Platinum Pass to be Replaced by Passport

[BeeastFarmer]

7 minutes ago, jsus said:

Okay but tell us how you really feel...

There's more, trust me. 

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, Oldschool75 said:

I think it makes it easier when renewing. If someone wants to downgrade or upgrade for the next year they don’t have to get a new card. I’m guessing it’s saving them money by not having to issue new cards, but also easier to manage in their system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You don’t actually have to get a new card when you upgrade or downgrade. All they info on your account is linked to the QR code that is on the card. Last year my friend upgraded his gold pass to platinum online, he never did change his card out till this season. What he did get was a lot of interesting looks at the gate when we visited CP last season tho. 

[OverlandTaxis30]

Time to get back on track here. 
How do you think the season long add ons will be affected by this new thing? Dining, drink, Fast Pass, etc.?

[BeeastFarmer]

1 hour ago, Oldschool75 said:

Are you 5 years old?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, I've had more than five years of memories. It's been quite the ride through time, actually!

As I was driving home from my workplace tonight (takes an hour and a stunning drive this time of year) I was reflecting on a conversation I had with a coworker today about being successfully employed at the same place for almost 16 years, but each day being a new challenge.  Makes me appreciate the warrior @SonofBaconator is with all he has been through.  Overcoming obstacles to a successful outcomes is what winners do and @SonofBaconatorpersonifies this.

[disco2000]

16 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

No, I've had more than five years of memories. It's been quite the ride through time, actually!

As I was driving home from my workplace tonight (takes an hour and a stunning drive this time of year) I was reflecting on a conversation I had with a coworker today about being successfully employed at the same place for almost 16 years, but each day being a new challenge.  Makes me appreciate the warrior @SonofBaconator is with all he has been through.  Overcoming obstacles to a successful outcomes is what winners do and @SonofBaconatorpersonifies this.

16 years at one employer is longer than some of the members here have been alive LOL.

[BeeastFarmer]

43 minutes ago, OverlandTaxis30 said:

Time to get back on track here. 
How do you think the season long add ons will be affected by this new thing? Dining, drink, Fast Pass, etc.?

I think add ons will increase in price.  If they are smart, they will.

But you could see a model where add ons are not valid at other parks. So you have a ki gold with passport and all the extras.  But you go to KD and you get into the park, but you pay full freight for your meals and drinks. 

[BeeastFarmer]

6 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

16 years at one employer is longer than some of the members here have been alive LOL.

Laws a mercy, tarnation. But new blood can bring new energy to Oldfarts like you and me. I think I can use that word here, No Legs Larry says it in the show!

[Orion-XL200]

5 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I think add ons will increase in price.  If they are smart, they will.

But you could see a model where add ons are not valid at other parks. So you have a ki gold with passport and all the extras.  But you go to KD and you get into the park, but you pay full freight for your meals and drinks. 

I just have a feeling it's going to get even more complicated when people already don't understand the pass they have and what add ons they have. "Does my Kings Island Gold Pass get me discount tickets to Cedar Point?" "Does my Kings Island Gold Pass let me park for free at Cedar Point?" 

Pair that with the terrible rollout of the Prestige Pass for this season...conflicting information everywhere about what exactly the perks were and where they could be used. But hey...infused water.

[disco2000]

Just now, Orion-XL200 said:

I just have a feeling it's going to get even more complicated when people already don't understand the pass they have and what add ons they have. "Does my Kings Island Gold Pass get me discount tickets to Cedar Point?" "Does my Kings Island Gold Pass let me park for free at Cedar Point?" 

Pair that with the terrible rollout of the Prestige Pass for this season...conflicting information everywhere about what exactly the perks were and where they could be used. But hey...infused water.

But next year Gold will get you parking at Cedar Point if you have the passport pass...or would the gold still scan at the toll regardless of the passport?

Not only will it be complicated for the guest, but we have seen the nightmare issues some have had with the pass now - works all season and then one day not at all.  There will be lots of visits to guest services.

What we will see short-term is that CF will sneak quite a few sales of Prestige next year for people that don't know better and assume that is now the platinum.  And then many of them will be ticked off they were scammed and not renew the following year.

It will be interesting.  Many people I know have said they are not getting passes next year, and I believe them.  Let's see how many do the same.

 

[silver2005]

Also, try working admissions trying to keep track of all those different passes. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

I am also worried about the passport add ons working correctly. Especially when your drive to another park 10 hrs away and they can't figure out why you're add ons are not there. 

I have had that problem with a platinum that is/was pretty straight forward. I said this on my last post, but I already feel for the call center employees.

[johnjniehaus]

Sometimes as my grandpa says, you shouldn't fix what ain't broke. I know some people have said the prestige+ was a bad deal and that CF wasn't honest (I personally was a gold pass holder all these years so I really don't know the issues or what prestige customers faced) but I don't get what was wrong with the platinum pass or why it needed to be replaced by a new system. This year I upgraded my gold to platinum so I guess I'll be getting a gold card again next year with passport benefits. Wonder if I can use my KI Gold Pass with Passport for Canadian boarder crossings as well as entry to Canada's Wonderland? 

[Benjamin22]

I’m guessing market research showed guests are more likely to just spend $100 on an add on then buying a $100 more expensive pass. I agree with others that this change doesn’t seem to benefit consumers at all besides it being $50 cheaper.

[IBEW_Sparky]

4 hours ago, OverlandTaxis30 said:

Time to get back on track here. 
How do you think the season long add ons will be affected by this new thing? Dining, drink, Fast Pass, etc.?

Dining and drink plans wont change, if they are going to utilize their regular M.O., they will go for the BIG money grab and eliminate Passport season long FL and make it valid only at the park the Gold is assigned to.  People can leave the park to eat and can always get free water, but there is no way someone who is used to having FL at KI for instance would tolerate a day at CP without it and they know it. so that way not will they get the $1000 bones from the sale of the season long FL, but also however many $150 wristbands that person buys.  

[BoddaH1994]

Do I need to get a new card?

Will I get the renewal price since I’m “downgrading” to Gold?

I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but someone said there is some sort of vague language that tells you to contact the park that you are going to visit to see about eligibility. What’s up with that?

Will I get an exact list of benefits from each park or will I be instructed to call the park I’m going to visit to find out what benefits you get? (This was 100% unacceptable when we were told to do this for Prestige benefits this year.)

At least we can look forward to how this is gaffed by the park so everyone is angry or confused.

Terms are subject to change. No refunds. 

[Tim K]

 This is a horrible idea.  Have had a Platinum pass for years with Kings Island being my home park, yet just go to Cedar Point and Kings Island.. What needs to be done is have a regional park pass for Ohio parks if desired and keep the Platinum pass the same.   This whole Prestige pass is no bargain and not going to any other parks yet paying for the Fast Lane of almost 1,000.00 for two parks that I patronize is robbery.   This company continues to decline in passholders loyalty.   Why Kings Island offers a passholders preview day, which is AWESOME yet Cedar Point doesn't is unacceptable.  Kings Island is a much better experience than Cedar Point, although I am 3 hours away from Kings Island and 1 hour from Cedar Point.   Was at Cedar Point today and the operations were abysmal, the park itself was kinda dirty and this  was the "flagship park" for years.  Now they're going to eliminate the Platinum pass?  Well, definitely not interested in this whatsoever.  Horrible idea CF.

[DJSkyFoxx]

I realize I have not been a passholder for as long as some folks (holder since 2010), but long enough to say that all this back and forth the last 1-2 years is already pretty exhausting. I don't want to participate in mental Olympics just to be a pass holder.

I've been perfectly happy with my straight-forward Platinum pass for the last several years and even happier with the add -ons that have steadily become available.

 

Now the new changes coming for next season. Wow. I really hope the language becomes less vague because the whole thing still feels like murky waters. Because like mentioned above will the renewal price be at a discount? What are the "former" regular add ons going to look like? I also got to thinking, how will early entry be treated? Will the base Gold passers be left out and only Prestige be allowed in for early entry? I have so many questions going forward. I don't want to have all these add ons and essentially feel like I paid a premium to get less at a park that isn't my home park. If I paid for all access all park add ons then it should be linear. Period. 

[DispatchMaster]

I feel like I'm missing something, because to me this seems like a simplification.

Currently, there are (I think) a whopping five passes available (at CP anyway), all providing various levels of access and benefits: Summer, Gold, Platinum, Prestige, Prestige+. Going forward, that gets distilled down to three passes: Summer, Gold, and Prestige. Using the mathematical process known as "subtraction" I have concluded that three is fewer than five (someone please check me on this). Having fewer passes seems less confusing than having more passes, but, you know, YMMV.

The only additional detail is the Passport, but that seems pretty straightforward in that it extends your pass (along with any add-ons) to other participating CF parks. But understanding what the Passport provides seems more intuitive than trying to compare Platinum, Prestige, and Prestige+ to determine which pass provides access to other parks, which pass includes add-ons, etc.

[jsus]

1 hour ago, DispatchMaster said:

I feel like I'm missing something, because to me this seems like a simplification.

Currently, there are (I think) a whopping five passes available (at CP anyway), all providing various levels of access and benefits: Summer, Gold, Platinum, Prestige, Prestige+. Going forward, that gets distilled down to three passes: Summer, Gold, and Prestige. Using the mathematical process known as "subtraction" I have concluded that three is fewer than five (someone please check me on this). Having fewer passes seems less confusing than having more passes, but, you know, YMMV.

The only additional detail is the Passport, but that seems pretty straightforward in that it extends your pass (along with any add-ons) to other participating CF parks. But understanding what the Passport provides seems more intuitive than trying to compare Platinum, Prestige, and Prestige+ to determine which pass provides access to other parks, which pass includes add-ons, etc.

"No, you can't use your gold pass here"

"Wait do you have the Passport add-on?  Then yeah..."

Vs "Of course, your Platinum Pass is valid at all of our outdoor water and ride parks through December 31!"

Because Platinum is Platinum is Platinum.  Gold vs. Gold with Passport add-on is a great way to confuse people if not all Golds are created equal, even bought at the same park.  Some might think "Passport" is included and not realize it's an add-on.  Some might think that since they've had Platinum for years, and, not seeing Platinum, that Prestige is the same thing.  And end up without the stupid "Passport add-on", only to realize that what they already thought was a large price hike (especially over Gold) doesn't even get them into other parks.

For instance...

The current lineup is not terribly complicated.

Mainline tiers - vast majority would seem to prefer they stuck with these...

• Silver/summer is the cheapest during the season at least.  Fine if you don't want separate gate waterparks (e.g. Cedar Point Shores), Halloweekends, etc.  This one isn't necessary but forms the "good" part of "good, better, best" to make Gold look better.
• Gold - all season, CPS at CP, add in things like BAF
• Platinum - like gold but with all parks and a few more discounts

And then beyond that you have the "Prestige" passes which, as shown on here, don't seem to add much value despite the steep price increases.  Or just drop the racket, either way.

If anything, make the add-on be a "VIP" product on Gold and Platinum to replace "Prestige", that seems less confusing than changing the two passes that make up the bulk of your sales historically.  Prestige is just Gold + VIP at its core, Prestige+ is Platinum + VIP.

[DispatchMaster]

13 minutes ago, jsus said:

vast majority would seem to prefer they stuck with these...

Citation needed. Enthusiasts complaining about something on the Internet is not, and has never been, indicative of how the "vast majority" feels. 

[jsus]

8 minutes ago, DispatchMaster said:

Citation needed. Enthusiasts complaining about something on the Internet is not, and has never been, indicative of how the "vast majority" feels. 

That's your response, that I need to prove my interpretations and anecdotal evidence?  Ohh kayyyy then.

Well, here goes.  Source: me.  I wrote those words.

[DispatchMaster]

It's one thing to suggest that the new pass lineup is confusing to you, I get that. I disagree, and think this is a pretty clear example of people complaining about change, because change is scary or whatever, but I get that you find it confusing or whatever.

But it's quite another to suggest that your confusion is shared by others, and even more absurd to suggest the "vast majority" of people find it confusing or that there's a wave of outrage due to this.

They have effectively gone back to the old, simpler pass strategy of offering two passes, one of which includes early entry and the like, except now you can extend either of those passes to other CF parks. Or if you want a super basic pass, there's a third option in the Summer Pass. It's really not confusing, and I'm kind of astonished why anyone thinks it is. Different, yes, but at the end of the day it's fewer pass options which is a simplification.

 

[robintodd]

17 minutes ago, DispatchMaster said:

It's one thing to suggest that the new pass lineup is confusing to you, I get that. I disagree, and think this is a pretty clear example of people complaining about change, because change is scary or whatever, but I get that you find it confusing or whatever.

But it's quite another to suggest that your confusion is shared by others, and even more absurd to suggest the "vast majority" of people find it confusing or that there's a wave of outrage due to this.

They have effectively gone back to the old, simpler pass strategy of offering two passes, one of which includes early entry and the like, except now you can extend either of those passes to other CF parks. Or if you want a super basic pass, there's a third option in the Summer Pass. It's really not confusing, and I'm kind of astonished why anyone thinks it is. Different, yes, but at the end of the day it's fewer pass options which is a simplification.

 

I see the simplification.  Actually I would go a step further and get rid of prestige.  Make preffered parking, single use fastpass per visit, vip acces add-ons to the gold pass as well and then add the passport on to be able to use the benefits at all parks.  

Trust that those surveys the've been sending out aren't just for fun.  They gather information we are not privy to and is used to guide the parks decision.

[IndyGuy4KI]

3 hours ago, DispatchMaster said:

It's one thing to suggest that the new pass lineup is confusing to you, I get that. I disagree, and think this is a pretty clear example of people complaining about change, because change is scary or whatever, but I get that you find it confusing or whatever.

The current system was confusing enough to people. The amount of questions sent to us and seen on other social channels should be a pretty clear indicator. 

I don't really see this as people complaining about a change. I see it as people concerned about the possible confusion that people have now then getting worse with verbage and benefits listed being very convoluted on what you are getting. Lastly, look how prestige was handled. I think a repeat of that might also be driving people's concerns as well.

[Coastercrush]

This is the current bs verbage:

†Savings amount varies depending on sales price and time of year that pass was purchased 

*Gold and Prestige Benefits may vary by park. Contact the park you are planning to visit for any questions regarding applicable benefits. 

**Prestige Pass only available at Carowinds, Cedar Point, and Kings Island

Prestige was started last year as a way to boost revenue but has been a pr disaster but hey they already have your money.  Seems to me like by eliminating platinum they hope to generate more expensive prestige pass sales.  When they went on sale last year there was something about prestige only entrance and people on the ki passholder Facebook group thought they could get into the park up to two hours early.

[KIfan73]

What does it cost to get into Kings Island if you just drive there and buy a ticket at the gate?

[DispatchMaster]

27 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

verbage and benefits listed being very convoluted on what you are getting.

I guess I don't understand what's confusing or convoluted about the reduction of 5 passes to 3, with the sole complexity being whether or not to add access to other CF parks. I'm honestly trying to wrap my mind about what's so confounding about fewer choices being more confusing.

Like, if I'm shopping for a car, and there are 15 cars in my budget from 3 different manufacturers, each with their own warranty policies, etc., I'd have a lot to consider. But if there are only 4 cars to choose from, all from 1 manufacturer, I have quite a lot less to think about.

What am I missing?

[Coastercrush]

3 minutes ago, DispatchMaster said:

I guess I don't understand what's confusing or convoluted about the reduction of 5 passes to 3, with the sole complexity being whether or not to add access to other CF parks. I'm honestly trying to wrap my mind about what's so confounding about fewer choices being more confusing.

Like, if I'm shopping for a car, and there are 15 cars in my budget from 3 different manufacturers, each with their own warranty policies, etc., I'd have a lot to consider. But if there are only 4 cars to choose from, all from 1 manufacturer, I have quite a lot less to think about.

What am I missing?

It used to be gold or platinum.  Cedar Fair made it confusing last year.  Does anyone actually know anyone with a summer pass?

[disco2000]

35 minutes ago, DispatchMaster said:

I guess I don't understand what's confusing or convoluted about the reduction of 5 passes to 3, with the sole complexity being whether or not to add access to other CF parks. I'm honestly trying to wrap my mind about what's so confounding about fewer choices being more confusing.

Like, if I'm shopping for a car, and there are 15 cars in my budget from 3 different manufacturers, each with their own warranty policies, etc., I'd have a lot to consider. But if there are only 4 cars to choose from, all from 1 manufacturer, I have quite a lot less to think about.

What am I missing?

What you are missing is benefits vary across parks for the same pass.  One example - gold gets you ERT at KI but a gold pass doesn't at CP.

They have a caveat to contact park for your eligible benefits.  Look how well that worked out for Prestige.

Are they going to make gold benefits consistent across the parks?

Basically folks are saying based on their experiences using the existing pass system that had been around for many years that there is lots of confusion with the existing program, so this will have as much or more.

Based on what was seen so far, a lot of questions haven't been addressed and the concern is they will make them up as they go long after people bought passes.  Just like they did Prestige.

So what if they say gold is just like it is now and someone from KI with gold and Passport go to CP.  Will they add Passport to ERT or will they leave that to Prestige to encourage sales of those?  We don't have those answers.

With change comes confusion and maybe it will simplify things down the road, but next year will be a hot mess.  Wait until we see the questions on FB lol.  They are comical and stupid now, so this will just add to it lol.

If they wanted to simplify things then just have one pass and everything else is an add on.  But someone will find exception to that too lol.

[DispatchMaster]

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

Are they going to make gold benefits consistent across the parks?

Yes, per the now-public details.

Quote

All Park Passport is a premium season pass add-on available for purchase with a 2024 Cedar Point Gold or Prestige pass. Instead of purchasing a separate pass product, this add-on now grants you access to all parks in the Cedar Fair family with either a Gold or Prestige pass. Not only that, but your Gold and Prestige benefits are also valid at other parks as well.

The only caveat is that Prestige (which includes "preferred parking, a single-use Fast Lane with each visit, access to the VIP lounge, and so much more") is only available at CP, KI, and CW.

If any of this is confusing to anyone they shouldn't be left alone with sharp objects. Or even dull ones.