Gold Pass - Justification

Since the park has decided to cross the line and discount the joint, this then justifies them returning to full train ops on many of the rides that they reduced.

Gemini needs to get back to a 6 train ops so it can hit 4,000 riders per hour as designed.

Corkscrew needs to get back to 3 train ops and return the white train to its former glory.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride needs to go back to the 5 train ops as in the 1970's and unload as you enter the station as it did in the past.

Iron Dragon needs to get back to 3 train ops.

Blue Streak needs to go back to the original days, unload where they currently load and then load at the front of the station where the transfer table is.

Open all 4 Power Tower launching towers, not 2 or 3.

All the cars need to be operating on Antique Cars and Cadillac Cars at all times.

Oh yes, the slight changes over the years to reduce capacity now needs to be reinstated for the sake of guests being able to ride rides.

Hour wait for Blue Streak and Cedar Creek Mine Ride is an absolute joke.

Enjoy the ride for 2020 you all~~~~~~~~~~

Cedar Point is currently having it's own "Nickle Beer Night" experience as did the Cleveland Indians in '74. I hope all the Cedar Fair Managing Jackasses are fearful in their offices that the unhappy mobs outside their doors don't start a mass riot in the park. They really should keep the National Guard close by for next weekend in case things get out of hand.

^^ I would agree with this. Maybe that's why things seemed to be so smooth in the 70's for the most part. They ran the rides as you stated. I would think it is even more crucial now if they want to take on these kind of attendances and not give guests a poor experience of just wandering around the park because everything is over an hour wait.

The current safety systems on Gemini, Mine Ride and I believe Corkscrew automatically will not allow for more than two train operations. The rides simply aren't programmed to do it anymore. And at least on Gemini, looking back in hindsight, it wasn't the safest thing a coaster has ever done to run three trains on a course that can't allow for all trains to stack in a visible area near the station.

Additionally, what you've seen these last few Saturdays is the exception and not the rule. When did you see any of those rides post more than a 20-ish minute wait from May to August? It'll be the same next year. And the year after.

Vince1979 said:

Cedar Point is currently having it's own "Nickle Beer Night" experience as did the Cleveland Indians in '74. I hope all the Cedar Fair Managing Jackasses are fearful in their offices that the unhappy mobs outside their doors don't start a mass riot in the park. They really should keep the National Guard close by for next weekend in case things get out of hand.

This is exactly why we are not getting season passes for 2020. It's all fun and games until people really lose their cool - and that's not something I tend to even think about. We're currently looking at other options and will reevaluate come the tail end of the season next year.

Some of you are such drama queens. Just don’t go to the park the last 5-6ish Saturdays of the season and you DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANY OF THIS.

A fine line business is. A true ebb and flow; supply and demand.
Cedar Point is very very good at earnings. I jokingly call the place the “micro-costing capital of the world”. It would be a sad day in those offices when capacity is met (at least per vehicle) and money is regrettably turned away.
For this reason I imagine a better plan is not in place to manage such instances. Staking causeway traffic should be avoided at all costs. The time has come to throw down a ton of capital on tool booths, attendants, and general parking lot improvements. As mentioned in other threads, for those pass holders for which parking is included -their own lanes. (I say team up with EZpass to really expedite the process) and if nothing else keep a better live count of the vehicle volume.
And lastly, don’t give away the gate AND parking lot in what is already some of the busiest operating days of the entire season.
can’t blame them for trying to make better what began as an underachieving season. .. and now, they know!

^^Yeah, totally agree. There's really only about 20 days of the season that the park is liable to see crowds like that, and they're well-documented every year. But every year the same discussions and complaints come up about the park being too crowded, as if it's some kind of shocking thing. I do think that the Gold Pass has certainly exasperated the situation, though.

I also think the very light days, where the Millennium access gate is opened, will be very few and far between next year. So the folks in the single rider shirts are probably blowing their tops off. But I've said it many times... a packed day at Cedar Point is still better than a lot of other activities.

I’m just going to echo what I’ve been saying these past 5 years: it all starts with actual operations. From the actual crew members and leadership, down to IROC.

If some crews are not willing to put in the work for their simple minimum train operation, I’m telling you right now, you won’t see them hustling to make sure Gemini doesn’t set up, or Corkscrew doesn’t stack. The importance of ridership isn’t focused like how it was 6 years ago and before.

Saw someone last week congratulating Raptor crew for reaching 1 million riders recently. I am not exactly sure when that "milestone" was reached (perhaps it happened a while back), but when I worked in the park, Magnum or Raptor reached 1 million by mid July. They'd be pushing close to 2 million by the time the last weekends rolled around. I'm not sure those rides in particular could crack 2 million anymore given the stuff that has been built since, but the numbers have fallen off a cliff across the park. The way they run Steel Vengeance, I wouldn't be surprised if it barely tops Mean Streak's final couple years - and it's certainly not due to lack of demand.

Sadly, the more time that goes on without an intervention, the less likely that ride operations will ever return to anything close to how they were because no one in charge will even have been around when they did things right.

And the sad part is, food operations are far worse! :(

The pouches on SV were a bad idea. It slows operations down way too much. I think the best solution would've been free lockers. The line would so much faster if it weren't for the metal detectors and pouches. Plus the metal detectors require additional staff which could be used elsewhere in the park.

Agreed! The pouches are ridiculous.

Friday night was the only time I rode Steel Vengeance this season. I thought the pouches were fine. Didn't notice any significant difference in terms of dispatch times compared to last year with the cell phone ban. And the discussion has been hashed and re-hashed numerous times in terms of cell phone and I know no one will die if they go without their cell phone for a limited amount of time (or for that matter the rest of their life) and we didn't have cell phones when I was a kid and somehow we managed to visit Cedar Point fine without them (we walked to school uphill both ways in the snow and read by candlelight as well). But I think its a bad business decision to tell people to do without cell phones (which is what lockers would require) for the time they are in line (stand-by line was listed at 2.5 hours while I was in line) when you have an option that works which does not require leaving your cell phone somewhere.

The metal detectors seemed to confuse a lot of people and it wasn't sure what they really accomplished. I get the red/green stamp concept but in operation in didn't appear to be effective (at least not consistently). In terms of employees, didn't they have employees scanning the lines for cell phones and 3-5 people at the entrance asking people about cell phones and pointing out lockers? On Friday there were two people at the entrance and one person running the metal detector in the Fastlane line and 1 or 2 people in the standby line. Seems like the number of employees was the same or maybe less than they had last year.

With the pouches they are also picking up other potentially dangerous items. Last year they only asked about cell phones (at least when I was in line). Keys, portable battery or other objects that could fall out of your pockets weren't an issue apparently. With the pouches, those objects are secured (or at least should be though last season the no cell phone rule was on the honor system).

The gold pass has exasperated the Hallo Weekends this year, you can see it on Sunday's as well. The parking lot on Sundays is filled to capacity as well, though you can get into the parking lot at least, it is still jammed packed from front to back. Last year on Sundays it was only 3/4 full from what I can remember.

So I guess this is what we enthusiasts are stuck with for awhile.

I am glad it is finally closing weekend, hitting up Canada's Wonderland on Saturday and finishing out Cedar Point on Sunday.

"If some crews are not willing to put in the work for their simple minimum train operation, I’m telling you right now, you won’t see them hustling to make sure Gemini doesn’t set up, or Corkscrew doesn’t stack. The importance of ridership isn’t focused like how it was 6 years ago and before."

My sister and I rode the Giant Wheel a few weekends ago, and as we waited (a LONG time) in line we talked about how efficient the loading process was back in the 1980s when we would go to CP all the time. There was a definite procedure to loading people into and out of the cars that made the ride enjoyable.

Now, it seems like whatever system they're using to load the Giant Wheel, it's not working. The lines moves VERY slowly, and once you're in the car you go up about a quarter-rotation, sit there for a few few minutes, go another quarter-rotation, sit there for a couple of minutes...etc. The wheel did do a full rotation, once, but we both remember that it use to do two full rotations, one set of quarter-rotations, and then you were off. We were sitting in the car so long it got boring.

I too will be in Vaughn Ontario this Saturday.. hoping none of this crazy busy stuff is going on there. Either way, can’t hardly wait!

Need some Sledgehammer and Levi time before the long and cold off season.

MDOmnis said:

...but when I worked in the park, Magnum or Raptor reached 1 million by mid July.

To be fair, when you worked there those rides were packed open to close every day, and there were at least six fewer big coasters with the same attendance.

Cartwright said:

The current safety systems on Gemini, Mine Ride and I believe Corkscrew automatically will not allow for more than two train operations. The rides simply aren't programmed to do it anymore

You are incorrect in your statement.

Wonderland does monster attendance on days when every other park in the chain is slow. If the weather is godd, Wonderland will be packed Saturday. It's my home park and they are having a HUGE year. Also, the food/drink/washroom situation at Wonderland is the worst of the major CF parks. Big crowds are the norm there, but its a nightmare when you want a drink plan redemption or meal, especially since the park oddly removed several items from the all season dining in 2019. We still had 3 solid trips this year, but our final one labour day weekend friday with the fast lane plus voucher for renewal was insanity. Without FLP it would have been a total waste.

I was at Canada's Wonderland last Saturday...

Leviathan - 5 Rides

Yukon Striker - 4 Rides

Behemoth - 1 Ride

Skyhawk - Able To Flip The Plane 17 Times In (1) Cycle

Many more, to long to list, so it wasn't that crowded, had a blast left at 5:00. Was going to go to Cedar Point on Sunday, but I bowed out after I heard and saw all the drama that went down there on Saturday.