Has cool summer depression slowed ticket sales at Cedar Point?

No, but 1% attendance down is a big deal. Many other costs are up. Ticket price integrity is gone (see KI for a beautiful example), many freebies, special events, etc. Down there basically two people get in for the price one one ticket. Makes no sense to me.

CF had a bit lower attendance and low profit, wheras SF had much lower attendance but much higher profits. Their ticket prices went up, but people that did go spent way more than ever.

It may seem negative, but I'd rather see the company keep churning out large profits. More money, more sweet stuff for the season and it's next. CF lately has been giving away the gate it seems to me.

If I'm reading the reports right, Six Flags is reporting total per capita guest spending of $43.73, with $18.58 of that being in park per capita spending and $25.15 of that being per capita admissions spending, not exactly a premium price for admissions.

CF is reporting $43.94 in in-park per captia spending, substantially more than Six Flags $18.58.

Seems to me that CF is doing the right thing with the admission specials, you can't sell someone something unless you get them in the door.

Overall chain profit is up..that sells me enough..that's the goal of a business.

If Six can see fewer people, but churn out a higher profit..sweet deal for them. The phrase more with less comes to mind. However, CF has just under the same amount of attendance, but didn't turn as much a profit.

thedevariouseffect said:
No, but 1% attendance down is a big deal.

In no universe is that a big deal, especially when you can attribute most of it to specific events (the water main break, flooding at Valleyfair, late school year end, sale of a water park). The rest is normal variation from weather and the on/off new attraction cycle.

Today the park was packed. Main lot and soak city lot full and overflow lot I'm guessing 90%. Of course is was about a perfect day to go.

Cedar Point is the cure for the Summertime Blues.

Where is the overflow lot?

Kevinj said:
Cedar Point is the cure for the Summertime Blues.

I'm surprised this didn't come up sooner. +1!

Thabto said:
No. Last summer was worse and it still drew in high numbers. I think it's because there is no new major attraction this year to draw in crowds. Last year GK only caused a spike in crowds. Comparing this years crowd to last year's isn't really a fair comparison. Compare it to the years before a new coaster was added.

If you mean "worst" as in cooler and not as hot, is not true.

No. It was rainy and cool last summer. At least it was in NE OH.

And today is pretty busy. 1.75 hours for MF and 1.5 for Maverick. Even Maverick's Fast Lane was a 45 minute wait. Luckily we won front of the line passes on plinko for Maverick.

^
Last year every time we were at the park it was insanely hot and sunny. And that was a 4-8 day visit each month of the season.

Last year was cooler than the previous few summers but this year has been much cooler than last year. We didn't put our pool up because we need a major septic tank project done and would have had to take it down when construction begins and it's been cool enough nobody has really missed it that much.

May-August 2013
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPCW/2013/5/10/CustomHi...atename=NA

May-August 2014
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPCW/2014/5/10/CustomHi...atename=NA

^Exactly. Oiumet and his team are doing a wonderful job.

I'd love to have a time machine, that I might pop ahead to 2024 and see how the park will change.

CF had a bit lower attendance and low profit, wheras SF had much lower attendance but much higher profits. Their ticket prices went up, but people that did go spent way more than ever.

Others have approached this already, but per capita spending isn't necessarily "higher profits." And Cedar Fair shows much better per-cap spending than Six Flags anyhow. I would be much, much more worried about a 8% attendance drop at Six Flags (where there was significant cap-ex at SFOG, SFGAmer, and SFGAdv, some of its largest parks) versus a drop that a single weekend with working water mains in June would have essentially erased for Cedar Fair.

It may seem negative, but I'd rather see the company keep churning out large profits. More money, more sweet stuff for the season and it's next. CF lately has been giving away the gate it seems to me.

As a Six Flags season passholder, the number of emails I've gotten for "bring a guest" promotions or package gold pass deals seem to far outstrip the ones I get from Cedar Point or Kings Island (who both send me promotional stuff). That's pretty anecdotal though. Being pretty unfiltered, if what you want from Cedar Fair is for it to act more closely to Six Flags than their current business plan, I guess my reaction to that is to tell you I'd probably stop going to Cedar Point if that were to happen.

The only day of the whole week that the crowd is spike is Saturday every other day is mild.

People were trapped on a Six Flags ride today for 4 hours.

Today was actually busy and hot. It was only about 83 degrees, but that feels hot when you're on asphalt and when there is humidity. No, weather has had little if any effect on ticket sales. Overall today was crowded but still fairly enjoyable. My main gripes are long lines on MF, but I think they were letting too many Fast Lane people in because there were times when the regular lines were at a standstill for about 10 minutes. And the Challenge Park go karts were running shorter cycles and allowing re-rides when there were several cycles worth of people waiting in line. But I got front of line passes on Maverick from Plinko! I think if anything, cooler temps causes an increase in attendance.

I'm coming tommaro i think it'll be empty because its a 70% chance of rain but im willing to make the risk on Monday.

I've been very pleased with what I see at CP in terms of less skimping around the edges, adding an entrance person back here or there, adding the midway bands, the fun squad, beach blast, the seagull poop cleaners, the $5 all day drink refills, the season meal plan, etc. I think they are doing the right things to keep people loyal and keep them coming back multiple times a year and year after year. There are a few things here or there that could still be improved upon (like the locker situation because I think people still feel nickel and dimed by that), but overall, I feel like they appreciate my business and it makes me less inclined to be a tightwad. Staff morale this deep into the season seems to be better than a few years back too.

I do think attendance is down this year, but I don't think it's because of anything the park is doing wrong. There was a lot of rain early on, the lost a weekend with the watermain break, and also, combine it with the fact that CP has nothing new and KI, the closest "competition" has a sparkly new coaster, and you've got a recipe for lower attendance.

Having said all that, I was at CP this past weekend and Saturday was PACKED (Fastlane sold out, cars parked all the way to the toll boths) and Sunday was almost as bad (just a small corner of the bay side lot remained empty). Soak City's lot was full both days too. I am not sure how much the bring a friend for $20 influenced Sunday, but I don't ever recall a Sunday like that except maybe a labor day Sunday on rare occasion. Halloweekends are becoming more and more of a cash cow it seems and I don't think this year will be any different.