Opening Day

You're in luck. An unused season pass certificate can be returned for a full refund of the purchase price.

Are people really less likely to go to the park when it's open for 12 hours instead of 13? Considering ticket prices and concessions have gone down and season pass prices have held I presonally don't think it's that big of a deal. If closing the park an hour earlier when they aren't making money helps secure the long-term financial future of Cedar Fair then I'm all for it.

No, it's really not a big deal. But it's a great excuse for people who already upset at the park to complain about something else.

A 10:00pm closing time was the norm for CP for many, many years. Even on a Saturday. All through the 60's, 70's and I think 80's, CP closed at 10:00pm every day. Sometimes if the crowd was big, the park would announce that closing time has been changed to 11:00pm for that particular day.

I don't consider the change in hours a big deal at all, at least they are still open until 11:00pm on weekends.

Well, if people are worried about night riding, then that just seems silly.

Sunset on Saturday, May 6th = 7:34pm (CP closes @ 10pm)
Sunset on Saturday, June 10th = 8:04pm (CP closes @ 11pm)
Sunset on Saturday, July 8th = 8:06pm (CP closes @ 11pm)
Sunset on Saturday, August 11th = 7:36pm (CP closes @ 11pm)
Sunset on Saturday, September 16th = 6:38pm (CP closes @ 8pm)

There's 2.5, 3.0, 3.0, 2.5 and 1.5 hours between sunset and close (respectively & approximately). Thats not bad.

Would any of you like some cheese?

I do believe you are 1 hour early on all of your Sunset numbers.

July 7:

Twi A: 3:53am
Twi N: 4:44am
Twi: 5:26am
Sun Rise: 6:00am
Sun Set: 9:03pm
Twi: 9:36pm
Twi N: 10:19pm
Twi A: 11:09pm
Moon Rise: 6:09pm
Moon Set: 2:25am

Really, in real world terms, it's not dark until 10 pm the first week of July.
*** Edited 1/5/2006 9:55:22 PM UTC by bholcomb***

The point is, that you can still get your night rides, which is what everyone seems so worried about, which is something I don't understand whining about. Sure, a night ride on MF is amazing, but I don't think your CP experience will be ruined just because you don't get a night ride on that or another ride. Really folks, just be glad the park is even open and accept that the best decision for CP right now is to only stay open until 10 on weekdays. If you can't accept that, then I really don't know what to say.

Pete said:
The show just doesn't seem to be as popular anymore...

Amen. While the show was pretty cool, I hated that ugly screen since day one. Even if they took it down, it still wouldn't be the same as this great view...

http://www.thepointol.com/cponle/postcards/gwheel.jpg

Ah yes, the train station in all it's glory before the "Big White Thing". Looks beautiful don't it! :(

Yes, cp&le rr guy. The Funway Station used to really set off the foreground of the Giant Wheel. (sigh) Memories of a much simpler time at the Point. I also miss walking down the Frontier Trail and tripping over the Cedar Junction railroad crossing that was part of the old route.

Hey djDaemon, thanks for taking the time to research the sunset and stuff, but out of all the days you mentioned
(May 6th, June 10, July 8, August 11th, September 16th), being there all Saturdays, the only day I would even consider going would be the 16th of September. May 6th is going to be jam packed, and have you ever been to Cedar Point in the summer on a Saturday??? Reason I ask, is because most people absolutely try to avoid saturdays, they are crazy, you can't ride anything.

Besides, as bholcomb said, just because the sun sets at a certain time, its still not dark.

As for what someone else said about people complaining because they are upset at the park already, well thats not true for me...just voicing my dissappointment.

What I would like to know, is why did they make this change? Okay, so only 60,000 people are in the park during that time, why?! Where did they go, can't Cedar Point draw people and keep them inside anymore? As Pete said, Cedar Point closed at 10 in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but then changed closing to 11? So why are they going back? Did the park do something wrong that people aren't coming? Did they outprice themselves with tickets? So where are all the people that used to keep Cedar Point open till 11...I am pretty sure they didn't just vanish.

Every time news is announced by Cedar Point (and as of late it seems new news is not good news) its seems like there are two distinct groups of people who voice their opinions--the fanboys and the objective. It's similar to football announcers and questionable calls. A few are notorious for having absolutely no opinion of their own and blindly agreeing with the officials **cough**Phil Simms**cough** no matter the call, and then will even change this pseudo-opinion if the call happens to be overturned. However, many others like Al Michaels will state what they think before the decision of the reviewed play is stated. If you can't follow the point I'm trying to make you obviously haven't been paying attention around here when something newsworthy comes out of CP. Now that I've (no doubt) thoroughly pissed off >70% of the readers, I'll explain myself more indepthly.

A while back (and by that I mean many of you were too young to post here, and the website's extension was .nu) many more people who posted here were more objective. When anyone would call the members of this site fanboys, I took offense to it because, for the most part, people were unbiased in their opinions. The statement that "the park's biggest fans are also their biggest critics" was actually true. It just seems like back in the 90's there was less to criticize. Now it seems that whenever something is announced by the park, and when those same level-headed people come back and express their disapproval over said announcement, they get labeled as haters.

That's really not it--I assure you. We love the park and many of us have devoted several summers of service to it. We are just beside ourselves with all the (in our opinions) bad decisions being made with regards to operations and the park's atmosphere in general. I mean, we can express our opinions, right? Isn't that what's supposed to spark discussion on message boards?

If you see no problem in the change, that's fine--great even, but don't belittle others because their idea of a good time at the park is different from yours. I'm sure in time ours may change, but right now we are still paying guests, and we're surely entitled to our opinion in the matter.

As far as the change in operating hours for this summer goes, why couldn't they have shaved that hour off of the morning rather than the night? Are people really less likely to stay until close if the whole day was shifted ahead an hour? I mean, its only during the weekdays when the schedule is different, so wouldn't anyone who goes on these days be just as likely to stay until close, no matter the hour?

--Been posting here for 1/3 of my life and I'm 21--is that some kind of milestone, or just sad?

ok so i have read all of this and thought i would take a look at some other parks and see what they offer to the guest as in price for one day to park hours. I know that there are deals you can get but i wanted a one day price. I picked the parks in Florida same sun set time but here you go.

Disney $63.00 May 6th 9am-7pm july 20th 9am-11pm

Busch gardens $57.95 may 6th 9am-7:30pm july 20th 9am-10pm

Universal orlando $59.75 may 6th 9am-7pm july 20th 9am-10pm

Islands of Adventure $59.75 may 6th 9am-8pm July 20th 9am-10pm

Cedar Point $39.95 may 6th 10am-10pm July 20th 10am-10pm

I dont see what everyone is all upset about. Our park drops the price and cuts 1 hour during the week. Dont get me wrong i love to ride Dragster at night and see MF at night but i am not going to want my money back for my season pass and it is not going to stop me from going to the park.

I get very offended when someone makes a claim that I'm some sort of zombie follower. I've been around for a long, long time. I was a local for three decades (and really, I think I still am). I was a seasonal employee for six summers. I had my battles. I've had the candid conversations. I saw a lot of great things. I saw a lot of bad things. I've seen a lot of smart moves (in my opinion). I've seen a lot of stupid moves (in my opinion). It wasn't all peaches and cream. Dare I say there is a lot of experience and intelligence that goes behind what I type. To say that I'm just a blind fanboy is insulting. I've had my fair share of criticisms since Day One here at CP Place, although, admittedly, I am not Chicken Little.

Discussion is, of course, different than the other content on this web site. This is a fan site. There isn't going to be a feature article exposing XYZ or blasting 123. But, like I said, discussion is different. We've had a lot of great debates and conversations over the years and that has not changed.

when those same level-headed people come back and express their disapproval over said announcement, they get labeled as haters.

Says the level-headed guy labeling people as a fanboy if they don't disagree with every decision the park makes. So, if I don't yell, "the sky is falling!" when something doesn't follow my line of thinking, then I'm a blind zombie drinking the Kinzel kool-aid?

Besides, you said it yourself - "come back and express their disapproval." There is a select group of people who only come back to make sure everyone knows how mad they are. They're not interested in Cedar Point discussion. They only pop up periodically to make sure everyone knows they've got a big chip on their shoulders. Then, they disappear, waiting for the next news item to pounce on.

I mean, we can express our opinions, right? Isn't that what's supposed to spark discussion on message boards?

But apparently I can't express mine. At least not without being "belittled."

Cedar Point has the operating schedule down to a science. The park saw that traffic patterns on those late weekday nights didn't justify a late close. They adjusted their schedule accordingly. Does this personally affect me? Not really. Can I understand the personal disappointment if it does affect someone? Yes, as I've already stated. To me, though, the decision itself is valid logic. If you don't agree with me, let's discuss. Just don't slap a fanboy sticker on my forehead. That's weak.

*** Edited 1/6/2006 2:19:43 PM UTC by Walt***

ejh1701:
I chose Saturdays for no reason in particular, and simply just chose days approximately 1 month apart from one another to give an idea of the changing daylight hours throughout the summer. And, yes, I do realize that it stays light later than sunset, but I was trying to make a point. Again, would you like some cheese?

Think of it this way - A significant number of people will spend almost all day at the park, only to leave an hour or so before close, with one objective in mind: to beat the crowds leaving the park. So, regardless of when the park closes, there will still be some people leaving earlier. And there will still be night rides, though not as many. Just plan your trip accordingly and appreciate the fact that CP is doing what it can to stay in profitability. Remember - the more money they make, the better the future additions to the park will be.

are two distinct groups of people who voice their opinions--the fanboys and the objective.

...doesn't even need a punchline...

I can't speak for the other people who generally agree with me on these issues, but the only reason I'm drawn out of lurkdom these days is when something I feel strongly about comes to a head. Why have I not contributed much to other conversations lately? Well, right now getting through my engineering classes with decent grades is a much higher priority than spending hours on here every week. That, and the other threads really haven't interested me. So it may appear that I have some kind of bitter agenda, but I don't.

I thought about leaving much of my first paragraph out of my response, but I figured it would get people's attention--I never said my post was irony free.

*** Edited 1/6/2006 7:50:06 PM UTC by CP_bound***

Alright, so the parks closing early, wheres the people that used to keep it open later? Why aren't they coming? What is the hold up? Can't see blaming gas prices, weather, or unemployment for all those people not being there.

That is exactly the thing, not many people are stying until closing so why stay open and pay the employees for that extra hour if there aren't enough guests to justify the extra hour in the management's eyes. I did a quick calculation based on 3,000 employees getting paid $6.25 and how much it would cost to stay open just for that extra hour. Just for that hour there would be $18,750 paid in employee wages. But I know that it is probably closer to 800-1,000 employees in the park in a single shift, and that would come out to $5,312.50 for that extra hour at all the employees making 6.25 an hour with 850 employees. So the way I see it, if they aren't getting a return on food, souveniers, etc...of at least $6,500 for that hour it doesn't make sense to stay open because you could be cutting it close after adding electricity, water, and such. Paying all those employees is a major part of CP's spending, and this just goes to show that.

That is the best way I could figure out how to describe it, so if someone can understand what I'm getting at and knows how to put it better, by all means go ahead and do so.

Employee wages are a drop in the bucket, compared to the cost of electricity and other utility costs it takes to keep the park operating.

MrScott