GreatAmericanfox wrote:We need Holiday in the Park back, it just makes sense for our park
I went one day the last year in 2021. I saw maybe 10 or 15 other guests walking the park that day and said to myself “there is no way this place is even breaking even.”
So I’m not surprised. It gets too cold in the area, and no one wants to come in the brutal cold just to ride The Dark Knight.
I’ll take Silver Dollar City’s Christmas event over ours every time and twice on Sundays.
I set my PR for total rides on a single ride with 20 consecutive rides on Dark Knight in 12/2021 !!
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
Tidal_Waver wrote: In 2023 it snowed on Halloween at Great America and the park was shut down a few hours early. That was on Oct 31. Holiday in the park is not coming back, but I’d like to see Veterans Day Weekend return. Everything was a walk on that weekend in 2022, so yeah wishful thinking as well.
Money talks.
I could give two craps about Holiday in the park. It was a waste of time.
What I do want to see return is 11PM closing times during the Summer Hours. Those were the days....when you didn't need to wait for Fright Fest for true night rides instead of getting maybe one or two.
"I've been told that some part of every wish will be heard but lately I lost sight of the truth in those words."
Tidal_Waver wrote: In 2023 it snowed on Halloween at Great America and the park was shut down a few hours early. That was on Oct 31. Holiday in the park is not coming back, but I’d like to see Veterans Day Weekend return. Everything was a walk on that weekend in 2022, so yeah wishful thinking as well.
Money talks.
I could give two craps about Holiday in the park. It was a waste of time.
What I do want to see return is 11PM closing times during the Summer Hours. Those were the days....when you didn't need to wait for Fright Fest for true night rides instead of getting maybe one or two.
I partly agree with your idea about Holiday in the Park. I do agree that I don't care a bit for the lights. However, I think the event has potential. Open Dark Knight, Battle for Metropolis, the Carrousel, and potentially Sky Striker, and you've got an interesting Christmas event. Heck, I wish the park would put lights on some of the rides like Joker along the track, or even some projecting from the ground like CP does to make the park look cooler at night. Oh yeah, and include it in the Season Passes... er, Memberships.
As for staying open later, I wholeheartedly agree. I was quite disappointed that the park was only open until 10 on Saturdays. It should be 10 on weekdays at least and 11 on BOTH WEEKENDS, not just Saturday. Also, open the park at 5 pm on Fridays during August while you're at it! It's nice that the park does it during Fright Fest, but there were many Friday nights where I thought "Do I have anything to do? Nope!" I check the app and it says they're closed ALL DAY. They're losing money.
Tidal_Waver wrote: In 2023 it snowed on Halloween at Great America and the park was shut down a few hours early. That was on Oct 31. Holiday in the park is not coming back, but I’d like to see Veterans Day Weekend return. Everything was a walk on that weekend in 2022, so yeah wishful thinking as well.
Money talks.
I could give two craps about Holiday in the park. It was a waste of time.
What I do want to see return is 11PM closing times during the Summer Hours. Those were the days....when you didn't need to wait for Fright Fest for true night rides instead of getting maybe one or two.
GOKU - I would like the park open till 11 PM as well during the summer (or even 10 PM!) but I doubt it will ever happen with the not so distant past history: Fight Fest (pun intended) on late nights!
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
Tidal_Waver wrote: In 2023 it snowed on Halloween at Great America and the park was shut down a few hours early. That was on Oct 31. Holiday in the park is not coming back, but I’d like to see Veterans Day Weekend return. Everything was a walk on that weekend in 2022, so yeah wishful thinking as well.
Money talks.
I could give two craps about Holiday in the park. It was a waste of time.
What I do want to see return is 11PM closing times during the Summer Hours. Those were the days....when you didn't need to wait for Fright Fest for true night rides instead of getting maybe one or two.
That would be cool. I’d love some late summer nights.
It’s actually crazy that the park will be open until Midnight the next 3 Saturdays. It hasn’t stayed open that late since before 2020.
Blue_Toad_Coasters wrote:Also, open the park at 5 pm on Fridays during August while you're at it! It's nice that the park does it during Fright Fest, but there were many Friday nights where I thought "Do I have anything to do? Nope!" I check the app and it says they're closed ALL DAY. They're losing money.
Yeah I’d agree with that. My guess would be staffing as they ceased daily operations after August 19th. That left 2 Fridays in August the park was closed, Aug 23 and 30th. Not sure how much of their staff is made up of High School kids.
I think you will definitely see a return to longer operating hours. I’d love for the 10pm daily closes to return in June-Early August.
HIP would only return if it wasn’t included in season passes and was made as a separate ticketed event. Plus they’d have to add way more lights and decorations.
coasterfanatic wrote:Plus they’d have to add way more lights and decorations.
And the rumor was that they didn’t even own the majority of what was used. Supposedly all of that was on a 3 year lease, which is why it even came back at all in 2021.
As nice as it was for us enthusiasts to get some extra rides in before the heart of winter, HITP will not be returning in the near future. The park never saw a positive ROI through the four years that the event went on. So many days, outside of the inaugural season in 2018, were absolute ghost towns. Almost every day the park operated, especially in 2020 and 2021, staffing was significantly cut, mid-shift, because the park was just so empty. Not to mention, the cold temperatures are not nice on the rides, maintenance wise. Hence, why the major coasters never ran again after 2019. In 2020, state restrictions prevented rides from running, i.e., "HITP Lights." The park saw no decrease in attendance for the event in 2020 without rides, so they only operated a select few indoor attractions in 2021. This was to preserve the extra wear and tear on the major coasters. Plus, they knew the small amount of people that did come would attend, with or without the coasters.
I wonder what the admissions stats were during HITP. What was the ratio of season pass holders to daily ticket buyers? I would assume it was a pretty significant difference. For those looking for a holiday lights experience, not local to the area, there were definitely plenty of alternative options for a lower price.
I did like the bonus weekends they did in 2016, along with Last Call Fall Fest. Nevertheless, I am content with the season ending with Fright Fest, like it always used to be. I'm still glad the park opens in mid-to-late April, rather than the first weekend in May. I really hope we do see the return to daily 10:30-10 operations in July, at least, especially with CF execs running a majority of the show.
BCarroll wrote:As nice as it was for us enthusiasts to get some extra rides in before the heart of winter, HITP will not be returning in the near future. The park never saw a positive ROI through the four years that the event went on. So many days, outside of the inaugural season in 2018, were absolute ghost towns. Almost every day the park operated, especially in 2020 and 2021, staffing was significantly cut, mid-shift, because the park was just so empty. Not to mention, the cold temperatures are not nice on the rides, maintenance wise. Hence, why the major coasters never ran again after 2019. In 2020, state restrictions prevented rides from running, i.e., "HITP Lights." The park saw no decrease in attendance for the event in 2020 without rides, so they only operated a select few indoor attractions in 2021. This was to preserve the extra wear and tear on the major coasters. Plus, they knew the small amount of people that did come would attend, with or without the coasters.
I wonder what the admissions stats were during HITP. What was the ratio of season pass holders to daily ticket buyers? I would assume it was a pretty significant difference. For those looking for a holiday lights experience, not local to the area, there were definitely plenty of alternative options for a lower price.
I did like the bonus weekends they did in 2016, along with Last Call Fall Fest. Nevertheless, I am content with the season ending with Fright Fest, like it always used to be. I'm still glad the park opens in mid-to-late April, rather than the first weekend in May. I really hope we do see the return to daily 10:30-10 operations in July, at least, especially with CF execs running a majority of the show.
BCarroll wrote:As nice as it was for us enthusiasts to get some extra rides in before the heart of winter, HITP will not be returning in the near future. The park never saw a positive ROI through the four years that the event went on. So many days, outside of the inaugural season in 2018, were absolute ghost towns. Almost every day the park operated, especially in 2020 and 2021, staffing was significantly cut, mid-shift, because the park was just so empty. Not to mention, the cold temperatures are not nice on the rides, maintenance wise. Hence, why the major coasters never ran again after 2019. In 2020, state restrictions prevented rides from running, i.e., "HITP Lights." The park saw no decrease in attendance for the event in 2020 without rides, so they only operated a select few indoor attractions in 2021. This was to preserve the extra wear and tear on the major coasters. Plus, they knew the small amount of people that did come would attend, with or without the coasters.
I wonder what the admissions stats were during HITP. What was the ratio of season pass holders to daily ticket buyers? I would assume it was a pretty significant difference. For those looking for a holiday lights experience, not local to the area, there were definitely plenty of alternative options for a lower price.
I did like the bonus weekends they did in 2016, along with Last Call Fall Fest. Nevertheless, I am content with the season ending with Fright Fest, like it always used to be. I'm still glad the park opens in mid-to-late April, rather than the first weekend in May. I really hope we do see the return to daily 10:30-10 operations in July, at least, especially with CF execs running a majority of the show.
Yep.
Cedar Point and other CF parks are open late. We might not see massive operating hours changes right away. But the fact we got midnight Saturdays back for FF is great. Next step is some more 10pm closes in July, then eventually 11pm weekends. Small steps but trending up. If attendance is there, they can justify the later closes.
The spinning fan is indeed working. The fog is also back in the tunnel. Much of the original soundtrack is playing in the queue. I noticed all of the Prince songs on Friday. The fire hydrant water is once again working, along with a new water effect to the looks of a broken pipe spilling into a barrel.
The station looks super cool. Fog is released when each train dispatches and advances into the station, both in the front and back. The LED lighting is very nice, but I think they could be dimmed a little bit. I saw many of the technicians in the station on Friday, so I'm assuming that they're still tweaking things. The station was quite hazy from all the fog, as well, so I could see them dialing back the amount of fog a tad.
I am so happy that all of this theming is being restored/added. Next, they need to put the wheel covers and other theming elements back on the trains! I appreciate all the work they are doing to start to make the park great again.
Awesome! I really like the job Cedar Fair is doing so far. That would be great if they added some of the original theming that was intended for Raging bull as well
I had never heard of Batman having fog! Is that an original effect (I rode it in 1992 and dont' remember it) or just for Fright Fest? Also what is "missing theming" for Raging Bull?
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
The wheel covers would be great. Then bring back the stuff on X Flight (they started by fixing the radar on top of the tower) but bring back the water jets, misters etc.
BCarroll wrote:The spinning fan is indeed working. The fog is also back in the tunnel. Much of the original soundtrack is playing in the queue. I noticed all of the Prince songs on Friday.
Awesome!! That’s killer news! Appreciate the info.
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I had never heard of Batman having fog! Is that an original effect (I rode it in 1992 and dont' remember it) or just for Fright Fest? Also what is "missing theming" for Raging Bull?
Raging Bull was originally supposed to have buildings that it went through and an elaborate backstory. Premier cut all the theming that it was supposed to have. Years ago someone on these forums posted the original concept art and it looked awesome. I hope Cedar Fair revisits the old concept
I rode Batman today and was absolutely blown away. I was not around in 1992, probably rode Batman for the first time in 2013 or 2014... so not sure what theming they brought back and/or what is completely new. But whatever the case I thought it was awesome. I was literally almost tearing up in the station before my first ride, it was that beautiful (to me).
Credit to the park for completely overhauling Batman DURING the season. I was admittedly worried when they announced they were going to repaint it and have it ready by FF, as I did not have complete faith in the park to finish it by FF. Sure enough they did, and they didn't stop there as they went above and beyond with the audio, lights and fog. As long as this theming sticks around, I see a lot of Batman in my future.
Sucker for a launch, custom audio and Demon | Coaster Count: 629
