Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[El Toro_Ryan]

I have a TR from Monday and Tuesday of this week that I'm finishing up (which probably isn't relevant after the practically over-night pre-station brake run upgrade video that was shown in previous posts), but after being at the park and riding Steel Vengeance with 1 train operations, I will say this...

 

3 train operation on this coaster really is not necessary.

 

The lift hill is tall, but pretty darn fast. At the speed the train is going throughout the course, with what I experienced as ZERO braking at the MCBR, it flies through the circuit. With the restraint design on RMC's which take a bit longer than let's say, B&M's to check, a 3rd train would be redundant and cause stacking.

 

With how finicky the RMC trains have appeared to be on this coaster (they spent half a day on Tuesday doing maintenance on restraints and doing test runs while we stood in the plaza outside the Steel Vengeance entrance) I would say a brisk 2 train operation on this ride would be just fine. Keep 1 in the transfers ready to go if one train is being a pain in the frickinass electronically or restraint-wise, and they're all good.

 

Even with 1 train operation, yes, the wait was a little more than you expect from Cedar Point: but it really was a less than 2 hour wait, more around 1 hour 15 minutes, if you were in the first 2 rows of the switchback queue before the straightaway. Seeing as how this ride does not have a long enough station or brake run to unload passengers at one location, to have empty trains show up and load at another like many coasters at Cedar Point (Maverick, Millennium), the ride simply does not have a layout capable of practical 3 train operation.

 

Hats off to the Steel Vengeance crew by the way, they really moved when the ride was actually operating, and even with 1 train operations, the line seemed to move along pretty consistently when the thing was going.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with you, that 3rd train is absolutely not redundant! SV takes nearly 3 minutes to fully cycle around the course. While the crew at the ride is absolutely top notch and capable of loading trains in 60 seconds flat, the length of the ride greatly reduces throughput. I have personally seen the ride run with two trains and I did not see the crew stack a train once! Kudos to the crew! However, the amount of idle time between when a train left the station and when the one behind it pulled in was very long, probably close to a minute in time. And when it came to dispatching a train, the crew was often waiting until the train on the course flew through the overbank behind the station. With this, the ride is basically limited to 2 minute dispatches when running 2 trains... which means a max hourly capacity of 720... which really means like 600-650. And with one train, you're running at 4 minute dispatches at best... so you've got a max of 360 riders per hour. If the trains held 30+ riders, this limitation on cycles wouldn't be as big of an issue.

 

With two trains you basically wait for a train to arrive in a station, quickly load that train, then wait again until the train on the course clears a certain section, and then you can dispatch. Where as with three trains, there will be no delay of waiting for a train to arrive in the station. There will always be a train stacked behind the station or one rolling through the brake run. And with the quick lift hill, once the crew is done loading a train they will be able to send it right away. With three trains, I believe the ride is capable of dispatching every 72 seconds.. compared to 120 seconds with 2 trains. This is how you get your max capacity of 1200... which probably translates to around 950-1050 in the real world.

 

Running two trains and having the third as a backup makes sense, but just not at Cedar Point and not with the demand the ride already has. While the line may seem manageable now, it will grow out of hand once Summer and Halloweekends come around. A full Q with one train running is probably well over 4-5 hours in length. And if that happens, we will absolutely see boarding passes return. The ride should be properly designed and capable of running all 3 trains at all times and that is what RMC and Cedar Point are currently striving towards. And yes, the ride does have a long enough layout that warrants 3 train operations. Steel Vengeance is extremely comparable to Valravn (24 passenger trains, single load station, 3 train operations). And Steel Vengeance actually has an even longer layout and cycle time than Valravn. And while the brake run may seem short, that is because trains have not been decelerating as quickly as they should have been. RMC has since addressed this issue and I am very confident we will see 2 train operations return very shortly! And then 3 train operations will hopefully follow not too long after that!

[Airboss]

Agreed with El Toro Ryan. I guess the question is: would you rather have a 30 second longer ride cycle, due to stacking with three trains, or a 30 minute longer line due to limited dispatches because they are running 2 trains? Of course those numbers are just estimates, but I would rather spend an extra couple of seconds on the brake run than many dozen extra minutes in line.

[KIJester]

^ I just need them to get SV back on the Fast Lane + list before my trip next weekend.

[Airboss]

^ I just need them to get SV back on the Fast Lane + list before my trip next weekend.

 

Yep, that's exactly what I'm waiting for to book my trip as well. I can only go once a year so FLP is worth it. I'd love to be able to ride Steel Vengeance today, but I'm willing to wait a few weeks if it means that I can ride it many more times and spend less hours in line.

[thepoint4life23]

I will be at the park tomorrow so if we do not get an update today i will tomorrow.

[inlina]

Sorry to be slightly off topic on 1st question:

 

Favorite restaurants around Sandusky? I'm already planning to head to Bay Harbor for dinner one night.

 

Is there any type of side entrance to enter / leave the park during the middle of the day from Breakers Hotel, or need to go through the front?

 

Assume water rides will be open throughout the park after Memorial Day given that the waterpark is open?

 

Sandusky restaurant: We like Brick Oven Bistro as someone else has mentioned. Also Famous Dave's on the point at the marina is a good option and there is an entrance into/out of the park under Valravn.

 

Side entrance: The resort entrance (G6 on the map) comes in right by Magnum's station. It's good if you are in the north end of Breakers and/or your early entry target is towards the back (ie Steel Vengeance). There is also the beach entrance (H11 on the map) which can be a good option if you are in the south end of the resort and/or your early entrance target is towards the south end of the park (ie. Gatekeeper or Valravn).

 

Map: https://cdn-cloudfront.cfauthx.com/binaries/content/assets/cp-en-us/general-information/explore/2018-park-map.jpg

 

Water rides: Not 100% on water rides but I would assume they are open from this weekend given the weather is definitely warming up. Perhaps someone else knows. I actually haven't ridden any of them in all my visits as it always seems to be too cold and my daughter seems to have a distaste for them....maybe this year though.

[bert425]

when we stayed at Breakers, we WAY more often used the Beach Entrance (by Windseeker), because we were in the South Wing.

 

 

there's also an entrance by Blue Streak/ValRavn that goes to the Marina. . if you wanted to step out of the park for Famous Dave's for BBQ lunch.

[Comeagain?]

Agreed with El Toro Ryan. I guess the question is: would you rather have a 30 second longer ride cycle, due to stacking with three trains, or a 30 minute longer line due to limited dispatches because they are running 2 trains? Of course those numbers are just estimates, but I would rather spend an extra couple of seconds on the brake run than many dozen extra minutes in line.

 

Or slow the lift hill to get a longer cycle time out of the station, so you aren't spending time in the brake run, you're spending time on the lift where most people'd barely notice a change. And they wouldn't care. And if you're running one or two trains, run full speed to get trains back as fast as possible.

[thepoint4life23]

The water park, and the water rides i would figure open tomorrow.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

When I was there for Coastermania the weekend after Memorial Day, all the water rides were open except Shoot the Rapids.

[PKI Jizzman]

When I was there for Coastermania the weekend after Memorial Day, all the water rides were open except Shoot the Rapids.

 

....

 

Good one

[chaos]

Steel Vengeance broke down for about 10 minutes today. Looked like the final brake run stopped the train before it could hit the drive tires. Two mechanics literally walked behind the train and gave it a push. We were on the ride about 5 minutes later. Seems like the new brakes might be working a little too well.

[CedarFlags]

Man, I was really hoping that RMC would have the bugs worked out of Steel Veng by now.

 

Come on... *crosses fingers for next week*

[gp1086]

Sorry to be slightly off topic on 1st question:

 

Favorite restaurants around Sandusky? I'm already planning to head to Bay Harbor for dinner one night.

 

Is there any type of side entrance to enter / leave the park during the middle of the day from Breakers Hotel, or need to go through the front?

 

Assume water rides will be open throughout the park after Memorial Day given that the waterpark is open?

 

Sandusky restaurant: We like Brick Oven Bistro as someone else has mentioned. Also Famous Dave's on the point at the marina is a good option and there is an entrance into/out of the park under Valravn.

 

Side entrance: The resort entrance (G6 on the map) comes in right by Magnum's station. It's good if you are in the north end of Breakers and/or your early entry target is towards the back (ie Steel Vengeance). There is also the beach entrance (H11 on the map) which can be a good option if you are in the south end of the resort and/or your early entrance target is towards the south end of the park (ie. Gatekeeper or Valravn).

 

Map: https://cdn-cloudfront.cfauthx.com/binaries/content/assets/cp-en-us/general-information/explore/2018-park-map.jpg

 

Water rides: Not 100% on water rides but I would assume they are open from this weekend given the weather is definitely warming up. Perhaps someone else knows. I actually haven't ridden any of them in all my visits as it always seems to be too cold and my daughter seems to have a distaste for them....maybe this year though.

Thank you! I think it definitely makes sense to use the resort entrance to beat most of the crowd to Steel Vengeance. Hopefully I can get a couple rides in there and on Maverick before things start getting to crazy at the park.

 

Appreciate the restaurant recommendation too on Brick Oven Bistro.

 

Haven't been in eight years and pretty pumped to check out Steel Vengeance, Valravyn, GateKeeper, and Rougarou for the first time (rode it as Mantis). Also remember loving Skyhawk as a flat.

[thrillrider]

At the park now and it doesn't look as if steel vengeance has ran most of the day, and as soon as I scanned my pass to enter the park the skies opened up.

Edited May 26, 2018 by thrillrider

[thrillrider]

At the park now and it doesn't look as if steel vengeance has ran most of the day, and as soon as I scanned my pass to enter the park the skies opened up.

 

 

Oops...double post

[SteVeUrkle]

Steel Vengeance broke down for about 10 minutes today. Looked like the final brake run stopped the train before it could hit the drive tires. Two mechanics literally walked behind the train and gave it a push. We were on the ride about 5 minutes later. Seems like the new brakes might be working a little too well.

 

A train did this on Tuesday while we were at the bottom of the stairs to the station. Keep in mind this was before the recent brake installation (which appears to have happened overnight) so I don't think it's anything new. We heard it finish the circuit and hit the first set of brakes, but the train didn't continue to the station. At that point with everything going on with the ride, it wasn't surprising, I thought it'd be another 20-30 minute delay.

 

Nope. Mechanics just happened to be in the station. It's gotta be a sensor problem. I think the mechanics were so fed up with issues at the ride, they literally walked back to where it was, released the brakes, pushed the train to get it back to the station, and acted like nothing happened. They then allowed the ride to continue loading guests and operate as usual lol.

 

The ride is literally riddled with issues.

 

Good luck with 3 train operations.

[prozach626]

I haven't gotten a chance to post anything about our Coaster Campout trip last weekend. (F*ck working 18-20 hour days for double homicides!) Here are a few quick highlights:

Despite the weather forecast, our trip was an absolute win. We enjoyed the park more than we ever have.

 

We visited Saturday and Sunday and cashed in on FL+ both days, despite lines being anywhere from 20-45 minutes. These light'er' crowds made everything with FL+ nearly walk-on.

 

Camping in the park was an incredibly unique experience and we absolutely loved it. This was our first enthusiast event and the people were weird AF. During SV ERT some of the dudes literally looked like they reached sexual climax when the train rolled into the brake run. We were weirded out.

 

As for SV, I enjoyed MF, Maverick, Valravn, and Dragster much more. Our first ride in the back seat seemed amazing. We only waited an hour and 15 minutes. During ERT we walked right on our first train. I enjoyed this ride mostly, but a lot less than the first ride. Our third ride we waited about 20 minutes for the front and I was waiting for the ride to end after the first drop. This coaster is too much against the grain for me. I prefer smooth transitions and I don't care for a ride that bucks the entire time. Outward banks and non-traditional banks are not my thing. I can see how it would be a top coaster for anyone else who prefers a ton of airtime, but I'm not a huge fan of relentless constant ejector air. Fantastic coaster, but not for me. Next time we'll take a spin or two and call it a day. We could have easily gone back for 4-5 more rides, but instead we chose to walk around the closed park and enjoy our time together instead, as a no brainer for us. I'm not disappointed, since after riding Storm Chaser and looking at this layout I was pretty apprehensive.

 

I'll try to post some pictures later on when things slow down, but that might be a bit.

[thrillrider]

Anybody see the cool Fascination display in the Pagoda gift shop?

[cal1br3tto]

^That's pretty darn cool. Admittedly I feel a bit sad when parks make tributes to attractions that I wish still operated, but at the same time I appreciate and enjoy them. Also I'm honestly considering buying that knock-down punk t-shirt, and I don't even play that game, like, ever. I've just always liked those creepy little guys.

[SteVeUrkle]

This was our first enthusiast event and the people were weird AF. During SV ERT some of the dudes literally looked like they reached sexual climax when the train rolled into the brake run. We were weirded out.

 

Dude. I didn't attend any event, but they were around and I totally agree.

 

Is this the first time you've experienced enthusiasts first hand? They've been like that for about 2 decades. When I bring a girl I try to distance myself...

 

[coasterbill]

So yeah... Steel Vengeance... holy sh*t

 

I’ll have a full report in a year or three per usual but this ride is ridiculous

[DoinItForTheFame]

... I'll have a full report in a year or three per usual...

 

 

I'm glad you got a chance to ride it, and I look forward to the report in about a half a decade.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I haven't gotten a chance to post anything about our Coaster Campout trip last weekend. (F*ck working 18-20 hour days for double homicides!) Here are a few quick highlights:

Despite the weather forecast, our trip was an absolute win. We enjoyed the park more than we ever have.

 

We visited Saturday and Sunday and cashed in on FL+ both days, despite lines being anywhere from 20-45 minutes. These light'er' crowds made everything with FL+ nearly walk-on.

 

Camping in the park was an incredibly unique experience and we absolutely loved it. This was our first enthusiast event and the people were weird AF. During SV ERT some of the dudes literally looked like they reached sexual climax when the train rolled into the brake run. We were weirded out.

 

As for SV, I enjoyed MF, Maverick, Valravn, and Dragster much more. Our first ride in the back seat seemed amazing. We only waited an hour and 15 minutes. During ERT we walked right on our first train. I enjoyed this ride mostly, but a lot less than the first ride. Our third ride we waited about 20 minutes for the front and I was waiting for the ride to end after the first drop. This coaster is too much against the grain for me. I prefer smooth transitions and I don't care for a ride that bucks the entire time. Outward banks and non-traditional banks are not my thing. I can see how it would be a top coaster for anyone else who prefers a ton of airtime, but I'm not a huge fan of relentless constant ejector air. Fantastic coaster, but not for me. Next time we'll take a spin or two and call it a day. We could have easily gone back for 4-5 more rides, but instead we chose to walk around the closed park and enjoy our time together instead, as a no brainer for us. I'm not disappointed, since after riding Storm Chaser and looking at this layout I was pretty apprehensive.

 

I'll try to post some pictures later on when things slow down, but that might be a bit.

Glad to hear your impressions, and holy crap double homicides? That's gotta be rough. You deserve a vacation after that.

 

Enthusiast events are crazy. It's a bunch of people who are all here to do what we love most, and everyone does it a little differently. I don't really socialize at those events--a lot of those people creep me out, tbh--but I like that these events exist to help out my fellow weirdos. The parks generally go all out to give a good time, too, and that's the real draw for me. Worth putting up with some awkward interactions for that. Don't blame you if you can't handle it though, some of those people are very far off the norm, especially in terms of social skills.

 

Camping at a park is so great. We've done it at SDC, Holiday World, and Six Flags St. Louis (the last at a nearby KOA), and I camped solo at Knoebels and Hersheypark. Something very relaxing about sleeping in nature, and also having a bus to take you to a theme park each day.

 

It's ok if you didn't especially care for Steel Vengeance. That's why they have so many coasters of such variety. MF, Maverick, Dragster and Valravn are all awesome, and I'm glad you had fun riding those. Cedar Point does have something for everyone.

[coasterbill]

So... on the subject of loving rides with “traditional banks”... it’s funny. I got off of Steel Vengeance in total disbelief. I love the ride to death. It’s one of the best coasters I’ve ever ridden, I have nothing but praise for that masterpiece of a coaster.

 

Right after we rode it we made our way to Millennium Force and ended up on the first train of the day in the front row with half the rows empty. I figured that a half empty ride in the morning on Millennium Force immediately after riding the most insane ride ever built would be the perfect storm and I would finally come to my senses and have a respectable #1 so you could all stop giving me sh*t but...

 

Yeah, Millennium Force is just perfection. I was super close to being a respectable coaster fan but that coaster just never stops blowing my mind. Sorry guys