free refill cup for 2004

Do you guys think that Cedar Point will have another type of cup for free refills on drinks this year at Cedar Point? That dragster cup for 10 dollars last year was really worth it.

I don't really know, but from a Ride Operations standpoint, those things are a real pain in the butt. Every person that walks up to the platform turnstile with one of those things has to empty it out and unfortunately, most people chose to do this, not by drinking it, but rather by dumping it out on the ground. Over time, the amount of people doing this just created a messy, sticky, and smelly situation on the rocks under our station. Nothing we tried (hosing the area down every day, spraying with disinfectant, park services pouring stuff on there, etc.) ever got rid of the smell completely.

This is the problem from a Magnum point of view where people are allowed to carry these things (empty) on the ride. I won't even get into the problems people at other rides have with guests leaving them around the entrance, etc.

In a way, the free refill cups were good because people generally didn't give us problems when we told them they had to dump it out, but they were also bad because it seemed like half the people in the park were carrying them.

I doubt it will happen, but I'd rather see some type of punch card system for drinks. 10 bucks for five drinks or whatever and you can have your drinks in a nice Pepsi cup each time. Most families of four would probably buy two cards in a day, while singles could buy one and use it over multiple visits. Either that or CP could date the cards so they were only good for one day.

Perhaps even having smaller refillable cups would be good. I guess it would mean the food places filling them up more often, but it would probably mean less of that stuff being dumped out all over the park.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew
2003 Magnum Crew
2004 Magnum ATL
*** This post was edited by MDOmnis 2/17/2004 9:48:09 AM ***

If you think it was a good deal, then good for you...

Plastic Bottle $.03

One box of pepsi syrup is less than $8 dollars, depending on the order size it may be as low as $3.

So in effect, that $10 bottle not only has paid for the manufacturing cost, but also a couple boxes of syrup which can probably produce about, oh 400 refils each.

Not to mention most people do not bring that stupid cup back... I worked at a movie theatre where we often had promotional items that came with free refils if you brought the container back to the theatre. The result was alot of stupid americans buying Lord of the Rings popcorn buckets and Incredible Hulk Beverage cups, and never returning to get them refiled. To this day I've never seen anyone return with either of those items.

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Jes
JesLive.Com
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure Ride-Ops Crew 2002-2003!
Cedar Point Raptor Crew 2004! (Find me, and win a prize!)

Pepsi syrup boxes are a bit more than $8.. more around $30.

Back in 2002, we bought a boot souvinear cup, which all the employees said to us it was good forever, a lifetime, until the cup breaks. Well, then on opening day last year one employee told us its 2.50 for a refill, another one said it was free. They were arguing over it. Then that made my mom really mad so she called and talked to Mike about it, and he said it must of been a miscommunication, so when the dragster cups arrived later in the month they gave us one for free....this time making sure the signs said "good for the 2003 season only." So that was a big mixup that year.

Screw that big bulky cup...free ice water is the way to go. No carrying around big hunks of plastic and it's a lot healthier too.

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"Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear."

i think its a great idea for the company. they get people to buy the cup thinking its a great deal (i think it is too!), but honestly who fills there cup up more than 3 or 4 times in a day? in addition, theres always those people who loose or break the cups, or on a subsequent visit forget to bring it, so they buy another...

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Future CP Ride op?

If they do bring the cup back, i really hope they use a normal-type cup. Those long ones were really annoying to lug around

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I think that those of you expecting something huge and cool will be disappointed. There isn't a single logical reason to pour a footer and enclose it in an ugly wall for six months.

Jeff, in May of 2002, on the then vacant site of Dogems.

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Zero-G said:
If you think it was a good deal, then good for you...

Plastic Bottle $.03

One box of pepsi syrup is less than $8 dollars, depending on the order size it may be as low as $3.

So in effect, that $10 bottle not only has paid for the manufacturing cost, but also a couple boxes of syrup which can probably produce about, oh 400 refils each.

Not to mention most people do not bring that stupid cup back...

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Well, that's a great explanation of why the park can make such an offer, but a smart patron can indeed make it worth their while as well.

You just have to look at it from a relative point of view. Let's say I buy that cup for $10, and refill it once that day, and then twice the next day during a weekend visit. That's $2.50 per drink for me, which is less than the park would have charged me for that much Pepsi. The park is happy, and I'm happy.

Not as happy as I'd be at a certain little park in Indiana, perhaps, but happy nonetheless.

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--Greg
My Home
MF count: 69 TTD: 9

*** This post was edited by GregLeg1 2/17/2004 6:41:14 PM ***

My preference, of course, would be a reasonable drink price (when the 20oz bottles went over $1.50 they lost my business...). But barring that, if they bring back the refill bottle, I think they really need to work out a way to integrate the bottles into the operation. Selling a Dragster souvenir bottle that was not in any way Dragster-friendly has to be one of the strangest decisions that park has made in recent years. Why not a bottle or cup with a closed handle that can be (empty, of course) dropped over the end of the seat belt and secured for the ride. Or less practically, come up with some kind of storage bin (a cupholder for each seat) that could be easily shuttled to the unload platform. As it is, they came up with a design that was incredibly difficult to carry, impossible to secure on a ride, and too tall to fit into a standard size locker. Furthermore, the straw was barely long enough to reach the bottom of the container. It was a tremendous deal, but whoever decided on that container ought to have his head examined.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I didn't take advantage of the Dragster refill deal because I was thinking, did those bottles fit in a locker (especially by Dragster)? I generally don't hang out with "non-riders", so I would have to pay for a locker to store the cup. If it was filled I didn't think it would fit standing up in a locker. So really, the cup isn't "free" everytime. It takes money to get into a locker. And we all know, you can't enter Dragster or Millennium Force line with "lose articles". So is it really a deal?

"Is that a Dragster cup in your pocket, or are you just really glad to be on Magnum's platform?":

Does anybody know all the prices for a 20 oz bottle of pop from the like the past 10 years?? I just wanted to see how much the price has gone up? What about The Homemade French Fries?

I have to object.... The free refill cup was a great deal for me. Being a season pass holder, I went about 14 times last season... and I refilled that cup A LOT!!! If I did the math, I saved over $200 in drink fees. Granted, it was annoying to carry that cup... I enjoyed the boot cup a lot better because I could fit it in my pocket. Maybe they will bring that one back, I still have mine and used it for a few seasons.

Jayson.

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Marcus said:
Pepsi syrup boxes are a bit more than $8.. more around $30.

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You're probably right, I was just guessing looking at some website prices for boxes... I musta read it wrong. It's still very easy for the park make up their cost, even if it is $30 a box.

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Jes
JesLive.Com
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure Ride-Ops Crew 2002-2003!
Cedar Point Raptor Crew 2004! (Find me, and win a prize!)

Maybe a smaller version of the cup would be a good idea. I also like Rideman's idea of a closed handle cup. I definately took advantage of the cup over the summer, but I did end up buying more than one because they just became so annoying when it came time to riding (especially Dragster). Good idea, but needs a new cup design.
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Race for the Sky in 2004!
Dragster laps (2003): 48
~Opening day can't come soon enough!

I was also a much bigger fan of the boot cups. I got one in 2002 and probably refilled it at least 50 times over my 21 trips (I shared with the people I was with of course, not all that pop was consumed by me). Then opening day 2003 and they tell me I have to pay for a refill. I filled out an online complaint about it, and they sent me a letter via snail mail offering me to trade my boot cup for a free Dragster cup the next time I was at the park. But I never took advantage of it just because I refused to carry that thing. I could easily fit the boot in my pocket while I rode, I didn't feel like dealing with the oversized Dragster cup.

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-Chris Woodard
Friday, September 18th, 2003 at 10:10 PM. It finally happened. Rollback on Dragster in the front seat of the gold train!

I really agree with Mantis_man, I usually get 3-4 cups of free water per visit when I go and more when its warm outside. It's a great way to drink healthy, stay hydrated, and the best part it's free!

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Final 2003 Stats: Trips: 37
Top Thrill Dragster: 17
Magnum XL-200: 85 (last train of the year in 6-1)

I like the Twister cups of 2002. If someone got inventive, you could take apart both halves split it up amongst some people. They were much easier to fit in your pocket, but alas, you didn't have a bottom holder or a cap for it, so that was pointless. Still was cool to see that.

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2004 - ATL Mantis
2003 - Mantis
2002 - Mantis
2001 - S.C. Foods Supervisor

The dragster cups were very popular but then many started to leak toward the end of the season. It is a good idea but they are very annoying because people were unable to take them on rides with them. Since there is not a new ride this year, wonder what the refill cup will be ?