If you've had platinum passes for years so you get a discount

My family and I have had platinum passes going on 4 years now. If we renew them again for 2014 will they cost less?

No, the cost to renew is just about the same as buying new ones.

Right now, the only thing they are offering is a "buy now pay later" deal for any and all passes. To renew a platinum pass is $182.

I have had a pass every year since "92". No discount has ever been given nor have I thought they would give one out. I remember the first one I bought was only $65 and the parking pass was $10.

Renewal is actually a worse deal, because you don't get the free HW pass the year before that new people get if they buy in the fall.

Which, like the cable companies offering deals to new customers, really makes current customers feel appreciated. I'm not saying the pass is a bad deal, but that kind of thing is always irritating.

Up until 2 years ago there was always a discount if you renewed before the end of the season. There is no more love for the loyal passholders.

I remember the fall discount but I remember it as a general discount for everyone, they didn't make a distinction between renewal or new purchase. Are you sure this was a renewal discount?

Renewals should come with free admission to a seminar that examines the interesting behavior of customer entitlement.

Easy, dj. Entitlement is not really the right word. But people do have a right to certain feelings (good and bad) when you look at any company's pricing strategies from a customer standpoint. I'm a proponent of the free market, I think they should (and can) do whatever the hell they want, and I can choose to renew, or not, based on how I feel about that.

Having said all this, I will add the park did a lot of other nice things (not specifically for passholders) last season. Media Day, Coastermania, and the fall HW event were all fantastic and really over-and-above anything I could have expected. I'm not upset about the renewal discount going away, but I think people have a right to be. Entitlement, as used in this case, is hyperbole.

How is it hyperbole? Seems people feel entitled to a better deal than others for no other reason than the fact they bought a pass last year.

In other words, they feel they're entitled to special treatment.

I hate when someone makes a valid complaint on here and then another person plays the sense of entitlement card. Why renew a pass when you can just buy a new one for the same price? A discount of $5-10 would be good enough, I'm not asking for anything more.

You're asking for special treatment, because you feel you're entitled to it as someone who is renewing.

But why offer the option to renew when there is no incentive to do so? Maybe it'll just save you a minute from filling out a form.

It saves you the hassle of having to get a new card. All you have to do is pay online and you're set. No waiting in line to process, etc.

djDaemon said:
You're asking for special treatment, because you feel you're entitled to it as someone who is renewing.

Or, as a consumer, I'm aware of my other entertainment options and am open to shaking my loyalty to FUN. There's that too.

djDaemon said:
It saves you the hassle of having to get a new card. All you have to do is pay online and you're set. No waiting in line to process, etc.

I understand that you like to be obtuse and confrontational because...well, I don't understand actually, but it is the internets, and you do tend to be funny, even though your ass/funny ratio is unfortunately increasing.

I'm guessing that most everyone here would agree that seeing as renewals pay the exact same price as newbies, they should indeed be entitled to the same things.

MaverickLaunch said:
people do have a right to certain feelings (good and bad) when you look at any company's pricing strategies from a customer standpoint. I'm a proponent of the free market, I think they should (and can) do whatever the hell they want, and I can choose to renew, or not, based on how I feel about that.

If everyone had that thought process, that'd be great. But you could argue that when a deal is ceased and the people who are use to it become outraged or complain about it, while using "loyalty" (or something of the same sense) as a means to justify the continuation of said deal, it does come off as having a sense of entitlement. No one likes to see a convenient deal go away and it's nice to be treated well in this economy, but it happens all the time.

The 2 way street here is that there's going to be the "enthusiast complainers" and the "general public complainers". While I can understand (to a point) the complaints from someone who is a regular but not an enthusiast, it does bother me to see enthusiasts making a big deal about it. For the very reason you said yourself, the park goes above and beyond treating us well. This year is definitely no exception.

So pony up and plan your trips for the free events this year at Cedar Point! ;)

If you can buy a new one for the same price as a renewal, why not renew? I'm not understanding the logic here.

godsonsafari said:
Or, as a consumer, I'm aware of my other entertainment options and am open to shaking my loyalty to FUN. There's that too.

And as a consumer, spending your money where you find the best value is exactly the right response. Speaking with your wallet, etc.

When people choose to bitch and moan instead, that's entitlement.

Scottyf said:
I'm guessing that most everyone here would agree that seeing as renewals pay the exact same price as newbies, they should indeed be entitled to the same things.

Actually, renewals are entitled to more than "newbies". "Newbies" get only one HW visit with their pass purchase for the following season. Renewals get unlimited access to HW with their pass purchase for the following season.

djDaemon said:

Actually, renewals are entitled to more than "newbies". "Newbies" get only one HW visit with their pass purchase for the following season. Renewals get unlimited access to HW with their pass purchase for the following season.

You're really reaching with that statement, DJ. Of course they get unlimited access. They already paid for it the year before.

I don't see anywhere here where people have stated the Platinum pass is not a good deal. On the contrary, I still think it's a terrific value. And personally, I wasn't bitching or moaning, I was only stating, in other words, that I can see why some people would get upset to receive less value as a loyal, long-time customer, than the new guy walking off the street. Going back to the Comcast analogy, nobody likes it when it happens to them. Doesn't mean they are going to cancel their cable, but they are entitled (there it is) to their opinion on the matter.