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

I laughed whenever I would go in line for Raptor and there wasn’t even a line and people were still coming through the freeway entrance. I thought it was funny because it seemed like a waste to get the stamp when they could of just went through the normal entrance anyway and still be in the same spot as if they were to use the freeway.

You think that a lack of need for the freeway was one of the reasons for its removal?
AKA-It was usless to get the stamp since the line was extremely short.(except for MF and TTD)

Well, it could easily be removed, just send the people who need special access around to the elevator. And if you are "special access" but don't need the elevator, maybe you should think about waiting in line or going up the exit ramp (for parent swap anyway, otherwise wait your lazy a$$ in line).

Hey I know.. Let's send freeway to Michigan's Adventure!

That's what I didn't understand. At MF we still have to staff the Freeway position as well, so it isn't really saving them all that much money.

Ben, are you nuts? MiAdv does not need Freeway. They need more people in the park in June!

BTW I know you were just kidding. :)

MrScott

CP_bound said:
There are a few that post here who agree whole-heartedly with you, Jeremy1999. Unfortunately, as the years pass by and those that visit the park for the first time have no idea of just how awesome the park was once run.

Who would have thought that the park's atmosphere and operations could have digressed this much in just 4 years after they first took the character signs away. :(

Seems as though many of you on this site believe the park is being run very poorly. I'm getting really tired of hearing this too. Safty regulations that CP has established over the past year has ruined the entire park experience and now suddenly makes CP no better than a SF park.

I think a lot of these so called "budget cuts" are being taken out of context. So far, CP has gave a rather well explaination for many of the strange things going on.

Demon Drop - Sort of unclear, but read around and they've said a few reasonable things as to why they've took this action. (future expansion is a good thing)

Discounts - Some of you see this as CP going to its last resort, but they've said it is a way to make guest happy and hope to raise attendance.

Freeway - Like many of you discussed here, the system needed to be modified a bit.

I think CP is doing just fine, the gas economy hasn't been very friendly to U.S. tourism this year and CP is facing that. Other than that, stop talking about what CP was in 2001 and earlier, that then, this is now.

You were 10 years old when CP was in what I would consider its prime (circa 1999). I don't expect you to notice many of the changes because you were too young to notice many of them. Many of the changes have been illogical at best. What possible beneficial reason would there be to removing the ride character signs? If they wanted to put up the lawyerized signs there have there now, then just put them on the opposite side--don't remove them altogether!

It may seem like something small and insignificant, but it's one of the many things that gave the park its charm, and has since been removed. Others include non-lawyerized manual spiels, employee/guest interaction, etc. The park's charm and personailty reflect a guest's experience, but they also adversely affect the employee's experience as well.

Without the ability to be personable with guests for fear of disciplinary action or termination, how do you expect the employees to have fun? When the employees are miserable, guests notice and it affects thier day. It used to be worth working there over a summer--although you took a cut in pay from what you could be making elsewhere, you were willing to do it because of the fun working environment. Plain and simple, it's not as fun to work there any more, and now with the added stress of just trying to keep your job, what's the incentive for the quality seasoned veterans to return? If they don't return, who is to be promoted to replace them in their supervisor positions? Less qualified people who care more about what happens after work than during work? From talking with people who work there this season, this actually seems like the attitude of the majority of those who come back. There is only so much crap you can take before you say, "to hell with it," and get a better paying job the next summer.

Don't get me wrong, I love the place. But there have been several operational and "atmospheric" changes to the park over the past few years that have taken away from what made the park so great.

*** Edited 8/18/2005 1:05:27 AM UTC by CP_bound***

Anyone remember the goofy 'marching band' type thing? I remember seeing the guys in the early 90s... it was a band that marched around the park, had about 5 or so guys in it, and they acted funny.

The atmosphere used to be so different in the late 80s/early 90s. I remember the those little remote control trucks would make all this noise, add to that the 'marching band', and you had the ride signs - something was different in the atmoshpere - it was a made-for-fun atmosphere. Now it seems the park assumes people just run from ride to ride and hopefully stop and spend money somwhere in between, and not the fact that the atmosphere between/at the rides add some much to the experience.

I wouldn't go so far to say that. They still play music on the midways, and the wait staff dances outside Johnny Rockets! Snoopy hangs out in Camp Snoopy, and the Frontier Trail provides a relaxing, shady area with lots of crafty things that don't cost money.

We're still talking about the greatest amusement park in the world, right?

I'm finding it odd the park through the eyes of the GP hasn't changed, but some people here can say the park isn't doing well. I feel for the employees, but the changes are still very subtle that only an ethusiast would be able to pick at them.

But Gomez... but what do you have to compare it to? Sure you probably "remember" the park in the late 90s, but do you remember all the little operation details that you notice now? Attendance has been going down the last few years... I think more then just the members of this site notice some of the negative things - maybe not someone who has only been to the park once, but for people who have been going for many many years they can probably see the changes.
*** Edited 8/18/2005 10:10:23 PM UTC by CoasterRider310***

Attendance went down last year due to bad weather and no new rides and this year is due to the gas prices. 2003 was up 3%, 2002 was flat I believe, and in 2001 they were still doing well. This is the first year that attendance has been hurting for at the last 5 years. *** Edited 8/19/2005 12:42:17 AM UTC by Gomez***

Actually, 2001 was a poor year attendence wise - 3.1 million - down 9% from 2000. This year will probably be around the same number unless they have a huge September and October. I'm not sure if all this crap is affecting attendance overal - yet. But I know it will eventually. Look what happened to Six Flags. I can only speak for myself. I've been busy this summer with a new job and the last couple trips to CP didn't inspire me to rush back during limited time on a weekend. I will probably go once more during Halloweekends, but I'm not all about driving four or five hours for a park with half assed operations that is not approaching the level of service that existed in the late 90's and early 2000's. In 2002, I went to the park like 8 times from five hours away. This year, I've been twice.

If you think the park is as good today as it was a few years back, you are smoking something. Kinzel must be getting senile if he thinks all the budget cutting isn't affecting the guest experience. It sucks to walk around the park and point out things that you never would have seen at CP a few years ago.

I'll admit, I haven't been going to Cedar Point my whole life, but I have noticed that in only the past few years things have been a' changing. Atmosphere is ever so slightly changing with each new year that goes by, and it's not a good change. I'm not saying CP is on a SF level. CP is still 100 times better then any other park I've been to, but I think in the past it's been 110 times better. I don't have any fancy figures or stats to throw out in my arguement, just a viewpoint of the average annual CP vacationer.

-S. Eagle

I think the decrease in attandance the last few years has been a combination of the increasing prices, ($3.00 for a soft drink, $9.00 for parking) and the decrease in quality. I went a few weeks ago, and I had a good time and all, but it felt like something was missing. I think the biggest thing was the guest interaction the staff used to have.

Now, as to freeway I have mixed feelings about it being removed. It was a good idea, its hard to implement. On a ride like Millennium Force, for easy math, lets say it averages 1,000 people per hour. In a 12 hour day, thats 12,000 people that get to ride. No more. For the people who get the samps, it makes for a short wait. For the people who don't get the stamps, it makes the wait even longer. You can't give out too many stamps, or you'll have the ticket to ride again.

While I don't know that charging to skip likes is the best way to do things, I think that it would make things more fair to everyone because there is a better chance for everyone to get a ticket, however, it in turn isn't fair because people shouldn't be able to pay to skip lines.

I still think the best way to solve this problem is to get Millennium Force back to operating like it did a few years back. *** Edited 8/19/2005 2:07:36 PM UTC by 0g***

What if I can't afford the money for a pay system? To me, Freeway was pretty fair. Show up early and you have a chance to get a stamp. Sure, some people that didn't show up early missed out, but if you're just going to the park at night or whatever, lines usually get shorter anyway. I'd rather lose out because I didn't come at the right time than to feel like I'm second class because I didn't spend money above and beyond an already fairly expensive ticket. Maybe I'm alone though.

Gomez said:
So far, CP has gave a rather well explaination for many of the strange things going on.

You gotta love that Roseville education (is RHS part of Warren Con? I never could remember, because that would explain a LOT).

Anyway, on to the topic at hand....
I used Freeway once, for Mantis, at Halloweekends last year. We had just gotten done waiting like 45 minutes or something to ride and the guy was at the booth. Well, we went back between I think 7 and 8 for our ride, and the line wasn't even to the merge point. Not that it was a waste of time to get it (we walked up to the booth, there was no waiting in line) but why were they giving out stamps for that time when there wasn't going to be a line. I know you can't predict the future, but Mantis is one of the first to have its lines die off, so why have stamps for that late?

For the pay to ride, I don't know that there will be a lot of people using it until word really starts to spread amongst the GP. I think they should really up the price to at least a couple grand. 1500 for 6 people is NOT that much. But 15000 for 6 people will both a) make the park so money and b) Make sure that not everyone can take advantage of the system.

I don't go to Roseville schools and no it's not part of Warren Con. And could you tell me what I said was so wrong?

Couple of Grammar things

CP has GIVEN a rather GOOD explaination for many of the strange things going on

BTW, where do you go to school? (I graduated from Warren De La Salle in 98, so I played sports against most of the teams in the area, just curious as to where you go)

Almost anyone that went to CP in the 80's and 90's can see that the atmosphere isn't what it once was. It is no longer a place that looks and feels like a place to let your hectic life stay at home. The little things are what makes the difference, the manual speils, character signs, Lusty Lil's. These things put a smile on your face and made you chuckle some times. Now the names of bars need to be "PC", everything needs to be comericalised and non personal.
I feel sorry for anyone that never visited the park back then, they will never know why a lot of us hold Cedar Point close to our hearts and coment on all the little changes. All of the details made you feel like you were the only one in the park. You remember how they made you feel and miss them when they aren't there.
It's almost like the old butcher shops, drug stores, and book stores in downtown that are no more. They valued you the customer and did little things to get and keep business.
I challange everyone to remember the little things that your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, butcher, baker, or drug store did for you and then imagine what it would be like in retrospect if those little things haden't been done. I would feel like I missed out on a great deal of life.
It is the littlest things that peolpe miss the most.