KI-ORIG-EMP Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 If this happens every Columbus Day weekend on Saturdays, I would not go on that day. There is nothing special there that day that is not there during the summer or the weekend before. I would love to be a fly on the wall when officials from Sandusky and Cedar Fair meet to discuss this on how to improve this traffic mess. They know from prior years what the traffic and crowds are and the park knows what is the estimate of that day's crowd will be and the traffic that it will create. I would love to hear what they are discuss with each other as how to handle it. Who knows, one of the things that might be banded around is, "what if we increase the price based on this huge increase in demand?" "How will that affect the crowds and the increased traffic it will produce?" Look at the price of gasoline increases as we always head into a huge holiday weekend when we get in our cars and head to the shore or other vacation spots. So they either increase or add routes to CP, which is very expensive or can't be done; or increase admission and other prices due to the increase in demand; and or extend the park's hours of operations. If I was going to CP and I knew ahead of time what the crowds might be and how heavy the traffic would be, I would elect to arrive there the night prior and arrive at the park very early in the morning to avoid the crowds and leave before the park closed for the night to avoid the traffic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Who knows? The Chairman and CEO. He has said to expect dynamic pricing. I believe him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 ^ Unwinding third party ticket distribution deals (Kroger, etc) was also a goal, but that hasn't happened. It remains to be seen how much dynamic pricing the market will bear. Online admission "discounts" are already highly variable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Rome was not built in a day. Regular season passes used to be good all season. They used to have Bring A Friend FREE days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 At a destination park. Yep. That's going to go over real well. It works for Disney, and to say Cedar Point is anything CLOSE to Disney would be like saying INTAMIN has a stellar reliability record. Ive heard of numerous times where WDW has closed its entrance gates due to the park reaching capacity (usually on New Years Eve/Day). I think its a case of the mighty $$ being more important than guest safety/comfort/value. Im sorry, thats just how I see it when I see a number like 50,000+ and the park NOT closing its gates. Same stupid thing happened at KI during the cycle jump in 08, my Wife and I were there exactly long enough to walk around the park one single time, and leave. The place reminded me of an open-air Wal Mart during Black Friday, and the gates were still open. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI-ORIG-EMP Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 If you go into any business such as a movie theater or a restaurant, there is a sign posted that list the capacity as set by the fire department of that city. I would think that the fire department or other safety department of the city where amusement parks are located has set crowd limits and require them to act when it reaches said capacity. But each park would not post any of these limits like the other business are required to and keep it very confidential. Does the city's fire department or police have any input into large crowd size like this and the traffic that it produces? If the park would reach its capacity, do they have the authority advise the public that the traffic is backup and huge delays are to be expected and to even order the park to stop accepting guests? I know back in the 70's or 80's, Kings Island did reach capacity and the signs on I-71 said the park was full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTD-120-420 Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 It's easier to close business down before hand when it's good, than keep it open during a week and only make decent money two/three nights...It's why you don't see the parks open during this time too.. You would think the restaurants would at least be open on weekends up until CP closes for the winter. I've been to CP/Sandusky during the winter. I know how dead it gets. I kind of feel bad for the permanent residents. There were barely any places to eat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Staffing cp for weekend operation is hard enough...they even brought back bonuses this year for post season to help with retention. If staffing a park is hard imagine local business. And there is still your typical restaurants...and the stuff outside of the tourist area that you see..but yeah most of route 6 and a good bit of 250 is empty off season 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 If you go into any business such as a movie theater or a restaurant, there is a sign posted that list the capacity as set by the fire department of that city. I would think that the fire department or other safety department of the city where amusement parks are located has set crowd limits and require them to act when it reaches said capacity. But each park would not post any of these limits like the other business are required to and keep it very confidential. Does the city's fire department or police have any input into large crowd size like this and the traffic that it produces? If the park would reach its capacity, do they have the authority advise the public that the traffic is backup and huge delays are to be expected and to even order the park to stop accepting guests? I know back in the 70's or 80's, Kings Island did reach capacity and the signs on I-71 said the park was full. You're comparing small, indoor venues of a different industry to a massive theme park. Apples to Oranges. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I'm surprised and stunned by the people saying a version of "the people should've expected this," "it's no different from a popular sporting event or concert," etc. The idea of being in dead-stopped traffic for 4, 3, or even 2 hours is absolutely miserable. Actually going through it would be indescribable. Folks would run the gamut from infuriated to enraged, I have no doubt. I understand there's little that Cedar Point could do and that it comes with the territory, but add on 4 hours of dead stopped traffic to that feeling you (and your family - including young children) have after an exhausting 12 hour day at a sunny, 80 degree theme park. Woof. Disneyland's annual pass has four tiers. The lower two are for Southern California residents only, with the cheaper being blocked out all summer, most Friday / Saturdays, and in the weeks around holidays. They're cheap. The higher tears are $450 and $600, respectively, with only the $600 one free of blockout dates. Say what you will - it works. On days when the resort is handed last-minute plans from the Orlando-based Parks headquarters for 24-hour parties or Friday-the-13th celebrations with no chance to block out passes, roads are absolutely gridlocked, and both parks close to capacity. It's a nightmare, and as miserable as a Disney park can be. Famously, during the 24-hour party on February 29th, every changeable sign in Orange County was automatically switched to read "DISNEYLAND CLOSED" in all caps. Didn't do much to divert the gridlocked traffic that had already blocked every highway for miles... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I should mention, Disneyland has major, major parking problems, too. When it became a "resort" in 2001, Disney California Adventure park was built on the original Disneyland Park's parking lot. Eisner and Co. added a massive, enormous parking deck that's filled on even the most mild attendance days, relegating many to hastily-purchased surface lots scattered around the resort where they have to be bussed in. On high-attendance days, cast members are told to arrive on-property at least 1.5 hours before their shift starts since they'll be parking at the Anaheim Angels baseball stadium - their usual lots (already more than a mile from the parks) will be needed for customer parking. In other words, the idea of being right by the gate at Cedar Point is a luxury. Expect satellite lots in the future, probably on the mainland with shuttle service. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 If this was me, I would have tried to pull off to the side somewhere or go back to the parking lot and just sleep in my car until it cleared out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTD-120-420 Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 News says that this was not a record day. Also, CP vows to never have this bad of parking problems again... http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2013/10/cedar_point_vows_parking_probl.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Until next year...nothing is new...happens every year...I should copy the CP employee pages I'm on...even some accounts as early as people there late 90's had this issue...lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Halloweekend Saturdays have always been notoriously busy. This past CP HW Saturday is not a shock. Unfortunate for those unaware, but still not a shock. CP can only do so much for a seasonal park. While it is easy to blame the park for parking & traffic; is spending millions upon millions for more traffic lanes & parking justified for only handful of Saturdays in Sept/ Oct where weather plays a HUGE factor? Go on HW Friday nights or Sundays instead of a Saturday. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Cedar Point promised it would handle this better this year. It apparently did. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 At 1 am I had no issues getting out of the parking lot. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gplez90 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Personally, i love hearing about this day every year, as its historically the busiest day of the year. I love hearing about the crazy parking situation, especially from my friends who i gave advise to telling them to avoid that day. Then Sunday morning comes around and they're all like "dang GPlez90, you were right! We should've gone a different day." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuskin Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Its too bad they sold off KI's old monorail. Yes its dated, and yes its old, but boy that would be an easy addition to help traffic flow. Would it be big enough to travel the causeway? No, not at all, but you could make it longer.....or there is the option of just building a new one That's my bit on the future of the parking at CP. However, bus's are probably the easiest fix at this time, and the most likely to occur. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalefan Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Its too bad they sold off KI's old monorail. Yes its dated, and yes its old, but boy that would be an easy addition to help traffic flow. Would it be big enough to travel the causeway? No, not at all, but you could make it longer.....or there is the option of just building a new one That's my bit on the future of the parking at CP. However, bus's are probably the easiest fix at this time, and the most likely to occur. Building a new monorail will cost more then Dragster and Banshee combined. But it would help, and they can build parking away from the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I've heard parking garages mentioned before. Anyone think that may be a viable idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I've heard parking garages mentioned before. Anyone think that may be a viable idea? It would make the traffic worse, if on the peninsula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Works well for Universal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTD-120-420 Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 ^This is false, somewhat. I was stuck in Universal's parking garage for forty minutes a few weeks ago. It wasn't even that busy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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