Cedar Point 2024 Special Events

Were you ever able to purchase directly at the booths? I could obviously be misremembering, and the last time we attended was a few years back, but my recollection is that transactions were via the coupons (or whatever they were called) on the cards.

djDaemon:

Were you ever able to purchase directly at the booths?

No, and that was another issue. You had to go to a separate booth over by Mine Ride to purchase the tasting card. And even if you paid in advance online, you still had to wait in line to pick up the physical card. I remember in 2021 when folks were spending an hour or more in that line to pick up/purchase cards.

So yes, Jeff, they absolutely were doing it wrong.

Yeah it's unfortunate. For as many temporary booths they have around the park now that have no problems taking payments, it didn't make sense that FF booths couldn't. I'm guessing it's because they thought (or hoped) they'd get more sales by making people commit to a larger purchase. Another example of them jumping over a dollar to pick up a quarter.

What made me laugh the most though: when getting the lanyard they would ask if you were planning on drinking alcohol. If so, they would ID you there and give you a "21+" bracelet so you could avoid getting carded at every stand. Sounds good on paper, except at every stand they would still make me show them ID.

As said, doing it wrong.

It's like the episode of It's Always Sunny when they make Paddy's Dollars in an effort to create a self sustaining economy

You mean those Kinzel Bucks I bought from that tent on the side of the causeway in '95 weren't the deal I thought they'd be?

At least the line for Kinzel bucks moved efficiently.

It's pretty weird that for everything that we observe at literally any amusement park, we can cite examples of that thing being done in a better way elsewhere. It's not a big industry. How do they not all copy each other's best practices?

They refuse to explore the industry. Larger, more established parks believe they know what they are doing because they know their park better than anyone else. I went to work for a small park once and the entire leadership team was made up of people from Six Flags, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Hard Rock Park (RIP), Lego Land, and Schlitterbahn. It was a melting pot of ideas and nobody's idea was a bad one when it came to tossing them around. It was a refreshing environment to work in because nobody had the "We know better than anyone else" attitude. Back at Cedar Point, at least when I worked there, rarely did anyone other than Dick's team go to IAAPA each year or make trips to other parks for research. Where I work now it is encouraged from the lowest level to the highest level to always be researching ways to apply something new to our operation.

"We've always done it this way, and that's the way we're always gonna do it!" syndrome.

Following a "Mission Statement" is nice and all, but some flexibility is warranted in life. I'll publish more of my life and business philosophy proverbs sometime. Don't sit tight.

That syndrome is what has me ripping my hair out at my job. And I can definitely see it hurting a product like frontier festival.

You can't add two new product lines to sell and support with collectively over 100 new features. And then do everything like you did with the systems from 30 years ago.

remember my first time participating was the last year it was the Brew and BBQ festival. The food was amazing and all the drinks I tried were fantastic (including a Breaking Bad inspired mead called 'Tuco Style Freakout'). The value was incredible- so much so that I was full well before got through my sheet of tickets so I passed them on to someone else so they wouldn't go to waste.

I definitely the think less alcohol and less value diminished the festival over time. Still sad to see it go.

99er:

I went to work for a small park once and the entire leadership team was made up of people from Six Flags, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Hard Rock Park (RIP), Lego Land, and Schlitterbahn.

How's that park doing these days? ;)

You KNOW I couldn't resist that.

I mean...it's still open lol. But within a year of me leaving, all of those people went onto other parks and are thriving. One of which is now your boss:)

I look at the frustrations we have about events in the recent past at Cedar Point and am very curious to see what the offerings and price point are going to be for the April 8 eclipse event. I feel like it is a fantastic opportunity to open up a small portion of the park for eclipse viewing. Charge admission (even for us Platinum Pass holders) and have some food offerings that are not meal plan redemptions and I feel it's an easy and relatively low overhead way to make money while also allowing your biggest fans to get a kick out of not only getting a chance to be inside the park on an offseason day that isn't the usual Winter Chill Out event, but also to see the eclipse from inside the park. And it sounds like if the weather is nice they may even have a flat ride or two already commissioned and open for attendees.

That said - I already have this vision of an overpriced (a relative term I know) event that those who would want to go either do not have the means or do not see the value - and those that could easily afford it have no interest. Someone said it best in an earlier post, CP special events lately always seem to jump over a dollar to make a quarter.

Eclipse will bring with it challenges for Cedar Point. Weather will likely be less than ideal. Historically, clouds are likely to block seeing it. Water temps likely in the 40s. Price point of interest for many people will not be high given those risks and fact that many of those who would be interested in making the trip live in the path of totality and can see it (or not if the weather doesn't cooperate) at home for free.

I flew to Nashville with a friend for the eclipse in 2017. We thought about going to one of the various events that were held in the area. Zoo had one as did the Grand Old Opry. But in the end, we decided to stay at the airport. Parked ourselves in a restaurant and worked on laptops we brought with us. Had breakfast and lunch there, went outside to roof of parking garage to watch the eclipse and went back inside to the terminal for our flight back home. Extremely cool. Very much looking forward to April 8th. Isn't really a price point that would get me to Cedar Point for it though. Other than locals, I expect its a small number of park enthusiasts who would have an interest in being there.

As both a local and a park enthusiast, I'm eagerly awaiting the eclipse event details. I attended both Winter chillout, and Coastermania last season, and although they were worth it at the time. There was a feeling of deja vu to both. Unless they announce some impressive changes this year, I'll probably skip them.

The eclipse has the advantage of being a new and one-time event. Even with the potential downsides GoBucks listed, I'm still looking forward to attending. The specifics on the available rides, ticket price, and food options will have a big effect on my enthusiasm.

GoBucks89:

Historically, clouds are likely to block seeing it.

That’s one of the great things about a total eclipse. Cloud cover isn’t ideal, but either way, it’s going to get really dark for 3 minutes.

Being in the totality is much more than it getting dark for 3 minutes. Will still be an experience but not the same.

https://whenisthenexteclips...y-eclipse/