What has happened to Halloweekends?

Rugrats2001:

If the gold pass stopped including Halloweekends, that would be it for me. For the last several years, I’m there more in the last 5 weeks than the entire rest of the season.

It would also make the Halloweekends experience more enjoyable for those guests that pay for Platinum and/or single day tickets during Halloweekends season because the less expensive Gold pass guests were not in the park.

I feel like that’s an arbitrary statement. I don’t think you have the actual data to make that a meaningful analysis. Correct me if I’m wrong… with actual data.

on edit: that was in response to the DJ guy. I was there this weekend. It was mayhem. Never seen anything quite like it.

If you're referring to me and my comment about why it would be preferable to sell fewer things at higher margin to achieve the same revenue, which part do you need explained further?

If I own a business, I wanna see crowds. Crowds=good=money. The business can’t succeed as well if it’s a ghost town every day. Mega coasters come from crowd money.

That being said, I do wonder the actual level of complaints they get from crowded halloweekends days. I’d bet it isn’t that much from the GP as the ratio on here.

The point I was making was that it would be better sell one item at a $1 million profit than 1 million items at $1 profit each. The park could theoretically make as much or more money with smaller crowds, if they priced the gate higher. And considering the crowds this HW, tickets/passes are still way too cheap.

I’m going to sound like an echo in the room here, but yesterday on a solo trip I tried Halloweekends on a Thursday. I got there plenty early, about a half hour before the gates opened for early entry. It was chilly and with stiff breezes off of the lake at times it was downright cold.
I took advantage of the low crowd by taking several (4? 5?) rides on Millennium Force. It was a station wait and I’d forgotten about their slow-day custom of opening up the little gate so there was direct access from the unload station back to the loading area. I took advantage of that and tried a trip in the second seat. It had been years since I sat in the front of the train. (I found still prefer the back but having the choice didn’t seem like a waste of time.)

After that I got a drink and walked the trail checking out various things on the way. The gal was setting up Trail Tavern to open and she said Thursdays have been great, although were getting increasingly busy. She added she had never seen a crowd like last Saturday- beautiful weather was the last ingredient for a perfect storm. We agreed that trying to attend any Saturday with the expectation of an easy time was foolish. The trail is a scare zone and she said on that night the area was so jammed with people that the Screamsters had to retreat and were called off the job with several getting assaulted by guests. She also said they threw out a record number of unruly customers from the bar and it got uncomfortable there for a minute as well.
Once I reached Frontiertown I did a little tour. The Halloween atmosphere back there is great and the decorations are spooky, funny and clever. I was already thinking about someplace to eat and wanted to try Farmhouse. There was already a pretty good line and the place hadn’t even opened yet. I cut my losses there and went back to riding. I got to Steel Vengeance and my hopes for a short line were realized. The only real wait was for the lockers- after that it was walk right up to the train. It’s amazing how people can be, though. So many were turned away at the detectors for having things with them and sent back to lockers. I felt fairly sure that the policy had been made clear an abundant amount of times and there should be no error in that regard. But there we were, held up in a bottleneck of people by those whose listening and reading skills were clearly lacking. Oh well. It’s moments like that that make me glad I’m not a ride op somewhere, bless ‘em.
I usually find Steel Vengeance to be challenging and surprised myself with multiple rides in a row, probably 6 or 7. It was nice to be able to leave my locker alone and scoot right on past each time. A downside was not having my phone to check the time to see how much of the evening was getting away from me. Emerging from there I saw Golden Palace/Lusty Lil’s? filling up with people for the first show of the evening. I joined the group- the place was like a funeral parlor and was nicely done. The show, Wake the Dead, was good and the singers were great. It had been a while since I’d sat in on a live show like that.
Then I remembered I needed to try another talked-about show I’d never seen. I hurried over to the Glass Blowing arena and caught a front row bench for Tell Tale Heart. I was tickled “to death” by that young man’s outstanding performance. He’s rather Poe-esque anyway, and treated the material just so it included the necessary tension, fear, and pathos. His voice and movements were perfect. A couple of complaints though- his costume could’ve been a little more of the period. Instead he looked like casual Friday at the office. Also, and this is the grievous part, he was made to exit the stage without a call or a bow. The audience was appreciative and he deserved at least that. I guess there’s an illusion they’re trying to preserve but, really though? He handled a s-ton of material perfectly and he deserved a moment afterwards.

I hung out for a while hoping for a chance to meet him, ask him where else he acts, and thank him. A nice family was there finishing up the supper they’d brought in and said they were fans. In the summer he was known to them as one of their favorite performers in Forbidden Frontier, which I’ve never done. Anyway, that guy whoever he is, is going to go places. I never did meet him.
Afterwards I stepped out onto the trail and the haunts were out and there was a sea of people heading back to FT. I walked past Farmhouse which was open with an even longer line. So, no. The Scare-a-oke act on the little Farmhouse outdoor stage was great, they were all good singers and really cute. A couple of guys in the cast were serving up a little Gaga and had the audience laughing.
The rest of the evening was spent walking the rest of the park, hitting a few flats and thrill rides and dodging the ever-increasing crowd. On thing I noticed was the front of the park had a lot fewer activities, many of the former locations for haunts are no longer used. It really seems Frontiertown is the place to be nowadays and the front is reserved for tamer family things.
And because of that I found Hugo’s to be a lot less crowded than the other restaurants so in I went. It’s definitely not the place to go if one is carb-conscious. It was pizza or pasta with a side of bread. Ravioli or a calzone-type thing. The salads didn’t come recommended by the guy behind the counter and I took him at his word. So Hugo’s did the job, but could’ve been better IMO.
I left the park for my 2.5 hr drive home a little after 10. On my way out I noticed the parking lot was about 3/4 full, so not the worst. I think the moral of the story is to visit early in the Halloween season, but we all knew that anyway.
I didn’t mean for this to be so long-winded, maybe I should move this to Trip Reports, lol.

RCMAC:

The trail is a scare zone and she said on that night the area was so jammed with people that the Screamsters had to retreat and were called off the job with several getting assaulted by guests. She also said they threw out a record number of unruly customers from the bar and it got uncomfortable there for a minute as well.

I know I am LATE to this conversation. But this is crazy to me. I remember when I was in middle school we would go to HW and it was always DEAD. (Pun 100 percent intended.) I for a while have felt like some of the scare zones that are on the main midways are a waste because they get way to overcrowded. I hope that CP keeps raising the Ticket prices on Saturdays to thin those crowds.

And again I know I'm late, but DJ is 100 percent correct about raising ticket prices. Typically you want crowds as a business owner, but there is a sweet spot for crowds. You want enough people to make you profitable, but then you hit a critical mass where you start to lose both profits and guest satisfaction. If there are fewer people, that means that the lines to buy food are shorter, making it more likely for someone to buy more food. ETC. Raising the ticket prices on these busy Saturdays makes sense.