I never have been a big fan of Cedar Fair, and before I go into detail about this, I have to say that we all know that Six Flags is not immune to the stupidity department either, but Cedar Fair easily takes the cake with this one.
September 25th and 26th, I am planning a weekend at Cedar Point, my plan is or was to purchase a 2011 platinum pass and then use it at Cedar Point the 2 days I go there.
Well that WAS the plan, however 2011 passes for Cedar Fair are ONLY good in 2011, so what i'll have to do in order to attend the Point on those days is..
Buy a two day ticket AND THEN Buy the platinum pass.
With a handful of days left in the season, Why in the name of god does it have to be like this? Not only will I have to buy a general admission ticket AFTER I bought a platinum pass, but also I will have to pay parking for the two days as well.
Cedar Fair fails its customers once again with this one.
Even if Cedar Point does what Kings Island is doing (giving ONE free admission ticket with a pass) ill still have to pay a general admission ticket, and two days of parking ON TOP of the $150 for the platinum pass.
I just want to add on to what Mike posted above, and why this is ridiculous.
As of September 1st, you can purchase a 2011 SFGAm season pass for $69.99 (the 4 pack will get you each pass at $54.99 each). Unlike Cedar Point, you can use that 2011 RIGHT NOW. Yes, I said that right..if you show up today, without a 2010 SF pass, and spend the money to purchase your 2011 pass, you can get into the park today, the rest of the 2010 season, AND all of 2011. If you spend the extra $70 to add parking to your 2011 SF pass, you can also PARK for FREE for the rest of 2010, and all of 2011.
While I understand that each company is different, and they can run things however they want, I just don't get why CF would choose NOT to do this.
^I'd say beacuse CP already crams people through the gate at this time of the year....so from a business standpoint, if the people are already there, there's no need to "offer" something like that. Yes, SF also packs them through the gate as well, but this isn't like it's the first year that SF has offered this and CP hasn't.
And according to the CP Website:
Don't miss out on the best rates for 2011! Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7, a regular season pass is just $99.99 and renewals are only $95. The best part? When you buy a 2011 season pass, you get a free admission ticket to 2010 HalloWeekends.
So...they are at least giving you a free admission ticket
I did see that on the CP webpage about the free admission ticket for 2010. So, something is better then nothing.
However, if you had CP on one side of the street, and SF on the other...and I did not have a SF or CP pass, I would go with SF. Why? To me, the SF pass has the better value. I can visit in 2010 and 2011 without having to buy anything extra.
^You are right. It more of shows how moronic Six Flags is with the season passes. Name me any other park or chain that gives the Halloween season free for buying a 2011 pass. Off the top of my head, Sea World parks chain (via fun cards for locals,) Parc management parks, Herschend parks and many small/independent parks do the same thing as Cedar Fair.
^ Again, I know that Cedar Fair has the right to do anything they want. If that means they choose to sell 2011 Season Passes and only have them valid in 2011, that's fine. Heck, if they wanted to, they could stop selling Season Passes all together, charge $200 for a one day ticket, and $50 each time you want to use the bathroom! They run the show, not me!
All I I think Mike and I are trying to talk about here is why SF chooses to do it the way they are, and why would Cedar Fair choose NOT to do it.
Personally, I think its great way to get people to go to the park at the end of the year, and know that they will be coming back next year to take advantage of the season pass.
^It is also a great way to loose money during a time of the year that draws on it's own. If it was free admission to, lets say, September only, they it would make perfect seance. But to give away Fright Fest to make your Q4 number look good is not a bright move.
BrianPlencner wrote:I just want to add on to what Mike posted above, and why this is ridiculous.
As of September 1st, you can purchase a 2011 SFGAm season pass for $69.99 (the 4 pack will get you each pass at $54.99 each). --Brian
The 4 pack says $59.99 for SFGAm. I don't really agree with either policy. If the season is almost done, I think that 2010 season passes should be much cheaper along with parking considering most of the season is GONE, but in my opinion you shouldn't get 2011 at all! I also don't really understand free 2 extra months of September, and October with a 2011 pass.
It's like a pool pass near me. They have a whole year pass, and they have a half a year price. They figure how many people would pay full price when half a season is done. To do this though, you would raise the full price season pass a little higher, so the half season pass price isn't almost equal to admission. If Six Flags wasn't discounting admission so much to like $36, $57 would be a full price admission, and $114 is only 2 times going to the park. And I understand you have to discount it a little bit, but $21 per person is overkill.
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Mike? Was this perk offered earlier and then they changed policy or were you expecting it?
If it's the latter, sorry bro, but it is what it is. That is still a great deal on their Platinum Passes.
Don't get me wrong, it would be nice for CF to offer the perks SF has, but it's their business and policy. You know I am not the biggest CF fan, but if you were expecting it, I have to side with them. They obviously sell enough passes to not offer all those perks.
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That is a long standing policy at Cedar Fair, it sucks, but that's how it's always been, I've wanted to do the same thing in the past. Also another retarded thing they do is if you buy your pass for the following year you get a voucher which you can not process for a season pass til next year, unless you are renewing. So if you got a CF! pass now and say in March you want to go to Knotts, you can't do it unless you make special arrangements ahead of time over the phone for them to let you in with your voucher rather than the Season Pass ID card.
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I have to agree with the others and say that this isn't really a ridiculous policy, it's just another company marketing their product in their own way. That's all this really seems to come down to, is how the company wants to market their product. Six Flags uses the incentive of getting in for a little more than a normal ticket this visit, and then coming back unlimited times next season as a marketing tool to let people think they are getting a good deal. That actually does seem like a good deal too. Cedar Fair doesn't think they have to make that offer though to market their product though. That seems especially the case with Cedar Point because they seem to know they can do anything, good, bad, or nothing, and people will still come to the park. You are a perfect example based on your last trip report. You say that the staff was incredibly rude, but that's not stopping you from returning.
Again, this just seems to be Cedar Fair's way of handling passes, and they can do it that way since they are a different company than Six Flags. If I were you though, I would go talk to guest relations on my next visit and explain the dissatisfaction regarding that policy. Not sure if they'd even do anything, but it's worth the 10 minutes of your day to try to get your money back.
Also, I thought when I was last there, they, like Six Flags, would allow you to upgrade to a season pass (not sure if they'd let you go to Platinum) from a regular admission for only the difference in price. Though, that's probably only for this season's pass, and not next season's.