes and do "memberships" and 6 different tiers with different perks, possibly having Halloweekends and July/August Saturdays blacked out for the lower tiers, maybe a one time Fast Pass per visit for upper tiers, etc. This isn't really as big of a change as I was expecting. They really are upping the value proposition of the Cedar Point only pass by including parking and 30 minute ERT at a great price point. It's tempting to me. We usually go to KI at least one weekend though and sometimes to Michigan's Adventure once or twice a summer, but to save $400, I'd consider skipping them. We could still probably buy one platinum and then use bring a friend tickets and still end up break even or slightly better off than if we bought four Platinums.

I'm curious why they went this route. Maybe all the whining locals in the Sandusky Register comment section can finally have one less thing to complain about!

Hopefully they're prepared to deal with the confusion and enforcement of the 60 minutes vs. 30 minutes at the gates next year.

Cargo Shorts said:

Riverboat gambling would be a completely new experience and a way to shake out the pockets of us dinning plan holders. $$$$$$

Lol While that would be interesting, there is no possible way to do this with Ohio gaming laws.

SSL488 said:

They could put in a larger bridge that would allow for PW to go under.

Right, but if that were the plan, why build a bridge for the 2019 attraction only to replace it a year later? We know from their "five year plan" that their plans a year out are relatively well-realized.

Also, I recall doing the math when DA was announced to figure out the length of the ADA-compliant ramps, and coming to the half-baked conclusion that the most likely solution would be an elevator. So would they need two elevators, one on each side of the island?

Been pondering this rather surprising Gold Pass pricing and starting to think this may have been a rather recent decision in response the somewhat dire and uncertain economic news of late. Parks get hit hard in downturns and this may be a way to try and stem some of the blood letting. I could be wrong and this has been in the works for some time but this is effectively a drastic price cut for many existing pass holders.

MDOmnis said:
Hopefully they're prepared to deal with the confusion and enforcement of the 60 minutes vs. 30 minutes at the gates next year.

Yep get ready for all the complaints that you are not allowed to take advantage of the 1st 30 minutes of EE and all the ques are full by the time you get in. Going to be busy times for the Be Made Whole Department,

Walt said:

See, I read it as, "If you have a Platinum Pass, but don't visit other Cedar Fair parks, your pass is now 50% off."

As someone who does not visit other Cedar Fair parks, I wholeheartedly support this news. :)

This is the thing that I don't get. Why offer a 50% off pass at all? Are there enough people out there that currently do not buy a platinum pass but will now purchase a gold pass so as to make up for all of the money that the park is now going to "lose" from the people who currently do buy a platinum pass but will now opt for the half price gold pass?

It seems like the park just made a move that will end up as a pretty large net loss. What am I missing?

I think Cargo Shorts is on target with regard to the economy. At this point the economy is more likely to get worse than to get better or even maintain the status quo. That is especially true around here, where the auto industry is a major employer. Aside from a global softening demand for cars, we're also dealing with painful tariffs and a transition to autonomy and EVs.

If you all have been listening to what Zimmerman and Co have been saying recently you'd understand this approach. Zimmerman is a Paramount Parks guy. There are essentially two theories in amusement park ticket/season pass world. John H. alluded to it in his book.

The Paramount Park formula was to build a loyal base of repeat visitors by selling them on the value of a season pass. If they buy the one day ticket for $60, then upgrade and pay $99 for the pass- they got the $$ and that's all that matters. It's the perceived value of the pass.

Cedar Fair operated with a different mentality they called "gate integrity" where they believed that season passes should be priced significantly higher than a daily admission (why we paid $25 more in 2000 for a pass than today). This theory shot them in the foot when they acquired the Paramount Parks and did not understand their pricing theory.

Zimmerman is now bringing this full circle. He's bringing the Paramount Park Season Pass approach to the last Cedar Fair park that hasn't had it- Cedar Point. The idea is simple. They'd rather have your $99 and grant you admission all season, than have your $50 for a one day admisssion.

You'd be surprised at the sheer amount of season passes they sell and the person never returns. They bought the $99 pass because it's perceived as a good deal- but people are busy, they're not super fans like we are, and the percentage of repeat visits on season passes is actually much lower than you think.

The GP is buying up these $99 season passes like hotcakes- because they feel it is a great deal (and it is). But a majority of them actually will only visit the park once or twice. And assuming they actually do return more often- it's an even bigger win because you have people in the park that otherwise would not have been there.

They are building brand loyalty by attempting to turn what would be one day visitors into season pass holders. It's the winning approach in my opinion.

^^Small sample size I know but in my circle of friends, who are mostly "enthusiasts" 2 last summer bought Platinum passes with all the add ons and never made it to the park due to busy personal schedules. It happens all the time. I even know some people who have bought one day tickets when they have their sales and don't use them.

Myself, I have a six flags membership cause its dirt cheap (about $6/month for my level) and I use it maybe once a year. I keep it cause it's cheap.

Plenty of people purchase passes and never use them. I have a few friends who are pumped over this $99 deal and are jumping on it.

And honestly, if it wasn't for Orion at KI next season I probably would too. lol

Platinum pass with all season dining will continue for me because of Kings Island ( 4 hour drive ) and Carowinds ( 8 hour drive ).

Regarding the free Fast Lane Plus for renewals - I may be misunderstanding the circumstances, but my daughter and I had platinum passes for 2019 and wife had just a regular season pass for 2019. She ordered gold passes for all three of us this morning for 2020. HERS was considered a renewal and she got the free Fast Lane Plus for it. Mine and our daughter's were considered new purchases since we were not "renewing platinum", but instead downgrading from platinum to gold. Because it was not a renewal of our existing tier, we did not get that free FLP perk.

I do not need to be made whole! We rarely ever made use of those free renewal FLPs in years past that could not be used on Halloweekend Saturdays. They were never that big of a benefit for us on the days they were valid and we were in attendance.

But I am wondering if others downgrading from platinum to gold had the same experience and if some are just assuming that it is a "renewal" and will be entitled to a free FLP.

Tilt-a-Whirl said:

If you all have been listening to what Zimmerman and Co have been saying recently you'd understand this approach.

I get that angle. What surprises me is that they're offering something that so closely matches the Platinum Pass for half the price. It seems like a basic season pass (no parking, ERT, or discounts) at that price point would still hit the mark in terms of value without cannibalizing Platinum Pass sales. Do they expect to make up in per caps what they lose in cannibalization?

^^

We have not purchased them yet, but yea; I was expecting it to be considered a renewal. Oh well.