Dick Kinzel's Revenge! (Shot Glass size Free Water Cups)...

If he frequents Disney, then he has not been taking any notes.

Sure, all parks are going to get complaints from someone, but cedarfair parks seem to be getting quite a few more. Remember a few years ago when all the six flags bashing was going on? Seems like the tides have begun to turn.

Well first,Six Flags has dropped some of their problem parks. Second, you can only beat a dead horse so long as it isn't fun anymore (see George Bush). Third, Six Flags did FINALLY start addressing some of the problem areas as filing Bankruptcy tends to make even the most ignorant people stand up and take notice.

Again, if this thread were about something other than free water (say a $12 sub sandwich) I'd be on the bandwagon with you. But, your real concerns (which are valid) are getting lost on something pretty petty.

Point is, guest service has gone down the drain at the park. Everything from the resorts, to free cups of water and $13 subs.(Too many things to list here).

I was just comparing other park's guest service and overall experiance to cedarpoint. And that is one of the reason's that I have been visiting other park's more than I have cedarpoint this year.

In the past, I would have been to the park 8-9 times already by the end of july. This year I have only been there 4 times. It's not because of money, it's because the park is just not as much fun as it used to be to me. Sure they have some great rides, but I want more than just rides. I want an experiance...a decent one.

Thy got rid of the shows I enjoyed, the prices are thrue the roof for anything to eat or drink, the merchindise has been horrid, line jumping, and yes....free ice water.

Aha...now you have a littany of good criticisms.

What are your thoughts on the "Starlight Experience" or whatever that thing on the trail is? I haven't seen it but that was something that was added to do nothing more than to improve the guest experience at nighttime.

I haven't heard much about live entertainment this year. Are the shows no good? If so, why?

Assuming you are willing to pay for merchandise, what is it that they don't have?

I have seen the starlight experience. I thought it was just...ok, it was not bad. I guess after going to dollywood durring christmas I am a bit spoiled.

The shows that I enjoyed like the red garter, the palace theater show, and now the halloweekends shows like monsters rock and the Edger Allen Poe theater shows are gone.

The show in the cenntenial theater is good, but I am not a huge fan of that kind of music. And everytime I go to see the stunt show at the old dolphin stadium, is't raining and the show gets canceled so I can't judge that one yet. The snoopy on ice show is a yawn for me. It's been the same for the past 3 years.

The T-shirts are terrible. The only decent shirts that they have had have been the magnum and gemini annerversery shirts. The rest of the shirts are all just genaric and can be found at any other park that sells t-shirts.(same design, differant name).

Dollywood at Christmas rocks. No doubt.

I didn't realize they cut back their live entertainment to such degree. That is unfortunate as there are plenty of folks that go to the park for entertainment other than the rides.

Snoopy on Ice might be a yawn for you but my kids love it.

Not sure about your complaint on the t-shirts. Are you complaining about not liking the ride logos because they tend to use similar (if not the same) artwork throughout the chain or are you complaining about the shirts themselves? If you like comparing to Disney a lot of their merchandise says Walt Disney World and Disneyland now on items that go both ways (Pirates, Space Mountain, BTMRR, etc).

When Cedar Fair first started "regifting" their logos I thought it was pretty stupid but the reality is that there are a lot of folks out there who will only ever visit one Cedar Fair park. If there is a significant cost savings in not reinventing the wheel then I really can't complain all that much about that.

There are a lot of shirts like this...

http://www.cfmarketplaces.com/acb/stores/2/Adult-Thunderhawk-Grunge-Tee-P2372C195.aspx

Just genaric. I can find these shirts at spencers at my local mall.

The cedarfair parks also do have the same shirts like the"I ride the short coasters", And 'fear the 5".And yes, the ride logo's are alike in most parks. The artwork is the same or very simmular on most of the shirts in the park. I miss the shirts like they had in the 80's and 90's. Remember the magnum shirt with the lasers going off into space? I guess I am looking for something "uniqe", and I can't find that. And if I do happen to find a shirt I like, they are always out of the xl size.

You can design a t-shirt on a computer in no time. So I cant' buy the excuse that it saves money.

I have the same beef with Disney as well when it comes to the pirats of the caribean shirts. They all seem to be themed to the movie and not the ride.

The snoopy show is a yawn for me, because it is the same ol show. I guess for kids, they would not care as much.

Anyway, How about those cups of water?

Well, if Kinzel REALLY wanted revenge he would send the 5 oz cups back and get 4 oz cups.

A lot of parks (and even sports teams, zoos, etc) are getting away from the specialized merchandise. In fact, I think that led to the downfall of the Disney Stores. But, I don't know what came first. Did people stop buying that stuff and they stopped making it...or vice versa?

My souvenir of choice? Penny presses. It is going to cost me a buck or two but it is going to be unique, I can carry it in my pocket and it is easily stored at home. We also collect Christmas ornaments while on vacation which gets a little costlier and not as easy to get home but still a fairly fun way to track family vacation history.

Just an idea.

What if they put in water fountains with ice machines next to them. Now people would have to use there own cup, and there will be no more people holding up the lines at the stands.

Kinda a self serve type thing.

I thought the show at Centennial was mediocre at best, and I'm being generous. I haven't seen the Garter show, but honestly, it was the live band in a small venue that made me stop in for a beer, even when it was country music (which I hate). Now, what's the point?

I think Starlight Experience was an incredibly good idea, and if you haven't seen the little free-form video doc we posted, it actually gives the park a great deal of infrastructure that they can use for Halloweekends as well. Of course, only the live-E people understood that at the time.

No live band anymore? Wow. On my last trip with my then 5 year old we were walking by Red Garter on our way out to Camp Snoopy. You could hear the band kicking it up and while I was ready to walk by my son begged me to go in.

So, we walked in, found a table and I had a beer while we watched the show. I tried to leave a couple of times and he wouldn't have anything to do with that.

Did they let go of the Live E FT staff Jeff or did they just severely cut their budget? Marje Cronenwett was top notch in my opinion. But, perhaps she is gone?

crazy horse said:
I think kinzel and CO, need to make a trip to Disney and take some notes.

Yes. Disney just RAISED their gate whereas CP admission is still cheaper than it was in 2005.

crazy horse said:
Sure, all parks are going to get complaints from someone, but cedarfair parks seem to be getting quite a few more.

On a CP web site. Who gets more complaints on a Disney web site?

I agree that the lack of live music is a serious loss. As for the overpriced food, well, the law of supply & demand is working as it should: prices up, demand (& percaps) down. Midway Market midday prices are still a good deal.

Disney raised the gate for a one day visit. Like most people, you are going to be there for a week and the raise has hardly any effect on that.At $79 to get into disney for one day, I still feel like I am getting my money's worth with the attractions they have.That is still only $34 more than it is to get into cedarpoint. If you stay at Disney for a week, the ticket is only $33 per day. Disney gives me fast pass, great shows, parades, fireworks, good food and drinks, great rides and attractions, great service and great theming. That's worth a the extra money to me.

Aparently other people are starting to feel the same way as the turnstyles don't seem to be clicking as much as of late at cedarpoint.

Cp gate is cheaper, but now they are getting you once your inside the park with high prices and lousy service and entertainment.

Of course this is a cedarpoint site and Disney probaly get's a lot of complaints on one of there sites as well.But the fact is I don't feel taken advantage of when I leave the mouse house.

Marje retired a couple of years ago. If I recall the story correctly, her and her husband, who was one of the senior people at Cleveland's Playhouse Square, are traveling or something.

I think they've just made budget cuts. The show in the back of the park is, what two people now? I heard from someone in foods that the Garter show wasn't making enough money, which is not a symptom of audience size, but in my opinion, the stalkers sitting in the front row every damn show and a horribly inefficient means of serving people. Even the bar is notoriously understaffed.

Oh, yeah, I remember that...

A few years ago I went into the Red Garter to see the show and..yes, I had a beer. I ordered it before the show started, and by the time it arrived, the show was almost over. That was when they were still adjusting things on the show; I recall just about everybody in the room seemed to agree that it was "earsplitting"

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

crazy horse said:
Mr Joe public is gonna look twice when someone hands them a shotglass of water knowing that the only other option they have is to track out to the car to get something to drink, or shell out almost $4 for a drink in the park.

Chances are people will have to use Cedar Point's restrooms multiple times during the day. As a matter of fact, that is probably first thing most people do upon entering the park since they have probably been sitting in the car for a long time. Most guests will notice the drinking fountains near the restrooms. It wouldn't be that difficult for a guest to keep the cup and refill it at a drinking fountain if they were still thirsty. The ice would last long enough to cool the water from the drinking fountain if it was not cold.

Except some of us dont want to carry around a bottle all day. For one thing where are you supposed to put it when you ride MF and TTD? If it doesnt fit in my cargo pocket or is something I can wear (ie a sweatshirt at the tails of the season) its not coming into the park with me.

If that's the case cprptrks, then why are so many people asking for cups of ice water at food locations? So I am now supposed to get a tiny glass of water from a stand, and then go hunt down a drinking fountain somewhere so i can fill my cup? So now I have to stand in line twice? That's just how I want to spend my time in the park.

I don't know about you, but I may only use the bathroom 3-4 times a day, and I get thirsty more than that walking around the park all day in the heat.

As a matter of fact, (I may be wrong) I don't even think there are any drinking fountains near the bathrooms at the front gate. If that's the case, people that have to rush to a bathroom first thing(says you), are s.o.l if they are thirsty.

Water fountains are free and easy to get to (from what I've experienced). If you're thirsty, go visit one. Stop complaining.

crazy horse said:
...then go hunt down a drinking fountain somewhere so i can fill my cup?

How many times have you been to CP? Do you really not know where at least most of the fountains are? Give me a break.

So now I have to stand in line twice? That's just how I want to spend my time in the park.

In all the years I've been to CP, I can count the number of times I've had to stand in line for a drinking fountain on one hand. In fact, the bathrooms near Magnum are some of the busiest, and I can only recall waiting once for the fountain there, and that was only because I didn't want to crowd the person at the "tall" fountain - the "short" fountain was not in use.

And if you go to CP not wanting to spend your time in line, methinks you're not going to enjoy much of your day.

As a matter of fact, (I may be wrong) I don't even think there are any drinking fountains near the bathrooms at the front gate. If that's the case, people that have to rush to a bathroom first thing(says you), are s.o.l if they are thirsty.

You mean all the fluid they ingested on the trip (which made them need to use the bathroom in the first place) wasn't enough? I'd wager that upon arriving at the park, people are at their peak in terms of hydration.

Look, crazyguywhodoesntknowwhentostopbeatingadeadhorse, we get it - you don't like the cups. If bitching about it for 8 pages hasn't cleansed you of your ire, perhaps you should simply stop going to the park altogether. Or, at the very least, just stop whining. We get it. No need to go on and on and on and on and on about it.