Cedar Point Day 1 08/05/13: Not Even Fastlane Will Save You

So, let's see if I understand this correctly. I can buy a 1 day ticket on Cedar Point's website at a Discounted gate price of $44.99. Go to the park for the whole day, and get 6 rides. OR Spend another $80.00 on top of the $44.99 I just paid, for a total of $124.99 (ok - $125.00), and TILL wait in lines after paying the $80 upcharge?? Really??
(note) - I just checked Cedar Points web page again, and for the sake of laughs, I put in to go Monday August 12 - and for 1 Fast Lane + it's $95.00!!! Double NO THANKS! - are they off their rocker?

NO THANKS!!

Let's see who got the better deal -

I spent 8/5/2013 at Knoebels. Spent 7 hours in the park. Got 3 $20.00 ticket books (a $60 value) at a 20% discount from Weise Markets, bringing my ticket price purchase down to $48.00.
Spending 7 hours in the park I rode Phoenix twice, Twister once, the Train once, Ole Smokey once, the flyers once, the Grand Carousel once, the Sky Ride once StratosFear once, and the Black Diamond dark ride once. For a total of 10 rides, without the discount ticket price $20.25 -- with the discounted ticket price -- $16.20.
AND - I still have 1 $20 ticket book and another full ticket book minus $.25 left - and they are good - FOREVER!

Sure I didn't 'power ride' that day. That wasn't my intent. I wanted a nice day to enjoy the park, and that I did! Gotta love the Hot Sausage sandwich and - the Chicken and Waffles meal at the Alamo!

Don't get me wrong, I like Cedar Point - haven't been there in over 12 years, but I would like to back - but - not at those crazy prices for those kind of waits!

Yes - call me old fashioned, and yes - The Flying Turns is still a 'work in progress' - but - I'll take Knoebels any day!

I love when people use the small park comparison for a value statement. You paid $16.20 and got two good coasters and one meh one. On a slightly less crowded day at Cedar Point, you could get Millennium Force, Raptor, Mantis, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, Wicked Twister, GateKeeper, and Magnum XL-200, to say nothing of any other coasters. The flat ride thing is probably a wash. I get that different people prefer different parks, but I think that the best-value parks are almost always the larger ones.

Only enthusiasts compare things like Millennium Force to Phoenix. Now granted, I personally would rather ride Phoenix than just about any coaster at Cedar Point, but for 99.999% of the world, there are 8 or 9 coasters at CP which obliterate Phoenix in terms of appeal.

coastrnut said:

I put in to go Monday August 12 - and for 1 Fast Lane + it's $95.00!!! Double NO THANKS! - are they off their rocker?

Given that the Fast Lane lines are long, I'd say they're not even close to off their rocker. If they were, no one would be buying this and clearly that's not the case.

Let's see who got the better deal...

In fairness, I'd like to point out that you're comparing CP's worst case scenario to an average day at Knoebel's.

Yes - call me old fashioned, and yes - The Flying Turns is still a 'work in progress' - but - I'll take Knoebels any day!

You're old fashioned.

I'd pay $150 7 days a week to go to Cedar Point before I paid $16 to go to Knoebel's. Not even close. As the guys above me were alluding to - price alone doesn't create value.

But you're biased. You're anti-charm.

To each his own. That is why we have different parks for different folks :)

I do like the big theme parks, don't get me wrong, but when you have to pay well over $150 for a day - that's not fun for me. I do get it. If I was to plan a trip to Cedar Point, I wouldn't go for just 1 day, I would make it part of a week long coaster vacation, and probably have a Cedar Fair season pass. Just like I would never do the Magic Kingdom at Disney World for just 1 day and pay $95.00 - stay for a week, and that price comes down to somewhere around $40 per day for the magic your way ticket.

To me, as I get older, it's starting to be more about value for my hard earned dollars. I shouldn't have to pay thru the nose to have a 'fun' day at an amusement park. Like I said, to each his own. I get it, Cedar Fair is a business, and they are in it to make money. But - so is Knoebels, and believe me, they are doing a fantastic business, and making money too.

Keep in mind that I went on a particularly bad Monday, and were it not for the fact that the only photography-friendly weather was a couple of hours on Tuesday, I might have ridden some more. I passed on some great riding opportunities. With that said, Gonch put it perfectly: comparing a worst-case day at Cedar Point (when there are plenty of days where the crowds aren't nearly what they were when I went) to a regular day at Knoebel's isn't necessarily a good comparison.

What no one has mentioned is that the first Monday in August, this year on the 5th, is a bank holiday in most Canadian provinces including Ontario. Did you see a lot of Canadian plates in the parking lot?

So that's what all those crowds were aboot.