Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[Tbcoasterfan]

Far as wicked twister it was packed all day an with GK there now it will probably continue

 

Far as Gatekeeper I think it much more then wind that shut the ride down since it was down before the wind and rain really started then on top of that there was many employees in the op both looking at video screens like they didn't know what the hell was wrong. Then after the rain and wind most of the rides reopened yet GK is still down, it's after 10 and I can still see Wicked twister and maxair running from my room still no gatekeeper.

 

Neither Wicked Twister nor maXair can valley though. The down signs(at GK) said "due to high winds" so I'm going to venture a guess that is the reason. I'll try to find out for sure, but I bet ya that's the cause. They even shut Raptor down cause of the winds. The forecasted wind gusts last evening were over 30mph.

[cmullin]

Do rides close to to the weather a lot during the operating season or is it just every once in a while?

[Cameron]

Other than the weather being a bit crap yesterday, I didn't notice anything bad about Cedar Point at all. Operations all seemed pretty much standard - rides were well staffed, and the staff all seemed to have a handle on things. I'd imagine that there were a few inefficiencies due to inexperience, but I didn't notice anything first-hand. It's always disappointing when rides go down for weather, but you can't blame the park. In fact the park really seemed like it was in great shape for opening day ... unlike a certain Gurnee park which I won't mention.

 

I know it's been a long off-season .. how about we get some rides in before we start the bitching

 

Cameron.

[thrillseaker92]

Just left Dinosaurs Alive and Milli is valied on the island with water dummies on the train. Ill upload a photo later. UPDATE: Maverick is valied in the horshoe roll. They are pulling the train through the inversion right now.

[DougMJr]

Just left Dinosaurs Alive and Milli is valied on the island with water dummies on the train. Ill upload a photo later. UPDATE: Maverick is valied in the horshoe roll. They are pulling the train through the inversion right now.

 

Wow, they have had some bad luck with valleys this weekend. Probably a combination of the trains not being broken in for the season and the cold temperatures + wind.

 

I think Maverick will not be down too long because they do not have far to pull it. Milli sounds like it could be a problem though.

[FeelTheFORCE]

Yep, Maverick is at the top of the inversion right now. The only things open really are some flats and WT. Mean Streak just started testing, but that's about all.

[GigaG]

CP Rundown has images of the valley on MF-

 

 

 

It was after the 3rd (or 2nd, depending on how you count) overbank and second big airtime hill. It was pointed out in the comments that the blue train involved had issues on media day, having been pulled off and later put back on. My mother - a MF fan - was stuck at the bottom of the lift on the blue train.

[Dinnwitted]

CP Rundown has images of the valley on MF-

 

 

 

It was after the 3rd (or 2nd, depending on how you count) overbank and second big airtime hill. It was pointed out in the comments that the blue train involved had issues on media day, having been pulled off and later put back on. My mother - a MF fan - was stuck at the bottom of the lift on the blue train.

But does it lose a ton of speed due to the cold air? Or is it the wind? I know that when Ike struck KI, the Racers could not make it up the airtime hill before the turnaround.

[CpBluestreakCp]

^More than likely the wind, I doubt it has anything to do with the cold air since it really isn't that cold.

 

But, wow, really crazy how many coasters are valleying and closed. I'm glad I got to go to Media Day instead of opening weekend, coaster riding doesn't look too promising today or yesterday.

[eddie200330]

Unless I missed something in the last umteen pages, wasn't there some sort of fancy lighting package for Gatekeeper? I don't recall hearing or seeing about it in any reports so far........

[CpBluestreakCp]

^The two towers light up different colors, the whole coaster has floodlights under it, the lift has tracers on it, and the trains have lights. The eyes glow red and the wings have white lights on them. All I knew of.

[JJLehto]

Gatekeeper looks pretty sweet.

So peeved that I missed the opening weekend AND my friends balked at the August trip..

 

Any chance of getting a trip together to CP this summer!?

[SharkTums]

Sounds like people bitching just to bitch? I mean, I'll be honest, I don't think I noticed anything really out of the ordinary or operations/customer service being notably bad.

 

Then again, I've been to Magic Mountain.

 

[studiobrandon]

Went to CP today and it was a BUST. Majority of the park was shut down due to these high winds. No gatekeeper, millennium, maverick, skyhawk, iron dragon, TTD.. Even Gemini. Wicked Twister opened later in the day. Apparently raptor and mantis did too, but I left at 3pm.

 

Blue streak, corkscrew, and mine ride had long lines. Was a total bust, but we went to the wood carver, then the petting farm & we watched the turkeys and chickens walk around.

[bonsaiisuperstar]

The gatekeeper lights look REALLY cool, especially the glowing red eyes. On media day early morning they were on for a while and then the power failed for them. They spent several minutes trying to get the lights to operate. They would light up and then go out and it seemed like it was tripping a breaker. Someone mentioned that the train lights are actually powered by batteries. I have a few pictures of it before sunrise but my camera sucks and they are blurry. I'm sure other TPR members have shot of the lights.

[FeelTheFORCE]

Went to CP today and it was a BUST. Majority of the park was shut down due to these high winds. No gatekeeper, millennium, maverick, skyhawk, iron dragon, TTD.. Even Gemini. Wicked Twister opened later in the day. Apparently raptor and mantis did too, but I left at 3pm.

 

Blue streak, corkscrew, and mine ride had long lines. Was a total bust, but we went to the wood carver, then the petting farm & we watched the turkeys and chickens walk around.

I was there today too and completely disagree. There was still plenty to do despite some major coasters not being open. WT was open all day, along with most flats, and slowly most of the other coasters opened up, save for the larger ones. Mostly everything became a walk-on after the initial GP flocking to the next thing that moved. Maverick was fixed and was even a walk-on at about 6 or 7. I actually enjoy days like these because you do things and ride things you otherwise wouldn't on a normal day. I had a blast riding things like Cedar Downs, the Cadillac Cars, and other random flats I've never been on.

[B&MBoy1982]

It's not just at the Point, Leviathan valleyed today also.

 

Glad I went to Hershey, everything running and walk on!

[firewalk13]

I was there on Thursday and Saturday and had a chance to meet Annie Zeller and Rob Decker, thanked them profusely for Media day event and congratulated Rob on a beautiful job with GateKeeper and the front entrance redo. I thought the operations on Saturday were fine. The main entrance of the park was very nicely done. Was awesome getting to meet Robb and lots of TPR members. Overall, I had a great time. Working on a brief TR.

[Meteorologist]

Re: Cold weather causing the valleys: In addition to the increased rolling resistance on the wheels due to the colder temperatures, drag is significantly increased in cold weather and a small temperature drop can significantly increase drag (ask anyone who rides a bicycle in the winter).

 

Colder atmospheric conditions increase air density in the boundary layer and increased density=increased drag. A ballpark estimate is for every 10 degree (F) drop in temperature, there is a roughly 2% increase in the drag coefficient, thus at 50 degrees F there is 6% more drag than at 80 degrees F. Add in the wind and you have a literal perfect storm for trains to valley.

 

Source: see username.

[GayCoasterGuy]

^I always thought the main culprit was that the grease packing in the wheels, etc. You added a whole other layer (pun intended) to why coasters valley, thanks

[GigaG]

I went to CP on Thursday and Saturday. Here's the scoop.

 

Blue Streak - It is running AMAZINGLY. Smooth, except the turnaround was a bit bumpy. The retracking REALLY paid off. Whee!

 

CCMR - Didn't ride it.

 

Corkscrew - Didn't ride it.

 

GateKeeper - I love the floaty feeling through the inversions. However, the airtime hill left me a bit disappointed at times. Also, fter my friend said Griffon was the smoothest ride that he had been on, I was expecting this newer one to be glass-smooth, but it rattled a bit. On the brakes, you realize the restraint is pressing you hard around the collarbones. However, the ride is awesome besides this. I like the back left seat. You miss the hangtime on the dive drop, but being whipped through a roll and looping 170 feet to the ground while staying in your seat is an experience in itself. The keyholes seem somewhat more disorienting (maybe) and awesome. It is amazing that the ride is nearly silent (no roar except after the MCBR and a bit into the brakes) besides the clicking (I believe it is chain dogs or anti-rollbacks clicking up and down like SFOG's Goliath on airtime hills, correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

Gemini - Didn't ride it.

 

Iron Dragon - Didn't ride it,but it valleyed on Media Day (the train made loud banging noises twice and appeared to be going slower. I saw the train from near MF's entrance, but I didn't see the actual valley. The valley was before the brakes approaching lift 2). I think it was running on Opening Day.

 

Jr. Gemini - I'm short, but not under 54", so nope

 

Magnum - Ran normally. It might be just me, but the trims seem louder.

 

Mantis - Didn't ride it

 

Maverick - Ran a bit slow opening day. We had to wait a bit for them to fix it, but I didn't want to relinquish my good spot in line, so we waited. And we saw Robb twice, but I didn't get to talk to him here.

 

Mean Streak - Maybe just the weather, but the trims seemed a bit less harsh than usual. And I said some words to Robb before and after the ride. As I departed, it looked like he was filming and I yelled "TWISTY" in homage to my favorite TPR video so far. Robb, do you remember that?

 

MF - Millie looks nice in the new paint. The ride is running pretty much normally.

 

Raptor - Running pretty much normally.

 

Dragster - Rode in the front seat. It was INSANE, not to mention it really pushed my friend and I's hair back.

 

WT - Fine. The test seat is smaller than the real ones, it seems.

 

Woodstock Express - Didn't ride it.

[2012jarrett]

Trip Report from Sunday! (Never posted a trip report here before, hope I did it in the right place and the right way...)

 

My cousin Brittany and her husband Paul wanted to hit up Cedar Point with me over the weekend and I found out on the Wednesday before. Yay surprises! I was also going to meet up with the Coasterforce live that was being held there that day.

 

Now, for what happened. I woke up around 4 on Saturday when my cousin and her husband arrived. We had a fun evening and had my dad's awesome barbecue chicken for dinner. Afterwards we put my stuff in their car and I went to work at 10. At 7 on Sunday my cousin's husband picked me up and we got in the interstate to get to Cedar Point. All goes well until we're almost there and I get a text from Joe. He informed me that everything was shut down due to wind. While my heart sank at the sight of the text, I was still determined to have fun.

 

We arrived at the park and went to go meet up with everybody in the GateKeeper queue. I got to meet a few people from the forums in person for the first time which was really cool, but since we didn't think that GateKeeper was opening up again anytime soon, we decided to head to Magnum. Heyyy, Magnum's down too! But while we were there, I asked the ride op if she would pretty pretty please with a cherry and sprinkles and gumdrops on top make an exception and open the ride for us. She laughed but said no, so then I decided to use that opportunity to ask her another important question. Sadly, she was unable to present us with an explanation for why they say that Magnum is Molly Orange. But we did get on Witch's Wheel in the area for the heck of it and that was pretty fun. Not a credit but it was stull fun.

 

Afterwards we caught up with some fellow CFers and decided to credit whore Woodstock Express. It was a pretty good ride, not my favorite but it was a fun little coaster. Joe had informed me that it was the same layout of the junior inverted coasters that Vekoma made but not inverted, and while I didn't know that, I instantly saw it upon hearing that. I also liked Woodstock's uncovered station, it's definitely something I think more coasters should have. It was a fun little coaster, much better than I thought a coaster of such a small scale could be. But I do think that being part of an American park, they could make the restraints a BIT more accommodating. I've never been kicked off of a coaster for my size, but that one brought me uncomfortably close.

 

After that, we went around the park to see if everything was truly closed and it was. Brittany, Paul, and I all left to check it out ourselves and to our dismay, all that was up was Woodstock, Corkscrew, and Wicked Twister. So on that note, we decided to go grab something to eat at Famous Dave's outside the park. We grabbed the ultimate barbecue feast for two or something along those lines, and honestly, it was some of the best barbecue I've ever had. It had barbecue chicken, ribs, brisket, beans, coleslaw, corn, and cornbread muffins. We ate at a window seat on the water overlooking the park and it was by far the best meal I've ever had on a park trip.

 

At Famous Dave's, we did notice that they had opened Blue Streak back up and that it was running. While I was confused how a 60-year old wooden coaster that had just been hit by a dump truck directly on the water could run but a shiny new cutting-edge B&M couldn't, I decided to just enjoy the credit. I rode in the very front and while it was just a little out-and-back, I got a lot more ejector than I was expecting. Blue Streak's old but it definitely packs a punch, and honestly, it's better than a Vekoma boomerang.

 

After upping my cred count to 62, we headed for Corkscrew. Despite seeing that they were launching Dragster trains from the station, it didn't look promising, so we just went on Corkscrew. There are two kinds of Arrow loopers, ones that should be preserved (Loch Ness Monster, Tennessee Tornado, Vortex) and ones that should be scrapped (Anaconda). Corkscrew should definitely be preserved as it's one of the smoothest Arrow loopers I've ridden and it looks stunning over the midway like that. Maybe I've just gotten good at bracing, but I don't remember getting my head rattled even once.

 

After Corkscrew, we tried to get on Power Tower, but seeing as they were still making final arrangements to open it back up, we decided to give into the news that Mean Streak had opened. On the way over we swung by Maverick to watch them pull it through the layout while it was stalled (I have it on both still photo and film!) The line wasn't that long, and I love how the queue structure is buried inside the support structure like that. Brittany had actually worked Mean Streak when she was in high school, and as a result knew more about the ride than I did. She said that the ride had three trains, red, green, and gold. Supposedly, the gold train was the least rough and the red one was the worst. Knowing our luck so far, it was almost expected that we would get the red train, and of course, we did. Brittany and I rode in the second row, and Paul rode behind us. All of the little coasters that day had caused me to be surprised looking up that huge wooden lift hill, but the view from the top was incredible. As for the actual ride, I see no reason why people want this ride ironhorsed. I had pulled down that restraint hearing all these horror stories about how you'll need to grit your teeth on the ride and lean forward and properly execute yoga poses to avoid getting beaten up. Yes, the ride's powerful and aggressive. That's why it's fun. I felt as if it was actually smoother than The Beast and having such a long ride packed into such a small space is great, but on a wooden coaster it enables you to have the track storming around inside the support structure. That feeling, the feeling that comes with being perched on top of that wooden structure that high up that close to the lake, and the fact that the coaster runs with the perfect texture for a wooden coaster is what made it my favorite ride of the day. Riding it with somebody who had worked it was also a plus, I feel like I got the perfect Mean Streak experience that day.

 

After Mean Streak, we saw that Cedar Creek Mine Ride was open again. And had a 2 hour wait!? Brittany noticed that the queue attendant had left and the sign was sitting right there for snot-nosed teenage boys to screw with, so she dialed it back to the appropriate time. In the queue, I was telling Brittany about Formula Rossa's goggle policy and how I thought Cedar Point should have something similar. And out of shear luck, there was a guy in front of us who was actually from Dubai that had ridden it! We talked coasters until we were on the ride, and then it started. From the lift hill, Brittany and I noticed that Millennium was also hooked up to a winch and was being pulled from a valley. Seeing my favorite coaster stuck like that made my blood boil, but we decided to just enjoy Cedar Creek and all it's Arrow quirkiness. Not only did this ride prove that the ride envelope wasn't as strongly stressed as it is today (we could touch the rafters in the coaster barn as well as some of the supports over our heads on the ride), but it proved to me just how great old school Cedar Fair was. It was a tad rough, but that's what made it fun. My favorite part was the dive down to the water.

 

Once we got off of Cedar Creek Mine Ride, we went to Power Tower since it was probably up. This was by far the scariest ride of the day for me. Aside from the little sissy Intamin drop tower at Carowinds, I had never ridden a drop tower. We went on the green one first, which had been up for debate as to whether it was a launch down or a freefall. I simply asked in engineering terms if V knot was zero or a quantity, but nobody knew. Nervous as heck, I pulled that restraint down and got ready. It was a bit scary being up 240 feet in the air exposed like that, but that's what made it fun. Those few seconds before the drop were absolutely terrifying, but the view made up for it. We were sitting on the backside of the tower, looking down the peninsula, so that made for something nice to look at as opposed to the miles upon miles of woodlands and cornfields that surround Kings Island. And then it shot us down, proving to me that V knot was definitely not zero and that they should put more emphasis on the fact that it is a launch down. That was fun, so after that we did the red one that shoots you up. I loved and hated that feeling of anticipation, waiting for it to shoot you up. But it came, and while the launch wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be, it did provide some good floater at the top. Overall, I loved how I had conquered my fear of tower rides and while I'm not getting on Drop Tower at my home park anytime soon, I liked Power Tower. Next one I ride will probably be Mach Tower.

 

After Power Tower, there was nothing open worth riding, so we went souvenir shopping. I ended up buying a Gatekeeper mug to remind me of the time I didn't get to ride it, and a Millennium Force hat (which I'm wearing now). That transaction was over 20$, and as a result, I was able to buy a Cedar Point 2013 limited edition t-shirt for only six dollars. It was a steal so I took it, and I'm wearing it right now. Brittany told me that they had better ones at Snoopy's Boutique, so we went there. THEN she remembered that they were all Peanuts t-shirts, and I didn't want a Peanuts one, so we went back to the pagoda gift shop and I bought a Millennium Force snowglobe keychain and a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt. While the second one I got was a small instead of the XL I was reaching for, I'm going to call Cedar Point's merchandising department tomorrow and see if they can switch it out. If not, then I'm going to sew it up into one of those t-shirt pillows and have the most epic ornamental pillow ever. After that we went to the Gatekeeper plaza to get a look at the ride we didn't get to ride. The area's so well done for something so minimalist, it's a shame we didn't get to see it full. There were a few people hanging out, but ordinarily I would expect that place to be rocking. It was sad, but I did get a picture to prove that I can fit in the Gatekeeper test seat!

 

After that we swung by customer service on the way out to see if we could get a second day pass to make up for the miserable experience we had. We did get a 50% off pass for our next visit, but I don't think it was enough. However, it was better than leaving us without anything to come back with, so I accepted it. We then drove off into the sunset, planning to reschedule our Gatekeeper trip.

 

Pictures!

 

Taken of GateKeeper upon walking into the park. Making somebody walk past that without letting them ride should be a federal offense...

 

Zombie Apocalypse: Cedar Point Edition (seriously, seeing the cloudy skies and no rides running was actually a little creepy)

 

Millennium Force as seen from the Cedar Point Marina. Probably the prettiest picture of the ride I've taken yet, and I tried to make a Millennium Force calendar later on in the day!

 

More of Cedar Point from the marina

 

60 years old, just hit by a dump truck, and STILL running in the wind!

 

Hang Time...You're doin' it wrong!

 

Mini Mean Streak and Me!

 

:censored: Six Flags, Get it together!

 

Millennium Force...not working.

 

This is still an awesome shot, though.

 

Millennium, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and Snake River Falls

 

Millennium through the forest

 

A little valleying won't stop my fun!

 

The ONE flat ride I wanted to ride and it was down too!

 

This overbank looks odd from this angle...

 

I want to make a Millennium Force calendar!

 

Mantis and Power Tower

 

This is creepy...

 

The three of us on the GateKeeper sign

 

Me strapped into a GateKeeper seat! I don't care if it wasn't connected to the train!

 

Prettiest cattlepen I've seen in a while...

 

This is a nice spot too.

 

Three B&Ms at the park and only the crappy one's running! If it had to be just one, I'd have put Gatekeeper first, then Raptor, then Mantis. But no, Mantis is the only one running! Boo!

 

I like this shot for some reason.

 

Artsy Fartsy!

 

Another nice GateKeeper shot

 

I'll be back...

[Sportsdude360]

I took this shot of MF a couple of years ago.

 

Millennium Force, Cedar Point

[10ryansmith]

^^ You like Woodstocks uncovered station but from an op point of view: it's a b!tch to run in direct sun... Ran the ride almost every stinking day in 2011 and had to hose off the seats at least three times a day as they were burning kids hands... (And don't even get me started on Peanuts 500... Lol)

 

Can't wait to get bad to the Point June 3rd and 4th. GateKeeper looks awesome.

[FeelTheFORCE]

What's with the little whiteboards in almost every queue line?