Giving away the gate: Not just Six Flags.

hmmmm, before I got my VF season pass at the end of the season, I looked online and thought it said it was good at GL. I just got my pass out and the list that came with it also does not include GL.

Per one of the GL reps at No Coaster: Geauga Lake and Cedar Point are in essentially the same market, and Cedar Fair therefore charges a fee to enable Geagua season passes for use at Cedar Point, and vice versa. Very understandable that CF would not wish to cannibalize CP pass sales.

I'll bite, LOL...

Why not just riase the SP price at GL to the *same* as CP's, then who gives a rat's arse if you "cannibalize" your own park, AND you get the benefit of being able to plainly say "good at all CF parks"...doesn't really MATTER if you have different SP prices when you're in widely spread markets (KBF, MiA, DP, WoF, VF!), but CF could avoid any problems in the *lucrative* ;) Ohio market by simply consolidating the SP deal and really SELLING those season passes..."GOOD at both our northern Ohio parks, and all other CF parks"...:)

Maybe it has more to do with the diverging waterpark strategies between CP and GL? I guess I should just trust that CF has figured out the best way to get the most out of their pricing strategy, but I really do think there's a TON of upside potential that PERHAPS hasn't been fully explored...CF does tend to play the "safe but steady growth" model pretty well historically, LOL...

Can't blame 'em for sticking with the "safe but steady growth" model, it seems to work for them.

Anyhoo... my thinking is, and it may be shocking, but most people aren't like coaster enthusiasts. It's a shame, but there it is. What can you do? Most people will buy a season pass to the closest park, may even go to the closest park often enough to justify the cost of the pass, and they're happy. (Did I, with a bunch of friends, go to Six Flags Ohio specifically to buy a way-cheap Six Flags pass that we then used at numerous other SF parks, but never again at SFO? Yes. We're not normal.)

If Cedar Fair priced the GL and CP passes the same, I'd guess they would end up with erosion on the GL passes; most people wouldn't feel the increased cost worth the benefit of driving a long distance to visit a busy park.

Maybe what our Cedar Fair friends should be doing is selling CP passes (not good at GL) and Geauga Lake passes (not good at CP) AND... let's call them SuperPasses, good at Cedar Point and Geauga Lake and all other CF parks. Same product, different packaging, premium pricing.

That is exactly what Cedar Fair is doing. You can buy passes for Cedar Point or for Geauga Lake, and you can add an endorsement to make it good at the other park.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Why don't we just tunnel in under the fence where the Zebras were?

Rideman -- I was imagining a pass seperate from a specific park good at all parks in the CF chain, rather than a park-specific pass with an upcharge. (Just a silly thought to close a post, it was.)