Ticket prices are too high!

"The average family will not be able to afford the ridiculous prices that Cedar Point will be asking. Cedar Point makes enough money each year without going up in prices."

There are always a few people who will complain about Cedar Point's admission price being too high. But did you know this is not a new trend?

The 1968 season marked the first time Cedar Point charged for admission to the midway. Prior to 1968, admission was free and guests paid for individual rides. In 1968, admission was included with ride tickets, but without ride tickets, guests would now pay $1.00 for entry.

As you can see, that did not set well with some people.

Side note: I'm still researching, but it appears 1968 was the first year Cedar Point offered an all-day ride ticket. It was previously thought that 1970 was the first year for a "pay-one-price" admission. From what I've been able to gather, it was 1974 when the park went to "pay-one-price" as the only admission option and ride tickets were eliminated.

BUT, they had free parking!

I remember my dad tossing coins into something on the causeway back in the 70s. Didn't realize that was a causeway toll and not for parking all these years. When did they start charging for parking?

Yes, 1974 was the first year of POP at CP. From 1968 to 1973 you had a choice of buying individual tickets or the all day, which varied as I recall from a lanyard to a wristband. Parking was free, but the causeway had a toll. If you came in via the Chausee there was no charge to get into the lot. They ran a fleet of Chance Sunliner parking lot trams that brought guests from the lot to the main gate.

Yeah, I remember those all rides all day wristbands. They weren't really wrist bands but string with little metal clips that crimped the string together. They changed the string color and color of the clips each day so you couldn't use the same string the next day. I don't remember lanyards, but it was pretty special when I received a POP string from my parents. I used to cut them off at the end of the day and save them in an envelope. I had a nice collection of different colored strings and clips.

My recollection is that the lanyards were a short lived experiment,or perhaps a stop gap measure, as they lasted less than a full season.

It's also amusing that the fence "destroyed the beauty of Cedar Point." I wonder if this guy ever went to Charmland.