Announcement time... the delay is bad!

I agree. Announce now and boost season pass sales, or if nothing else, to keep us who don't know from going crazy!

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-Chris Woodard
Who finally met the infamous Magnum Dan!

I agree Jeff. I think they're banking a little too much on people seeing one little blurb in the news about a new ride and running to their computer to order a pass online. I know I will probably order my pass online, but I just don't know if that is the case with the majority of CP's guests. I'd be willing to bet that well over half of their season pass sales occur right at the park itself and I'd be shocked if online sales make up more than say 15 or 20%.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Okay I am going to throw this into the mix. At Knott's, when they announced Xcelerator, the word got out before they had any idea of an opening date. Plus, they still did not have all their approvals from the city and FAA about the construction.

Now this is speculation on my part but perhaps Cedar Point is not sure how long construction is going to take on this project. Wicked Twister took a bit longer than they anticipated with all of the electrical work, and though it was ready opening day, it was pretty close. Xcelerator was the same thing at Knott's. They had originally announced a May opening, but the ride did not open until the end of June.

Knott's Berry Farm has a benefit of being open all year, though pushing back the opening does hurt their attendance somewhat, it would not hurt as much as Cedar Point's new attraction opening later in the season. With a short operating calendar, not opening a major attraction on opening day would be devisating to their 2nd quarter attendance numbers.

So, they start construction, see how things are progressing, leave room by "setting" a later date to announce the attraction, and that way they don't falsely announce an opening day opening, when they are not sure if they are going to make it. Thus, if it looks like it will not be ready until Memorial Day, they can offer a deeper discount to get people in the gate, and lessen the blow of softer attendance numbers during the early part of the season.

Just an idea....;)

*Note..this post by no means insinuates that Cedar Point does not have approvals from either the City or FAA.
*** This post was edited by cp1984 8/10/2002 10:18:52 AM ***

Ok, I have been reading and enjoying all the "expert opinions" into "Why CP should Annouce Any Capital Improvements For 2003 Now", and while I can agree with most of what has been written, let's try to look at from the other side of the coin.

Who really cares other than US when an annpoucement is made? If you are the "typical summer visitor" you MAY spend one or two minutes walking past AREA 51 wondering ,"gee, I wonder what that will be". Would it really make a difference to you during your visit if you knew CP was building the Biggest, Tallest, Fastest, Coolest, Twistiest, Thing-a-ma-gig for 2003. I doubt you would run over and book rooms at the Breakers for next season immediately.

Also, WE, will still buy our season passes at any early season sale the park offers...now comes the time to ANNOUCE, once the REPEAT pass holders, who are already accoustmed to paying an "early season rate" in the Fall are finished buying, THEN annouce your new attraction...this leads me to look at the Late October, early November time frame Hooper refers to.

By annoucing once the Park is closed (or alomost closed) you will accomplish a number of things...1. You should see a SPIKE in the sale of Season Passes right at the start of the Holiday buying season. 2. You have "shortened" your Off Season...Instead of being "out of the news" from the end of October until you Open in May of 2003...you have now made the Construction of the New attraction a story in and of itself, thus you have peolpe THINKING about Cedar Point, in a non-traditional time frame.

While must of us will not agree with WAITING...I think if you look at from CP's point of view there are a number of advantages to waiting.

With regards to the "Season Pass Spending Account" I discussed with Jeff. I feel this would help INCREASE per cap spending by us Season Pass Holders...If I put $100 on my pass, my wife's pass and maybe $50 on each of my munchkins passes, I know we would SPEND more at the Park. Sometimes we just drive up to the park without stopping at the ATM and have a small amount of cash on hand. The system I sugesst is like the system most Colleges have used with their Food Programs for years. I know it would take some investment on CP's part to install but I feel it is well worth the investment.

The spending account idea is insanely good! I know I spend more on food at school knowing the money has already been put there and it doesn't hurt as much coming out of my pocket at that moment. It would take some serious investment in technology on CP's part and I'm not sure they'd be willing to do it, but perhaps if it would make them more dough in the long run, it'd be worth it.

Old Timer's thinking is probably the same as whoever decided to put off the announcement. In some ways it makes sense, but I still feel they're losing out on possible sales of all the people already at the park this season. Let's face it - the people who are going to pay attention to a winter announcement are people like us - ones who already buy passes and will buy them anyway. They're missing out on Joe GP who is already at the park and in the amusement park frame of mind. I just doubt that the average person is going to see a news report about a new coaster and then run to the computer and order a pass online - especially when that news report is not going to tell them they can do that.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

We all knew what Wicked Twister was going to be in the final month or so before the announcement, and it seems like we know that this ride will be Xcelerator Sr. So why wait for an announcement and spoil the excitement?? We didn't know what MF was going to be and it was announced in July. I was never looking more forward to going to an amusement park that I was with the MF announcement. I really, really hope this ride is not what we think it is, or that the specs are not what we think they are.

?
*** This post was edited by net 8/10/2002 11:06:40 AM ***

Putting a spending account on a season pass is a great idea. I know I would dump more money in that place than I do now. It would take alot on CP's part though to put in a system like that but who know's maybe in a couple of years.

As for delaying the announcement OTT made some great points. They want to sell to the average park goer not us hard core fans because were going regardless. By delaying I think it really does help out to accomplish that. I don't expect to hear anything until when season passes go on sale for next year later this fall. It gives you a reason to buy one at that time. You can advertise and say be first to ride the new (whatever) buy your passes now. Plus you can save money by buying now. Especially with Halloweekends becoming very popular I would assume pass sales would be better than if they announce in November or now for that matter.

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"WE HAVE ANOTHER CHOICE PRIZE WINNER"

You've got some good points, Tim, but there are more points in favor of not waiting.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Although I'm not a season pass holder, I have been tossing the idea of asking for one for Christmas and making the 4 hour trip every other week. I really like the idea of the spending account on the pass. It would be perfect because you wouldn't have to worry about bills and all that dumb loose change. Plus, an advantage for CP is that it's paid upfront, so they can do what colleges do and say don't use and loose it. So, say someone puts $100 on their card, they spend a total of $75 dollars in the park that season. CP pockets $25 of pure income.

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If you meet me and forget me, you've lost nothing. If you meet Jesus and forget Him, you've lost everything.

While being able to use the season pass like a debit card would be convenient, it makes me uncomfortable thinking that CP knows where, when and how much I am spending in the park. So, I don't agree with being able to use the season pass as a debit card.

I guess what's irking me about this announcement delay is that CP pulled off nearly every aspect of the MF announcment perfectly. The timing was beautiful, it generated an enormous amount of hype, which led to nice season pass sales and a huge 2000 season all the way across the board.

For all the same reasons, CP should announce as soon as possible. Erect one of those ride layout signs on the outside of Area 51 and I guarantee swarms of people will be crowding around it, and then going home to tell their friends about the awesome new attraction.

How can upper management look back on the success of MF's announcement and still be stubborn and hold off until later in the fall?

Because they either have no clue what they are thinking, or doing something very smart...

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"It will be the shot thats heard around the world"

Thats for them to know and us to find out.

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And all this time I thought I was riding the green train.
5 Mantis 4 Maggie 3 Raptor 2 WT 1 Mille

Or better yet, why not make the season pass a credit card. That is a surefire way to get people to blow money.

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-Nash

How many season passes does CP sell every year? Do season pass holders represent a large percentage of their revenue? A lot of the discussion seems to hinge on CP's desire to maximize season pass sales (instead of other considerations) - is that their primary driver on these sorts of decisions?

-- Harley

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CP fan since 68.

Personally, I wouldn't like to see CP becoming a contributing factor to this countries credit card debt problems. It would take huge undertaking in the infrastructure to pull that off, and besides, who would want to pursue people that haven't paid off their credit? Sounds like too much money and hassle would be involved...a debit would be the easier route to go if they decided to enter that type of service.

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June 28th: LocoBazooka Tour (Sevendust headlining)
July 11th: Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and Deadsy

That's a great point CP, the last thing some people need (myself included) is an easier way to rack up debt.

The whole concept of attaching money to a season pass in very interesting and I can see it being a future possibility but since all Cedar Fair properties are tied together and can be visited with the same season pass would they want to make it universal or park specific? If it was universal couldn't there be hassles with who initially sold the pass and the "credit" and where it was spent? If it's park specific would that irritate those who visit several of the Cedar Fair parks each season?

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The Little Lady's Guide to Thrill Rides
Nobody likes a dirty, stinky little lady!

I just realized that the credit/season pass/debit discussion stopped me from thinking about the new ride for a few minutes...oh well...back to daydreaming!
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The Little Lady's Guide to Thrill Rides
Nobody likes a dirty, stinky little lady!

Not even a tease on the website....

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Fairwell Dan!

It appears the early announcement of MF did nothing but positive things for CP. Based on that information, I would think CP would learn from the past. Also, I believe the average park patron would be more exited about an announcement today rather than November because their CP memories are still fresh in their heads. By November, everyone's busy thinking about other things such as Christmas and other holidays.