Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[AndrewA86]

 

I don't mean to harp of this incident, but a question from the curios mechatronic engineer in me (well, I'm a mech eng with an interest in electronics) => Do you know were both trains on the move when the incident happened or did it appear that the train rolling out (Chess) stopped?

 

 

Yes both trains were moving when the bump occurred.

[Airboss]

I'm curious, why is Steel Vengeance only able to run two trains currently? Of course, after the collision it is only running one, but even before the collision, and during the first rider event and hoedowns, it has only ever ran two trains. Some people have said the third train isn't certified, some people have said the coaster isn't certified to run three trains, some people have said the MCBR doesn't work so there's no point in having three trains. Do we know the actual reason? Whatever it is, I hope they are able to fix it this week.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

What a crazy situation. I'm glad they got it back up and running so quickly. What's the wait time today even with the return passes? And did I read correctly that it's one train ops?

 

Also, I saw some of the posts on Twitter yesterday and had to stop reading. Maybe it's hypocritical of me to judge because I wasn't waiting at the time of the incident (and would definitely disappointed if I was) but people were upset that they waited so long and got exit passes that didn't work on Steel Vengeance. Since when are people entitled a ride on Steel Vengeance?

[Superbatboy]

Hopefully the teething doesn't last too long

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Those damn executives. How dare they enjoy the fruit of their labor.

You must not have been around executives much, man. Their daddies didn't pay for their Yale education--ahem, for a smart poor kid to do their Yale homework for them--so they can "labor."

[RollerManic]

I found this mildly amusing. How accurate is it?

 

[pianojohn]

If you want to lose all faith in humanity, read some of the "expert" responses to this incident on Twitter.

 

Literally had to stop myself from calling out every idiot who seems to know better than the people who built the coaster.

 

Some of my favorites:

 

"Glad everybody is ok on #SteelVengeance collision, but @cedarpoint is easily the worst operated amusement park I’ve been to. "

 

Translation: I didn't get to ride it, so the whole park sucks.

 

" While I do feel for the people involved in the accident on the new ride #SteelVengeance, I do find the "compensation" for the people who had been waiting since early entry (5+ hours) to ride absolutely unacceptable. You can do better than that.."

 

Hey....ever hear of a ride called Test Track? It didn't run properly for almost 2 FULL YEARS.

 

"Breaking news! #SteelVengeance was working but down again! Another #CedarPoint #fail day. Seriously @cedarpoint a second day of this? Time for new engineers!"

 

Because hiring a new engineer will magically fix every problem out there!

 

And the best one of all:

 

"Didn’t go in with Universal expectations, but Six Flags/Cedar Fair expectations. Embarrassingly below that. This makes Knott’s and Six Flags look like Disneyland."

 

Replying to @***** @cedarpoint

I've never been to those two, but I definitely agree."

 

Sooooooooooo...you've never been to those two park but you agree. Hmm...I've never been to Paris or Germany, but using your rationale, they both suck.

 

People

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^

 

People are stupid.

[Mossed]

Even without Steel Vengeance, the park has the greatest collection of coasters in the world. I understand the complaints, but any day where you can still ride that trio of Intamin coasters is a good day. And yes, I know the rides were down for part of the day, but it sounds like those that stuck it out got on most coasters.

[AndrewA86]

I'm curious, why is Steel Vengeance only able to run two trains currently? Of course, after the collision it is only running one, but even before the collision, and during the first rider event and hoedowns, it has only ever ran two trains. Some people have said the third train isn't certified, some people have said the coaster isn't certified to run three trains, some people have said the MCBR doesn't work so there's no point in having three trains. Do we know the actual reason? Whatever it is, I hope they are able to fix it this week.

 

Employees told me it isn't certified yet mostly due to bad weather.

 

I kind of selfishly hope that the MCBR never works because if the train is slowed down the back half won't be as good.

[Airboss]

I'm curious, why is Steel Vengeance only able to run two trains currently? Of course, after the collision it is only running one, but even before the collision, and during the first rider event and hoedowns, it has only ever ran two trains. Some people have said the third train isn't certified, some people have said the coaster isn't certified to run three trains, some people have said the MCBR doesn't work so there's no point in having three trains. Do we know the actual reason? Whatever it is, I hope they are able to fix it this week.

 

Employees told me it isn't certified yet mostly due to bad weather.

 

I kind of selfishly hope that the MCBR never works because if the train is slowed down the back half won't be as good.

 

Thanks. Also by the MCBR "not working" I mean that the block section doesn't work, not the actual brakes. I HIGHLY doubt that the brakes will kick in at all.

[A.J.]

The ideal situation for a mid-course brake (IMO) is for a train to be going slow enough through the section that it can comfortably come to a complete stop if necessary, and also slow enough that it doesn't have to engage as a trim brake under normal circumstances. (Had a bunch of stealth edits there to get my words straight)

[thrillseeker4552]

I am very curious to see Steel Vengeance's last lap after coming to a complete stop on the MCBR. Obviously it will make it to the end, but I wonder if it would be painfully slow or still have some speed through the airtime hills and rolls.

[thrillrider]

The thing I find funny, is that if this were to happen to a coaster at six flags all hell would be breaking loose about how bad and unprepared six flags was.

 

By the way, I'm hearing s lot of complaints about certain rides only being open durring certain times. If they have such a big staffing problem this time of year, maybe they should delay the opening a few weeks in the spring. People are paying for the cedarpoint experience, and not getting it because of closed attractions and staff issues.

 

Being an Enthusiast and season pass holder, it does not affect me that much, but I could imagine that someone who bought tickets and does not know any better would be bitter about it.

Edited May 6, 2018 by thrillrider

[Airboss]

^ That still is a valid point though. How come this issue wasn't discovered in the dozens of hours of testing? During the first rider event? During the hoedowns?

[coasterbill]

A user on Pointbuzz (yeah, I know lol) "Get To The Point" has posted some great photos of the new boardwalk, it looks GREAT!!!

 

Looks great!

 

 

 

 

And finally, the piece de resistance...

 

[inlina]

^ That still is a valid point though. How come this issue wasn't discovered in the dozens of hours of testing? During the first rider event? During the hoedowns?

 

Systems engineering is a massive challenge. Integration of all the mechanical and electrical/electronic elements is a huge task. Sometimes things don't show up as an issue until after a certain run time or when someone manages to push the right button at the right time for the control system to go into an unintended action or a piece of hardware send the wrong command because of a fault.

 

I come from the automotive industry and we do millions of hours of testing across all of the systems for hundreds of thousands of cycles. For a rollercoaster, which is much simpler than a car from a systems perspective, they will have their protocols for testing with a certain number of cycles. It's no guarantee.

 

And finally, the piece de resistance...

 

[attachment=3]tUQnBG3.jpg[/attachment]

 

I like it. Now if only Breakers didn't break my budget.

[FeelTheFORCE]

That Boardwalk looks amazing! I can't wait to see what else they're planning.

 

 

By the way, I'm hearing s lot of complaints about certain rides only being open durring certain times. If they have such a big staffing problem this time of year, maybe they should delay the opening a few weeks in the spring. People are paying for the cedarpoint experience, and not getting it because of closed attractions and staff issues.

 

It's definitely a shame that this is a problem year after year, and I've related to the frustration of many during early season visits, but I can understand their reasons for the issues. Maybe they can add some sort of disclaimer that the park is still in "technical rehearsal" for the summer season, and everyone's patience is appreciated?

Edited May 6, 2018 by FeelTheFORCE

[boldikus]

 

[DorneyKid14]

The thing I find funny, is that if this were to happen to a coaster at six flags all hell would be breaking loose about how bad and unprepared six flags was.

 

By the way, I'm hearing s lot of complaints about certain rides only being open durring certain times. If they have such a big staffing problem this time of year, maybe they should delay the opening a few weeks in the spring. People are paying for the cedarpoint experience, and not getting it because of closed attractions and staff issues.

 

Being an Enthusiast and season pass holder, it does not affect me that much, but I could imagine that someone who bought tickets and does not know any better would be bitter about it.

 

 

In regards to certain rides being open at certain times; last year when I was working there for three days (with people from dorney. We sent people up to help with staffing at CP) one of the employees told me that the open and close stuff based on where people are in the park.

[bert425]

The thing I find funny, is that if this were to happen to a coaster at six flags all hell would be breaking loose about how bad and unprepared six flags was.

 

 

I totally agree with you on this.

 

speaking of Six Flags:

 

actually, Wonder Woman broke down twice (both times when I was seated in the trains! . . maybe i'm bad luck???) while I was there today.

 

so yeah, it happens on all new coasters, including other new RMC coasters.

 

(both times they got it repaired in under 10 minutes -- with engineers on site in minutes, if not seconds).

 

 

 

bottom line? yeah, most people are stupid, unfortunately, and not happy unless they have something to complain about

[FeelTheFORCE]

Looks like they ditched the boarding passes and at one point started just letting everyone in line.

[Nrthwnd]

How's that working out now?

[bluestreak]

Another great day at the park. It was fairly empty but I had to leave at 2. Got on 7 coasters, one of which was SV this morning. That brings my lap count to 9 and it gets better every time. God I love that thing.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Thanks, Bill. Boardwalk's looking great!