Focus of 2017?

XS NightClub said:In the past that would've been kind of a bummer for Resort Guests as it is nice to be able enjoy another hour of fun after park closes. As there was not 'anything' to do on point after park closes except make your own entertainment. (And driving late night into Sandusky for some late night fun if you've been drinking already is a bad idea) However, the last couple of years of Hotel Breakers renovations has brought some great late night fun options, and I believe management is seeing the upside of that from a revenue standpoint.

If you were staying On Point before, especially during early closing time days, it was brutally boring at night. Challenge Park at least added something to do for awhile.
The resort guests revenue is substantial to the CP bottom line. Providing better accommodations and entertainment options is clearly part of the new managements strategy to lengthen stays and increase the out of park revenues.

If the dinosaurs do leave, would it be unreasonable to think that maybe the go karts will go on Millennium Island?

Or just not at all. I, personally, wouldn't miss the nonstop subtle sounds of "The red light means stop! All drivers must stop!" . :P

No thanks on go-karts inside the gates; I'm perfectly happy to let them be an upcharge attraction outside the gates. Starting SFGAm rant: Great America hasn't been a theme park for decades, but adding those go-karts plunked down in Yukon Territory.... yeesh. End of rant.

I'd guess the golf and the go karts are sufficiently profitable to remain in place until such a time as the park has need of re-purposing the land.

In my experiences at staying at Breakers I haven't seen a reason for them to implement late night entertainment. Almost $300 for a hotel room that your hardly ever in can be justified because of location. But if you stay up all night your not going to get the return out of it. Sooner or later people have to sleep. It's just as well if they can get everyone that stays there to sleep at the same time. As opposed to round the clock entertainment. I can't see it in their interest to have hotel guests sleeping till noon when they could be spending money in the park the next morning. If you need to you can entertain your party in your room until the wee hours of the morning with a cooler of your favorite beverages. At least you'll get your money's worth out of your hotel room that you didn't spend much time in during the day. In the end it boils down to, why are you here? If your not there to be at the park, then why go? It's not advertised as a night club with hotels. Why would you expect it to be that. I'm sure that the idea is that you've booked the room to wake up refreshed and revisit the park in the morning.

I take it you haven't done a lot of resort travel.

Personally, every time Soak City has been open, it's been packed when we walk by. We walk by because our personal interests don't include floating around in(or sliding down) potentially urine tainted water-that's our choice. But the crowd is there. I've not seen the same crowds @ Challenge Park-almost a ghost town-it needs to go IMO. The higher powers will decide that. But Hotel Breakers doesn't need a 'night club' really. There are 3 scenarios....#1 being in park all day, riding rides already paid for by admission to park, and people watching is better entertainment!. #2, the hotel is relaxing during an extended stay, along with other free activities. #3-if you REALLY need adult drinks and music @ Hotel Breakers after hours-BRING IT! By that meaning, pack a cooler, load some cool tunes to your phone, grab your friends and enjoy the fire pits/ beach etc...! Dance the night away- I've done it and enjoyed it so much! I'm on tight income, but the 3 yearly(seasonal) extended stays I reserve are saved & paid for-I I make it worth every $$

The Surf Lounge is very nice but some type of night club, or maybe a dualing piano bar, would certainly be a popular addition that would complete the resort.

Nothing stops anyone from going to their room and sleeping but many people thoroughly enjoy a little late night entertainment and drinks while on vacation at a resort. Believe it or not, there are people that come to the hotel to relax and have fun on the beach or at the pools instead of marathoning in the park.

One of the benefits of staying On Point is you do not feel the need to be waiting in line all the time. You can actually relax and enjoy yourself instead of worrying about how long the line is... And it's so worth the money they charge for it.
You have not really experienced a park until you stay there and don't worry about stuff like lines and where you parked and getting back to an off site hotel to sleep.

And if you have stayed on point before the 2014 season- you'd understand why there was a need for something to do after the park closes at 8:00pm.

Also, a resort ,by definition, is not a discount motel- you are not there to save money and make the most out of the dollars you spent on the reservation.

The point of having entertainment options for people staying at resorts, that are paying $350- $2000 per night, is to give them reasons to lengthen their stays and return. Not just to visit the park once and ride the new attraction that year. CP is now more than about just the rides, which new management is highlighting and doing very well.

TwistedWicker77 said:

Not to mention, the numbers for mini golf have declined in recent years.

I would bet that the pathetic state to which they've allowed Challenge Golf to deteriorate to plays a big role in that decline. Anecdotally, my Wife and I play every visit (when unencumbered by offspring), and we would certainly play more if the course wasn't so awful/short.

Last season the addition of of "Beach Blast", the "Toes in the Sand Band" and sitting around the new fire pits were excellent ways to lengthen the day while staying at Hotel Breakers. By the last weekend of Beach Blast the crowds were large, the food that was grilled and sold was the least expensive of any place in the park and the entertainment and games were very nice. I believe that the beach will be even more utilized after hours this upcoming season.

My 30-year-old, child-free self always wanted to see more in the way of stuff to do in the evenings, and the crowds in the bar at Friday's over the years definitely imply there should be more ways to part with guest money at night. Still, I wonder what the scope of the opportunity is. The dirty little secret about Disney cruises is that the adult areas are under-utilized to some degree, as many families turn in with their children. This is not a bad thing: The service I've had in the clubs on Disney ships has been nothing short of the best experience I've ever had in an adult evening environment anywhere. (This is why I tell people without kids that you would probably have the best time ever on DCL.) So while I think the need is there, I do wonder what the scope is. The Surf Lounge is a step in the right direction... but it needs a little more.

redsfan said:

Sooner or later people have to sleep.

You take that quote from Kinzel's book?

The sad thing about the mini golf is that a really nice set of courses seems like they would easily pay for themselves. Most late night mini golf places I know of tend to be fairly crowded all summer up until they close around midnight.

I figured the addition of the upcharge SlingShot inside the park and reduced hours of Challenge Park were signs that it would eventually be phased out (and likely expansion for a revamped Soak City).

From my observation, SlingShot appears to be a hit inside the park (where there is a steady flow of potential customers constantly walking by), whereas the upcharge attractions out of the park tend to be unknown, forgotten about, or too much effort to access for your average park guest.

If CP felt Challenge Park attractions were worth saving / updating, it wouldn't be difficult to find them new homes inside the park, where they'd likely be more profitable.

Agreed!

But then what's left for resort guests to do after they're done in the park?

On my visits when staying at the resorts, Challenge Park didn't stay open. I went to get a ticket for Skyscraper, and the booth was completely shut down with zero employees in sight.

However, during some visits, Challenge Park WOULD be open past park closing. So it was a hit or miss kind of thing.

I think they are filling that void with the beach activities. I can only see them expanding on that in the future. To me, a campfire and a drink on the beach at night sounds better than mini-golfing or a swing ride. Plus, those things are low maintenance and don't need to be staffed all the time. I'd pay a few dollars to play a game of cornhole on the beach.

Yeah, my experience over the last year was that the Challenge Park attractions were usually closed with the park. It didn't use to be that way.

But honestly, I wasn't even staying at the resort, and I found myself stopping in at Breakers more than ever as a break throughout the day or after the park closed. Maybe it was because it was nice and new, but CP definitely drew me in after park close (once they started staying open later!) with the fire pits / Surf bar / updated beach activities. I hope and think their effort will continue in that respect.