Suggested pricing scheme

Although the price at CP is good I have a suggestion that would make it better, IMO.

You should be able to pay for what you plan on riding. If you are an adult that wants to take your child around and not ride roller coasters you should be able to pay less.

If you are going to ride some roller coasters, but not the extreme ones, then you should not have to pay full price. If you are unable to fit in the seats for TTD and MF then you should get a lower price as well. At the entrance they should have the seats for MF and TTD. You can see if you can fit before you pay.

Give people a wrist band that corresponds to what they paid. If you lose your wrist band, then you would get the basic wrist band, but have to pay for the upgraded one. Rideops check before allowing you in line.

It may be like this:

• $39.95 everything
• $35.95 all but TTD and MF
• $30.95 no roller coasters
• $25.95 only 48" rides

Part of the reason I suggest this is becase of the tremendous waste of time created by the seats on TTD and MF. Although I think the whole seatbelt thing is ridiculous, why don't they just make the seatbelt bigger? If you can fit in the seat you should be able to ride. Nearly everytime I was in the station for TTD and MF someone couldn't get the seatbelt on.

How would you suggest they enforce this? $39.95 is a great price for everyone. If someone cannot enjoy a day at Cedar Point they have issues.

As I said the price is good. But why should a parent with their 4/5 year old child that is only going to ride the rides his child can pay as much as someone riding everything?

I also said enforce it with an wristband. They already give wristbands for kids just over 52" and Soak City.

I'm more curious as to how they'll price the season passes next year. I was hoping this thread would be on that.

I'd like to see an "all park" season pass (I'm sure we'll get that), with parking good at all parks (I doubt we'll get that) with Joe Cool type benefits at all parks (I doubt we'll get that), all for one price.

I'm thinking a $200 price point (esp if it includes parking & Joe Cool everywhere) might encourage a few "single park" people to venture a little further from home. It would probably do that for us. Even though it would be $800 for this family of 4 (that's a lot of money!) we'd probably splurge and go down to Kings Island for a couple days; maybe even hit a couple other Cedar Fair parks besides CP, GL & Soak City.

It just is stupid. There is so much to do and see I'd pay 40 bucks to walk around the place. I could just watch TTD and MF all day.

Why shouldn't a parent pay as much as someone else? They can enjoy the shows. They can enjoy all the rides at Cedar Point with the use of a parent swap. They can enjoy all the park has to offer just as much as you or me. I do not see any unfairness with the pricing scheme.

As for season pass pricing next year, I was really hoping that each park would have a 'park' pass and then there'd be a chainwide 'combo' pass or whatever. Live near WoF and want to just go to WoF? Cheap season pass. Live near WoF and want to go to CP? Need to purchase a chainwide pass. That only makes sense.

Chainwide parking would be nice, but I doubt they will ever offer that. I'd pay $100 for just that privilege.

Hmmm. Wrist bands...we had that at KP forever until just recently. People would enter only paying for General and most of the time, the Ride Ops never checked the wrists for the bands. At least they had neat colors, ha.

I do agree, the concept would be appealing, especially for those who are physically unable to ride major rides, such as coasters. As for the pricing and enforcement:
The Pricing scheme seems reasonable, but there's a challenge: Season Passes. There's plently of passes, Regular, Soak, both, junior, etc. That would just add more and probably cause confusion. I can see the gates going "hmm, ok a Soak City Combo, no coasters, joe cool, pass..."

Seatbelts in some instances are a bit too much, and others, just enough.

Mugsy you may wish to check out this link: http://www.linuxbench.org/Posting.html

bholcomb, don't try to quash my enthusiasm. Just because you have been around this place for over 3 years doesn't make you better. What were your posts like 3 years ago? Have you never brought up a topic that wasn't discussed already?

Back to my point. Should a person that is physically unable to ride something have to pay as much as someone else? Should a person that chooses not to ride the roller coasters have to pay as much? The coasters are the largest investment the park makes.

There are price gradients all over the place. Airline tickets, hotels, sporting events, etc.

Granted DJTheC brought up a great point about it being a little too confusing.

Turbojaw - saying it "just is stupid" is ignorant

I think what Ben is trying to say, Muggsy, is that you should think a little bit before posting a new thread.

Ask yourself these questions: Is it constructive to the conversation? Is there a need for a new thread? Am I just giving an opinon with no real rhyme or reason?

If the answer is "no" to either of the first two or "yes" to the last, think before you click "submit."

The $39.95 is more than reasonable, even for someone that only rides a few of the rollercoasters. There's so much more to Cedar Point than the coasters.

And remember, children under 48" and seniors get in for $9.95. Starlight tickets are $24.95.

Also, consider that Disney just raised the one day admission price in Orlando to $67, most Six Flags one day tickets are $49.95 and up, so $39.95 is a bargain.

Anyone that actually pays the full $39.95 ticket price hasn't shopped around for discounts.

I don't think that Ben was trying to squash your enthusiasm. He was just pointing out simple message board etiquette. He didn't say anything about being better than anyone else. I respect the fact that he's been a contributing member of this site for as long as he has, as well as others that have been here just as long.

*** Edited 8/21/2006 8:00:38 PM UTC by Mark Small***

Regarding the Season Pass scenario: Why not have one pass for all parks. You are actually paying for your "main" park, the others would be a "value added" perk.

If Cedar Fair had done that in the first place, many people that had Cedar Point passes would have ventured over to Geauga Lake, and sampled the improvements being made, and spread the good word around to all their friends. As such, Cedar Fair didn't do that, and Geauga Lake's reputation is still basically the same to most people. "Word-of-Mouth" is ALWAYS the best advertising tool!

I'm from Lansing, Michigan, and have had Cedar Point season passes for many years. I made a couple trips to Michigan's Adventure each summer with my pass, in addition to many trips to Cedar Point. If Geauga Lake had been included, I most likely would have made the extra 90 minute drive to Geauga Lake to check it out. The trips I made to Michigan's Adventure were trips that I would NOT have done without the "value added" perk, or if I had to pay extra. But based upon the improvements that were made at Michigan's Adventure, I spread the word around that the park was a much better experience than it was before CFLP bought it.

Remember, Six Flags, and Paramount (before the acquisition), offered this "value added" perk at no extra fee, and thus, Cedar Fair should offer all the parks with all their passes. How many Cedar Point Season Pass holders have been to Knott's? probably a very small number of all the passes issued.

Regarding the variable prices based on height: Cedar Point already offers that with a under 48" price. The $40 for 48" and taller price is a good value... most people do their homework and try and find a way of obtaining discounts on admission.

I agree with the majority that think CP already has reasonable ticket prices. There are lots of places to get coupons if your looking to save a little money too. $10 off coupons on pop cans and discount tickets at Meijer for example.

Wrist bands will be a huge problem. You know how long wait times will be? The problem of kids switching wristbands with their friends comes to mind as well. Also, why should people who are not gonna ride coasters be able to get in cheaper then us that do? They may get just as much enjoyment out of watching shows and going on the bumper cars, thus getting their moneys worth.

This is retarded. You could say no roller coasters and just sneak on rides.

If you want to pay for certain rides to ride: GO TO THE FAIR! This is beyond stupid to be bring up. Now you feel you need to make an hour and a half wait to buy a ticket? Well I guess that would be a great starter for the rest of the day! MF's wait wouldn't be overwelming for some ppl.! Think before you post PLEASE!

Wow people. What is wrong with you guys? There's nothing wrong with this post. People can post that putting wait times on signs is a good idea, but paying for each ride can't be posted because you don't like the idea?? Get over yourselves. He didn't post something that's been talked about over and over and over again like some people lately. I think this is a good topic and obviously a lof of you have thoughts on it since you posted.

This is how rides used to be done back in the day. Even Disney did it. That's where the "E-Ticket" attraction came from. All the "big" rides like Expedition Everest are still called E-Ticket rides even though tickets are not used anymore.

I agree though that CP doesn't need this. $40 isn't all that much even for a day of walking around. Shows, food, fun, etc.... You don't need to ride all the mega-coasters to get your money's worth. Its all about what you make of it. My grandparent's barely rode anything when we went as kids. But, the admission was well worth it just because they loved seeing us have fun.

To answer the question of how to enforce it though - that's easy - the ticket system. Well, or wristbands.

The idea sounds good in concept, but would be difficult to enforce. Imagine the nightmare caused by guests that have paid for TTD and MF at the gate, only to later find out that the do not in fact fit the rides restraints. (The tests seats are almost always slightly different than the actual seats on the ride.)

What about dishonest guest that swap out bands? (It happens now with the height bands.)

Do ride operators really need one more thing to scan the crowds for? The loose items, short kids, alcohol, smoking and line jumpers are enough.

Now that seniors have the reduced admission, I don't think there is anything unfair about the pricing . There is certainly the gates price worth of attractions for a child age 5 and the parent that accompanies them.

Quite frankly, I think the way the system is now is just fine.

The only place I see it negatively affecting them is with those middle-aged parents, who have no intention of riding anything, and thus don't visit the park because they don't want to pay the long rate when they're not going to do nearly as much as the average park-goer. I know a number of people who have felt this way, and thus haven't visited the park. But accomodating them would be a difficult thing to do.

Too complicated for the GP. (haha e x i t)