Free WiFi at the point next year!

I had mixed results with the wifi at KI this season. But it got better as the season went along. While I tend to leave my phone in the car most trips into parks I do see this as a sign of the times. The social media marketing campaign is a useful tool for the park and having wifi will only improve that.

My iPhone 6s has the best battery of any phone I've had. And I've gone through a lot. Not to mention, it charges super fast. Which brings me to my next "wish": implementing cell phone charging stations in designated spots throughout the park i.e. Hershey Park

^ Heck yes! I've been wanting that for a long time. A quick 10 or 15 minute break to charge my phone would help out alot. Especially if the park gets more heavy into online stuff with this new Wi-Fi being rolled out.

While I haven't specifically done this, you could go to Hotel Breakers and charge up at the Surf Lounge/ Starbucks. Maybe even the Starbucks in the park, but I've never stepped foot in there.

Jeff said:

Putting WiFi into a park is not an inexpensive endeavor. I've had a little exposure to that process, and it's harder than you would think. If the pipe is big enough, this will really help Cedar Point, especially with the weak and inconsistent cellular service there.

Aside from providing the service to guests, what other benefits does bringing Wifi to the park provide CF by chance?

All I would think is to see what & when people are looking at things or where, etc.

That's a good option too. But a lot of people don't want to bring their charger with them into the park. The specific charging stations I'm referring to have the plug ins for all phone types that stick out of the power box. If you've been to Cleveland Airport lately, I believe they have them there as well. It's a very good idea.

Adding WiFi could help them go more heavy with social media marketing, like with tweetups. They could even improve their new app to add even more online interactivity to it. They could even make FunTV more interactive like giving you the ability to request songs, answer trivia questions, etc.

As for the charging station, I saw one at the Columbus Convention Center a few years back and there were all different types of wires to plug into for each type of phone. I would like to see those at the park.

Oh yes, I understand what you mean. Probably a lot easier to implement something like that these days, compared to the decade ago when every phone had a different charger. Obviously all phones still don't have the same charger, but we are down to a smaller number.

Wifi throughout the park could really help with an improved app roll out. Being able to quickly look up ride wait times, show schedules, events, etc. Maybe even go with a cashless system? Having a scannable barcode on your phone to pay for drinks, games, merch, food. I would gladly pay an upcharge on my season pass to have it be on my phone. Scan that at the gate. Scan my phone for a meal plan, scan my phone for a drink! Just a possibility with a good wifi system in place.

During the earnings call today, they talked about the new app. If you've used it at Kings Island, it shows theoretical wait times, and more importantly, they can direct offers and promotions related to the things around you, such as souvenir photos, funnel cakes, etc.

I'm interested in the FunPix details. We were at Disneyland and there were so many places with photographers to get your pictures. My fiends went to Disney World and had access to their pictures right away on the app and could share them directly on social media. The parks should pay us for doing their marketing for them when we share our trips! Free park wide WiFi could play into this too making it easier to view and download/upload pics. wait and see what happens.

Shawn Meyer said:
Hopefully they add a Verizon tower so I can get better reception.

I believe Verizon put in a 4g tower a couple years ago. I get good coverage and performance at CP.

They did. Right on top of Windseeker IIRC. However, my girlfriend has Verizon and gets terrible service there on busy days.

I never have any issues with AT&T when I'm at the park.

Sprint here, always bit or miss

T-Mobile works great for me. But my friends on Verizon always have trouble, presumably due to high demand. Verizon is so poor sometimes that I allow my friends to tether off my phone.

thedevariouseffect said:
Aside from providing the service to guests, what other benefits does bringing Wifi to the park provide CF by chance?

Disney's entire "experience management" strategy is based on having Internet access from your phone, so they had to do WiFi. In fact they also have AT&T "microcells" throughout the property.

That's just the tip of the iceberg though. There are a hundred interesting things you could do with mobile connectivity, and most are things that Cedar Fair hasn't even thought of yet. Regardless, none of them benefit anyone if you can't connect.

Nice to see this coming...

I recently bought an iPod Touch specifically because wifi access is quickly becoming ubiquitous. Back in June, the wifi in the Hotel Breakers lobby was a terrible joke. A few weeks ago, the wifi at Starbucks on the main midway was useless.

But a couple of weeks ago, I found out that the a Raptor queue and the surrounding area had an open hotspot that worked quite well. And on closing day, between the Starbucks and Pavilions access points, I had nearly seamless access throughout that chunk of midway, at least long enough to renew my Kings Island pass *after* being admitted to Cedar Point and *before* the sale ended.

(Yeah, I still don't fully trust the renewal process not to introduce hiccups into the admission process.)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

If the wifi is a service by the same company in the manner that was used for the the hotels and Lighthouse Point the last two years, it will be basically useless... Unless you upgrade to the pay level service. And, that was much slower than my ATT 4G service.

What do people do at a park that drains their phone batteries so much that they need a charging station? I thought the point of going to a park was to enjoy a day outside, away from your everyday life. Also, why would you bring an iPad to an amusement park? I can't believe that people really can't stray away from their social media and online games for a day while enjoying an amazing amusement park. I am see having your phone with out getting emails from work incase something is needed but that wouldn't drain your battery unless you are constantly on it screwing around. Man I have an old person mantality, yet I am only 25.