How could the park extend its operating season?

Actually, I think some people think it would be profitable and Halloweekends show it would be. The problems come from staffing and maybe maintenance is what I am hearing. Just takes work to figure those things out and make a profit.

Some rides can't just be turned on and off with the flick of a switch! It takes two hours to bring a cold steam locomotive up to pressure. So if I come in at 7:30 (we hook up at 9:30) and they decide not to open the park for the day at 9am who is going to pay my wage, my firemans wage, my bosses salary, the two cords of wood I used to get the fire going and the coal I started to use not to mention everything I didn't list? Furthermore, it is against park policy for regular ride ops to do any kind of repair to ride. The railroad being the exception since we assist our boss with light repairs, poking tubes, boiler washes, etc. that are part of our job. Anything above that and we have to have a union shop do the work such as having the plumbers replace a feed water pipe. Our boss is the only fulltime person and he already works with a skeleton crew of seasonal works. He only gets five guys (all they will hire due to budget) for track work in April when he should have ten. Then again in the fall but fall track work usually gets cut. Right now there are only three fulltime seasonal works on the railroad the rest of us are part-time and work when we can to help out. No one wants to do the this job for minimum wage, I now have a full-time job and only work at CP because working with steam is something I always wanted to do. We have been trying to get them to hire another full-time person for years and they won't do it. So I guess my point is we have enough trouble getting staff in the regular season and its going to cost money whether the park is open or closed due to bad weather.

I appreciate the train is unique and that you work hard. However, none of what you explained has anything to do with extending the parks season or closing the park on bad weather days. If anything, my idea would get you more help.

You're right. You've sold me. The current management and everyone else is grossly myopic for passing up this golden opportunity. I question anything they do from here if they can't see all the money they are leaving on the table by not staying open longer. Staffing, operating costs, and maintenance are merely annoyances considering the fortune to be made. I'm selling off my shares until someone more enlightened takes the helm...

Of course, I am not going to change my attendance habits because the weather is such a crap shoot except for the die hards. but at least I can watch the rides sitting there except for the occasional rider. Seems to me it would be alot like the coin rides at the mall that stand there waiting.

Opening the park for a longer operating season just isn't something that is smart for Cedar Point or any other park with a winter like we get near Cedar Point.. I find it comical that the OP says they should hire a bunch of full time employees to stick around for this extended operating schedule, but then also says if the park is closed CP wouldn't lose any money.. If they're hiring people as a full time employee the law states that they have to work a certain amount of hours, so even if the park was closed these new full time employees would still get paid for at least 32 hours a week even if they weren't physically working those hours..

I love roller coasters and I love Cedar Point, but to be completely honest with you I would never go to Cedar Point during early spring or later than Halloweekends, and I know I'm not alone. Amusement parks make their money from families who choose to take their vacations to these parks and spend money on their kids and I know families aren't going to show up either..

There's a reason seasonal parks have the schedules that they do, and they know what they're doing..

I still ask why you are posting the question here instead of directly contacting someone who can make a difference and enact a change?

You conveniently ignore all such questions.

I was hoping you would contact your friend, John Hildebrand for me. By the way, you mentioned ideas for the park that you thought were important. I would love for you to share them with me (and the rest of the forum). I always like hearing new ideas from other people.

Do you think they could still meet state inspections with no downtime in the winter. Full time parks have to shut down rides on intervals to satisfy maintenece needs. CP does all this in the winter. Would you be happy if you went to CP and Gatekeeper was down for preventative maintenence because they kept the trains on the tracks all winter for a good day. Do you even know what they go through to present a safe product to the consumer?

1)Yes, 2) No, but they could give me a rain check and that would make it better and 3) yes.

PointGuru, if a person who knew nothing about a subject kept his mouth shut, the public would never know he had no knowledge about the subject and would continue to think of him as an intelligent person.

I thought your rain checks were distributed if the weather is bad? Why would they give you a rain check if Gatekeeper is down for maintenance?

I can't decide what's more entertaining.

1) PointGuru's nonsense.

or

2) The vortex that everyone else has been sucked into.

Keep going!

Pete said:
I thought your rain checks were distributed if the weather is bad? Why would they give you a rain check if Gatekeeper is down for maintenance?

No, I have always said they should pass out some sort of coupon when one of the major attractions are down for whatever reason. In the unlikely event a person wasn't satisfied by the park compromising on a major complaint of almost every park guest then they could be referred to a manager or admissions where the would be given a rain check and leave the park. You could set a time limit for issuing the rain checks (none issued for 2 or 3 hours before the park closes) and make them non-transferable by writing the persons name on the rain check.

The PointGuru said:
In the unlikely event a person wasn't satisfied by the park compromising on a major complaint of a very small but very vocal minority who don't understand how weather and a short off season can affect rides then they could be referred to a manager or admissions where the would be given a rain check and leave the park

Let me fix that for you.

No, I have always said they should pass out some sort of coupon when one of the major attractions are down for whatever reason.

What may be considered a major attraction for me, might not be a major attraction for someone else. Maybe granny loves to go to ride the train, but it's not running that day. To her, a major attraction was down. Does she get a coupon?

The PointGuru said:
I was hoping you would contact your friend, John Hildebrand for me. By the way, you mentioned ideas for the park that you thought were important. I would love for you to share them with me (and the rest of the forum). I always like hearing new ideas from other people.

First, that's not how you spell his name.

Second, I wouldn't call him a friend, but he is definitely friendly. Our conversations have been purely about CP.

Third, my ideas and concerns have been primarily with the resorts, specifically, Camper Village. Those concerns are being addressed.

My answer would be yes if granny really wanted one. I think that is really grasping for straws and would be an unusual situation and I doubt even granny would consider the train a major attraction; but, if it makes her happy, good. Happy grannies spend more money in the park than upset grannies.

There are more people than you think that considered the train a major attraction! Grandkids are in line for a coaster lets ride the train. Kill some time before a show ride the train. Don't want to walk all the way to the front or back of the park ride the train. The train used to the the only way to get to Frontier no trail or lift! Both trains are wheelchair friendly. There are people out there that grew up in the days of steam and make it a point to ride the train. Older people that know I work there are always asking me about parts of the ride, some Im not even old enough to remember. We run rain or shine unless there is violent storm. The biggest thing KIDS LOVE TRAINS!

Oh and what I mentioned early has everything to do with extending the season or closing the park on bad weather days because its big operating cost that has to be taking into consideration!

Can I get a "Fastlane" to get to the end of this thread quicker?

Sure, but there will be a $5.99 fee added if you buy it online.