Amusement parks are one of the favorite pastimes for many.
In fact, in 2020 alone, amusement parks were a 22-billion-dollar industry!
One of America’s favorite amusement parks is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
Even in 2020, when the United States shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still more than 1 million visitors flocking to this park for the numerous rides, attractions, food, and atmosphere.
Why Is Cedar Point So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. Rising Inflation
To put it simply, inflation is the reduction of the buying power of the currency, meaning it takes more money to buy the same product, therefore, the dollar has less purchasing power.
If you’ve ever heard the saying, “The American dollar is weak,” or, “The American dollar is strong,” these are both examples of inflation rates and how they change the literal strength, meaning the buying power, of the dollar.
To measure the rate of inflation, economic experts use the term “consumer price index,” which includes the cost of goods and services, food, and even entertainment, all of which are part of the Cedar Point experience.
Changes in the consumer price index indicate how much more or less money Americans are paying for goods and services.
As of 2022, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an 8.5% increase in the consumer price index, meaning Americans are paying almost 9% more for items than in the previous year!
Sadly, this is a trend that has affected every part of the American economy, including amusement park ticket prices and the prices for food and other services.
Everything from the car to drive to the amusement park to gas to get to Cedar Point and the cost of the tickets themselves are all part of the goods and services that continue to increase in price as inflation goes up.
Economists also say the inflation rate is projected to increase and will need to be actively worked on by government officials for at least another 40 years.
This means that amusement parks like Cedar Point will be caught in the crossfire of rising inflation for years to come.
2. Increased Sanitation Costs
It costs money to sanitize a home or office, let alone a giant amusement park like Cedar Point.
Cedar Point needs to spend overhead costs on increased sanitation, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why does it cost so much extra money for sanitation?
For starters, a new 2021 report on the global amusement park market found that sanitation and cleanliness were the top priority for people returning to amusement parks.
This is no easy task, especially for Cedar Point which is a whopping 364 acres in size.
For the park to maintain its cleanliness, it takes lots of revenue to pay sanitation staff appropriate wages that are fair, livable, and provide compensation for their exposure to possible viruses and other biohazardous materials.
Due to the costs associated with sanitation services, Cedar Point needs to keep costs and tickets higher to offset any associated expenses.
For instance, in 2017 alone, the park paid more than $150,000 for trash disposal alone!
That doesn’t include the cost of recycling, materials to replace trash liners, and of course, the salaries of housekeepers at the park, which range from $22,000 to $32,000 each per year depending on experience.
3. Paying For Staff Retention
Cedar Point also needs to increase prices in order to continue to pay its employees fair wages in light of increasing turnover rates.
Turnover rates are the rates at which employees quit their jobs.
Post-pandemic, the turnover rate is expected to rise a whopping 20%, which means employers like Cedar Point need to scramble to maintain their workforce any way they can.
This means paying better wages, providing better benefits, and trying to offer incentives that all lead to more spending on behalf of Cedar Point.
More spending on the amusement park’s behalf leads to higher ticket prices, food sales, and cost of services.
However, it’s worth it in the end for the park to spend more to retain their valuable employees such as sanitation staff, cooks, cashiers, engineers, maintenance workers, and many more workers.
4. Maintenance Of Rides
If you can imagine how much money it takes to maintain your regular HVAC unit at home, just imagine for a second how much it must cost to maintain each and every single attraction at Cedar Point!
The cost to pay the yearly salary for a single mechanical engineer at Cedar Point is anywhere between $25,000 and $45,000 per year.
In addition, it’s estimated that the cost to maintain a single roller coaster is between $10,000 and $50,000 annually.
Cedar Point has 17 total attractions.
To maintain their coasters can cost anywhere between $170,000 and $850,000 per year!
This doesn’t include the cost of other maintenance in the park either, such as the cost to maintain everyday working offices, kitchens, bathrooms, and other heating and cooling systems.
However, most park-goers are willing to pay more money for tickets and other purchases in order to fund the maintenance costs for Cedar Point.
Not paying for maintenance and upkeep of roller coasters is not an option.
Serious accidents can occur if these roller coasters are not properly checked for safety issues, do not have updated systems, and do not provide state-of-the-art safety and technology for ride goers.
Not only can these maintenance issues lead to serious injuries and death, but they can also prove costly for Cedar Point.
More malfunctions and more problems with roller coasters lead to fewer and fewer visitors.
Fortunately, Cedar Point continues to see an increase in visitors, and its reputation is high with a high rating on Google and stellar reviews on various sites like TripAdvisor!
That reputation is all thanks to the extra cost put into maintaining its attractions.
5. Constantly Listening To Customer Input
The Beacon Journal recently reported that there is construction afoot in Cedar Point.
In a podcast, Cedar Point’s spokesperson Tony Clark was proud of the many improvements that Cedar Point is undergoing, and he stated that the park is constantly listening to customer input and improving its rides and operations.
From installing new rides to extending park hours, extending its food selection, and even adding an adults-only ride, these are just some of the many ways that Cedar Point continues to improve its park to attract more visitors of all ages.
However, even a simple change and listening to customer demands leads to higher costs for the park, translating to higher costs for park-goers.
For instance, let’s take the simple act of extending the park’s hours, which Cedar Point has done recently, according to Clark.
These extended hours might be attractive to visitors, leading them to purchase tickets to the park and engage in after-hours fun.
While fun and attractive, these extended hours also mean more overhead costs to run and power the rides at night time, more costs to pay employees who get paid by the hour and must now do extra shifts, and more costs to keep food options open late at night.
Construction costs for new rides are also costly.
Not only must the park pay for the materials to add to the new roller coaster, but they must also invest in the costs to maintain this new ride, hire personnel to operate this ride, and spend more money for construction crews to finish the ride on time.
Yes, new construction and plans to expand the park work to make it more attractive to tourists.
However, it leads to higher prices to make up for those costs in the long run.
6. Effect Of All-Day Passes
All-day passes might seem like a great option for families—and even a good deal.
If you’re spending all day or multiple days at Cedar Point, chances are you might also be staying at the nearby Cedar Point hotel, known as the Hotel Breakers.
The costs of staying at a hotel, paying for multiple days of food and fun, and spending on toys and souvenirs for the family quickly add up, leading to more costs for all-day passes rather than simply paying for a single day at an amusement park!
Although this might be a factor you didn’t initially expect, it’s worth examining your spending habits next time you decide to visit Cedar Point or attend another all-day or multiple-day event.
You’ll realize that it costs much more for these events, and might opt for sticking with single-day passes at Cedar Point.
7. Evening Shows And Other Attractions
Cedar Point is also known for its fun evening shows, fireworks, and Cedar Point nights.
Cedar Point nights also have extended hours and fine food.
This is an event set up for adults to have fun.
Although these events were normal during past years, as some users on Trip Advisor have noted, they are now standard and expected by visitors to the park.
These events can be fun and are definitely memorable, but this doesn’t change the fact that adding events and evening shows can prove costly for the park.
By adding these events, the park is paying for the cost of extra fireworks, extended hours (as we mentioned above), and event planners and engineers to produce these events.
This can lead to higher costs for park-goers, who might not even want to partake in these night events and evening shows.
Nevertheless, Cedar Points does have a spectacular fireworks show that is worth the cost for some adults and children alike.
8. Continuing Demand
Simple supply and demand can also spur higher ticket prices.
The concept of supply and demand is simple enough to understand.
The more consumers who want a particular product, and the less of it there is, the more likely it is this product will go up in price.
Theme parks and amusement parks such as Cedar Point are, by very design, limited in the number of people who can walk through their doors and visit them for the summer or daily visit.
Now that more and more states are lifting restrictions, and after an almost two-year lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people want to escape their homes and travel to parks like Cedar Point to enjoy being outdoors and catching up on must needed time lost.
This might be one of the reasons the park has recently increased its ticket prices to $85 in 2022, now that restrictions are lifting, and why visitors are increasing to 12 million in 2021 from one million in 2020.
It’s no secret that amusement parks like Cedar Point are fun, and are some of the best ways for visitors to enjoy a post-pandemic world.
9. Making Up For Building Costs
Did you know that amusement parks like Cedar Point have a very low return on investment?
As seen in this chart, it cost around $350 million to open up Cedar Point, but it only makes up around $92 million in costs.
This leads to a very low return on investment, which isn’t much different for bigger parks like Disney World and Universal Studios.
Due to the sheer amount of money spent building the park, it’s crucial for parks like Cedar Point to continue to raise their prices and continue to invest in their park in order to make up for the building costs.
Eventually, the park will make up for its building costs, but continued overhead costs to keep the park running and return other payments to investors can also lead to increased prices in tickets and services at Cedar Point.
10. Costs To Keep The Park Operating
Just like you must pay your light bill for your home, a park such as Cedar Point must also pay for these costs.
In fact, an Ohio engineer estimated it costs over one thousand dollars a day to simply launch a ride! With so many electrical requirements and costs for fuel, it’s no wonder Cedar Point continues to raise ticket prices to make up for these overhead costs.
In addition to paying for the costs of electricity to run their roller coasters, Cedar Point must also pay for the cost of operating electricity within the park itself, water bills to provide running water for their kitchens and bathrooms, and they must pay for costs related to property taxes as well.
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