Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[AndCamSS]

I think someone mentioned how it doesn't affect the ride/ridership years after opening, and yeah while that's true, it does tarnish the whole opening ceremony of the ride and it's first year in terms of appeal and park/ride reputation.

 

The majority of the GP, most likely, won't even know it was delayed once it's open on a regular basis.

 

Considering that a bunch of people always ask "Does this ride go upside down?" when getting on something I HARDLY believe they are going to know about some kind of reputation and appeal.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ Haha yeah, very true.

 

 

Cedar Point will always be Cedar Point, and that "bad publicity" most likely won't even make a ripple. You mention Cedar Point to a lot of GP in this area and they go nuts, going on and on about how it's the best place ever. Delays like this don't really even do anything, and CP can afford to absorb that "bad publicity"...if there even is any at all.

[CPmaverick]

I think someone mentioned how it doesn't affect the ride/ridership years after opening, and yeah while that's true, it does tarnish the whole opening ceremony of the ride and it's first year in terms of appeal and park/ride reputation.

 

The majority of the GP, most likely, won't even know it was delayed once it's open on a regular basis.

 

Considering that a bunch of people always ask "Does this ride go upside down?" when getting on something I HARDLY believe they are going to know about some kind of reputation and appeal.

My personal favorite, "Does Thunder Canyon go upside down?"

[BrownStreak]

^^ Adding to that...It's not because the ride has horrible capacity, quite the contrary, the line is also constantly moving.

 

It does, however, seem to have one too many trains on the track as they almost always stack 3 outside the station- the 1st 2 I can see justified (so that when the station clears they can both move in) but beyond those two- the others are an overkill

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ Meh, it is what it is. I have never waited more than a couple minutes before being moved into the station, and besides, I can sacrifice a little time sitting on the brake run if it means me not having to wait as long in line.

[KDcoasterMAN]

Did anybody here this a CP, "This ride goes upside down not once, not twice but a total of ZERO times!" I heard that a few times a day in the three days I was there. It was rediculous.

 

Otherwise, the park was great. 5-2 minute lines on Maverick with 2 hours to close on Tuesday was mage epic!

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ While I have yet to go this year, I have heard that in past years.

[CPmaverick]

Did anybody here this a CP, "This ride goes upside down not once, not twice but a total of ZERO times!" I heard that a few times a day in the three days I was there. It was rediculous.

Sounds like my ride on Paddlewheel Excursions on Sunday. Goes great with 0 feet tall and accessing speeds of over 3 mph.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I wonder what crowds might be like next week, for "Amusement 101 Week?" I believe it is new this year or last. It sounds the same as Math and Science Week, which was this week, but in the same regard, I would assume that a LOT of the schools would be there for M&S week instead, and crowds won't be all that bad. Now, considering next weekend is Memorial weekend, I think it's safe to say that Friday, and maybe even Thursday, might have heavier crowds than normal and should be steered clear of, but I'm wondering about Monday through Wednesday.

[BrownStreak]

^^Sounds like my spiel on CCMR two summers back. "Reaching speeds of...FORTY MILES PER HOUR! That's faster than the speed limit on the Causeway! We'll take you up 45 FEET, not once...but twice!" and so on.

 

 

As to the number of trains on the track...having more on does not guarantee more riders per hours. CCMR we figured out actually loses riders when the 3rd train is brought on. Its take almost an hour to bring it on/off (combined total) and only gives a theoretical 20 or so more rides per hour- but you have lost over 1,000 just getting it on and off. We pointed this out to management who agreed one minute and told us to add the 3rd train the next minute. Guests perceive a shorter wait when more trains are on the track even though it rarely actually is. Corkscrew is the same way.

 

Yes I know CCMR used to run 5 trains, however back then they didn't have seat belts and the average park guests were not as...large as they are now.

 

 

BTW- where did the idea of asking the Dippin Dots employees about the upcoming plans for the park come from? At many parks, they can't even give info for rides that the park currently has!

[Chris Benvenuto]

Whenever a park gets a first of anything and I mean ANYTHING. It's going to take awhile to get used to, and also getting it to run smoothly enough to make everyone happy (including fanboys)

 

When I heard about the delay, I admit I was a tad disappointed. But, I thought almost afterwards "Hey, Intamin and Cedar Point are doing their best to get things running, and if it takes a few weeks more. I'd rather have it all safe, then have something fall apart or crash on us. "

 

People need to give both parties an honest break, and pfff...the thing with Mav's roll incident. Didn't faze me at all. It's still a kick-ass ride regardless, roll or no roll.

 

 

I'm looking forward to my two-day visit next weekend, first visit of 2010. I hope all goes well! I'll let you all know how I felt about it when I return!

 

 

Chris "besides the delay, Intamin and CP are a-okay!" Benvenuto

[ArizonaGuy]

So uhmmmm...I'm visiting Cedar Point for the first time next week. Any recommendations on what coasters I should head to first?

[Chris Benvenuto]

^ when are you visiting exactly? and also, how many days do you have?

[ArizonaGuy]

^^

Next week either Monday and Tuesday or Tuesday and Wednesday.

I'm gonna get to visit for 2 days as long as the weather cooperates.

[Chris Benvenuto]

Well, you should honestly be fine next week. Weekdays have light crowds in most of May, so two days is most then enough. Unless there's something like Physics Day one of the days, and it'll be crowded due to schoolkids.

 

But, otherwise, you should have smooth sailing for weekdays in May.

 

I'd recommend doing Dragster or Millie first. Other then that, enjoy the days at your pace and more importantly. HAVE FUN!

[ArizonaGuy]

^^

Not sure if I've grown the balls to ride Millennium Force or Dragster but thanks a lot for the recommendations though.

[G$ Kurt]

If you are getting the early resort entry, don't go in the resort entrance, go to the marina entrance and get in that way. Run straight to Millie. That is if Millie is part of the early entrance fun.

[CorkscrewFoley]

^^Sounds like my spiel on CCMR two summers back. "Reaching speeds of...FORTY MILES PER HOUR! That's faster than the speed limit on the Causeway! We'll take you up 45 FEET, not once...but twice!" and so on.

 

 

As to the number of trains on the track...having more on does not guarantee more riders per hours. CCMR we figured out actually loses riders when the 3rd train is brought on. Its take almost an hour to bring it on/off (combined total) and only gives a theoretical 20 or so more rides per hour- but you have lost over 1,000 just getting it on and off. We pointed this out to management who agreed one minute and told us to add the 3rd train the next minute. Guests perceive a shorter wait when more trains are on the track even though it rarely actually is. Corkscrew is the same way.

 

Yes I know CCMR used to run 5 trains, however back then they didn't have seat belts and the average park guests were not as...large as they are now.

 

 

BTW- where did the idea of asking the Dippin Dots employees about the upcoming plans for the park come from? At many parks, they can't even give info for rides that the park currently has!

 

Really? As long as I have known, it's always been three...without trying to sound like I have been playing RCT, just how many blocks are on CCMR that they can pull that off (I counted four)...

[CPmaverick]

^I think there are 6 blocks, although I really don't see how they could pull off running 5 trains. A train would have to dispatch somewhere around every 30 seconds, which seems incredibly hard to do even without air gates. I'm not even sure if I have seen it run more than 2 trains.

[BrownStreak]

If you are getting the early resort entry, don't go in the resort entrance, go to the marina entrance and get in that way. Run straight to Millie. That is if Millie is part of the early entrance fun.

 

Millie! That's my dog's name...hmm...

 

^ and ^^ Some of the block breaks have been removed over the years. There is a break at the top of the last helix which is only used during test mode to catch the train if it rolls backwards.

 

When I worked there two summers back we occasionally ran three trains like I said. With the seat-belts, bars that only lock in one position, and large guests that never do what you tell them to do when loading, the ride almost always "set-up." Even if we could get the train out of the station with the 3rd one still out on the course, we couldn't get train 2 into the station fast enough. As a result, on every single run with 3 trains you stopped on the 2nd lift. If the delay was long, you had to fully restart the lift.

[Skycoastin Steve]

What's this "Millie" ride that everyone keeps referring to?

[BrownStreak]

^Read my signature line below

[coasterkyle]

I pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^What he said.

[Reality15]

^I think there are 6 blocks, although I really don't see how they could pull off running 5 trains. A train would have to dispatch somewhere around every 30 seconds, which seems incredibly hard to do even without air gates. I'm not even sure if I have seen it run more than 2 trains.

Here's the blocks that I count:

-Station

-End of station to top of Lift 1

-Top of lift 1 to top of Lift 2

-Top of Lift 2 to helix

-Helix to pre-waiting

-Pre-waiting

 

There might even be seven, if it's possible to stop a train in the maintenance shed. But yes, it means dispatching a train every 30 seconds. I'm going to bet that back in the day the train stopped, people got in/out, lap bars were locked, the ride hosts probably had them push up on the lap bars to make sure they were locked, and the train was sent. Judging on a POV video, it looks like interval would be right at 35 seconds, which would be tough, but not impossible. On Maverick I believe interval was 45 seconds, and that's with the amount of checking/gates/loose items we have today, yet we still hit interval constantly in '07. Possible, yes, but very difficult.