2020 announcement just posted

I've read comments about going from Platinum to Gold and needing to get a new Gold pass for 2020. I sent the suggestion to CP about possibly opening the Season Pass Center on Winter Chill Out Day for folks to be able to process their new pass so on Opening Day, we will be able to use the early entry time and skip the Season Pass line. There are certainly plenty of Pass Holders at the Chill Out event. I know the center is open early in the season...but, with a few hours drive I would love to get processed while already on Point.

Anyone else think this would be a convenient way to get processed before the crowds and LONG lines.... any thoughts?

That way, on the Big 150th opening day...."Baby, I'm Ready To Go"

The processing center isn’t really needed anymore to just get a new pass if you don’t need a photo taken. I have replaced at least 6 lost passes this season at ticket windows including CPS. Teaching teens to be responsible for their stuff is hard. :)

XS NightClub said:

WolfBobs said:
People act like $140 million dollars is ONLY for rides.

50-60 million or more of that could easily be for renovating Sawmill Creek resort alone to get it to CF standards.

How bad a shape is that resort in???
Don’t get me wrong, Breakers is much nicer than the s***hole it was, but CF standards... that’s really about a Holiday Inn level.

Honestly, I have no idea. I was throwing out numbers. I couldn't remember what the announced cost of renovating Breakers was a few years ago. And Sawmill is more than just a hotel, as there are shops, restaurants, marina and a golf course too. I in no way claim to have inside knowledge on CF Cap Ex spending. Or what it costs to renovate a resort. All I was trying to convey is if CF says "we are spending $140 million dollars in capital expenditure for 2020", that doesn't mean they are buying $140 million dollars worth of shiny new rollie coasters and thrill rides.

It could mean $140 million dollars worth of benches!

After a quick Google search, this article https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2015/05/cedar_points_historic_hotel_br_1.html says Breakers had a $50 million dollar renovation. So saying Sawmill Creak, with shops, restaurants, marina and a golf course could also see $50-60 million dollars isn't too far of a stretch.

^^ Thanks for the info Cargo Shorts...I did not know the passes could be replaced at the ticket window. We've never had to replace them, we just use the same passes for each new season. So, do you just go to a window and they reissue a new card for you? I just would like to bypass the extreme long lines of early season.

When we were there in July the season pass center wasn’t even open, we got passes at the regular ticket windows.

We got our daughter's new pass this year at the resort entrance. Handed them the voucher, and in about 15 seconds we were on our way. We did have her picture already loaded; not sure if that makes a difference or not.

If I remember correctly, the fine print said to get it processed at either the Season Pass center of at any entrance gate. I was surprised, since we have never done this at a gate before, but it sure was easy.

No where did it say earmarked for the improvement of road conditions on the chause. Does anyone think that is figured into the the 140 million?

Glad to hear you can get them processed at the resort entrance. Will save a shuttle trip to the front of the park.

My wife and I were at the park on Saturday evening. There were two folks right in front of us at the front gate with fresh new gold passes. They were getting their new pass photos taken with web cams attached directly to the check in devices operated by the gate attendants (as opposed to the season pass building off to the left).

It caused a slight delay to the entry line, but nothing substantial or to the extent that we would need to be made whole over it.

XS NightClub said:

WolfBobs said:
People act like $140 million dollars is ONLY for rides.

50-60 million or more of that could easily be for renovating Sawmill Creek resort alone to get it to CF standards.

How bad a shape is that resort in???
Don’t get me wrong, Breakers is much nicer than the s***hole it was, but CF standards... that’s really about a Holiday Inn level.

Hotel Breakers was never a s***hole. Before the breakers renovation, I would’ve much rather stayed there than off property at a chain hotel. Now grant it, the Bon Air, Main, and Twin section could’ve been more modern. I totally understand that. But aside from that, Breakers was really nice, and the location was super.

Jake10 said:
Hotel Breakers was never a s***hole.

Yes it was. And after the renovation it's merely a good hotel, not a great one. Though the overall resort and/or amenities helps make up for the mediocre rooms.

I really enjoyed our 4 nights in the new Breakers West wing this July. Even though the room designs match the rest of the hotel from the 2015 renovation, we could tell that the room in West was NEW instead of renovated like our usual room in Breakers East or Tower. We're staying in West exclusively next year for both of our trips.

Heading back Sun-Thur, staying at Breakers again in the new wing.

The rooms are nicer in the new wing and the fit and finish is superior as well.

The problem in the old area is they kept/reused some fixtures and hardware during the remodel of the older sections and the tower; Tub inserts that don't drain and hold standing water, door frames that don't line up, cheap cabinet doors that are left over from Kinzel years, A/C unit holdovers, and overall just some poor finish work. Even with these problems the hotel is 100% better than it was, but again it's at the level of a Holiday Inn.

One thing you cannot beat is the location of any of the lodging options on point, we drive 8.5 hours from Wisconsin and its just not worth it for us to stay off point to save some money. We rarely utilize Early Entry anymore and prefer ride times in the park weekdays at late night when the lines are minimal. The nice thing about the park is there is so much more to do now than there used to be for overnight guests. This July we brought our own Jet Skis with and spent a couple days launching from the city ramp and jetting over to the CP beach and met people out on the sandbar across from Maverick. I suggest expanding your activities while at the park beyond waiting for rides, they really offer so much more.

Walt said:

JeffH said:

Basically, their message was "NEW: new ways to spend money getting into the park..."

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. :)

Yes. I had to read it twice in order to make sure that it included Waterpark admission. Sounds like it's a good plan for me.

Verified by speaking with park operations on the phone: the new pass includes all the benefits of a platinum pass (including hotel discounts that wasn't listed online)- except all parks, FL+ upgrade & ((1/2 hr early entry)).

It appears that they dropped the 'regular season pass' altogether, renamed it Gold Pass then dropped the price from $139 to $99 while adding all the benefits of Platinum Passes as above.

This seems to be a way of making daily tickets obsolete and just giving everyone an all season pass,

Current price for one day park admission ($74) plus parking ($20) = $94 not including waterpark.

I understand there are deals out there, but this is how they justify that a platinum pass is cheaper than 3 days.

Clearly the more guests the better for the parks bottom line, but not necessarily better for the guest experience. Also, I'm all for the park making money and being able to make their huge capital improvements. Just trying to figure how this may drive attendance and affect queue times in any substantial way.

I can see this being a drive to increase Fastlane purchases, if the end result of more guests increases wait times to levels not seen in awhile. Such as for popular rides where a you may get 2-4 rides in a day if the wait times are 3-4+ hours. This would lead to a higher demand for Fastlane passes which the park uses dynamic pricing for, as demand goes up so does the price throughout the day.

I can also see the new Early Entry being an entry nightmare when you are trying to divide the masses, will they do the gold/platinum/resort pass check at the security check point, entrance scanners or the cattle fence in the park. Its easy to envision gold pass people lining up and creating choke points wherever they decide to divide the haves from the have-nots. Either way it dilutes the Early Entry benefit if basically everyone gets in a half hour into early entry.

ERT, pretty much the same issues with dilution if most people have a qualifying pass.

Just some ramblings and observations of what we can see with the new pass structure.

We will just keep an eye on how the crowds shake out next year if there is a large surge in daily visits. we will do our May visit, skip any June or July visit, then maybe do a late August trip and Halloweekends will likely be a no way in hell.

On the other hand, this could have a negligible affect if the park can staff properly for reaching capacity and get rides open on time. And, not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, alternately if the push is for more Fastlane sales then there may not be a push to reach capacities.

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

Think this is just a good will gesture to the Sandusky community and the people within a short drive of that. The only people that will overuse the pass and mess up que times will probably only be there for one trip. If 50 percent of the people stay at a CP hotel then they've doubled their money. It's to book off site properties. It's really the only way to enjoy the park to it's fullest anyways. In the last 15 years i've only made a day trip to CP once. It's 2.25 hours away. They will have another hotel operating by next year. If you only go for one day a year your not really contributing to their growth. If they convince people regionally that it's better to stay overnight. Then revenues will be off the chart. But if their just selling the gate then not so good. This will convince people to take vacation during the week and go during slow days and stay with them. More than it will have them in on a Saturday and leave the same day they came.

XS NightClub said:

On the other hand, this could have a negligible affect if the park can staff properly for reaching capacity and get rides open on time.

Like that will ever happen.

XS NightClub said:

This seems to be a way of making daily tickets obsolete and just giving everyone an all season pass

It also seems to be a way of making the Platinum Pass obsolete, which seems odd considering their recent, successful efforts in growing that segment. The primary reason to opt for Platinum over Gold is for people visiting multiple parks, which is a very small segment.

I know they've done the math, so I'm not questioning it. I'm just surprised that basically eliminating the Platinum Pass base can be countered by the number of guests that will end up paying basically $30 more above gate price. So in other words they feel they can get 3 new Gold Pass holders for every Platinum Pass holder they convert to Gold.

I can also see the new Early Entry being an entry nightmare when you are trying to divide the masses...

Yeah, we visit almost exclusively during the "shoulder" seasons, and even then there are choke points where they separate non-pass/resort guests at the "cattle fence". And all they're doing at that point is checking to see whether or not you have a pass/resort pass.

One thing that has surprised me over the years is the lack of signage for this process (at least in the back of the park... I don't recall the last time we went through the front for ERT). Having a big sign at the fence explaining that only pass holders and resort guests can get through would not only alleviate some of the confusion, but would serve as an advertisement of passes and/or staying at the resort.

This is a strategy to create loyalty among Cedar Point visitors. They've never provided a value pass, and I'm sure that after 2020, the price will go up. By then, perhaps many of these guests will have seen the benefit of a pass, enjoyed the memories and pay $125 in 2021, $135 in 2022, $150 in 2023. This is what I am sure they're banking on.

I know I am guilty of continuing my renewal of my family's Walt Disney World annual pass (despite the hefty price increases over the years) simply because once you are used to the conveniences of a pass, you never can go back. I haven't spent a 9am-9pm day at Disney in years- and I don't plan on doing it anytime soon either. When people begin to use a product differently (i.e. Cedar Point) and realize they don't have to go all day to get their money's worth and be exhausted at the end of the day, and go up for an afternoon or early evening, they will enjoy the product substantially more, and it will be hard to let go of those privileges once you're used to having them. This is why Disney increases the passes year after year and Florida keeps paying.