Has cedar point become less nice and wholesome

I am also in the bucket that personally feels like Cedar Point isn't quite as enjoyable as it used to be. Could be a mix of whatever reasons I come up with, but at the end of the day, it's really just me outgrowing the place more than anything.

What I look for in my day at a park has changed. I never was a hardcore rider or anything like that, still not, and the things I do in parks for the past 20+ years has not really changed any... But I think after experiencing such high caliber parks elsewhere, it's kind of hard to think the same of the place these days.

At one point, Cedar Point felt like the pinnacle of what an amusement park could be (for what it was). Now, I don't quite feel that way, for whatever reasons those may be.

What y'all are describing is called growing up. Trying to ride rolly coasters all day and standing in the heat does not instill the same joy as you get older. That's when you start looking for all the other things, and CP is more well rounded than ever in that sense.

I went to Epcot for lunch today. It was so corporate and magicless. THANKS BOB, AND BOB!!!!11!

(Liquid nitro frozen chocolate cake for scale)

I don’t think noticing lack of cleanliness, bad operations, and low staffing now compared to only 5 years ago has anything to do with growing up. I think it reflects more on the management side of how things are run.

I’m glad frozen chocolate cake is magical to a special kind of someone that finds magic in that sort of thing.

The operations alone are enough to say "it's not what it used to be" and be right (not just nostalgic). It's weird though that most of the crews don't emphasize throughput like they used to since I'm pretty sure the old guard (Karrah) is still in charge of it all...

TwistedWicker77, not sure where you get that idea about Hugo’s. Is it a good option for the park since it is something different and unique to find at amusement park; yes, of course. Is it the best Italian food like Olive Garden or places like that? Kind of close, but not an exact copy. Not trying to be mean as I understand everybody has their own opinion along with likes and dislikes, but I have never had a bad meal from Hugo’s. Maybe you just hit it on a bad day🤔

Jake10:

Is it the best Italian food like Olive Garden or places like that? Kind of close, but not an exact copy.

Respectfully, thinking Olive Garden is good food says all I need to know about your taste for Hugo’s.

Olive Garden has the distinction of being one of the places that my kid puked as a toddler.

I kinda sorta understand the OP, and partially agree, but not completely.

I do believe there is some over corporatization, and what I mean by that is..

Over doing the chain restaurant, and chain stand trend. Johnny Rockets was cool to have, but I miss the sit down style places (Macaronis was a great memory for me for some reason) that arent buffets, offering a break in the day, instead of the "people moving" spots and Chik Fio A /Panda Express.

Id prefer unique foord stands and stops that are themed to their areas.

I think that before TTD was installed the lagoon area was much cooler and more mysterious. I love tree cover in the park, it creates ambiance and really seperates the areas.

Maybe im wrong, I know CP was never a theme park, but I do remember they at least attempted better theming elements. The pirate ride area was cool, disaster transport (I actually loved it).

A huge thing with me is park hours. Im really furious at the early 10pm closing times. They used to be open until 12am on some nights, and they wouldn't close the ques until then.

The nighttime experience needs to be enhanced and focused on more.

Also, I feel like the shows and experiences were better, like the Dolphin show, or the xgames show, the theaters and whatnot

I think there’s a misunderstanding of the term “buffet”. Cedar Point no longer has an AYCE buffet, the last one being Midway Market. The OP wants to make a comparison to Golden Corral and the former Midway Market was exactly that in concept. The current serving style at Hugo’s, Back Beat, Farmhouse, Pavilion, and Crystal Rock is more like “cafeteria”, but better. Diners pass through a line and choose to be served from various food items for which they pay ala carte.

I fail to understand any distain for Cedar Fair’s decision to go with the current concept, found not only at CP but at KI and other parks as well. It works. One, staffing is better managed than at table-service places. Gone is the frustration of looking around for an over-worked wait person. Two, the food being served is visible, and who wouldn’t appreciate that? The cooks are right there, and the food is replenished regularly. One line serves on slower days, two when it’s busy. I would take that type of service any day over a walk up window, a food court, or a sleeve dragging, finger licking “buffet”. Because yuk. Let me talk to the server personally, see the food that’s available, and watch it being served and handed over.

As for the notion of Olive Garden being high-end Italian, oh dear. More like Eye-talian. But let’s think back to our younger selves and how our tastes in restaurants has changed.
I’m not sure there’s all that much difference between that and Hugo’s, which I consider to be the lower end of CP’s locations.

Side note: a few weeks ago we went to the soft opening of Cameron Mitchell’s 100th restaurant, aptly named Cento. Our bill for four of us was 637 bucks. For Italian. That was with one bottle of wine, as cocktails before dinner were separate and not in that total. As excessive and over-priced as that was, I will admit it’s a better example than Olive Garden of someplace better than Hugo’s.

Cedar Point has never been perfect. I've made some great memories there, and I'll always love it, but I've always found flaws in it. If those flaws in aggregate were bad enough, certainly I'd abandon the place. It has never gotten even close though.

Jeff:

I went to Epcot for lunch today. It was so corporate and magicless.

I don’t want to turn this into a Disney site, but I’ve heard various people say that Disney is too corporate for my entire adult life. Everyone has different tastes, but I think most of those people formed that opinion before ever going there, and that jaded their experience. If I lived in Orlando, I’d probably visit at least once a week just to get away and enjoy the atmosphere. As it is, we’ve visited frequently, and I always look forward to our next trip. As for their accommodations, the theming at their mid tier resorts is top notch, even if the rooms are on the smaller side. And their high end resorts are even better. One of my best memories is enjoying my morning coffee on my balcony at Kidani Village, watching the animals on the savannah. You couldn’t get any less corporate feeling than that.

As far has Hugo’s goes, we ate there a couple years ago. Olive Garden comparisons aside, as I recall, the food wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was a good break from traditional park fare. Basically, it was about what I expected from an amusement park restaurant. It maybe wouldn’t be a bad idea for CP to add an upscale Epcot-like restaurant (by the Marina?), but I don’t think it’s a necessity. But, truth be told, I’d rather them spend the money on bringing back my fries with traditional cheese sauce, chili dogs with traditional cheese sauce, and malt for my shakes. Those are far more important to my guest experience than high end restaurants or something like quality chicken strips. 😜

Regarding operations, I agree with some points that were brought up, but not all. Granted, I’ve only visited once a year for the past several years, entering the park for 2 or 2+ days for each visit. And it makes sense that more things would be noticed the more often one goes. But, on my visits, I’ve found the park to be clean and most of the employees still seemed to adhere to CP’s traditionally higher standards. This past year, I did momentarily see a weight guesser lean forward with her elbows on the podium, but that was about it. Back in the day, we would surely have been reprimanded if caught doing something like that, and it’s one of those little things that I’ve always thought distinguished CP from, say, Kennywood. I’m sure, however, that there are areas that can be improved, as the park still seems to be having difficulty staffing ever since COVID. I was, for example, disappointed in the reduced live entertainment. And, I hope I don’t offend anyone, but what I heard from the midway didn’t draw me in to see the show at Red Garter this year. However, I can see management balking at offering $20/hr as seemed to be suggested. My company paid less than that for our software development interns this past summer.

The chain amusement parks are corporate entities and run as such. If you agree with decisions being made or at least are indifferent towards them, you are less likely to view it that way than you are if you disagree with decisions being made. Doesn't necessarily mean they are making the right or wrong decisions, respectively.

Cedar Point was obviously at its best when I worked there!

I agree it’s not the same as it used to be, but I think I’ve just kind of outgrown it. My stomach can’t handle the rides like I used too, hate the crowds, and hate waiting in line. It’s been 2 years since I’ve been to the park and I used to go every summer. Last time I was there it was like a 2 hour wait for everything and even the bar at Breakers we had to wait 30 minutes for a watered down drink. No thank you.

Many will disagree with me but I do think things were much better under Kinzel. Sure resorts and food were meh, but operations and the overall look of the park was much better. They didn’t leave things vacant for years like now with Hurricane Hannah’s, Cedars land, town hall, STR site, vacant food stands etc.

Corporate outside of Sandusky cares about the money and that’s it. Do they even venture to the park? My guess is a solid no.

I'll never understand the disappointment when people realize that businesses care about making money.

Price gouging!@!11

TomT said:

This past year, I did momentarily see a weight guesser lean forward with her elbows on the podium, but that was about it. Back in the day, we would surely have been reprimanded if caught doing something like that

1) The fact you even noticed that is incredibly nitpicky

2) The fact that something like that is not a reprimandable offense anymore is step in the right direction, not wrong direction, IMO

Pretty much the way I look at it. It was really great the 1974 season. I've been back only once in season (several times in the off season) and that was twelve years later. It did not have the same vibe.

Cartwright:

1) The fact you even noticed that is incredibly nitpicky

2) The fact that something like that is not a reprimandable offense anymore is step in the right direction, not wrong direction, IMO

My point was that CP used to have high standards and that they appeared to be maintaining them, as all I really noticed was such a minor infraction.

As for why I noticed, I worked as a Guesser back in ‘78, and I enjoy watching them and seeing how the game has changed over the years. Regarding the reprimandable offense, shortly after I worked at CP, I noticed a ride operator at Kennywood with his feet propped up on a box or something, and it came across as lazy to me. I then started to notice other little things, which made me appreciate CP’s higher standards even more than I already did.

Call me old fashioned (as my children often do), but I think that someone conveying a bored, tired, or lazy posture can be picked up on by the guests, and it could affect their overall opinion of the park. Although resting your elbows on a podium might not be a big deal, I don’t think it’s a big deal to expect the game hosts to stand up so they convey a more positive attitude. And, although one person doing it isn’t a big deal, it’s the old notion that if everyone did it then it would probably have an impact.

I'd be willing to bet you could go digging all the way back to the rec.roller-coaster and GTTP days and find folks making this same argument about the CP of the late 90s.

One thing for me that's definitely gotten tiresome (and this is by no means exclusive to the coaster fandom) is so much of the internet insisting on viewing the world either through rose-tinted glasses or a through a glass of vinegar.