Return of Christmas In The Park

Well said, I agree with you Chief Wahoo. I couldn't of said it better myself.

Thank You!

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Park Services 98'
Snake River 99'00'
Peanuts ATL 01'
GW/SS/Schwab TL 02'
Kiddy Kingdom TL 03'

Yeah, but if you took a poll of those same people for the operating season, I doubt the park would be open until October 31. :)

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Walt Schmidt
Virtual Midway

I would work at CP at christmas if I was old enough. They should just close the fast rides, and Space Spiral, Disaster, the Carousel, and CP&LE could be the only rides open.

I don't even care if the rides are closed. Just the fact that I'm AT Cedar Point makes me feel happy and full of joy.

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Millennium Force is MY baby.
Where would we be without CP?:)

I would have thought so too, MF310, but after working there a summer, and knowing the toll it can take on people. I would doubt very many would be in favor of it. I doubt I would even work that even if they raised the wages during that period of time.

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Everything that has a beginning has an end.

The Matrix Revolutions

I doubt that people would go just for 4 rides. The lights idea might work but part of the zoo's charm is that there are about 9 different heated buildings. But unfortunately the lights wouldn't really be affective until late in the afternoon. So if you are cold you can warm up inside somewhere and still see animals. I really can't see any reason to go to CP for 4 rides and some hot cocoa. And I bet neither does the GP. Now if CP opened their own bigger indoor water park then I could see the possibility as along with Castaway that christmas at the point might work. This is only if there is a good return on investment, which I can only really see by another addition of a public indoor waterpark (with a hotel).Otherwise I doubt you would get enough people with just Castaway. As for the other water parks I doubt people would go, if they were on point as is Castaway bay, then I again would see a possibility. There would need to be something bigger than 4 rides to get those other guests.
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Evolution its a LIE
*** This post was edited by newt 12/11/2003 4:55:49 PM ***

They could open Breakers and the indoor pool, and have free cookies and hot chocolate in the lobby. Staff that didn't work at CP over the summer or part-time people would probably be willing to work there-- I could still be wrong though.

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Millennium Force is MY baby.
Where would we be without CP?:)

Well, that sounds comfortable until you realize that the lobby of the Hotel Breakers isn't air conditioned let alone heated. That's right...no heat.

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"You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality."

I wouldn't expect the park to open before 5pm.

As for full time employees polled to see if they would favor a winter event. To me that would be like polling everyone and asking if they would like life with a job or without a job. Most normal people would say the easier of the two and say, I'd live every day without a job if I could.

It wouldn't be right for someone to say I don't want to do that kind of work in the winter especially, when there are companies in teh business which are open year round. If I work at one of those companies and got wind of someone saying "at least I got to vote for a winter event ot not and I chose not to so I can relax." If I heard that, I'd look at them and say Lazy, I work all year round.

In the long run, if CP can find the way to make money in the winter like they do in the summer, More power to them, and I would support it happening for the business aspect. After all if you really support your company, you would support them no matter what the decision may be to you. Good or bad.

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- Chris -

Oh Flisk, you have got me riled now. I know this from experience:

The full time employees already work way more than you have ever likely worked in your life. During the season, which really begins in April through the end of the season, a full time employee at Cedar Point is working a MINIMUM of six days per week. Those aren't 8 hour days either my friend. We are talking long days. During late August, when staffing levels fall, a full time employee will likely work 7 days per week and well over 56 hours. Maybe a lot more.

Now, in the off season (where they can "relax" with a more reasonable 5-day work week) beginning in late January a full time employee will also be responsible for recruiting on the college tour. Some trips are 3-5 days long.

As you add it up, you see that a full time employee won't see much of their family in the late spring, summer and fall...oh...and mid winter too.

Now I can guarantee you that the average full time employee at Cedar Point could easily make more money working someplace else. They stay because it is in their blood BUT...even Superman needs a break at his ice palace once in a while.

By the way, a full time employee can't take vacation in the late spring, summer or fall.

I have never...ever...met a lazy full time employee at Cedar Point. They don't exist because it isn't posssilble to get by being lazy.

I am all about supporting your company...as long as your company supports you.

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"You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality."

Which brings up an interesting point about the Castaway Bay water park. CP will have a year-round operation now (not counting a restaurant or hotel). Will the same people who run Soak City also run the new water park? Or will this be a new division with different people running the indoor park?

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

That is a good question and I would guess it will be separated. The resorts work the same way. The GM of Radisson reports to the Vice President of Accommodations but for obvious reasons the Radisson is run much differently than the seasonal hotels. I am pretty sure the Radisson employees have a more normal (ie 5 day work week) schedule.

If I had to wager a guess there will probably be a Manager of the waterpark (and an Assistant Manager) who will report to someone in Park Operations. Then you will probably have the lifeguards who will be part time employees. They might be able to hire a "head guard" or something like that who would work year-round too.

I suppose it is possible that the waterpark folks could report to the hotel General Manager but that person probably has a lot on their plate w/out worrying about a pretty significant waterpark.

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"You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality."

From what I have been told, Castaway Bay will fall under Soak City. They will have a water park manager that will hold a double blue tag instead of a full time silver. It will pretty much be just like another Soak City crew, just like beach is.

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Screamsters 2001
Millennium Force/Screamsters 2002
Challenge Park/Screamsters 2003

Because I love to swim, and will pass by CP every January on my way to the N. A. I. A. S. in Detroit, I will definitely stop and experience castaway bay...

However, even if my local amusement park did a Christmas event, i highly doubt I'd be attending. if I'm going to be out in the element, you'll most likely find me strap'd to a snow board, or shoveling out my car ;)

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The B E S T SEVENTEEN s-e-c-o-n-d-s of SHEER >>InSaNitY<< I've E V E R experienced!

Lets try this again, I just replied with a story and it didn't post.

Cheif Wahoo,

I don't think any full time employee is lazy or ever have been lazy, because I know their schedule. I have a lot of respect for FT employees at CP. I am not one to talk down about them. I've have been a Seasonal Employee at CP for 3 summers. I've worked 7 days 80 hours numerous times. I even have a family with a kid. I've been around somedays where The same manager I said good morning to was the same person I said good night to at 1 am. It's also these few Full Time employees that have given me the impression, that even though the job may be tough and hard to do at times, they will gladly choose to have a winter event than have employees at other parks which are year round think they are lazy because they voted not to have an event. That is what I said, I'm sorry if it didn't seem that way. Becuse of their company pride. I have that same company pride running in my blood. Although hardly similar, this is the only thing I can say to relate. I have given up my day off just to make the park look better because of various factors that may have been present.

I don't see vacation time being taken away in the winter months, because attendance would be drastically lower for obvious reasons (harsh winds, harsh weather, just plain cold). I think the event can still happen because with the right planning, because with the right research, adn with the right time, and polling enough guests, and advertising good enough. In can happen and be a success.

Then maybe it will all pay off, because of increased revenue can bring a small pay raise. :) Of course depending on the amount of revenue increase.

Again, I'm sorry if it appeared I was flaming FT employees, I wasn't meaning too. I'm hoping to be FT someday at the point.

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- Chris -
*** This post was edited by Flisk 12/15/2003 3:40:52 PM ***

I have been in both environments, year round and seasonal, and I can tell you without hesitation that the seasonal parks require WAY more work, effort, blood, sweat and tears than the year round parks.

At a Cedar Point, you have to basically close down in the Fall, clean up for the winter, rehire a whole new staff, retrain a whole new staff, reopen the park as if it had been sitting vacant for months and start the process over again.

At a WDW, the parks are open year round. Instead of hiring a whole new staff every year a good number of the employees are year round or year round part timers. An attraction may be closed for a few months but certainly not all of the attractions.

WDW employees, even the full time ones, work 5 days per week. Granted they likely are not off on Saturday and Sunday but they don't work six days.

It is no contest in my experienced opinion. The seasonal parks (particularly up north) have it far more difficult.

You said yourself why a winter event isn't a good idea at the Point, "(harsh winds, harsh weather, just plain cold)". Nobody is going to think CP employees are lazy for not wanting to do a winter event. They are going to think they are smart.

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"You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality."

Yea, id just love to work outside,freeze my butt off from the loveley december breeze comming off of lake erie for a whopping $6.25 an hour...........NOT?

*** This post was edited by crazy horse 12/16/2003 12:19:23 AM ***

Oh ok, I see where you come from now.
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- Chris -

People work outside at ski resorts for about the same hourly rate. Operating a ski lift is not much different from operating a ride at CP. We won't even talk about how brutal the snow maker's work is.

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

True, but when someone looks to be employed at a ski resort, they know that working in cold conditions outside is a given.

When someone applies to Cedar Point to work for the season, I doubt they could imagine working in those kinds of frigid temperatures. I know that nothing in the wardrobe department would be adequate enough to keep the employees warm especially with a stinging wind coming off the bay. It can get pretty cold out in the parking lot in the middle of summer, just think about the traffic people being out there in the middle of winter...

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Everything that has a beginning has an end.

The Matrix Revolutions

Its not going to happen so why continue to argue about it. Lets look at what we have, no heat in the restrooms(burrr on the manhood), no heat in the buildings for aLive E shows(plus no live E staff cause they are in school), no staff that will stay around to just run a few rides(and with no housing offered cause housing closes in November), and no plexi glass on the train to keep you warm(too expensive), let alone the track work that goes on during the off season, and the maintanence that goes on with the engines during the offseason. If you add all this up, to bring this up to standards to pull this off, plus you add up what decorating would cost and they would have to charge like $100 per person to MAYBE make a profit. And since Kinzel already said that X-Mas in the park ranks up there with such mistakes as Disaster Transport, I doubt he will be willing to try it again. I know it gets dam cold up there in December, I was up there this past weekend during a small snow event and it sucked hardcore, so no way anyone would have gone to the park, so please lets put this to rest.
*** This post was edited by Ops24 12/16/2003 11:26:29 AM ***