Cedar Point launches new app
Recently, Cedar Point launched their new app for iPhone and Android users. This new app is a much needed improvement over the old one. The old one constantly crashed, was hard to read at times, and wasn't updated very often. While it remains to be seen how the new one will be at updating things, it's looking good so far. Here are some of the features of the new app.
Everything comes up in nice, easy to read, categorized menus. The main menu or open screen has everything from buying tickets, park hours, to a few fun things. You can use the map to locate your friends or car like on the old app, but the map comes up a lot faster and has more detail to it than the old one. The new app allows you to buy your tickets right on your phone, and scan them directly at the turnstiles, eliminating the need to print them out at home or wait in line to buy them.
The Rides menu is broken down into different categories. From kids' rides for the little ones to roller coasters for the adventure seekers, each ride is easily displayed. When you click on a category, each ride is listed in alphabetical order, along with a thrill rating and the minimum height requirement for that ride. Selecting an individual ride will bring up more information on that ride. The thrill rating, which uses a shape system, gives you a quick glance at how exciting the ride may be. The rating system goes from a low thrill (level 1 or circle) up to an extreme thrill (level 5 or double diamond). I liked being able to see the height requirements at a quick glance without having to go to each individual rides page to bring up the information.
The Shows menu brings up a monthly calendar and with it you can click on a specific day to see what shows are playing that day and at what times. I was not impressed with this menu as the list of shows is small, at the bottom of the screen, and in order by times of the day. I would prefer to see an actual listing of all the shows available, and then see show times listed when selecting a particular show. Listed on the calendar as well are special events that are taking place at the park during the season. You can customize your calendar by selecting the check mark next to the shows or events you want to attend. The Dining menu brings up a page on the dining plan that Cedar Point offers and a list of restaurants available both in and out of the park. The Dining Plan information page lists the places you can use the plan, a selection of the meals that you can get (along with location), as well as some general information about the plan. The list of restaurants are in alphabetical order, and clicking on one of them will give you a bit of information as to what they serve there and where they are located. The new Quaker Steak & Lube is not on the list, and hopefully it will be updated later to reflect it.
Each menu offers you the ability to click on a specific item and see where it is on the map. The map even gives you the ability to filter things you want to see. By hitting the buttons at the top of the map, you can filter things on or off, like restrooms or dining. The only thing that would make this app so much better would be an interactive ride times feature so you can see how long the lines are before getting to the entrance of a ride. Maybe some day in the future they could add this, but I don't foresee it coming any time soon. All in all, I'm pleased with the new app as it is right now. Even as a seasoned veteran of the park, I'll be checking out some of the new features next week on Opening Day. Hope to see you all there!
-Jen Temple
