What is with ALL of the CP hotels closing on Sunday night when the park is still open?

In the Pre-Ouimet days I could see this happening, but now? I live in Chicago and I'm really not in the mood to drive 5 hours home after leaving the park a week from today.

At least keep the Breakers or Castaway Bay open.

I probably will just book at the Kalahari although it's cheaper to stay at the Trump in Chicago for one night then there.

SMH

The park is closed the next day, Monday the 9th.

If you're so worried about the cost of Kalahari, there are plenty of other decent, cheap hotels in Sandusky.

Decent and cheap in Sandusky don't really go together.

Maverick00 said:

The park is closed the next day, Monday the 9th.

I realize that. So Castaway Bay is closed all winter now?

They work the same schedule all through HalloWeekends; resorts are open Friday & Saturday nights then close after Sunday check-out. The only exception is Columbus Day weekend. The resorts are also open Sunday night even though the park is closed Monday.

This is the first time in some time that the park is opening a week early for one, so I believe they are expecting more of a local crowd for one.

Castaway Bay is not going to be open on a monday in the first week of May when every school in the state of Ohio is still in session plus they have been on weekend only operations since the 2nd week of April and will not start weekly operations until the 3rd week of May.

Tony Clark has also said numerous times that the entire park will be closed from Mon-Thursday as they prepare for opening weekend and likely fix any bugs that occurs this weekend. this means resorts as well, opening weekend is HUGE especially with Valravn opening, they will need every second of the 4 days they are closed to prepare.

Remember this is "special" pre-opening weekend event. With it still being May and most people having work or school on Monday, it would be foolish from a business stand point to have the hotels open on Monday when they will be no more than 10-20% capacity on Sunday night. Like others have suggested, go to a non cedar point hotel sunday night or go to Kalahari if you dont mind spending the money, it is also a lot of fun.

I don't see how this is a special pre-opening weekend. The last two years the park opened for daily operations the day before Mother's Day. Mother's day is this Sunday. If anything is special about this year's opening it's that the park is closed the week after it opens. I don't think that is the usual beginning for a season. I don't think an extra weekend has been added so much as they have taken out one week of operation and disguised it as an extra weekend. I'm sure it makes sense on paper especially with the cool spring we've had but still I see through it.

The hotels always close Sunday when the park is only open on the weekend, what is so unusual that an entire topic is needed about nothing?

Paisley nailed it. It's all gravy though, a good week to cut some costs/losses. I remember a coworker who had overheard my conversation, must have been in 2002, and said; "there's a May 34 this year?" Lol?? I said; "no, we're going to CP on May 3rd and 4th."

Correction: May "34th" was the year TTD debuted, 2003.

Pete said:

The hotels always close Sunday when the park is only open on the weekend, what is so unusual that an entire topic is needed about nothing?

It maybe nothing for you who lives 20 min away, but for someone in Chicago, it is a big deal. If you have not noticed CP is no longer "The local Ohio park" they are going for a regional/country wide audience/appeal. I actually see billboards in downtown Chicago for CP.

So not keeping at least one property open until the next morning no longer makes sense from a business perspective.

I don't think he was saying it was nothing because he lives close; he was saying it was nothing because the hotels always close on Sunday when the park is open for the weekend. And, frankly, I expect Cedar Fair has a better sense of what makes sense from a business perspective than an occasional visitor that lives six hours away. (And I live in Ravenswood on the North Side, for the record.)

I highly doubt Cedar Point is significantly more "non-local" then they ever have been in the month of May.

Especially this early in May.

And if one is coming from out of town, I would assume some degree of planning is involved in making the leap to CP, which would also lead one to the conclusion long before now that said properties would not be available; no more than they would be during Halloweekends.

So as Pete said, why is it a big deal? It's not a secret or a "haha gotcha!" pulled by the park.

I would actually doubt Cedar Point is much more non-local then they have been throughout the season. It's always (OK, since at least the late 1990's - early 2000's) drawn people in from around the world and the country, but what about Cedar Point today is different than say 10 years ago?

It's still the big local Ohio and surrounding area park that draws a certain number of people from around the globe throughout the season, but I'm not sure we have any reason to assume that certain number is somehow different.

But that's beside the point. We're still talking about May, and the beginning of May at that. I'm going to go out on a tiny limb and guess that well over 90% of the visitors will be from Ohio and the surrounding area.

And the hotels not being open should come as no surprise to anyone who started planning earlier than this week. But what is the big deal exactly? Is there a lack of hotels off property? Sounds like a perfect excuse to drop into Kalahari to me. And to Kalahari, I'm sure.

Needless quotation removed. Use reply, not quote.

The big deal is I have to pack up my junk for one night and unpack at ( you guessed ) the Kalahari.

I do understand that...and it would be a nuisance. The bigger picture, though, is that there are simply not enough "yous" to make it economically feasible, or else the properties would be open.

Aren't you the guy that made the awesome Blue Streak room for your kid?

Just pack a separate suitcase or bag for that one night, so you don't have to drag all your luggage into Kalahari. Then you can leave all your other stuff in your vehicle.

Kevinj said:

...there are simply not enough "yous" to make it economically feasible, or else the properties would be open.

This. The park has the data. If there was enough money being left on the table, they'd be open. It sucks for those who would otherwise stay an extra night, but it is what it is.

If staying Sunday night is critical, then you have to weight the inconvenience of staying off property the entire weekend versus packing up to move across town for the last night.

Kevinj said:

I do understand that...and it would be a nuisance. The bigger picture, though, is that there are simply not enough "yous" to make it economically feasible, or else the properties would be open.

Aren't you the guy that made the awesome Blue Streak room for your kid?

I suppose :)

Yes, that's me. I am trying to spend free time ( I have none as of late) to redo the train.

This has been a complaint of mine in current years. I don't recall when they they stopped. But they used to keep one or two wings open on those Sunday nights. Now if we go on a closing weekend, we ask ourselves, "do we stay on park two nights, pack up everything and go to another hotel, or just stay at another hotel entire weekend to save hassle", which we had done past few years.

I think many people feel the same way. You go for entire weekend and want to stay at one place and want that extra night to recover before heading home.

I worked there after park closes for season and understand there is a LOT to do to close down the hotel. Just wish they could find a compromise by leaving a wing open for those guests that want that extra night.

We've been doing the same, Magnum. The last few years we've closed down Halloweekends staying somewhere else and often twice in October. Usually we stay at Kalahari because it is a pain to move hotels on a Sunday after you've been there since Friday afternoon. At $1,100 for 3 nights in a lakeview suite not including taxes, that's $1,100 they could have gotten out of us on just one weekend and $3,300 for the years we've done two weekends in October. For that price and at a place that doesn't offer the amenities of a similarly priced hotel, I'd rather unpack/pack once so we take our money elsewhere and Kalahari offers quite a few more amenities that Hotel Breakers just can't touch. The only 2 things I am missing by staying somewhere else is proximity and the view. Which, let's be honest, the 10 minute drive to Cedar Point proper isn't a thorn in my side.

Edit: I can't math,