Guy T. Koepp Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 ^All Wing Riders are front and back exclusive , outside seat rides for me. The extra little push & pull through the elements helps to make these just a bit more exciting. Terrain also helps as both Thunderbird and Wild Eagle are my faves. The view from the top of the lift on WE is just majestic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I heard good reviews of the front seats, but I never rode it towards the front. I really enjoyed the front seat rides we had on Gatekeeper. It was a unique feeling with there being nothing in front of you, below, you, or above you. It was one of the most "free" feeling coasters I have been on. We never got around to riding in the back so I can not speak for the back of the train, but for us the front is where it is at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I straight up didn't find it enjoyable because of how bouncy/rough it was in the rear seats I rode in coupled with how the vests constricted me. Some elements were fun but I have found the wingriders uncomfortable. Only Gatekeeper bounced me around which ended up scooting me lower in the seat for the vest to tighten further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 ^All Wing Riders are front and back exclusive , outside seat rides for me. The extra little push & pull through the elements helps to make these just a bit more exciting. Why does this almost sound on the verge of being sexual? Oh wait, it's Guy posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 ^He like a little "push-pull" action "outside" in the "back." Guy's posts never disappoint whether his sexual innuendos are intentional or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 What can I say. I'm a master at my craft. And when your craft is sex, sexual innuendo, porn, etc. You can do this shiz in your sleep. Thank you for noticing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP Maverick Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Gatekeeper has a very unique first drop. It's the ride after the keyhole that starts getting lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Gatekeeper has a very unique first drop. It's the ride after the keyhole that starts getting lazy. Unless of course you've been on X-flight. Which IMHO is a better drop because it's tighter and has a more interesting pullout into the zero-g element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCI Wooden Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Gatekeeper has a very unique first drop. It's the ride after the keyhole that starts getting lazy. Unless of course you've been on X-flight. Which IMHO is a better drop because it's tighter and has a more interesting pullout into the zero-g element. X-Flight's 1st drop is one of my favorite elements on any coaster towards the back-left. Very interesting element that took me by surprise (I knew it was there, but I didn't know it would feel like that!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Can't help but wonder if Valravn will have some sort of themed noise on the lift hill like Banshee's scream or Fury's bee buzzing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_man Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms. Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Hero Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Can't help but wonder if Valravn will have some sort of themed noise on the lift hill like Banshee's scream or Fury's bee buzzing. I wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps the screech of some bird or something like that, along with the safety spiel like on F325 (do they do that on all of the new CF coasters or just at Carowinds? I noticed it in I232 POV's too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Count me in the group that considers GateKeeper one of the best coasters at CP! No, it's not the most intense coaster there, but it sure is a fun and unique experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms. Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now). Super unreliable? Please list example of exactly what you are talking about and compare them to rides from other manufacturers that have never ever had problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms. Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now). Yeah I'd hardly call Millennium Force and Maverick "contraptions" You rarely hear of MF being down, and still gives 1.5 million rides per season after 15 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepoint4life23 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Most of the Rides that have been Built would of been in the works before Matt Ouimet was in the park. hear on out i'm sure has more say then he did with Gatekeeper. I like what he is doing to the parks so i'm sure the rides he will pick to bring to the cars will be great also. Zk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsupercity Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Considering B&M hasn't changed from the traditional chain, they should be reliable. Every Intamin at CP used a different system. Chain, Cable, LIM, ect ect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_man Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms. Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now). Super unreliable? Please list example of exactly what you are talking about and compare them to rides from other manufacturers that have never ever had problems. Dick Kinzel stated in an interview with NPR that building Top Thrill Dragster was the worst decision he ever made as CEO. The ride was SBNO for half the summer the first year it was open, major disappointment. Can you imagine the amount of people that were not only upset but also went to guest relations and demanded refunds? Maverick was built the during the season in 2006 and still didn't open with the park the following year. Had to be re-profiled before it opened and was extremely unreliable for a long time. That Shoot the Rapids ride had a huge accident that made national news. Xcelerator has been SBNO more times than I can count. Intimidator 305 had to be reprofiled and rarely ever ran more than 1 train when it was new because the wheels were literally melting. Wicked Twister (and all the other impluses at the time) had to add supports. Both TTD and Xcelerators cables have frayed while the ride was running causing major PR nightmares and Millennium Force's cable has snapped while it was operating as well (although I can't really verify if this is Intamin or CF's fault, probably a mix of both). I haven't been to CP in years but last time I was there Maverick, TTD, and MF all opened late and all 4 Intamin's broke down while I was in line for them (Maverick broke down at least 10x during the day). It's well known in the industry that Sandor kept giving Kinzel big discounts on new rides because of how unreliable the last ride they built was. It doesn't surprise me at all that now that they have a new CEO they have gone a much safer route. Edited September 23, 2015 by the_man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsupercity Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms. Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now). Super unreliable? Please list example of exactly what you are talking about and compare them to rides from other manufacturers that have never ever had problems. Dick Kinzel stated in an interview with NPR that building Top Thrill Dragster was the worst decision he ever made as CEO. The ride was SBNO for half the summer the first year it was open, major disappointment. Can you imagine the amount of people that were not only upset but also went to guest relations and demanded refunds? Maverick was built the during the season in 2006 and still didn't open with the park the following year. Had to be re-profiled before it opened and was extremely unreliable for a long time. That Shoot the Rapids ride had a huge accident that made national news. Xcelerator has been SBNO more times than I can count. Intimidator 305 had to be reprofiled. Wicked Twister (and all the other impluses at the time) had to add supports. Both TTD and Xcelerators cables have frayed while the ride was running causing major PR nightmares and Millennium Force's cable has snapped while it was operating as well (although I can't really verify if this is Intamin or CF's fault, probably a mix of both). I haven't been to CP in years but last time I was there Maverick, TTD, and MF all opened late and all 4 Intamin's broke down while I was in line for them (Maverick broke down at least 10x during the day). It's well known in the industry that Sandor kept giving Kinzel big discounts on new rides because of how unreliable the last ride they built was. It doesn't surprise me at all that now that they have a new CEO they have gone a much safer route. I go to CP every year and I see it different. Maverick and MF are never down when I am there. Raptor and Gatesleeper are down with the slightest breeze. When I went a couple weeks ago Raptor was off and on and GK was closed the whole day. While the intamins powered on. I have nothing against B&M, but there fanboys make me laugh. Gatekeeper is a chain snapper. When I went to Carowinds both !232 and Fury were down for a while. They are machines. Every ride is going to break down. And I bet when B&M steps out of there comfort box there reliability will go down the pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 GatKeeper caused a bigger jump in attendance than MF did. Eat that one up, haters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_man Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 You must have really bad luck because of the 3x i've been to CP Dragster, Maverick, and Wicked Twister have all broken down every time i've been in line for them. I haven't been to CP in years but did go to Carowinds this year and didn't see any of their B&Ms go down and we even rode Fury in the rain several times without any issues. Trust me the industry is in a much healthier state now than it was 10 years ago or so: the leadership of Kinzel and Kieran Burke brought this industry to it's knees. I was good friends with one of the maintenance managers at CP back then and he told me about when SF called them and offered to fly them out to NJ as well as pay them to help make Kingda Ka more reliable (which was not only breaking down every 30 minutes when it was open, but also had an incident and went SBNO for most of its opening summer as well). I am definitely not a B&M fanboy, I don't even like many of their new rides (i'm a Batman and Kumba guy myself), but it's extremely obvious why Intamin's aren't being built near the frequency they used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Speaking of the rides breaking down when we were at the park this summer it was a clear day. Not windy... not a cloud in the sky. Really warm, low 90's, and during our visit Gatekeeper, MF, TTD, Raptor, Maverick, Rougarou, Iron Dragon, Wicked Twister, Gemini, Mean Streak, Magnum, MaXair, Skyhawk, Shoot The Rapids, and Power Tower all at some point during the 8 hour VIP Tour broke down. Thankfully we had our VIP Tour guide who had a radio and knew when the rides were down to keep us from walking across the park to ride something only to get to the ride and find out it was down. With that being said everyone loves to compare how much certain rides at Cedar Point break down... but what everyone LOVES to forget/ignore is that the rides are run hard. They are going non-stop all day, everyday (aside from the off season.) They are machines. They are going to break down. Things happen. Every park, and every ride experiences down time. Sure some coasters more than others, but the point is they all break down. No coaster company is perfect, and no computer system is perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP Maverick Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Personal peeve of mine. Running a 5 minute system reset is NOT "broke down" Closing due to wind speed is not "broke down" Having a cable snap or vehicle collide with brake assembly is "broke down" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBoarder Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Speaking of the rides breaking down when we were at the park this summer it was a clear day. Not windy... not a cloud in the sky. Really warm, low 90's, and during our visit Gatekeeper, MF, TTD, Raptor, Maverick, Rougarou, Iron Dragon, Wicked Twister, Gemini, Mean Streak, Magnum, MaXair, Skyhawk, Shoot The Rapids, and Power Tower all at some point during the 8 hour VIP Tour broke down. Thankfully we had our VIP Tour guide who had a radio and knew when the rides were down to keep us from walking across the park to ride something only to get to the ride and find out it was down. With that being said everyone loves to compare how much certain rides at Cedar Point break down... but what everyone LOVES to forget/ignore is that the rides are run hard. They are going non-stop all day, everyday (aside from the off season.) They are machines. They are going to break down. Things happen. Every park, and every ride experiences down time. Sure some coasters more than others, but the point is they all break down. No coaster company is perfect, and no computer system is perfect. No one here is denying that downtime is part of normal operation of a park... Intamin has left an impression of having significantly more downtime than other manufacturers however... I would be really curious to see a legit comparison of downtime between different rides to see who is king of that department... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Personal peeve of mine. Running a 5 minute system reset is NOT "broke down" Closing due to wind speed is not "broke down" Having a cable snap or vehicle collide with brake assembly is "broke down" Anything that causes the queues to be emptied is considered broken down to most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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