Closing Day 2019

They keep many of the shirt designs for several years so makes sense to repack it for the next season. I think this was actually the most merchandise I've ever seen marked down any closing weekend that I've been to.

Went today not expecting much as the crowds have been insane this Halloweekends. More so than usual thanks to the unseasonably warm October compared to recent years and the new Gold Pass which seems to have its desired effect. More bodies through through the main gate.

Was at the park from open till about 2pm. Had to leave at 4 anyways due to evening plans so we cut out after lunch.

Did not ride a single ride.

Bought some candy at a nice discount, got some amazing fries from Happy Friar. Probably the most perfectly cooked fries I every had at the park. Crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Well done.

Spoke with the wood worker guy, missed out on the cool ornaments he makes this season, just never in stock when I was there due to him not being allowed to use the band saws in the park anymore (his words not mine). He had some display models of stuff he plans on having for next season, including ornaments themed to different things from other CF parks including GL.

At lunch at Hugo's and again it was great. Definitely improved since I tried it opening weekend. Wasn't a fan then, but now it may be my second fave place to eat in the park. Just wish they would put the Freestyles back in there.

Anyways, looking forward to next season. I renewed for Platinum due to Orion at KI. But unless CP does something major for 2021 I think I may take a summer off from passes.

Good grief. My kids are allowed to use the band saws in their engineering classes and robotics club in HS.

As far as repacking merchandise for next season, that was one of the things I wondered about before attending a Winter chill out tour. Peeking into a few of the shops I confirmed what I had guessed, everything was still there as if it had just closed. The off season is pretty short and there really isn't any reason to put anything away unless it could be damaged by the heat being turned off.

Can’t help but wonder if there is going to be an overhaul of Pagoda with this big clearance. Some of the other shops have received upgrades recently, and Pagoda is long overdue for one. Feels like it’s had the same decor and fixtures for the last 20 years.

Also wonder if the Gatekeeper and Valravn shops will be reimagined with something more general.

Paisley said:

I think this was actually the most merchandise I've ever seen marked down any closing weekend that I've been to.

Agreed. Pagoda was just about all marked down. Valravn and Gatekeeper stores as well. A couple people in my group thought it was very strange - as in they're liquidating everything in preparation to sell out to Six Flags or something. I remarked that I thought it was strange that they gave away the gate for $99 too. I don't think I'd go that far into conspiracy theories based on merch sales, because I did notice they did not mark down any of the newer "beachy" looking merch that hasn't been around too long. Definitely more merch on sale than in past years though in addition to the normal candy sales. Perhaps they're going to be bringing in a lot of CP 150 stuff for next year and want to have room for that? The idea of a Pagoda remodel definitely crossed my mind too. It does need it.

Overall, it was a so so closing weekend. Friday night was quite busy and we used our free FLP and got on SV in about 50 minutes at 6PM, MF in about 30 minutes, and Maverick in about 20 minutes later in the evening. Rode Magnum several times at the end of the night with a very short queue. Saturday, rode SV and Maverick during early entry and did a few more things including the Whistlin' Willie show before the rains came and sent us to Chet and Matts and the hotel for the rest of the day. It did eventually stop raining at about 9:30, but we didn't venture back to the park. Today was very windy in the morning so it was mostly kiddie rides. Coasters were starting to open right as we were leaving to make our 4 hour drive home. I did not find staff to be any more or less pleasant/unpleasant than normal although operations did seem pretty pokey just about across the board. Ate at Hugo's twice and it was decent both times - large stromboli on Friday night with salad and the chicken parm with pasta and salad today. Saturday had a bread bowl with mac and cheese at Miss Keats. Wasn't bad, but the hole in the bread could have been bigger.

I give the park a lot of credit for getting everything going for just a few hours to go, especially on Closing Day. A lot of parks would have just called it a season when it was still quite windy around 2pm. But CP waited it out and opened up pretty much everything. Heck, even Dragster was open for Closing Day.

Joe E said:

Also wonder if the Gatekeeper and Valravn shops will be reimagined with something more general.

Banshee gift shop is now claw machines.

Even though today was a dud to start out with, after the weather cleared and everything opened up, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day. Everything went pretty smoothly today. I went in with very low expectations so I got more than I expected today.

Paisley said:

Agreed. Pagoda was just about all marked down.

Were the sweatshirts marked down too? All I saw was that $5 T shirts.

I don't know, but Gatekeeper and Valravn's stores were taken down 75%.

I got my wife a Brew Tees Lightweight Sweatshirt at the Valravn store for $ 10.00, it was originally priced at $ 49.99.

Also, my son purchased the large Valravn plush bird for $ 7.00 that was originally priced at $ 29.99.

So some of the items had a higher discount than the 50% as advertised.

Ton's of discounts, hell I just learned this year that Fridays clears out the liquor on closing Saturdays :D That was fantastic!

(Please ignore me as I beat a dead horse)

If Pagoda gets a remodel before the bathrooms. Man I'll have lost all hope.

Cargo Shorts said:

Banshee gift shop is now claw machines.

Yes! Made me wonder if the exit through the gift shop stores aren't as effective at selling merch as first thought. Especially these stores mostly focused on selling 20 different versions of T-shirts or shot glasses, but with the same coaster . Might work better at Disney where the rides are more 'experiences', and the merch seems to focus more on toys or memorabilia.

Joe E said:

Cargo Shorts said:

Banshee gift shop is now claw machines.

Yes! Made me wonder if the exit through the gift shop stores aren't as effective at selling merch as first thought. Especially these stores mostly focused on selling 20 different versions of T-shirts or shot glasses, but with the same coaster . Might work better at Disney where the rides are more 'experiences', and the merch seems to focus more on toys or memorabilia.

I remember when I rode Flight of Passage, the ride exited through the gift shop. But they had a TON of different kinds of merchandise: toys, shirts, mugs, etc. But it's a lot easier to offer a bunch of different merch for a movie than it is a roller coaster that has no characters, no story, and nothing to really sell it besides "It's a cool ride!"

I would guess that the exit gift shops do pretty good business for the first year or two, but after that I can't imagine very many people buying anything because they either have a shirt already or the ride is several years old and the excitement is gone.

The exit gift shops are already air conditioned, they’d make great new bathrooms!

Claw machines make pretty good urinals. At least that is what a friend told me,