News: 2007 Season Passes on sale September 22

If everyone that this bothers would sound off to CP, it could help. I contacted them via their website and voiced my concerns and suggestions. Maybe everyone else ought to do the same.

I am a CP Season Pass holder with two-park and two-park parking. Been a season pass holder well before they added it to the pass.

Do I take a different vehicle, nope. Do I feel like I am being squeezed by CF? ABSOLUTELY. Why did I get it put on my pass? Because it allows me flexibility of ordering through the mail, not standing in a line and not worrying about having to scrape the old sticker off each year or if I buy a new car. I can also ride with friends if I wanted and pay for parking.

This was something that "added value". I never bought a parking pass before they allowed you to add it to the pass.

This year we will have been to CP 7 times, PKI 1 time and GL 4 times.

We vacation in Port Clinton, and love to stay for a week or more and just run by the park, ride a few rides, get an elephant ear, play a couple games and leave. In some years I have visited CP 20 times. That will obviously not be the case if we always have to pay $9.

To me, this doesn't seem like a smart move. Even those of us who aren't directly affected immediately have a negative view of the change, which just breeds bad feelings.

Not to mention, taking away travel flexibility is not the way to improve attendance at your parks! (See 2006 Attendance figures)

When you make something harder or make someone feel like they have been "nerfed", they tend to intentionally make decisions that negatively affect those they feel have wronged them.

I as a longtime season pass holder feel like I will be losing something next year, and it doesnt make me want to run out and reserve a cabin at LP.

Ya know, I felt the same way about parking when I stayed at LHP. There were six of us staying in our cottage, and lots of us flew or drove from different cities. So, we had a total of three cars. But, you only get two parking passes included in the room. Now, for a four person room, I can see this as being fair. But, for rooms that hold six people, I think you should get three parking passes. That left a slight sour taste in my mouth especially since you can only park two at the cottage.

cyberdman, I have already emailed CP and let them know how I feel about this.

I already vote with my dollars, don't spend a lot in the park because the food costs too much, and I rarely buy souveniers. I may not go to GL as much next year as I did this year if they don't change their mind about the parking passes.

The attendants need to check the parking passes to make sure the person on the ID is actually in the car. If they would do that, it would only take an extra 5-10 seconds per vehicle, and that would address the "alleged" abuse of parking passes. If CP were to enact this and keep the parking passes on the ID, I am sure that people would accept the small delay with processing in order to be able to keep the flexibility of having the parking pass on the season pass ID.

Since CF is letting PKI put it on their pass next year, they need to be fair and extend that to ALL CP passholders. Hopefully they will think of their loyal customers that they've had for several years and the effect(s) that may come forth from the decision.
*** Edited 9/12/2006 3:31:18 AM UTC by ltrain2006***

The attendant looking into a car to see if the person is in there is still far quicker than the next car over handing the attendant a 10, then the attendant has to, God forbid, figure out the change, give them the $1, and a park map and send them on their way.

Don't forget that little piece of paper that indicates where you're traveling to... ;)

Way back on Page 4, Walt said:
That analogy isn't correct. You're paying to park a vehicle, not a person.

Umm, Walt, did you ever read the paperwork that came with the parking pass sticker back before they offered the pass icon?

It stated quite clearly in the pass documentation that it was limited to the pass purchaser, and as a matter of fact it indicated that the parking sticker itself was not, in fact, the parking pass...the parking pass was the pink sheet of paper they hand you when you get the sticker, the sticker is merely the indicator that you bought the pass.

That's what the paperwork said, and I held them to it when I blew the head gasket in my car and had to use a back-up car. I know the attendants hated the delay that resulted, but that's what the rule said.

Of course, I hope that parks that insist on collecting parking tolls from the right-hand side of the vehicle also take note when I put the car in park, shut it down, get out, and walk around to pay my parking fee. Idiots. Nearly every car in the country has the driver on the left-hand side.......

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Thank you loopy. Well said. I don't know if my letter was quite as eloquent, but I was very nice about it and I feel that I effectively conveyed that I was displeased.

Here's a letter that's short and sweet, and makes my point. I've found that any letter that takes more than 30 seconds to read probably won't be (unless it comes from a lawyer.)

Dear Cedar Fair,

Your new parking policy is a mistake. Please reconsider.

If you don't offer a "portable" parking pass, my visits to your parks will decrease by 3 or 4.

If you don't offer a portable "combo" parking pass for CP/GL (at a price similar to last year) my visits to Geauga Lake will decrease to 0.

Can you explain the logic behind a change which encourages me to stay away from your parks? I'm curious.

Sincerely,

I thought the same thing too, at first. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it deserved a well thought out explaination as to the reasoning behind my rant, other than it costing me more.

I think that any well written letter will be read and taken into consideration. That is, if CF is as customer friendly as they claim to be. That still has yet to be proven from their latest season pass update.

I'm kinda torn on the Parking Pass option this year. Not having parking on my season pass won't effect me too much, however I must admit I'm not happy about having to pay at other parks. Seems like there should be a Cedar Fair Parking option. If they can have one color sticker for Cedar Point, why can't they have one color for all parks, a Cedar Fair option.

I'm still confused as to the Greatly reduced price at PKD. $35 for each season pass is a pretty big savings!! That would save me over $70 just to make the trip.

Some of the posts on this thread made me chuckle...telling Cedar Point or Cedar Fair you will be forced to spend more money next year, isn't going to change their opinion. So if one person spends on average of $20 more per season pass, or parking...multiplied by the thousands of season passes...win win for Cedar Fair $$. Where else would we spend $3 for a 20 oz soda? LOL

I am greatfull they still offered a parking option, whatever it might be, a savings is a savings. I'm also glad Joe Cool is back (I am still a big fan of this 1/2 hour jump start on the morning).

telling Cedar Point or Cedar Fair you will be forced to spend more money next year, isn't going to change their opinion.

Maybe they should consider changing their opinion. We're telling them what will get us into the park more often and they're doing the opposite.

If they were ramming things down our throat and the parks were doing well, some degree of corporate arrogance would be understandable. However, Cedar point has been losing attendance for years and Geauga Lake has been poor since they day they took over.

If they don't listen, they shouldn't expect the trends to change. If they do the exact opposite of what their most loyal customers (season pass holders) want, they should expect the trends to worsen. Seems simple to me, which is why I'm baffled by changes like these.

I thought putting the parking on the pass was a great thing. I don't like the sticker, there is no flexiblity and I don't like stickers on my car.

I don't understand why businesses change things that seem to be working well for them and the customer. This may seem like a minor issue to CP but, it's more than that to us. Why take away a convenience for the customer, especially when the system is in place and I can't see there being any increased cost to CP to put the letter "P" on a plastic card. Any small benefit they might get from this move will be more than offset by getting the customers angry.

Companies do make mistakes remember the New Coke? How about CF initially not allowing kids that earned tickets to GL under SF to use them after they bought GL. CF did a reversal. I do not remember the details of that situation.

So let's e-mail CF and try to get this changed.

I keep hearing that season pass holders are CP's "most loyal" customers. And I agree. But let's be honest, CP wants it's "most profitable" customers, this is a business. If CP could get the same amount of money from you (including in park purchases), but have you come only half the time, it's a win for the company. The trick, however, is to do that while keeping your perception of value up.

I think Jeff had a good point, there is no value in parking, none. I don't mind paying for parking for a sporting event, because the team, usually, doesn't own the lot. Here in Michigan, I do have issues with certain venues, like the Palace. I used to go to the Arena football games, I'd get free tickets, upgrade the seats for $20, and on the way in, it's $10 to park. There was absolutely no way I'd be purchasing the ticket, as the $30 I had spent was the limit where I saw value.

Cedar Fair's "most loyal" customers are probably their "most profitable" too. Some of the profit is direct (in-park spending during their 10-20 trips), but most of it is indirect (as spokesmen and marketers for the park.)

If most pass holders are like me, they talk the park up, bring other non-pass holders in, and encourage friends to go. That sort of advertising is priceless; it's unbelievably effective. Just one thing though, if I'm not happy with the park, I'm not likely to do it very much. If I'm not attending the park at all (due to Geauga Lake parking policy/pricing, for instance) it won't happen at all.

Cedar Fair better start understanding the broader impact of small changes like these, or the current trends aren't going to change.

Just Curious, from reading this forum topic, that I assume Cedar Point does not use scanners at their parking toll booths?

The Paramount Parks all add parking to your season pass, when parking is purchased. The attendant looks at the pass and makes sure the passholder is in the vehicle; Then, the pass is scanned at the parking booth to record that transaction. The pass is, of course, scanned again at the gate for entrance to the park.

When a pass is purchased with parking, you would get your pass made and then take the pass to another station to have it scanned into the database for parking.

Maybe Cedar Fair will need to upgrade / standardize their season pass computer systems across all parks as a future project.

You are correct in that assumption. The guest simply drives up to the booth -> waves said season pass at the attendant -> attendant waves you through.

Again, like stated before, how can someone get more than one car into the park within a day? You can't leave property without a car, and if you came back with a different car, then so be it, you're still only getting in one car. Are people bringing bus loads of people, dropping them off at Meijers, and then taking a car load at a time to the park and then going back for the rest of the group? If that's the case, couldn't that be done with a sticker as well?

The only type of fraud that I could possibly see is that some people out there were adding their own 'P' to the pass. Again, what stops someone from duplicating a sticker on their windshield?

BirdOfPrey00 said:
Are people bringing bus loads of people, dropping them off at Meijers, and then taking a car load at a time to the park and then going back for the rest of the group? If that's the case, couldn't that be done with a sticker as well?

Never thought of that one, but yet, who would really realistically do that. And, as you said, this could just as easily be done with a sticker.

All that needs to be adjusted is simply have the parking employees be a little more in depth checking the passes, just as many have said in this thread already.

Why not have it scan your ID to validate the parking pass on your way in? All parking passes go on the ID, you hand it to the attendant, if you've modified your pass to have a "P" on it, that won't work because the system has to kick back an OK.

I addressed that issue in my letter to them...

If it's the same pass being used multiple times in a day for parking then I would suggest some form of check for the pass. The same scanners that are used at the gates could also be used at the toll booths, a little more info would have to be placed in the bar code and some programming done in the computer system as to not allow that pass to be used for parking more than "X" amount of times in a day. That would solve that issue.