Season Pass Preview Night and Dining Plan

Kevinj said:

Wouldn't the simplest answer to this situation be the manpower being stretched too thin?

That sure seems to be the case. And perhaps it would be an easier explanation to swallow if the company weren't reporting record revenue through 2014 and into 2015.

Cedar Fair reports record first-quarter revenues

Company reports fifth consecutive year of record results.

This is not to say that I know any better how to run a business, but if they're going to take on such ambitious projects, it seems they need to up their game. Ouimet has said many times that their goal is to provide each guest with a "best day" experience. I don't get the impression that they lived up to that promise last weekend.

^^^DJ, my comment was in regards to the specific comment which stated that all 3 of the MF trains should have been operating, no ifs ands or buts about it... I am surprised that we have so many posts and threads where the lack of 3 trains on MF is being discussed as it is. The fact is, MF was operating this weekend - throwing fits about only having 2 trains running is not-picky ridiculous.

While I was surprised by the number of rides down it was not something that I didn't think could happen. I know CP management will be looking into these issues to try and learn from them, as they should.

The majority of rides were operating over the weekend, outside of the weather delays of course. Magnum was running more than it wasn't while I was there, same with MF. That being said I think the downtime of those rides along with the fact that WT is in pieces, And Mean Streak and Gemini were not operating made the bouts of downtime on other rides seem much worse.

I am not trying to give CP a pass and saying they did a wonderful job on everything., there is definite room for improvement. On the flip side, anyone who expects the park to be in mid season form right out of the gate does not have a reasonable expectation either.

JUnderhill said:

The fact is, MF was operating this weekend - throwing fits about only having 2 trains running is not-picky ridiculous.

I don't see how being critical of the apparent lack of preparedness equates to "throwing fits". Few, if any, folks here have been "throwing fits".

And it was reported that MF was running one train on Sunday. That's crazy.

The majority of rides were operating over the weekend...

Magnum was running more than it wasn't while I was there...

Reportedly with several rows roped off, so it was at significantly reduced capacity.

...anyone who expects the park to be in mid season form right out of the gate does not have a reasonable expectation either.

Nonsense. When I visit early in the season, I expect seasonal employees to be inefficient and not in mid-season form. I don't expect several rides to be running at reduced capacity and others to be not running at all because they ran out of time/money/will power to get things done. Unforeseen failures are one thing. Being caught with your pants down is quite another.

Furthermore, as I mentioned above, the CEO himself has for years now paraded the mantra of "best day" experience for every guest. So if the CEO deems that as reasonable, I don't see why it's unreasonable for guests to expect them to deliver.

This is not to fault the folks who worked their asses off leading up to opening day. I don't doubt their dedication, I just get the impression that the "boots on the ground" aren't getting the support they need. This seems to be echoed in the conversation regarding dirty and/or dilapidated trains.

The thing I find disappointing is that some people paid good money to enjoy themselves there because the park assured them that it would be ready since the park scheduled themselves to be open. Maybe on days where they are responsible for this much going wrong, they should consider not charging for drinks. Why should customers be the only ones out anything?

I understand the disappointment. I really do. You drove to Cedar Point expecting everything to be in better working condition than it was. I get that. You went thinking things would run more efficiently. I see that also.

But I too am tired of seeing how many threads brought up about the number of trains on MF. Not to mention, they only had 1 train running on Sunday. Okay, scenario time: how many of you would have been more upset if they had MF shut down for the entire day Sunday too because they only had 1 train that was operable. 1 train operation is better than no operation IMO. Testing was going so smooth on all rides Friday night, but what a lot of people don't understand is that things take a turn for a different experience when it comes to people being on board rather than water dummies.

What I'm also tired of seeing is blame going towards ride ops, supervisors, managers, and higher ups. Nobody can predict what will happen or cause extended wait times. Just like I'm sure nobody on the MF crew (and yes, even maintenance) was able to predict that 1 of the 2 operable trains would go down for mechanical reasons. Things don't work out in everybody's favor. I guarantee a lot of people who work for CP were unhappy with how things were going this past weekend, and do feel somewhat disappointed.

What I think has a lot to do with the disappointment is lack of communication. Instead of hyping up everybody on social media for opening day and Rougarou, maybe also inform them that things have changed and some rides won't be open during opening weekend. That's A LOT easier for the park, and less disappointing to the guests.

Paisley said:

On the positive side though, aren't the new wet floor signs in the bathrooms awesome?

LMAO!!! PAISLEY, that was some good comic relief there, bud!! AND I DID NOTICE THE BANANA FLOOR SIGNS!! I thought they were pretty cool!!

TwistedWicker77 said:

A bunch of hooey explaining why it's somehow ok and understandable for rides to not be fully functional when the park opens.

I disagree.

Scottyf said:

TwistedWicker77 said:

A bunch of hooey explaining why it's somehow ok and understandable for rides to not be fully functional when the park opens.

I disagree.

Where did you even get that "quote"? lol. You really must be bored by making up false quotes and putting my name by them.

TwistedWicker77 said:
But I too am tired of seeing how many threads brought up about the number of trains on MF. Not to mention, they only had 1 train running on Sunday. Okay, scenario time: how many of you would have been more upset if they had MF shut down for the entire day Sunday too because they only had 1 train that was operable. 1 train operation is better than no operation IMO.

Also worse than 1 train operation is getting kicked in the junk. But I'm not sure how either fact justifies being unprepared for guests.

...nobody on the MF crew (and yes, even maintenance) was able to predict that 1 of the 2 operable trains would go down for mechanical reasons.

Absolutely true. However, a potential failure was certainly predictable, which is all the more reason more effort should have been put toward ensuring all 3 trains were ready by opening day.

That way, in the unlikely (but ultimately realized) event that 1 train did go down, they'd still have two functional trains remaining.

Instead of hyping up everybody on social media for opening day and Rougarou, maybe also inform them that things have changed and some rides won't be open during opening weekend.

If they can't be adequately ready on opening day, perhaps they shouldn't sell tickets for opening day.

I give the park a complete pass on preview night being a disaster (even by "soft opening" standards), but opening day? That's absurd. Either push opening day back, or figure out how to provide something resembling the product the CEO of the company advertises.

3 rides weren't ready and one train on another was AWOL, pushing opening day back seems rather excessive based upon that. Especially considering the vast majority of CP rides were open and operating as normal, the hotels and eating facilities were also open. Somehow, myself and many other people I know who were present on opening day had a great time - and I will go so far to say that I bet the vast majority of those who were there had a great time as well.

The rides that were down could have issues that arose during the last week, or even days leading up to opening. Even if it was known farther out than that you cannot simply push opening day back when people have reservations, made travel plans, requested days off etc... The true disaster would have been CP pushing opening day back simply to appease the few who insist every ride, and every vehicle, train, and row of every ride must be perfectly functioning and operational before the park is allowed to open for the season.

TwistedWicker77 said:

Testing was going so smooth on all rides Friday night, but what a lot of people don't understand is that things take a turn for a different experience when it comes to people being on board rather than water dummies. . .

I'm sure nobody on the MF crew (and yes, even maintenance) was able to predict that 1 of the 2 operable trains would go down for mechanical reasons.

And why was the 3rd train not ready? CP knew its opening date for months and yet 1/3 of the trains on one of its most popular rides were not even ready for testing. I'll grant having 1 train go down happens--the law of averages. But not having ALL of the other trains is not the law of averages, whoever drew up the offseason schedule got it wrong, or management had no problem with one of MF's train's not being ready

TwistedWicker77 said:

Things don't work out in everybody's favor. I guarantee a lot of people who work for CP were unhappy with how things were going this past weekend, and do feel somewhat disappointed.

I'm sure. They know that not having all 3 MF trains ready to go is a time management screwup. 1 of them breaking down happens, 1 of them not being ready doesn't--even if both of the other 2 were working fine.

TwistedWicker77 said:

What I think has a lot to do with the disappointment is lack of communication. Instead of hyping up everybody on social media for opening day and Rougarou, maybe also inform them that things have changed and some rides won't be open during opening weekend. That's A LOT easier for the park, and less disappointing to the guests.

I assume they knew by Friday Night that WT wouldn't be ready for Opening Day. You are right about the lack of communication.

JUnderhill said:
Somehow, myself and many other people I know who were present on opening day had a great time

I think that says it well. What a lot of people on here notice and gripe about largely goes unnoticed by the average guest. I also noticed a lot of people having a great time. I had a great time, although half the day was spent drinking beer, moonshine and martinis. 😀

Captain Hawkeye said:

And why was the 3rd train not ready? CP knew its opening date for months and yet 1/3 of the trains on one of its most popular rides were not even ready for testing. I'll grant having 1 train go down happens--the law of averages. But not having ALL of the other trains is not the law of averages, whoever drew up the offseason schedule got it wrong, or management had no problem with one of MF's train's not being ready

Or, something happened to the yellow train that we are not aware of causing it to be absent from the ride. Perhaps some parts were found to be faulty on the MF trains and only enough replacements were present to allow for 2 trains until more come in. Perhaps the schedule was drawn up perfectly and something unforeseen happened like faulty parts etc...

Captain Hawkeye said:

I'm sure. They know that not having all 3 MF trains ready to go is a time management screwup. 1 of them breaking down happens, 1 of them not being ready doesn't--even if both of the other 2 were working fine.

What if the missing train broke prior to opening day, what if it not being ready due to a time management screwup is simply a fabricated story on a fan forum and nowhere near the real story of why the yellow train is absent? What if some parts were found to be faulty requiring them to be replaced on short notice on all 3 trains and they only had enough to safely run 2?

Captain Hawkeye said:

I assume they knew by Friday Night that WT wouldn't be ready for Opening Day. You are right about the lack of communication.

Do parks usually send out notifications and press releases when a ride breaks down? I know that planned refurbishments and closures are announced ahead of time but I have yet to come across any type of communications that parks send out when a ride goes down for unplanned issues.

Not sure how getting kicked in the "junk" is even in the discussion, but I'm willing to look past that...

I think it's safe to say that we have already stated some of the possibilities as to why the 3rd train isn't on yet.

Also, as I've said before, I got on every major ride this past weekend, while still leaving the park early on Saturday (7-10 on Friday night, and 9-3 Saturday). So I'm still not too sure how this "unpreparedness" affect so many people.

Well, this was my first time back at Cedar Point in almost 20 years. I bought the Platinum passes with meal option and stayed at Castaway bay 2 nights and Hotel Breakers one night with my family. I figure I will share my non-yearly visitor opinion. We surprised our youngest kids and told our oldest about the passes, so there were no expectations except a good time. They had a great time, and would probably say the 4 days were a B+/A+ We only waited about 30 minutes in a short-line for our season passes on Saturday at 10:30am!!!

Overall, I would give the last 4 days a C+/B-. Mainly because the positives were not Cedar Point's doing, but a side-effect of the crowds. Our longest line was for Pink's on Saturday which was well over an hour. We did get multiple walk-on to less than 10 minute rides on Raptor, Maverick, TTD, Gatekeeper, Mean Streak, Rougarou, and MF over the 4 days. The longest line we waited for a ride was Antique cars(?!?) on Saturday (40min), and MF which went down due to cell-phone on hill and mechanical problems restarting. Surprisingly, our biggest disappointment was today with drink refills. We paid the $5 to recharge our cups, and a lot of the food stands were closed along the paths. Almost every coke freestyle was closed as well, NOT cool considering almost all of the major rides were closed as well due to wind. Seriously, the least Cedar Point can do is make sure major concession stands are open on a day that has 20+mph winds all day. What does Cedar Point expect their guests to do when all the major rides are down?

Side note, if I was a 1-2 time a year visitor Sunday would have been the only day I would have felt ok about, but would still have had some disappointment.

TwistedWicker77 said:

Not sure how getting kicked in the "junk" is even in the discussion, but I'm willing to look past that...

It's a silly joke in response to what in my opinion is a ridiculous justification of "well, it could have been worse" with regard to MF's 1-train operation. Yes, it could have been worse, but that hardly justifies being unprepared.

I think it's safe to say that we have already stated some of the possibilities as to why the 3rd train isn't on yet.

Yes, and I think all signs point to a lack or preparedness as root cause. For example, if the fiberglass bodies not being fully assembled onto the chassis is a cause for the train not being ready, then what is the cause of the not-yet-assembled state? Well, they ran out of time to get it assembled. So, what is the cause of them not having adequate time to get the train assembled? They didn't dedicate enough resources to getting that task done.

...I'm still not too sure how this "unpreparedness" affect so many people.

You and Pete are right that the conversation here is, as usual, an over-analysis. And it's true that the lack of preparedness doesn't affect that many people. But it did affect some people, all of whom were paying customers.

Will waiting in a longer line for MF impact folks so much that they'll be less likely to return? Probably not. But waiting in a longer line for MF, combined with waiting in a longer line for Magnum (due to trains not being completely ready), combined with waiting in a longer line for Gemini (due to trains not being completely ready), combined with waiting in a longer line for Skyhawk (due to the ride not being completely ready), combined with waiting in a longer line for Maverick (due to substantial downtime all weekend), combined with waiting in longer lines for everything, due to reduced capacity brought on by WT and MS not being ready to open... you get the idea.

Yes, there are reasonable explanations as to why each ride wasn't ready. But taken as a whole, that many rides not being ready points to an issue that has nothing to do with nuts and bolts.

JUnderhill said:
...considering the vast majority of CP rides were open and operating as normal.

What park were you at on 5/9, because it wasn't Cedar Point.

DjDaemon, no. Just, no. I thought we had discussed that parts for the new body hadn't come in on time (as this happens quite often in any business). That isn't a lack of being prepared on the park. That's a lack of urgency from the manufacturer. But, you and I both don't know the real deal. Like I said before, there's a reason for everything.

You're explaining all things that I can expect on opening weekend. I understand these are paying customers, but you sound like the ones who feel entitled for their money back when a storm rolls through Sandusky. Not to mention, when I was on Skyhawk Saturday morning, it was running full capacity and better than ever.

But you're just basing your opinions off of those who went opening weekend and what you have read here so far. I'm willing to bet had you been there opening weekend (which is more resourceful than hearsay), your views may be altered.

Looks like Captain Hindsight is here. I like how no one here knows what was actually going, but everyone seems to think they could have prevented the things that occurred on opening weekend. The underlining theme of almost every complaint I see is, I had to wait in line. It seems as everyone was expecting every ride to be a walk on or damn close. I also see everyone is upset that MF yellow train wasn't ready. The thing you have remember is that CP had a finite number of man hours available. If the yellow train was ready then you probably would have had another ride or two not open. As a company would you rather have MF running at 2/3 capacity and one two more rides open or MF at full capacity and 1-2 less rides open. CP knows what they are doing and have years of experience getting things up and running, they budgeted the time they thought was necessary and fell short this year. There is no quick fix like most of you seem to think. They probably knew a couple weeks out that they weren't going to be able to get everything up and running, but they are not going to push opening day back and lose $$$$. They also aren't going to put out a press release telling you that ride x, y, and z aren't running because, first that is a stupid business move and second they already tell you that some rides may not be running the day of your visit.

Dead Sexeh said:

As a company would you rather have MF running at 2/3 capacity and one two more rides open or MF at full capacity and 1-2 less rides open.

Why are these the only choices? How about a third choice: hiring additional staff so that they can successfully manage their in-house off-season projects while still managing annual ride rehab and preparation?

CP knows what they are doing and have years of experience getting things up and running, they budgeted the time they thought was necessary and fell short this year.

Yes, and given their track record I expect they'll address the apparent issue and either hire more staff, or not be so ambitious in the future. I am certainly hoping for the former solution.