Park closes 3 hours early tonight.

It just hit me Joe...

Maybe this time you didn't break MF or Magnum.. you broke the park this time.. ;)

-------------
Opps, can you get some napkins please???
MF total - 469 laps
VertiGo Launches - 79
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

I completely agree with most of you.  If a park is going to close early without informing guests before purchasing tickets I believe they are ethically obligated to hand-out refunds, passes, etc.  I believe by purchasing the ticket you are paying for access to the park for the scheduled time.  I know that PKI does handle things the way I see appropriate.  I went Friday night (yes it was just as bad down here) and PKI also decided to close early (at 11 when they are suppose to be open until 1).  I was a little upset when I found this out.  There was no lightning just cold rain.  As we left the ticket takers were handing out free passes for another night.  My anger subsided and I realized why I enjoy going to PKI so much, they know how to treat their customers right.  I am not meaning to bash CP if that is how it seems, I am just voicing my opposition to their actions.  Like a few of you here, I will be venturing up there next Friday, and Saturday and will be a little upset if they close early without some form of rain-check.

Many people plan these trips in advance and make reservations that when it comes down to the day before (or 3 days before), cannot be refunded. I was there and am not sorry that I went. Of the handful of guests that were there that night, most, if not all were staying the night and planned on being at the park the next day. I had a season pass so it didn't cost me anything extra. But if I was one that had to buy tickets, there would be no way I would enter the park under those conditions unless you enjoy getting wet. It was raining much prior to the 6PM opening, and was forecasted to last to around midnight. It was also very windy and the temperature was 47 degress F when I left at 9:00PM. If those are the conditions, and you choose to buy tickets and enter the park anyway, that's your choice. But under those conditions, don't have high expectations! As far as C.P. closing the park early, I support that decision. The most that I did was walk around in wet clothes throughout an empty park.

I was at CP friday and I think that they had a good reason to close the park. The wind off the lake was terrible & it was raining pretty hard. I saw no rides going whatso ever but I wasn't in the park, I was at my cottage at LP.
-----------------
2001 MF Count: 2
Favs:
1. Iron Dragon
2. Raptor
3. Gemini
4. Magnum
5. Cedar Creek Mine Ride

---

CP Twister said:
So Jeff, if I make plans to go to CP next friday, get my hotel reserved, make the 4 hour drive and find crappy weather does that mean I have no common sense because I went to CP?  

---

No... but when you go to an amusement park, on the spur of the moment or otherwise, you assume the risk that weather may interfere with the activity. It's the same thing for any outdoor sporting event or outdoor concert. That's the way it is. People here are getting their panties in a bunch for something the park has no control over. It's no different than the people who complained about "the swarm" a few months earlier.
Again... somebody tell me what you were really able to do that night aside from watch the show at Red Garter or the theater, and then tell me it was really what you were interested in doing that night.
-----------------
Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
Watch my grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

---

Jeff said:
"Again... somebody tell me what you were really able to do that night aside from watch the show at Red Garter or the theater, and then tell me it was really what you were interested in doing that night.  

---

Is this a trick question Jeff??? ;)
-------------
Opps, can you get some napkins please???
MF total - 471 laps
VertiGo Launches - 79
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

Yeah, I broke the park. :)

This is not the point though. I don't think anybody has argued that closing the park early was wrong. I think t was right and Even I was only going to spend another hour in the park at the most. Its CUSTOMER SERVICE that I have a problem with.

Six Flags also closed early Friday but they gave out free admission to people at the exit. Today even they closed at 8 instead of 10. People were there almost the full day but guess what? They were given out free admission tickets also. Why could not CP do this?

--------------
2001 Force-274   Magnum-454  Iron Drgon 15
I rode Gemini more than once during a day.

That surprises me that they didn't hand out admission passes or front of the line passes...some kind of compensation.

I can't be quiet anymore...
How does anybody know the park wasn't offering anything? Did you ask?

 

*** This post was edited by Tyler on 10/7/2001. ***

SFWoA had people standing at the exit handing out passes. Since the have good customer service (??) there was no need for people to ask. Most of the people I saw just left and not everyone knows where to ask (like I said before! I am beginning to think everyone just read the topic and immediately jumped on me for it without even reading my main point).
I will write a letter and see what happens even though I personally don't care if I don't get anything, OK? I just don't want to see these other people not coming back becuae of CP's lack of customer service that night.
If SFWOA can get it right then why not CP?!

*** This post was edited by Joe E. on 10/7/2001. ***

I think the point is that people should have to ask.  They should have been handing them out as you left at the gate.   If Six Flags and Kings Island are doing this when they are closing early, it is VERY surprising that CP is not.  As was pointed out, I'am sure if someone went to guest relations to complain they would have received a pass.  The point is that most people dont think or know to do that and should not have had to do that under the circumstances. 

In response to Jeff.  From what I heard Power Tower, Iron Dragon and all the haunted houses were open.  Sounds like something to do if you ask me.  As mentioned if you have a hotel reservation that requires 48 hours notice ahead of time to cancel.  You are pretty much committed to going and hoping for the best no matter what the weather forecast is.    Some of you are making it sound like those that went are stupid because of the weather.   I think that is uncalled for for the reasons I mention above.  CP is not a local park, they are selling themselves as a resort for the midwest.  They should start acting like it in these circumstances and realize that some people are traveling great distances to visit the park. 

CP makes mistakes like any other business.  What is amazing to me is how some of you just defend them over and over like they can do no wrong??  CP is a great park and normally they treat their guests great.  I think they made an error in this situation (no, not closing the park. Not handing out passes is the problem!) and from this thread it sounds like alot agree. 

I understand that there are no rain checks and that is fine.  But they should not be closing the park 3 hours early if they dont plan to accomodate their guests for the inconvenience many of them might have as a result. 

I'am going this friday and if the forecast doesnt look nasty by Wednesday I will be committed to going due to my hotel reservation.   So I guess if the weather turns crappy alot of you will think I'am an idiot for going anyway, because you know, CP makes no mistakes so it must be the patrons fault!

Joe, I totally understand what you mean.  If I paid to be in I would be upset.  I mean, the weather may be bad, but if you're set to go then you are going to make the best of it.  The same thing happened to me at Kings Island, I had to ask, but I got tickets.  A large number of people that were in the park were using their free Friday night tickets offered by Accommodations in their resort packages.  I was one of them.  Should the park do something to compensate for free tickets?  I wasn't expecting anything.

*** This post was edited by Tyler on 10/7/2001. ***

Oh, they announced it over the speakers, so they were to give things out they could have just said "we will and out passes/ride agains/whatever as you leave because of the inconvenience."

CPTwister, I am glad you read and underdstood my point.

Tyler
 
I do agree tickets would have been too much becuase some people did not pay to get in and it would be impossible to tell who paid and did not. Coupons or ride agains would have been a better choice.

*** This post was edited by Joe E. on 10/7/2001. ***

Not to be negative, but SFWoA closed tonight at 8 instead of 10 (open from noon til 8) and they handed out free admission tix to everyone leaving the gates.

Yep, what I said :)

OK... let's say the park stayed open. What would you do for those remaining three hours? I'll give you the haunted houses, but given the small crowd, that wouldn't have taken very long.

So for the last two hours then... what would you have done in the park? I'm guessing nothing, because you'd have to be brain dead to ride anything in that mess Friday night. I don't even want to hear that you guys were going to ride Power Tower and Iron Dragon for three hours in 40-degree rain.

Then what? Expect free tickets because of the weather? Either way, you're in the same situation, regardless of whether or not the park is open.

Sometimes life sucks, buy a helmet.

-------------
Jeff (who will stay in Breakers closing weekend and accepts the possibility that the weather will suck)
Webmaster/GTTP
Watch my grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

Buy a helmet?  Well Jeff, I agree with you...which in this thread seems is not a popular position.  I have got some practical experience that makes me more in the know than most on this site and I will tell you that it is completely ludicrous to jump down the parks throat on this.

One reason we all love Cedar Fair and rate it more highly than competitors is because they make smart buisiness decisions.  They don't go out and buy parks blindly, thus putting themselves in debt.  They don't build low capacity, unproven prototype rides to boost their coaster count.  And, they don't stay open on a cold rainy evening, risking the health of their employees, when it doesn't make sense.

You know, SFWOA decided to stay open weekly one additional week this year to try and make a buck.  Some sources said they had less than 400 people in the park on a daily basis, thus making it a costly error.  Does it surprise you that they did that?  Of course not.

Let's say that CP did hand out rain checks to people.  Does that set a precedent that next time they have to do it too?  And, if they did, what happens when another rainy summer comes around?  How do you determine who paid to get in and who was a season pass holder, resort guest on a package, etc.?

What this does tell me is that CP might need to rethink it's operating calendar.  As we are seeing, the weather might turn pretty sour in October and they still have three weekends to go! 

I thought it was a bad move to extend the season when they first did and I still do.  Why?  Well, not only will the weather hurt the longer operating season, it also pushes the "winterizing" of the park back further and I can tell you it is no fun working on the midways or in the non-heated portions of the hotels when it is 40 degrees.

The winterizing of the park doesn't take long. I've been in the park two weeks after closing and it's good to go. I also spent the last weekend in October last year thinking it was a waste not be open. Heck, I've got photos of me on the MF construction site in December wearing a T-shirt! With everyone doing Halloween events, including Six Flags WoA, keeping the park open is a calculated risk. In the end, if they can staff the park, it's worth the risk.

I wasn't convinced of that until I went to Darien Lake on their closing day (Halloween) in '99. Even though Old Timer Tim called me a whore for ending my season there (bastard), I thought it was great that the park was open. I think the odds are that you'll have one weekend in every October that isn't good. Last Friday night was one of the worst weather days we've had all year.

-----------------
Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
Watch my grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

First off with or with out CP extending its season this year this would still be apart of the origanil Halloweekends.  And if all of you do not remember last year on this past weekend, IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!    As far as closing the park on Friday night, i think it was a good decision.  Hardly anything was open, and the weather was not going to let up before midnight!  As from what I heard asfar as CP and refunds, all who took the inicitve to go to Gust relations or Park OP to get a gust comment form and sends it back will recieve refunds.  ANd to those who were staying in CP resort hotels recived tickets to return to the park again.  So quit complaing about the weather and about CP closing early, it has happened before and I am sure that it will happen again!