Understaffing at Cedar Point hits nightmarish levels...

I think a VR maze could be a good concept but Cedar Point would need to put a lot more money in to graphics than they did with Iron Dragon.

The Kalahari in the Poconos has a VR room that reminds me of the holodeck from Star Trek. You take part of a video game with other people. It is made by ZeroLatency VR. It is a really cool experience. I could see Cedar Point getting something like that and doing an up charge with it. Something like that could easily have its theme changed for Haunt. It would only need 2 people, and a few hundred square feet of indoor space.

mgou58 said:
....it took the debacle last weekend for the park to finally start making better staffing decisions, albeit a little late.

Cedar Fair is drawing from a limited number of available staff. I doubt that they're making better staffing decisions at the last minute, so to speak.

The inherent problem is that you have a company that reports record profits each quarter and thinks they don’t need to offer better pay or any other financial incentives.

But if they're reporting record profits, why do they need to offer better pay or financial incentives? Clearly their business plan is working ... hence the record profits.

Prime example: they made a big deal about CP Shores this year but in all of my visits there it was never fully staffed.

How many visits? When? I'll be frank, I'm always dubious of folks saying they visited X number of times and saw Y number of issues; it's anecdotal evidence.

[Puts on Cedar Fair fanboy hat]
The company has data that none of us here have access to. They staff accordingly. Sometimes they get it wrong. [Takes off fanboy hat]

Pete said:

Tony Stark said:

There's plenty of bad reviews on Facebook about another overcrowded, understaffed mess at CP last night

Actually Stark, you come across as a hater with a chip on your shoulder about something. Maybe you were fired from CP?

I already told you my background in the first message. You're like that other one who is trying to figure out why I chose my username...weird.

But in any case, you will always have people complaining about the crowd size on Facebook, but CP was hardly a mess last night. Was in the park from 8 to 12:30 and I thought things were efficient and well organized. Received good service at Buckaroo Burritos, Coasters, the French fry place across from the stadium and the Freestyle drink places. Most food stands were open, including the kettle corn place, sky ride and windseaker were running. Magnum ran three trains. I had no complaints with how the park operated last night considering the size of the crowd.

Hardly a mess? Are you for real?

Not only am I a diabetic and there was NO DIET DRINK TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE (and they still charged me for water cups) but I have been sitting in the cedar point parking lot since 11:30 and have been sitting in the SAME EXACT SPOT, due to NO TRAFFIC CONTROL. They let parking lot 1 & 2 go first, and blocked our parking lot from leaving. So I approached the security guard on duty and told him “I am a type 1 diabetic, what was to happen if My blood sugar dropped and I needed medic

“Well we have EMT on stand by”

But with the way the traffic was, EMT would have had to WALK completely from one side of the park to get to me and by the time they would reach me, it would be too late. I have been coming to cedar point since I was a little girl and have NEVER experienced ANYTHING like this. Completely exhausted, and tired from sitting in this car for almost 3 hours in the same spot without any movement. Not to mention my bladder has been FULL, and they would not let me use the restroom, so I have been sitting here having to use the restroom as well. Thank you for one of the most (excuse my language) SH---- moments of my life.

Just like last week, plenty more where that came from.

But hey, fanboy Pete "only" had to wait 45 minutes for a burrito, so it's all good.

Amazing.

Of course there is. It's Facebook.

Look how many people love going to Cedar Point, even on a day they know (or should) will be so busy!

It's amazing how all the negativity on Facebook not only did not deter anyone, but actually swayed more to come. Thanks for helping the park out, Ironman!

The real story is CP does not charge for water cups, there was plenty of free water available last night. I had about 6 diet drinks from various places, diet soda was plentiful in the park. Even received a free ibuprofen and free water from first aid to treat a sore shoulder muscle. They have two first aid stations, in front and in back of the park. Traffic exiting is slow, when you have that many cars exiting at once, how can it not be?

I tell it like it is, I don't praise something that doesn't deserve praise based on my personal experience. I was satisfied with the park last night after actually being there, not by copying and pasting dubious Facebook comments. As far as your background Stark, anyone could claim to be anything on the internet, you don't have credibility in my book.

Kevinj said:

It's amazing how all the negativity on Facebook not only did not deter anyone, but actually swayed more to come. Thanks for helping the park out, Ironman!

I would imagine that is because the majority of people plan for Halloweekends at least a week in advance and it's not a spur of the moment thing. I'm sure some people did decide to stay home, though. I'll be curious to see what happens next year with the crowds, though.

I would imagine it's because the majority of people don't waste their time reading Facebook comments when attempting to make some sort of decision. Hence, my comment on page 1.

The comment from the "type 1 diabetic" is comically absurd, so I'm happy Ironman used that as an example; perfect illustration of my point.

But we're all allowed to imagine different things.

I think the power Facebook has to sway people's decisions is overrated. Just like reviews on travel sites where some are accurate, some are made up from people with an axe to grind and some glowing reviews are ringers placed by the business itself, Facebook has a bit of a credibility problem.

Can't agree more with you Pete. Cedar Fair First Aid is First Class at least at CP and KI. Always helpful and accommodating, although I usually carry my own supply of Vitamin-I, they have provided some in the past.

I have never heard of Cedar Point charging for a paper cup or preventing someone from using a restroom. And all these people complaining about waiting in long lines for a cup of water, haven't they ever heard of drinking fountains? Or are they to lazy to push the button?

So, I took my sisters and 2 of their friends to the park yesterday. We got to the park at about 9:45, got the 2 Bring a Friend tickets and one of my sisters and her boyfriend processed their 2018 Platinum Passes. We were in the park by a little after 10.

Walked back to a 30 minute line for Maverick. Was I happy that I couldn't ride with them because my row had to be taken out because the seatbelt wouldn't work on the seat next to me? Nope. But I rode after and had fun.

We got to Skyhawk at 11 and were on the first ride of the day, then got to MF in about an hour long wait. After, a trip on Rougarou after a half hour. We went to the car and at the Jimmy John's Minis I ordered the day before and kept in the cooler along with all the snacks they brought. I made sure we weren't going to waste time in line for food and we didn't all day.

After getting back into the park is where we ran into snag after snag and it wasn't due to staffing but our own indecision. Years and years of going during days that weren't slammed left us jaded toward waiting over an hour for WT, or 2 hours for Raptor or GK. That was our fault.

So we rode WindSeeker, walked back through the sea of human beings back to Magnum, which was out of the queue and Gemini, which was out of the queue. We ended up on Pipe Scream (still a 45 min wait) and Monster (about 20 minutes).

We then decided to test out TTD because it had just opened up. After about an hour and getting to the second full queue, it went down mechanical. After about 30 minutes of deciding whether we wanted to wait or go save time by going to the car, eating, and trying to ride 2 more major coasters with 2 hour wait times, there were people streaming from the station telling us the operators said to go ride other rides.

So we ate, came back and decided to ride Valravn at about 7:45. After waiting for 2 and a half hours, it broke down and we could see the mechanics fixing the floor. So many people left that when the ride finally went back up at 11, we were on the 2nd train. It was a fantastic night ride.

After, we rode Blue Streak because it was a 1 train wait, and left at 11:30ish. It took us about 15 minutes to get from the front of the lot to Cleveland Road to get to 250.

I polled our group (one of whom recently had hip surgery, and another having had 4 knees surgeries) and while they were fairly shocked at the long lines and craziness of the day (didn't ride a major coaster from 12 pm to 11pm), they all still had a lot of fun. This lengthy TR basically comes down to this: "When life and 70,000 people give you lemons, don't go to Facebook to complain. Shut up and make some damn lemonade."

Interesting article on cleveland.com today on the Amazon fulfillment centers being built in Cleveland and the thoughts from local businesses on the employee situation. I think this sheds some light on the difficulty CP is having filling positions, it's not as simple as wages and housing.

From DuneCraft: "I am interested in how Amazon plans to find these 2,000 employees, when I can not find 20. I know DuneCraft is not Amazon, but with our piecework system, anyone can make up to $15 per hour from the start if they are fast. We have tried finding employees through direct advertising, temp firms, employee referral programs ... and it has been difficult."

And from Mar-Bal: "We're looking for people who want to learn and show up to work every day in an environment where there's a good culture set up to keep them," she said. "I think it's good to have Amazon, but it's a catch-22, because there's a lot of companies like ours who are looking for people and find it difficult to find them."

Tony Stark said:

Hello,

I have been reading this site for years. I had an account that I used only twice before, but I forgot the password, so I had to create this new one.

To give more background of me, I've owned a Platinum Pass for the last 6 years. I've been to the park countless times. For me to criticize CP, much less post here, should tell you something about the sad state of affairs at CP.

Given Tony Stark's longtime lurking and 'forgotten passwords' and his quick devolution into insulting and antagonistic posts when people offer contrary opinions to his and the timing of his resurgence (Oct 14) with the new account just two days after the termination of the account of another very hostile poster (Oct 12); am I the only one seeing the ghost of Siouxie here?

Wait, so you're saying just the simple (and uninformed) argument that Cedar Point is just "greedy" doesn't hold up in reality?

Do tell...

I do think some of you on here forget what the difference is between constructive criticism and bashing, and somehow manage to mold those two together to take away any credibility whatsoever.

I am basing my criticisms off of my own personal experiences as a multi-year platinum pass holder who lives ten minutes from the park. My opinion does NOT represent an expert opinion nor does it even begin to represent a majority opinion. Again, that should be common sense for most of you, but I sense that for some it is not.

To the person who questioned the validity of my claims about CP Shores staffing: I visited the water park at minimum once per weekend every weekend that the waterpark was open, and most weeks averaged 2-3 visits to the waterpark. So yes, I think I can safely say that the waterpark was almost never fully staffed. I did NOT say that it so negatively affected my visits that I turned into a complaint artist. It is an observation.

Regardless of how much one supports, loves, likes Cedar Point, or how much Cedar Fair stock you own, I think we agree that there are some much needed logistical changes that needs to happen. If Halloweekends is, as you all say, the busiest time of year, then the park should be better prepared for it going forward, especially if they keep expanding the Haunt event itself. You can't keep adding to an event if you can't adequately staff what was there to begin with. Period. There is no other logic to explain this. Compile this with the parking situation earlier in the year with CP Shores (preferred parking what?), then clearly this off-season and the next few should take a look at making improvements. Something that Cedar Point is very good at, and is evident (drink plans being tied to passes, etc.)

I am not saying that CP is awful and should be refunding tickets and so forth. I am saying that they can certainly improve upon this particular area of the guest experience. And a business model that produces record profits but negates paying its employees more is not, long term, a successful one, as one of you pointed out. In time, it will bite you in the ass. Maybe not next season, or the one after, but in time it will.

Everything you just stated is exactly what everyone seems to agree on, including the park, and to a broader extent, Cedar Fair.

It's realistic, customer-based observations like that which are useful and informative.

Facebook comments? Not so much.

It’s perfect Sunday weather here at the park and it’s as busy as I’ve seen it for a Sunday this late in the season. Just about all the rides are running except for Sky Ride. Most food and drink stands are operating. Midways are packed but lines are moving well. I would not have any issues with how the park is running things today.

Rusty said:

Tony Stark said:

Hello,

I have been reading this site for years. I had an account that I used only twice before, but I forgot the password, so I had to create this new one.

To give more background of me, I've owned a Platinum Pass for the last 6 years. I've been to the park countless times. For me to criticize CP, much less post here, should tell you something about the sad state of affairs at CP.

Given Tony Stark's longtime lurking and 'forgotten passwords' and his quick devolution into insulting and antagonistic posts when people offer contrary opinions to his and the timing of his resurgence (Oct 14) with the new account just two days after the termination of the account of another very hostile poster (Oct 12); am I the only one seeing the ghost of Siouxie here?

Another one.

You should get together with the other creepers and start a new thread devoted to me.

A nice place where you can post all of your conspiracy theories about my top-secret true identity.

...

Look guys, I like CP, too, but I don't take it personally when someone posts the truth about what it has become.

I allegedly have some agenda, the Facebook posts are really part of some covert operation to bring Sandusky to his knees via A.I.M., some of you guys are a little out there with your devotion to the park.

Tony Stark said:

Look guys, I like CP, too, but I don't take it personally when someone posts the truth about what it has become.

But, it is not the truth, it's fake news. Who knows, it could have been you behind that stupid Facebook post you copied and pasted. It sure sounded like the entire post was made up, they couldn't even get the free water right.