jmicha Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I was at Cedar Point on Saturday and not once during any of the many times I watched the ride (I waited 45 minutes for members of my group to ride) did anything even close to this video occur. The swings do move around more once slowing down than at any other point, but it wasn't as much as during this video. It is very possible it was just operating during higher winds than it was designed. But saying that the winds on the beach are going to be greater 300 feet up than if you were to put it somewhere else in the park is a bit ridiculous. There's nothing to block the wind at that height like at ground level so no matter where you are in the park the winds are going to be high at that height. As for the ride itself, it's gorgeous, especially at night. The lights are fantastic. Incredibly bright and the patterns are cool. The operations seemed a little slow but the ride holds a ton of people so the line moved quickly for how long it was. I was unable to get to the park last year so this is the first time I was able to see Shoot the Rapids in person. The ride looked great and really added to that part of the park. Operations were also the best I have seen in a while considering how crowded the park was. Millennium only stacked trains for 5-10 seconds before they continued moving which made a line that could have been 2 hours in the past only 1.5 hours or less. It was like this on all rides as well. The crews were hustling and seemed like they were enjoying themselves and not once did I see anything broken down or closed which was nice. I also didn't see Dragster roll back at any point as well. So overall it was a crowded day but great operations allowed for it to still be enjoyable.
coasterbill Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 It's not Cedar Point's fault. If they asked the manufacturer if adding 7 seats was possible and they said yes, then it's the manufacturers fault. Then again, this isn't a big deal. Not only will they probably fix it, but if they just fill all of the seats it doesn't seem to cause problems (and they're having no trouble doing that). A lot of flat rides need to be balanced, this is not a big deal. If it was, I'm sure they wouldn't operate it.
_koppen Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Yes, but what on slow days, when it will take some time to fill the whole ride? Should the put water dummies in some of the seats? I think that they need to remove some arms of it, if they want to bring the ride to it's full potential.
oriolat Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I think they will go the easy way and just shut the ride on windy hours... Then again, I have heard the park is in a windy area and this ride was chosen over a Star Flyer because it *could* operate safely in high winds.
jmicha Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I think people are overreacting. It doesn't seem to be any more temperamental in regards to wind than, say, Raptor, Top Thrill Dragster, Sky Ride, Space Spiral, etc. which I believe are the rides that close in the slowest winds. It sounds like it's mostly just a balance thing meaning if the ride isn't full the people riding will just be assigned evenly spaced seats. I feel the park is capable of figuring this 'issue' out.
Skycoastin Steve Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 ^People are freaking out because Lance on Screamscape freaked out. Had he not posted that video and ranted about it, nobody would have thought twice about it.
DJeXeL Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 If you think it's unsafe then don't ride it!! Simple as that.
_koppen Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Wind really has nothing to do wit this problem, it's just uneven loading that get the arms out of balance, and they don't have such a big swinging distance.
braztaz Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 ^It's a combination of both. CW and KI's Windseekers don't have this problem and they don't always load full cycles.
CP_RULES Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 ^People are freaking out because Lance on Screamscape freaked out. Had he not posted that video and ranted about it, nobody would have thought twice about it. Quoted for truth.
DiSab Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 ^People are freaking out because Lance on Screamscape freaked out. Had he not posted that video and ranted about it, nobody would have thought twice about it. Mob mentality at its finest.
coasterlover420 Posted June 29, 2011 Posted June 29, 2011 Wind really has nothing to do wit this problem, it's just uneven loading that get the arms out of balance, and they don't have such a big swinging distance. This is quite untrue. Wind is the factor in why the seats swing unevenly when loaded unevenly. It wouldn't make a difference if there was zero wind because they would only swing outward, whereas the wind manipulates the empty seats much more than loaded seats. CP's solution now is to go down in high winds (35mph+) and to simply load all seats in low winds, simply like deadweight at Dragster. p.s. the markers (I have heard) have been spotted in the employee parking section (space spiral).
crazywolf88 Posted June 29, 2011 Posted June 29, 2011 If mondial made it so the arms would just swing out, without the free motion conection, it could have been a "safer" ride. there are many rides that only allow riders to swing side to side and not in and out, and that is what both Cedar fair/point AND mondial should have taken into consideration when designing this attraction. Bruising is not the only injury that could be sustained, mind you, those cars are heavy and could quite easily break or fracture a leg if there are high enough wind gusts. Also to settle a debate about Cedar point putting 7 more rows of seats, each bench has two seats, adding 7 more of those will increase capacity by 14 riders. Which is almost like adding another maverick train and then some!
coasterlover420 Posted June 29, 2011 Posted June 29, 2011 The problem is that using seats that are fixed on that axis would cause a lot more stress on the structure because of winds and it would not last as long or even be unstable. There are pneumatic cylinders that do their best to hold them in place, but that's pretty much the best they can do about it.
Skycoastin Steve Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Spent a beautiful day at the park today, took some really, really cool night shots of Windseeker. Thought the ride was pretty neat, gives you an excellent view of everything, but it's not thrilling or anything. Pictures will be posted in a few days. And in separate news, would anyone like to know what the new attraction for 2012 will be?
RedB Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 And in separate news, would anyone like to know what the new attraction for 2012 will be? AquaTrax?
Skycoastin Steve Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 No and no. It might have something to do with what Kings Island has gotten recently.
Skycoastin Steve Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 ^Ha. No, but I will say it's not a ride, and it's educational. And hopefully this one doesn't catch on fire, or it might melt the middle portion of MF. Edit: And a long-time attraction at the park will have to be retired as a result of this new addition to the park (at least for the time being).
CoasterGuy06 Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 ^And CP won't be the only CF park to get this attraction
coasterfreak101 Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Turnpike? That's probably the best bet for being removed - one of the two car rides. And for anotger Dinosaurs Alive? What a waste...really, even without a ride being removed...
coasterdude2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 If Cedar Point gets the dinosaur attraction I will be very upset, it feels as if Cedar Point is falling behind in the amusement park industry. Many new parks are adding brand new attractions and we haven't gotten a new unique thrill ride since Maverick. We received a starlight experience, a challenge park ride, a kids area, a mechanical nightmare of a flume ride and a cloned Windseeker. They need something new and innovative again before they really start falling off track.
Thom25 Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Well, if you consider the possibility that Knotts may be getting a giga next year, a Dinosaur attraction makes good economic sense, especially if KI's has been well received. Cedar Fair can only add so many $20+ million attractions in any given year. As much as I'd like to see a thrill ride sooner rather than later for CP. My guess / hope would be that CP has something huge planned for the following year. You can almost take it to the bank given the length of time since Maverick opened. I can wait another year if a world record thrill ride is installed at CP, especially if Knotts gets a giga.
Intimidator305 Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 No offense to Cedar Fair, but the whole "Dinosaurs Alive!" thing is a complete joke! The only time I could see it being nice is in the Spring for the "Education Days" so students can actually learn something at the park and schools would have an excuse to take a field trip to the park. I could understand if they made these things travel around the chain each year, but to buy multiple sets of them seems a little pointless... I mean seriously, how many people would want to do this more than once?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now