Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[braztaz]

I'll put up a trip report later, but I just want to congratulate the CP staff for being amazing for the 4 days I visited. I especially want to acknowledge Corkscrew's crew on Tuesday night, they were hilarious!

[osm]

Thanks for the tips. I have one other question, can you access the park from the Soak City parking lot near Mean Streak?

[FeelTheFORCE]

Yes you can, but it's more near Magnum and Gemini, not Mean Streak.

[osm]

^You're right, I thought that Gemini was Mean Streak when I was looking at the park on Google Earth. Whoops. Thanks.

[coastermaniac]

I'll put up a trip report later, but I just want to congratulate the CP staff for being amazing for the 4 days I visited. I especially want to acknowledge Corkscrew's crew on Tuesday night, they were hilarious!

 

Could you explain 'amazing'? Do you mean great capacity, friendliness, etc.?

 

I ask because while they do tend to have good capacity, I personally think they could do a little better with their friendliness...well at least compared to Kings Island's staff. It seems like the CP staff doesn't have any enthusiasm while the KI staff seemed to be up-beat and happy while I visited there this year.

[braztaz]

^I mean friendliness and personality along with great capacity. The Corkscrew ops were actually singing songs like "Don't Stop Believing" or that ridiculous "Friday" by Rebecca Black, except they were replacing the words with stuff they were doing or things about the park, like "gotta check those seatbelts, lady in second row looking at me funny"... stuff like that. It was hilarious.

 

Plus Dragster always seems to have a real energetic crew, as with Maverick.

 

Millennium Force's crew just seemed to be having a really good time. There were maybe 6 or more people stuffed in the operator booth just hanging out, and they'd just whisper things over the mic or say things in these weird accents. I'm not sure if they were supposed to be there, but it was still pretty funny.

[TJ27]

When I went maverick's crew was hilarious they were singing and they would tell you things like "6 bucks and you can sit on those hot chick's lap during the ride" just so funny

[coastermaniac]

I'm there quite often and it just seems like when I ride, I tend to get the 'not so energetic' crews.

[coasternut]

^^ I was at Cedar Point for the past 4 days (Saturday -- Tuesday), and found the staff to be the worst ever! It seems all the ride ops hate their jobs, and take it out us - their customers. I hope the new CEO Matt fixes that, since he comes from Disney.

 

My worst experience was at Magnum where this one female rideop (for no reason at all) slammed the lapbar into my legs while I was buckling the seat belt for the empty seat next to me , and made for a very painful ride. She was gone on break by the time my ride returned to the station. There's no need for that...

 

This park used to be great, but has deteriorated severely over the past 3 - 4 years. I grew up with this park so I know what it can be.

[braztaz]

^I'm not sure if that was the ride ops fault, but just the actual restraint system. I had trouble with it when I alone was putting it on, as even if I tried to put it just right it'd fall back down to my thighs. This was the case with my cousin and dad as well.

 

That's the only bad part about Magnum- the ancient lapbars!

[coastermaniac]

Magnum's lapbars are quite lose.

[coasternut]

^I'm not sure if that was the ride ops fault, but just the actual restraint system. I had trouble with it when I alone was putting it on, as even if I tried to put it just right it'd fall back down to my thighs. This was the case with my cousin and dad as well.

 

That's the only bad part about Magnum- the ancient lapbars!

 

No this was the "pissed off" rideop's fault. She was in a mood, and took it out on me. The restraint system is fine, although a little difficult to enter and exit the train and I'm not a big guy. As I said previously, most if not almost all rideops are unhappy and show this to the G.P. This isn't my imagination, believe me.

[coasterbill]

You would think that the employees would be better now than ever with the economy the way it is. Cedar Fair can have it's pick of a lot more people.

 

I don't know if it's a chain wide thing, but I noticed that the Carowinds crews were horrific this year. No energy, no personality and just overall very slow. The only exception was Afterburn where the woman turned the Ride Spiel into a 90's rap style song. The best part was that the other operators were dancing along with it when they were waiting for the next train to roll into the station.

[PennStater]

The Afterburn ride op was quite energetic when I visited last week as well... singing happy birthday to a guest and saying she loved everyone. I wonder if it was the same person.

 

I must say, I was at Kings Island for the first time on Sunday, and their ride ops seemed the most enthused and energetic out of KD, CP, Carowinds, and KI. Diamondback went down for 10-15 minutes due to a restraint issue, and while the ride was down the bar checker with the microphone was doing trivia about Diamondback and the park. It was pretty cool!

[coasterdude2011]

I really don't see the bad ride ops at Cedar Point. I go their 2 or 3 times a week because I live rather close to the park. Comparing this year to the past three years I actually see an improvement. The operations have been very quick this year and the employees seem very nice. Granted the ride operators do, the food services don't but they work in food services so I understand the hatred. But I'm actually very impressed with the employees and most of the rides have good ones, especially Maverick, Magnum, and Wicked Twister in my opinion.

[John Peck]

Perhaps she got fired between the lap bar incident and the time you got back to the station. I've seen mostly good ride ops in my visits to Cedar, but there will always be some bad ones. Guests are getting worse now, especially those from the Cleveland area and Detroit were the mood is bad, it's hard to deal with the public.

[coastermaniac]

I was at the park today; I didn't ride much but when I did the ride ops were mediocre.

[ABW]

^Define "Mediocore"

[SFGAm Shock Wave]

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/sandusky/news/2011/aug/12/cedar-point-restaurant-johnny-rockets-burns

 

Cedar Point caught fire again. The fire damaged a games warehouse and Johnny Rockets.

[coasterlover420]

^^^I think you need to realize that ride ops are people, too, and being secluded at a theme park for an entire summer is quite draining. By the end of the season most of us are just tired and want some sleep. Another big problem here is that a lot of people like to just cause unnecessary drama and that can really bring ride ops down. Usually if guests move quickly and have a good attitude, the ride ops will reciprocate. The one thing that would cheer me up is when a guest would say thank you after I check their seat. It's an unexpected pleasantry and it really helps lift our spirits. Having worked at Raptor, I know all about being disgusted with guests, and that's simply because nobody listens. If people would actually just move, ride ops would be happy all day long. There are some days when we simply lose our minds, too, and that's when you get things like people singing over spiels or talking in crazy accents. It's just how we get by.

[braztaz]

I've been meaning to put up a TR since I got home, and hopefully I'll finally pull through with it and finish it this time...

 

Monday, August 1st

We (My dad, my cousin, and I) arrived at Breakers Express at 8:00PM. With my Platinum Pass, I had no worry of getting into the park since I knew I wouldn't be able to wait until morning. My cousin decided to pay the starlight ticket since she couldn't wait, either. As usual, I had no idea what I was going to do first, since as usual I was overwhelmed by all the possibilities, so I went with the one I knew wouldn't have much of a line, and was one of my favorites last year- Magnum. Absolutely love this ride, the ejector air is crazy and the view out into the lake is great. After Magnum, we headed on over to Gemini, which is a hidden gem. The first drop, as it did last year, took me by surprise. Crazy airtime throughout and the perfect combination of smooth and rough. Gemini has the best headchoppers, too!

 

Since it was already getting late, we decided to go over to Millennium Force and try to get one of the last rides of the night- in the front row! This is one of the only bad experiences I had on this trip. While we were waiting in line, someone was smoking but we just couldn't see who, since they were in the crowd. But we could definitely smell it, and it was awful in that huge packed space. We got into the station and escaped the smell, (I guess they knew the ride operators would catch them) and got in line for the front row. That might have been the slowest 30 minute of my life, waiting in that line. But, right when we were three trains from heading out, the operator announced they would only be running two more trains and that the rest of the front row needed to clear out. Such bad timing! An operator cut his way directly in front of me and said that riders behind the couple in front of me needed to find another row. This was understandable, since they shouldn't be sending out trains with only one row filled until midnight. So we just found ourselves in the back row, which was the next best thing. We were still going to be the last train of the night...or so we were told. When our train came rolling back into the brake run, we realized that one other train after us was sent up, with two riders in the front row. We watched as the riders in the front row screamed with delight, but it didn't take much to notice they were drunk or high. That train would've been my train, I would've gone in the front row on the last ride of the night, so a majority of my train complained to the operator. All he could say he was "sorry". When our group just gave up, we headed down the exit ramp as the actual last train of the night was rolling back in. The two guys in the front row hopped right up, and right when they got in the exit ramp, out of view from the operators, started smoking. The familiar smell filled my nose that basically tortured me the hour I was in line.

 

From what I heard, those two guys refused to give up their spot even though they were one of the last ones in line for the front row. I think the operator felt very threatened by them and let them go for his own safety, I don't know. All I know is we were supposed to be the next ones in line, and we really missed out on having an awesome first night. But whatever.

 

Tuesday, August 2

After the misfortune of last night, we had the best day possible on Tuesday! We got our Millennium Force front row ride in(amazing, by the way) but it started raining at around 8PM. Hearing about CP's awful operations in the rain, I was a little worried. Tonight is when I met the amazing Corkscrew crew, even though they were only running one train they still got 'em rolling as soon as possible, and they were just plain hilarious when they would sing popular songs but replace the lyrics with the safety procedures and what they were doing, like "Go downstairs, gotta have my cereal...gotta check those seatbelts..." (Guess which awful song they were singing?) But since it rained so late, much of the crowd left by the time the rides opened up again! Since Skyhawk operates in the light rain, we rode that a whole 10 times in a row without getting off. Skyhawk is such a fun ride, and I didn't get to ride it in 2010. Also want to congratulate the operators of Skyhawk that night, very enthusiastic and one girl got so used to checking empty seats she developed this method of jumping up and pushing the lapbar down in only about a second, and it was fun watching her speed around all the seats. She was also cracking a bunch of jokes and trying to see who would stay on for the rest of the night. She was so nice we actually felt the need to say goodbye to her once we left! We headed over to Maverick to find ourselves a WALK-ON! I automatically regretted staying on Skyhawk that long because we only got a couple rides in before the park closed. My cousin and I were the only ones in that back area of the park when we were walking back to the entrance...very creepy, but fun!

 

Wednesday, August 3

After being spoiled by Maverick the night before, we decided against waiting 1 1/2 hours for it today. We ate lunch at Coasters Drive-In, and bhad a very average burger. It also rained a bit today as well, but that yet again proved itself to our advantage, as we found a Top Thrill Dragster WALK-ON! A mixture of closing down the ride due to rain and mechanical problems led the guests away from the ride, and once they opened it back up we walked right up to the station and only had to wait about 6 or 7 trains for a front row ride! The crowd and operators were in a great mood and set up a great atmosphere, as people were cheering as the train made it over the hill as there were 2 or 3 rollbacks before. I took a video of the walk up to the station and the crowd in the station if you would want me to post it. But Top Thrill Dragster in the front was just crazy. Luckily it wasn't too late in the day for the bugs to come out, but I still got plastered by them (Just my hands, though...they were way up in the air!)

 

Thursday, August 4

I decided to go into the park alone for early entry while my cousin didn't want to spend 30 dollars for a few hours, as we were leaving that day. I got another walk-n for TTD, a 40-minute wait for the front row of Maverick, and a walk on for the front row of Magnum. Then the lines started getting longer so I hopped on Corkscrew and said goodbye to the park at around 12:00.

 

Overall it was an amazing week at the park and I still wish to come back next year.

 

RIDE COUNT

 

COASTERS

Blue Streak (x2) - Such a fun little woodie! This was my dad's favorite! Crazy airtime! 8/10

Cedar Creek Mine Ride (x1) - Good little coaster. 6/10

Corkscrew (x2) - Went into this with below-average expectations, but with the good ride crew and the nice airtime, this ride took me by surprise! 7/10

Disaster Transport (x1) - The theming was great, but the actual ride left a little to be desired... 6/10

Gemini (x5) - Love this ride! Barely every has a line, and the slapping of hands prove it to be a fun break from the massive rides. 8/10

Iron Dragon (x1) - This ride was okay... I'm sure the little ones enjoy it, though. 5/10

Magnum XL-200 (x5) [FRONT ROW!] - The ejector air is crazy, the first drop is great, and the view out into the lake is amazing. It might even be my favorite ride there! 9/10

Maverick (x4) [FRONT ROW!] - Words can't describe this ride. Before we got on, my GP cousin said "Why couldn't they have made it taller? It's so small! I don't know about this one...." but once it was over, she was yelling "That was so good!". Insane airtime, amazing first drop, and "twisties" make Maverick one of the best in the park. 10/10

Mean Streak (x1) - Yuck. That is all. 4/10

Millennium Force (x3) [FRONT ROW!] This ride in the front row is just great. The wind in your face as you plunge 300 feet down to earth just can't be beat. It also had crazy airtime as well! If you don't believe me, ride it in the front or back next time you give it a visit. I didn't call it "Millennium Forceless" before, but now I know I never will. 10/10

Raptor (x2) - Would rank this above Alpengeist. It's great invert and is very forceful. 9/10

Top Thrill Dragster (x4) [FRONT ROW!] - Front row can't be beat. Gotta try it at least once. The feeling of going 120mph is breathtaking, as is the view at the top with the airtime. 10/10

Wicked Twister (x2) [FRONT ROW!] - I like the front much better than the back. Love how it's right on the beach, and the airtime is pretty cool. I love how when you sit in the back row, you can see all the cars twisting in front of you. I wouldn't wait for this more than 15 minutes, though. 8/10

Wildcat (x2) - Took me by surprise, this was another first for me. Really liked it. 7/10

 

FLAT RIDES

MaxAir (x1) - This is the only ride that terrified me to death. I'd find it hard to rate this one since I was too busy freaking out I couldn't find time to enjoy myself. If I wasn't so horrified I'm sure it would've been a fun ride, since my cousin liked it. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go on so I just went through with it. And I kind of regret going through with it. Oh well.

Power Tower, Shot Side (x3) - Since I rode drop side last year, I decided to try shot and it was real fun. Great airtime, forceful launch.

Skyhawk (x12) - I don't think I would ever wait more than 5 minutes for this ride ever again. The first two times I waited about 20 minutes, but then later on in the night I marathoned it and it took a while for my stomach to recover. I had butterflies the remainder of the night! This is such a fun ride.

 

I don't think we rode anymore flats. If we did, I can't remember. Also excuse my rating system as I wasn't originally going to put that but added it last minute.

 

I'm no CP "fanboy" by any means, since it does have flaws, but it's still my favorite park.

 

-Braztaz

[coastermaniac]

^^^I think you need to realize that ride ops are people, too, and being secluded at a theme park for an entire summer is quite draining. By the end of the season most of us are just tired and want some sleep. Another big problem here is that a lot of people like to just cause unnecessary drama and that can really bring ride ops down. Usually if guests move quickly and have a good attitude, the ride ops will reciprocate. The one thing that would cheer me up is when a guest would say thank you after I check their seat. It's an unexpected pleasantry and it really helps lift our spirits. Having worked at Raptor, I know all about being disgusted with guests, and that's simply because nobody listens. If people would actually just move, ride ops would be happy all day long. There are some days when we simply lose our minds, too, and that's when you get things like people singing over spiels or talking in crazy accents. It's just how we get by.

 

I do realize all of what you mean. I'm just saying that sometimes ride ops can seem to be in a great mood, other times not so much.

[coasternut]

The past 2 days I've been at Kings Island and the rideops are like the Cedar Point ops used to be. They all enjoy their jobs, and actually started conversations with me while waiting. My visit to the Point last week for 3 days was a nightmare! I've really enjoyed my visit here at K.I. so far. At least I haven't had a lapbar slammed into my thighs.

[coastermaniac]

^ That's exactly how I feel about them.

[SharkTums]

A number of people in our tour group had some horrifying experiences with the female ride ops on Woodstock!!!! I've never seen two people so miserable in their jobs and taking it out on each other and guests!!!

 

As for the rumors, I hadn't been paying attention but when we went to ride the Paddlewheel boats the ops asked us "Are you here to ride this because of the rumors?", we had no clue what they were talking about, and they told us that they're most likely leaving to make way for the next ride.