The plusses of Pass Perks

Editor's note: Justin Dietz is a Register correspondent representing FUN Food Blog and @funfoodblog on X. SANDUSKY — Cedar Point first rolled out a reward program in 2019 called Pass Perks for guests who visit the parks often with a season pass. But the system was flawed, as it spelled out no clear terms or milestones to earn rewards. Actually, guests did not even know what the rewards were until they randomly showed up in their accounts. Well Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point, finally overhauled the Pass Perks program for 2024 with more transparency. Now guests will know exactly how many visits are required for specific rewards. No more guessing of why one passholder would get a reward while the same family members who visited the same amount did not. All Pass Perks are based on a calendar month. So all visits in May are tallied at the end of the month, and the rewards are loaded into your account on June 1. The Cedar Point Pass Perks are broken up into two categories: those with a summer/gold/platinum season pass and those with a prestige pass. Note: Platinum passes still exist for marina dock guests, and Pre-K passes are not eligible. Here's how it breaks down: • First visit — entry to win a mystery bonus perk • Second visit — $2 off Auntie Anne's pretzel • Third visit — $3 off fresh-cut fries • Fourth visit — buy one, get one free keychain For Prestige passholders, the following Pass Perks apply for May visits: • First visit — entry to win a mystery bonus perk • Second visit — $4 off a pretzel • Third visit — $4 off a large Dippin' Dots • Fourth visit — an extra 15% off merchandise and games, which is in addition to normal prestige 15% discount Pass Perks are specific to each park, meaning that what a passholder earns at say Kings Island can be different than that earned at Cedar Point. For the parks that opened in April — California's Great America, Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Knott's Berry Farm — they are already earning credits toward Pass Perks that will be rewarded on May 1. Currently, Cedar Fair is not rewarding All-Park Passport guests for visiting other parks. Its terms continue to state Pass Perks are only eligible at one's home park. This does little to reward guests for visiting the other Cedar Fair properties. Technically, passholders who visit multiple parks should be more valuable, as they are more than likely to spend more money on different food, merchandise and gaming options than what they would normally experience at their home parks. For example, our family always buys more merchandise and food at other parks than our home park since we only have a limited time to experience the location. Overall, the Pass Perks changes should be welcomed by guests now that Cedar Fair is being more transparent about the rewards and what it takes to obtain them. While there still are kinks that need to be worked out for guests to trust the program, these small steps are in the right direction.