Goodbye FreeWay, how we will miss you so...

Of all the times I have been to the point this year I have used Free Way once. I got lucky and the time they were handing out was for 10-11pm. This was perfect for us due to some circumstances with having to leave before closing but still wanting to get that last ride in.

However it seemed to cause a lot of problems with the guests waiting behind us at the merge point. So really it was more of a hassle having to listen to these people bitch about how they waited.

But I can manage without a free way to still get 15-25 rides in on a Saturday in the middle of June/July and August. It's all about strategic planning and where to start out the day. Most of you should know this by now.

Does this mean that we will no longer see max capacity on a lot of the rides? I mean Magnum, Mean Streak, Millennium, Raptor and Dragster always run with the max amount of trains, but with more budget cuts that may mean we never see full capacity again. Lets hope not. That will really slow the lines down even more.

Walt said:
It'd be interesting to hear the numbers on how many people actually used the system. 300 people in line doesn't convince me that this was wildly popular and well-known.

That a good question which we can't find out the exact answer, but we do know how many stamps can be theoreticaly given out.

Just on MF and TTD, On an average to busy day, people line up even a half hour early to get stamps on MF or TTD and they will usually be gone within an hour. Since they give out stamps for 10% of the theoretical capacity of each ride, 160 are given out on MF and 150 for TTD. With 10 hours of stampings, that comes out to 3,100 people per day stamped for those rides alone. We know most of those go out and are used.

If we use the same formula for the other rides (which is actually just 1 hour of the total ride capacity) we’d get 1800 for Raptor, 1800 for Mantis, 2000 for Magnum, and 1000 For Wicked Twister, which would be 6,600 stamps. However, we sometimes see that not all stamps sell out on those rides.

So, if all stamps were given out for all rides (which does happen on a Saturday) 10,000+ stamps went through the system. However, we don’t know how many people double stamped and how many stamps are omitted for the less popular rides. If the park has been truley dead this year, then the number is probably lower than normal.

Still, It seems to me that a good number of people did enjoy using the system, even the “GP.” While sweeping around a fully queued raptor line on a mid-afternoon Saturday, Almost every guest would ask where the freeway entrance was (because the big sign isn’t obvious ;)), then comment how cool it was they could skip the huge line. While I personally don’t care that much for it, taking away a somewhat popular system that intills value which doesn’t cost that much to operate makes little sense.

I do agree that the system could have been better (like many have suggested), and it was somewhat inefficient to begin with. They still could’ve easily cut the operating cost of the system in half by getting rid of it on some rides and cutting the hours down on others, but keep it full force on MF and TTD. That way they can still claim they have a system and keep people happy without selling the whole boat.

I am very disappointed that FreeWay was taken away.

I had not been to CP in about a month and I went for a few hours yesterday. I couldn't believe that they were not running FreeWay because I felt that the crowds definitely warranted using it. I even felt bad because I explained the FreeWay to a man next to me on the Dragster (as it was almost 11 and I was about to head over to MF myself). I told him and his family about the system and the times for MF and Dragster. They were out of town and had never been there, I hope they weren't disppointed when they realized that there was no FreeWay.

If I noticed that someone was a first time visitor to the park, I usually made a point of telling them about the system.

I do agree that FreeWay was under publicized, and I am sure that there were angry guests as a result. (I've gotten plenty of scowls as I merged into the MF line.)

Selfishly, FreeWay was a fun "insider secret," so to speak. It made me feel like it was one more trick to beating the lines that was relatively unknown.

I made great use of FreeWay, I hardly ever rode MF without it. I've been rather lazy on my trips lately and not getting up early enough to take advantage of my Joe Cool, but from now on I make a point to set my alarm extra early.

Chief Wahoo said:
That is the loss of value, and it isn't a perceived loss...it is a real loss.

If there's a problem with the implementation or if they think it's eating money or if there's a shortage of funds, why not spend that limited money or use the very limited staff somewhere else? You want them to leave it to trick a few people into thinking they're getting more for their buck? I'm not following the argument that it should be left in place so that a handful of people can feel warm and fuzzy about the value of their visit. I think this is much different than raising parking in the midst of a season. The loss there is much more black and white.

There are a list of problems to be sure, but I'm not seeing how this is one of them.

I agree fully how cheap and unorganized of a system Freeway was. For this to happen mid-August is the mystery. It obviously isn't a normal time to take a system out that's been in place since the beginning of 2002.

I still strongly believe CP needs a type of high-tech system that displays wait times and other events on boards throughout the park. This idea would give all guest an idea where the long lines are at and plan accordingly and would be a good alternative to a Freeway system.

The board locations could be as followed:

All park entrances, Antique Car area in Frontier Town, and in front of Power Tower.

They can take the money they are saving and spend that on new park maps that do not have the freeway description in them. But, most guests never read that part anyway.

I'm not buying the fact not a lot of people knew about FreeWay... everytime I go to the park the stamps run out - that means people use the system. They talk about FreeWay in the brochure you get when you enter the park, they have the FreeWay booths, the signs at the merge point, and signs at the FreeWay entrances. People lined up for FreeWay 30mins before they start stamping - that means people know about the system and just dont jump in line when stamps are given out. So X amount of people use the system and 'sell-out' the system each day, plus how many people see the signs and didn't use the system? Most people who ride say Millennium Force would likely see the FreeWay signs in the line.

This is a very bad move for Cedar Point, espically to remove it mid-season. *** Edited 8/15/2005 5:19:44 PM UTC by CoasterRider310***

i can live without the FreeWay, but if they replace it next year with a pay-to-cut system, ill be disappointed... i think its fine to be able to pay more for perks like Joe Cool, those things dont hurt the experience of others in the park. but to be waiting in line and to see x number of people get to jump in ahead, extending my wait, that will tick me off. the $1500 thing doesnt bother me so much, since so few people would go for it, but if an extra $20 or $50 or whatever allows people to cut in front of me all day, i smell a class-war!

I see the side of it how most people probably never knew it existed so there is no value loss to them. But I think there is to those that knew about it (which are the minority), especially by getting rid of it toward the end of the season instead of after. And yes the system wasn't perfect, you had to know to get your stamp early in the morning. That would piss off the average joe when he would want a stamp in the afternoon. I can see them coming up with pay system for next year.

Finally on a different note, I do wish they had signs at rides, like Jeff has always said, telling wait times on all the rides throughout the park.

Walt,

I understand where you are coming from though I suspect more people knew about and understood Freeway than you give credit. I would argue that so many parks around the country are implementing some type of system that the understanding of these systems would continue to grow. And, I don't really think it is tricking people. At Disney when I used Fastpass I have a chance to do things I might not otherwise do...like go into shops. And, that is exactly what Disney hopes I do with my time.

But, if it was implementation only that caused the abrupt cancellation why did it even get implemented at all this year? Is it really about money? How many people does it take to run Freeway? Maybe 3 people per hour? 12 hours times 3 people at $7 an hour comes to about $250 per ride per day to operate Freeway.

If the attendance/budget is hurting so much that a savings of $250/day is going to be that significant then I think there is a lot more to worry about than the demise of Freeway.

This probably all comes down to staffing. There aren't enough people to run the rides so those 3 people are better utilized on the platforms or wherever else needed. But, what that tells me is that the cause of the problem isn't addressed. Like I said, Hell Weeks aren't a new situation. They've always been there. But, maybe it is time to address the problem. Maybe they need to decrease the number of operating hours at the end of August (moreso than they do now) and even offer a cheaper ticket for these couple of weeks leading up to Labor Day. That is addressing the problem head on...not putting band-aids on it.

I am not that disappointed to see FreeWay go. It was a pain to explain to people. It was a fairly confusing system. And it REALLY didn't help that many people. (They did NOT give out stamps equal to "10%" of capacity per hour. I think it was only 100 stamps per hour.)

For me, it really isn't that big of a deal. I get on the coasters I want to ride regardless of lines. If there is a huge line, I will come back later, or try to hit it first thing in the morning.

HOWEVER. . .I, too, would be very sad if Cedar Point implemented any sort of pay-to-cut system. I honestly can't see that happening, because CP execs of all people know their clientele. ;) But. . .still. . .as a college student and season passholder, I wouldn't feel too great if I knew I was waiting longer because others were paying a bit more. It would become a sort of 'hostile environment.' I can handle waiting, when everyone else is as well.

Yes, I think it's a bit odd that it ended so abruptly.

I don't think it's fair to compare any system to Disney's. The fact that they can have a system like that works well, for free, is pretty cool. I've been there three times since 2001 and used it quite a bit each time. It was simple, easy to understand and convenient. That said, if Disney used a FreeWay style of implementation, I probably would skip it.

As one who thinks paid parking is merely a cash grab, I would be even more upset at a paid version of FreeWay.

*** Edited 8/15/2005 6:20:44 PM UTC by Walt***

I don't mind paying for parking when I know a nice tram is going to whisk me from a far off parking space right to the front gate. I DO mind paying for parking when I have to make the equivalent of an Appalachian trail hike to get there.

I think the idea of the Freeway system was admirable for its time. A lot of parks were doing paid cutting and Cedar Point, though in a rather unmodern way, came up with a more fair system.

But, this all goes back to boneheaded PR nightmares. Will people complain? I'm sure they will get some complaints and not just from coaster junkies. Some people will pick up the brochure, head to the line, and then come to find out the system is gone. But, this goes back once again to short-sighted thinking which in my opinion partly lead to a disastrous start at Geauga Lake.

Now, if it comes down to keeping Fastlane of keeping rides from closing then it is an obvious decision. But one that should be addressed before the season starts. In essence: "The Fastlane program is available June__ to August__." Keeping in mind the fact that staffing is critical in late August...which has been an issue for at least a decade and probably longer than that.

Disney parking is a nice thing.

I know I heap a lot of praise on Disney ... and I know they have their issues as well ... and I know it's apples and oranges (to some extent) ... but, they do so many things the right way.

Disney is nice, and cheaper for that matter, but they aren't the only park out there doing trams. I'm pretty sure the last time I was at Dollywood they had trams running, and it was the off season.

I'm sure the issue at the Point is available parking. A tram is going to take up spaces. And, I suspect the current available parking won't be there forever. At some point more spaces are going to get eaten up for some type of expansion. I think it is only a matter of time.

But, until then, don't bend me over a chair before I even walk in the front gate. How many people start off their day with the very first thought about Cedar Point being, "man...what a rip off"? What does that do to them for the remainder of the day? Of course, after I just put parking on my credit card and walked all the way from Huron to get to the gate I head over to a vending machine for a cold soda and then it really hits the fan.

Walt, you make some great points. It was still a nice perk offered by the park, but you're right.. it was pretty badly implemented.

Really what the park could use is a high tech upgrade. Install some signs, use the Disney fastpass system... It's been said many times in the past that the park doesn't welcome technology well.

Also, I would think the addition of a few more people-eating high-capacity rides would reduce the need for any type of system.

I still hope they've got something up their sleeve that'll make us understand better why they're doing the thing(s?) they're doing.

I'm surprised, given the extent of the Disney resort, that they do charge for parking instead of rolling it into their admissions. But their parking charge is the lowest of any park I visited last year that actually charged for parking (I forget whether it was $4 or $6...). And they even have some tricks they use in the lot that really work quite well. As I noticed when I visited last fall.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

There is a reason Disney invested the money they did on Fastpass, and it wasn't to make things more comfortable for guests. It was an indirect consequence of Fastpass, but it wasn't the kindling that started the fire.

Let's say you visit the Magic Kingdom and the average waiting time for a ride is 1/2 hour. In a ten hour day that means that roughly 1/3 of your day is spent standing in a line. You aren't shopping, you aren't eating, you are just standing around. If Disney could get you out of those lines for even an hour or two in the course of a day, maybe you will spend an extra $20 on something. Could be souvenirs, could be food, but something. Now, if 15,000 people do this in the course of a day, that could add up to an extra $600,000 in revenue in a day's time.

Over a course of a year, that revenue is $219,000,000. Even if my numbers are off by 50% you can see that we aren't talking chump change here. If you think Fastpass is saving you time then I'm sure Disney won't complain...but I suspect it isn't saving you money.

I'll tell you that the same philosophy will drive the decisions to improve transportation around WDW property in the future too. The cost of not doing anything might be higher than the cost of investing in better, faster transportation.

Now, obviously, Cedar Point wasn't dealing with the types of numbers I am referring too, but it is all relative.

WDW parking was $8/day in Feb '05, but still a relative bargain. Parking is free for all guests staying in a Disney-owned resort, and for all Annual Pass holders with the possible exception of the Florida Resident Seasonal AP.

(FreeWay) was hardly promoted by the park.

One of the recent customer service moves I *like* was the use of sweeps to interact with guests in outdoor seating areas near counter service locations. One goal for those sweeps is to explain any relevant park services for a group of guests. Nearly every time I'm sitting in one of those locations with my kids, for example, I'm asked if I know about Parent Swap and/or the height-measurement wristband locations. The sweeps also pitch FreeWay in the mornings.
*** Edited 8/15/2005 7:24:14 PM UTC by Brian Noble***
*** Edited 8/15/2005 7:24:38 PM UTC by Brian Noble***