Park Pop Prices

Yep same here - with my WOF pass (cheapest in the chain for 3 years in a row) I get into CP free so it's no biggie. Also I ride the shuttle from the motel so once again the parking fee is no biggie. :)

CP parked a million cars and had 3 million customers. That means 3 customers to a car. They charged $8 for parking. That means if they hike the admission fee $3 they come out ahead, AND they eliminate the traffic jam on the causeway every Saturday at 10 am. And I know it would fix the traffic jam...for about four years the traffic jam went away when parking was $5, then came back big-time when they raised it to $6.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

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RideMan said:
Which is something else I wonder about...I can understand why the big parks don't go the Holiday World route with drinks, as in a park the size of Cedar Point it could be a logistical pain-in-the-rear just because of the sheer number of people they have to serve. Just look how much trouble they have keeping the vending machines filled even at $2.50/bottle! But what's with the parking? How many people do they have collecting parking fees and delaying entrance traffic...people they could simply eliminate if the parking fee were rolled into the admission. For that matter, people who aren't paying to park won't complain as loudly if they don't get traffic directors or door-to-door tram service........

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Oddly enough, I can think of two reasons why they wouldn't, one that's evil and nasty towards the customers, and one that's actually kinda nice and friendly towards 'em.

Evil: If you make it to the park, get to the ticket window, find out your favorite ride is closed for the day, hey, at least they got $8 - $10 out of you before you decided to leave. If that was just put into the ticket price, then they wouldn't have taken any money from you.

Nice: It's a policy that actually benefits families and the like. For instance, if me and three friends go to the park and each take our own cars up there, we each have to pay the $8. If a family of four shows up in only one car and only taking up one parking spot, they only pay $8. If it was evened out, so they paid just as much in parking via the ticket prices for their one car as the four of us did for our four cars, I could see that being viewed as rather unfair.

I'll leave which one it is as an exercise to the reader.

One problem for the "Evil" outcome: if you don't enter the park, CP will usually refund your parking fee without any fuss.

My parents, wife, and I went up a few years back. It was nice and sunny in Pittsburgh, and CP's 1800BestFun weather line said partly cloudy. When we got there it was a steady, all-day rain. They understood, and we got our parking money back (less the causeway toll.) Sure we were out 7 hours round trip, but at least they were nice enough to warrant a return visit.

Dave, the solution is obvious. Make parking an even $10! ;)

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Agent Johnson said: That $2 surcharge goes directly to the foodservice budget bottom line.

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Ummmmm...this is incorrect. In fact, most of your post seems to be based on supposition rather than reality.

Just thought I should set the record straight.

Thanks, Paula

Ahh Raven Maven We Love you! lol SO tell us what is coming in 2005! :) Why do i have the sneaking suspicion that you wont tell us! ;) O BTW I call it Soda or Mountain Dew! lol

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kpjb said:
One problem for the "Evil" outcome: if you don't enter the park, CP will usually refund your parking fee without any fuss.

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Well, I think the problem here is that my home park is SFMM, not CP. I doubt SFMM would refund my parking, even with a fuss. As is, KBF, as part of the CF family, at least lets me buy parking as part of my season pass. SFMM doesn't let me do that, and I don't see that coming any time soon. So take my post with the grain of salt that is Six Flags...

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RideMan said:
CP parked a million cars and had 3 million customers. That means 3 customers to a car. They charged $8 for parking. That means if they hike the admission fee $3 they come out ahead, AND they eliminate the traffic jam on the causeway every Saturday at 10 am.

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My question is this, though:Wouldnt they see and increase in the number of cars on the lot on any given day? I know one time when my family went to CP we took five cars to drive from Chi to sandusky. But I think we only took three cars from the Greentree Inn to the park (a nothing trip in terms of distance) so we wouldnt have to pay extra. Not really a *big* concern if CP is rarely near their parking lot capacity. But just something to think about.

I see the parking price as not only covering the actuall costs and a bit of profit, but also as a way of reducing demand and in the long run saving costs of causeway construction.

That's got a whole lot to do with it, too, Jeremy.

It used to be that a whole family would pile in the car and go to the park. Nowadays, mom comes from work, dad comes from work, the kids come from home and a friend hooks up with them later. They end up with four cars there for four people. If they have to spend eight bucks apiece to park, they're more prone to meet up beforehand.

Even in the last decade, I've noticed big differences in our parking lot. The number of cars on an average day today would have been the same for a busy day 10 or 15 years ago. The days of an entire family having one vehicle are long gone.

This is true. I know I'm guilty of this very act, AT Kennywood. Meeting friends at the park after work? It's easiest to just meet there, and if I'm parking way up in the top lot then it just means a ride in the lift... (And frequently, you'll find scattered vacant spaces in the lower lots by then)

First i personally would never go with Pepsi willingly at my establishment. Service is far worse and the equipment is crap. Plus for my experience there are slightly more people looking for Coke (slight).

Second i know that WOA paid in the neighborhood of 40 bucks a BIB for Coke in 00 and 01. But they did get a break on the bottles. Anyway you slice it it's a big profit. On top of it someone somewhere got a kickback for moving BIBs through the park. All in all it's a crime really. And it's probably the third biggest profit margin behind the cotton candy and popcorn.

Giving up free beverages doesn't cost you money really, but does pound the bottom line. Word on the "street" is that HW and that other park are second thinking the free thing because of the waste and pain in the butt it is. Furthermore, industry people cannot understand why any other park would try it after seeing what a pain it is! in the end i can't imagine how they would get out of it.

But realistically if a park would charge "real" world prices (like a buck for a 20 oz) they still get an incredible profit AND control waste. All while getting praise from the consumer.

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meangene said:Word on the "street" is that HW and that other park are second thinking the free thing because of the waste and pain in the butt it is. Furthermore, industry people cannot understand why any other park would try it after seeing what a pain it is! in the end i can't imagine how they would get out of it.

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I don't know what street you're on...but what you're hearing is a falsehood as far as Holiday World is concerned. We are thrilled with our "Free Unlimited Soft Drink" program. We have no plans to go back to charging for soft drinks (not just sodas, btw; fruit punch, lemonade, coffee, iced tea, too).

Okay, so has anybody else heard any rumors that need correcting? :)

Paula

Yeah I heard Holiday world is looking at a B&M coaster! Is it true? lol

Paula, you and HW rock. I work in service (corporate) and often use HW's free soda as an example to co-workers and clients. I just wanted to give you kudos for outstanding CS!

Sounds to me like somebody has been listening to excuses from park operators who are trying to explain why they continue to charge $3.95 for a small soft drink...anyway...

Paula reminded us...

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(not just sodas, btw; fruit punch, lemonade, coffee, iced tea, too).

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...which leads me to point out...

As time goes by, I find that I am progressively less tolerant of Pepsi. But when I am at Holiday World, it doesn't really matter...because the fountain iced tea they serve is really, really good. I don't know how they do it, because traditionally fountain tea is awful. So far, Holiday World's fountains are the ONLY exception I have found to that rule!

--Dave Althoff, Jr. *** Edited 1/24/2004 4:18:50 AM UTC by RideMan***

Wow.

Paula is just laying the smackdown left and right on this thread. You go girl. :)

meangene: You have been corrected by Paula on the free drink gig at HW. That other park you are referring to is either Kiddieland (in Illinois), or some other park.

Kiddieland also is proud of their free drink program as well. They promote it in their ads.

Hey Dave...I'll back you up on that iced tea issue. I drink the stuff religiously, and most fountain teas are the worst. If I remember correctly, Holiday World has that raspberry tea (or they did), and that can be the worst offender out of a fountain, but not in Santa Claus. I really wish more parks would follow their high standards. But then again, that is what makes them so special.

Wood - anything else is an imitation

That's exactly the response i would expect from the Maven. Standard PR park line. Trust me, i would never as a consumer complain about free beverages. In fact i think it quite a brave move for those in Santa Claus, Indiana. But as an operator i would HATE it. And i KNOW (for a fact) that those that actually RUN the department don't care for the program one bit.

Oh and the other park moving toward free drinks is Compounce (sp?) i do believe.

They did that last year, or was it '02? *** Edited 1/24/2004 11:09:03 PM UTC by rOLLocOASt***