park open late?

i was at the point yesterday, and the operating hours were supposed to be 10am-8pm. At 8, most people were leaving, but the rides weren't closing. We asked a ride host, and he replied that the park would remain open until 10pm. Is it normal for cedar point to extend their hours during these days where the park is set to close at 8pm? or were we just lucky?

ps--the employees found out at noon, and a lot of them didnt look happy to be working those two extra hours...

^ - The dates and hours of operation are subject to change, and its happened before where they've extended hours.

At least they had 8 hours notice. The could have found out at 7:55 that the park was staying open an extra 2 hours.

I noticed that when I was there last year at the same time. We just overheard someone saying how they extended the hours back to 10pm, but apparently most people didn't know about it. It was good for us, we had 2 hours of quick lines!

If you look online at their site (in Today in the Parks) it said it closed at 10. Yet the homepage said it would close at 8.

I know some employees who said before that they talked to John Hildabrandt and he just said they are extending the park's hours.

Bonus for the guests.

I'm assuming that the the decision to extend hours is at least in part a result of unexpected crowds. I can remember when the park wasn't very busy during the last 2 weeks of August. But for the past couple of years that hasn't seemed to be the case. Didn't Michigan recently pass a law mandating that public schools start back up AFTER Labor Day? When do Ohio schools resume? I'm guessing that's a big part of why Cedar Point is busier now. I'm from Indiana and my son starts school tomorrow--the 20th--and some schools in this area have already been in session for a week already. Your best bet for short lines is still weekdays in May when the park first opens. Everybody is still in school.

They did it last year in the first week of May too. The park was scheduled to close at 7 according to the brochure, but when we got to the park the sign near the entrance said that the park closed at 8. Most of the major rides were announcing it in their speil.

They should just schedule the park open until 10 to begin with. That's not really fair to the employees who have to work longer hours anyway since I am sure some have gone home for the year. When I worked there we were always open until 10 until the last week. And no one got a day off the last week.. Everone was so glad when Labor Day came around and we got a few days off.

I was there under the impression that the park closed at 8pm. I had checked the web site a day earlier. "Today in the Park" said it closed at 8pm. It now says 10pm if you go back on the calendar.

So the weirdness I experienced with all that is when I was next in line to get on TTD at 8pm, the ride op doing the spiel either quit or was fired on the spot. He sang some song like a politically-charged soccer chant in a European dialect I couldn't understand. It was really loud, annoying, and out-of-place. Then he faced the crowd and said something to the effect that he was an American and he knew when his freedom was being violated (sort of like mine as a guest waiting for a ride op to finish a friendly rant lol). He had a smile on his face as he stood with his shoulders square to the crowd to tell everyone if they thought food & admission prices were too high, then they were, and they should complain. A ride op girl started crying at the shock of the situation, she hugged him, the other ride ops looked forlorn as he waved to the crowd with a smile on his face and left. Another guest waiting in line said a ride op told him the guy got fired. But everyone else was like "That was weird and why's she crying." The ride op at the end of the ride said: "Welcome back riders. How was your ride?" in a tone like someone had just died. The other girl there was crying. But they were all doing their jobs. That ex-employee walked past me with all his stuff and the employee handbook when I got off TTD. Too fast to ask what the heck that was all about. But now it makes sense that I bet dollars-to-donuts it had to do with the hours.

So anyway I hung around 'til 10pm. Got the high score on Donkey Kong looking over my shoulder thinking they would close the arcade doors any minute since a game like that takes 20 minutes. Then walked leisurely to Maverick under the impression the park was now open 'til 10pm. I didn't even feel like asking any employees for verification. I just went with it.

The ride op on Maverick doing the speil in a Mickey Mouse voice (I think it was her real voice) looked like she was ready to throw in the towel too. She raised her hands in a mock cheer when Terris in the control booth at about 10:08 pm said "The ride is closed."

So yeah, the park closed at 10pm when most everyone thought it closed at 8pm. I'm not complaining, but it felt a bit surreal between 8 and 10 pm like Night of the Living Dead or Body Snatchers.

Two extra hours is nothing to complain about. They are getting paid? There are some people out there loosing there jobs right now because of the declining state of our economy. They should be happy they have a job and cash there paycheck with pride. I know I am happy to get overtime when I can. I do not get paid much either. I work at a gas station.

Peace, Mikey

Sure they are getting paid, but not getting paid great. If they walk off the job they have every right to do so and Cedar Point either has to find more people, pay more, or just hope more don't quit. Again, a free market society at work with At-will employment.

Nobody likes having to stay at work longer than expected, especially if you have plans after work. However, it common in the business world to have to put in extra time, sometimes with little advanced notice. You may need to finish a presentation for a morning meeting or a client calls and needs something ASAP, etc. Many people don't get extra pay for that time either. Most CP employees are young and haven't had to work extra hours so, they aren't happy about what happened Monday. It's something that you'll have to do during your work years. Just try to make the best of it. I still hate when I have to stay late, but I learned that if you fume over it the time just goes slower. At least you guys are stuck at an amusement park. Hang in there.

Did anyone force you to work there? If it really sucks that bad, don't work there.

Welcome to the business world, Junior. It doesn't get any better.

Nothing like that phone call from a client with a problem 5 minutes before you're about to leave for the day. Or maybe a contractor that suddenly wants some plans because he's going show up on a job site first thing tomorrow.

Like Dan said, it's not going to get any better.

This is not to slam the CP workforce. You do a good job and put in long hours. It's just that this is how it is in the working world.

Cedar Point should really offer a class to it's employees over the summer.

"Welcome to the real world 101!"

And with that Kirk06 will not be a rehire...

Yes the days are long and the weeks are long but it is still a business. They need to make money and if the demand is there the hours will be longer. I think that CP made the correct choice to open two hours more. But they don't hide the 60-80 hour work week from you. I understand what this week means to you the employee, it is a fun time going out and having fun with your crew. Down here it is getting close to that time for us, and if they extend hours oh well more money in my pocket.

I was at the park today, and instead of closing at 8 like the brochure says they statyed open until 9. And the major rides ( I heard it on WT, MAG, and MF at least) were making announcments in their spiel that it would be open until 9PM tonight.

My boyfriend worked at a job where 10 hours was mandatory. 5:30pm would come around, he thought he could leave, and he would be told to stay later. Sometimes he wouldn't get home until 9pm. But this is why he quit his job and went down south to find something better.

I would be happy to have an 80 hour a week job. I cannot even find a 30 hour a week job around here. Maybe I should go work at CP. :)