CoasterMania 2018

Coaster Mania this year was pretty much the same as last year. Which made it a bust.

Since nothing different was introduced it made it stale.

That to me is lazy.

There was no effort into how they could make this event better, and how they could one up themselves.

We are just going to do it the same every year and it is fine attitude. Well it isn't, Cedar Point needs to find a way to one up themselves every year to make the event better.

I attended Coaster Stock this year and felt that Coaster Stock was better than Coaster Mania. That is sad because Cedar Point is the premier park in the Cedar Fair chain, and all other parks should try to attain there level of supremacy.

Don't get me wrong, I was there in line from 5:45 am till 12:00 am closing down Millie, and enjoyed every minute of it.

The only issue I had was that Cedar Point did not have a refreshment stand open in the area of the park where coaster mania was taking place to get something to drink. Lets face it Cedar Point, people were getting there at 5:30 A.M. and when they got to the back end of the park it wasn't until 9:00 am before someone could get something to drink. Way too long for people, leaving a bad taste in their mouth.

At Coaster Stock, they were serving donuts and refreshments like orange juice and apple juice. I am not saying that Cedar Point needs to do the same, but they need to have a drink stand open so people can "Refresh" themselves. Most everyone at these events are season pass holders and have the drink plan on their season pass, but even if they didn't who cares. Let them get something to drink to "Refresh" themselves. Just open up the Coke Freestyle Stand in Frontiertown and that would have made it that much better.

This way everyone would feel "Whole" and ready to ride on.

Again, Cedar Point, if you are listening, please try to introduce something new next year.

I was not aware they removed all the soda machines.

Just Coasting, I think it's safe to say the majority of us enjoy CoasterMania, so I guess the simple solution for you is, don't go. We could all care less. They dont need to give you anything new and exciting every year, besides, they did give us something new and exciting in Steel Vengeance with technically 3 hours of morning ERT. That alone is worth the $35 imo. Quit comparing CoasterMania with CoasterStock, it's like Jason McClure said during the Q&A. Each park offers something different, can KI offer unique views of their park via a boat?

DRE420 said:
so I guess the simple solution for you is, don't go. We could all care less. ?

It’s funny how so many on here lambast the “entitled enthusiast mentality” but yet embrace the “park can do little wrong even for a PAID special event” philosophy.

If this were one of the many prior free coastermania events I’d totally agree. Or media days. And I have on here, enthusiastically so. But my family was into this weekend for over $200 and that’s not including our $100+/nt campsites or our season passes, of which part of the justification to purchase was this weekend.

We had a decent weekend but honestly, not worth the cost to us. No knock on CP. Many of you look at, and talk about, CP as a lover or as if you are in a relationships. Not so. It’s a business. They make decisions and we vote with our wallet. Couldn’t be more simple. I had a lengthy discussion with a certain GM about this, this weekend. He gets it. Smart dude.

If it wasn't worth it, it wouldn't sell out with more looking for tickets. They could charge $50 and still sell out. A certain GM is a smart dude because he knows this but let's you vent without arguing with you.

Front Seat Rider said:
If it wasn't worth it, it wouldn't sell out with more looking for tickets. They could charge $50 and still sell out. A certain GM is a smart dude because he knows this but let's you vent without arguing with you.

Sort of an ignorant response, sorry to have to say that.

Those that paid for an event are entitled (geez I hate using that word) to offer their opinions on services received for dollars given. That’s free speech.

And what makes you think I vented? On the contrary it was quite the opposite. As a business owner myself, I know that the complaining customer is generally an outlier and to be listened to, but most often times, their complaints are one sided. So I go out of my way not to sound like that guy.

I had a blast. One of my favorite CoasterManias in a long time. No complaints. 🤗💯💯👏👏

MaverickLaunch said:
And what makes you think I vented?

Of course you think your lengthy discussion about the price/value is just constructive criticism or good feedback. What should the park's goal be? Selling out faster? The event was only $35 and included a shirt, a cruise, lunch, and 2 ERT sessions. If you think that's over priced then the park won't make money making you happy. You can vote with your money but you'll be out voted on this deal every year.

Not sure where else you could get a fastlane plus (2x ERT periods), catered lunch, t shirt, and a cruise for $35. Hard to beat that. Sure, not much has changed in the past few years but if a similar experience were offered any other day to the general public this would easily be a $100+ experience on top of admission.

I’d like to know where I can take the family for quality entertainment and lodging over a weekend for 300 bucks.
Nowhere do you say what the park could’ve handed you for 35 bucks to make your weekend worthwhile. And to be fair, maybe you aren’t the Coastermania customers. It’s an enthusiast event and the apparent goal is to grab as many rides with the least amount of wait time possible. It’s what enthusiasts like and why they go. Throw in lunch, a talk, and a boat ride? C’mon.

I personally can’t imagine caring about much more for the amount of money involved. And my advice is to not plan a family trip to Disney any time soon.

Referring back to Just Coastings' post, at the 2014 coastermania,they had tables outside at starbucks with donuts,coffee,juices for the participants coming in early. That was a pleasant 'plus',but not implying it should be that way at coastermanias.

I was only there from 6:45am to 1:30pm and I considered it a very good coastermania.

1200 tickets at $35 is $42,000. I doubt if that covered a small percentage of CPs' outlay for the event. Personnel working the entry,morning ert crews,lunch crew,evening ert crews. Shirts and pins. lunch. chartered boat rides. printing of the lunch and boat tickets. power used for running of ert rides. Q&A,photo contest,video contest. did I forget anything ?

THANK YOU TONY !!!

Fact is, the park laid it out to us on what to expect out of this event via an itinerary when tickets went on sale. If you read the itinerary before buying your tickets, knew what to expect, and now are complaining, then Idk what to tell you. They delivered on every level that they planned. I for one, am a happy customer.

https://yourfriendshouse.com/opinion/the-can-i-speak-to-the-manager...henomenon/

^^ I know it's only noon on Sunday, but is there a way you can just win the internet for the week now?

Admission includes CoasterMania! collectible pin, access to all ERT sessions, CoasterMania! credentials and lanyard, ride on CoasterMania! Cruise, event tee, lunch, and Q&A session access.

I’m missing the part where it says ‘all the soda you can swill’... I mean they promised lunch and I’d assume a beverage, but not All You Can Drink Sugared Water (maybe there’s a FreestyleMania! event somewhere around Diabetesville, OH).
And it’s probable that anyone bitching about the lack of unlimited free doughnuts shouldn’t be allowed near free doughnuts, for their own safety and the safety of others (yeah, you’re that person).

And for only $35 you are getting an entire, literally an ENTIRE, days worth of entertainment plus swag.

If I was in management I’d seriously run ROI reports on this event and find a way to either increase the cost, cancel it, or severely limit it to people with discretionary disposable income that can afford to use a vending machine.

Ingrates.

Thabto said:

I met a few PB users here including Bluestreaker, JimmyBurke, and one other person at the QA, I didn't catch your name. But it was great meeting you all.

Oddly enough, middle of the day, SV had a shorter wait than ERT. I waited almost an hour during ERT.

I was the other person at Q&A. It was nice meeting you and Shawn. I did notice a lot of Backlash from others about how Coaster Stock had donuts and bagels, how they sent out the necessary things(lanyard) for a couple extra bucks. I myself was just happy to be there, even if I did hear that rhetoric from multiple ppl. It was my first coastermania and coaster event in general and I loved it. Did ppl complain about Steel Vengences ERT wait times, yes. Was I reriding Maverick as a Walk-on while they complained, also yes. I can also say I fit in 2 rides on SV since the ERT wait towards the end got a lot better. It was a great day and I might write up a Trip report, I experienced both sides of the community, but can say it was mostly positive.

My family has also now been converted to Breakers ppl. While expensive, the convenience of Breakers outweighed the price.

CoasterMania remains my favorite day of the year, not just at Cedar Point.

Nice meeting you phillies2. I don't think they've had donuts for the past 3 Coastermania events, so I wasn't expecting anything like that. I know they had Starbucks open last year, but I didn't even pay attention to that this year. I just had a gas station donut before going into the park and that was good enough for me. Really my only gripe which isn't much of one was the SV ERT wait time, but that was to be expected. The way Coasterstock shipped items to you ahead of time sounds really great. If that went well at Coasterstock, maybe they will do it at Coastemania 2019. Would make check-in more efficient. At least they improved greatly from 2015 where check-in was a total nightmare.

No complaints here. They delivered exactly what was promised and it's a bargain at the price they charge. Coastermania is so much better now that it has a limit on attendees. The last year before they did this was just out of control and not fun.
I'm 60+ years old and have gone to countless events/conventions over the years and this one is still a favorite for a one day event, especially in it's current format.

We had an absolute blast at CoasterMania this year. But we were blown away by the complaining, right from the start. While in line outside the gate, people were talking amongst their groups (and not quietly) about how they didn’t have their club card or CM ticket but it would be fine, they should just be let in anyway. They weren’t just let in, and they kinda had a fit. A guy ahead of us in line for shirts complained how the check in process is never smooth. Another complained that there were no donuts & coffee. Heck, another group had T-shirts made quoting all their past gripes and how they had sworn off CoasterMania after last year, yet there they were, back again.

$35 gets you 2 significant ERT sessions, lunch, a cruise around the peninsula (correct me if I’m wrong but that alone was selling for $75/ticket when the Golden Ticket Awards were held at Cedar Point a couple years back), a fun Q&A session (you’re not gonna get much info out of them but it’s a good time; oh and the complaining continues there, too), and an exclusive shirt, pin, and lanyard. If you can beat that value anywhere else, I’d love to hear about it. MaverickLaunch- The fact that you were in for over $200 due to the number in your group is irrelevant. You each got what was promised at $35 per person.

Edit: Wait now I’m confused... Are you disappointed in the event as a whole for your $200+ investment, or are you just upset that you mixed up the dates and your family missed most of the event (as you mentioned in another thread)?