Future Improvements?

Judging by the comments made in a couple of the more recent topics, I thought it would be interesting to give some thoughts on what could CP could do to improve on its present image.

Due to the lack of time I have right now, I'll leave my suggestions later, but here's some example topics:

Resorts (amenities)
Technology Updates (Virtual Queues)
Parking (Pricing, traffic management, trams)
Food
Operations (capacity, line management, crazy safety precautions)
Future Attractions (log ride)
Dead Attractions (rides that should have been gone a long time ago)
Marketing

While CP is a great place, just like the famous phrase goes, Nothing is perfect.

*** Edited 1/2/2007 4:31:51 AM UTC by Gomez***

Resorts- I've only stayed in 2 of the resorts and since one of them has recently been upgraded and cant say how much of it has improved, the second (Breakers Express) wasn’t too bad.

Tech Updates - I would love to see digital signs that read queue lengths for major rides. It can really help save people from making long walks then being disappointed from the long wait. I've heard my fair share of guests upset over line times and walking all the way from _______ just to ride said attraction.

Parking-I won’t bring up the obvious parking pass issue. The price for parking is high (though not absurd) as it is.

Food- I don’t have a big problem with the food......the prices are a whole different issue however.

Operations- Some of these safety precautions aren’t even being properly enforced. There shouldn’t have to be guest being turned down and possibly humiliated at the station after waiting in a long line. IMO it appears the test seats aren’t working as effectively as they should......though some fault lies with the employees at the entrances and guests not checking.
I also think the cleanliness of some coaster stations can be improved.

Future Attractions- No comment

Dead Attractions- I dont have anything against it, but I think Demon Drop has overseen it's welcome. From what I've heard, it's a mechanical frustration. Plus I personally dont see the need for a flat ride that already does something another flat ride does better. I think putting it up for sale was a good decision, though it will be sad to see a piece of CP history leave (like WWL).

Marketing- No comment

No park is perfect, they all have their loose ends.....some more than most ::cough cough:: six flags parks ::cough cough::
*** Edited 1/2/2007 6:19:53 AM UTC by TTD 120mph***

Resorts- dont stay there, i only live an hour away

Tech updates- same as TTD says

Parking- should only be 5.00 per vehicle

Food- I always pack a picnic as CP prices are too high for me

Operations- no comment

Future Attractions-???

Dead Attracrions- get rid of the gas powered corvettes by Blue Streak. I think 1 gas powered attraction(Cadillac cars) is enough.

Marketing- more ticket giveaway's, although a mute point with me now that i purchased season passes for the first time in my life!!!

I think from an employee stand point the electronic signs wouldn't work because a computer can't measure wait times. The employees are trained to know how long the wait is just by looking at the line and adjust the wait time as needed. Each section of lines stand for a certain amount of wait time.

Thats what the signs are for at the entrances at the major rides.
*** Edited 1/2/2007 10:49:07 AM UTC by wickeddragster88***

Obviously, but it would be nice to have some big LCD signs around the park 'linked' into those signs at the entrance to the lines displaying what those signs say. You know? So you're not at say Magnum, and walk all the way over to MF to see a 2 hour wait. It would be on a LCD sign at say, the TTD Midway. Get it?

wickeddragster88, computers certainly can measure wait times just as accurately or more accurately than a human. It's a simple formula. Number of people in line divided by the hourly capacity multiplied by 60. That gets you the number of minutes you should expect to wait. The hourly capacity would have to be adjusted based on number of trains, staffing, etc, or even better, the computer could use the average over a several hour period to calculate the true throughput of the ride/crew.

How do you measure the number of people in line? I'm sure there are more clever ways, but one of them would be a turnstile at the entrance and a turnstile right before the ride - electronic of course. The difference between the two numbers is the number of people in line.

MDOmnis you make a good point. I was thinking some other way that a computer would measure it. It is a good idea but the park isnt going to spend that kind of money on a system that is already in place and is working for the situations at hand, thats just my opinion though.

I have no problem with the current manually controlled signs with 15 minute increments; my experience is they're usually fairly accurate, and usually they overestimate, rather than underestimate, the actual wait (barring ride breakdowns or inclement weather). So if I go up to Raptor and see a 45-minute wait posted, I can be fairly confident that that is most probably the upper limit for the true wait, and in actuality the wait will probably be somewhere around 25 to 40 minutes. I often find that I can equally or better gauge the wait just by eye-balling the line. For instance, if MF is running all three trains and the line has filled the first set of queues, that's probably about a 25-minute wait, regardless of what the sign says.

On the other hand, I am intrigued by TTD 120's suggestion of posting ride waits electronically throughout the park. That innovation would almost certainly have to wait for a more techno-friendly regime at Cedar Fair, however.

What's odd, in going over Gomez' categories, is that I'm mostly very satisfied with every aspect of Point operations. Yes, the resorts could use more amenities, but I don't stay overnight very often so it's not really an issue for me. As far as the safety measures are concerned, yes they're a little bit anal at times, but that's just the type of park the Point has evolved into. With 68 (or is it 69 yet?) rides, I certainly wouldn't want them using the protocols of a place like, say, Conneaut Lake or Idlewild.

Food prices are definitely too high, but then again this is a big amusement park, and food and drinks is where they make their bread and butter (pun intended). I just wish they would get a really good pot roast sandwich, like they have at Kennywood. And maybe a restaurant that serves breakfast all day (pancakes always taste better after riding coasters). Oh, and some decent Chinese would be good. Dang, I'm getting hungry.

As for future attractions, a dark ride or two would be nice. It doesn't have to be technology crazy like Spiderman at Universal or Scooby Doo at (P) KI, just something fun and interesting and air-conditioned. I know, how about 'Girls Gone Wild: The Ride'! What, not family friendly enough? ;)

TTD 120mph said:
Dead Attractions- I dont have anything against it, but I think Demon Drop has overseen it's welcome. From what I've heard, it's a mechanical frustration. Plus I personally dont see the need for a flat ride that already does something another flat ride does better.

The problem is, there isn't another flat that does free-fall better. PT isn't a true free-fall, and personally, DD does the drop better than PT. PT just gets bonus points for height.

Disaster Transport could use a technological makeover.

Disney judges line length by giving a card with a little chip inside to a guest every 15 minutes. When that guest gets in the station a rideop takes the card swipes it on a device and the computer gets the most up-to-date reading right there.

Figuring out the wait time by looking at the line itself doesn't always 100% work because of slower operations (TTD has those type of days a lot) and fewer trains running than normal.

I can see what you mean John, but when I’m on PT (the drop of course) not only am I enjoying the view, but I’m also in comfort knowing that the braking process is allot smoother and the ride is allot longer. I know DD was a far from the next generation of smoother braking technology, but since there's now one that provides a much more comfortable ride; I'd have to choose it. I will give DD credit on the freefall feeling, but PT is the only one out of the bunch that still "gets" me in terms of thrill. Plus, I would choose sitting with your legs dangling apposed to standing.

DD is a good ride but the combination of its braking and roughness turns me away from it.

And on the topic of incorrect wait times, Dragster is a good example (like Gomez said). I almost never end up waiting the full time described on the time wheel. One time it said 2 hours (and it seemed like it too) but I only ended up waiting 1 1/2 hours.

The Disney method sounds simpler than what I had mentioned and would probably work just as well.

I agree this is something the park probably won't spend money on because it doesn't have any obvious payoff, but increased guest satisfaction might count for more than they realize.

Something like the ability to charge in-park food/merchandise to your hotel room or season pass would certainly be a better place to start, but also probably a much bigger up front investment in cabling and a whole slew of modern POS systems.

I think the point people have been making quite loudly is that building a technology infrastructure opens up all kinds of new possibilities for taking people's money, data mining, etc.

JuggaLotus said:

TTD 120mph said:
Dead Attractions- I dont have anything against it, but I think Demon Drop has overseen it's welcome. From what I've heard, it's a mechanical frustration. Plus I personally dont see the need for a flat ride that already does something another flat ride does better.

The problem is, there isn't another flat that does free-fall better. PT isn't a true free-fall, and personally, DD does the drop better than PT. PT just gets bonus points for height.

THANK YOU!!!!!

Power tower is just kinda.....meh. I ride up but down is just lame. Same goes for drop zone at pki because you are slowing through a good portion of the drop. With DD, you are in free-fall the whole ride untill the pull out.

I mainly ride PT for the view; I ride Demon Drop for the free fall thrill. Though I can't stand being on my back, and then almost upside down; those are the only things about DD I don't like.

As for improvements, go see my post in the Whither Cedar Fair thread.

^Where are you almost upside down on Demon Drop?

Gomez said:
^Where are you almost upside down on Demon Drop?

Right Here. :)

What about a traffic flow improvement?

Suppose you want to go Magnum after a ride on Millennium Force because you realized that Magnum was better? ;)

I would like to see a pathway, a train ride, a sky ride, heck even a space shuttle between the MF plaza and the Dragster tower.

But that's just me :)

~Rob Willi

There is one. After leaving Millennium Force's exit, turn right and walk (that's one foot in front of the other) until you get to Coasters Grill. Now, turn left and continue walking (other foot in front of the first this time though) and when you get to the Corkscrew's corkscrew, turn left again. Now continue walking (at this point, lazy people will want to use someone else's feet) and Magnum will be on your right.

All this trouble can be avoided though. When you arrive on the peninsula, simply park in the Gemini lot, enter at the resort gate, go through the tunnel, under Magnum, bear to the left around the pretzel stand, and enter the queue. When you exit the ride, go left, under Magnum, bear left around the pretzel stand and enter the queue. When you exit the ride, go left....ok, I think you get the picture. This does save on lots of wasted walking though. ;)

i dont think that traffic flow is that bad, if u wanna ride both mf and magnum then there are rides in the middle of the two that you can ride. if you dont want to ride them or there is not enough time pick left or right, then run.