Camper village......FAIL!

e x i t english said:
Yeah, but again, after 10 PM you'll get your head bitten off for holding a conversation by the camp fire.

Because people would much rather be lulled to sleep by the roar of a freight train across the street...

We still had fun that night... we just had to relocate. That was the night I was introduced to Jon Lajoie ;)

An I just introduced Bryan to the wonder that is JLJ... Thanks for the reminder :)

I suspect the no bikes and no campfires rule is more of a liability thing thing than anything else.

RideMan said:
Apparently if it is after 10pm, you are supposed to be asleep. That seems to be the way nearly all of the businesses in Sandusky and the surrounding area operate.

This continues to be my #1 annoyance about the Sandusky area (although Toledo is almost as bad). On opening weekend we were looking for some fast food after the park closed, but wanted to dine in. At 10:15 on a Saturday night Taco Bell, Wendy's and BK all had their dining rooms closed, and Wendy's even had the drive through closed. We had to settle for McDonald's because they were the only ones open inside.

I've always thought someone could stand to make a lot of money around there if they simply opened a place that stayed open until 2 or 3, if not 24 hours, and advertised it to the hotels and CP employees. If you've ever tried to get a table at Diana's or Steak n Shake (the only two 24 hour joints in town) at 2 AM you'd understand why.

Sorry about the rant, I didn't mean to drag this thing off topic.

We always stay at the new section of the campground (about 5-6 times per year). If fact, we will be heading up there on Thursday with the 5th wheel. Yeah, $85/night is a bit high, but its a very nice campground. Ive only stayed in the older section once and does not have all the amenities the new section does. I think there is something on the campground map that says by order of the Sandusky Fire Department, campfires are not permitted. Not sure if its a Cedar Point rule or just the park staying within fire code.

I cant really respond to the pool or shower facilities issue. We have been staying at Camper Village for years and have never had any issues and will continue to stay there.

I totally agree that there should be some creative and fun programming to keep kids entertained. Not everyone is going to be in the park from open to close.

If it was a sandusky issue, then why can you have them at bayshore campground? Same city.

I hate to say it, but cedarpoint is starting to lose ground in my top 5 parks list, and fast.

Customer service, food, line jumping, prices, clenliness, saftey, are all concerns now in this park. :(

It could also be that campground spots must be X feet apart in order for fire-pits to be allowed. Since CV's approach was to pack as many campers into as small a space as possible, I can't say I'm surprised if they don't meet X.

Or maybe they had problems in the past with people leaving fires un-attended to go into the park and decided to just say "No Fires".

Also, No Ground Fires (and no bike, rollerblading, scootering, but surprisingly heelying is not listed) is posted right on their resort FAQ page.

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/resorts/policies.cfm

After that though, I agree, there is no reason for the shower facilities to be closed during the morning. When do they expect people to take showers?

Do you go on the Disney sites often? Customer service, food, line jumping, prices, clenliness, saftey, are all issues of criticism and complaint even at the Mouse House. A lot of it comes down to a lack of consistency. As has been mentioned here already some folks have been going to the campground for years with no complaints and nothing but great vibes.

I'm sure fire is a significant concern on a peninsula with only one real access point.

Camper Village should change its name to RV Parking. Thats all it is, when I read the overview on the website, I couldn't believe they would falsely advertise camping in the name. I thought this would be great, throw up a tent, lay out a sleeping bag and hang around the fire. Luckily I read the site prior to booking or would I have been pissed when I showed up in my car.

There is a great Pizza joint open until 1am on Saturdays (no inside dining) called Marco's on Perkins. When leaving the park and heading south on 250/Milan, turn left on Perkins and Marco's is on your right after the parking lot on the corner. Its the only place I've been able to find a reasonable place for food after the park closes late or I'm on my way back to my hotel.

We stayed late for Coastermania one year and we had trouble even finding a gas station to get munchies at. I'm not sure if this is an Ohio thing or what, but I'm beginning to believe that Ohio roughly translated in German means "void of life after 9:30 Monday through Sunday".

Chief..

I hate to disagree with you again...lol, but I have had no problems at disney with food as seen here(http://allears.net/menu/men_cr.htm) , customer service,prices or clenliness. I have had a few line jumpers, but not many. Plus they have fast pass that makes my day even better. Disneys campground is only $45 per night and it is leaps and bounds better than what cedarpoint is dishing out.

I feel that I get my money worth at disney. At cedarpoint, I felt taken advantage of with the high prices and lousy service and crappy food.

Even the six flags parks I have been to this year have beat cedarpoint in all of the above. I could not say that in the past.

Busch and universal parks are also a huge step above cedarpoint in almost all aspects.

It just seems that all they want to do is fleece me out of every penny that they can when I am there. That is the main and only goal at cp. It all leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I leave cedarpoint. When I leave a park like disney, sure I pay a lot(still not as much as I paid at cp though), but I walk away with a smile knowing I had a good time and was not raked over the coals with all the things I mentiond above.

Anyways, back on course here.

The fire issue does not jive with me. It's a campground.I guess our idea of what camping is, and cedarpoints idea of what camping is are differant.

I don't understand how other parks that have campgrounds can get it right, but cedarpoint is just stuck in there own little world.

While you are having a great time at Disney I'm telling you that the critics hammer that park too. Right now on one of the Disney sites I read there is a hot thread going entitled, "Has the MK lost its Magic?" The problems at Disney? Consistency. While one person may have a terrific stay, another may have a lousy one.

And, consistency is largely a degree of expectation. You expected X...you got R...thus you weren't satisfied with your experience. Had you known that campfires and biking were not allowed (as evidence by the website that makes that known...as well as written confirmation for those that book in advance) your expectation would have been less (had you booked it at all) and the issues of the bathrooms and the pool may not have been AS troubling in the bigger picture.

As for what "camping" is: I am married to a woman who's idea of camping does not included tents, campfires or anything to the such. A pull through site with cable, internet access, electricity, etc would be the minimal requirements. Again, her expectations are different than yours.

There are plenty of good reasons to be critical of Cedar Point. Your concerns about the restrooms and the pool are certainly a couple. That is a product of poor management within a couple of different departments and I suspect those that lurk on these types of sites will make note of that and correct it.

The pricing of the campground is a product of smart management. The market will sustain those prices as evident by the full campground on a regular basis through the summer. It is obvious that enough folks don't particularly care about the higher prices, lack of campfire pits and inability to ride a bike.

Had we read that there were no campfires or bikes, we would not have made the reservation. We are partley at fault for not reading that.

We just assumed that they allowed it becase we never had been able to not have a campfire or ride bikes at any other campground we have been to before. And we camp at least 4-5 times a year at differant campgrounds around the states.

We have been to many parks already this season. and have not noticed a lot of decline when it comes to custmor service, food, prices, or cleanleness except at cedarfair parks. Like I said above, some parks have even mannaged to improve upon this from years past.

Chief Wahoo said:

As for what "camping" is: I am married to a woman who's idea of camping does not included tents, campfires or anything to the such. A pull through site with cable, internet access, electricity, etc would be the minimal requirements. Again, her expectations are different than yours.

I agree that "camping" is defined by each individual. I grew up tent camping, riding my bike and sitting out by a fire cooking hot dogs and such. My wife considers camping with central heat/air, microwave, oven, shower, cable, internet and everything else. Our camper is nicer (and bigger) than my first apartment was out of college. In the end, every campground has its rules and regulations. If you don't like it, stay somewhere else. Like I said earlier, Ive been completely satisfied with Camper Village (minus the availability of internet access) and will continue to stay there. We usually make 5-6 trips up to the Point every year and always stay at Camper Village.

One thing I have noticed others do at Camper Village in the past, but dont know how it fits into CP's definition of no campfires, is people bringing their own portable fire pit and having a fire that way. That would be a question for the park.

I think the bigger theme here is one that overlaps with nearly every critical aspect of the park, that there is a serious mismatch between expectations and the actual value. That's the thing that I struggle with at CP all of the time. I don't spend any significant amount of money there anymore, perhaps because I'm more aware of the value gap. My biggest concern is that others will see that problem in time, if they haven't already.

And remember, a sense of value comes from everything you encounter in the world, not just other parks or entertainment venues. I think that's one of the biggest issues with how CP approaches pricing.

Jeff hit the nail on the head. Its all about value. I still see Camper Village a value despite the $85 per night because Im satisfied with the service, amenities and location I get. I dont see any value in the food services, drink prices or merchandise. I dont eat at the park (except for Famous Dave's) anymore and never buy one of those overpriced fountain drinks. We used to hang out at Bubbles (swim-up bar at Soak City) but $18 for 2 drinks is a joke.

A good value for me may not be a good value for someone else. I would think CP's per cap has been flat or declining recently. Kinzel's comment about "people have to eat" sure didnt sit well with me personally.

Ok.

What amenities does camper village have that other campgrounds do not? I do not see any other than the 5 min walk to the park.

The way I see it, they have several less amenities than any other campground that we have been to. The only thing they have going for them is that they are in the park and it is a clean campground.

It's a 5 min drive from bayshore estates campground down the street. And that campground has many more things to do than what camper village has and is half the price. I am not sure, but I think they even have a shuttle to the park as well.

For $90 a night, I expect more than just a clean bathroom.

Cedarpoint just lost a few more customers when it comes to the resorts. Next time we will be staying at bayshore campground.

Well, I stayed at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park a couple weeks ago and they offered:

• Campsite
• Electricity
• Firering
• Old wooden picnic table
• Trash bin a couple rows over
• Clean bathhouse (but never use)
• Available to ride bikes.
  

Camper Village (New Section) offers:

• Level concrete campsite
• Electricity
• Water
• Sewer
• Cable TV
• New coated picnic table
• Privacy trees around site
• Staff cleaned grill every morning
• Trash bins at the site
• Clean bathhouse (but again, dont use)
• Pool
• Beach access
• Cedar Point
  

My point is that campgrounds offer different things. I enjoyed our weekend at Grand Lake State Park and I will enjoy our upcoming weekend at Cedar Point. I adapt our camping based on what we have available. You obviously had a bad experience at Camper Village and you have every right to not stay there again. I stayed at Camp Sandusky long ago and I will never be back. I have been to more campgrounds than I care to remember and Camper Village has some of the nicest "amenities" of them all. The national parks at the Grand Canyon offer no "amenities" other than a site in the middle of no where and they are awesome.

I don't spend any significant amount of money there anymore, perhaps because I'm more aware of the value gap.

This comment more or less sums up how my wife and I have acted as consumers at Cedar Point for the past 5 years now. We have our passes, but beyond that, CP receives very, very little from us, and I dont see that changing anytime soon, seeing as how nothing at CP has changed even slightly.

I respect that you like camper village, but it's not our groups cup of tea.

Bayshore campground has :

water

electric

picnic tables at every site

batrooms

sewer

more trees than camper village

pool

paved pads

camp stre

firewood and ice

tent and rv sites

campfires are allowed

bikes are allowed

plenty of trash bins

located right on the water

5 min to cedarpoint

playground, shuffleboard, horseshoes, basketball, bean toss,vollyball.

50 amp service

free wireless internet

family activities

camping cabins and rv rentals

arcade

All this and more for half the price.

I love Bayshore myself, and it may be half the price, but I could have done with half the line count of that last post... Was double spacing necessary? ;)

Sorry about the double space . Did not relize that untill after i submitted it.