FreeFaller Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 when I rode "the swarm" at Thorpe Park, I didn't have any problems with the restraints. are they different compared to the restraints used at gatekeeper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slither37 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 The camel back was probably, IMO, the most disappointing moment of the ride. I got no airtime at all, not even floater, in any of the riders or seats that I sat in. There was also no airtime to be had on the tiny bunny hop just before the final brakes. I completely agree,disappointed as well in that element. As I was going up the camel back I was expecting a good pop of air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 when I rode "the swarm" at Thorpe Park, I didn't have any problems with the restraints. are they different compared to the restraints used at gatekeeper? No, they're the same. Some people have problems with the restraints, some don't. I personally didn't have any problems on Swarm either, though I did notice that the restraints did get quite tight. I was just lucky enough to escape any major "crushing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Robb, just wanted to thank you for the awesome video of Gatekeeper. For being media day there was no media reports on our TV stations since the story of the three missing girls found alive still dominates our local news programming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishBuckeye Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Yes, there are lockrs next to gatekeeper. the story of the three missing girls found alive still dominates our local news programming. I also noticed this, and the cleveland news had virtually nothing. Seems like only the toledo stations had coverage of the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I don't remember Wild Eagle's restraints being that tight, and I'm a pretty big guy. To be honest, SkyRush's restraints were worse, but even they weren't THAT bad to me. It won't affect you because you're a big guy. I don't have any problem at all with the wing rider restraints, but smaller people do. It was the same for me on Wild Eagle, but others in the group I was with had the "squeezing" issue with the restraints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 For those of you interested, here is the opening ceremony video of Gatekeeper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Had a bit of flight problems that morning and didn't get to the park until later in the day. Only got 2 hours 40 minutes into lapping Gatekeeper 4 times and Millenium Force 3 (didn't even know Raptor was open ). Glad to have made it there at all, and to have made it back home same-day! My first Wingrider, and a wonderful experience it was! I didn't expect to be hitting such strong g's on it as well! Though the restraints didn't crush me, it did press down on my collar bones a bit, and they still feel mildly sore when I rub them. Nothing much of a complaint from me, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiDude02 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Just curious, are they doing a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo on Gatekeeper. From the few photos of the station I saw, looked like no shelves or a place to put your crap. During the morning runs they did not have the bins installed yet. During their break mid day a crew installed the bins to place your loose stuff and they were using them for the PM rides. There are plenty of bins by each platform gate for small stuff but keep your big stuffed anamals with a non rider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MBoy1982 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Here are the photos I got with my phone: In line at 430-ish for ride number 2. The red eyes were an awesome touch. Heading to the car after our 4th ride for a battery for a camera that I never used. Such a great sun rise. Some of the wing lights were not working. View from the queue. Leaving for the night. I have a few more that I will upload and post soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GayCoasterGuy Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I'm 6'1", 225lbs and I don't care for the restraints on the wing riders. Near the end of the ride, they get too tight. When I was riding X-Flight last year, I thought it would be a GREAT ride if they just got rid of the vest part. I think the huge lap bar would do a great job of keeping a rider safe. They could even make it "wrap around" the wait/hip area a bit. The whole thing with vests (including the new ones on Vekoma trains) is that they are a trade-off compared to regular rigid shoulder bars. You don't have headbanging; instead, you are held DOWN and BACK. There have been so many great new lap bars to come out (even ones that are over the shoulder - Dare Devil Dive at SFOG has awesome ones! And everyone is fine on that, even with massive hang time), I'm surprised B&M hasn't come out with something better. Perhaps they will eventually offer lap bar retrofit for their coasters. I mean, who would have thunk they would be turning their coaster backwards? After that, anything can happen. Gatekeeper looks amazing (but I'm glad I was at Batman backwards media day!) The open area of the whole front gate is stunning. I like the orange block, semi-retro looking buildings at the gate. SF Great America has also done the same thing this year with ticket sales - pushed up to the side to free up more space in front, great idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiisncoasterz Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Had a great time at Gatekeeper media day. When I pulled into town I heard there was a ruckus at Buffalo Wild Wings. Turns it was Club Tpr at the bar. It was fun to meet fellow Tpr folks up there. Thursday morning I was a t the park around 4am. Gatekeeper definately adds to a first impression when walking into the park. I was suprised how quiet it was. It has a nice WHOOSH to it. Throughout the day I hopped on a few times. I ended up with 7 rides with one each on Millenium and Raptor. Later in the day I went for a front seat trip. The back definately has the most force to it. But still Robb is right about the airtime. There isn't much floater air. So all in all it was a great day at Cedar Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CpBluestreakCp Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Well, I guess I'll finally get around to posting my review of GateKeeper. But first, thanks to Cedar Point for letting us in! Great experience and thanks to Robb for the nice Club TPR button! Well, as you approach the entrance, this coaster just dominates over the front of the park. It really shows off what you're day will consist of and what Cedar Point is all about, roller coasters. All the anesthetics of the ride are great. The color, the sound, the entrance area, everything! It was just a great all around choice for Cedar Point, especially right over the entrance. Now, the ride itself. As you leave the station, the ride's lift is really fast, more than what I expected! And you slowly make a pause and dive over that drop and into the immelman is fantastic! You get a lot of positive forces all over this ride and a lot of great hang time. But, what is missing is really any negative forces at all. I felt little to no airtime at all, that was a bit of a disappointment on the camel back especially. The ride's golden seat for me is really the front. Here you can see everything and all the near misses are that much better, especially the keyholes! In my opinion, this is the seat to ride on GateKeeper, it just delivers more of a thrill. My second favorite seat would have to be the back left side. My only other complaint would have to be the vest restraints. They do get tighter on you during the ride and left my collarbones sore after 5 rides or so. But that's only a minor nitpick. Overall, GateKeeper was a great addition and the GP will definitely eat this ride up. For me, this ride doesn't quite take the top 5 spot in my coaster rankings for Cedar Point, but definitely the top 10. So, if you haven't gotten out to ride yet, do so soon! It's a really fun coaster and a great addition to the Cedar Point lineup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishBuckeye Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 CP just updated their blog with links to the different media covering gatekeeper media day. https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog-article/online-fun/The-Reviews-Are-In Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesdude Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 A few scattered thoughts about GK and the media day event: First, awesome ride, awful restraints. I'm a big dude - 6' 1", 266. I fit the black seat belt on the test seat (twice! In front of two different ride ops!) but no matter what, I could only ride on row 4. It was slightly disappointing to have to do the fat walk of shame to row 4 at the beginning of Media Day but I'm at least thankful that they have big boy seats to begin with. Also, after 13 rides, my collarbones are bruised beyond belief. They're currently painful to the touch. Second, it's a very quiet ride. We were enjoying coffee and cinnamon buns outside of Donut Time and we couldn't tell when the train would whoosh through the keyholes. I'm sure it will be even harder to hear over the noise of a typical day. Not really good or bad, just something striking enough to notice. Speaking of coffee and cinnamon buns, Cedar Point went above and beyond with the food and drink provided for Media Day. Everything complementary, from coffee and baked goods at Donut Time to full buffet breakfast at Midway Market to free burgers and fries at Coasters. Free bottles of Coke, Sprite and water throughout the day as well. Awesome, considering how much they charge for food and drink on a normal day! Also, opening Raptor and MF for a bit was amazing as well (well, Raptor anyway, MF is still a no go for me). Never before and never again will I reride Raptor without getting off the train. Fun ride. Highly recommended. Also, best part of the ride? These guys available for $15 each. Seriously they are soft and awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 ^Looks like our Loch Ness Monster and Leviathan plush will have a new friend this summer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 ^^Those are really cool! Ice Bat has already demanded a set for his minion army. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperShawn Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Those plush are great! I hope they do a hat to go with my Leviathan one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsaiisuperstar Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Gatekeeper Media Day was awesome!! It's super smooth, super quiet and is amazing looking in person. (Especially at 4:00 with the lights on!) But.....after 40 rides my collarbones are so sore today lol. I'm happy to see others mentioning the tightness of the restraints. I understand the safety concern and that's OK, but i wish they could loosen them when the train is on the brake run at the station and someone has puked in another train and your waiting for them to clean it. That is my only complaint. I got to meet and chat with Rob Decker. I met Rob Alvey and he gave me a button. Cedar Fair was VERY generous and provided food for about 4000 people for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Nice stuff! (meatloaf, corn, pizza, mashed potatoes, soda, coffee, water, etc, etc) They opened Millenium Force and i had a nice ride. I also got to ride Raptor 14 times. The entire Cedar Fair staff was very friendly and courteous. The free photos, laminated Media VIP pass, and the laptop bag were an extra added bonus. Everyone it seems, had a great time. I did not get to fight Mike Wilson #1 to the death however, I'm sure your all disappointed. Cedar Point is a class act. I was simply stunned by their generosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeT Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Oh boy....sorry to say this....but if there`s one thing showing that the engeneers of our modern coasters are not perfect at all is that there are still so many new coasters showing up whose restraints make a whole lot of problems Of course it`s technically possible to build them in a way so they don`t get tighter during the ride. How many complaints about wingriders are nescessray so that will be changed ??? After riding with so many different people through the loops, corcscrews and heartline rolls on Blue Fire an NO ONE having any kind of problems with those restraints, I just don`t get it, really. So it`s just annoying to read complaints about uncomfortable restrains again and again and again... On another note : Gatekeeper looks excellent, really. Good length, and the pacing seems to be really good ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Oh boy....sorry to say this....but if there`s one thing showing that the engeneers of our modern coasters are not perfect at all is that there are still so many new coasters showing up whose restraints make a whole lot of problems Of course it`s technically possible to build them in a way so they don`t get tighter during the ride. How many complaints about wingriders are nescessray so that will be changed ??? After riding with so many different people through the loops, corcscrews and heartline rolls on Blue Fire an NO ONE having any kind of problems with those restraints, I just don`t get it, really. So it`s just annoying to read complaints about uncomfortable restrains again and again and again... On another note : Gatekeeper looks excellent, really. Good length, and the pacing seems to be really good ! I agree sir! I mean, look at all the years of complaints about Mean Streak, just for ONE example. It simply does not make sense to me lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJLehto Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wow so went from 2 CP trips to 0...thanks to a broken wisdom tooth + getting an apt faster than expected, I am tapped out. I gotta try and get there this season, gatekeeper looks epic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyknottsville Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Just rode gatekeeper 3 times and its awesome!!! Only issue I have is the vest on the otsrs get so tight I almost couldn't breath Just saw Robb riding maverick!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 According to the TPR Facebook, Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus are already sold at at Cedar Point--whoa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 ^Looks like it is even more crowded for opening day this year than it was last year. Either that, or they are regulating the passes more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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