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If season passes were done away with...


Coney Islander
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This is a really interesting question! For me, it would probably depend on what we get (if anything) for 2011. If it was something rather Voyage-like, then I'd visit plenty of times. As it stands, I probably wouldn't visit more than 3 times, to be honest. Single-day admission costs enough that I wouldn't be able to do it too often... plus, it seems Holiday World still offers passes in this alternate reality. :P

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I really don`t forsee Kings Island or Cedar Fair removing season passes as an option anytime soon. At parks like Kings Island, season pass holders account for about 40% of the park`s attendance. (This was discussed in a conference call a while back). By comparison, Cedar Point`s attendance is typically comprised of about 10% pass holder visits. Cedar Fair is big on per cap spending, so the theory is the more people through the gates, the better chance they have for having a higher per cap spending. In other words, more people in the park equates to more people spending money.

Of course if they want to continue to grow the per caps spending, they would be wise to lower some of their in park pricing. Not only would they likely create more profit through higher volume (at the cost of lower margins per item sold), but it would also create a better value in the eyes of the park visitor. How many people is Kings Island/Cedar Fair losing because they are turned off by the high prices of admission, and then even further turned off by the outrageous food prices inside the park? How many peopl over the last few years have made their final visits to Kings Island because they feel that the park is just too expensive to take a family day trip there? Especially when there are lower cost options nearby like The Beach, the Cincinnati Zoo, and Coney Island.

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I think I would go twice and I've already done that this year.

Ronnie, I agree completely agree about the per cap spending and that CF would be wise to offer better prices. I refuse to spend money in the park because I feel ripped off. The funny thing is I really want to give CF more money because I love their parks. At CP I like the sports bar by Raptor and would gladly eat there everytime. I wanted to try Backyard BBQ at KI but the timing is bad. I eat a heavy lunch and a light dinner. I bought icream last time and was good with that but I;ve been trying to find ways to spend more money in the park for 3 years and that's all I've come up with.

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Good (hypothetical) question! It would pain me, especially since I live so close to the park, just off Fields Ertel. If season passes were no more, and current prices were in effect, it would be a one, maybe two times a year trip for me. I've already gone 4 times this year, 19 times in 2009 and 16 in 2008. I'd be more apt to buy a Coney Island season pass in that situation though!

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I know some hard core season pass holders that only go for 3 hours or so and are very frugal and might buy a soft drink and nothing else. They ride their roller coaster and leave for the day. Some brag about having been through the front gate 60 or more times. These are single pass holders and not families with season passes.

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I know some hard core season pass holders that only go for 3 hours or so and are very frugal and might buy a soft drink and nothing else. They ride their roller coaster and leave for the day. Some brag about having been through the front gate 60 or more times. These are single pass holders and not families with season passes.

We do this from time to time. We usually stay until lunch, get us some Skyline, and leave. If we don't feel like spending the money for the food then we leave. With that being said, the lines after lunchtime are usually too long to waste time with. That's what I love about Season Passes, you can go, enjoy, and leave once it becomes too crowded. When buying a one day ticket to a park you feel pressured to experience the entire park in one day.

With that being said, there are days that we stay until about 5, and there are days that we arrive later in the day. And with Snoopy's Starlight thing, we'll be hitting the park at night more often.

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That last part of your comment is exactly what the park hopes for with Snoopy`s Starlight Spectacular. They hope more people stay at the park longer in the day, or visit later in the day. The reason they hope for this is if people stay in the park all day versus leaving around 5 or 6 is that they theoretically are spending more money if they spend the entire day at the park. And people spending more money is generally the goal, after all, Cedar Fair is in the business to make money. Although, I still think they need to rethink their pricing structure for most of their food and drink prices. They are simply too high for the quality offered.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Once a year for me. There are two many other places to see/parks to go to in the world. Without a season pass to keep my next visit "free", I don't see the draw.

We're taking the year off of parks due to buying a house and our wedding, and we can see a difference in how much money we are NOT spending when we would do our normal 5 or 6 trips to various parks and a cruise each year.... the idea of having to pay even more money to get in the park because of not having a season pass is not very appealing.

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  • In an average year, 100 tons of hamburgers and 300 tons of French fries are consumed by guests. Additionally, guests consume about 3,000,000 gallons of soft drinks each year, which is enough to fill the Royal Fountain about six times.

I do not think they will ever discontinue season passes. Nor lower pricing on any consumable product.

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Guest Millennium

Once. I actually was close to not getting one this year. As it is basically the same as last year (but with Planet Snoopy, which I'm not interested) I was considering going once. But then I realized how I couldn't resist The Beast or Diamondback .

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This is an "it depends" scenario to me.

What does admission cost?

How busy is the park?

What are the lines like?

What entertainment is offered?

What food is offered? How much does it cost? How good is it?

What rides are offered?

How is the park staffed?

A season pass is a high privilege, but one must wonder what the park would be like without such offerings these days. I guess they are going to find out at Kennywood this year, which offered a limited number of season passes this year, having never offered such a thing before...

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I often have wondered, what percentage of park guests are season pass holders and what percentage buy daily passes? I know right now, I come and go as I please. I buy things some times. If I only went once, I would stay all day, but it would just be one day for me.

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