Cedar Point Shores barely open

I love comments like that. For those of us who actually live right on the Lake; we have north winds today of 15-20mph; combined with a unseasonably cooler temp today of 59 degrees…seems like not the best temps for a water park today.

PKevin2004, also not only that but along with what is mentioned above, it could also potentially have something to do with the wildfires. On Spectrum News last night, they showed the smoke tracker, and said the smoke itself has the potential to hit the Lake Erie Shoreline. So along with the high winds, people with breathing issues that would keep them from going to the park.

How would the smoke only affect Cedar Point shores? Why not close both parks then?

Could the smoke add contamination to the water that would overwhelm the cleaning systems that most of the dry park rides don't have to worry about?

Presumably it's an excuse to close the harder-to-staff/less-profitable park. I can't imagine Cedar Fair would willingly close the ride park under pretty much any circumstance.

I live an hour from the park. The smoke is noticeable/annoying/irritating, but not nearly bad enough to close the park...

Jake10:

PKevin2004, also not only that but along with what is mentioned above, it could also potentially have something to do with the wildfires.

Water park will be more sensitive to temperature early in the year (would be late in the season as well but I believe the water park is closed after Labor Day) than the amusement park. Temps in May/early June can vary. For amusement park, can mean difference between wearing shorts and t-shirt versus jeans and sweatshirt. But you are still going. For water park it can make difference between going and not going. That can complicate staffing early in season for the water park.

I think you all are overanalyzing things. It's in the upper 50s/very low 60s today in Sandusky. Orlando waterparks close for this too. It's not worth opening for the very few guests that would go today. Even if staffing was not an issue, you close on a day like this to save on labor.

Agreed. Glad they are finally wising up. I remember several years ago on a terrible day they were still open. There were only a handful of fools in there. Never understood why they were open that day. Did it used to be a thing where they could boast that they never closed?

So serious question. Is Soak City even worth Cedar Points trouble anymore? I mean you have Castaway Bay, Kalahari and Great Wolf all in town. They have trouble staffing it more and more every year it seems. I wonder if there has ever been any consideration in CP going to the 2-for-1 pricing of other CF parks or even just killing soak city off and using it as a massive ride expansion zone.

^ You must not have seen some of the crowds that place gets on hot summer days. I have to believe it also drives a not insignificant amount of people to stay at Breakers for the convenience. There's always families walking to and from their rooms at Breakers to CP Shores.

I think if it weren't worth having around they wouldn't have made the sizable investment to it a few years back.

Yeah, you have to have a waterpark even if it's not the biggest or best with a park that size and with the number of multi day resort stays that happen in summer season.

That said, I wouldn't totally oppose to the Pay One Price for both parks model. You could significantly raise admission to essentially have everyone pay for a day at Shores even if not many utilized it.

When I worked at the Waterpark in Columbus we'd at least open on days like this but it's not unheard of to close early when the weather just wasn't cooperating (i.e. unseasonably chilly). Most of the guests that would come on days like this we're season pass holders so its not like anyone was really missing out on hard earned money and we 'd offer refunds or rainchecks if needed.

djDaemon:

I think if it weren't worth having around they wouldn't have made the sizable investment to it a few years back.

I admittedly haven’t been in like 10 years to CP Shores and forgot they had done that expansion.

The only thing I go there for is Bubbl….I mean “Muffleheads” swim up bar (horrible name for a swim up bar by the way), and surprisingly did not receive any significant upgrades during the CP Shores remodel with the exception of the removal of the hot tub and water fall with the “Soak City and Cedar Point” mosaic piece. One could also argue that removing those two things is considered an upgrade. At the end of the day, a lot of the pool bottoms need resurfaced in my opinion.

My wife and I went to Shores last week and can attest to the lack of attractions open. Wasn't a big deal to us as passholders and they did have a sign out in front stating what was open before walking in, so that was nice. It was very strange not to have one lazy river open, but understandable given how many lifeguards are needed to safely operate.

TwistedWicker77:

The only thing I go there for is Bubbl….I mean “Muffleheads” swim up bar (horrible name for a swim up bar by the way), and surprisingly did not receive any significant upgrades during the CP Shores remodel with the exception of the removal of the hot tub and water fall with the “Soak City and Cedar Point” mosaic piece.

I was slightly disappointed when Muffleheads didn't get any sort of makeover during the reno from Soak City to Shores. New speakers or some TV's would have been nice along with pain job of the bar structure. However I still enjoy it regardless.

Interesting local-ish review of the lifeguard issue here. Some pools not opening, others offering limited options, and if you don't feel like reading it the gist is that places seem to be down anywhere from 35 - 50% from where they want to be for what is considered normal.

I get that it's still early June, but this does not seem to bode well for CP Shores.

140 lifeguards seems like a lot, and when you say you’re that many short it makes the grand total even more. I thought maybe it has to include the guards at resort pools but if I recall correctly those went to “swim at your own risk” a few seasons ago. I suppose Castaway needs quite a few to man that little water park, too.
I remember Kings Island would hire seniors to do things that weren’t directly swim-safety related. They would do things like stand at the top of slides to load and give the go signal.
But ok. I know here in central Ohio city pools are having a hard time staffing guards and it’s a problem. When I was in school those were good summer jobs to have and to be trained and certified as a guard was something that would guarantee work. Besides, I was always envious of anyone who could hang out at the pool all day while I was busting my hump mowing lawns. (I know, higher responsibility…) Maybe now it’s the same as staffing issues anywhere. Young people don’t want work like that anymore, and I guess no more than operating rides or a hot dog stand.

There has been a proliferation of swim schools in recent years, and they all require at least a few certified lifeguards on staff. I wonder what impact that has had on a place like Sandusky. If I'm a lifeguard from Cleveland, maybe I no longer need to make the commute to Sandusky to earn some money.