Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[southpuddle]

As a former ride op, it takes about 5 seconds to yell out for single riders, and the filled seats more than make up for the seconds lost searching for singles. Unfortunately it’s something that rarely happens at any park anymore. 

[AndrewA86]

4 hours ago, AmyUD06 said:

We weren't talking about "available space," we were talking about the actual footprint of Wild Mouse, which is smaller than BB.

More importantly - "Asking for single riders" does not equal "impeding operations to fill every seat."

I was talking about space. It did slow down the operations. They held the car while looking. You don't have to waste any time looking if there is a single rider line.

 

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As a former ride op, it takes about 5 seconds to yell out for single riders, and the filled seats more than make up for the seconds lost searching for singles.

Again, there would be no lost time at all if there was a single rider line. It would make the process much more organized and efficient. 

[AmyUD06]

20 minutes ago, AndrewA86 said:

I was talking about space. It did slow down the operations. They held the car while looking. You don't have to waste any time looking if there is a single rider line.

 

Again, there would be no lost time at all if there was a single rider line. It would make the process much more organized and efficient. 

How do they waste time on existing coasters at CP when every single one has individual row lines that get filled as soon as the previous train dispatches?  They ask for single riders while the next train is pulling into the station.  If you were talking specifically about operations on Wild Mouse, which has been open to the public what, 2 days? 4 days? then yeah they might need some time to figure a good system out.  A single rider line would not solve these issues though, since by your own admission it's not a coaster for enthusiasts, and enthusiasts are the only people who go to parks alone.

Seriously, for someone who goes to the park "15 times a year," I think you'd notice how things operate a little better.

[AndrewA86]

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How do they waste time on existing coasters at CP when every single one has individual row lines that get filled as soon as the previous train dispatches?  They ask for single riders while the next train is pulling into the station. 

Wild Mouse doesn't have individual row lines. There is no station wait. Each car only holds 4 people. So with this ride they ask for single riders as people board the car and hold the car until they have a single rider or realize they don't have one. It would be so much more efficient if they could pull people out of a single rider line when there is a group smaller than 4. And if nobody is in the single rider line then just let the car leave with the empty seats. Absolutely no waiting around to fill it.

 

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A single rider line would not solve these issues though, since by your own admission it's not a coaster for enthusiasts, and enthusiasts are the only people who go to parks alone.

 

So the ONLY people who use single rider lines are enthusiasts who go to parks alone? A bunch of different people use single rider lines. For example, someone who is part of a group who is the only person that wants to ride, someone who is a part of a group that wants to ride for a 2nd time while nobody else does, a kid who wants to marathon it while dad relaxes and little sister and mom go on the other flats in the area or to kiddy kingdom, kids from a school group who just don't want to wait the hour+ in the regular line... 

[prozach626]

On 5/13/2023 at 6:34 AM, AndrewA86 said:

So a steel spinning coaster is cheaper than a wood family coaster of the same scope? 

Probably, when you consider it's going to have a larger footprint. CP also wanted to spruce up their new area. Placing something that couldn't essentially fit into a square box would have been more difficult, and probably not do-able without moving a lot of things around. It most definitely would have put a damper on the open feeling they seemed like they went for.

 

  

On 5/13/2023 at 7:25 PM, AndrewA86 said:

Bordwalk Bullett would fit. So my thought was a family Boardwalk Bullett. 

 

Because they slow down operations looking for single riders. If they have a Family/ group of 3 they will spend time looking for single riders to fill the car. 

Maybe a family group of 3 doesn't want to ride with a stranger to dampen the family experience? It would be a buzz kill for us to have some grown dude wearing a Mystic Timbers shirt and sun glasses straps tagging along, with his souvenir cup full of 1000 calories hidden nearby in a bush. Or, anyone else for that matter. "Hey kids, let's go on this family ride so we have to awkwardly interact with a stranger."

This ride jist ain't fer yew, bud. Thems the breaks.

 

 

20 hours ago, southpuddle said:

As a former ride op, it takes about 5 seconds to yell out for single riders, and the filled seats more than make up for the seconds lost searching for singles. Unfortunately it’s something that rarely happens at any park anymore. 

 

On 5/13/2023 at 7:25 PM, AndrewA86 said:

Because they slow down operations looking for single riders. If they have a Family/ group of 3 they will spend time looking for single riders to fill the car. 

Hey look everyone. It's that one guy who's never done your job, but says he can do it better than you! I haven't been reading the comments on any police body camera youtube videos in a while, so I almost forgot they existed.

[coasterbill]

I missed a lot, but is there really a discussion taking place about whether a Boardwalk-Bullet-style wood coaster (or any wood coaster) costs a park more than a Wild Mouse?

It’s not just about the upfront cost. This is a lift-driven small steel coaster that will operate 6 months out of the year. It probably won’t need any meaningful track work whatsoever for decades.

The ride is different than anything they have because it spins, it’s cheap to build and will be cheap to maintain. Replacing Wicked Twister with this will probably pay for itself over time and they can market it like they did something cool.

On 5/8/2023 at 7:35 PM, AndrewA86 said:

But this is CP. They shouldn't be doing anything on the cheap.

A day ticket is $49.99 without a promo code and they charge less for a season pass than Fun Spot. Why not? It's not like they're pricing themselves like Magic Kingdom here.

[bert425]

hey!!

Pipe Scream spins. . and at last official count, it's still a "coaster"

[southpuddle]

Reports of blue track and orange supports at the factory in Slovakia where Intamin fabricates their rides. The  track appears to be the same style as that of Velocicoaster and Pantheon. To my knowledge there aren’t any coasters with blue/orange as their color scheme from Intamin, existing nor announced/under construction. Anyone have the full pic? I’ve only seen one that was cropped to hell. 

[coasterbill]

Man, they really are building someone’s insane No Limits fantasy in real life.

I’m not actually convinced that it will be a better ride this way, but I’m still amazed that they’re really doing it…

Source: CP Rundown on Facebook

[AndrewA86]

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Maybe a family group of 3 doesn't want to ride with a stranger to dampen the family experience? It would be a buzz kill for us to have some grown dude wearing a Mystic Timbers shirt and sun glasses straps tagging along, with his souvenir cup full of 1000 calories hidden nearby in a bush. Or, anyone else for that matter. "Hey kids, let's go on this family ride so we have to awkwardly interact with a stranger."

You're right, they wouldn't. The issue isn't should they or shouldn't they put a stranger with a family of 3. It's already been established that they ARE putting strangers with groups of 3. So the point is, if they are going to look for single riders, why not have a single rider line? 

 

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This ride jist ain't fer yew, bud. Thems the breaks.

It is for me because I love spinning coasters. 

 

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Hey look everyone. It's that one guy who's never done your job, but says he can do it better than you! 

 

No it's the guy with a common sense solution to a problem. And I've seen 3 people on YouTube videos who have suggested the same thing. Because we've actually been on the ride and observed how it slows down operations. It's a pretty simple idea, have a single rider line because if you're going to be looking for single riders it makes it a lot easier to find them. 

 

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I missed a lot, but is there really a discussion taking place about whether a Boardwalk-Bullet-style wood coaster (or any wood coaster) costs a park more than a Wild Mouse?

No not exactly. I said I didn't think WM was the best fit because of capacity. I was asked to provide a better alternative. One of my ideas was a family wood coaster of the same scope (1300 ft of track and around the same max height). I was told it wouldn't fit in that space. I said if Boardwalk Bullet could fit (3200 ft of track) then a family style wood coaster built in the same compact way like Boardwalk Bullet would fit.

Now you made a good point about maintenance. But I don't buy that the extra cost to maintain a 1300 ft wooden roller coaster is that big of a deal for Cedar Fair/ Cedar Point.

The rest is people trying to paint me as a mad coaster enthusiast who just want's to crap on WM because it's a family ride and not a big thrill ride. Which I'm not... I've said multiple times that I really like WM. 

 

[thrillseeker4552]

1 hour ago, coasterbill said:

Man, they really are building someone’s insane No Limits fantasy in real life.

I’m not actually convinced that it will be a better ride this way, but I’m still amazed that they’re really doing it…

Source: CP Rundown on Facebook

Me too. I am still not quite convinced it will be to the magnitude many people are discussing (400+ foot spike), but nonetheless it is cool to see them take a risk and do something unique and different here.

As much as I want Intamin to be involved, my gut tells me it is Zamperla since they are also overhauling the old hydraulic launch coaster from Italy to be installed at Playland PNE next year. And Zamperla advertised their new Lightning train to be on "some of the world's fastest attractions" soon. Taken with a grain of salt, but still.

Whatever it is I hope it's at least reliable, if nothing else.

[tndank]

I'm in the camp of a smaller back spike.  I think it will launch backwards, then forward over the top hat.  It's only going backward to get some speed to launch over the top hat.

 

[coasterbill]

Gun to my head I would agree with the smaller back spike but I give up making assumptions about this because if you told me a year ago they would be adding a spike and a swing launch I would have laughed in your face and... here we are.

[Hilltopper39]

I'm going with a 500 Ft spike just so they can say they have a 500 Ft tall coaster even though with the swing launch the train will never go over the 350 Ft mark.

 

A record is a record.

[grsupercity]

I would assume capacity wise it would make the most sense to launch backwards then forwards over the top hat. Having a long launch forwards just to go backwards again just to launch forwards again on that long launch track would take some time  

[AmyUD06]

18 minutes ago, Hilltopper39 said:

I'm going with a 500 Ft spike just so they can say they have a 500 Ft tall coaster even though with the swing launch the train will never go over the 350 Ft mark.

 

A record is a record.

Only the very back of the very last car of the train would have to hit 500 to get a "legitimate" record, and if they put (presumably) LIMs the whole way up the spike, they could even move the train up there (at a decent pace, like Maverick's "lift hill") before releasing, then boosting on the old launch track.

Either way, it will be a smashing success for the park but I have to imagine a disappointment for fans of the rush of acceleration of the original (like me).

[mikeykaise]

My thinking is maybe they are just extending the turn around so they can bring it to a more gradual stop as opposed to a back spike, the footers seem to extend out into the lake and then line up with the station. 

[thepoint4life23]

That is 3 big footers for a turn around 

[prozach626]

6 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Gun to my head I would agree with the smaller back spike but I give up making assumptions about this because if you told me a year ago they would be adding a spike and a swing launch I would have laughed in your face and... here we are.

Actually... In the fall I remember you saying you believed anything was possible. I specifically remember it, because it wasn't like you. lol

[anonymouscactus]

I'm other news, something changed on the website today....

 

[RaceBoarder]

Well that is nifty!

[AmyUD06]

16 hours ago, anonymouscactus said:

I'm other news, something changed on the website today....

 

They probably realized that the Boardwalk area wasn't enough for the early entry people to all be accommodated, since they give everyone and their grandmother early entry these days.

Still, I'll take it over the experience I had at BGT in December of 2021 when like two rides opened with the park at 10, a few more at 11, and the rest at noon.

[coasterbill]

It's a bad early entry lineup for Cedar Point but it's not bad compared to most regional parks. You're never going to find me complaining about any ride lineup that includes Millennium Force.

[prozach626]

2 hours ago, AmyUD06 said:

Still, I'll take it over the experience I had at BGT in December of 2021 when like two rides opened with the park at 10, a few more at 11, and the rest at noon.

Sounds like my Kennywood experience, years ago.

[coasternut]

20 hours ago, AmyUD06 said:

They probably realized that the Boardwalk area wasn't enough for the early entry people to all be accommodated, since they give everyone and their grandmother early entry these days.

 

Now you've changed "your tune" on this. You "beat me up" when I complained about the early entry before. Not as good as before, but better. It's now worth it to come early.