Wanted: More Places / Attractions to Escape the Weather & Relax

RCMAC I see what you did there!

Inferring Cedar Point already has it all in Breakers is missing the point of this thread. I don't feel the urge to go to Cedar Point when it's 95 so that I can leave the park and rest inside of a hotel. I'd be more comfortable at home.

Your average person visiting Cedar Point for the day is heading out the gates to home when it rains or when they're feeling tired, and they probably never even thought about recharging at Breakers for a drink at Surf Lounge.

I thought a few years back when they took out the IMAX theater and the Turnpike cars, with Wildcat gone, etc, they'd put some sort of large food/entertainment venue in the area there along with Valravn. Perhaps bulldozing Cedars and putting parts of Valravn across the road. I think they missed an opportunity there with that really being the central hub of the park, but obviously the management did not feel the same.

I'm impressed with the increased quality and variety of their food offerings, but the more standalone, smaller places they open, the likelihood of a bigger venue with multiple food offerings, beer, and entertainment probably decreases. I'm sorry, but Red Garter and the venue in the back of the park are really too small for a park like Cedar Point. The show they had last summer on the former Luminosty stage was really a step back and that area in general still looks less stellar than the rest of the park.

Looking at the map, I'd say there's still plenty of space around there or in the Cedars area for a big new indoor venue / attraction if they want to go that route in the future.

If you think of a weather event coming through, a mass of people are flowing along the main midway toward the front gate. That means they're passing directly by the Coliseum on their way out. Which would be the most effective venue vacuum to suck some in and prevent them from leaving?

One of the struggles with the Coliseum vs a completely new building is that marketing needs to change people's perception of the Coliseum / ballroom, which could be space that many haven't visited for years. Regardless, refurbishing / reinventing it seems ideal.

Doze the whole park, put a mall in its place, and really one up the Mall of America.

What’s a Mall of America?

Another favorite escape & recharge attraction for me back in the day was Fascination. It always began with a desire to cool down in the A/C and ended with addiction. I played it several months back at Indiana Beach, and the game itself held up well. While I understand the reasons why it probably won't return for the 150th anniversary, I bet a 1-time Fast Lane pass for the win would have helped with the waning popularity... ;)

Ffej said:

Inferring Cedar Point already has it all in Breakers is missing the point of this thread. I don't feel the urge to go to Cedar Point when it's 95 so that I can leave the park and rest inside of a hotel. I'd be more comfortable at home.

I think it's worth considering that what you are hoping for - you specifically cited Disaster Transport, Pirate Ride, Good Time Theater - isn't what modern guests are willing to pay for. Cedar Fair has, certainly in recent years, been pretty damn good at finding effective ways to separate guests from their money. If there were a strong case that an indoor/dark ride/attraction were capable of that, there's no reason to think they wouldn't pull the trigger.

Instead, what the park seems to have concluded is that a better "bad weather" solution is a nice resort. Yes, Breakers could benefit from more "bad weather" activities, but the fact is that if you're looking for a way to escape the heat for a bit, Breakers is a fantastic choice.

At the end of the day, an amusement park is an almost-entirely outside experience, for better or worse. The park offers a lot of live entertainment in various buildings, including stuff for kids, and has a pretty nice resort including restaurants, an indoor pool, arcade, etc. Plus there are cabins and cottages.

Your average person visiting Cedar Point for the day... probably never even thought about recharging at Breakers for a drink at Surf Lounge.

Then it's not a matter of not having the right product, it's a matter of advertising what they already have.

As for a dark ride specifically, I think Kevin is on the money. And personally, I'd rather the park have no dark ride than a poorly-conceived and/or poorly-maintained dark ride.

OMG! Fascination. I forgot about that game. Thanks for the memory Ffej.

The reason why Breakers works to recharge now is because resort guests and park regulars (like those on this forum) know to use it that way. If CP started advertising that your average day tripper should use Breakers' amenities to recharge or miss the rain, free of charge, there'd be a whole new situation on our hands. Just think of the 1-stall restroom by Surf Lounge to start.

The point of this thread was wanting more escape / recharge attractions throughout the park to make a really hot day (or insert other weather) more enjoyable. I'm happy to hear that the park recognized this at Coastermania, and they're working on solutions (according to Shane Denmark). I've provided some examples of updated indoor attractions that would be appealing to me today. I certainly was not hoping for a return of indoor 90s attractions in their same form.

As I stated in my first post, the park has made some excellent decisions in the past several years, and I feel it's a much better place now than it was. But, this thread is personally one of the ways I feel they can still improve.

I'm surprised that the "Beercade" business model hasn't made its way into parks more. Obviously the parks are family friendly, but I don't see why they couldn't overhaul the arcade to put in a bar & A/C, make it more modern, and put in some cheap classic games to keep the kids entertained while the adults cool down with a beverage.

And CP is also lacking a really good Beer Garden, at least on the park side. I think Schooners is a fantastic venue in CP Shores, but the park's beer locales aren't the best, in my opinion. I think that's another reason why Breakers is such a great escape for now... you can have a great drink right by the beach. That's a lot better than sitting on a cramped bench in the saloon by SV, or in a crowded bar at Chickie's & Pete's.

I've always thought that Coasters Drive-In is under-utilized real estate for the park. It's at the central hub for the entire park, and I think it's mediocre at best, even with the air conditioning. I think a large outdoor seating area like the covered area by Gatekeeper would be great there, and people could get snacks or a beer at the stands nearby. And by now you probably think I'm an alcoholic. I accept that.

Outdoor seating areas are okay, but what's really needed is decent *shelter*. Not just shade and umbrellas, but spaces that may be open-air, but are under roof, so that when it rains you can finish your sandwich without getting soaked. Even better, how about some indoor gathering places where you can sit down for a while *without* somebody handing you a menu and begging for tips? I'm not saying that these places need to not have food and beverage service available; I'm saying maybe we need something that is less formal, without the table service. Coaster's is kind of the right direction, but the dining room is so small that it's still very obviously a restaurant, and not the kind of place where you feel welcome if you're not eating there. But to me, it's at least as important that there ought to be places where you can get out of the weather and still be entertained. There were once places on the peninsula where you could hang out in the air conditioning (or at least indoors) where the objective wasn't to directly raise revenue: Pirate Ride, Earthquake, Cedar Point Cinema/Cinema Showcase, and of course the coldest spot in the park, the Sealand Aquarium.

Someone was talking about converting the Coliseum to some thing like a beer hall...that's a kind of an interesting idea, particularly when you consider that was what the lower level was many years ago. I'm reminded, actually, of the original Hofbrauhaus, where the lower, street level is a beer hall with a bar, a bandstand, lots of tables, and where the serious drinking happens. Meanwhile upstairs is a show venue, again with the long tables, but also with a formal stage, less drinking, and more formal entertainment. Almost exactly the classic configuration of the Coliseum.

Still, I think one of the most important things to consider is that while it's important to generate revenue whenever possible, the most critical function of the kinds of spaces we're talking about here is to keep people *happy*. The objective is to maintain length of stay especially if the weather turns nasty. To give people a place to go other than cutting their day short and going home just because of a hot afternoon or a sudden downpour. In the longer term, that can ultimately be more profitable than merely selling them another sandwich or cold beverage.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Ffej said:

If CP started advertising that your average day tripper should use Breakers' amenities to recharge or miss the rain, free of charge, there'd be a whole new situation on our hands.

No, I don't think the park should advertise that. They should advertise in a way to get single day visitors to extend their stay by utilizing the resort. And really, how many once-a-year-for-a-single-day visitors would spend an hour or two of their time hanging out in a pavilion or whatever?

That's not to say the park wouldn't benefit from more shade, or a few more places to enjoy a meal in AC. But I also feel like the demand for this is more or less being met.

Although I agree, but before we demand more beer and bar type places to sit in some nice AC, we also need to realize that the park should either A) train their employees better who hold the job title of a bartender OR B) hire people with bartending experience. Surf Lounge was a mess last year a lot of the times with some of the employees I have encountered and the lack of urgency. Same goes for Schooners. It’s not hard to whip up a Long Island after making hundreds a day, or pour a daiquiri from a slushee machine. As someone who has bartended, you need to move your butt when you have a bar full of patrons that are waiting 15+ minutes for a drink.

Lastly, let’s hope that there is enough staffing to allow Muffleheads bar to be open and not make me walk all the way to Schooners for a drink and back. Swim up bars sell! Use it!

This might be a little off topic, but I would love to see a spa somewhere on site. After multiple 10+ hour days of walking the park, I would love a massage. Last year I even tried to find someone that would travel to Breakers, but no luck.

Whaddya think the vibrating barrels outside the General Store are for? :P

TwistedWicker77 said:

...the park should either A) train their employees better who hold the job title of a bartender OR B) hire people with bartending experience.

Yes, this. Last year, I ordered a Manhattan at Sand Bar. What I received was a glass of vermouth with a dash of bourbon.

I don't mind paying stupid drink prices while on vacation, it's part of the deal. And I don't expect bartenders to be juggling bottles while making world class cocktails at a seasonal joint. But I do expect at least a basic level of competence. I mean, how do you so badly mess up one of the most popular, easy-to-make drinks?

DJ, this is one of the things about CPs food and beverage services that is absolutely perplexing for a park with its corporate offices inside the park.
Theres a total lack of quality control and managerial oversight.
It’s sometimes seems like nobody in management ever eats or drinks anything from inside the park.

It’d seem to be impossible that management doesn’t know the level of incompetence experienced by many customers.

While there has been improvements on the food side, the beverage service has been going downhill and I think last year was the worst I’ve experienced.

Surf Lounge used to be an oasis of good service in the desert of incompetence, but sadly it has also succumbed to whatever paralysis affects the judgement of the F&B director.