The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 You got to love marketing speak: ...Cedar Point has offered discounts on its admission price for several years, but last year the park began offering new discounts, and offers like a meal for a few dollars extra, or a package of four tickets at a combined discount rate. Stacy Frole, a spokesman for Cedar Fair LP, Cedar Point's parent firm, said this year's discounts, are "not a significant variance from what we've done in the past." But the company has added new discounts and ways to save at many of its parks, including Cedar Point, through special online promotions and value packages. In addition, the ability to obtain the discounts this year seem available to almost anyone, including by grabbing a lottery ticket. Cedar Point brought back its popular buy-four tickets and save $40 offer, but it added a discount that saves $15 on the admission price if one visits the park on July 15 and 29, which are Wednesdays. And there are discounts galore at Cedar Fair's other 10 amusement parks. They range from $2 to $18 off the daily admission price, subject to certain conditions.... (emphasis added) Note the transition in the article from the Frole statement to what Cedar Point and Cedar Fair have done this year. ...said Rick Munarriz, a theme parks analyst with the Motley Fool online investing site. "The idea is, you have to get people to the parks. Once we get people in here, we're not going to have half-price meals or half-price souvenirs. Even if all they buy is cotton candy, that's still better than buying nothing at all." ... http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...ESS03/907109943 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns4life Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 They obviously do not care what people think. They are bascially admitting they are going to screw you over when it comes to food. Thank god i dont buy park food! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 It's not just food. It's games ($5? $10?). It's souvenirs. It's $5 shirts that fall apart on first washing (as reported here). It's $15, and more, to park at a certain chain that numbers its flags (but not in Ky, where they do not own their lot, and the Commonwealth does). Rides must be paid for. Salaries must be paid. It's a seasonal business, open only a few months each year. And debts must be paid. Crushing debt loads, incurred when parks were being bought left and right for amazing prices, both by chains that number their flags and chains that in the past had been known for their conservative fiscal basis and sound financing, along with high dividends on their units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns4life Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 What would you rather have? High gate price with normal to slightly above average food and souviner prices? Low gate price with outrageous food and souviner prices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 The seasonal park industry as a whole has determined that relatively lower gate prices and higher in park prices is the way to go. The first year Cedar Fair owned Kings Island, the legacy Cedar Fair parks had lowered some of their food prices and promoted it highly, particularly the 25 cent cotton candy. CBS had greatly escalated the food pricing at the Paramount Parks before the sale. Even Cedar Fair executives were greatly surprised that the food business neither increased as much as they thought it would at the legacy Cedar Fair parks nor declined as much as they thought it would at the former Paramount Parks. The next year, Cedar Fair adopted a uniformly higher food pricing policy across the chain, and Mr. Kinzel famously said later that food pricing had increased by a "nickel or so." Put another way, to a very large extent, food demand in parks seems relatively inelastic, and parks have determined they can profit most at a relatively high pricing level. I still think that pricing DOES drive away gate admissions: Marge, we ain't going to Kings Island this year, remember last year when we paid over 45 bucks for a pizza and four Cokes? Forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns4life Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Wouldnt you think they could get more people to buy there if it was at a lower price? Say you have the one family that buys the pizza and four Cokes for $45 OR you can have two families buy the same thing at say 30 a piece? you are making 60 instead of 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 But there is a cost involved. The question is not how much pizza and Coke you can sell, but how much money you can make. One would hope that Cedar Fair has done extensive market research to determine the pricing level at which the most profit occurs (just as have companies like Wal-Mart and Best Buy). I find it shocking that the drink wrist bands appeared, were sold, then disappeared already. That would make a great question for the upcoming conference call...Why did you do that, why did you stop, and have you looked at models like that used by Holiday World where soda pricing is "Free" with admission? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 A long time ago, a thread was started...What Can We Expect from Cedar Fair? One of my incorrect assumptions, based on what Cedar Fair was doing at the time, was lower food prices! I also wrongly assumed that entertainment would worsen. I also thought, based on Dick Kinzel's then iron clad rule about pricing integrity, that free parking with a season pass would go away. It did...briefly! On the other hand, I was right about more investing in rides; a cleaner park; ending most of the free admissions with things like radio contests, bring a friend free day, etc.; putting in many more trash cans and doing things the Cedar Fair way. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7632 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns4life Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I remember reading somewhere that when Holiday World introdcued free soft drinks, their food sales went up 77% or somthing like that. I cant remember where i read it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 It also had quite the effects on attendance, guest satisfaction and even on employee labor. It is a very different way of doing business. Just don't assume the soft drinks are free to park guests. They are actually already factored into the business model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns4life Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I know you are still paying for the drinks, but i dont have a problem with it being in the admission price. I know when i am there is eat alot of park food, and we always buy some sort of souviner on the way out. I guess i walk into the park and I do not feel like im getting screwed over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windshawne Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 The food at KI is horrible, and priced out of sight on top of it. I went to Coney-had a burger, fries, beer and I forget what else-$10. At KI I can get a beer for just over $7. I gotta tell ya, the burger was as good as something I would make, fresh off the grill. So guess who is going to get my discretionary income? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 "The bitterness of low quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has been faded." Unfortunately, high pricing plus low quality does indeed create lasting memories... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windshawne Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 "The bitterness of low quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has been faded." Unfortunately, high pricing plus low quality does indeed create lasting memories... You hit the nail on the head. Haunt 2007 I paid $5 for a pretzel due to low blood sugar, and it was not edible. Hard as a rock and horrible. I will carry crackers or something now. I have noticed on La Rosas the crust keeps getting thinner and thinner. Yuk!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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