New Toll Booths for 2020

So I took my daughters to Berardi's restaraunt in Huron, OH (just East of Sandusky) to enjoy some "original" Cedar Point fries (delicious). We decided to wing it on over to CP to see what we could see.

CP is rebuilding the booths of both entrances. The old ones are tor down and there are metal frameworks in place (assuming for new ticket booths). There is a detour to go "through" which takes you past the executives homes and loops you to the front of the park. You are not allowed however to drive past the entrance near the marina/Blue Streak. If you do you will immediately be followed by the police as we discovered.

There was a framework in place apparently for parking booths coming from the chausee (sp?) entrance. We had heard last year CP was going to eliminate that as an entrance and/or restrict it to locals only.

CP is apparently also making parking accommodations at the Southern most point of the main parking lot (grass field right now and used as parking late last year). I would take this to mean CP plans a very busy year. Additionally, that is a pretty solid hike from the furthest lot to the main gate. I would assume CP would make some kind of shuttle accommodations.

If you are a true CP history nerd you will also know the very first concrete road in Ohio (much less the CP entrance) was located just east of the chaussee entrance (now called Sheldon Marsh). In fact, you can still walk on the path to the entrance. Check out the informative link...

https://danielebrady.blogspot.com/2010/07/cedar-point-chaussee-vs-causeway-part-2.html

RollingThunder said:

Additionally, that is a pretty solid hike from the furthest lot to the main gate. I would assume CP would make some kind of shuttle accommodations.

Not intended as a dig on you, RollingThunder, but the logic of a parking space being too far from the entrance gate to walk (of course elderly, young children, and handicapped individuals excluded) so to require a shuttle always confounds me.

The farthest parking spot to the front gate IS going to be a hike. But how many miles will the typical person walk once inside the park on an average day? Sure there are some who won't be there a full day and some who will not walk the entire course of the park several times over, but it is not uncommon for me to get in 10,000 - 15,000 or more steps on a typical CP trip.

I'm not suggesting that a shuttle wouldn't be nice or that the long hike back to the car at the end of the day wouldn't be rough, but you're going to have tired feet regardless of where you park.

Safety is another consideration as far as a shuttle is concerned. If there is parking in a place where it is unsafe for a pedestrian to walk from that spot to the main gate, then I agree a shuttle would be absolutely necessary. But just for distance's sake I think is unnecessary.

That said, there is shuttle service available for some of the onsite accommodations - so I'm not going to go as far as saying it wouldn't happen in this case.

Exactly my sentiments, Rusty. If I’m walking anywhere from 3-5 miles in a day at Cedar Point (maybe more) the last thing I’m worried about is the five minute walk from my car to the front gate.

Rusty,

All good points. The shuttle idea was pure speculation on my parts and I stand corrected.

Agreed you are there to walk (unless you hop on the ever growing number of the seemingly pesky electric scooters) and my clan routinely shares your step counts too. For as corporate as CP has become, it would be interesting to know if there is an industry "standard" that details how far someone needs to walk before a shuttle ride is recommended. I would doubt there is a requirement perhaps a suggestion. I'm not claiming to know, just curious.

Having said that, some kind of shuttle service would be nice at the end of a very long day and would add to the overall experience. People could ride it or not. Or better yet, maybe only the fast passers get to ride the shuttle (sarcastic "haha").

I think Cedar Point has done a very remarkable job managing the space/land and it shows the talented people that make the plans and layout. If you look at how well the park is laid out, it all flows together nicely and is cohesive. It would be neat to see the spaghetti diagrams showing anticipated foot traffic flow when anticipating/planning new rides.

Having said that, there IS a finite amount of land and one would think eventually CP is going to think more long term how they handle this issue. It would be very cool to see something like CP eliminating the camping area and pushing the main entrance back to where the entrance booths are now. Have all the parking on the mainland and find a way to move people from their cars to the park.

There are a couple of cool books that came out recently that talk about CP and how they expanded. the book "Always Cedar Point by John Hildebrandt" is a worthwhile read for anyone that wants the backstories behind many rides/moves.

Ive heard CP has made a concerted effort to buy up and all available land around the park. Empty lots to add anything to the bottom line so not sure if that was a rumor or anticipated expansion.

"Corporate?" What does that even mean?

RollingThunder said:

It would be very cool to see something like CP eliminating the camping area...

3,... 2,.... 1,......

By corporate I meant that Cedar Fair is a corporation, an entity running many different facilities and answering to shareholders. Thus making decisions based on legalities, risk assessments, etc.

As opposed to what, a non-profit?

Holiday World doesn't even charge for parking but still offers free shuttles in their lots even though people are there to walk around the park, anyways. I REALLY need that CP flavored Kool-Aid...lol

RollingThunder said:

Having said that, there IS a finite amount of land and one would think eventually CP is going to think more long term how they handle this issue. It would be very cool to see something like CP eliminating the camping area and pushing the main entrance back to where the entrance booths are now. Have all the parking on the mainland and find a way to move people from their cars to the park.

I've always thought this would be an interesting idea to speculate about, but figured it was too close to the "punishable-by-being-hung-by-your-thumbs" infraction of suggesting that CP is running out of space to build new things (which - for the record - I am not suggesting). So I never brought it up before myself.

Since you opened the door, I'll walk through. I suppose this is really more like playing [insert the name of your favorite theme park build/simulation game] in sandbox mode and I'm not really looking to fill up that huge empty space.

But IN that hypothetical fantasy world of moving all parking off peninsula and reclaiming that space for rides and attractions, does Gate Keeper get dismantled and reassembled over a new main entrance gate, or does it stay put and get rebranded with a different name? Or is there a third option involving some sort of inner-gate where GK keeps its name and its location?

Dumb things to think about, but I think I've seen worse and less likely scenarios thrown out and discussed to death here. ;-)

RollingThunder said:

If you are a true CP history nerd you will also know the very first concrete road in Ohio (much less the CP entrance) was located just east of the chaussee entrance (now called Sheldon Marsh). In fact, you can still walk on the path to the entrance. Check out the informative link...

https://danielebrady.blogspot.com/2010/07/cedar-point-chaussee-vs-causeway-part-2.html

Actually, the first concrete road is located in Bellefontaine Ohio in Logan County. The sign you have posted states..."This was one of the 1st concrete roads built in Ohio.'

The oldest street is still there today. Bellefontaine also boasts the shortest street in America, McKinley Street. It is only 15 feet long.

"The first concrete pavement constructed in the U.S. was Main Street, built next to Logan County Courthouse in Bellefontaine, Ohio. George W. Bartholomew who founded the Buckeye Portland Cement Company, built the section in 1891 after advocating for it for a few years. He had to post a $5,000 bond for a five year guarantee. After the success of Main Street, the other streets surrounding the Courthouse Square were paved in concrete as well. Court Avenue and Opera street were paved in 1893 with Columbus Avenue and the rest of Main Street being paved the following year. Collectively, the paving done on all four streets totaled about 7,700 square yards. William T.G. Snyder is credited as the first concrete paving contractor due to his work on the rest of the square."

"George Bartholemew is celebrated as the man who brought cement and concrete to the Midwest. Called "artificial stone" in the 19th century, the newfangled mixture called concrete hadn't yet been used to pave streets. George convinced the Bellefontaine City Council to try it in 1891 on Court Avenue, around the Logan County Court House. He posted a bond guaranteeing the pavement would last at least five years.

Over one hundred years later, George's concrete street was still there, or at least a city block's worth (the rest had been replaced by more modern paving materials). It's now known as the "Oldest Concrete Street in America" -- signs near the courthouse and along the street cement the claim."

Zoug68 said:

Holiday World doesn't even charge for parking but still offers free shuttles in their lots even though people are there to walk around the park, anyways. I REALLY need that CP flavored Kool-Aid...lol

It's pretty remarkable when you think about it. No charge for parking, free shuttles, and yet they still find it in their budget to operate and maintain all four major roller coasters at once. Not to mention they add what Cedar Point fans would consider a major addition about once a decade.

How do they do it?

What they lack in attractions they make up for in CHARM

Weird, they must build it into the price of the... tickets!

No. No. No. It says "free parking" right on the HW website. Clear as day.

They are expanding the campground this year again. Adding 25 more premium sites. They aren't going to take out the campgrounds. Every time I've tried to book sites they are booked months in advance. If you've never rented a site there, you might not realize that it's $140 a night. I was able to book a room at Breakers, on hotwire last minute, for $170 during halloweekends last year. I would guess that Lighthouse Point is a lot larger percentage of the out of park spending than most people would think. It is definitely the nicest campgrounds I've been to. Parking is never a problem and they have a shuttle service.

Kevinj said:

How do they do it?

I've always suspected that Santa is somehow involved.

Anyone have any new photos of the toll booths at Cedar Point? Trying to keep my mind off the regular news.

Haven't seen any new photos lately, but I considered taking a road trip up to Sandusky to catch a glimpse. I'm looking forward to seeing the new finished auto entrance, as well as the updated sign along Cleveland Rd. It's the small touches and details the park has made the last few years that enhance the overall appearance and restoring charm.