Online resort reservations DOWN

For two days I tried to just check rates for Breakers, etc. The website which looks like it was coded in 1999 kept hanging, or not providing frames to scroll through the information.

I can't believe an organization as big as CP has such a crummy reservations website.

___

CP's response:

I apologize for the difficulties you experienced while using our online reservation system. A technical support team is currently working on the issue and we hope to have the site up as soon as possible. For resort information you are also welcome to call our reservations office at 419-627-2106. We apologize once again for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Cedar Point Resorts

Hopefully the site issues yesterday didn't also screw up the actual rates. I'm hoping that the $100 two-double non-smoking for Hotel Breakers is still up for grabs.

I heard they're replacing 3 sections of the website. It should be up by early June.

But seriously, web sites have trouble. Even big companies experience downtime. Maybe you should remove yourself from the internet if you can't accept that. Or, I guess - if you think you could do a better job at coding a web site (maybe you could make it look like it's from at least 2000 or so..) - maybe you should apply for the position yourself.

Google has no downtime.

He's right--there's little excuse for CP's online reservation system to be down, especially for multiple days. I attempted to purchase my season pass early Tuesday morning and tickets.cedarpoint.com was completely unresponsive, and I tried for over an hour to access it. Given that I wanted to be riding Millennium before 10am, I had to abandon my efforts and buy the season pass at the park (fortunately it was not busy).

For a business that will spend $21 million on a single ride, it's obvious they need to put some more money into their internet infrastructure. Their website is often going to be someone's first experience with the park, and you know what they say about first impressions.

..Al *** Edited 5/19/2007 3:58:48 PM UTC by AlbertY***

^^^^The rates do seem like they are higher. We had to change our reservations for next weekend because three people in our group decided not to go due to Maverick's delay. The cheapest non-smoking room at Breakers we could find was $200 a night with tax.

^^^What was wrong with the on-line reservation system that they had? It may have been outdated but at least it worked. Do they test the website out before making it available for public viewing?

I guess the moral of the story is if Cedar Point tries something new it will be delayed until early June.

Edited to fix the ^s *** Edited 5/19/2007 4:11:13 PM UTC by mulfinator***

Would they honour the rate anyway if it happened to be false?

P.S. I figure between the Getaway Guide coupon of $30 off and the free parking both days, it'd actually be cheaper to stay at Breakers than Econo Lodge. :)

Why cant CP do there up dating during the winter months,when hardly no one is using the web site,not to smart in my opinion.

Updates never stop. Ever.

I tried making reservations 3 different days last week and it was down everytime. I finally gave up and just phoned them.

mulfinator said:
The cheapest non-smoking room at Breakers we could find was $200 a night with tax.

I got a non-smoking one for $65 and I have my $30 off a night coupon from the getaway guide that I was very surprised when they told me I could still use it. Can't beat $35 for a room, even if it is in the old section. We're going later in the summer that I want to stay at lighthouse point, but this was just a small little overnight trip that was planned at the last minute and we wanted the cheapest way to go. I didn't even think they had rooms for $65, I had to get her to repeat the price twice just to make sure I didn't miss the 100 in front of that!
*** Edited 5/19/2007 7:57:12 PM UTC by carolina_canes_8***

^We are staying during Memorial Day weekend though. With having to change last minute I'm sure the cheapest possible rooms they have are already booked.

Well I assume Central Reservations is still up. If you cant make reservations, why not do it over the phone? Web sites will have downtime; and if they are updating the res system how is that so bad? An update never hurts. As a front desk clerk and there is no advantage for booking on the Internet; even if the rate is cheaper online (not necessarily CP resorts) sometimes Internet web sites have booking fees/immediate charge of your CC, etc. Getting on track: The only way it would inconvenience at all costs is if the phone res system was down as well.

I could just stay at the La Quinta for the employee rate of $35 dollars; but I enjoy the Cedar Point resorts i.e. Lighthouse point(fav) and The Breakers.

^^Because the phone system is slow. I waited almost 10 minutes to change my reservation on Thursday night. Unfortunately, they closed while I was on hold. Then this morning I waited another 15 minutes on hold until I got through to a live person.

I just hope things like this aren't a sign of things to come.

^ they closed while you were on hold? Thats just downright raunchy!!

I work in IT and fully accept...actually EXPECT, system outages and scheduled maintainence. What I cannot get away with is not informing my users of outages or performance issues, planned or unplanned.

If the system is down, no problem. But, they could easily put a message up on the website informing their customers of the outage before they waste time trying.

I really don't care if it's clunky if it works. The Ohio State Parks reservations system doesn't look great but it does work.

Pick up your phone and dial.

419-627-2106

Sheesh...

We have 100% uptime ;)

Unlike that stinky planet place.

RememberRotor said:
If the system is down, no problem. But, they could easily put a message up on the website informing their customers of the outage before they waste time trying.

And that's the issue for me, customer service. At best, the resorts are 2 star. You can find a 4 star hotel in Chicago for the same price. You can also find a 3 star hotel in the Sandusky area for half the price.

Let's face it, Cedar Point overcharges for their on-site properties. And that's fine if they offer better service for the higher price. But this isn't the case. I've never had to wait 15 minutes to get through to a live operator at a hotel. They know that there is a problem with the on-line reservation system. Do they inform the customers of this? Nope. What do they offer for the extra $50-100 a night that you can't get with Joe Cool?

I'm certainly going to reconsider my lodging choices the next time I head to the point.

1 - location

2 - location

3 - location

No matter how you cut it, you just can't beat the location.