Do you plan on buying one of GA's new Membership plans?

[Lemur]

19 hours ago, owtoty said:

But you can probably just pick them up later in the day right? Maybe after a few rides you realize you want to do the Safari and kingda ka which both have long waits, so you pick them up then. I really wish you could do it all in the app though.

My thoughts exactly on all accounts.

[SatansHockey]

I'm a little late on this topic here but I'm sticking with my gold memberships, I was getting the season passes every year but made the switch in September simply so I didn't have to get to the park by a certain date anymore to activate them but now with these new memberships I may have to do the same thing again this fall.

 

I'm not upgrading my membership though, the benefits for the prices are definitely not worth it to me when I'm paying $5 and change to go the park right now. I'll wait and see what happens but I'll most likely be keeping these memberships if they let us. 

Edited April 3, 2018 by SatansHockey

[SAM527]

12 hours ago, SatansHockey said:

I'm a little late on this topic here but I'm sticking with my gold memberships, I was getting the season passes every year but made the switch in September simply so I didn't have to get to the park by a certain date anymore to activate them but now with these new memberships I may have to do the same thing again this fall.

 

I'm not upgrading my membership though, the benefits for the prices are definitely not worth it to me when I'm paying $5 and change to go the park right now. I'll wait and see what happens but I'll most likely be keeping these memberships if they let us. 

 

I was getting a season pass too but I switched to a membership 3 years ago for the same reasons as you. I've still had to add dining to my pass every year though.

 

I'm not upgrading this year either, maybe September IF they do a sale then or I'll wait until the end of the year when my dining pass expires or wait until the beginning of next year. This will also give them time to make adjustments to things that need fixing like they should get rid of being able to buy Preferred Parking at the Preferred Parking booth and backing up the single line to get in, it should only be added at the regular parking booths. It also will give an idea of what they are going to do with membership prices throughout the year and if they do increase and if/when they drop back to the current price levels. I'm still surprised they didn't just upgrade current Combo Gold passes to Gold Plus and let us decide from there if we want to keep what we have or upgrade further.

[Matt Kaiser]

I upgraded from Season Pass to Membership at the park. Let me know if anyone has questions about memberships or the upgrade process and I'll try to answer them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, SAM527 said:

 It also will give an idea of what they are going to do with membership prices throughout the year and if they do increase and if/when they drop back to the current price levels.

 

From the Membership FAQ:

 

Quote

Our web price for Memberships -- that is, the price that new Members pay -- is definitely subject to increase over time. Unlike our Season Passes which regularly go on sale at different times of the year, we have already reduced the cost of our Memberships to the lowest possible level and do not plan to have Membership "sales."

 

[SAM527]

11 hours ago, Matt Kaiser said:

From the Membership FAQ:

 

Hi Matt, I did read that which leads me to believe they will raise prices at some point during the season like they normally do on passes and memberships and then reset the price sometime but the prices won't go lower than they are right now or the possibility they will never be this low again when they do increase. Even when they say never...that's never true. 

 

Their wording used as I see it right now is that the price will probably increase but they have the lowest price that memberships will be and they won't do a sale on this their lowest price.

Edited April 5, 2018 by SAM527
I forgot to delete rest of already deleted sentence.

[Matt Kaiser]

11 hours ago, SAM527 said:

 

Hi Matt, I did read that which leads me to believe they will raise prices at some point during the season like they normally do on passes and memberships and then reset the price sometime but the prices won't go lower than they are right now or the possibility they will never be this low again when they do increase. Even when they say never...that's never true. 

 

Their wording used as I see it right now is that the price will probably increase but they have the lowest price that memberships will be and they won't do a sale on this their lowest price.

 

That raising and resetting is what they're referring to with the "sales", so they're saying they won't do that. They will be the same price throughout the year, but they are reserving the right to increase it, just like how Netflix increases their subscription price every few years.

[fs76]

On 3/11/2018 at 1:48 PM, hollyferry said:

I actually think upgrading to the gold plus membership is actually $2 less per membership than what I'm currently paying.

 

I have a same issue, I have a Gold Combo Membership with parking and I think Gold Plus is like $2 and change less than what I currently pay. A little pissed because the membership website gives you a ridiculous combination of codes you can type through their phone menu to talk to someone but it doesn’t work anymore. I emailed to ask what benefits I’m getting to justify the extra charge... I bet it’s nothing. Really wish I could talk to someone on he phone so I don’t have to email back and forth a bunch of times. I live an hour away and I’d prefer to not waste time on my first trip of the season to argue with someone to negotiate my price down so hopefully they’ll be responsive to my email.

 

It’s stupid because for like 31 cents less I’d have Platinum and I’d get free soda for the season and a day of preferred parking. Why am I paying more and getting less?

[Matt Kaiser]

7 hours ago, fs76 said:

 

I have a same issue, I have a Gold Combo Membership with parking and I think Gold Plus is like $2 and change less than what I currently pay. A little pissed because the membership website gives you a ridiculous combination of codes you can type through their phone menu to talk to someone but it doesn’t work anymore. I emailed to ask what benefits I’m getting to justify the extra charge... I bet it’s nothing. Really wish I could talk to someone on he phone so I don’t have to email back and forth a bunch of times. I live an hour away and I’d prefer to not waste time on my first trip of the season to argue with someone to negotiate my price down so hopefully they’ll be responsive to my email.

 

It’s stupid because for like 31 cents less I’d have Platinum and I’d get free soda for the season and a day of preferred parking. Why am I paying more and getting less?

 

To answer your question, you are not getting any extra benefits as a Gold Combo Membership compared to Gold Plus. Gold Plus is everything that you have now plus more. So yes, you are paying more for less and should "upgrade" to at least Gold Plus.

[fs76]

10 hours ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

To answer your question, you are not getting any extra benefits as a Gold Combo Membership compared to Gold Plus. Gold Plus is everything that you have now plus more. So yes, you are paying more for less and should "upgrade" to at least Gold Plus.

 

That's upsetting...hopefully I'll be able to get it sorted out quickly. If there is push-back (not sure why) I guess I could always cancel and start a new membership since I'm well past my 12 months. I feel like they have to have the foresight that people will do that and be willing to just switch you to a new plan.

 

I feel like they should have at least emailed people with old memberships that they are offering new ones that may save you money or offer more benefits to you. Something like that with a link to check them out and potentially switch. Or maybe since all plans seem to offer more than Gold Combo, place people on a new plan that is closest in cost to what they pay now and then send them a notification and try to entice them to upgrade from there. I know its money, but at least give the heads up so it's on the customer for ignoring the notification. Unless if they did and I just deleted the email ...totally possible and I am being salty for nothing.

[Matt Kaiser]

28 minutes ago, fs76 said:

 

That's upsetting...hopefully I'll be able to get it sorted out quickly. If there is push-back (not sure why) I guess I could always cancel and start a new membership since I'm well past my 12 months. I feel like they have to have the foresight that people will do that and be willing to just switch you to a new plan.

 

Good luck. Nothing is quite that simple with their membership system due to "technical limitations". You'll probably have to cancel in order to upgrade. (signing a new 12 month agreement)

[fs76]

19 minutes ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

Good luck. Nothing is quite that simple with their membership system due to "technical limitations". You'll probably have to cancel in order to upgrade. (signing a new 12 month agreement)

 

Thanks. As an IT professional, they should be embarrassed if that's true. More likely they want you on the hook for another 12 months. At least be honest, lol

[Matt Kaiser]

6 hours ago, fs76 said:

 

Thanks. As an IT professional, they should be embarrassed if that's true. More likely they want you on the hook for another 12 months. At least be honest, lol

 

I think it's a mix of both. I'm also in a sort of related field (software engineer) and based on everything I've experienced, seen, and heard, it seems like they genuinely have a ton of technical limitations with the third party vendor they use for their membership billing system. But it doesn't seem like they're in any rush to fix that. They just keep coming up with multi-step "work-arounds".

[fs76]

So in case anyone is in a similar situation, I did speak to someone today via online chat and I essentially need to go through an "Upgrade" on the membership portal. Even though you are upgrading you'll basically be signing up for a new membership and then you provide them with both my new and old accounts and they'll cancel the old one. I get the impression that this is part of the upgrade process so you should not need to initiate anything with member support in order to do this. I confirmed that I would not be losing any benefits (from Gold Combo) and I was told it would be the opposite and even selecting the Gold Plus level which costs less would give me more than I have now. The only catch is when you do the upgrade, you are now on the hook for an additional 12 months so you can't cancel before then without owing the full amount.

 

Also don't be fooled by the prices they list on their main website, unless if you are buying 4 or more memberships your price will be a dollar or so higher. I thought I could get Platinum for a few cents cheaper than what I currently pay but when I went to do it, I found it'd actually cost me about $1 extra per month per membership since I don't have at least 4. 

 

13 minutes ago, Matt Kaiser said:

I think it's a mix of both. I'm also in a sort of related field (software engineer) and based on everything I've experienced, seen, and heard, it seems like they genuinely have a ton of technical limitations with the third party vendor they use for their membership billing system. But it doesn't seem like they're in any rush to fix that. They just keep coming up with multi-step "work-arounds".

 

Ahh I see. I work for a small company and we have a few totally custom systems and one of our systems that isn't, we've purchased most of their source code and made customizations as needed (they hate us when we call for support and always blame us even when the problem exists in their standard code too...it's fun). I think I sometimes forget that you don't just get the source code for free and sometimes can't afford to pay a consultant either. You'd think they'd have the resources to get this fixed but I guess not. It does seem like a bizarre manual process that they are going through because the website said they'll either merge or cancel one of my memberships and then notify me of the details of what was done. Luckily its not my job!

[Matt Kaiser]

12 minutes ago, fs76 said:

Also don't be fooled by the prices they list on their main website, unless if you are buying 4 or more memberships your price will be a dollar or so higher. I thought I could get Platinum for a few cents cheaper than what I currently pay but when I went to do it, I found it'd actually cost me about $1 extra per month per membership since I don't have at least 4. 

 

Actually it's only 2 people, the season pass portal is wrong. (I guess because most SF parks require 4 or more but Great Adventure is doing only 2 or more)

When you go through the process, it will take you back to the main Great Adventure website with a promo code applied, so Great Adventure's store rules of 2 or more apply.

 

[fs76]

1 hour ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

Actually it's only 2 people, the season pass portal is wrong. (I guess because most SF parks require 4 or more but Great Adventure is doing only 2 or more)

When you go through the process, it will take you back to the main Great Adventure website with a promo code applied, so Great Adventure's store rules of 2 or more apply.

 

Good catch! I'm doing the process for real now (I knew I should have waited to post). I was looking at the national member portal. Matt is correct, when you are actually using the ticket buying system there are options for 2 or more at the lower price points. Might want to choose Membership at the top to make sure you see all of the options. I started on the member portal and I was taken directly to the membership I choose (they opened a new window and the ticket system came up directly to my selection) and I could adjust the quantity but I fear that the price might not adjust if you don't pick the specific "2 or more" listing but maybe they were good and auto-discounted you if you added additional. Better safe than sorry unless someone knows for sure from experience.

[29yrswithaGApass]

I just got the Diamond Elite Membership today and find two things interesting/unfair.  Please correct me if I am wrong:

 

(1) To park in the Preferred Parking Lot with Diamond Elite you need to reserve a spot in advance.  If you just show up without a reservation, you can't park there even if the lot is empty.  Meanwhile, Diamond members can't reserve in advance but can enter the lot whenever they show up (assuming empty spots).

 

(2)  With the Membership drink bottles you have to present your pass and wait 20 minutes between refills.  However, season pass holders don't have this restriction of having to wait in between refills.

 

Am I missing something?

[Yoshi]

Both things seem strange. I would have thought they would allow Diamond Elite access to the lot without a reservation as long as there is an available spot.

 

With no wait time between refills for pass holders, I wonder if it is because the purple 2018 season bottle is the same as the one they sell even to non pass holders and can't put a waiting time because of that. Maybe for next year they will copy Cedar Fair and have a barcode on the bottle that has to scanned that way both pass holders and non pass holders will still have the time restriction as memberships?

[Matt Kaiser]

11 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

I just got the Diamond Elite Membership today and find two things interesting/unfair.  Please correct me if I am wrong:

 

(1) To park in the Preferred Parking Lot with Diamond Elite you need to reserve a spot in advance.  If you just show up without a reservation, you can't park there even if the lot is empty.  Meanwhile, Diamond members can't reserve in advance but can enter the lot whenever they show up (assuming empty spots).

 

(2)  With the Membership drink bottles you have to present your pass and wait 20 minutes between refills.  However, season pass holders don't have this restriction of having to wait in between refills.

 

Am I missing something?

 

1) I'm pretty sure Diamond members need to reserve in advance too. However, Platinum members get a one-time "Diamond preferred parking" -- maybe they can use that without reserving? Not sure why they call it "Diamond", though.

 

2) Correct. But as a tradeoff, members are guaranteed replacement bottles for a nominal fee. And since your membership card is required to use the cup, hopefully that deters theft of member cups.

[29yrswithaGApass]

Also, if the Diamond Elite pass offers 50% Off Food and Beverage (which can’t be used with other offers), than why do they have offers like $1 off a pretzel or $1 off a turkey leg?   These are useless.  

[Sluggo77]

I picked my DE pass up at SFNE today.  The parking registration is really easy and you have until 5 am day off to reserve. I wish it was a later cutoff or none but it did work fine. When I filled my cup they didn’t ask to scan my badge and I thought that I had heard the 20 min wait is possible but not in play yet. Maybe Great Adventure is handlings it differently though.  Seems like there will be revisions once they get feedback from this year. 

[Matt Kaiser]

4 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

Also, if the Diamond Elite pass offers 50% Off Food and Beverage (which can’t be used with other offers),

 

And also can't be used at Panda Express. 

[SAM527]

On 4/28/2018 at 9:21 PM, 29yrswithaGApass said:

Also, if the Diamond Elite pass offers 50% Off Food and Beverage (which can’t be used with other offers), than why do they have offers like $1 off a pretzel or $1 off a turkey leg?   These are useless.  

 

That's so true, when I was comparing memberships/prices and went down the long list of benefits and crossed off the useless things, I was left with about 4 things that could be of any interest. Then there's the one time, space availability and making a reservation restrictions. Wait until Summer and an even worse Fright Fest crowd if some of these early season crowd days are an indication. I fear Six Flags has already oversold passes and memberships and getting in the park or trying to have an enjoyable day will be hit and miss. 

 

23 hours ago, Matt Kaiser said:

 

And also can't be used at Panda Express. 

 

We were in Six Flags America last weekend and had a nice lunch in Chop Six. Something like that needs to be put in Great Adventure.

[rj1972]

20 hours ago, SAM527 said:

I fear Six Flags has already oversold passes and memberships and getting in the park or trying to have an enjoyable day will be hit and miss. 

 

 

IMO, Six is not charging nearly enough for Diamond and Diamond Elite.  The preferred parking, show seating, FF wristbands, and skip-a-line perks should have commanded a higher premium.  

 

On an aside, I haven't been to GA in two weeks, and was curious if the line to pick up Flash Passes coupled with Diamonds picking up their skip-a-line tickets has improved from the 60-90 minute waits I experienced.

[Matt Kaiser]

2 hours ago, rj1972 said:

 

IMO, Six is not charging nearly enough for Diamond and Diamond Elite.  The preferred parking, show seating, FF wristbands, and skip-a-line perks should have commanded a higher premium.  

 

On an aside, I haven't been to GA in two weeks, and was curious if the line to pick up Flash Passes coupled with Diamonds picking up their skip-a-line tickets has improved from the 60-90 minute waits I experienced.

 

 

I agree, it's already over populated just a few weeks in. The "priority" entrance lines are frequently longer than the normal entrance. Flash pass lines are long. Some rides aren't even available to Diamond Elite members because of the high number of them (SORA). And it's only going to get worse.

[SAM527]

3 hours ago, Matt Kaiser said:

I agree, it's already over populated just a few weeks in. The "priority" entrance lines are frequently longer than the normal entrance. Flash pass lines are long. Some rides aren't even available to Diamond Elite members because of the high number of them (SORA). And it's only going to get worse.

 

Unless something like this already exists, it could be a good year to have something like the ride wait times page but for toll booth/parking lot, security and entrance wait times. I know people post messages but something that could be updated with minutes or GASP...hours. If this is even possible.