Could Coaster Celebration Be Made Better?

[Cyclonic]

OK, I should be in bed, but I was typing my trip report for Spring Fling at SFOG and some things came to mind that I just had to type up.

Spring Fling this year drew more then 300 people.  A lot of this is due to Goliath opening, but even in years past, they usually draw 150.  Why is it Coaster Celebration has trouble drawing 100?  We have a great collection of coasters, one of the best anywhere, so we should be packing them in for this event, right?  Well, I have a few low cost ideas that may help the park do just that.

Increased ERT - instead of two hours ERT, the park should consider having four hours.  It looks a lot more appealing to the park to have this much ride time.  To do this, instead of having ERT on just about every coaster in a certain section of the park, have ERT on just the most popular rides, like KK and ET in the morning, and Nitro, B:TR and Chiller at night.  Lets face it no one really cares about ERT on rides like SM or RT (OK, I know Rich and Sue will sit on RT), so why waste the man power to run them.  Instead of having ERT on these rides, why not give out exit passes for each of them, and then throughout the day folks can get a ride on them when they want.

Better Goodies - How about giving everyone a T-shirt at the beginning of the day.  Even if it is the standard Six Flags 45th Anniversary shirt, lots of folks will wear them, and free advertising, even in the park, is always a good thing.  Also at lunch, how about a raffle for walk back photo tours of Nitro or El Toro.  Make them very limited, give the money to a good cause.  This would be very appealing to folks, and would cost the park nothing.  Other goodies could include DVD videos, key chains, and coupons for free or reduced Flash Passes.

Less complicated sign-up - I think this is a sticking point for folks.  Why is it that CC is the only event, anywhere, that FedEx's event materials just before the event?  Why not save the money and hassle and just have people pick up the materials as they come in?  I am sure the park could come up with plenty of volunteers that could help put together and pass out materials in the morning (I would be happy to help).  Believe it or not, there are people that actually hesitate because of the $6 "Processing Fee," so why not get rid of it and get rid of that hassle.  It would also end the hassle of folks wondering where in the mail these materials might be, and having to sign for them (a problem I had last year).

Well, these are a few of my thoughts, so what does anyone else think?  Remember, I am thinking of things that would cost the park little to nothing to do, and would add to the event as a whole.

[GADVwow]

Not to mention that for those who come from long distances, more than once the FedEx materials have come AFTER they have left for an extended trip.  I have NO idea why Great Adventure and ONLY Great Adventure FedExs this stuff.  I think it is because they treat as they treat any other group sales event.

And there are those for whom FedEx delivery is a hardship...no street address or no one to accept delivery during the day.  Group Sales is set up to deal with businesses, not individuals (duh!)

[stew560]

Ahhh, remeber the good old days of 2-day Coaster Celebrations, with Walkback tours of several rides where you can get pics like this:


I agree CC could be better, but lets be grateful they even have it. It was dissolved a few years back and public outcry from the enthusiasts brought it back. They even still held the event just 4 days after 9/11!

I would definetly love to see longer ERT and an easier registration process. I mean, how come they cannot even host the flyers on their site, or at least have online registration? On-site registration would be great too. I understand they want to get a better headcount before the day, but a 10% (17% for SP Holders) Processing fee is just unecessary.

T-Shirts sound cool, but they would just roll them up into the price. Maybe if they had special CC shirts for that year, and sold them for $15 separately, people would buy them. (I probably would.)

And how about the price? Lets break it down: $35 for Season Pass Holders means that they are giving half-price admission to the non-Season Pass Holders ($60-$35 = $25 admission). Is this just to subsidize the event because they know so many Season Passholders will be there?

I love the event, and attend every year that I can, but I've experienced ERT events at other parks that are run MUCH smoother than the CC's of the past.

[ChuckR]

I have never been to a CC and I really don't know if I am going to this one this year. But Stew, that is one awesome picture!

[Dubya91]

^Same here chuck and I have actually considered going this year. I personally think stew was sneaking around the park one day and just didnt get caught

[coastersue]

Hey there, don't go saying to eliminate ERT on RT!     Seriously though, I wouldn't mind that much since we get to ride it lots of times during regular hours.  It's only fun during ERT's when it's racing and the trains are full.  If ET or KK is open at the same time, that's never going to happen anyway.

I too would like to see the processing fee and Fedex delivery with signature required stopped.  I agree that they could easily get some of us to volunteer to help out with registration and the like on the day of the event.  Back when they used to do the tours, we helped them out with signing people up for the tours and would certainly do that again.

We can't attend CC this year since we'll be on our honeymoon.  To be honest though, I'm not sure we would've went if we were around.  Money is starting to get a bit tighter and I just don't think it's that great of a value compared to other events.

Sue

[GADVwow]

And here I thought your two's honeymoon would be spent on Rolling Thunder!

Yee Hah!

GADVwow, whose posts can be full of balderdash