Long Term Parking Plans

I disagree that there is no space problem. You can fill in the lagoons, cut down all the trees and have nothing but concrete and steel from the marina to the beach, but is that really what anyone wants at CP? I;m not sure I'd want to go to that park. In the last days of Kinzel, rides got randomly plopped in where they didn't belong and created a real eyesore. I can't imagine CP without some green space and some lagoon. So now we're essentially boxed in.

I really think an off point deck would be an answer, as it would allow for growth and expansion while establishing further a parking monopoly. A monorail would be cool, as could an expansion of the CPLE RR. Heck, not even the Maic Kingdom could beat that kind of entrance!

Cedar Point does not have a space problem. There are always going to be rides, attractions and buildings to be removed for myriad reasons: we no longer dine at the Crystal Rock Palace, ride the Broadway Trip or brave the Nestea Plunge.

As a reminder, Cedar Point ran out of space in 1994.

Cedar Point has successfully grown and expanded for decades using existing space. They have no shortage of ways to expand. There are always going to be rides that need to be retired, areas that need refreshed.

Besides, why does the world's largest amusement park need more land mass? A bigger park doesn't mean more guests or more profits. In fact, even as the number of attractions has grown and operating season has expanded over the last 20 years, the attendance has remained fairly consistent.

Exactly, this thread is basically a reworded version of "Cedar Point is running out of room!". FYI, CP has a ton of room. I can think of like 10 places within the park that it could expand without resorting to parking lot issues. Whether it be removing existing low ridership rides like they have been doing, or expanding into areas like Challenge Park or behind the Magnum pretzel turn around where there is a ton of undeveloped land. other ideas include using parts of the Milennium Force Island like it has been discussed in the next big coaster thread. There's also room between Gemini and mean streak where I seriously hope they connect the two midways making much more space for things like flat rides or eateries. Or the old decrepit pavillions/Pirate ride buildings near the front of the park. I could really go on forever but the last idea off the top of my head includes therebeing room between Corkscrew and the Hotel where there's unnecessary buildings like a laundromat and dressing rooms for Luminosity. I definitely think those two places can be relocated to anywhere else if need be.
Someone had mentioned that nothing suffered as a result of GK taking over some of the parking lot. It was coincidental that parking prices went up from $10 to $15 the year it opened. So I hope they don't built out into the parking because I'm sure they will raise parking prices to $20 or $25. As for the parking garage I think that would be more of an eye sore than DT was. Could you really imagine 8 story garages in place of the current parking lot? *cringes*

I just think it is interesting that since then, they have developed nearly all of the spaces I named in that thread...

(Victoria is my mother. Back then she had Usenet access; I did not)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

A couple of things I want to chime in on.

1. If the (formerly) marshy lands of manhattan can support a concrete jungle and skyscrapers that reach the moon, there's absolutely no reason why the peninsula cannot support a single digit parking structure. That being said, I think it would be an eye sore and ruin the view entering into Cedar Point. I don't see Cedar Point building a parking structure in the front, but I do see them possibly adding one at the Soak City lot. That lot is always filled and it has continually shrunk over the years, and if there's going to be a Soak City expansion in years to come, a larger parking structure will be needed to support a (presumably) growing attendance.

2. Cedar Point is well aware of the fact that they are a land-(or should I say water)-locked park, which means at some point they will run out of land. They have known this for a long time now and that's why they continue to purchase more land on point and off point. They continue to buy property; along Cedar Point Road (some as far as a mile from the current termination of the parking lot), behind the employee housing as far as first street, behind the employee parking lot, behind Castaway Bay (dirt lot utilized for more hotel parking), and across the street from Castaway Bay. I'm sure they've known for a long time that at one point, most of Cedar Fair's and Cedar Point's operations would have to be moved off point to support expansion, or else they wouldn't spend capital investing in said property.

3. Turn-over: Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Mean Streak. Don't be surprised if these attractions are removed (or remodeled in the case of MS) in the next decade or so. Not to mention Cedars Dorms, Shoot the Rapids (oh wait, already happened), Challenge Park (oh, that too), and others that won't be as expected but necessary for the future vision of the park.

4. Land reclamation: Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Manhattan, Cedar Point, etc. They've all done it. You can always create more land over water. Cedar Point has done this before (although minimal) when they built Lighthouse Point. They can expand into the bay, or even utilize the space of the southern empty marina, the one that runs along the parking lot.

5. Creativity: don't underestimate Cedar Point's creativity when designing the footprint for their rides. Just look at what they did with Top Thrill Dragster and GateKeeper.

There's already a 10 story tower on the Cedar Point peninsula... The ground can indeed support whatever anyone wishes to build on it, parking structures included.

JUnderhill said:

There's already a 10 story tower on the Cedar Point peninsula... The ground can indeed support whatever anyone wishes to build on it, parking structures included.

Where you referring to me? Because that's pretty much what I said.

I'm referring to the ridiculous idea that some folks seem to have that Cedar Point is located on quick sand. From Magnum sinking because it's on a beach, to the ground not being able to support a parking structure and many more in between. In reality it's laughable nonsense, but because these tales have been around for years some seem to believe in it.

I don't believe Cedar Point is to the point where they are out of room. But I can see in the future a parking garage could possibly be built in about 15 years. If it were me I build one just exclusively for the Breakers Hotel guests. Posssibly 4 stories tucked into the site of the old Bon Aire section. Would free up the Breakers parking lot. Not be an eyesore because it would be next to a 14 story tower. But they don't have a land issue so it's 15 or 20 years from now.

Two busted myths about Cedar point are:

1. Cedar point is running out of space

2. Cedar point needs off road parking and a monorail. The monorail is a complete pipedream.

I still scratch my head as to why some people think the park needs to expand out into the parking lot. Cedar Point is a huge park as it currently is. As a seasonal park, CP will never draw 4-5 million no matter how big you make it. A bigger park doesn't mean more attendance. Not sure why that concept is so difficult to understand.

What if Cedar Point built a second park?

Disney benefits from Universal Orlando and Sea World, since they keep people coming back to the area more and back into the "main attraction:" the Disney Parks. The same could be said on a smaller scale for the Magic Kingdom and how it benefited from when Epcot opened.

If Cedar Point could find a new niche park type to build, I believe it could be very profitable for Cedar Point. Cedar Point is half-way between a one-day destination and a multi-day destination currently. They're shooting for multi-day as of late, with the emphasis on out of park experiences and hotels.

The problem, perhaps, is that Cedar Point can only be operated seasonally. But is it really a problem? A two-gate amusement resort just hasn't been done in colder climates yet. Revenue opportunities go down for a seasonal park, but so do operational costs.

Where will the additional visitors come from to make a second gate a success? As has been stated time, and time again in this thread attendance has been fairly constant for some time. With the same amount of visitors all a second gate would do is disperse profits amongst them.

Another park would be feasible if Cedar Point itself was consistently reaching attendance capacity, which isn't even close to hsppening.

The only way I see a second park being profitable is if it were an indoor amusement park attracting guests year round. Think Nickelodeon at MOA on steroids. But even then, I don't think the Sandusky market will be able to support it.

Almost everybody on here claims Cedar Point is not running out of room. I'm curious where the room is at?

It's possible for them to take something out and replace with something new, but that's different than saying they have plenty of room. So maybe I'm just a bit confused

Cedar Point has a second park/gate. It's called Soak City.

TwistedWicker77 said:

It's possible for them to take something out and replace with something new, but that's different than saying they have plenty of room.

I can't speak --er, type -- for anyone else, but when I say the park has plenty of room, I'm rolling rides, attractions, buildings and backstage operations that can be removed, moved or consolidated into that notion. The park has a long history of replacing attractions.

All rides have a limited life span. Nothing is immune to removal. Ridership will dwindle, maintance will become too cost prohibitive and parts will become hard to find. Even MF will be removed one day, but not likely anytime in the near future.

Thabto said:

Even MF will be removed one day...

Bite your tongue ... or chop off your fingers .. or something like that. That sounds like crazy talk. You should know better.

But you are correct all rides have a limited life span.