Virus Impact on CP

Hopefully it all works out. I'll be there again on Sunday.

I was there this past Sunday, the park was pretty dead after the storms, so much so, that I got my first ever zen ride, on Raptor.

I don't think anyone has to worry about Cedar Point being overrun. If I were to place a bet, it would be on Cedar Point also opting to cancel some weekdays in the very near future, following Kings Island in that move as well. A park with a population the size of a slow day in late May simply can't be sustainable for daily operation; at least it would surprise me if it was. Then again, Cedar Point did save a lot of $$ by tabling a lot of things that were already budgeted for this season, so that guess could also be off.

If I were local, we would probably visit again (in fact we undoubtedly would), but living 2 hours away and and having gotten our "big stay" out of the way for the season, we're content tabling another visit until next year. At least for now.

Did we have fun? Of course. Was it worth it? Yep. Did we feel safe? Uh huh.

But...while I give the park a lot of credit for all the maneuvers they pulled to even open up, it's still not the same, and it's simply not worth another trip for us.

I have a feeling there are a lot of customers who are in the same boat as us. We love the park and couldn't wait to experience it, but once was enough.

You make some great points, Kevinj. My brother and I make multiple trips to Cedar Point every year, but we've decided to put our trips on hold for now. We live 3 1/2 hours away and enjoy ourselves every time we go. But right now our biggest concern is the fact that both of our wives are in the "high-risk" category for this virus. We don't want to bring this home to them. Obviously you can't eliminate risk completely. I still have to go to work. I still have to get groceries. Do I have to go to Cedar Point? Probably not.

I went to CP once already and I'm 2 hours away. I also went to KI and that's 4 hours away. I feel more inclined to drive the extra distance and get a hotel to go to KI this season. Things seemed more smoother there and just about everything was open. The staffing shortage is really hard on CP this year. I know I'll make more CP visits this year but I think this year KI visits will outnumber my CP visits.

Based on observations, I'm pretty sure Kevin is right, the demand isn't there (at any of the open parks) to necessitate the reservation system. I also wouldn't be shocked to see some weekdays go away, but I think in CP's case, that will be almost entirely up to how well the resort bookings are going.

I have to agree with Thabto. I visited KI & CP with family this past weekend. KI was definitely running much smoother than CP. The staffing shortage at CP is, unfortunately, very noticeable. I have one more visit setup for CP with a friend next week. After that visit, I don't see myself coming back again until 2021.

Today was my first visit to the park and to be honest it was only to grab some anniversary merchandise. (I really wanted one of the snow globes lol)

It felt absolutely surreal being there for the first time and seeing just how empty the park is, in addition it’s obvious a lot of projects were left uncompleted from the off-season; plus the many many closures of rides, food stands and restrooms, it just didn’t feel the same and honestly I felt a bit sad seeing the park in this state.

That’s not to say things are awful, but even though we live 25 minutes from the park, I’m not even sure we will make too many visits this year ourselves. I think back to winter chill out and seeing all of the amazing things the park had planned and for us this season is probably better forgotten than anything. We are very excited for 2021 as I’m sure the park is as well, but realistically unless you really need to get your Cedar Point fix it’s just not really worth it.

Reading posts here makes me feel like an optomist. And few people who know me in real life put that label on me. Went to CP with my daughter on Saturday and we had a great time. Definitely not the Cedar Point we are used to but I think they have done a great job within their limitations to make for an entertaining visit with a number of people looking for different things. And if the rest of the world was operating as normal, I would agree with people here that one visit was enough (and maybe too many). But theaters are closed. Plays and concerts canceled. Sports on hold and no fans when/if they resume. Recreation parks are more crowded (at least the ones I have visited) because there is little else to do. Do I prefer Cedar Point in normal mode? Absolutely. Would I go again this season? Definitely. Just not sure there will be time. I only visit 2-4 times a year and by now 2-3 of those visits already would have been in the books . Son is coming home in a couple weeks; he may want to go. We shall see.

Several of my favorite rides aren't running and I'm having problems dealing with masks even shopping for long periods but there are so many things messed up that we can't do I'm going to at least try. Make the hour drive on a not as sweltering day, pop a xanax when I get there and see how long I last before the panic attacks get to be too much. Maybe being somewhere I normally have only pleasant memories of will be better than being masked in Walmart who knows. If it doesn't work out I can at least sit on the beach and I will have tried. I just know that there's no guarantee things will be better next year or that any of us will be here next year. My school year ended with staff getting back together for a 8 year old student's funeral. Crappiest ending to a school year I've ever had in 19 years of this job. I feel I have no choice but to attempt to suck whatever I can out of this summer.

A lot of good points mentioned so far, and I can understand everyone's stance on more visits or not. I've made two trips so far this season and had a lot of fun on both. Is wearing a mask in the park fun? Of course not, but I'm not gonna let that get in the way of having a good time. After spending the past 5 summers working at the park and seeing everything fully done so to say, it is definitely tough seeing everything so different, but I get it. I think the park is doing a great job considering the circumstances. I fully plan to hopefully get a few more visits this season, but I'll be waiting till the weather cools down a bit.

On a different note, I'm going to Kings Island in two weeks and I'll be curious to see how different it feels despite being under the same restrictions

Kevinj said:

Did we have fun? Of course. Was it worth it? Yep. Did we feel safe? Uh huh.

But...while I give the park a lot of credit for all the maneuvers they pulled to even open up, it's still not the same, and it's simply not worth another trip for us.

This is where I am with the Orlando parks. Even if my family wasn't in a somewhat higher risk profile, it just doesn't look particularly fun to me. Fractionally occupied parks, plexiglass dividers in queues, no live music, and the reminder on every face that it's not "normal..." I think I'm OK to just give it up for nine months.

Paisley said:

Several of my favorite rides aren't running and I'm having problems dealing with masks even shopping for long periods but there are so many things messed up that we can't do I'm going to at least try. Make the hour drive on a not as sweltering day, pop a xanax when I get there and see how long I last before the panic attacks get to be too much. Maybe being somewhere I normally have only pleasant memories of will be better than being masked in Walmart who knows. If it doesn't work out I can at least sit on the beach and I will have tried. I just know that there's no guarantee things will be better next year or that any of us will be here next year. My school year ended with staff getting back together for a 8 year old student's funeral. Crappiest ending to a school year I've ever had in 19 years of this job. I feel I have no choice but to attempt to suck whatever I can out of this summer.

To offer you a glimmer of hope, when we left CP today at 1:30pm they were testing Blue Streak. So, perhaps that is coming soon.

Hey, Twisted Circuits! Did you ever post that picture you took of the Cedar Downs T shirt? If so, please tell me where it is because I'd like to see it and if you took the trouble to post it for me I don't want to miss it. Thanks! :-)

Have it right here... No way to post it though every site I've tried stalls out. Rural internet does not like uploads and the sites don't seem to handle breaks in upload well.

My next best option would be posting it to an onion router share but I doubt anyone here wants to get TOR just to look at it.

The "not normal" look in the face Jeff mentioned is a real problem for me just in general everywhere I go. Not being able to read facial expressions is just disturbing.

^ Pretty tough for the deaf as well.

Getting packed up tonight for our third attempt at a beach day. Sunday the winds were high, Tuesday 15 had an earache. 17 is really looking forward to digging in the sand.

If we actually make it there will report back how much it sucks standing outside the fence looking in. 🤣

I am actually really surprised how well the family has weathered all this. 15 made lemonade out of lemons and took a HS physical science class and his first college class at Columbus State, intro programming. Developed the confidence he needed and he is now registered for 9 hours in the fall at CState and may add another 3 depending on what the HS lays out. Even considering staying on and earning an AS in Math. Proud of him.

Forgot to mention. This is all hearsay so take it at that but,

Line op for Millennium said they have a group of internationals wrapping up an intake quarantine, planning to have most of the coasters up and running by the end of next week plus assorted flats. There also struggling to get the staff who normally come down from the new england area to start because of the travel restrictions their states have.

Hearing that blue streak is testing may lead to some validity of that information.

^ I think so far my nephews win the lemonade out of lemons award for our family. They both work at the same place and were laid off "indefinitely" middle of June told if they come back won't be until next year so they both packed up their campers and their families and headed west boondocking and visiting national parks going to do 6 weeks worth at whatever pace and haven't even finalized what route they'll take home yet. I at least get to enjoy the pictures.

My 19 year old got a job he likes and my 17 year old is supposed to work parking at the fair so long as it goes as planned and doesn't get cancelled last minute. If it wasn't such a long drive or if he had a license he would have applied for CP.

^They may cancel the fair, the Lorain County commissioners & Wellington mayor have called on the fair board to cancel it, no decision yet.

But, some pleasant news; if one were to drive to CP, the Prayers from Maria Sunflower field is waist high and is sure to lift the spirits of many when in full bloom.

Does CP / selling CP themed masks yet ? Six Flags newsletter indicates they're selling their themed masks.