Geauga Lake Just Raised The Parking Price!

I always hate jumping into threads were money, costs or value is concerned because I inevitably come off looking like a dick. Sigh.

I don't see the problem. It's a buck. It is what it is.

I'm the type of person that will pay $4 for "preferred" parking at KW when "standard" parking is free. I usually pay the $11 for preferred at PKI vs the $9 for "regular" parking. I don't see a buck or two as anything major and it represents a very small percentage of the money I will be spending over the course of the day.

I don't think $9 is out of line compared to the industry either. I'd say it's par for the course for the larger chain parks.

So now a trip to GL will cost $1 more per visit. Consider a family of 4 spending the day purchasing tickets, food, games, etc and that cost is irrelevant to the visitor but probably makes a nice little profit boost for the park.

GL has been promoting Oktoberfest on TV like crazy in the Youngstown market, at least. At least once every 2 hours there is the GL/Oktoberfest commercial.

Jeff, the intelligent folks parked at SFWoA on the Wildlife side :) I never had a parking problem till they closed down the Wildlife parking lot in the fall, but it still was never a real problem.

As for now, is there even a parking problem with the poor attendance?

*** Edited 9/12/2004 4:04:14 PM UTC by midwave***

Bert123: Make me.

Gonch: Whaddaya mean look like one? Wait, I take that back. Let's be theme park buddies! It's just my lunch...and swim trunks...and souvenirs...and extra room. How much more is it, really?

PFF: VF raised the WWC locker rental price $2 the week after Memorial Day, too. So a little mid-season hikey-hike here is nothing new.

But now we know who's fraida water...... ;)

-CO

*** Edited 9/12/2004 4:33:20 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

Parking prices go up every couple of years (or sooner) and there is really no point in stressing over it in the first place. Just pay it and enjoy your day.

Just don't get caught parking your car at the shopping center across the street from Geauga Lake......;-)

-Tina

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IBsteve said:
Jeff, I know what you're trying to say but if we need people telling us where to park in a marked parking lot, well, that's just sad. And not worth an extra buck, IMO.

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That's the problem...it is sad that you need someone to tell people where to park. I work in parking at Magic Kingdom at WDW and you wouldn't believe the types of crap people do. We make it so easy...just follow the car in front of you, but when they get to where they are supposed to park, they lose their minds. That's why for busy parks they need people to direct traffic other wise there wouldnt be enough spaces for everyone (due to people double parking, parking the wrong way, etc).

And to think, they drove all these miles to get to the theme park and they act like they cant function when they get in the parking lot. I could tell you some stories...

It was pretty dramatic at Darien Lake last weekend. It was my first time to the park but people were literally driving in all directions all over the parking lot, although the employees were trying to direct them as to where to park.

It was annoying but sort of funny at the same time.

-Tina

Park across the street? Heck, just Camp @ their camp ground and they give you a free parking pass. Works for me;).

And what I can't understand is this: We, as enthusiasts, pay full price for a trip to the park how often? You guys know as well as I do that we stive to find as many discounts we can when we go to parks, so who actually pays full price for entrance anyhow? And yet you complain about parking going up an extra buck when you can easily save $8 getting in just by printing out a coupon on their website, or requesting a brochure with one in it from the park...

On my trip in August, I stayed on site, so I didn't have to pay for parking, but I had my $8 coupon to get in. I spent less than $30 for a day @ the park. That includes all my drinks and food...

Thats called being smart, and not being cheap. I didn't go out of my way to be cheap, but found a good deal for $8, and had I payed to park, I would have payed the same amt. to get in for both parking and admission. *** Edited 9/12/2004 7:56:12 PM UTC by TeknoScorpion***

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It's a buck.

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There were near riots when Cedar Point took their Pepsi vending to $3. The park responded and the price dropped. People didn't pay $3 for a Pepsi because there were other options and it isn't required. If they raise cotton candy prices too much, sales will drop. If they increase the cost of whack-a-mole to $8/game, no one's going to play. They could start charging for Freeway and I wouldn't care (though I might question if it's a smart move). I'm all for letting the public dictate the price.

Parking is different. There are no other options for parking. If you want to go to the park, you have to pay. It's a creative way to increase profit. Why not charge a $5 "exit fee" to leave the parking lot at night?

Both the local community and enthusiasts stood up for Cedar Point when they battled the city of Sandusky on the parking tax issue. The city gave up and Cedar Point won. But this makes it hard to feel sorry for them.

Of course, 99% will gripe ... and then they will pay the extra $1. It's quite a racket, actually. Kudos to capitalism. But at some point, it's just too much. Especially when a park like Cedar Point takes down row markers and still expects you to find your car at night. :)

If I was a business owner, I could use the "it's a just a buck" philosophy to increase prices all over the place. Fortunately, it's not that simple.

*** Edited 9/12/2004 9:38:58 PM UTC by Gemini***

Walt, you socialist you ...

Just kidding. It is "just" a buck, and to me that is part of the problem - I can get to feel like I'm being nickle-and-dimed before I even enter the damn place. I think it was Rideman who has argued in the past for parks to instead roll increases into their admission, and keep parking prices low. Of course, that might not save anyone any actual money, but it can affect the perception. And perception can be reality, even in a "free" market ...

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you socialist you

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As a proud conservative, I don't appreciate the insult. ;)

There's nothing wrong with parking attendants per se, but many large parks do fine without it, such as PKD. I'm not sure what the excuse is at SFA. Why grown adults can't figure out how to point their car between the two white lines is beyond me.

I think it is a little bizarre to raise rates (parking, lockers, etc) mid/end of season, however if the parks have looked at their books closely in regard to certain areas, maybe they are trying to recoop some lost monies. Love the "screw the peeps some more" mentality.

I personally try to avoid the parking fees altogether. No, not illegally, but by playing it smart. For my local park, SFGAm, I have the parking sticker. After last season, we realized that it paid for itself after a few visits. And the parking people at SFA did not know what it was, and let us park for free using the other park's sticker. Yeah!

At PKI, I camped onsite and walked to the park. At CP, I stay in the cottages (and the reservations desk refunds your parking fees and your guests), and at PKD, I stayed at the hotel across the street from the park. At Kennywood, we parked for free just to check the place out. The next day, we sucked it up though and paid the $4 preferred rate (we pampered ourselves that day :). Sometimes it works out like that (although I paid at GL, BGW, and WoF this summer).

BTW, is anyone concerned about the beer consumed at Octoberfest, and then the overcharged parkers driving home afterwards? I thought at first that the GL parking fee increase may have been instituted to keep less people driving to the park, and increasing more of a designated driver/carpool strategy. I guess that is only my wishful thinking on that subject.

So I am thinking now that for me to go to GL again next year, and especially for Octoberfest, my CP season pass will have to be accepted, and they will put the CP and (soon to be) WoF cottages there as well. Then I can avoid the ticket prices, parking prices, and drunk drivers. I've got my wish list in place now. And if my wishes come true, I am sure everyone will be paying $2 more for parking. Sorry :(

*** Edited 9/13/2004 12:50:01 AM UTC by ltlbat***

i'm not sure about what promoting you guys havent seen. they have been running ads on the tv and radio stations for the past 2-3 weeks maybe longer here in the akron area. this is a great event and hopefully they will keep it. my family and i have attended every year for the past 4 years and also have an excelent time!!! planning on goin next weekend do to prior plans this weekend...but guess this weekend woulda been great since we're gonna get Ivan's rain next weekend =(

just to think of the dollar increase...they probably raised it to cover that extra dollar the promised to the employees who completed their contracts for working the whole summer...they get an extra buck for every hour they worked. *** Edited 9/13/2004 1:10:45 AM UTC by CP Boy***

Is the parking pass still useful to get in? I'm not near my car at the moment, but i remember the expiration date labeled on the sticker to be in septermber sometime... does that mean for halloween and these last weeks in september (if they are in fact past the date) that they are going to charge me? -- I thought it was good for the season... anyone have info on this?

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Gemini said:

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It's a buck.

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There were near riots when Cedar Point took their Pepsi vending to $3. i***

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Please tell me you were joking with that statement Walt. While 3 dollars is expensive for a soda, if you go to any entertainment venue, you will find prices at or near that.

SFGAm also charges $3 for a vending machine soda, but I haven't seen anarchy yet. :) Most people simply bypass the machines and either get water or pay $3 for a cup of soda (go figure).

The point I was making is that people expect and are used to the price increases over the off season NOT during the middle of the season. Remember the year Raging Bull opened @ SFGAm? The was a midseason parking increase and than the enthusiasts community cried foul. Again it don't matter if you have a parking pass because it wouldn't affect you if you have one but if you visited the park early in the year and came back later in the year one then find an increase it would leave a bad taste in you mouth and greed would be the first thing you'd think of.

Why would it?

You go to fill up your tank with gas on your car and see constant price changes on almost a daily basis.

You know you are stuck paying it regardless. Same applies to the parking fees. You made the trek to the park and notice the parking fee increase. Is a buck going to make you do a 180 and leave?

No, Chitown... it really hit the fan when they raised the vending prices that high. Much of the noise was on the Internet, but guests voted with their dollars and didn't buy. It went back down within a week.

Chitown the public expect constant price changes in gas prices and beside gas companies are making an extreme killing and gouging people anyway so they are not angels either! If the oil companies made 1/2 the profits they are making now it would still be a killing so they are robbing people. No a buck may not make me do a 180 but if I've noticed a midseason increase I'd complain to the park if I had to pay it. (I have a parking pass to my local park so it doesn't really matter to me!) It's more the principle behind it than the amount that make it looked bad!

Well if you stay on any of CP's properties (motels, campgrounds,etc.) the parking is free. :-)

I will keep Clint's idea in mind the next time I visit Geauga.

Seriously though, who REALLY thinks about parking prices when they enter a park, especially Cedar Point? It's the last thing on my mind. :-)

-Tina

*** Edited 9/13/2004 8:43:05 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***