Birthday Weekend observations & musings

Just got back a short while ago. I spent my birthday weekend with friends at the parks. Below are a few observations and musings of rides, employees, etc. Enjoy!

Met a dear longtime friend Sunday at 9:40am at our 'halfway' point - the Genoa OH rest area on the 80/90 Ohio Turnpike. Went inside so she could get an iced coffee for the trip. Air conditioning was broke in the entire plaza and Gloria Jean's Gourmet Coffee was blazing hot- felt like Zimbabwe in August! That and their small size specialty drinks were twice the price of a large Starbucks drink. Ridiculous!

Arrived at the park by 10:15am and was able to park by A22. Walked right in and same as last Sunday...there were NO CROWDS! Thought we would be smart and look for rain ponchos "just in case". No such luck anywhere (but we forgot about the Pagoda). Met up with former CP co worker/friend and our day began. We walked on almost all the major rides before 1pm. The longest wait was 1/2 hour for Maverick.

Went to "Grand Ole' Country" (we formerly worked in Live Shows) and was a pleasant surprise to see a local Toledo area performer in the show. Exciting! As usual, same show/music as last season...very enjoyable and made you sing along and tap your toes. HATE that Cedar Point feels the dire need to add a kitschy patriotic finale to everything. Overdone and embarassing. Overall, the show was high energy and fun to sing along to. Also fun to see the regular, slightly creepy "groupie" who obsessively has been watching every season and has the show memorized including the orchestration, rhythmic beat and choreography.

Continued our success of walking onto every ride. Then went to Wave Swinger. This is where my rant begins. The employee(s) were indescribable. They had personal conversations over the speaker system (asking what their plans were for later, how to spell an associates name, who was scheduled the following day, etc.) and held up the ride for 20 MINUTES!! People began to voice the opinion and complain. My friend stood up and pointed saying "That is NOT how you present yourself as an employee..what is your problem?" and the two young men laughed. A guest waiting in line threw a water bottle towards the booth (natives were getting restless!) to get the ride hosts attention and OVER THE SPEAKER he tried to embarass and ridicule her and told her to leave. He started the ride and a few minutes later,...we were on our way to Park Op to complain. I have "never" encountered ride hosts so childish, unprofessional, immature, catty and bitchy!! Park Op as usual was very gracious and engaging to us and seemed to take the complaint to heart. It was appreciated.

After some more rides, we decided on Johnny Rockets for my birthday dinner where my one friend made it a point to announce that it was birthday. I told them that I was 19....again. They sang "Happy 19th" to me, which was hilarious! The service was very quick, friendly and fun. Marciano was especially fantastic and knew how to dance- now if he only remembers to smile like we the good h.s drama & voice teachers yelled at him between our food!

Got in a very short line for Raptor & the dark clouds rolled in. The weather looked foreboding and the text messages started to blow up our phones. Friends and family from Toledo telling us to immediately take cover due to tornado and thunderstorm warnings. We got on the very last train before they closed it down. The crowds began to run chaotically towards the exit around 6:15 or so, and we decided to call it a day. Once we got onto the Causeway, the storm hit HARD!! Mix 102.7 interrupted its program and told people to seek cover...so what better place than Cold Stone Creamery on 250? We sat there for a solid 45 minutes before the rain and lightning subsided. My friend and I drove the other friend back to Genoa...and then turned around and headed back to Sandusky.

Stopped at Sandusky Wal Mart about 9:00pm to pick up snacks/late night dinner to cook at friends and there were only "2" registers open and over 60 people in line! I waited in line for a HALF HOUR!! The clerk said Wal Mart is trying to make cutbacks on payroll but that specific store has had drastically increased traffic since Cedar Point opened. All the cutbacks are doing is decreasing their ratings on the customer service surveys. **sigh**.

Stayed the night at my friends place, and then up the next morning for the newspaper and iced coffee at Starbucks, a trip to K&K Home Furnishings,..and then met up at Soak City around noon.

We laid in the sunbathing area in the hidden corner behind the Lazy River. Then went on the Lazy River for a good run of 8 loops or more before we decided to grab some food. I was amused that the "Snoopy Meal" had nothing remotely "Peanuts" about it...except for a PEANUT butter & jelly sandwich. Then headed to Bubbles, the adult swim up bar. Yay!! The bugs were nasty and relentless, biting everyone in sight including the annoyed bartenders. But the alcohol was so relaxing! Such a great, calming thing to do..but the prices? Yikes!! $7.50 for a Bud Light and $10.25 for a margarita. No thanks.

By 5pm, we decided to take a walk on the Boardwalk and then catch the Extreme Wheels show. Man,..the show was so exciting! Made me want to learn gymnastics on a trampoline. It looked like so much fun! The two female dancers were a little unnecessary and didn't add "anything" to the show.

Afterwards, after a day in the 90 degree sun..he had to head into work, and I was spent. Time for the drive back to Toledo. I realize that it is the Memorial Day weekend and traffic is crazy...but I beg to ask the question, is it new employees, holiday tourists or locals that make the roads so dangerous in Sandusky? I was almost sideswiped, hit head on, etc...at least 4 times this weekend on Route 250, Route 2, Cleveland Rd., etc. Oy vey!

I'll be back at the park at some point this week.

I contacted Mgmt. in the Park Ops office today concerning the Wave Swinger situation & they will contact me once they follow through with the research, etc. Stay tuned!

Ok,..so just heard some other complaints today about Wave Swinger crew specifically concerning this past weekend. WTH?

I'm interested to hear the outcome with the waveswinger situation. That's absolutely inexcusable.

Also, what did you expect going into a Walmart? A quality experience?

Always go into ANY Wal-Mart with low expectations. Always. I don't care if it's in the best neighborhood in the world, it's still a Wal-Mart.

I received a very personable and sincere apology letter from Steve Voorhees of Park Operations in the mail today. I'm 'very' appreciative of his kind words and admittedly was taken aback because in the past- I've simply been ignored or just received a lame form letter.

His reply was very sincere/ He explained that the Wave Swinger & Antique Cars staff and supervisors were immediately spoken to as soon as he received my complaint. They discussed this specific situation, but also proper etiquette and professionalism in general. He assured me that the ride host's rudeness and immaurity would not be tolerated.

He thanked me for my comments and encouraged me to continue to voice my detailed and personal opinions, comments, praise and suggestions concerning specific Park Operations staff and staff situations.

His letter truly made my day and reassured my faith in loyal work ethic at Cedar Point.