I think most of these comments are spot-on - Disney and CP cannot be compared. They are (or were) the world-leaders in what they do - theme park (DW) and old-school amusement park (CP).
I say "were" as both have taken staffing and operational hits (as have almost every business, anywhere) the past few years. CP relies heavily on their foreign worker program which was shut down by the pandemic (same with Disney), and the local student base that makes up the bulk of employees have more and better paying options for work than ever.
And in some ways they are victims of their own success. 20 years ago they were really the first seasonal park to host a big Halloween event, and for the first few years this was simply one of the best times you could ever have in a park. Crowds were light to moderate (Friday nights you could basically walk on everything), scare zones and houses were amazing (and often pretty frightening), and if you could handle the occasional chilly day you were guaranteed a great time (we once rode Magnum while it was snowing). But, as noted above, Saturdays in October see veritable oceans of people, and the park doesn't seem to have the resources to handle that effectively.
Man, 20 years ago CP's operations were a sight to behold. Their "throughput" on rides was astonishing - by far the best in the world - with a "first day, every day" commitment to ride availability. Combine that with their safety record - over 150-years of operations with very few ride-related injuries, and no fatalities - top-notch customer service, and always being on the cutting edge of roller coaster thrills, you can see why Cedar Point was voted "World's Best Amusement Park" year after year after year. Plus - they
DO have a bubble. We always stay on site, and once you drive across the causeway and are on the peninsula the rest of the world disappears. We've stayed up to a week at a time and never once were bored.
Now, I'm not saying they're still not great - they are. Just, like everyone else, taken a few hits. But for anyone serious about roller coasters, CP is still Mecca. The Orlando parks have stepped up their game recently in this regard - Velocicoaster, Guardians, EE, Hagrid's, SDD, plus a couple at SeaWorld are all fantastic. But CP has so many amazing and historic rides, many of which broke world-records when built. Maverick and Millennium Force regularly appear on top ten lists of the best steel coasters, with several other (Gatekeeper, Raptor, Valravn) world-class, plus the aforementioned Magnum, which if I had to pick, would be what I'd choose if I could only ride one more coaster ever again. I know - it's not beloved, and certainly not for the faint of heart.
And then, of course, there's Steel Vengeance. Those that have experienced it know. I have ridden about 250-some odd coasters in my life, and frankly that is so far off in a category of its own there's no point in even discussing where it would rank on my list. There's a few videos on
YouTube of hardcore riders, who travel all over the world rating coasters, getting off their first time on SV gasping for air and trying to collect their thoughts.
