News: Cedar Point expected to be cashless in 2022

By next spring, all Cedar Fair parks, including Cedar Point, are expected to go cashless.

https://pointbuzz.com/News/Story/3345

Doesn’t surprise me. I know this is for a variety of reasons. One that sticks out to me is when I worked at the park in 02, someone was getting fired every day for drawer shortages.

But like I said, I know this is for many reasons.

Personally I can't wait to see the updated penny press machines that now elongate your credit card and stamp the CP logo into them.

^ hot coffee hurts coming out of your nose....haha...thanks for that 🤣

@DVO - I actually tried that in college. I got bored in the Materials Science lab and decided to run one of my spare copy cards from the library (it couldn't have had more than a 25 cent balance on it) through the cold roller repeatedly, adjusting the rollers a little closer together after each pass. I had it stretched to about 6 inches before the lab TA noticed and told me to stop.

The good and downsides of "technology". Spoke to an out of state relative recently that couldn't even purchase food/ or even a bottled water at a cashless stadium (for hours) when things like this happen. Below is just a small example of what I'm talking about. Going cashless = bad idea. Enjoy.

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/8/26/17782998/dodger-stadium-power-outage

Do people think that cash registers not require power to do cash transactions?

If the power is out, they also aren't doing cash transactions, regardless of whether the place accepts or doesn't accept cash. It would be a huge logistical nightmare from a supply chain/inventory perspective.

Power outages will not affect the parks' abilities to do transactions at all. They already can't do them if the power is out.

You can have power at the park and have the servers for credit card authorization somewhere else go down stopping the park from processing a payment even though there is nothing wrong at their end.

^^ Why did you put technology in air-quotes?

Not going cashless = weird.

Perspective: I'm (originally) from a very small rural farming-based community in NW Ohio. Ayersville. Graduating classes of about 50 students. Even they have embraced cashless everything for attending sporting events (which is everything). If you think this is a bad business decision or even a questionable choice, your head is stuck in some alternate reality.

Cash is not going anywhere. In fact, I just made a flyer for a youth running-club race requesting that parents bring exact change for entry into a little race we are putting on (they purchased their club t-shirts using Zelle). But for big business, cash is just silly.

Several years ago I was in the tourist district of a lakeshore town and there was a widespread power outage. A shop I went into was still doing business, and I bought something. They had an old-fashioned receipt pad and were writing receipts by hand. They didn't even seem especially flustered, as though such things had happened before. It was a bit on the dark side with the only light coming from the front windows but there were still some people in there shopping. It was an interesting experience and quite charming to watch the interruption taken in stride. (I'm not trying to generalize from this to what a large amusement park could or should do in an outage, of course.)

That aside, I don't like cashless for independent reasons. I will be going into the era unhappily.

Except THEY are not required to accept cash for payment.

From the federal reserve website -

There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.

It is up to the individual states to decide if cash must be accepted. From the little bit of googling that I did, it looks like Ohio does not have a requirement to accept cash.

So, yes, legally THEY can turn you away if you want to pay with cash.

All people that are debit/credit card adverse have to do is put cash on the cards at the kiosk. The games area at parks have been doing this for awhile. It's not difficult.

I love when the PointBuzz Elite Strike Force Legal Team releases the Kraken.

When you get a judge to Regulate Private Businesses and force Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Lyft, Lime and Apple App Store to accept cash get back with us.

Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them...
maybe you can hire...the PointBuzz Elite Strike Force Legal Team.

It is times like this the Pbuzz etiquette of not quoting recent posts works against us. Now we look like old men yelling at clouds. 🤨

Paisley said:

You can have power at the park and have the servers for credit card authorization somewhere else go down stopping the park from processing a payment even though there is nothing wrong at their end.

THIS. The exact problem I've already heard happening from cashless stadiums like the one in San Diego (Padres stadium). I can see it now. 95 degrees , hotter than hell at the Point next summer, and the above happens. 18 year old cashier: "Sorry sir, I would like to sell you a bottled water but our systems our down". The line for the "make me whole" department will be stretched through the park. There has to be a back-up plan in place for events like this, cash should be that option. If our entire society is solely relying on being cashless and using computers for our future, some businesses will go belly-up. BTW, count me in on one that has NEVER used Amazon, Chime, cash app, Lyft, Uber, Door Dash, etc. I've survived and made it thus far. Haven't needed any of them so far, don't plan on doing so in the future. My 2c.

How often does the park find itself in the position of not being able to process credit cards? Why would such a scenario be more common in the future?

And what percentage of guests aren't already voluntarily cashless?

Somebody help me understand the line of thinking that says Amazon, Chime, Lyft, Uber, Cashapp, etc etc are things that should be avoided. I see them as marvelous inventions that have come along to save, if nothing else, time. We use most of those services and I can honestly say that nothing bad has ever come of any of it. I remember more trouble resulting from dropping checks in the mail.
I’m in my mid-late 60’s and trust me- I’ve experienced a learning curve, but I’m glad to have the knowledge and the ability to make my life easier.
Wearing your refusal to participate like a badge of some sort seems a little off.

The more common problem seems to be credit card system malfunction. About twice a season I see stories about people at Kings Island (specifically) being double- and triple-charged for purchases because of some processing error. The overcharges inevitably get fixed, but can leave people scrambling for liquidity for a week or more.
If any business is in the habit of making those kinds of mistakes I think I would be inclined to find ways to keep from being bitten by that particular bug. Like being selective about my payment methods.

—Dave Althoff, Jr.
(Always hated pre-paid cards, but that might be safer than a bank card in certain places…)

CPfan1976 said:

"Sorry sir, I would like to sell you a bottled water but our systems our down". There has to be a back-up plan in place for events like this, cash should be that option.

What is the foolproof back-up plan for a store that accepts both cash and credit cards if the credit card system fails? And no, cash is not the foolproof answer. I've got a cart with $150 worth of merchandise in it - how many people carry $150 around "just in case"?

If our entire society is solely relying on being cashless and using computers for our future, some businesses will go belly-up.

What businesses are those? And how is that any different from the horse shoe salesman going out of business when automobiles became the norm?

BTW, count me in on one that has NEVER used Amazon, Chime, cash app, Lyft, Uber, Door Dash, etc. I've survived and made it thus far. Haven't needed any of them so far, don't plan on doing so in the future. My 2c.

I hear you - I still have never used indoor plumbing. Anything that keeps me from doing my business outdoors is evil. Sorry - that was a little harsh, but things change; either you adapt to the change or at some point there is penalty to be paid. And you are really missing out on what Amazon can do for your life in terms of convenience.