Extreme discounting

Its about time. My grandparents like going to cp but they can't really ride anything so why would they pay full price to walk around all day and just watch me?? They didn't go when the prices of tickets were really high, so now I can just buy two for them which makes me very happy about the change.

Anyone know if the senior price is here to stay??? The $15 off funday ticket and free starlight expire September 5th. Is Senior throughout the year now????

The senior and junior pricing is for the rest of this season. Like everything else in the Cedar Point world, it'll be reviewed and taken into consideration for next year.

Bringing back the senior ticket is brilliant. The Mom and Dad might be working so only Grandpa can bring the kids for one last taste of summer, and now he has a reason too.

BOGO starlight has always been there, just in the getaway guide. It's good to see them promote it though.

Apart from bringing back the senior ticket, this is essentially the same discount package that they've always done in the early season, and it's similar to the discounting that they normally do for group rates. So when you compare the discounting to what lots of people normally pay to go to the park, it's not out of line. But then, that's the best part of it. It's not a dramatic departure from the discounts that people were able to get already, and so the effect on the admission per-cap won't be as great as the numbers suggest, and yet it's still a darned good deal. One of those situations where everybody wins!

Pity they have to do it in the peak season, though!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

It would be nice if CP could lower reg Funday prices by $10-$15, cause I can (almost) guarantee that their attendance levels would see vast improvement. A large part of their business is from SE MI, and while the drive isn't all that long, its forking over $100 to get 2 people inside the park that is the really hard part to swallow. And thats just to get in, once your in, there's all sorts of ways to fly through a month's salary.

I can only really afford to go like once, maybe twice a season. However, if the prices of the tickets were lower (say instead of $100 for 2 ppl, it was $75), I'd probably go at least 4 or 5 times! I would take more of my discretionary funds and save them up (instead of going to the movies, etc.) and take a trip to the point! While I was there, I'd spend $$ in the park, and CP could recover their losses on the lower ticket prices.

Seems simple enough to me...

The $7-$10 discount is pretty common, whether it's AAA, Tops, Meijer, Pepsi, etc. No one has to pay full price unless they want to.

If a $37.50 price is the difference between your making a single trip and making four or five trips, you're in luck. The grocery stores have been selling them at that price all season. It sounds like you're a candidate for a season pass anyway.

*** Edited 8/16/2005 7:53:54 PM UTC by Walt***

I wouldn't call this a change during peak season. According to the calendar, the park's closing time changed to 10pm starting on Sunday. Next week the park starts closing at 8pm some days. They're starting to wind down daily operations. This also explains the timing of the Freeway cutback. If no one is in the park, why offer the virtual queue? Also, the cheap junior ticket will bring in more regular admissions. The juniors aren't going to get to the park by themselves, so they've got to bring parents, grandparents, etc.

Yeah, I'm a AAA member, and have used the Pepsi discount before as well. I'm talking about a minimum of $10 and a max of $15 discount in the ticket price, and while I didn't mention it (I was thinking it though - your fault for not being telepathic) was also looking for a reduction in the parking as well... $9??? Thats outrageous... I've paid less for downtown Detroit lots during Red Wing playoff games!

The juniors aren't going to get to the park by themselves, so they've got to bring parents, grandparents, etc.

Which is why a permanent junior & senior discount won't do a whole lot for their attendance numbers... imo.
*** Edited 8/16/2005 7:59:55 PM UTC by djDaemon***

Well, if you would go 4 or 5 times at 37.50 pp (which, at 5 trips, would be 187.50 pp plus 45 total for parking. A grand total of 420 dollars not including in the park spending.)
Why don't you just get 2 season passes and a parking pass? The "park only" season pass is 99.95 and a parking pass is 65 (you'd be over paying on the parking, but who knows, you might end up going more than just the 5 times). A grand total of 264.90. A little over half of what you would be willing to pay if they lowered their prices a bit.

Okay, I was simply making a point there... as in how the general population would react and how that might translate into better attendance.

Thank both of you for trying to save me money by spelling it out for me, but I think you're missing my point... so, here it is:

Lower ticket prices = More attendance

This would be because at $45 + $9, some people actually can't afford to even go once anymore - I know some of them.

Some people can't afford to order a pizza, some can't go to a baseball game, some can't justify a Broadway play. That's life.

The pricing isn't out of line with other entertainment options.

And yet the RedWings and Pistons (arguably the two most expensive entertainment options in the Detroit area) have NO problem selling out EVERY GAME.

The reason people aren't going back to CP this year is (I think anyway) 4 fold, and doesn't have as much to do with ticket pricing as you would think.

A) The last few years, 03 and 04, TTD was a DUD. There were long periods of downtime for their newest, tallest and fastest ride. And how many of those people do you think were pissed at driving 3 hours only to find that it was closed? They wouldn't have cared about the 45 bucks had the ride been open, but they felt jipped.

B) Combine the above problem with the sudden sizing restrictions on MF and you've got even more problems. Its one thing to get on a ride and have the belt not click, but try telling someone that a buckled belt isn't safe? You can make it safer? Not really, and people are calling CP on it. These are also people who have no problem shelling over 45 bucks to get in, provided they aren't being screwed. Well, they got screwed and decided to not go back for a while.

C) maXair. Its a great ride, but the GP FEEDS off marketing, and its not an -est anything so they don't really care.

D) Gas. People who are once a year Pointers and spend several days, you're not going to lose them. You are going to lose the guy from Indiana who comes a couple times a year with his family for weekends though. They may go once, skip the season pass, and decide to take their vacations a little closer to home, or just go for one big one to somewhere else.

I really don't think their problem lies with ticket pricing as much as it does with having made John Q. Public feel like he's being crapped on over the last few years.

I can't justify a broadway play because I feel like I got 0 value for my dollar. ;)

I can sleep for free at home. :) ;)

JuggaLotus said:
D) Gas. People who are once a year Pointers and spend several days, you're not going to lose them. You are going to lose the guy from Indiana who comes a couple times a year with his family for weekends though. They may go once, skip the season pass, and decide to take their vacations a little closer to home, or just go for one big one to somewhere else.

That is the position I am in exactly. If gas goes any higher and stays there by spring I may get a season pass, but I won't be going once a month like I have been, more like twice for a two or three days each trip. I think gas is the real killer this year. But that isn't to negate what Juggalots pointed out about MF and TTD as well.

Gas has been my biggest opponent getting out there this year. In past years, I've gotten to the park 30-60 times. This year, I think I've gotten out there maybe 12-15x. Living only an hour away has always been nice, but my Grand Marquis likes to drink a quarter of a tank each trip. Not bad when I can make two or three trips in a week and only pay $1.20-1.50/gal. Last year started the decline of visits at $1.80-90/gal. Looks like next year I may get out there maybe 5-10x all year.

Perhaps I can get my grandfather to go out to the park with the new senior ticket. He won't ride anything but maybe he can supply me with some gas money. ;)

I think that CP is doing a great thing. Park attendance has been down and gas prices have been up. I think it is great! About time they brought back the senior discount!

Oh, I looked at my senior yearbook (1995) and a CP ticket cost $22.25. Of course, average gallon of gas was $1.21

I'll have to agree with Jugga on this one, people aren't concerned all that much with ticket pricing. Though people may complain of high ticket prices, it won't deter them of going. And, if CP did cut their ticket costs to say $20, my family would still only go once. The real expenses for families aren't the tickets; they are the drinks, souvineirs, hotel rooms etc.

-S. Eagle

djDaemon said:
It would be nice if CP could lower reg Funday prices by $10-$15, cause I can (almost) guarantee that their attendance levels would see vast improvement.

But how many more butts do you need to get through the turnstiles to then make up the lost revenue (and the added expense on park infrastructure)? Until you get to that point, you're losing money and making lines longer. Nobody wins.

Remember that with all of the "panic" about attendance, the count has been between 3 and 3.3 million visitors a year. Until they go lower than that, I'm not particularly worried.

I'm kind of surprised how much the PointBuzz population is freaking out over this. I'm sure most, if not all, of you use season passes, thus this doesn't affect you directly. I understand your points if you're currently employed there, but hey it's the way the economy works. You're always $1 short of what you want, $2 short of what you need.

Oh and Ben I can totally relate to your comments about the Broadway play :)

I wouldn't say, most, if not all Pointbuzzer's own season passes. I don't. Plus, no one's freaking out, they're just making [positive] comments on how they feel about the price drop.

-S. Eagle

*BTW, I like your signature. Try explaining that one to my sister!*
*** Edited 8/17/2005 2:31:57 AM UTC by sean_s_eagle***