2016 Season Passes on sale

Governments are beholden to their constituents, who don't always want to pay the amount of taxes necessary to support the level of services they want -- which is why taxing transient populations (hotel guests, football stadium ticket buyers, amusement park customers) is done pretty much everywhere.

I renewed my platinum pass and attempted to renew the all season meal plan two weeks ago. I was told that there was an issue with the meal plan and that I would have to renew it next year, but they would honor the promotional price. I also had to get a new pass and new picture for 2016 and use my 2015 pass until the end of the season. I renewed my son's PP without the meal plan this past Friday and he did not have to get a new card. I asked why and was told it was because he was not renewing a meal plan.

I wonder if they are getting a new POS system next year due to the EMV liability shift. Canada's Wonderland uses a different model POS and they use stand-alone payment terminals. But I don't see how new card/photos would be required for this.

Season passes use barcodes. They already have barcode scanners everywhere necessary.
Credit cards use magstripe now and soon EMV. They just need to swap out the payment terminal, not the whole system. If the card swipe is built into the existing POS, they need only add standalone credit card machines..

^ I understand that. I have a PP w/ASD and work in retail tech industry.

Then why would you think they need to replace the entire system..?

It could depend on the level of integration in their payment system. There are basically three options: standalone, semi-integrated, and fully-integrated. Standalone is the simplest to change as you generally just swap out hardware. Fully integrated is very complex and involves a lot of different pieces. I really don't know which scheme CP uses, though I'd guess either semi or fully-integrated. They may not need to replace the hardware, but likely the software that runs on their POS, and perhaps that isn't compatible with the picture format of the previous passes.

codeGR said:
I have a PP w/ASD

You should get that checked out.

^ That threw my mind in the gutter as well. I thought Autism Spectrum Disorders affected mental abilities, and not that, and since I'm affected by an ASD I would know.

Well, I purchased my season pass a few weeks ago online. I'll be at the park on Sunday so I thought I'd print out my confirmation to get my new pass (Got my current one in May 2015). Turns out I don't need to get a new card. So not sure why some do and some don't. Could be that my photo is recent enough.

I lost my pass on dragster in July and I went to ask for a new one and expected to pay the $20 fee or whatever it is. They gave it to me for free but made me get a new picture. My picture is only a year old however I am in high school so our bodies change. I always buy my pass the week of opening day. This year I am going to renew early for that fast lane and that I save almost $30.

Renewed my Platinum with dining for 2016 on Sept 11 at CP and had no issues. The free Fast Lane voucher printed off on receipt paper, and I did not need a new card or picture (my existing picture is from 2009 or earlier). I had renewed Platinum + dining at Kings Island for 2015 without issue too, so fortunately, I'm not having any of these park-specific issues with renewing / using passes.

So, you might think these multi-park issues with renewing and using passes (and dining plans) are things of the past, but that's not the case. My friend tried to renew Platinum + dining at Carowinds this year, and it would not work because it was a Cedar Point Platinum. They issued him a new pass, and then he had issues with it working at Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, and Worlds of Fun. He has had to get new passes issued along the way, which has been frustrating. Going through that can really hurt the convenience and confidence of using passes, and it might affect whether or not someone purchases them in the future.

Also, when I renewed my 2016 Platinum + dining at CP yesterday, I thought the price break-down was confusing for guests.

The receipt reads:

2016 Platinum with Upg: $285.68

Sandusky Admission Tax: $7.20

Total $292.88

I'm assuming that the item cost included sales tax on the dining plan, and that's why it was $285.68 rather than $279. But, if they had shown a line with $6.68 OH sales tax, it would have made more sense.

Maybe they are only separating out the tax from Sandusky.

Planning to purchase our platinum renewals today, but it is asking me to upload a picture for it or do it at the pass center. Can I get in through the park next May by the resort entrance and then go get my pic taken by the front gate? I already have a pass with a pic associated with it.

Maybe..? But, maybe not. Why not just upload a pic, seems like the easiest way by far to take care of it..

When I renewed, it had me upload a pic of both myself and my wife. It literally took me all of 30 seconds to do. Very easy.

I was prompted to upload pics when I renewed last week but I chose to take them at the park becasue I had just broken my camera. At the pass center they said we didn't need to take new pictures unless we wanted too. They scanned our passes so we could check that all our pics still looked like us and we left them as is.

Thanks! It's easier said than done! But got the pics uploaded.
Now to wait for a Hotel Breakers deal for May, last year we had our rooms booked already! Please post if you see anything!