Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[_s3_]

To be honest, you'll probably never hear anything else about it unless they can't reach some sort of settlement on it and have to take it to court. If they reach (or reached) a settlement, there will be coinciding NDAs and the due to to HIPAA laws only the patient (or family) can discuss any medical situations. 

[JT325]

^Makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

[Haymaker]

New teasers at Wicked Twister site.

[Nrthwnd]

^ The "Wind Seeker" thing sort of looks like what we got at Playland(PNE) this year.

What we got at Playland, is being called SkyBender.

 

[Hilltopper39]

Man I wish they still had their Wildcat, that would be a perfect addition for this kind of expansion. Yeah I've heard the Mad Mouse rumor and all but it aint the same as a Schwarzkopf Wildcat or whatever the model name is.

[AmyUD06]

36 minutes ago, Hilltopper39 said:

Man I wish they still had their Wildcat, that would be a perfect addition for this kind of expansion. Yeah I've heard the Mad Mouse rumor and all but it aint the same as a Schwarzkopf Wildcat or whatever the model name is.

I'm convinced that Mad Mouse rumor is Screamscape being it's normal "ideas out of it's ass" self. I cannot imagine Cedar Fair sending such a low capacity, dead-manufacturer, ride to it's flagship park. 

[CedarFlags]

Reading the last few pages of this thread, plus also seeing the new El Toro Ryan video about Millennium Force I just have to say..

What. the HELL. is happening to Cedar Point?  This park was the gold standard of ops and efficiency for years.  Did somebody important leave the company and get replaced by 2 kids in a trench coat?

[coasternut]

^ Those great operations were a long time ago! It's so sad what has happened here. Although, last year was better when they were paying $20 / hour. This season is back to the same old...

[southpuddle]

1 hour ago, CedarFlags said:

Did somebody important leave the company and get replaced by 2 kids in a trench coat?

Or they must’ve transferred to Kings Island. It’s baffling how two parks ran by the same company in the same state only a few hours apart can operate so night and day. 

[teacherkim]

They did pull out all the stops for CoasterCon ert, but not sure what they bribed the ride ops with or if they just made sure to put their top people on during that time. SV and MF crew really rocked it including doing sing a longs in the MF station. I'm just so sorry I did not get a picture of the kid that was riding MF with his swim goggles on to combat the Mayflies to post here. It was hilarious!

Also our first chance to ride Snake River expedition since we haven't been in two years. I am kind of surprised at the effort they went to outfit the actor/operators and the amount of staff in these days when everyone is short handed. I do think it is a much better use of that sort of staff than the whole Forbidden Frontier experience. I mean I like the idea of it, but I just don't think it appeals to enough people for all the space and staff it uses. They need a ride or premier attraction back there.

The new Farmhouse restaurant was very good.

Sunday and Monday was packed, keep in mind Monday was Juneteenth which is now a federal holiday. Tuesday very low crowd and Wed only marginally higher crowd. No idea if that has been consistent this summer but keep that in mind for travel plans.

Also heads up I did have some room (particularly bathroom) cleanliness issues at the Breakers, wasn't our best stay there. The ACE banquet was the first ever event held at the new Sawmill Resort and they did a fine job, food and service was good, what I saw of the resort looked nice. The main restaurant in the hotel looks fairly upscale and talked to a few people staying there for con that were happy with their rooms.

And my opinion on the much discussed SV line/locker situation.....seems to me that if they just ran the line directly into the locker area instead of the long straight section adjacent to it with a FL entrance that cut off the overflow and then had one of the two lines as FL it would solve some of the congestion. I mean just have everyone walk through the locker area if they don't need them, then they just keep going. The going backwards into the lockers and then back out the same entrance, causing the going in and going out people to have to maneuver around each other is a lot of the clog up. 

[coasternut]

^ Well I"m glad they did a good job at CoasterCon. Coastermania was a disaster! That was my last one! Never again! Thank you Tony...

[Manic Monte]

9 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

I'm convinced that Mad Mouse rumor is Screamscape being it's normal "ideas out of it's ass" self. I cannot imagine Cedar Fair sending such a low capacity, dead-manufacturer, ride to it's flagship park. 

I wouldn't be so sure...

[prozach626]

My wife and I were at the park Wednesday and Thursday. We stayed at Breakers both nights. Our room was about the size of a closet, very clean, modern, and it faced the lake. It was perfect for its location, and all we needed. Pricey, but I can't imagine experiencing Cedar Point any other way, over about five visits, aside from our one coaster campout. We didn't take advantage of early entry. For that matter, we didn't even get there before noon. Nice scenery to jog around, breakfast, and Starbucks held priority over rushing or marathoning rides. Everything was done at our own pace and we could have ridden four times more.

FL+ as usual for us. Work hard, play hard. Our longest wait was about 30 minutes for Steel Vengeance, if that. Everything else was 5-10 minutes.

No complaints about any of the operations. They were much better than average. Rides went down here and there, but everything was operational most of the day.

Our train blew a wheel on Maverick, Thursday evening. I'm guessing it was just the poly wheel outer layer, but there was a crowd taking pictures of it while we were stuck on the brake run for a half hour. We got exit passes, so that was cool.

I don't get the locker complaints on Steel Vengeance. Stop over thinking it. Ideal? Nah. But, the system works fine, and I didn't see any of the mass people talk about. Just leave it alone.

I have two ride effects I've always said I would be bummed if they stopped working. The Banshee lift/drop scream at King's Island, and the water cannons on Maverick. I didn't see the water cannons working, neither during our visit, nor during a youtube video shot a few weeks before. As insignificant as it is, I really enjoyed the effect. I hope it returns. Regardless, the second half of the ride, starting with the launch, has me constantly debating if I like Maverick better than Millennium Force. Regardless of how numb or boring enthusiasts have gotten, they're both incredible rides.

Gatekeeper serves its purpose. It's beautiful, great for daring families, and comfortable. Yet, I couldn't help to have it be a one and done this trip. It's not that it isn't a good ride, because it is, but there are so many other options in the park.

Famous Daves was absolute trash this time around. Like, we could have eaten anywhere else in the park and it would have been twice as good. The new health food stand by the river rapids ride is great. Melt was awesome as usual, but also about 1/4 full. It's always been that way on my visits. I hope it sticks around.

Dragster isn't even lit up at night. I used to roll my eyes at the rumors of it being removed, but I didn't get a good feeling. As much fun as it is to ride and watch, the park is simply doing just fine without it. I can say the same for Wicked Twister. I'm perfectly fine with the park focusing more on entertainment areas, dining, and nice places to get a drink. The swarms of families spending money seems to be working.

I didn't see any overly obnoxious clientele. Stop trying so hard to be offended.

The boardwalk construction area is huge. We rode the Ferris wheel without thinking about it, and got a nice view. There's a large area of block foundation within the fenced off area, and they're keeping the beach front path. We also saw a large square area of hefty footers, which looks like it could be for a flat. We saw no roller coaster footers, or signs of roller coaster construction. Keep the beach views open, as Cedar Point previously said they wanted to.

We had a blast. I don't think I'd want to associate with anyone who thinks Cedar Point isn't good enough for them. It's a sure sign of entitlement.

[teacherkim]

15 hours ago, prozach626 said:

My wife and I were at the park Wednesday and Thursday. We stayed at Breakers both nights. Our room was about the size of a closet, very clean, modern, and it faced the lake. It was perfect for its location, and all we needed. Pricey, but I can't imagine experiencing Cedar Point any other way, over about five visits, aside from our one coaster campout. We didn't take advantage of early entry. For that matter, we didn't even get there before noon. Nice scenery to jog around, breakfast, and Starbucks held priority over rushing or marathoning rides. Everything was done at our own pace and we could have ridden four times more.

FL+ as usual for us. Work hard, play hard. Our longest wait was about 30 minutes for Steel Vengeance, if that. Everything else was 5-10 minutes.

No complaints about any of the operations. They were much better than average. Rides went down here and there, but everything was operational most of the day.

Our train blew a wheel on Maverick, Thursday evening. I'm guessing it was just the poly wheel outer layer, but there was a crowd taking pictures of it while we were stuck on the brake run for a half hour. We got exit passes, so that was cool.

I don't get the locker complaints on Steel Vengeance. Stop over thinking it. Ideal? Nah. But, the system works fine, and I didn't see any of the mass people talk about. Just leave it alone.

I have two ride effects I've always said I would be bummed if they stopped working. The Banshee lift/drop scream at King's Island, and the water cannons on Maverick. I didn't see the water cannons working, neither during our visit, nor during a youtube video shot a few weeks before. As insignificant as it is, I really enjoyed the effect. I hope it returns. Regardless, the second half of the ride, starting with the launch, has me constantly debating if I like Maverick better than Millennium Force. Regardless of how numb or boring enthusiasts have gotten, they're both incredible rides.

Gatekeeper serves its purpose. It's beautiful, great for daring families, and comfortable. Yet, I couldn't help to have it be a one and done this trip. It's not that it isn't a good ride, because it is, but there are so many other options in the park.

Famous Daves was absolute trash this time around. Like, we could have eaten anywhere else in the park and it would have been twice as good. The new health food stand by the river rapids ride is great. Melt was awesome as usual, but also about 1/4 full. It's always been that way on my visits. I hope it sticks around.

Dragster isn't even lit up at night. I used to roll my eyes at the rumors of it being removed, but I didn't get a good feeling. As much fun as it is to ride and watch, the park is simply doing just fine without it. I can say the same for Wicked Twister. I'm perfectly fine with the park focusing more on entertainment areas, dining, and nice places to get a drink. The swarms of families spending money seems to be working.

I didn't see any overly obnoxious clientele. Stop trying so hard to be offended.

The boardwalk construction area is huge. We rode the Ferris wheel without thinking about it, and got a nice view. There's a large area of block foundation within the fenced off area, and they're keeping the beach front path. We also saw a large square area of hefty footers, which looks like it could be for a flat. We saw no roller coaster footers, or signs of roller coaster construction. Keep the beach views open, as Cedar Point previously said they wanted to.

We had a blast. I don't think I'd want to associate with anyone who thinks Cedar Point isn't good enough for them. It's a sure sign of entitlement.

Glad to hear the good operations continued after our visit, maybe they have their shit together now.

We liked the new healthy options stand too, forgot to mention that one, very good and fresh fruit options. 

Water cannons on Maverick were not working the week before either and it did have a second launch failure and there was a train stuck in the tunnel that had to be evac'd along with those on the brake run.

Happy that your Breakers room was good. I've never had an issue there before so hoping/assuming it was a one off.

21 hours ago, coasternut said:

^ Well I"m glad they did a good job at CoasterCon. Coastermania was a disaster! That was my last one! Never again! Thank you Tony...

Tony did give a very left handed complement to Con attendees. Stating something along the lines of he was so impressed with the people that were now in ACE versus those that were in the club before and what an improvement  Not sure what that was all about and I wonder if he got some pushback about the comments regarding coaster clubs that he apparently said during Coastermania.

[prozach626]

^Did ACE change leadership or something?

[TopThrill182]

I know I’m late to the party, but may I complain about SV’s queue? I don’t like it, and it detracts from my enjoyment of an amazing coaster.

Firstly, I feel like the ride offers bad Fast Lane value. The FL merge point is too early in the queue—guaranteeing a substantial FL wait (unless the standby line is nonexistent). And in my experience, the standby line rarely exceeds the merge point by much to begin with.

Secondly, the locker/metal detector area always feels chaotic to me—with poor traffic patterns and people generally not understanding what they’re supposed to do or where they’re supposed to go.

Thirdly, I hate how the two lines to the station are usually different in length and flow—meaning that I often watch someone who was behind me in line get on a couple of trains before me.

While I appreciate CP’s investment in the innovative locker system, I wish they’d continue playing with the overall queue to improve it. 

[prozach626]

I think the problem is you care too much about something so insignificant you're letting it affect your enjoyment of the ride. First world problems indeed.

[Zand]

19 hours ago, TopThrill182 said:

Thirdly, I hate how the two lines to the station are usually different in length and flow—meaning that I often watch someone who was behind me in line get on a couple of trains before me.

They're still doing that?!?

[haydn12]

The 2 lines to the station seemed to balance out the 3 days we were there.  Only issue was the left side had a slow person doing the wand the one time we went on.  

[aueft]

Got back from a recent trip to Ohio to visit the two Cedar Fair parks in the area (along with other miscellany). I visited Cedar Point for Tuesday, July 5th after waking up early to drive across the state from Cincinnati the morning of (I had rearranged a decent portion of my travel plans last minute). I still got to the park entrance near opening.

My adherence to my ridiculously tight schedule probably wasn't necessary as Cedar Point's crowds were very reasonable on that day, and I think the longest line that I waited for at the park was the drop coaster Valravn at 45 minutes followed by Maverick at 30 minutes. I think the rest of the rides I went on were well under 15 minute waits. Overall, I got one ride on every major rollercoaster and two rides on Steel Vengeance. However, I don't feel like I fell in love with any of the attractions. All of them felt reasonably well designed and thrilling, but I preferred Kings Island's more eclectic lineup.

Miscellaneous Major Rides Thoughts

• Cedar Creek Mine Ride - I typically love Arrow Mine trains for how quirky they are, but Cedar Creek Mine Ride doesn't really use the terrain at all which makes it inescapably obvious how bland the ride layout is. It also was down for much of the day.
• Steel Vengeance - I thought that the mandatory locker system was fine, and the trains were able to leave the station full. However, I experienced the ride in the early morning on a relatively uncrowded day, and I am sure that the locker situation is much more unmanageable with decent crowds. I rode the ride once in the middle and once in the back. Honestly, Steel Vengeance is intense enough that I don't feel like I need to be picky about seat selection. It's probably my favorite ride at Cedar Point by default as it gives a long intense ride that is smooth enough to be re-ridable.
• Raptor - I was very confused by how the employee on the station platform was doing seat assignments. They would fill up the entirety of the front row line before assigning people to the rest of the train. On the one hand, this policy wasn't the best at filling in empty spaces on the trains which is bad for throughput, but on the other hand, it does mean that I ended up getting a front, middle seat, which probably helped since I generally don't like B&M inverts.
• Maverick - I think my expectations were too high for Maverick given all the hype, especially since I rode this immediately after Steel Vengeance. Plus the throughput probably isn't as good as other rides in the park making the lines longer. The ride also seemed to break down a bit during my visit, but I don't think that is unusual for Maverick.

Theming

• While the areas near the back of the park have a decently charming western theme, the front of the park feels exceptionally bland. Cedar Point definitely feels like a boring corporate regional park.
• It somehow doesn't feel like Cedar Point takes advantage of its lakeside location - probably because the waterfront isn't really that visible from the park's paths.

Food

• I ate at Hugo's Italian Kitchen at the front of the park and had one of the crustiest, driest chicken parmesan sandwich that I have ever had in my life. I suspect that other park food options were better, but by this time in my vacation, I was really tired of all of the carbs and proteins that I had been consuming on my vacation (Ohio doesn't have the most diverse food scene in the world) and was happy to have the side salad that came with my meal.

Operations

• I thought that the operations were fine - good even. The park seems to be very strict about loose articles (and glasses) and doesn't offer station bins on its attractions, which probably helps throughput. I sort of suspect that the real issue that people have with the park is that it is too popular for the types of policies that Cedar Fair loves to inflict on its parks.

Clientele

• I was actually bracing for the worst after some of the issues that I had at Kings Island on previous days, as I assumed that Cedar Point was less geared towards families and more geared towards teens due to its lineup of thrill rides, but it was actually fine. I didn't have any problems with the kids at this park. I am not sure if that is a demographic thing, or a midweek visit thing.
• I noticed that some of the elderly guests were riding the major thrill coasters, which I thought was odd but also pretty cool.

[CedarFlags]

13 hours ago, aueft said:

 

• Maverick - I think my expectations were too high for Maverick given all the hype, especially since I rode this immediately after Steel Vengeance. Plus the throughput probably isn't as good as other rides in the park making the lines longer. The ride also seemed to break down a bit during my visit, but I don't think that is unusual for Maverick.

In the context of the RMC era, Maverick doesn't hit quite as hard as it used to, but I remember my first ride being a total shock to the system.  Maverick was a big risk to take at the apex of the Coaster Wars and it disrupted the whole industry because nobody else was doing that.

[haydn12]

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was one of the first of its type.  There isn't much terrain to work with except when it drops towards the water.  

Steel Vengeance needs to be ridden in the afternoon as we've found it to be slower in the morning and a much wilder ride later in the day.

The midway at the front hasn't changed much since early '60s.  It still has the charm of the skyride running down the middle that brings back many childhood memories. 

[prozach626]

Did you bring a notepad with you?

I don't understand all of the clientele comments. Are people specifically looking for a certain demographic to judge, or is it across the board? It's one thing to be comically critical of parks, but there seems to be a growing trend of self righteous coaster enthusiasts. It's the worst kind of toxicity.

[Pedrinho]

5 hours ago, prozach626 said:

It's one thing to be comically critical of parks, but there seems to be a growing trend of self righteous coaster enthusiasts. It's the worst kind of toxicity.

The good thing is: In the parks itself, this clientele isn't noticeable. They are only loud in the internets.

Honestly - if some people can't stand loud teenagers in amusement parks, they shouldn't visit at all or plan to go on times, when loud teenagers aren't supposed to be there. This advice can be transferred to every obnoxious demographic group.

[aueft]

Nope, no notepad. That would have been an extra loose article to juggle.  I just happen to be more analytical / critical than average, and it was a recent trip so I actually remembered what happed for once.

I'm use to kids being annoying at amusement parks, but I actually got harassed at Kings Island which was not a pleasant experience and went well beyond normal "kids being kids." I figured that I probably shouldn't have mentioned it on this forum, but it was kind of a notable part of the experience on this particular trip.