TopThrill182

^ Thanks for the insight! Other than “laziness,” is there a reason why the ride went down to two trains after the refurbishment? And are two always in service, or does the ride reduce to one train ops during the off season for maintenance reasons? For such a busy year-round park, I’m surprised CF wouldn’t have invested in three trains if it could’ve meaningfully helped. Even CP’s converted Rougarou got three new trains, which is two too many most days. Still, even before Ghostrider’s refurbishment, the line always seemed to crawl to me.

Great to hear the park is continuing to tweak the SV queue setup/flow. Not flooding the pre-locker tunnel and both station staircases with standby guests is a big improvement for FLP users. Hopefully the park finds a way to make that stick. To me, the best option is still to keep the tunnel clear but keep the (longer) right staircase filled with guests so seats don’t go out empty.

@anonymouscactusHow’d you manage to get on SV in 10 minutes?! Has the park figured out how to reduce the FLP line for that ride, or did you just luck out somehow?

I totally agree! I've never understood why the park seems so insistent on keeping the entire MF ramp filled at all times. The seemingly simple change of telling the merge attendant to only partially fill the ramp (e.g. up to a certain visual landmark, like the rear of the unload station) would vastly improve the ride's FL value at times throughout the day/season. It would also allow standby guests to spend more time waiting under the shade canopies in the main queue. Similarly, I think the best solution to SV's queue at this point is as follows. Utilize the right station pathway/staircase exclusively, for everyone. Aim to fill all the space after the metal detector. It seems to hold at least two trains worth of people, not counting the one train worth typically waiting in the station, so not having enough people to fill each train shouldn't be an issue. As space allows, send ~24 people from the merged tunnel to the lockers, and then through the metal detector onto the right pathway/staircase. As space allows, send an additional ~24 people (~12 FL and ~12 standby) to the merged tunnel to wait to proceed to the lockers. Aim to not let the tunnel line go past a certain point. This way, FL users would only wait ~4 trains to ride after the merge point. While I would welcome a FL exclusive staircase, this strategy would allow the park to avoid the potential hassle of having to re-split FL and standby guests (which, I admit, worked on opening day but did seem a bit clunky), while making the one remaining pathway to the station flow more evenly and quickly. The park could also eliminate the second metal detector staff position. As has been said, the lockers themselves seem good. They're free, easy to use, and occupy an attractive mini plaza. I think adjusting the flow of guests through the locker area is what needs to be improved.

I realize there are bigger problems in the world, but as a Fast Lane Plus user, I also have to voice my annoyance with SV’s new queue setup! My opening day FL experience was decent: I merged into the pre-locker tunnel, which wasn’t very full. After putting my phone in a locker, I was sent to the left FL staircase, which was mostly empty. I didn’t time it, but I felt like I got on the ride pretty quickly. Today, however, the merged tunnel was much more full, and I was sent to a jam packed right standby staircase, which I realized is significantly longer (in distance) than the left one! I waited a full 45 minutes to ride, 30 after the merge point. That’s without using the lockers, since I stored my phone prior to riding, and on a day when the park was not overly crowded. The party in front of me in the pre-locker tunnel was sent to the left staircase, and they got on the ride almost 10 minutes before me. (They even took time to use the lockers.) I thought maybe I was being too sensitive, but I overheard a non-FL party behind me in the right staircase complaining about the same thing. There also seemed to be more guest confusion today leading up to the lockers. Some guests thought they needed to “cut” the merged line to get to the lockers and then double back. Some large parties didn’t understand why employees were forcing the entire party to go to the lockers, rather than just one person. Finally, and I’m not sure what caused this, but the FL line today was barely shorter than the standby line for my first ride, and exactly equal with the standby line for my second ride. The end result is a quick FL ride on SV seems to be a thing of the past. The merge point is now so far back from the station, it’s hard to see how the FL line will ever be less than ~30 minutes. That’s not too impactful on very crowded days, but on uncrowded days, or at times with few FL users, the FL value for this ride has diminished significantly. TL;DR: My main suggestion at this point is to fill less of the merged tunnel before the lockers and/or use one staircase only (for everyone). I realize the park wants to ensure a constant flow of guests to the station, but I think the park can accomplish that by frequently sending small groups of riders to the lockers from the merge point, thereby still providing a meaningful FL experience. I’m sorry for my rant! I really do appreciate the park finding a way to allow guests to keep their phones in line without compromising safety or the ride’s capacity. I just wish it didn’t come so much at the expense of FL users. Lol

^ I agree completely. The labor shortage isn't new news, so I don't totally understand why the park didn't better anticipate this scenario and publish a reduced operating calendar to begin with. Yes, operating hours are subject to change without notice, but from a customer relations perspective, adding days at this point would've been much better than removing them. I feel especially bad those who already had vacations planned for these dates with non-refundable elements (e.g. time off from work, rental car fees/airfare, etc.). I hope the park finds a way to do right by them. But the $20 an hour wage is great for employees! If I lived closer to the park, I'd definitely take advantage of that for a weekend job.

^ Three train operation for Goliath?! When was the last time that happened?

Can someone elaborate on how employee scheduling worked before the pandemic? As intense as it sounds, I thought most employees generally worked open to close five or six days a week, even rides employees assigned to popular coasters that would cycle super late (e.g. July 4th 2010, when the park closed at 1 or 2am) and open early the next morning (e.g. 9am for early entry or even earlier for a special event). Or were there multiple shifts?

Yesterday was my first opening day visit to Cedar Point. After last year's dreary closing day (and what felt like an especially long winter), I felt great being back at the park and really enjoyed my visit. BRTeller captures a lot of my thoughts well, but a few additional/reinforcing points (all from the perspective of someone with Fast Lane Plus): Most guests were unmasked outdoors (including on rides), but masked indoors. Virtually no one social distanced, and the midways felt packed. I didn't mind, but as BRTeller says, people should understand what they're getting themselves into and understand that the park doesn't seem to be enforcing masks or social distancing at all. Interestingly, employee mask usage was very inconsistent. Many employees were wearing masks outdoors, but many weren't, and mask wearing almost seemed to vary by ride crew. I wonder what the official employee policy is. I didn't wait in any, but the food and beverage lines all looked insanely long, longer than I've ever seen before. Maybe it's an opening weekend phenomenon with so many enthusiasts at the park, but Fast Lane (Plus) seemed oversold. It seemed like almost half of all riders had it, defeating its purpose. Steel Vengeance's new locker system allows riders to keep their phones in line without reducing the ride's capacity; however, the Fast Lane Plus line is now longer than it was before (due to the addition of a Millennium Force ramp-like merged line), and the process of merging and re-splitting the FLP and standby lines feels clunky. But the park looks to have invested a lot in these modifications, so I expect them to stick. Beware: the early ride closures are no joke, at least if opening day is any indication. It seems like the park wants to cycle all riders off all rides by park close. I got off Skyhawk 8 minutes prior to park close and immediately started running to find something else to get in line for. I managed to pass several rides in those 8 minutes, but not only were all the lines already closed, most of the lines (e.g. Maverick, Millennium Force) were already nearly empty. Some rides (e.g. Iron Dragon, Derby Downs) had already seemingly powered down! I entered what seemed like an open and short Power Tower line 2 minutes prior to close, but an attendant immediately ran out to shoo me away. I understand this is an unusual year for the park with limited staff (and money?); however, I think the park needs to be more upfront about and consistent with these early closures, especially considering it's such a shift from the park's pre-pandemic policy of keeping all ride lines open until 5 to 10 minutes after close. For example, the park could post "this ride closes [x] hour(s) before park close" at ride entrances, or simply shorten the park hours. But saying the park closes at 8pm when there's little to do after 7pm seems dishonest to me, and if the overflowing Guest Services line is any indication, bad for customer relations. Also, it may be a coincidence, but this was the most congested exit (park and parking lot) I've ever experienced outside of Halloweekends.

Did anyone else get a SF Membership email offering to pause their membership until "the park re-opens in the spring"? Not sure if it's a blanket email for all the closed parks (which I know are mostly seasonal) or a true indication that SFMM will be closed for several months more.

One of the webcams shows Maverick running currently. I'm most interested to see if TTD will be open on Sunday. It's been closed the past two Sundays, despite being open on the preceding Saturdays, which seems weird to me.

Does anyone know if SFMM currently hires people to work weekends only? (I hope it's OK for me to ask that here.) I have a full time Monday through Friday job, but I've always wanted to work at an amusement park and am interested in doing so on the weekends.

What a mess! I have a feeling there will be a lot of angry USH customers by the day's end (if not already). I went to CityWalk early this morning to see a movie. At ~10:30am, the digital sign at the Lankershim entrance indicated the park was sold out. The line of people waiting to get into the park stretched back into CityWalk. When I exited the theatre at ~1:30pm, I walked by the park's front gate to hear that the park was at capacity. Except for re-entry guests, no one was being allowed in--including people with pre-purchased tickets. The entrance plaza was full of frustrated would-be guests. Walking down the hill back to Lankershim, mobile digital signs alerted drivers that parking was also at capacity. It appeared cars were being diverted directly to the Cahuenga exit. Still, the line of cars hoping to park filled all three lanes of Universal Hollywood Drive and backed up Lankershim in both directions. And apparently some people didn't get or accept the "at capacity" message now displayed on the Lankershim billboard because a huge flood of people were walking up the hill to the park. It appeared the park had to deployed extra personnel in various locations to communicate and discuss refunds (for both tickets and parking) with guests; however, I thought some of the employees sounded a bit gruff/uncaring talking with guests, and the park seemed completely overwhelmed. It's nice to see the park do good business, but i hate to think of all the families turned away today and potential PR problems for the park moving forward. Hopefully the park can find a way to avoid this situation moving forward--either by working to encourage more people to visit during off-peak times or further increasing the park's capacity. A few photos are below. I'll be curious to hear what the experience was like inside the park! Looking down Universal Hollywood Drive Lankershim billboard Looking up Universal Hollywood Drive Line of cars stretching down Lankershim

Yikes. That was a long time for people to be stuck. I assume some people couldn't wait so long to use a proper bathroom... Could this incident affect the ride's future at Knott's? If I remember correctly, wasn't the Windseeker incident the beginning of the end for that ride in CA?

Didn't the park purchase some kind of business interruption insurance after the last water main break? Too bad this had to happen on a Saturday night, though. I'm sure many will be upset.