Bon Aire section and other exterior changes to Hotel Breakers

So "whenever" is an acceptable response

Basing operating hours on the amount of business seems reasonable.

I believe that when the park closes at Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays the Surf Lounge will be open until 1:00am, if I remember correctly what the bartenders said.

The Surf Lounge doesn't have any food available there. Last Friday they were supposed to close at 10 but remained open until closer to 11. It seems as if the bartenders have been pushing the managers to allow them to stay open later as long as patrons are there.

Yes, I was ready to comment on the bizarre hours of the fire pits and Surf bar after opening weekend, but I held back, assuming it was a temporary early season issue. But that does not appear to be the case.

With the new convenient Surf bar and Starbucks, I thought the fire pits would be the perfect new spot to hang out after the park closed. I was even more impressed when seeing everything in person, and I remembered Ouimet pushing to extend the stay. I thought this was another brilliant attempt at that, along with utilizing the beach asset.

Well, we went opening weekend after park close to grab a Rougabrew, and it was disappointingly closed. We tried to support the park's latest effort, but I guess they didn't want our money. :( We returned the following Thursday midday to have a drink and chat with the bartender about the odd closing time.

The bartender informed us that the 10PM closing time was frustrating, as he was turning away so many people each night that were coming in after the park closed, and he wanted the extra money. He said he asked management if he could just keep the bar open himself after 10, but they said no (at that time). We asked if the hours would be extending in the future, and he said he heard the hours might extend until 1AM sometime in July, but it was only for a short time.

Everyone unhappy with this, please let the park know directly. Cedar Point definitely listens to customer feedback. Everything that I've suggested to them has been fixed. If enough people comment on the 10PM close of the bar and early shut-off of the fire pits, I think they will be changed quickly.

I wholeheartedly support Ffej's suggestion to contact the park directly. While they monitor social media, customers motivated to contact the park directly will always carry considerable weight.

That said... I'm not sure having them close early on opening weekend, or even through the month of May, means the park doesn't want everyone's money. It may a question of staffing/expected business/unknown possibility that the company perhaps misjudged.

JUnderhill said:

The Surf Lounge doesn't have any food available there.

Strange, I don't know any bars that don't provide some type of food.

Yeah noggin, that was a joke/sarcasm of the park building a new bar but it being closed at prime time. ;)

I was wondering if the 10PM close was something to do with noise for those staying at Breakers and wanting to sleep, etc. Who knows management's reasoning, but I do think it'll change soon.

I had a mid-day chat with that same bartender on that same day. He said the hours get longer as the season goes, but I'm trying to remember if he said it was going to be 10 or so thru the month of June. I think he did.
He did say he volunteered to work the hours to keep the bar open, particularly when there's a basketball game on, but so far the park has refused.

Truthfully, I wasn't surprised. Fridays has been the same way in years past. I remember I was there one early spring and after the park closed I went to my room to freshen up then head to the bar to get my drink on. I sat down, ordered my first drink then heard last call. I was so mad, but the hotel was really slow and they said they don't stay open late until it gets to be worth it to them.

And I get that, but I also think its ridiculous to promote the resort as a place to stay then roll up the sidewalks leaving guests with money in their pockets and nothing to do all evening.
So if I feel like I need a drink that badly, I've got no problem packing my own, filling a sippy cup, and making my own fun.

I can't imagine a bartender would want to work in a bar that closes at 10 on a Saturday night. My issue arises with how this was promoted as a new addition to the hotel. I book a room anticipating going there, and can't utilize it unless I were to leave the park early before the bar is closed down. I'm sorry I don't drink in the early afternoon. When I go back in June, it's probably going to be the same deal since the park closes at 10. I guess it's a pseudo bar there for looks and marketing purposes only.

From my understanding, the Cedar Fair wanted to promote more night life for after the park closes. I'm not too sure what kind of night life these managers have/had in the past, but even 1pm is NOT night life at a midnight closing.

I honestly wonder how high up the decision on hours is/was made. Do the people that made the decision to spend $30 million or more on upgrading the hotel know some of its profit/guest happiness potential is being neutered by a bad decision at a lower level? Or did the higher ups actually make this bad decision? I honestly don't know.

I really feel like this is probably some leftover attitude from the Kinzel years of wanting to keep staff hours to a bare minimum, but in this case, they're leaving money on the table. I understand not wanting to keep a full restaurant with cooks, servers, hosts, busers, etc open until 2AM if there are only 1 or 2 people that might use it, but the lobby bar literally has a staff of one or two and selling two drinks an hour probably pays the cost. Anything beyond that is profit. It's not a high threshold for success.

I will be staying at Breakers 29-31 May. I will be quite perturbed if the pits and the bar are not open late.

The park closes at 10PM both of the nights I will be there. As the other posters have said, I want to be able to relax and enjoy the amenities after I'm done in the park. There is not much point in having the pits and the bar otherwise.

I am staying at a hotel because I don't live within day-trip distance of the park. As such, I don't get a chance to go very often. Therefore, I am going to be spending my 2 days at the park actually in the park while it is open. I'm not going to leave the park a few hours early to have a drink at Breakers and sit by the firepits just because they close them early.

I would rather stay off point and be able to enjoy resort amenities for a few hours after closing than stay on point and have not much to do at the resort but go to bed.

Exactly DA20Pilot. I can't believe they can't keep these things open and running till midnight in May/June when the park closes at 10.

I have faith that they'll adjust their strategy. To Matt's point, it's been said that Ouimet has been empowering lower-level managers to make decisions on their own. That cuts both ways, as some will take that freedom and run with it (the updated Petting Farm may be an example), while others may take that freedom and continue with the Kinzel-inspired status quo.

We also know that the company has been responsive (the healthier dining plan options, for example), so one would hope enough customer feedback will steer them in the right direction.

Yeah, I used this online form to let the park know that I was noticing plenty of people upset at their odd choice to remove salt from the condiment stands at the fresh cut fry locations in 2013 (it had been gone about a month at that point).

I received a call the next day from someone within the food department that stated they did that because they were already salting the fries. I told her that I didn't taste any salt on the fries, and everyone should be able to adjust the level of salt to their preference. She agreed with me and stated she'd personally go add a salt shaker to each location. They were there my next visit.

Same kind of call response for suggesting healthier options and more variety on the dining plan using that form. So, while you might think you're wasting your time and nobody is going to read your comments, that's definitely not the case with Cedar Point.

Exactly. Communicating concerns directly to any company is the best way to let the company know there are concerns.

I found this paragraph interesting in a review of the hotel on cleveland.com:

"For the first time, the resort has hired an activities director, who will plan outside-the-park fun for overnight guests. Already in the works: summer movies on the beach (on a giant inflatable screen), live bands, poolside DJs and more."

That all sounds very Disney (down to the inflatable screen on the beach) and that is a VERY good thing.

I'm just planning on enjoying as much as I can of the hotel in June. If they want everything closed at 10, I'll just plan accordingly. I'm glad I have season passes and can go back in Sunday before I leave to ride more things.