coasterlover420

Here is a link to another webcam that is not listed on the website! Great view of construction! http://174.121.245.214/cp/HalloweekendsCam_1024.jpg

I work in rides, and I am from the southwest, so I'd think the experience from the west coast would be pretty similar. I drive there every summer, so I have to deal with gas prices, but a plane ride is also a viable option, you just have to consider how to get there, because transportation from cleveland to sandusky is crap. There's either greyhound or amtrak, but they are always at the most inconvenient times. Knowing people who live there always helps. The experience as a whole, in my opinion as a coaster enthusiast, is well worth it. You get to ride coasters for free while you're there working your job, you meet a lot of cool people who are also coaster enthusiasts, and you get to see a completely different side of the theme park industry. The job itself is really fun for a coaster enthusiast because you get to push buttons and check seat belts and stuff! The housing, unfortunately, is not the best. It is livable, definitely, and it's also not too expensive. They just deduct the cost from your paycheck and you never even think that you're paying for housing. The point is that we get a lot of hours so the money isn't bad at all. AC comes with housing if you live off point, however there is no AC in Cedars (men) and Gold (women) dorms, which are on the peninsula. The thing most people love to use is the Cedar Fair perk, which is that while you're an employee, you get into other Cedar Fair parks for free! King's Island trips are frequent! I don't regret at all working at CP. It costs even more money for me because I have to take a 20 hour drive to get there, but I love every minute of working there!

^^^Indeed there is Lots more here:

Topped off today possibly??

Lift motor! http://www.facebook.com/pages/OkOkAlright-I-must-admit-Cedar-Point-is-Freakin-AWESOME/123605507677817

^The seatbelt basically comes out the side of the seatback and buckles down into the side bar of the lapbar. The point being that the lapbar can't pop open too far if it does, I suppose...

Wrong. The 3rd/4th launches are still 72mph. Advertisements are approximations...you just have to get over that.

^Simple answer, yes. To save energy, put less stress on the towers, among other reasons...if you know Wicked Twister, you know the back tower sways way too much even with the slower second launch. Imagine if the train went all the way up both times. For some reason, the front tower doesn't do this as much! Hmm..

Son of Beast's new refurbishment this past week is pretty nice, I must say! I do like the X2 refurb. While it doesn't really improve much on the shakiness, it does make for a better ride experience. The Voyage track work is also pretty wonderful! My dad was only able to ride it once because it was so bad before...Timberliners will only make it that much better!

A couple more Gatekeeper pics: It also looks like Blue Streak is receiving some love! http://www.facebook.com/pages/OkOkAlright-I-must-admit-Cedar-Point-is-Freakin-AWESOME/123605507677817?fref=ts

^I'm assuming he means the entire coaster, assuming it will be re-tracked.

Also, to add to the 'working at cp' discussion, most of working at cp is what happens outside of work. Work is just the same thing over and over, but the fun you have with your crew and friends outside the park makes up a lot more of the experience than being at work. As far as being at work, you'll find that the oddest rides become the most fun to work. At major coasters, you're under pressure to keep the lines moving and such, but working fun family rides always seem to be better. From the experience of the workers, one of the funnest rides to work in the park is Cadillac Cars! You'd be surprised what you fall in love with working at CP!

B&M: What types of engineering and planning goes into making your coasters smooth and what do you do as far as pre-/post-project work to keep them smooth over long periods of time?

GCI: What types of engineering and planning goes into making your coasters smooth and what do you do as far as pre-/post-project work to keep them smooth over long periods of time? Seeing as wooden coasters tend to get rough rather quickly...

If I go to heaven - Speed: The Ride! It was my first launched coaster, and it definitely helped me overcome a lot of fear I had concerning coasters as a kid! If I go to hell - Son of Beast! I do love wooden coasters

It looks as though track has finally arrived! http://www.facebook.com/cedarpoint

What about: 2010-Millennium Force.... Brake run isn't long enough 2003-Top Thrill Dragster... Tires flew off trains Plus, you forgot to mention all the electrical/programming problems they all (still) have simply because they're Intamins Or possibly queue for Gatekeeper?? Not really sure where Troika will end up either. I agree, hopefully it's not just concrete and a smoking area..

More photos can be found here!

^I usually find that when rides need to be "ridden correctly" or else you'll have a bad ride, they're probably not that great of a ride. Even rides like Magnum or Skyrush will hurt me, but despite that I still consider them amazing rides. In my opinion, it's not only that Mantis is rough or the restraint system is terribly bad, I just think the layout is boring. Especially the second half. I would definitely not consider it a jewel... That aside, the coverage is pretty cool! I always like finding hidden things from ride construction that you don't commonly see floating around. It's funny to see how far computer rendrering has gone

Some days it can be, but it's mostly just a toss up. Heat will cause a lot of coasters to break down because they are timed and the trains travel too fast, but for Dragster there are a lot more problems than just over speed errors. It's luck of the draw really. It could be that the time you spent away from the ride, it was broken down. You never know.

Since the track is heartlined the forces will be different throughout the train. I wouldn't really consider them typical laterals like on a Wild Mouse. It's not like the entire train is being thrown to the side, it is merely rotating quickly. I have never personally experienced any horrible laterals on Maverick, but as AJ said, the contact points with the restrain make them uncomfortable. The only thing that's unbearable about the transitions is having your head thrust to one side; especially on the outside seat (in other words, if the train is switching from right to left, the right-side seat will feel more of the forces). I personally overcome this by turning my head before the transition occurs, then rotate my head accordingly so it doesn't hit the otsr's. I know that sounds retarded but it works rather well for me.

In my opinion, the greatest guest service ops can offer is making the lines for the coasters go faster. Correct me if I'm wrong, seriously. Even if the employees are not in a good mood, the guests notice that the operators move fast and guests are actually in a better mood when they get to the station. Sure, a good employee can do this with a good attitude; but like was mentioned before, the employees are kids. They deal with drama, long hours, stupid people of the GP, and really hot conditions up to 115 degrees (and at some rides, constant breakdowns). Most of the ride ops are from 18 to 22 years old, and this is a job to pay for college expenses. There are very few to no people who work here because they simply want to be a ride op. As a side note, the park is making it harder for employees to live here. Budget cuts, old housing dorms (some without air conditioning)...I imagine working here in past years must have been more fun. The planned changes from Matt O. are not taking effect right away. It's a process.

Interesting how the attitude of the employees is what people mostly complain about. For the most part, employees are usually in a good mood from what I experience as a guest. As an employee working in rides, the only thing that makes employees' attitudes worse is guests that simply don't listen. When guests move quickly at rides and actually pay attention, the ride hosts are in a much better mood. It's just a burden of the job, I suppose. Employees are people too. Some have short tempers and others tolerate, but it's not fair to judge operations of a park based on employee attitudes. Judge by how well they actually do their jobs. Operations at Cedar Point are easily 10 times faster than any other park I have visited, and I would never complain about a line that should be 2 hours that only lasts 45 minutes...

I don't know if anybody knew about these, but this year, Millennium Force does actually have longer seat belts. They are on the red train from car 5 to car 7 I think. The seat belts are new this year and are 3 inches longer than the other belts. I don't think anybody has actually been made aware of this, but if you visit Millennium Force, you'll notice larger people fitting into the red train because they know about them. Dragster, however, does not have any of these longer belts this year. Another hint I can give guests of larger size is at Wicked Twister. There aren't any longer seat belts, but over time the seats have warped and there are some seats that are more accommodating than others. Either row 12 or row 16, right side (seats 6-4 and 8-4). If you're concerned you won't fit, head for those seats first.

Cheaper?