Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[DirkFunk]

A source that has been impeccable in the past informed me some info about the investigation that's now been taken over by the state and what's taken place to date. They have been dead on re: everything at the park before, right down to Cedar Fair being delayed to opening last year because the state of Ohio had laid off the inspectors in the pandemic. What they told me shook my confidence immensely as far as the park's operation and maintenance is concerned and makes me strongly consider not renewing my season pass for the first time since I moved to the Midwest over a decade ago. If there is truth to it, and I believe there is, it fully explains why the Sandusky Register became so aggressive in demanding details (as they likely would have heard it too).

[grsupercity]

7 hours ago, Pedrinho said:

Just as I predicted. As soon as there is something to say, they'll say it (closure, regrets). All others things will be said and done when they are on time.

I feel sad for the family, but also for the ride and the OPs as it seems that it was an unpredictable event. But it's correct to call it closed until all is cleared out.

 

As for the LSM idea: I, personally, haven't ridden a LSM coaster with that kick in the a$$ TTD provides. Along with the theming, this is the thing you expect from a dragster themed ride, no matter how the final maximum speed is. I'm pretty sure if Cedar Point wants and pays an LSM lauch up to TTD speed, they'll get it. But 0-120 in 4.0 seconds with that initial kick in the a$$? I don't know. Iwould be all in if it would work.

How long is red forces launch compared to dragsters?

[Pedrinho]

 

4 minutes ago, grsupercity said:

How long is red forces launch compared to dragsters?

Roughly the same. TTDs is exactly 160 meters (~180 yards) according to Google Earth ruler tool. Red Force is about 150 meters (~170 yards) using the same tool. But total acceleration ist much slower (TTD: 0-120 in 4.0 sec.; RF: 0-112 in 5.0 sec.).
Plus: I haven't ridden Red Force yet, but based on POVs and my knowlegde about the TTD kickstart, Red Force ist much tamer in the first second.

[VegasBaby]

Honestly, I've ridden both TTD and Red Force and the launches don't feel that different.  Maybe if you rode them back-to-back you might notice a difference, but the Red Force launch still packs plenty of punch.

[Pedrinho]

11 minutes ago, VegasBaby said:

Honestly, I've ridden both TTD and Red Force and the launches don't feel that different.  Maybe if you rode them back-to-back you might notice a difference, but the Red Force launch still packs plenty of punch.

Okay, thanks for the insight! As I said before, I'm pretty sure if Cedar Fair pays enough, they would get the Launch they want with LSMs.

[boldikus]

Why is everyone discussing CP potentially changing of the launch on Dragster when that had nothing to do with something coming off the train when it hit the brake run?

[bert425]

[AmyUD06]

2 hours ago, boldikus said:

Why is everyone discussing CP potentially changing of the launch on Dragster when that had nothing to do with something coming off the train when it hit the brake run?

I made that point and no one paid attention. May the odds forever be in your favor. 

[anonymouscactus]

I heard that someone at Cedar Point had looked into a crystal ball and knew that the CP TTD accident was going to happen. They told Tony and he thought it would make sense to close down Wicked Twister because they could use the existing hardware to launch Top Thrill Dragster, save some money, and to please coaster enthusiasts which want the change for no apparent reason.

PROBLEM SOLVED

[coasternut]

Amazing no new on the health status of this lady that was injured on TTD. The only thing was she got moved to another facility from Firelands hosp. Normally something would've leaked by now. I hope she's okay.

[AmyUD06]

Some of the current queue times from Cedar Point; glad I left like a half hour ago.  The main parking lot was about 150 cars short of being full.  FL+ or not, super-crowded parks are not my thing.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

90 minutes for Corkscrew is a crime against humanity. The rest of that seems rather reasonable. Hope all the first timers got that Fast Lane+!

[PKI Jizzman]

Rode Corkscrew for the first time in probably 10 years and man those old Arrow trains are brutal! I can't imagine how crunched anyone over 5'8" is in those things. The airtime on the first drop and the hill before the loop is pretty nuts though! 

[Pedrinho]

8 hours ago, ytterbiumanalyst said:

90 minutes for Corkscrew is a crime against humanity.

But 90 minutes for Corkscrew means less people in other line. So I gracefully thank such people.

When we were in Heide Park, their corkscrew and their SLC had each 30 minutes. I laughed very hard after my 20 minute wait for the Colossus front row.

[DoinItForTheFame]

On 8/21/2021 at 10:27 AM, coasternut said:

Amazing no new on the health status of this lady that was injured on TTD. The only thing was she got moved to another facility from Firelands hosp. Normally something would've leaked by now. I hope she's okay.

She wasn’t injured *on* TTD though. 

[coasternut]

^ Sorry should've said AT TTD.

[boldikus]

No update on the guests condition but some more detailed info about what caused the incident.
https://fox8.com/news/watch-live-officials-give-update-after-woman-hurt-by-flying-metal-at-cedar-point/

Quote

SANDUSKSY, Ohio (WJW) – Questions are still swirling after a metal object broke off of a passenger train on a Cedar Point ride as it was ending a run and struck a woman in the head while she was waiting in line.

The 44-year-old victim, from Michigan, was taken to the hospital for serious injuries. The Ohio Department of Agriculture provided an update on the current status of the ongoing Cedar Point ride investigation today at 3 p.m. The park recently announced they are closing the Top Thrill Dragster after the incident on August 15 for the remainder of the season while they investigate. During the live news conference, ODA Amusement Ride Safety Division Chief, David Miran says there is no update on the condition of the victim.

The investigation hasn’t revealed yet how fast the train was going when the metal object dislodged, but it’s possible it was at max velocity. According to Cedar Point’s website, the ride goes from zero to 120 mph in less than four seconds. Miran says officials also aren’t sure where the metal piece dislodged initially. Miran says the last inspection was May 14, 2021.

The “L”-shaped bracket that dislodged is a piece of metal that hovers over sensors on the track to let the system know where the train is on the track, Miran explained. Cedar Point is currently in possession of the bracket. According to a release from ODA, the L-shaped bracket, known as a flag plate, which was approximately the size of an adult male’s hand, dislodged from the left side of the ride’s green train car before hitting the victim in the head. Half of the bolts which secured the plate to the train body had also dislodged, ODA says.

ODA inspectors also found that the brakes that slow the cars at the end of each ride, showed signs of impact and deformation and several horizontal track beams also showed signs of impact, as close as 25 feet from the damaged brake bracket.

There are no reports of injuries to passengers on the ride at this time. Because the investigation is still ongoing, the documents containing the findings are not being released. Stay tuned to FOX 8 and fox8.com for further developments.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Yikes, really hope she is ok. Even if it wasn't even close to max velocity, head injuries can be absolutely horrific. Hopefully there's no serious or long term damage to her. 

[KBrylczyk]

On 8/19/2021 at 4:37 PM, thrillseeker4552 said:

I am just going to throw this out there. What do we think the possibility of a major overhaul is?

 

On 8/19/2021 at 5:07 PM, Mike240SX said:

Also, the reports all indicated that something few off the train while it was on the return sides brakes, not the launch, so I'm not sure why anyone would be concerned with the launch.

If anything in terms of a redesign happens it should be the queue line.  I was never comfortable in TTD or Kingda Ka's queue for similar reasons.  I'm all for getting up close and personal to a coaster's layout but putting endless switchbacks flanked on all sides by murderous steel is a bit different than a hard hat tour.

 

[VegasGuy89109]

Here's an article with a photo of the "alleged" actual piece that flew off the TTD train:

https://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/places/cedar-point/photo-shows-bracket-similar-to-one-that-injured-cedar-park-guest/95-d0d1828d-c419-4d98-80e1-52cb1fb2b253?fbclid=IwAR3YVTJ84agnk0S5bLbb782qV5BeJ9Wq_0TTQqB56eZe9agCjmf5JetXT3E

[prozach626]

 

On 8/23/2021 at 8:16 PM, KBrylczyk said:

I'm all for getting up close and personal to a coaster's layout but putting endless switchbacks flanked on all sides by murderous steel is a bit different than a hard hat tour.

 

"Murderous steel"

wow.

[NegativeGLover]

So I haven't been to CP in 6-7 years and thought about making a weekday trip next week for the heck of it.  I know schools have been back in session this week and will be next week as well, so I was curious about crowd levels and operations this last week.   I've looked at the webcams and the lot looks less than half full, which seems promising.  Mainly though - how have operations been?  I cant imagine they have a plethora of workers right now.  Just looking for some insight.

[AmyUD06]

7 minutes ago, NegativeGLover said:

So I haven't been to CP in 6-7 years and thought about making a weekday trip next week for the heck of it.  I know schools have been back in session this week and will be next week as well, so I was curious about crowd levels and operations this last week.   I've looked at the webcams and the lot looks less than half full, which seems promising.  Mainly though - how have operations been?  I cant imagine they have a plethora of workers right now.  Just looking for some insight.

I was there Thursday and Friday of last week and pretty much every ride that was going to operate, did.  That means no Maxair or Dragster, but everything else was running, and I didn't notice any closed food stands/drink refill areas.  In the water park, one of the lazy rivers and one of the tube slide towers were closed, but everything else was running.

[KBrylczyk]

16 hours ago, prozach626 said:

 

"Murderous steel"

wow.

It's called dramatic flair, bud.

[AmyUD06]

Photo (-TR), August 19th through the 21st

So, I was at Cedar Point the above dates.  Nobody really needs to hear my wait times, and there really wasn't anything notable about the trip (aside from what I'm about to mention), but here's a bunch of photos!

I honestly can't remember what the entry way looked like before this....

A rare sight indeed!  Millennium Force's station without a grouper!

Poor Dragster.

Next up will be a whole bunch of pictures of the "Cedar Point Nights" event that was held on the beach, and was generally free for anyone (really only had to pay for food, drinks, or games).

Some night shots of Windseeker.  Why does it seem like this one has a much better light program than the others?

Amusingly, this one does not keep the base structure (the blue part) for the emergency escape platforms at the bottom of the tower, as I've always seen on KI's and KD's.  I've seen the yellow "arms" near Gatekeeper, but never the blue base part.

Some night shots of the Ferris Wheel.  When did they upgrade the lights on this to a programmable LED system?

Now, some night shots of Wicked Twister.  RIP.

And now some night shots from the Skyride.

How have I never noticed the wing lights or red eyes on Gatekeeper before?

The irony of them issuing a FL+ wristband with Dragster on it, when its days at the park may be numbered...

Some more shots of Wicked Twister, taken before my final ride.

And so long, Cedar Point...until Halloweekends!

BONUS!  A night video of a complete Wicked Twister cycle!