I'd rather sleep in.

Back in the day (by which I mean late 2000's to early 2010's) I usually had pretty good luck with EE. A typical itinerary would be to park at Soak City, go ride Maverick, then Millennium, then get in line for Dragster. If TTD was done testing, they'd sometimes open it early, but even if not, you're in a short line for 10 a.m. That got 3 of the longest waits out of the way before the park even opened, then the whole rest of the day was a bonus.

Eventually, EE got increasingly hit-or-miss on ride operability, and I became increasingly hit-or-miss on getting up at 7 a.m. to leave home by 8 to get there by 9...

I was surprised at this list too, but also realize they could add to it later. But then, why publish it now? That list isn't going to sell any passes or book any rooms. Might as well wait until closer to opening day when there might be additional rides included.

Every year, I keep asking myself, “What happened to Cedar Point?” Don’t get me wrong, the park is still a great park, but it hardly feels like the flagship of the Cedar Fair chain. When I found myself having more fun at Kings Island, I knew something was wrong. Is this an issue with the General Manager or is it just a result of how remote Cedar Point is from a major city?

I’ve never taken advantage of Early Entry despite having a Platinum Pass, but that was by choice (I live about 2.5 hours away). But they are really messing with the value they are trying to sell.

Im more disappointed they aren’t open weekdays mid May. I used to hit up CP for a few days before heading down to KI for Coasterstock. This year I only get one day because they are closed Tues and Thur.

Am very excited to do Coasterstock again though, I had to work that weekend last year.

Jephry:

But they are really messing with the value they are trying to sell.

Or are they downgrading the product to match the underpriced gate?

It's much harder to be "mad" about reduced benefits, closed rides, poor ride operations and other issues when you can get the $99 Gold Pass. I still think Cedar Point is worthy of a major price increase. But if they did that, they would have to have Kinzel/Spehn era operations with today's food selections and cosmetic upgrades.

Could be worse. Our Disney Sorcerer pass renewals are going to be $969 this year. We get 10% off restaurants and 20% off merchandise. And once every other year we get into a new attraction preview. That's it.

Hanging n' Banging:

Early entry at any theme park is useless to me. There is no reason to be inside a theme park riding rides at 8am…..

Disagree. If I can do a few rides with minimal or no waits before the multitudes arrive then I'm all for it.

(Cut/paste of the same post on the other Buzz)

I did something radical and decided to actually call the park and just ask. The associate on the other end of the line (I inquired about season pass info) said that this early entry list is indeed the plan for the whole season, and not just a beginning-of-the-year list.

Actually going to the source! That's radical. ;-)

Calling someone! You're a lunatic.

That's allowed??

It was a little scary at first, but then I remembered I used to talk to people like this all the time back in 1999. Like riding a bike...

People talking to each other. Seems suspicious. Could lead to dancing.

And you know what that leads to? Critical race theory.