[Distopia]

Look how many tiers of Annual Passes that Disneyland has, those tiers are there for reasons....

[BrianH1970]

Look how many tiers of Annual Passes that Disneyland has, those tiers are there for reasons....

And probably the only parks in the country where multiple tiers and restrictions are almost a necessity. There's hardly any comparison between the two.

More folks in any part of the United States, from New Mexico to Washington state to Maine are more likely to have traveled thousands of miles to Disney. Maybe they've heard of Carowinds.

[Distopia]

https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/annual-pass/
Hardly the only parks...

Emerald Pointe in Greensboro had a tier system last time I looked at their season passes

[Hiveminded]

Any reason they closed two hours earlier today with no announcement or even an update on their app? Just drove 20 minutes to see a wall of disappointed people walking out letting me know they closed at 8 . It’s perfect weather tonight too. Im just a little bit frustrated is all.

[BrianH1970]

Any reason they closed two hours earlier today with no announcement or even an update on their app? Just drove 20 minutes to see a wall of disappointed people walking out letting me know they closed at 8 . It’s perfect weather tonight too. Im just a little bit frustrated is all.

There were storms approaching Panthers Fan Fest a short time ago with warnings to take cover. They may have seen those coming, figured there's no time to shut everything down, bring everything back up and test it all before it's time to close...and just closed for the night. Just my guess.

[Edwardo]

https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/annual-pass/
Hardly the only parks...

He wasn’t saying they were the only parksbthqt had multiple tiers. He was saying the Disney parks, ESPECIALLY Disneyland, are the only parks where it’s a necessity to have. And I would argue that that’s true, for the restrictions more than the perks.

Disneyland is very much a locals park. I’ve never not been there when it wasn’t full of locals. They need blackout dates on most DL APs.

[BrianH1970]

https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/annual-pass/
Hardly the only parks...

He wasn’t saying they were the only parksbthqt had multiple tiers. He was saying the Disney parks, ESPECIALLY Disneyland, are the only parks where it’s a necessity to have. And I would argue that that’s true, for the restrictions more than the perks.

Disneyland is very much a locals park. I’ve never not been there when it wasn’t full of locals. They need blackout dates on most DL APs.

Basically that, yes. I get why Disney and Busch would have them. Between the locals and those parks being vacation destination parks, fiddling with pricing and tiers and blackout dates is practically a necessity for them. And of course everything behind the Disney name and the issues 52 million people that they attract annually can bring. Any issues that Carowinds may have with crowding doesn't come close relative to what Disney faces.

There's really no good reason or incentive for them to restrict access for gold pass holders at any point during the year. And you can tell in their attempts to get people to upgrade their day or silver pass to gold. Gold passes attract more drink and dining plan purchasers than any other ticket holder in the park. And of course the larger the crowd the more fast passes you're likely to sell. And like what's been said...it's upfront, guaranteed money.

[Edwardo]

Disney parks still haven’t reached the point of being too expensive to be crowded. They’re raising prices in part to use as crowd control, and they’re still packed out.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see $200 one day tickets in the next few years. And that may still not be too high.

[droad00]

Could Carowinds ever be packed like Disney park? Also, if a ticket to a Disney park is $200, what would be the price of a ticket to get into Carowinds?

[Edwardo]

Carowinds isn’t a vacation destination and no one here knows what Carowinds ticket prices would be in the future.

Disney tickets are increasing substantially. Carowinds tickets are not.

[coasterbruh]

I, personally, have no issues if SCarowinds was not included in the gold pass. It's already too many people there on night for my liking anyway. Knotts, Universal and Busch Gardens (to name a few) keeps theirs separate from pass holders. I do believe the park does give away the gate a little too much but again, this is my personal feelings.

[Grobble]

I, personally, have no issues if SCarowinds was not included in the gold pass. It's already too many people there on night for my liking anyway. Knotts, Universal and Busch Gardens (to name a few) keeps theirs separate from pass holders. I do believe the park does give away the gate a little too much but again, this is my personal feelings.

The only thing that really matters is what CF parks do, not BGW or Universal. Knotts does many things that no CF park can do b/c of their market. KB is actually moderately priced in the LA market compared to Disney, Universal, etc. KB regular pass is $129, Gold $152....the only other CF park with similar price points is CP, KB can do this b/c it's LA. KB can also get away with not including free parking, only on Platinum passes. Charging extra $70 for parking means you are better off buying a Platinum than a as the other passes+ parking would be $199 & $222. For the Halloween events at many parks a good % of people make this their only visit of the year or maybe they went once in the summer, as non pass holders at a discount bring a friend or other promo. Halloween events across all chains are so profitable b/c they bring in many non pass holders

[coasterbruh]

Like I said . . . I, personally, have no issues if SCarowinds was not included in the gold pass. It's already too many passholders there on any night for my liking anyway. Offer a discount/add-on haunt pass for gold and include it in platinum.

[Glitch99]

Halloween events across all chains are so profitable b/c they bring in many non pass holders

That's pretty much the whole point. Restricting season passholders for such events only makes it a more pleasant experience for those with one-day tickets, and makes it a more attractive option for those who think about buying a ticket but decide not to because of the crowds.

As has already been mentioned, a season passholder who gets in the gate for free, parks for free, uses their meal plan to eat for free, and souvenir cup to drink for free, adds no value for the park that day, and only complicates the experience of "paying" customers. Unless no/restricted access to Scarowinds would cause a significant number of people to not buy season passes at all, it's an obvious move to consider.

Plus, personally as a season passholder, restricting Scarowinds to one visit per pass per season would potentially add value for me. Cull all the passholders out of the crowds, and I might be prompted to actually use my one visit.

[Grobble]

Halloween events across all chains are so profitable b/c they bring in many non pass holders

That's pretty much the whole point. Restricting season passholders for such events only makes it a more pleasant experience for those with one-day tickets, and makes it a more attractive option for those who think about buying a ticket but decide not to because of the crowds.

As has already been mentioned, a season passholder who gets in the gate for free, parks for free, uses their meal plan to eat for free, and souvenir cup to drink for free, adds no value for the park that day, and only complicates the experience of "paying" customers. Unless no/restricted access to Scarowinds would cause a significant number of people to not buy season passes at all, it's an obvious move to consider.

Plus, personally as a season passholder, restricting Scarowinds to one visit per pass per season would potentially add value for me. Cull all the passholders out of the crowds, and I might be prompted to actually use my one visit.

1)Restricting pass holders from events devalues the pass. Passes are about value. Also, making people have to buy add ons for events gives the nicke & fime effect. People like passes in general b/c it's an inclusive product.

2)Pass holders are not "getting in for free", any business includes some cost of being on all inclusive to the price over a la carte ie...CF at Carowinds Silver to Gold is $23 to get into Scarowinds, Winterfest, and parking at Caowinds. So, it's not free your paying a reduced price & they are getting guaranteed money over trying to entice a person to buy an add on late in the year. Gold to Platinum you're getting across the chain benefits, and the whopper of getting FL plus for FL at Cedar Point, that's a $20 min benefit, on really busy days when you need it most like August weekend and Halloweekends it's a $50 benefit.

3)Season long products do add value, again not free. The more times people come to the park, the more likely they are to buy a drink & dining pass. These products are priced to have good margins. CF is getting that money upfront. don't have to worry about weather issues in the fall/winter, people getting busy and not wanting to buy add ons. Not having to entice means less marketing costs & reduces some variability. Also, pass holders bring non pass holders. Every time a pass holder comes they are more likely to spend on something from merchandise to Fast Lane.

4)If you as a passholder don't visit during the fall/winter events CF still already has your money and if you have dining/drink pass you made their margins even better on your passes.