How Cedar Point Covertly Doubled Their Admission Price (And How Apple Stole a Page Out of Their Playbook)

GoBucks89 said:

I have only paid for front of the line passes at parks I don't visit often. At Cedar Point, I just pick days when I am looking to ride and if I need to go on a crowded day, resign myself to riding smaller rides, relaxing or waiting for bigger rides. Used the free fast lane with my pass renewal a couple Fridays ago. Was great. Made Steel Vengeance pretty much a walk up ride (7 laps when we first got there and another 8 at close). Other rides were a mixed bag. Valravn was walk up. Raptor was a stair wait though the regular line was as well. MF was a "long" wait -- about 30 mins -- for everyone because they were running 2 trains and crew that night was very slow. Would I have paid that night for the experience we got? Yes. Just for SV alone. In several years after I have ridden SV a lot, maybe not. Only previous ride on it was once during opening weekend.

I used to be the same way about only using FOL passes at away parks. Now though, I prefer to use them at CP too. I was there and used FL that same Friday and that example is what I'm getting at. On Friday nights, it was priced appropriately given the demand. The price is relatively low and so is the demand. And yes, it was worth every penny. Rode SV multiple times that night, well worth the $65. As an aside, MF had me upset with the 2 trains and slow crew too, but that's a non-FL related problem.

Sundays, though, have lately been at least double the attendance (if not more) than Fridays. Should FL cost double? Not necessarily, but it should definitely be more than $20 more. At least in my opinion anyway.

Thabto said:
SV has been running 3 trains since Labor Day weekend.

Right. But are they hitting interval? My understanding is that the MCBR isn't being used in a way that creates another block, so while capacity is better than with 2 trains, the ride is still neutered relative to design capacity.

djDaemon said:

Right. But are they hitting interval? My understanding is that the MCBR isn't being used in a way that creates another block, so while capacity is better than with 2 trains, the ride is still neutered relative to design capacity.

I don't know what the intended capacity or interval is so I can't say for sure but I would be inclined to think yes. The past few weeks what I've observed is only 1 train waiting to enter the station. The train the in station would dispatch and the train behind it would enter before the train on the course came to the brake run.

Again, I don't know what the intended interval is but they've been hustling.

They have a countdown on the station monitors, and they are usually ready to go before it hits "0" - the station train has been dispatching when the train on the course hits the over bank, pretty consistently.

I'd say they are hitting interval.

I'm curious if CP will make the FL pricing more dynamic. I went a few days in August, and I agree that the lines (for both GP and FL) were very long. On days like that, it probably makes sense to raise the prices even more. Rather than reducing the number of sales, just make the price point such that the FL lines are shorter. I imagine that people who spend $85 or whatever would be willing to spend an additional $30 (or more) if it meant that they were getting good value for the purchase.

Obviously the park doesn't know what crowds will be like on a given day, so it's difficult. But I think Saturdays in July, August, and October are good candidates for steep increases.

Thabto said:
SV has been running 3 trains since Labor Day weekend.

It's still running in a capacity neutered form though even with three trains. The crew is ready to go ~20 seconds before they can send the train. That would not be the case if the midcourse was a block. Curious to see what's done in the offseason to fix whatever the issue is. Hopefully don't just leave it as is and say "good enough."

Dvo said:

I'm curious if CP will make the FL pricing more dynamic. I went a few days in August, and I agree that the lines (for both GP and FL) were very long. On days like that, it probably makes sense to raise the prices even more. Rather than reducing the number of sales, just make the price point such that the FL lines are shorter. I imagine that people who spend $85 or whatever would be willing to spend an additional $30 (or more) if it meant that they were getting good value for the purchase.

Obviously the park doesn't know what crowds will be like on a given day, so it's difficult. But I think Saturdays in July, August, and October are good candidates for steep increases.

This. Exactly the point I was trying to make, and in much less words to boot.

FL pricing is dynamic based on sales throughout a day. Each sign has three price stickers from lowest to higher and they just peel the top sticker off to reveal the next price tier.

The amounts are are also set for different days based on prior sales data and online sales.

Right.. I'm in agreement that they're already dynamic. But my point is that I'm curious if they'll update the price points for next season, given that there's still very long lines (even with FastLane) on really crowded days.

Sorry to post about something else, but were any of the coasters not running when you were there? Last year during this weekend Dragster was closed the entire weekend. I'm hedging on buying fast lane for this weekend because the weather is supposed to be crummy (cold, wind, rain) but my hotel is already booked. Ty

^^they do adjust the daily starting price based on prior sales history. It’s probable that on those busy days from this year it may be more expensive given obvious changes in circumstances.

Which is why it best to buy them online if you’re anticipating a busy day with weather and events.

So maybe I should wait until we get there to buy if I think it might not be busy? How often do they actually sell out on Halloweekends? Also I have a free fast lane for either Friday or Sunday, which makes more sense to use? We will be there both days. Thank you for quick response :)

Usually these last few weekends, poor weather doesn't impact the crowds as much.

Surprise Halloweekends is a cluster. Yes, Fastlane for Halloweekends is ridiculous b/c people buy it,but also people utilize the free FL+ from renewing their platinum pass. Whining about lines when you go on Halloweekends or July/August weekends or any known packed period is silly. I have had a platinum pass for years and never bother to drive up for Halloweekends b/c I know it's a zoo. I go twice a year, early June once they go to full 10pm close and the last week of August, which is a slower period. FL+ and it's equivalent in other chains is a cash cow for the parks. I'm sick of the constant whining about it on boards and youtube people. Steel Vengeance lured me to buy it which I hadn't done for years. So, literally SV got me to spend $156 i woudln't have done otherwise(was going to by platinum no matter what) and I'm not alone. Even going during slower periods I bought 2 FL+ and got another one w/ my renewal for 2019. The FL+ allowed me to marathon Steel Vengeance and some other of my favs that back up. I rode Steve 38 times one day and for the season 92 times. On a regular day I ride it 2 or 3 times. 2 rides during early entry possibly and then last ride of the night.

Dvo said:

I'm curious if CP will make the FL pricing more dynamic. I went a few days in August, and I agree that the lines (for both GP and FL) were very long. On days like that, it probably makes sense to raise the prices even more. Rather than reducing the number of sales, just make the price point such that the FL lines are shorter. I imagine that people who spend $85 or whatever would be willing to spend an additional $30 (or more) if it meant that they were getting good value for the purchase.

Obviously the park doesn't know what crowds will be like on a given day, so it's difficult. But I think Saturdays in July, August, and October are good candidates for steep increases.

The pricing is already dynamic weekdays during the summer is Fl+ $98, weekends$125 (might be off by a couple of dollars), Weekends during prime season, holidays like the 4th, and Halloweekends it's $155. Of course Platinum gets the discount which can make a huge difference during a "prime day", dropping it from $155 to $105

The argument seems structured to overstate points to arrive at a desired conclusion. The derisive tone in regards to passholders is also pretty offensive. Fast Lane is only a necessity to ride all the coasters in late august and during fall saturdays. I was at the park on a saturday in June and July this year and only SV was over a 90 minute wait eithee day (2 train ops at the time). Fast Lane waits were under 30 min for everything. Every major park does huge business on decent to good weather Saturdays in the fall and ALL OF THEM offer a "skip the line" "premium" upsell. (Flash Pass, Quick queue, fastlane). The truth is that for 80% of the operating calendar a fast lane is fun if you want to pay for it but not necessarily to hit the 14 adult coasters that have it.

Also, in the "good old days" I waited in 2+ hour lines for Maverick, Mean Streak, TTD, Millennium and 90 minute lines regularly for Mantis, Magnum and Raptor. All pre Fast Lane.

If giving away a crap ton of Fastlane passes is generating hour+ Fastlane waits, maybe reconsider giving them away. I know I’d be furious to find out that after spending $150 on my Fastlane, I’m still waiting in hour+ lines because half of those in the Fastlane line got theirs for free. I guess it all depends on how many more Platinum Passes the park thinks they’re selling based on the perk of also getting that free Fastlane.

This is all a moot point for me, personally, because I’d never in a million years go to the park on a late August or Halloweekend Saturday - I’m just talking out loud here.

James Parker jr said:

Every major park does huge business on decent to good weather Saturdays in the fall and ALL OF THEM offer a "skip the line" "premium" upsell. (Flash Pass, Quick queue, fastlane).

No argument there but I've never been to another park (even on heavy operating days), including other Cedar Fair parks, where the waits for the upsell program were anywhere near the stand-by waits. Cedar Point is the only one.

One specific example is SFGA on Labor Day Sunday the year Goliath was new. The place was PACKED. I bought the Flash Pass and never waited more than 5-10 minutes per ride, stand-by waits were 1.5-2 hrs for everything. Nor did I notice anyone using Flash Pass impacting the stand-by line the way it happens at CP.

Again, this points to CP grossly under-pricing this product on busy days.

ETA: The one exception is Universal Orlando. We recently went there and I felt like they oversold their Express Pass as well. They include it if you're staying at a certain tier of resort, that's how we got it. But while it was great for some rides, for too many the impact was nil. By nil I mean worse than CP even. HP Escape from Gringotts had a 50 minute stand-by and 40 min Express line. Seriously.

CPVet said:

If giving away a crap ton of Fastlane passes is generating hour+ Fastlane waits, maybe reconsider giving them away.

As much as I enjoy the giveaway, I'm inclined to agree. I don't know how large of an impact these giveaways actually have, but if not having them meant I'd get more for my money when buying them then so be it.

As I mentioned before had I paid $85 for what I witnessed this past Sunday, I wouldn't have felt like it was worth the cost.

CP is the only major amusement park located in a metro area less populated than the park on a Saturday.
The number of visitors that make less frequent trips utilizing the FL system may be heavier than the large parks located in major metros.