Cedar Point 5/5/18

Seeing as how Maverick was open by 10:45, clearly they do have a staffed maintenance department that was able to get things going.

You grossly assume you know exactly why things weren't perfect for your visit when in fact you have no actual facts.

It opened after 10 and was supposed to be open for resort guests at 9, and there is no problem there?

...or at least it wouldn't be if four of the five other major coasters that were supposed to be open weren't closed as well. I'm not stupid, that doesn't "just happen." That's dropping the ball bigtime. Like I said in the TR I can understand understaffing of the seasonal workers this time of year but that's definitely not what caused the issues in the morning.

This kind of stuff is a big deal. People don't plan their lives around visiting CP and visit multiple times per year like many of you do. Its a 5+ hour plane ride or 35 hour drive to CP and since I did the park this year do not have the time planned to go back until at at least 2022. I have a wife and kids and cant just up and go whenever I want.

This was a trip report, I am reporting on the experience I had during my visit. And because it was relevant I also reported on the experiences I had my past few visits. As I said in the original post I expected the CP fanboys on this site to make fun of me. That doesn't change the fact that even after all the crappy parks i've been to: SFMM, SFGADV, Laronde, FujiQ, etc, Cedar Point is always the park I have the most issues with in regards to downtime. Maybe it runs perfectly every other day of its existence and I have a black cloud...but I have a hard time believing that.

But here is my question; seriously. If visiting CP takes such effort, why on Earth did you choose opening day? I would assume, given your park visiting experience and vast knowledge of the enthusiast community, that you would do a little research on when-to and when-not-to-visit. But maybe not?

No one in their right mind, unless they hated you, would ever suggest you visit CP on opening day if you're expecting (or wanting) a best-day-ever experience.

I don't think I have ever visited a park that has everything clicking perfectly, but I also can't remember the last time I had a "bad time" at a park.

There really aren't too many CP Fanboys who defend the park to their death around here; yes many of us are fans, but the park deserves its fair share of criticism for where it can improve.

Indeed, I'm more critical than ever, because I have to fly three people to get there, and fair comparison or not, I live 11,000 feet from Cinderella Castle. I love Cedar Point, but like anything else, it still competes for my vacation money. As such, the biggest fans can often be the biggest critics.

You don't need to justify your opinion by suggesting everyone else is just a mindless fanboy.

From all accounts I've read it was a dreadful opening weekend for Cedar Point.

From the accounts I read every year, opening day is pretty dreadful.

OhioStater said:

But here is my question; seriously. If visiting CP takes such effort, why on Earth did you choose opening day? I would assume, given your park visiting experience and vast knowledge of the enthusiast community, that you would do a little research on when-to and when-not-to-visit. But maybe not?

Well here's the thing: I fully expected Dragster, Maverick, and Wicked Twister to have some periodic breakdowns throughout the day because that's what they do. Maverick and Dragster having delayed openings was not a surprise to me (although it sucks the big one as they are obviously two of the main rides people want to go on), but when I went over and saw MF and Valravn were also closed in addition to those, that is a major letdown.

Valravn and Dragster were closed pretty much all day. Dragster was open about an hour so and Valravn was open the last 2 hours the park was open.

And I expected them to at least get Wicked Twister open at some point. I do not think that an unreasonable expectation for one of the most famous amusement parks in the world to have one of their 200 foot tall roller coasters running on the opening day of a big new ride that they know is going to draw huge crowds.

More generally re: staffing, at least 2/3ds of every single business in my town has signs in the window "now hiring." I saw a little of that last year, but it was nothing like this.

the_man said:

This was a trip report, I am reporting on the experience I had during my visit. And because it was relevant I also reported on the experiences I had my past few visits. As I said in the original post I expected the CP fanboys on this site to make fun of me.

This is my issue with your "trip report". When you say it is a trip report what I expect is that you are reporting on your experience at the park. That is not what you have done here and that is one reason you are getting the feedback you are. Based on your report I guess that there was not a single pleasant thing that happened all day. No good food? Nothing at the park that surprised you? What did you like (all you spoke of is what you didn't like, such negativity)? How clean was the park? What was the ambiance like?

Example: "We arrived at the park at 8am and got a great parking spot. I was surprised at how slow they were at processing us through the gates, but meh, it happens. The weather was great and the park was clean." Tell a story (pictures help engage the reader).

Your trip report is nothing, but a TL:DR complaint about Cedar Point. Those are a dime a dozen. Something good happened throughout the day, the best trip reports highlight the trip, not just one specific part of the trip.

the_man said:
And what is the excuse for Gatekeeper and Valravn both having delayed openings? Is going 0/2 on B&Ms in addition to being 0/4 on Intamin's something that I should expect when I go to CP?

Can’t go 0/2 on B&M coasters being closed when the park has 4 B&Ms. Thays just fudging the numbers to fit your argument.

They were 0/2 because Gatekeeper and Valravn were the only B&Ms scheduled to be open for early entry and neither were. I included Dragster and Wicked Twister in the mix because Dragster didn't open until 11 hours later and Wicked Twister didn't open at all.

We stickin it to the_man!

What I’m curious to know, is if Cedar Point, SFMM, SFGrAdv, La Ronde, and FijiQ are amongst the crappiest parks you’ve been to, what are the best? And ok, I’ll give you La Ronde... but even there I found at least one outstanding coaster and other rides that I really liked.

Methinks you’re someone who not only is hard to please, but one who in spite of experience and available advice continues to make unfortunate choices.

And part of the disdain you sense from us “fanboys” is that we already know. You don’t have to tell us that the day was miserable. Whether your complaints are valid or not, a trip report like yours only sounds like a trolling attempt to complain to a bunch of guys who can’t find much value in what you say. We’re powerless to help you here. And you won’t talk me in to staying home, either- I’ll enjoy my weekday visits early in the season and I’ll love it. That’s my typical experience, sorry about yours. (not sorry)

I flew up from Orlando for Opening Day. I knew what I was getting into and accepted it for what it was. Granted, unlike if Jeff were to go up with his family, I only had to fly myself up there rather than a whole family. Thanks to Frontier Airlines I flew roundtrip for less than $100. And I also get a chance to spend the weekend with my parents who I don't get to see very often. Friday night we all went out to dinner to catch up after not seeing each other for a few months. Saturday Dad and I went to the park and had one of a small handful of father/son days we get to have anymore thanks to distance and life. We knew what to expect. Yeah, it was a bummer that the park wasn't up to its usual standards. But rather than simply stewing in anger that I never got on Valravn or had to walk a little further to find a snack, I enjoyed being in the park on a beautiful day and spending the day with my dad, who has been doing CP days with me now for 20 years. I had plenty of things to get annoyed about, but when stopping to think about it logically most of it made sense. I can't imagine anyone contributing to these forums not knowing what they were getting into on an Opening Day. If you are doing a once a year or once every so many years trip to CP that you are putting down significant money to make happen - and you are even a casual lurker here or Pointbuzz (or have any common sense about what Ohio weather can do in early May) - you would never choose Opening Weekend.

I'm actually going to take the side of the_man on this one. I had no idea that CP's opening day was anything other than a regular day for the park. They charge full price, they advertise it like it's a normal operating day. Why would a customer expect anything other a regular operating day? If those operations were the case on a full price day in the middle of July, people would throw a conniption. Why is it okay on a full price day in May?

Edit: I suppose if you knew and went anyway, then maybe you lose a little right to complain ("fool me twice" sort of thing), but if you didn't know, all complaints seem perfectly reasonable.

bigboy said:

From the accounts I read every year, opening day is pretty dreadful.

Someone with more free time than I should go dig up old Cbuzz and PointBuzz opening TRs and do a comparison. For science.

As a former Ops guy, I can tell you that I still have actual nightmares about opening week. First, staffing is miserable because your college kids aren't out and labor laws limit what your under 18 kids can work during the school year. On top of that, the majority of them don't know what they are doing. Parks do minimal on the job training before opening day and even then, it's no substitute for what it's like to operate with guests.

Second, the rides don't cooperate. A maintenance guy once described it to me as like trying to start your lawn mower for the first time in the Spring after it sat in your garage all winter. It usually doesn't want to start right away. Only it's not a lawn mower, it's a 15 million dollar piece of industrial equipment disguised as an amusement ride with a complex PLC that has to run 10 hours a day non-stop, not kill anyone, and is operated by an 18 year old with about ten hours of training. Even though they run test cycles before opening day, it's nothing like running them 10 hours a day non-stop. The rides rarely run smoothly on opening day and some usually aren't even fully done with rehab yet. I used to take A LOT of complaints in the first couple of weekends.

I do think Cedar Point is pushing the limits though. They probably shouldn't open this early due to their difficulty staffing and the brutal winters up there mean they have less time to get the park ready once the weather turns.

It's a shame you had such a bad time. Excuses or not, it's all about the product you deliver to the guest and that sounds like a piss poor product. Perhaps they are pushing the limit a little too far?

Sorry, I didn't read as carefully once it started sounding really negative, but you went on opening day because...???

People shouldn’t have to justify why they went to a park during a regularly scheduled operation day. If I wasn’t a seasoned park enthusiast I’d expect no less service and operational ability than any other day of the year — the park charges the same rate, after all. People are being unreasonable if they expect perfection on day one, but what CP was able to provide this year was clearly below the expectations of event the most patient guest.

Kennywood advertises its more challenging operation days as “limited operation”; maybe CP should do the same so guests know what they are getting into.

how much seasoning do I need before I too can call myself a "seasoned enthusiast?"

But you are a seasoned enthusiast. If a regular person went and had a crappy time I’d feel bad for them, son.

I got 99 problems, but opening day ain’t one. Cause I know better.