Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[Chiselphane]

I tried paying my rent with that one time I gave a guest extra napkins.  It didn't work.

[teacherkim]

10 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I wouldn't plan any Tuesday or Wednesday trips in May or June if I were you. This year's plan to address their endless staffing shortages is to cut starting pay by 25%.

Cedar Point Cedar Point now hiring for 6,500 jobs ahead of 2022 season: Starting pay drops $5 an hour compared to last year

Well if that comes to fruition it's going to open up the CoasterCon schedule quite a bit since they are scheduled to be there Sun - Wed the third week of June. Guess the attendees can partake in all of the amenities of the new hotel at Sawmill Creek or have a couple beach days at the Breakers. I'm sure everyone will be thrilled 

[Canobie Coaster]

Top Thrill Dragster will remain closed for 2022.

Link to Sandusky Register

Quote

SANDUSKY — Cedar Point's iconic Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster won't reopen this year, the park announced today.

It "will remain closed for the 2022 season," park spokesman Tony Clark told the Register shortly after the state released a report about an Aug. 15, 2021, accident that severely injured a park guest in line for the ride.

Here is the rest of the statement Clark provided:

"Today we received the results of the investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Division of Amusement Ride Safety & Fairs, which determined that 'after examining the documentation provided and conducting interviews of Cedar Point staff, ODA found no evidence that Cedar Point had knowledge of or reason to believe that the Top Thrill Dragster was in an unsafe condition that could cause a hazard to riders, employees, or the public on Aug. 15, 2021.'

"Cedar Point has cooperated fully with ODA throughout its investigation into the incident and we will closely review the substance of ODA’s report."

Update, today, 3:40 p.m

State finds no fault in Top Thrill Dragster accident

SANDUSKY — The first paragraph of a report from the state on its investigation of an Aug. 15, 2021, accident involving the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point indicates there was no fault found.

"After a thorough review of the evidence collected and documented in the Investigative Summary attached
hereto, it is the opinion of the Amusement Ride Safety (ARS) Division that there is insufficient evidence
to find the actions or inactions of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (Cedar Point) violated any of the
laws found in Chapter 993 of the Ohio Revised Code or any rules adopted by ODA pursuant to ORC
993.04. Therefore, ODA ARS is not recommending any administrative action against Cedar Point."

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has been investigating the accident for six months. A woman standing in line was struck in the head by a metal object that became dislodged from a train on the ride.

Get the Weekender Register at a newsstand near you on Saturday or Sunday for the full story.

Original story, today at 3:25 p.m.

Top Thrill Dragster report due

SANDUSKY — The Ohio Department of Agriculture has finished its investigation of the August 2021 accident involving the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point, according to the agency. A report about its findings is expected to be released shortly.

A woman in line for the coaster was severely injured when a metal part from a coaster train dislodged and struck her in the head. Check back here for updates about the report.

 

[tndank]

Wow. That's not good. Seems odd given the investigation report.  Maybe they are going to redo the queue?

[Honorarius]

If that's what it takes to make things safe, I can wait another year.

[AmyUD06]

Yeah, though this is disappointing and perplexing given the outcome of the investigation, if it results in any kind of improvements I won't mind.

That said, perhaps the announcement is just a precaution and they're going to be reworking the queue during the season with hopes of opening it later in the year.  Gotta keep the hope alive.

[Honorarius]

Always better to set a far timeframe and beat it than a near timeframe and miss.

[i305isdaddy]

I think it’s extremely naive to imagine that this ride will ever reopen.

The lawsuits. The time down not running. What insurance company would EVER insure this again? 

Ka is probably in trouble too. Let’s be realistic guys. 

[AmyUD06]

10 minutes ago, i305isdaddy said:

I think it’s extremely naive to imagine that this ride will ever reopen.

The lawsuits. The time down not running. What insurance company would EVER insure this again? 

Ka is probably in trouble too. Let’s be realistic guys. 

The same insurance companies that continue to insure rides that people *died* on, and who realize that things are more nuanced than "one terrible incident = shut it down forever."  I also wouldn't be surprised if Cedar Fair was self-insured, at least in part.

The world didn't end for these types of rides when the cable frayed and whipped someone in the face in 2004.

[southpuddle]

Mike beat me to it, but an accident is rarely cause for a ride to shut down forever. Rides that have literally killed people have reopened. Insuring the ride is not a barrier. Major reworking of the queue is much more likely, and would be welcome, personally. That queue always made me a bit uneasy. 

[Haymaker]

29 minutes ago, i305isdaddy said:

I think it’s extremely naive to imagine that this ride will ever reopen.

The lawsuits. The time down not running. What insurance company would EVER insure this again? 

Ka is probably in trouble too. Let’s be realistic guys. 

Ride of Steel has tossed two riders and its still going, as well as its clone at SFA.

New Texas Giant.

Its not like its Verruckt or Son of Beast, which had engineering failures or outright negligence that caused deaths and/or injuries. 

Its probably utimately only going to add another checkpoint on the daily maintenance checklist, or maybe some engineering controls to prevent it from re-occuring. 

[CoasterNerd87]

I could see them reducing the number of active trains in operation to accommodate needing more frequent rebuilds/inspections of the trains during the season.

Wonder how long it'll be before TTD becomes an upcharge attraction....

[AmyUD06]

11 minutes ago, CoasterNerd87 said:

I could see them reducing the number of active trains in operation to accommodate needing more frequent rebuilds/inspections of the trains during the season.

Wonder how long it'll be before TTD becomes an upcharge attraction....

I swear to god did everyone's brains collectively turn off with this announcement?

Dragster already frequently ran only 4 or 5 trains (there are 6) with no impact on throughput.

It's never going to be an upcharge; it still processes almost 1,000 people per hour, which is just slightly behind Steel Vengeance, Maverick and not that far behind Millie.  Are those going to become an upcharge attractions too?  Why not just upcharge for everything in the park and don't charge an admission fee?

 

[coasterbill]

10 hours ago, i305isdaddy said:

Ka is probably in trouble too. Let’s be realistic guys. 

When this accident happened, Kingda Ka never even closed (seriously… not even for a day). It doesn’t appear to be something that they’re concerned about on that ride.

[KBrylczyk]

11 hours ago, Honorarius said:

Always better to set a far timeframe and beat it than a near timeframe and miss.

You've been blacklisted from the Six Flags hiring offices.

11 hours ago, i305isdaddy said:

I think it’s extremely naive to imagine that this ride will ever reopen.

The lawsuits. The time down not running. What insurance company would EVER insure this again? 

Ka is probably in trouble too. Let’s be realistic guys. 

1 hour ago, CoasterNerd87 said:

I could see them reducing the number of active trains in operation to accommodate needing more frequent rebuilds/inspections of the trains during the season.

Wonder how long it'll be before TTD becomes an upcharge attraction....

Kingda Ka reduced their trains from six to one or two (on a good day) after like two seasons and it's not an upcharge.

[CedarFlags]

If it were just the 2021 accident, I'd say that TTD isn't going anywhere.  It was a freak accident and the park was completely cleared of any wrong doing.  But... there are not many coasters out there with the distinction of being labeled a CEO's "biggest mistake"  (edit: misquoted.  He actually said "worst business decision").  With that extra context, this announcement about 2022 does not bode well.

I hope they keep it.  I think the odds are slightly better for keeping vs scrapping.  But I think scrapping is definitely on the table.

[AmyUD06]

14 minutes ago, CedarFlags said:

 But... there are not many coasters out there with the distinction of being labeled a CEO's "biggest mistake".

Source?

[CedarFlags]

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990536

Fast forward to 9:30 in this interview.  Also, sorry I got the quote wrong.  It was "worst business decision" not "biggest mistake".

[The username]

The queue is definitely going to have to be changed to prevent an accident like this from ever happening again. However, I'd like to believe the maintenance practices that created the conditions leading to the shearing of the flag pole bolts have already been revised.

[RideThroughTime]

 

1 hour ago, CedarFlags said:

If it were just the 2021 accident, I'd say that TTD isn't going anywhere.  It was a freak accident and the park was completely cleared of any wrong doing.  But... there are not many coasters out there with the distinction of being labeled a CEO's "biggest mistake"  (edit: misquoted.  He actually said "worst business decision").  With that extra context, this announcement about 2022 does not bode well.

I hope they keep it.  I think the odds are slightly better for keeping vs scrapping.  But I think scrapping is definitely on the table.

You also have the current CEO saying that TTD is essentially his favorite ride at Cedar Point at the 1:00:10 mark here: 

It's a tough decision either way to reopen or close it.

[anonymouscactus]

A 620 page report was released by a news station with witness accounts from the park, maintenance records, photos of the area, etc.

I won't post it only because it lists names and addresses that should probably be redacted, and I would hate to have my personal info leaked like this, but I skimmed through it and also read all the witness statements. I'm always intrigued by what people "think" they saw... ie: there was a call stating someone fell out the ride, that a piece of iron dragon flew off, etc. But there is a lot of insight as to what happened immediately after the event occurred. Very sad to read about what she went through.

[Haymaker]

8 hours ago, anonymouscactus said:

A 620 page report was released by a news station with witness accounts from the park, maintenance records, photos of the area, etc.

I won't post it only because it lists names and addresses that should probably be redacted, and I would hate to have my personal info leaked like this, but I skimmed through it and also read all the witness statements. I'm always intrigued by what people "think" they saw... ie: there was a call stating someone fell out the ride, that a piece of iron dragon flew off, etc. But there is a lot of insight as to what happened immediately after the event occurred. Very sad to read about what she went through.

Its been redacted.

https://www.scribd.com/document/559815455/Cedar-Point-Top-Thrill-Dragster-Incident-Report

I found this amusing, not to downplay the seriousness of the incident.

[CoasterNerd87]

21 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

I swear to god did everyone's brains collectively turn off with this announcement?

 

I swear to god, you can't tell a joke unless it's labeled as one.

 

Based on the track damage noted in the report, there will be sections that need to be replaced (I see Ohio state pushing for replacement vs. repair). I'm sure everyone agrees that queue line changes are coming as well.  I feel the ride is too iconic at this point to be scrapped and you will see work starting towards the end of the season. Also, not 100% sure on Ohio laws, but replacing track will probably put the ride inspection as a new ride as opposed to a renewal.

Edited February 20, 2022 by CoasterNerd87
Grammar

[coasterbill]

4 hours ago, CoasterNerd87 said:

I feel the ride is too iconic at this point to be scrapped

I have no idea what the future holds for this ride and nothing would surprise me, but I also don’t think that the chain that recently removed Volcano the Blast Coaster from Kings Dominion cares about this type of intangible thing.

Every single thing is a math equation to them comparing revenue that a ride generates (which admittedly is difficult to come up with but they have plenty of metrics to try) to the costs and liabilities involved with operating the ride. That’s it. 

[CoasterNerd87]

2 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I have no idea what the future holds for this ride and nothing would surprise me, but I also don’t think that the chain that recently removed Volcano the Blast Coaster from Kings Dominion cares about this type of intangible thing.

Every single thing is a math equation to them comparing revenue that a ride generates (which admittedly is difficult to come up with but they have plenty of metrics to try) to the costs and liabilities involved with operating the ride. That’s it. 

Absolutely true and yes, great example. Given their relationship with Intamin, there is that possibility. Wouldn't that be something if they did remove it, and then "further" delays the "Volcano replacement" at Kings Dominion (if it ever happens)...