It seems to be being a gold pass holder doesn't really include any benefits since so many people have a gold pass.  Is anyone on board with the park charging extra like $15 to try to add some value back into the gold pass

Nah, they should go big. They ought to charge at least $100 more and let your upgraded pass get you into Cedar Point. They could name it after another metal...

In all seriousness: yeah, I also don't feel like Gold passes have the exclusivity they were originally meant to under Paramount. You honestly have to go out of your way to get a regular season pass at this point. What perks would you add to improve it, though?

Maybe bring back the gold pass parking and coupons for percentage of stores.  In reality you wouldn't have to add any perks that aren't there now since I think the ERT woudl be enough.  So many havegold passes now though its hard to justify it as a perk.

Drastically increase the price and reduce the time they are available for purchase. Thereby fewer are sold without hurting the profit for the park. I think we all remember the fiasco at the 2017 Gold Pass Preview night. Clearly too many gold passes are being sold or they are priced way too low. 

Really, what sold the gold pass for me is the Free Parking (and unlimited visits thru year end) , allows a quick run to the park and more rides thru the Fall.  (We maybe used the ERT's once or twice). I think they could sell downgraded passes of just Unlimited Visits and/or free parking added with no other perks (silver?)

5 hours ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

What perks would you add to improve it, though?

Maybe Gold Pass holders could be allowed to bring in sidewalk chalk and silly string.

^A few guests brought in those contact powder firecrackers that you throw on the ground yesterday. 

Platinum Passholders would be allowed to lob water balloons off WindSeeker and ET.  

I think @King Ding Dong should get his own platinum elite diamond exclusive pass.  This would allow him to have a special gondola on WindSeeker that is equipped with a Freestyle concierge.

Would that be the Lucy Edition or Peppermint Patty Edition of the Platinum Elite Diamond Exclusive Pass? 

3 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

Would that be the Lucy Edition or Peppermint Patty Edition of the Platinum Elite Diamond Exclusive Pass? 

Actually, since this level of pass is exclusive to you alone, you can choose your favorite Hannah Barbera character.  Dennis Spiegel will be your concierge on WindSeeker.

 

I really like the idea of memberships versus passes. Lock you in for 12 months for your first year and just pay a small monthly fee.

The Gold Pass program has one function and one function only: to create a sense of urgency in purchasing your pass so you make more visits throughout the year.  I'd say that only a small percentage of season passes are not Gold - likely well under 10%. 

Gold, however, does have some benefits that are valuable.  Haunt, WF, and parking all come to mind. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: there is no true value to you, as a customer, for a membership program over a payment plan.  You are paying for a "membership" that you aren't allowed to use for about 5 months out of the year.  If you want to open up the park so you can poke around in February at your leisure then that's a different story.

Also, don't forget how arguably bad the Six Flags membership program is.  You have to sign a contract for 12 months (I think) and if the card you use get cancelled, or you can't pay it for one reason or another then they will both terminate your pass and report it to the credit agencies.  Do you really trust Cedar Fair with this?  What benefit could this possibly have for you?

The membership plan seems cheaper to me.  For example We paid $900 almost for our Kings Island passes this year.  A Six Flag membership with food passes would cost our family a mere $500 a year almost half as less and we get to visit more than just one park.  

If you have a SF Park as your home park there is not a huge benefit to a membership over a pass.  However if you are some distance from  SF park like most of us here in Ohio and the Cincy area there is one huge benefit and that is the yearly in person processing required by a pass.  With a membership you can purchase at a time and price that works for you and process it.  You are then free to cancel after 12 months or keep paying and never have the need to process in person again in one of the small windows SF offers for the Gold (or whatever) benefits which the most substantial is free parking.   

The total yearly cost of a membership vs a pass at SF is substantially the same.  Obviously some don’t like paying a monthly payment in the off season when they can’t use the park, some don’t like paying CF $1500 in the fall for the best price and then not being able to use the the vast majority of those benefits until the following April or May.  Pick your poison.  

If your financial situation is so variable that there is a risk you cannot make the monthly payments then a one time lump payment per year is probably best for you.   But many seem to manage recurring monthly payments like their phone bill, internet, cable, Netflix, Hulu, insurance, electricity, gas, water and sewer just fine. If one payment account gets cancelled or expires I have several others to choose from.  Don’t see a problem there.   

Does anyone here think that KI has created a mindset among the GP that they'll always extend the Gold Pass offers now?  Especially now that they're extending it to July?  Think they'll be any backlash if they go through a season and don't extend it?

9 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

Does anyone here think that KI has created a mindset among the GP that they'll always extend the Gold Pass offers now?  Especially now that they're extending it to July?  Think they'll be any backlash if they go through a season and don't extend it?

Yes. And they seriously damaged any sense of urgency with the July 4th extension.

The extensions happen every spring and fall, and now I expect them as a result. I have a Platinum Pass, so I tune out the May-July window of buying a Gold Pass and instead focus on the fall renewal window. And then there's Auto-Renewal but that's a different story.

But I think @silver2005 is totally right. Surely I am not the only one who "knows" that they will extend the offers every time. @BoddaH1994 is right too. I believe the urgency has decreased dramatically, if not disappeared entirely since this past offer was extended for over a month rather than a mere four days. Then again, I have had a Platinum Pass since 2013 (and Gold from 2010-2012) so I am no longer part of the target audience (except for renewal time), but I just thought it wouldn't hurt if I chipped in with my thoughts.