Junior Pass Policy

I am posting this experience today because I felt that it would be nice to give the other parents out there who currently have a junior pass for the kids a heads up to a policy that I didn't know existed until today:

My son Ethan is six years old and has been a junior pass holder for the past three years. I had renewed his pass last winter for the 2017 season under a junior pass, (I did this automatically without any thought about the long term), and this entire summer between Cedar Point and Kings Island he has been admitted through the gate without any issues. Earlier this year he barely made the 48" mark, and each time he has ever been measured he has been right at the 48" line.

So today we went to Cedar Point and when his pass was scanned the woman leaned over to the worker on her right and whispered something and pointed at the screen. She then asked my son to stand next to one of the metal poles that is attached to the handrail near her stand. She looked at him and then proceeded to tell me that he was not allowed in and that I had to upgrade his pass because he was over 48" tall. (By over I mean maybe a half inch at most).

I politely explained to her that we had been using this pass all season without issue (including yesterday), but she said he needed a new pass. The gentleman she had whispered to also chimed in telling me that "oh well, he grew up, what can you do?"

Obviously confused I went to Guest Services and explained the situation to the woman working there. She measured him officially and again repeated that since he is now over 48" his pass was not valid, but that she would speak to a supervisor to see what could be done. Long story short, said supervisor came out, scanned my sons pass, then his badge, and said we were good to go. What that means I still don't know but I was completely thrown off by this. We are halfway through the season, I could not have predicted what his height would be in darn near August when I renewed his pass last November. The cost to upgrade is $40, which I didn't have because I don't bring my wallet with us, just our passes.

Apparently Cedar Point reserves the right to refuse admission based upon height if the person in question is using a junior pass.

I am not oblivious to the fact that next year he would have needed an adult pass, I was fully prepared to do that but I feel in some ways that this is a money grab as well. If it was May, I could understand, but this late in the season? And for half an inch, barely?

Just a heads up to the rest of you all who have kids at this height/age.

Honestly in my opinion the pass should work for the whole season...but it sounds like the park took care of it and it worked out fine for you, yeah?

As with anything else I posted this as a heads up to those parents who are on here. (There's a lot) I'm not nor was I ever mad, really just taken aback that they expected a mid season upgrade. But yes I believe they took care of it.

Be$t day of $ummer?

I guess the real question now is what happens next time you go to the park? Will you still be "good to go" or do you have to cough up the $40?

That actually happened to me. I have two boys and renewed platinum passes with the meal plan last fall. To be honest I never paid attention to the fact that it was hieght and figured it was age. We were stopped and had to upgrade. It was $140.00.
Although it was an unplanned expense I undersatnd thats the price and they are both over 48, one barely. It clearly states junior passes are for guests under 48 inches. So even if it's barely that's the cutoff.
On the flip side he can now enjoy some big boy rides!!

mgou58 said:

...he was not allowed in and that I had to upgrade his pass because he was over 48" tall. (By over I mean maybe a half inch at most).

I politely explained to her that we had been using this pass all season without issue (including yesterday)...

Long story short, said supervisor came out, scanned my sons pass, then his badge, and said we were good to go.

Apparently Cedar Point reserves the right to refuse admission based upon height if the person in question is using a junior pass.

The devil is in the details.

I follow a website, Elliott.org, that advocates for consumers, mostly on travel issues. There are stories almost each day about folks who assumed instead of reading what they were buying. (If I had a dollar for every person on the site that wants a refund for a non-refundable ticket...)

Always, always, read the details about what you're buying. If you're in line at car rental counter that's taking forever, I'm probably the jerk at the counter who's reading each line of the contract.

How fortunate that a GS supervisor helped you out. It might be prudent to stop at Guest Services on each visit for just that purpose. It wouldn't hurt to send a polite, brief email to the park asking about this issue.

You don't take your wallet into the park? Then how do you afford the Subway subs? :-p

Back when my kids were shorter I remember having to have them measured at the pass center every year before they could get the junior pass. As long as they were <48" at the time of the measurement they could get the junior pass and it was good all season, even if they did go over the 48" during the season, which they did.
Sounds like they no longer require that annual measurement. Maybe that is the root of the problem.

Interesting thought I had, and not to stir the pot or an attempt at trolling, but curious. If your son is 'just over' 48 inches, and you pay the difference for a regular pass, and later in the day is denied a ride because the ride op measured 'just under' 48 inches, would they give a refund?

I would sure seek one out for my kids in that case. I get the extra cost for the over 48" pass since they can ride a lot more stuff, but it only makes sense if they can actually ride a lot more stuff.

I would think to avoid that issue they would only charge for the upgrade when the guest is decidedly over the 48" mark.

Then you should get them an official wristband only to find out that's no good either.

In all seriousness, if Cedar Point is going to this then why is the upcharge not prorated?

Big policy change here if this is the case. Through all 5 of my kids growing up we had 3 who were just under the 48" mark when we renewed our passes. Once an employee was doing the happy dance with us because of the money we saved, LOL. Never had an issue with having to upgrade when they grew over the 48" mark.

I read they were doing this at KI last year. IDK, guess they need to do this so *everyone* doesn't claim their kid just grew a ton since they bought the pass.

They could just go with your kids' height the first time the pass is used for a given season. If under 48" the first time you use the pass, your kid is good with a junior pass that entire season. If you buy it in the offseason and your kid is 48+" first time you go to use it, you pay the upgrade.

GoBuck is right.
I couldn't find anything on the CP webpage, I'm not sure if it gives a disclaimer when you purchase a junior pass or not.

Seems like a crappy thing to do if in fact it is actual policy and not some low level mangers idea.

Having had platinum passes for our family from age zero through last year (age 12) I know a fair amount about the policy in question. It used to be that Junior and Senior passes could not be renewed online, for this reason, Which is kinds of a PITA, because now instead of being "good to go" we had to go to pass processing each year when my kids were renewing Jr passes.

A vocal critic of some obscure park policies, I will say that they did warn me each fall at Season Ticket sales that if my children eclipsed the 48" height limit during the operating season, they would not be admitted and would be required to upgrade to a full pass. I rolled the dice both times, because in those days the junior passes were discounted more than the regular passes and I didn't want to pay more on the chance that a) they didn't hit 48" or b) they didn't get caught like you did.

So, like anything CP, their communication leaves a lot to be desired, but I can't say the park was wrong here, and it was cool of the supervisor to let it slide. I'd fully suspect you won't have any issues the remainder of the season, especially if you're walking through the gates at a busy time (ie park opening).