Ridiculous Changes

Maybe it is just my old age but I don't think the spiel is going to make or break a day for me at the park.

Now, there are some cases when I don't think an auto spiel would be appropriate, like on the Western Cruise or the Jungle Cruise at Disney.

But, I will tell you, the spiel is a source of problems at Disney's cruise because the skippers can stray WAY off the S.O.P. causing some guests to get upset to the point of being offended. I've known cases where cast memebers were fired for the ad-libs they came up with.

It's sad when people in society have to be so politically correct that they have to be constantly afraid of offending someone.

It IS sad...but it is reality and ignoring reality isn't going to change reality.

I did notice a bit more confusion in Magnum's station this season. I agree that the number of guests on the platform should be limited.

With Disney, it's not polical correctness so much as "don't generate a complaint." If a skipper has a boat full of rowdy college students (or better yet, a Brazillian tour group) s/he can probably get away with just about anything.

I haven't read all these posts but I agree that cp is no longer what it used to be. From extremely slow ride ops to their horrible moods. All the people in food places are foriegners and can't even speak in American, nothing against them but u would think someone would be helping them.

Ten years ago admission was $25, now its $44...in ten more years will we be paying $88, or higher? Hot dog on a stick two years ago...$2.69, last year...$2.95, this year...$3.30. In five years will they want over $5 for a hot dog on a stick. I'll leave and go to taco bell before i pay that.

I used to firmly believe cp was better then all the parks in the world, even Disney when people would say how great that is, but now i can't really say that without second guessing.

Used to ask people in the park, "what do u think of cp" (being there first time) and theyd reply that they loved it, now people reply, "Its just okay, we have a six flags by our house just like this." Isn't that wonderful.

But as others have said, this downfall is all over the country. If you look at the principles and foundations that this country was built on and compared to now, its horrible. What would Franklin or Washington say about abortion, gay rights, and prayer that is not even allowed in public schools? I believe all this ties into cp, the park itself has not changed, just the people in charge.

I hate to say this, but this year, so far CP stinks.

With each generation it will get worse. As all of us grow older CP most likely will grow worse. But how many people really care? Just a few of us huge CP fans out there.

ejh, do you happen to be one of those "foriegners and can't even speak in American" as you succintly put it.

For one, we speak English, not American

2) its YOU not u; THEIR not THERE; THAN not THEN

And it is ok to have more than one sentence in a paragraph. You don't have to run-on forever to complete it.

People will take you seriously when you speak seriously.

Just some tips for future posting.

As for the content, prices go up. They do because of inflation. Back in 1920 that hot dog on a stick probably cost 30 cents. Now you'll pay 2.95 for it but not the extra .35?

I don't even try to compare Cedar Point to Disney. They are two different parks with two different agendas and target audiences. Cedar Point is a regional amusment park, Disney is an international family resort destination. There is no way to compare them. I love the Point for thrills, but the atmosphere at Disney is like nothing anywhere else on the planet.

As for your last paragraph. All I'll say is, you're about as close to a bullseye as you can get.

The atmosphere anywhere will ebb and flow. As bad as it is now is just because it was that much better a few years ago, and hopefully will return to that point within the next few years.

I never even started in on the foods. Foods is awful. Slow and poor service. I choose to not eat in the park much anymore because I don't feel like waiting in a long line to be treated like crap while I'm bending over and taking the bill. And by this, I mean the stands, not the sit down restaurants.

Maybe I don't understand, but I haven't ever really been exceptionally impressed with any stand-service I've gotten.

I've never come across any horrible stand service though. Maybe once or twice, but other than that I've gotten expected service. If you try to eat between noon and 2 or 4 and 7 you're going to wait, no matter if you have bottom rung service or top notch. There have been times when I've been unimpressed, but its been at Midway Market and Johnny Rockets. Usually the stands aren't too bad.

I'm usually only there twice or so a year, and almost always either in early season or Halloweekends, so that may lend to why the service is better than what most people experience.

How did I forget about food. On the second weekend of operation I waited 30 minutes for some chicken fingers at stockade refreshments. Then 2 weeks ago I went to Coasters and waited 20 minutes for a hamburger. I got back to my seat and it was a cheeseburger, so I went up and told them the problem and they sort of got mad. The supervisor came by who was really nice a fixed the situation. Not to be mean but I think the people that come from the foreign countries move in slow motion. Everyone in food seems like they move slow.

Quite frankly, I think it's unfair to single out the workers from other countries. Sure, maybe some of them have a difficult time with English, but the ones I've worked with have, for the most part, been hard working and have had great attitudes. Sure, you get a bad apple now and then, but that goes for the home grown workers too. I think maybe the percentage of bad apples is on the rise, but that's probably going to continue to happen until the park starts thinking seriously about some of the things mentioned earlier in this thread.

I do agree that food operations have lagged behind the rest of the park for years. But rather than foods improving, it seems like service in the rest of the park is just declining.

This comes up every year and I harken back to my days at the Point. I found, on a whole, that the BUNAC employees had a better work ethic than did the American kids.

I suspect that is still the sentiment among others at the Point since they continue to aggressively recruit overseas.

That isn't to say that some of those kids were not a pain in the butt or some of the American kids weren't great but just based on an average I think the BUNAC kids were a bit more appreciative of their jobs and it reflected in their work.

I suspect the only reason for the ride op spiels again is because they are currently changing the wording of the auto-spiel to include "stolen" in it.

And being there 2 times so far this year the food service was very slow.

I think that comes from the American attitude that for some reason everything is a right.

You have the right to drive at 16 (even though most kids aren't ready, I know I wasn't)

You have the right to a job (even though you just want to slack off and do as little as possible)

You have the right to not be offended (life's offensive, get over it already)

I'll agree with you Chief that not all the foreign kids are great, and not all the American kids suck, in fact, I'd say the true gap between them is probably closer than it appears. Most people don't notice the great job done by the 15 foreign kids they passed at various rides during their visit. They just remember that one at the food stand who had a hard time understanding what they were saying. And that becomes the thing that sticks out in their head and they classify everyone of a group based on that one experience.

Well we all know american kids. We have no idea what it is like to work for the most part. This is why half of the crap is happening. There is no work ethic and american kids and no values. Hey im 14 year old kid I know it and I see it every day.

All of this crap is just coming up to the work force. So unless there is a huge change in the way people think and act it will get worse no matter what.
*** Edited 6/22/2005 6:42:53 PM UTC by CP4eva'04***

I always get a kick out of head-shakers. :)

Head-shakers are those who shake their heads at the "typical" American - lazy, dumb, spoiled, etc. Ironically, no one that posts (here or elsewhere) is ever that "typical" person.

It gets a little old hearing how the rest of world hates us, envies us, outclasses us, outworks us, blah, blah, blah. I've never done the research, but I suspect that most countries have their own unique share of lazy and spoiled. Last time I checked, this was still a pretty neat country with a lot of hard-working people.

For the record - and on topic, I think the food service is adequate - regardless of nationality - for what it is. A food stand is a food stand. My expectations tend to differ when I'm at McDonalds, TGI Friday's or John Q's Steakhouse.

Sure none of us are typical but many of us are normal decent people that look at some people and shake their head. I may of just said the US but all over the world this is happening. Wierd part is walt sterotypes do have some truth to them. I see first hand the way kids act and how they think and well........ its rather scary.

Yeah, I found the foreign workers, while a bit different, to be pretty hard workers. Sure, we had a bad apple in ride ops last year (anyone on the Power Tower crew knows who I'm talking about) but the rest wanted to work as many hours as possible.

The language barrier can be a problem, but I think most of them could speak pretty well English.

That still doesn't deduct from the fact that I think stand service is awful. I've ordered, paid, and been completely forgotten before. That to me is unacceptable.

And Walt, I can't agree with you more. I am so sick of hearing how we're fat lazy slob bums of the world. Fact of the matter is, there are a lot of things in this country which make it great.

Edit: I meant to include how I thought the food stand service at Six Flags Magic Mountain wasn't bad at all. We got a girl who it was only her second day, and she didn't know how to deal with the coupon booklet I had. She quickly found a supervisor, got the order under control, took our money, and the supervisor had gone through and made sure we had our food ASAP. Can't exactly say I've had the same luck with Cedar Point stands.
*** Edited 6/22/2005 7:14:14 PM UTC by bholcomb***

BUNAC?

MrScott