Cedar Point 2013

I love when I go to Cedar Point on Friday nights during Halloweekends and see people using FastLane. I Just laugh at the fact they probably spent $120 dollars on FastLane that they didn't even need.

That doesn't mean those people didn't find value in it.

Maybe those Friday FL-buyers wanted to take their time meandering around the park, while being assured their wait for rides would be minimal.

In fact, "they didn't even need" can be applied to damn near everything - TV's, Blu-Ray players, sports cars, ATV's, swimming pools and on and on. None of that stuff is truly needed, yet people buy those things anyway, because they find value in doing so.

Or they just had no clue what was going on and thought it was a smart idea to buy FastLane.

^ That's what it seems like to me too.

If I paid that much extra money and found out that everyone else was getting on rides just as fast (Both Millennium and TTD were walk-ons last friday) I'd feel a bit stupid in my decision. 50 extra dollars is a lot to me, and I wouldn't invest that money in a fast lane band unless I knew I was buying it on a day I would get the most use out of it.

On fridays, it seems like Frightlane may be a better investment. The rides has short lines, but the haunts still had a decent crowd.

The three September Friday nites I have been there this season, I have not seen a line that was past the FastLane merge point. So while I understand the distinction between need and want, I think FastLane was not needed much like a raincoat isn't needed when it doesn't rain. Now maybe a given line was longer while I was waiting for another ride. And this past Friday, I didn't get to the park until about 11:30 so maybe lines were longer earlier in the night. But from what I have seen, the FastLane employees are a little like the Maytag repair guy at this point on Friday nights. :)

SSL488 said:
Or they just had no clue what was going on and thought it was a smart idea to buy FastLane.

Or maybe $50 isn't a lot of money to some people.

Perhaps some people simply find value in guaranteeing they won't have to wait in a line, and are willing to spend money for that guarantee. Believe it or not, some people have lives that don't revolve around spending dozens of days in the park every season.

Of course, it's probably silly of me to expect enthusiasts to wrap their minds around such a concept. :)

I understand what your saying but on Friday Maverick was the only line past the Fast Lane merge. Dragster was past the merge the entire night.

I understand that.

Is it not possible that those people purchased FL at the main gate, before they had a chance to become members at PointBuzz?

I went to see TDKR this summer, and paid for the premium, cushy reclining seats... for a weekday matinee. I didn't feel stupid when there were only a half-dozen others in the theater, thus negating the "need" for the seat upgrade. I was OK "needlessly" spending the extra money, because it gave me peace of mind knowing that I had a nice big comfy seat reserved just for me.

Peace of mind has value for some, in the same way that going to the park countless times every year has value for others.

Last Friday I rode the MF #3 times a row without walking to the exit ramp. Just think why there isn't much people there. There are football games, colleges, parties on Fridays. Last yr the MF was around 25 minutes on Friday then on the next day the line for the Mantis was close to 3 Hr wait and the MF was 4 Hr. Last Friday the parking lot was less the the Mall and Walmart too.

Dj, so basically if 50 bucks isn't anything to you, it's never a bad investment.

Fair enough, but I'm sure at least some people who visit the park on fridays would rather have spent their +50 bucks elsewhere after discovering that it wasn't needed. If 50 dollars is a lot to you, you should do some research before concluding that the fast lane pass will benefit you enough to be worth the money; even if it's your one and only trip and you don't want to chance it.

It's not like that's ever going to happen on a large scale, but for anyone who's money conscious it's the least they could do for themselves.

I'm convinced Sunday is the day to go if you don't might the Halloweekends outside walkthrough areas being closed. Dragster and Mill Force were walk-ons most of the day. Only Maverick had a 30 minute wait. I was in/out of the indoor haunted attractions within 5-10 minutes. I looked at the webcam Saturday (9/29) and it appeared as though the entire preferred parking lot was full, but the next day there were only 10 cars total in it.
BTW, after checking out the construction site Sunday,

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii572/CPpixx/100_1726.jpg

its becoming clearer to me where the new GK queue is going to be located. I feel as though that Space Spiral was taken down to make a new entrance plaza for GK (think WT) and for new food tables outside (to the < of the food stands). For the queue lines, think of a backwards L shape running down along the right GK track footers and shooting < over to the beach (behind Troika and by WT's front tower) to enter the loading station. That's the only possibility I can see IMO. I would still like to know of any word from CP about the lighting package for GK. LED's, ground spotlights, etc?

They are probably going to do it Cedar fair style. They will keep the food stands there, but....only open one section, and have boards over the other windows and use those for storage.

They will hire one food employee because everyone else has been stationed at the all new Gatekeeper platform and as sweeps. People will line up for food and see that not only the menu has only 3 things on it, but also the food employee can barely run the place, and it takes 20 minutes to get what you ordered. The line will be long, and people will push through people on their way to get on gatekeeper.

As for the tables, they will put in a few, and it won't be enough for the amount of people wanting to sit and eat/rest. :)

If Transport Refreshments was going to be removed, it would have been done while the demolition equipment brought in for DT & SS was still on site. Not that it would make any sense to do so anyway, with a new attraction going in adjacent to them. There is more than enough room to put in a smattering of tables in that area... they don't have to be the same size as the ones that were there previously.

I don't think they'd necessarily need the same demolition equipment that was used on DT & SS since those were mainly excavators with hydraulic snips and explosives (mainly in SS's case). ;)

When/if they demolish the structure, that can be done easily with some manual labor and finished with some excavators and other construction equipment that'll be on site for quite a while. There's still 8 months left till the area opens again. So I'd say that allows plenty of time to focus on building the coaster and then focus on the rest of the area.

And who's to say they wouldn't just bring the equipment back if it was needed again anyway? Sometimes it's cheaper to rent the equipment for a short amount of time and wait till they're absolutely needed again instead of using them for a short amount of time, letting them sit for a few months and then used again.

Just my thoughts though. I just can't see why they'd keep the outdated food stands when brand new structures can be built to better suit the new area. Also, new food stands would compliment a new coaster nicely......no? :)

I like your ideas Adam! The only thing I might add is that maybe they'll keep the old concession stands up, but do some major renovations.

Apologies if this has been discussed already, but has the corner of the building (I can't remember if it is the games warehouse or not) immediately behind Transport Refreshments always been painted green? Is that new?

The paint looked pretty fresh to me.

Maybe it's "Go-Away Green" as Disney calls it.

It's been painted within the last month or two.

A little conversation whiplash.....when I was at the park one of the Sundays in June, an attendant for the Power Tower said at one point in the day the Fast Lane line was longer than the regular line. I would not spend the extra $ for fast Lane. I've heard the price increased during the season.
The last 2 years, I've found the season pass holder appreciation weekend (the weekend after Labor Day) is the best time to be at CP...practically no wait for anything leaving plenty of time to lollygag through the park:)

Last Fall, Halloweekends was jammed, as I recall - didn't see it like that all summer. It was unbelievable!!