Parking at Parks

I disagree, dannerman.

As soon as you drive into a park's lot with the intention of spending time a their park, you are their guest. You're in their world and it's their business to make your day.

How many parks are in a setting that has another parking option beside a park provided one? I can't think of many. The truth is you are forced to park in their lot and forced to pay their parking fee. This is why "where you park" is also their business.

I don't like it as much as the next guy, but if you want to go their park, you have to play by their rules.

^That pretty much sums it up. That's why it's always good to have people with you to split the parking costs, or can do like I did a few times when I went to Geauga Lake, park in Wal-Mart across the street. ;-)

I don't do that anymore since they REALLY enforce it now. :-)

-Tina

There is a lot RIGHT next to Wild Adventures where the parking is 3 bucks, WA's is $7. Used to be $2/$5, but WA upped their rates since taking over Cypress....

SFKK parking is still the deal....or Silverwood's... :)

edit: How much to park at Richie Reflux's office, I want to try out "Spinning Office Chair 1"... ;)

:)
*** Edited 2/13/2006 4:35:27 PM UTC by rollergator***

A pay as you exit parking system would get screwed up. You'd wind up with arguements over 15 mins increments: Hey, it took me 10 mins just to enter the park after parking my car. I shouldn't be charged for that.
-or-
You clock stamper must be wrong, i've only been here for two hours...
It would take forever to leave the lot.

Neuski, at a lot of parks, the alternative parking options may be very inconvenient (i.e. several-mile walk, waiting for public transportation which will only get you so close and you still have to walk, etc.) but parking is by no means required.

Heck, what about the people who have a friend/relative who doesn't want to go to the park just drop them off?

It may be generally accepted as a part of going to the parks, but I don't consider it a part of the "guest experience" because there are several ways to experience the park without parking (public transportation, walking, parking elsewhere, or even being part of a bus group - yes I know the park is still getting money from the bus parking there, but most passengers on the bus don't have to worry about it)

Further, I don't know of [m]any people who would actually do it, but what's to stop you from paying to park your car, and then not even going to the park - walking elsewhere / carpooling / public transportation elsewhere? I wouldn't consider them park guests since they never even went to the park!

What about taking a canoe to the park? Or riding an elephant? You must also consider skating to the park. Suggesting a several mile walk as an option is ridiculous. You don't do that, just like I don't do it.

If parking isn't part of the "guest expirience", why do parks even having parking lots? I thought "[w]here we park is [our] business."

*** Edited 2/13/2006 6:14:56 PM UTC by Neuski***

Next on Coasterbuzz... Mark Shapiro visits Richie Reflux's house. Good news Richie, you're getting a fulltime bathroom attendant AND costumed characters!

I actually think parking fees are a type of crowd control for most parks. Lagoon in Utah charges $33.95 for admission (way too high IMO), and talking to some higher-ups at the park, it's mostly for crowd control purposes. They charge $34, and most days in the summer are packed. I'm thinking that they charge high parking to entice people to carpool, and save parking hassles. Maybe I'm way off, though.

Like Intamin Fan said, Holiday World DOES lack some components that a park like Cedar Point or PKI has, such as B&Ms, tons of expensive flat rides, and unlimited capital for improvements.

The truth is, Pepsi IS cheap. Whenever you go to a restauarant and pay $1.99 for a Pepsi it only costs them 5 cents or so. I worked at McDonalds for 2 years and they made SO MUCH MONEY off of Coke.

For Holiday World that is a cheap way for them to drag in guests and it works. But it's not worth it for a park like Cedar Point because there is already so much more product to make up for it, such as all the rollercoasters, that make people willing to pay alot of money and not have $10 parking affect their desire to return again.

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Neuski said:
What about taking a canoe to the park? Or riding an elephant? You must also consider skating to the park. Suggesting a several mile walk as an option is ridiculous. You don't do that, just like I don't do it.

If parking isn't part of the "guest expirience", why do parks even having parking lots? I thought "[w]here we park is [our] business."

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Just as an FYI, a several mile walk is not ridiculous. While I don't make every trip to Dorney on foot (especially with free season pass parking), I live about 6 miles from the park, and I have walked there on one occasion (would have walked home too but I ran into a friend while at the park, and he gave me a ride) and walked home on a separate occasion due to car trouble. So yes, I've done it before. Granted, I wasn't trying to skirt a parking charge, but it's still a possibility. Most people don't think that's worth the time/effort and just pay/park. That is their choice. If you want to go to the park and be their guest, you have to pay the admission fee (in one form or another, whether it's a pass, group discount, online discount, pepsi can discount, taco bell coupon discount, employee comp pass, full price ticket, or whatever). You do NOT *HAVE* to pay for parking.

Why do parks have parking lots if it's not part of the guest experience? For convenience. If you had to maneuver side streets to find a spot like a public city-based 4th of July fireworks display, most people wouldn't find it worth the hassle.

Oh yeah, and I forgot that parks with nearby hotels (including Dorney, which actually has a couple within a half mile walking distance) have a good number of people who park for free in their hotel parking lot, and walk to the park - should we charge them the parking fee anyway since it's (by your standards) part of the guest experience? Are they getting shafted out of a proper park experience because their hotel is close and they don't want to waste gas (and time waiting in line to get in the parking lot or finding a space) just to walk almost as far as they would have walked from their hotel anyway?

Although does it really matter whether or not parking is considered part of the guest experience? :) All I was trying to say is that I don't consider a park patron as a park guest until they step through the front gate. If your opinion differs, that's fine. In the end, we're both right because your experience includes parking, and mine doesn't. We'll still ride the same coasters, and we'll still complain/debate about stupid policies on coasterbuzz. :) :) :)

...and you may be on to something with Elephant transportation. Would that be considered a 'service animal' that I can take in the park with me? :)

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Coaster Lover said:

True, but for someone like me, who can drive to that park (SFA) in 15 minutes, taking public transportation would take about 1.5 hours, so that alone sets me off from that idea. Not to mention, with the price of public transportation, while it may be cheeper to go that way if you have one or two people, a family of four would end up paying less by just parking at thepark, plus they would have the convienence of being able to come and go from the park at their own schedule. Not to mention, for someone like me, I'd need to transfer twice on the metro and once more on a bus, so it's not exactly a straight shot. Maybe if they somehow extended the metro to the park that would help. I'd suggest that SFA should run a free bus from the metro stop to the park, but then I'm sure everyone would just park at the metro stop where parking is considerably less (on weekends it's free).

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Ah!HA! But your making that choice to drive to the park and pay that $15. My point is, you have alternatives if you don't want to pay that $15.

Neuski, sorry that canoe takes up a parking space. For over the dough! :)

GoodBear - My RR Staff (Reflux Relations Department - Headed by Reflux Maven) was going to announce our new attractions for the 2007 season at the end of the week, but I'll give you the scoop right here right now...

New For 2007...

Trash Splash - As "GUESTS" attempt to throw away trash bags of garbage behind the house, Great "Grand-Pappy" Reflux attempts to nail them with the garden hose. Perfect for those hot summer days.

Blue Cross Mountain - GUESTS manipulate their way into the dark corners of my basement as the strategically placed roller skates, glass marbles and Lego Parts sabatoge their journey down the stairs.

Runaway Shopping Cart - GUESTS are (Permanently)twisted into various positions (By trained goons) and chucked into a COSTCO Shopping cart. There they will pick up speed as they barrel down onto an entrance ramp of the Long Island Expressway and attempt to merge onto the HOV Lanes. (UNder 36 inches must ride with an adult.)

Shade: THe Non-Ride - As a public service to our GUESTS we will be offering shade, but only upon request and until supplies run out.

Wild Long Island - GUESTS will interact with the natural wonders of Long Island. First you get coated with a combination of Herring, Porgy and Mackerel paste and set out on the lawn. Within a few minutes, you will undoubtetly be visited by seagulls, pigieons, along iwth green head flies, bees and ferral cats. (Advanced registration required)

Sounds like one of my old trip reports.

Again, I don't like how the word "GUEST" is used by many parks. If you wants GUESTS, treat them as such.

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Ride of Steel said:
The truth is, Pepsi IS cheap. Whenever you go to a restauarant and pay $1.99 for a Pepsi it only costs them 5 cents or so.

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It's not *that* cheap. The cup alone costs nearly that much.

Just remember, what we're "giving away" doesn't just include our actual cost, it also includes what we *could* be making. In essence, we're giving away the profit (which, granted, is the greater part of the cost of a soft drink).

I realize we can go round and round about this; just wanted to throw in that information.

Paula

^Paula, this does bring up an interesting subject though. Why does Holiday World give away profit? I remember reading the blog where you mentioned all the departments that had to make financial sacrifices this year to get everything in balance. If you did sell the softdrinks, might this not be the case?

One advantage I will give to Holiday World over Lake Compounce and their free softdrink stations is that Holiday World doesn't give you a cup smaller than the size of a urine sample cup!

On a side note, when I'm at a park, I usually only buy soda with a meal. The rest of the time I'm drinking water to fight off dehydration (which I understand soda does not) due to some of my medication.

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Charles Nungester said:

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Coaster Lover said:
There's nothing worse than getting to a park and the first thing they tell you is that you need to fork over money (any amount) to park. h.

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Uh, Yes there is! Like SFNE making us wait 45 minutes to pay our ten bucks by having only one of eight lanes open.

:(

Chuck

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That's another reason to try to do away with the up-front parking fee. To me, it's as if the POP parks were still pay-per-ride (with the ticket booths throughout, and staff at the ride entrance to check for tickets/armbands, if not in the stations) and have a front gate admission fee.

Another reason for the separate parking fee? It's more enticing to advertise the $40-$45 admission, but keep the parking part a 'semi-secret - than to increase admission up to $10 and do away with the parking tolls. Also, car-loads vary - some of us enthusiasts do it alone, while families can cram up to 7 (even more) in vans and SUVS, splitting up the $10 parking fee.

Someone also mentioned public transit. I was hoping to, if I go down to Atlanta and SFOG this year, park my car at one of the suburban MARTA rail stations, stay at one of the downtown hotels, and take a bus from the Hamilton Holmes rail station to SFOG. Unfortunately I heard that MARTA axed Six Flags service after last year because of budget cuts/rising fuel costs, etc.

I wonder how much of this squabbling is due to urban vs. rural expectations. If I go to a movie in the city, I expect to pay for parking. If I go to a movie in the sticks, I don't. While technically many parks are in the sticks, they are primarily located near metropolitan areas and appealing to their denizens, most of whom are not shocked by parking fees. This particularly applies to once a season visitors who don't get parking passes, whereas regulars have the option to get that pass to save money. And yes, we don't have to get there by car - it's a choice, a convenience you pay for. I doubt a family of 4 about to shell out $240 to get into the park after paying for gas in their chosen giant gas-guzzling SUV is going to blink at $15 for parking.

This isn't about Six Flags ripping off consumers, it's about their losing money every year while already deeply in debt. You wanna keep the company as a whole and be able to get into other parks with your pass - pay a little more and keep the company afloat. Get the parking pass & think of the $15 as a fee for the privilege of visiting your non-home park for free. It's still a deal I'll take. *** Edited 2/14/2006 7:50:13 AM UTC by Erinys***