Parking Price Increase

I wonder why they took those down and it was alot easier to find your car. I hope they bring those back next year.

---

Browntggrr said:
I thought that Sandusky did away with the "parking tax" bull****. It makes no sense that CP fought the tax and than still upped the parking cost.

---

CF fought so hard to keep Uncle Sam from pocketing that extra doller. They never said they won't pocket it.

I feel bad for you guys that make single day trips. I always stay at a CP Resort, where parking is free (refunded at check in). Being 5 hours away DOES have it's advantages! :)

MrScott

How much are parking passes right now? I should've got one earlier this year but instead I paid $8.00 a visit. So multiply that by 9 and what do I have? I've gave $72.00 dollars.

---

raptor323 said:
Is there a reason for the increase in price? I mean, for god sakes, we're only parking our cars there, it shouldn't cost $9. I am sorry, but there is no need for parking to be that expensive. A trip to Cedar Point is fairly expensive as is.

---

Have you ever gone to a big city for a sporting event? A lot that will charge 5 dollars a DAY during buisness hours will charge 15 dollars for you to park for 3 hours during the game. Cedar Point will charge as much as they can get away with for parking. If the parking cost starts to adversly affect attendance, then it will come down some, until then, it'll keep going up.
That's buisness.

But there are options in the big city. The price might be $15 next to the stadium, but walk a few blocks and that will drop significantly.

Here's my post from CoasterBuzz on the subject:

---

There were near riots when Cedar Point took their Pepsi vending to $3. The park responded and the price dropped. People didn't pay $3 for a Pepsi because there were other options and it isn't required. If they raise cotton candy prices too much, sales will drop. If they increase the cost of whack-a-mole to $8/game, no one's going to play. They could start charging for Freeway and I wouldn't care (though I might question if it's a smart move). I'm all for letting the public dictate the price.

Parking is different. There are no other options for parking. If you want to go to the park, you have to pay. It's a creative way to increase profit. Why not charge a $5 "exit fee" to leave the parking lot at night?

Both the local community and enthusiasts stood up for Cedar Point when they battled the city of Sandusky on the parking tax issue. The city gave up and Cedar Point won. But this makes it hard to feel sorry for them.

Of course, 99% will gripe ... and then they will pay the extra $1. It's quite a racket, actually. Kudos to capitalism. But at some point, it's just too much. Especially when a park like Cedar Point takes down row markers and still expects you to find your car at night. :)

If I was a business owner, I could use the "it's a just a buck" philosophy to increase prices all over the place. Fortunately, it's not that simple.

---

*** Edited 9/13/2004 12:58:52 PM UTC by Walt***

I think they should raise ticket prices to cover the parking lot fee. When you look on line at the gate admission you never look at how much it will cost you to park there. So if you plan a vacation for a family of 5 for 4 days you will be surprised when you have to put out another $36 for parking.

But on the other side, have you ever seen the nice clean lot in the morning and then stayed to see it after the park closes? They are charging you for having to clean the lot too. Some idiots have a hard time containing their trash or to find a trash can to throw their trash away! Come on people, it's not that hard to keep your trash in a bag and even take it with you if you have to! There is where the costs come in. They have to clean up after a bunch of lazy people!

PARKING SHOULD BE FREE!

Bending over now...

when was a $35 parking pass available? is the parking pass only available along with the season pass?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think last year the $35.00 option was offered around November, if you subscrie to FUNtimes you will get an email about it. I wish I would have jumped on it last year then :-(..

On the parking increase I think Walt said it best:

"Of course, 99% will gripe ... and then they will pay the extra $1. It's quite a racket, actually. Kudos to capitalism."

There is nothing you can do about it, I say buy the parking pass early when they offer it cheaper.... IF they do that this year, if not then I may consider not going as much next year :-(

The problem is that once you really p*ss someone off, they often harbor that ill will for years. Maybe that's what Cedar Fair is seeing with Geauga Lake.

If they expect to just ram increases in 2005 CP and parking passes through, they're asking for (more) trouble. There are limits to what a family is willing to pay for a summer (or even a day) of fun at an amusement park.

I sense they were teetering on the edge of the cliff in 2004 with pricing and policies, and the lackluster financials tend to support that. Now's not the time for another not-so-gentle "push".

I'm wondering with the markers gone and the price for parking being increased if they are planning a major resurfacing of the lot itself.

The markers have been gone for at least a couple of years. I know I have a picture somewhere. They've also done quite a bit of resurfacing.

I was going to say, I thought they already did some of it. I thought the plan was to do it in stages.

Parking IS free, DirtyDon...if you stay at one of the Resorts. And please don't tell me that doing that is too expensive. I have outlined the many ways that you save money by doing so.

If you are a local, that visits several time during the operating season, maybe a parking pass is the way to go. It all depends on your personal situation. I am 5 hours away and consider a trip to the park a vacation and stay multiple days.

MrScott

This end of season parking increase is not unusual. I recall that they did it at least a couple of times in past seasons.

$9 isn't too bad for parking. At SFoGA parking is $12, and thats with multiple private lots around charging $5. CP has a complete monopoly on parking for the park, so $9 or $15, people have no choice if they want to go. I've paid anywhere from $20/day to at the beach, $30 for a baseball game parking. I don't think $9 is unreasonable at all for CP.

As for the $3 drinks, they didn't drop the price down again because people didnt buy them. they dropped the price because it was alot easier for an employee selling the bottles in a food stand to pocket the $3 cash you paid for the drink. If the drink is $2.50 or $2.75, chances are, you will need change. One thing nice about the six flags here is season pass holders get a free drink when they buy a meal.

When Cedar Point has unlimited, low value land available for parking, then complain about the prices, but right now, the land you park on is extremely valuble and limited.

We should all park our cars somewhere else in Sandusky and walk across the causeway! ;)

Lol sounds like fun. But i'll use my parking pass and just park thank you very much.

Pedestrians are not allowed on the Causeway, but I'll be happy to give you a ride across the bay to the CP Marina for $8.00. :)