Why so late? (Opening date)
Here's the difference - some parks open earlier than CP ON THE WEEKENDS but most of those don't start daily operation until WEEKS after CP does. For example, PKI, a huge park, doesn't start daily operation until the Memorial Day weekend. Most parks even in the South do the same - i.e. Six Flags Over Georgia, Paramount's Kings Dominion, etc. All in all, I bet CP is open more days than almost any seasonal park (exceptions that come to mind - Kennywood and Knoebels).
-------------
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
Another reason is weather. April on Lake Erie can be a very unpredictable month. You can have 70 degree temperatures one day, and 3 inches of snow the next! The weather doesn't really stabilize until May.
-------------
Timothy A. Bretz
"Remember to pillage before you burn"
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tabretz
-------------
Timothy A. Bretz
"Remember to pillage before you burn"
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tabretz
Let's not forget the biggest reason, staff. To run an amusement park you need bodies to man the food stands, rides, shops, etc. Since most of CP's seasonal staff are college students on summer break and since most colleges don't go on summer break until the end of April or early May CP doesn't open. Other parks that are open now, such as PKI, hire local high school students for seasonal staff and can therefore operate weekends in spring.
-------------
Scott W. Short
sshort@mediaone.net
http://welcome.to/midwestcoastercentral
-------------
Scott W. Short
sshort@mediaone.net
http://welcome.to/midwestcoastercentral
It's totally about Ohio weather and waiting for the kids to get out of school (college). Another difference with Cedar Point is the considerably lower number of high school kids that work there, and none of them work rides (I think). That's a real change from the Six Flags and Paramount parks.
-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
"And he says 'I'm goin' crazy up there at the lake...'"
-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
"And he says 'I'm goin' crazy up there at the lake...'"
Let me put it to you this way, as I work for a private University in Columbus, and we are on a semester calendar:
Our semester ends on May 2.
Exams begin on May 4.
Exams end on May 9.
Cedar Point opens on May 13.
Our Commencement is on May 14.
Now, Capital University does not provide a large percentage of the workforce for Cedar Point. But Capital is also not the only Institute of Higher Education that uses the semester schedule; there are a quite a few schools that have a similar schedule to ours, and that particular schedule is about as early as any of the schools finish up. Just be glad Cedar Point doesn't wait for quarter-based schools like Ohio State to finish for the summer!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Our semester ends on May 2.
Exams begin on May 4.
Exams end on May 9.
Cedar Point opens on May 13.
Our Commencement is on May 14.
Now, Capital University does not provide a large percentage of the workforce for Cedar Point. But Capital is also not the only Institute of Higher Education that uses the semester schedule; there are a quite a few schools that have a similar schedule to ours, and that particular schedule is about as early as any of the schools finish up. Just be glad Cedar Point doesn't wait for quarter-based schools like Ohio State to finish for the summer!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
You must be logged in to post