Sandcastle Suites Land

I agree with you that future coasters (at least large ones) will come at the expense of a coaster removal. I never stated otherwise. In fact, in another post, I stated I would love to see a B&M Giga come to Cedar Point that is larger than Fury, and can offer elements than Millennium and Magnum do not have, but this will come at the expense of a coaster that stands in its path...maybe Gemini or Corkscrew, just for example. So, we do agree on that. But, a new coaster is still a new coaster. They did not have to tear down Disaster Transport for Gatekeeper, but they did for the better. I'm not talking about volume of rides, but moving forward with new technology, comfort, thrill elements, etc.

In case there was still any question about what this land was going to be used for. The 2020 site map has been released. Like has been stated on here before, the 2018 Breakers Expansion Wing was essentially the Sandcastle Suites replacement.

https://cdn-cloudfront.cfauthx.com/binaries/content/assets/cp-en-us/general-information/hotels/cp-2020---lighthouse-point-map.pdf

So it's just more RV sites, a good use of the land and cheaper to build. I heard camper sites were really difficult to book due to lack of available spaces. If they were going to add another hotel, with everything going on now and the economy, that likely would've been shelved.

Well, there goes some overflow parking!

:-)

I still say that site (old Sandcastle property) was ripe for a hotel that would have had the nicest view on the Great Lakes. That said, I haven't done any type of number crunching to see what the ROI is on a hotel vs more campground spaces...and I'm sure Cedar Fair has. Campground spaces certainly cost a lot less in construction, maintenance, staffing, etc. And, since they can charge a nightly rate comparable to a hotel room then I'll make the assumption that the ROI on the campground is significantly higher.

Chief Wahoo said:

I still say that site (old Sandcastle property) was ripe for a hotel that would have had the nicest view on the Great Lakes. That said, I haven't done any type of number crunching to see what the ROI is on a hotel vs more campground spaces...and I'm sure Cedar Fair has. Campground spaces certainly cost a lot less in construction, maintenance, staffing, etc. And, since they can charge a nightly rate comparable to a hotel room then I'll make the assumption that the ROI on the campground is significantly higher.

The new breakers wing replaced the rooms lost at Sandcastles. There are a bunch of new hotels & expansions going on in the area...ie..Holiday Inn & about 3 other competitors. A varied experience over a hotel is what the cabins & RV sites provide. CP also added off site rooms by buying & renovating Sawmill Creek, though this will be heavily marketed towards the 2 Sports Complexes. Even in it's previous dated condition, Sawmill Creek was the biggest booker of Outdoor Sports Complex teams besides CP properties(mainly Express). CP also bought the dump hotel by Sandcastles, so if they really want more resort rooms they can expand. Sandcastles is under renovation currently. CP also has land in town undeveloped so if they could build an Express II, if they really needed more rooms in the future. IMO, the RV & Cabin expansion was a lot about a variety & of course lower Capex while getting high rates.

Mine was not an argument that they need more rooms. Mine was an argument that the piece of land in question has a remarkable view and I don't think campground spaces take full advantage of that. Imagine a campground on the cliffs of Malibu instead of the multi-million dollar homes that are there.

Again, I'm sure the economics drove the decision, and I'm ok with that. Just dreaming of the "what if".

Even though the property is far from being on Point, I wonder if the purchase of Sawmill Creek Resort also ended any need of additional rooms. Sure it's miles away but still will offer the benefits of staying in a CF owned hotel. If the ferry ever comes into play that'll be an amazing way to start and finish the evening on a ferry ride across the lake.. baring any choppy wakes that Lake Erie can have.

In my dream world CF will build a world class indoor waterpark at Sawmill Creek and convert Castaway Bay back into a normal resort hotel. Something that can really compete with Kalahari. But that's just my Bob Ross happy little world.

Just because they've not built a hotel there now doesn't mean it's not part of the long term plan, nor does it necessarily indicate that RV sites provide greater ROI compared to a hotel. RV sites are comparatively inexpensive and relatively easy to replace, and are a great money maker in the meantime.

WolfBobs said:

In my dream world CF will build a world class indoor waterpark at Sawmill Creek and convert Castaway Bay back into a normal resort hotel.

There really are endless possibilities over the next 20-30+ years of where things will go and what the overall Cedar Fair presence in Sandusky will look like with the Sports Force complex, Sawmill, and the other mainland property purchases on Cleveland Road and also the walking/biking trail planned for Sandusky and the surrounding area. Even with the current concerns and uncertainty, the slow evolution is definitely something to look forward to. I hope I am still around to see what it looks like in 2050.

djDaemon said:

Just because they've not built a hotel there now doesn't mean it's not part of the long term plan, nor does it necessarily indicate that RV sites provide greater ROI compared to a hotel.

That's like saying the fact they haven't built a 500' roller coaster doesn't mean it's not part of the long term plan. Anything is a part of the "long-term-plan". But there's no doubt that a hotel on that space certainly has no immediate chance of fruition anytime soon.

I'm surprised they didn't just move the existing cabins/RV sites to the former Sandcastle area and then use that space for park expansion (originating between SV and Gemini).

The RV park for the 2020 season will be open before the Cedar Point hotels.

All you need to do is park the RV where the hotels need staff.