Cedar Fair Parks will start charging for Haunted Houses

In yet another example of CF becoming more like SF the chain will no longer make haunted houses free with admission. Prices will be 10-25 dollars for non priority line passes and $35-50 for the priority ones. Season Passholders can purchase an all season priority pass for $70.

I know the first response will be nickel and diming but as someone who started buying Fright Lanes a long time ago, this will be the least amount of money I spend on a priority line for haunt in years, and it’s unlimited trips per night. The downside is of course there will likely be longer lines in that priority line because the passes are cheaper.

I'm looking forward to the upcharge for front of the line access to the clean urinal (which I literally experienced in Venice many years ago).

This is just another example of their dishonest, bait and switch against their customers. They advertise operating hours than they cut them or even close the entire parks with no notice. They cut entire events out of the schedule. They have taken away advertised. Prestige benefits in the past period. The 2025 season passes were sold with the assumption Haunt would be included same as always.

we know they use a sleazy disclaimer to be able to do this but legal and ethical are two different things

for a company that has attendance problems because of the way they treat their customers this isn’t going to help any. But this was fully to be expected with the cheap season passes. What’s going to be next? Taking away the parking from the season passes. They tend to be vague about this when they sell the season passes.

Don't worry, the Gold pass will include haunted house access for all of the parks within a week or two.

Super you still get Halloween, the shows and scarezones (as well as the normal rides) are all included. It’s just the haunted houses aren’t anymore.

I don't mind this to be honest. Now that they are not included with admission, there should be fewer people going through them. I almost never visit one of the houses because the lines are always stupid long, so either (a) I still won't be doing them or (b) now I can finally pay a sensible amount for a not-intolerable wait.

Signed,
Your friendly neighborhood Counter-Coasterbuzz-Opinion-Guy.

I wonder if this position comes with body armor?

https://jobs.sixflags.com/j...3766382528

I'm with Brian on this. The last time I was at Kings Dominion for their Haunt, the lines were insufferably long. I think we did two houses the whole evening, and they were most definitely not worth the wait.

Even though one can still go to Haunt, the point is that this is an excellent example of bait and switch.

They sold 2025-season passes and then announce this a year after the sale of those passes started . If any benefits are going to be changed with season passes, they should be announced at the time of sale. The customer shouldn’t have to read the fine print or make assumptions. It should be an announced loud and clear if there is going to be a change in the benefits at the time of sale.

The ethical way to implement this would have been to implemented in 2026 and announced it before those season passes went on sale

this is definitely not going to do anything to help the company, long-term. Short term cash grab while upsetting customers never works.

but it does concern me that they may try to do this with parking or other included benefits in the future after they sell the passes

Considering the abysmal quality of the Cedar Point haunted houses in the 25 years I've been a passholder, I would never pay for this. Since Covid the overall HW experience at CP has declined greatly. Fewer houses, fewer scare zones, and way fewer scare actors in any of those things. They'd have to up their game to Knotts Scary Farm levels at the very least.

Knotts charges a heck of a lot more than $10 for entry. The only park that competes with Knotts is USF. Readjust your expectations. Maybe it’s because I always go in Sept but I haven’t noticed a staffing issue at CP. I do hope this will result in some house revamps, it’s high time Slaughterhouse and the Vampire house gets redone.

Tommytheduck:

Considering the abysmal quality of the Cedar Point haunted houses in the 25 years I've been a passholder, I would never pay for this

This is probably the same thing the GP says about the parks and hence why the season passes are given away.

Per the press release:

New for this year, haunted mazes will only be accessible to guests with the purchase of a Haunted Attractions Pass. The introduction of this event pass reflects a new chapter of scares at HalloWeekends, driven by haunted maze enhancements and the introduction of new scares designed to improve the guest experience during this event. Those seeking the heart-pounding terror of the park’s haunted mazes can enhance their visit with the purchase of a Haunted Attractions Pass, while those seeking night rides, scare zones and live entertainment only require park admission. The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is not included with the Haunted Attractions Pass and is an extra-charge experience.

Reality, of course, has yet to be seen, but this seems to imply a little effort going into improving the haunts this year.

Also, this new Conjuring thing is a 20 minute interactive experience (almost sounds like a haunted escape-room type ordeal); on the surface it sounds like something I would be interested in trying for sure.

They are still selling single day Halloweekends tickets for $60 with a bundle that includes the haunted house add on. And with the stupid cheap all park passes, you can now get the Gold Pass + All Park + Unlimited Haunted Houses at CP (that includes queue skipping) for less than the All Park Pass was last year. Heck, the all-season Unlimited Haunted Houses is less than a single night of Fright Lane used to be, and Fright Lane was only one trip per house.

It's a bit like the Frontier/Spirit airlines model of "a ticket gets you in but a lot of the experiences are add ons." But $60 for a day of roller coasters and haunted houses or $169 for a year of roller coasters and haunted houses is still stupid cheap.

Also, the number of social media comments today suggesting "lawyering up" and filing class action lawsuits over haunted house upcharges is wild.

super7*:

Even though one can still go to Haunt, the point is that this is an excellent example of bait and switch.

To me this only holds water if there is something explicitly stated as a feature or benefit to the season pass that is later eliminated as a feature or benefit. I don't see anywhere where it stated existing or future paid attractions were to be included as a feature or benefit of the season pass.

From my perspective the season pass has, at its core, provided one thing and one thing only - admittance to the park or parks in question. And then anything else that is explicitly stated as an additional benefit, like parking, discounts, etc.

What is not a "bait and switch" is when someone assumes that what they got in a previous purchase agreement is what they are entitled to in a future transaction. You can call this move by CF a lot of things - lousy business tactics, shady behavior, a piss poor business model, etc. - but I don't see how you can call this a "bait and switch" until they remove a feature that was explicitly listed as a benefit to purchasing the pass (parking, discounts, etc.).

It should not be the consumers responsibility to determine that something they have received in the past is not included anymore. And honest business would be transparent and announce that at the time of sale. But Six Flags/Cedar Fair is definitely not a unethical business.

I wish that I had the terms of the 2025 passes in front of me. But the passes for 2026 include the following lines.

Passholders may only possess one valid season pass per season. This pass also does not include admission to park areas not open to the general public or requires a separate admission fee. Fees for parking, food, merchandise, games, pay-per-experience attractions, concerts, and special events are not included unless expressly noted at the end of these terms and conditions on a park-by-park basis.

In order to gain entry to the park, a Gold Pass, with a photo of the Passholder taken during processing, must be displayed and validated at park turnstiles. Any attempt to gain admission using a Gold Pass by a guest to whom the pass was not originally issued will result in immediate confiscation of the pass without a refund. Each visit is subject to applicable park rules and restrictions which are subject to change by park at any time in its sole discretion.

A Gold Pass is not valid for private events, park buyouts, park closing due to full capacity, or special events at which an additional admission fee is charged. All operating dates and hours are subject to change without notice. All rides and attractions are subject to closings and cancellations for weather or other conditions.

That sure sounds to me like they could change what is a pay per experience ride/attraction and what is not when they want to. And they can cancel any event whenever they want. I think that that was all in the 2025 pass terms also but can't be sure. If it was, there is nothing shady or unethical in doing this.

super7*:

It should not be the consumers responsibility

Holy cow, dude. There's a reason "always read the fine print" is a thing.

dragonoffrost:

I think that that was all in the 2025 pass terms also but can't be sure.

It certainly was, that contract ensures that they are liable for nothing, and if you want to argue you will do so in arbitration. Most your terms you click agree to will strip you of most of your already limited rights in this country. The key is doing business with those who are at least semi transparent or trustworthy. Cedar Fair is no longer one of those organizations under Bassoul and co.

TheMillenniumRider:

Cedar Fair is no longer one of those organizations under Bassoul and co.

Six Flags Entertainment. Cedar Fair no longer exists.