Do you even like Cedar Point?

Hey guys,

I don't have much to say, and haven't been to Cedar Point since August, but it seems like the only things I've read on here in the past 3 days have been NOTHING but complaining about Cedar Point. If I were headed there for the very first time and I came here to get some advice or feedback from all of you, I wouldn't even want to go anymore just after reading literally pages and pages of you people.

So tell me, if I were a first time visitor to Cedar Point who was planning on going this week, what good things would you say are happening right now?

You guys are bumming me out and I'm trying to lighten the mood around here!

It is the greatest amusement park in the world. Yes, we discuss changes and things that it could use to help improve the park. No park is perfect. Every park has room for improvement.

There are two kinds of people that annoy me when it comes to Cedar Point:

• People who believe the park can do no wrong.
• People who believe the park can't get anything right.

You might think the latter are just trolls, but honestly the former aren't much better. It's perfectly logical that the people who care most about the place can and should be its biggest source of constructive criticism. I think that's exactly what we've seen the last few days... high praise for the miracle that is the Breakers renovation and glowing reviews for Rougarou, paired with legitimate complaints about the park's apparent not-quite-ready state. And by the way, both sides are often from the same people.

I just went this past weekend and it was fun, but there were some flaws. Most of the flaws are from the higher than normal amounts of downtime and some rides not even ready to run. Those problems won't stop me from going back, but I think the problems this weekend could've been avoided if better preparations were made. There's no doubt in my mind that they will take steps to avoid repeating that in the future.

I went to preview night last Friday. I didn't plan to ride anything, just walk around and look at the changes. I saw lots of rides operating, with and without people, saw long lines waiting to buy food, but most importantly I saw lots and lots of people walking around with smiling faces, laughing and having a good time. All the complainers must post here.

I don't know what I would do without Cedar Point.

I'd go to Walt Disney World.

Just make sure that you do not read their fan blogs either.

Why, because they make CP fans look totally sane and rational?

Has there been some criticism? Sure. Has there also been a lot of praise and recognition for all of the work that has occurred during the off-season? Absolutely. It hasn't been all negative and many of us have tried to see both the positive elements and the things that needed some improvement. I don't think I've read one comment stating that anyone was done with Cedar Point and that they would never return. They just felt that the park that they know and love was not performing to its full potential last weekend but I think we all know that things are bound to improve as the season progresses.

If I didn't like Cedar Point I wouldn't be planning a family vacation there for the first part of June. :)

Why would anybody not come back to Cedar Point over one weekend? Do people really do that?

I still had a great time this weekend, but the downtime was frustrating and definitely not normal even for an opening day. I feel sorry for those who bought tickets to come out there and many of the major attractions were down for them. Like Jeff said, every day should be the same, because for some guests that may be their only visit for the year or their lifetime. I get that the rides are mechanical and can break, but I feel it could've been avoided or greatly reduced. I can see one or two rides with issues on opening day, not a good portion of the major rides. I don't see how some of you are defending the park on this, it's a valid criticism.

Outside of Wicked Twister and the missing yellow train on Millennium Force, I didn't notice too much out of the ordinary for an opening day. Several rides with down time which I have seen every opening day for years. Of course its hard to excuse the park for not having rides even assembled by opening day for whatever reason. For those that can only visit once a year, opening weekend is generally not a good weekend to go. Many rides with downtime are just part of the game for opening weekend. Right our wrong, that's how it has been and I have a hard time seeing that change. Both mechanical and electronic components that have been sitting idle for 5 months of winter are now being asked to work again under load. Hard to imagine everything is going to run smooth and sure, its very frustrating at times.

DSShives said:

Outside of Wicked Twister and the missing yellow train on Millennium Force, I didn't notice too much out of the ordinary for an opening day.

You didn't notice Maverick, Magnum, Millennium, Dragster, Gemini and Mean Streak down? Funny, I did.

DSShives said:

Several rides with down time which I have seen every opening day for years.

No, this is atypical for an opening day as per rides inoperable. This isn't an opinion situation, it's fact.

DSShives said:

For those that can only visit once a year, opening weekend is generally not a good weekend to go. Many rides with downtime are just part of the game for opening weekend. Right our wrong, that's how it has been and I have a hard time seeing that change.

You'll have to point me to where that valuable information is displayed on the website or in the brochures, because I don't think that's general knowledge for the public. That, and it shouldn't have to be general knowledge for the public in the first place. Day 1 should be as close as possible to day 30, 60, 120, etc.

DSShives said:

Both mechanical and electronic components that have been sitting idle for 5 months of winter are now being asked to work again under load.

No, they were sitting for 5 months, and were (able to be) asked to work again under load as far back as March, with theoretically plenty of time to iron out any kinks/buy parts/schedule repairs. If I have a truck that normally sits idle that I'm planning to take on a trip, I start it up may days earlier to deal with any issues from the sitting.

^ I was going to bring up a vehicle example because they are mechanical and subject to break. They had several weeks to test before the park opened. I didn't see much testing going on in the webcams outside of Gatekeeper prior to the park opening. But another thing that irritates me is the amount of video games being released with glitches these days. The game publisher thinks that with the age of the internet, they can release a broken game and patch it later. Everything should be working right on Day 1 and CP is no exception.

I will answer the title of this thread. Yes, I do. Here are a few reasons why...

Breakers: Phenomenal redo. Pricey of course, but usually I just need a bed and don't care about the rest, so I very rarely stay there, and I'll simply let those that want to pay those prices enjoy their stay.

Certain food: I love the elephant ears at Cedar Point. They are huge, very fairly priced (cheaper than any carnival I've ever been to), and more often than not, really really good. You can even ask for reasonable special orders like extra crispy, or lots of sugar. The same goes for other "constructed" things like funnel cakes. If you're nice and ask, the people will put an extra dollop of strawberries or fudge, etc. for you here and there. I also like that they don't nickel and dime you on things like condiments or dipping sauces. You want ketchup, pump away. Ranch? Here's a few packets. The dining plans have been slow to evolve, and rocky here and there, but I really like what they are and where they are going. They are so damn close to having them be perfect, and that's somehow adding in pop either to the plan or separate wristbands, so that we can get past using the stupid souvenir cups as the only (normal) cost-effective method for soft drinks.

The atmosphere, the colors: The overall park is beautiful, both via nature and by paint choices. The smells of the flowers, the carnival food, the old wood, etc. has no comparison. Night is a whole other level, with some really great effects and colors all over the place (save Frontier trail - pretty dark there).

Anti-smoking: I have seen many instances of a worker reminding folks they can't smoke except in the designated areas. The park has done a great job herding the cancer ward patients into those holding pens. Now if only they can just get rid of those too, and have the entire park be smoke free (it's inevitable). Compare this to a mere 10 years ago where you were in line breathing tons of second hand smoke for hours on end.

Fast lane: This is a wonderful option, because if I knew that I'd be going to CP and waiting hours for rides, I simply wouldn't go.

Dive coaster area: As mundane as this may seem, I think the fence was done very well. They didn't just slap up 2x4s and plywood. It was constructed well and painted. Add that with the grass, and I think it makes the whole area not just be in a crappy cost-effective temporary holding pattern, but instead be in a decent temporary holding pattern.

I like Cedar Point for the most part and I think they're heading in the right direction. I initially stopped going there after the former management's mishandling of Geauga Lake. Since then I seem to have developed a sensitivity to anything that spins around or goes backwards (I first notice this after my WDW trip was going smoothly until the third day when I rode Expedition Everest and immediately got sick when the coaster went backwards, something that lasted the rest of the day). This has put an extreme limitation as to what I can ride at Cedar Point (smooth straight forward coasters like Millennium Force or TopThrill Dragster don't bother me at all or if the inversions are smooth like on Griffon). Heat from the sun only seems to exacerbate this problem and the lack of indoor attractions doesn't help me. At this point, I'm just waiting for them to add something that I can actually ride that won't make me nauseous the rest of the day.

GDdashROM said:

So tell me, if I were a first time visitor to Cedar Point who was planning on going this week, what good things would you say are happening right now?

I think we all here have forgotten the OP's question to begin with: What GOOD things are happening at CP right now?

1. The addition of "The Sweet Spot" candy heaven!! I went in there for Preview Night and I was truly impressed! Lots of goodies to be had in there.

2. The renovation of Breakers, I haven't been in there but I've been reading that its a hit!!

3. CP has changed up some of the live entertainment being offered this summer, specifically they finally changed "ON Brodway" to a new show, which I'm really looking forward to. I love live entertainment, and CP does a really good job in that area.

These are just a couple things I could come up with off the top of my head, but I'm sure theres plenty more. Was I disappointed a little for preview night AND opening day, yes, but just A LITTLE. Being a season pass holder AND A LOCAL has its perks, and I, for one, will be going back to CP all summer long! I just won't be going back for opening day or another preview night!! LOL.....

I was a little disappointed not to see the cute Charlie Brown decorated apples that were at King's Island's sweet spot.

I was disappointed as well but then I spotted the Charlie Brown apples on Sunday along with the marshmellow Snoopy-on-a-sticks on display in the front window.