Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[GigaG]

Quite honestly, I was worried Pipe Scream was going to be smacked with a 48" height requirement. 42" with a responsible person is pretty fair. Did some quick research and found that 42" is something most kids are hitting as low as four years old, and most of them by five, so that's very family friendly. 36" is downright tiny which makes Lake Erie Eagles extremely family friendly. So far, everything looks great for the new Gemini Midway.

 

I still believe that CP is sitting on potentially a very family friendly ride with Cedar Creek Mine Ride. 48" for a mine train is pretty hefty. I have seen much lower across the industry for mine trains. Imagine if it dropped to a more common 42" and 48" with an adult, or even 44" like Adventure Express at Kings Island used to be? Instead, we have a tame ride asking a minimum height of most adult wooden coasters which is excluding the market that eats those kinds of coasters up. If only there was a way to fix this. I sympathize with the Ride Hosts on CCMR as they probably get berated more than usual on that ride.

 

CCMR has a very loose restraint system. In fact, according to Wikipedia, as the train descended a "30-foot drop" in 1984, a 5 year old kid fell out and fractured his skull. If it were to get better restraints, (I like the new Arrow ones a la Adventure Express, Magnum, and Gemini, but I recall SFGAdv's mine train having a decent restraint system too) it could easily become a good family ride.

 

I remember being in line for CCMR. There was a kid crying, I think (IDK if scared or thought he was too short) but he just barely passed 48". I think the people cheered when they saw it.

 

As for me, I only passed 48" in 2nd grade (I was short for a long time and I'm still quite short.) As a high school sophomore (freshman age, I skipped a grade), I am 5 foot 3" or so, which, while not quite tall, enables me to not really worry about height restrictions.

[thrillrider]

Loose restraints?

 

I'm not that big of a guy, and I can barley fit. I have to cross my legs just to have leg room. Years ago, the seats used to be a soft foam that your butt sank into giving you more room between your waist and the lap bar. They have since replaced the soft foam seats with a harder plastic/rubber type seat that has no give to it...meaning you don't sink into it at all. Well that's all fine and dandy, but in the meantime they never adjusted the lap bar to coincide with the newer seats. Therefore, you have much less room that you used to have back in the day when the ride was running 5 trains.

 

It's funny watching them try to push down the lap bar manually when you have larger riders. You can hear everyone grince in pain.

[Yamez]

For you, perhaps. But the restraints in each car are locked to the largest person in the car. Thus, if you have a larger person or a person who requires the restraints to be at the bare minimum locking position it is much easier to slide out for smaller persons. If they were to replace the restraints with individualized lapbars or even something as simple as the locking mechanism being on a per-row basis it'd be slightly safer for smaller kids.

[coasterkyle]

There is only one locking position for the lap-bars and it doesn't matter if your big or small it still going to not lock until it is in its proper position. If your body is keeping the bar from getting to that position you will not be allowed to ride. The ride is not friendly to larger guests but for little kids the distance between the 't' part of the bar and the side of the car is more then enough room for kids to slip out. I've seen kids get out before a ride host has released the pedal for the car they were in. While I do not know if this particular accident actually happened or is another rumor, I can see where it is plausible.

[DirkFunk]

I'm pretty sure both Great Adventure and Six Flags Over Texas have those old style Arrow Mine Train cars, and they have shorter height requirements (44" and 42" respectively). I'm also pretty sure I remember seat belts on Cedar Point's.

 

I'll say this too: Phoenix is a lot more forceful and DEFINITELY has a "looser" restraint than any Arrow Mine Train, and it has a 42" height requirement. I seriously doubt that this is a manufacturer requirement we're talking about.

[3Mutts]

^ SFGADV mine train has the new style of lapbars, IDK about SFOT.

 

[JWAddington]

Without the seat belts, kids could easily slip out. There is enough room for my kids to unbuckle and just slide out between the gap left between the restraint and the seat/side of the car. Most of the turns throw you to the right of the train and i was watching my kids as they sat in front of us, and i could see how a small child could slip out without the seatbelt.

 

I also watched as a girl and her mother were panicking as a spider was in their train, the girl got out (restraints were locked) but the ops told her to get back in the seat.

 

I wonder if we will ever see the rumored replacement with Gemini's two trains that are sitting idle, if that is even possible.

[DirkFunk]

Just looked up the SFGADv one and apparently that took place in 2006. There's also the Big Thunder Mountains, which I'm pretty sure still have the same lap bars *and* allows up to three to a seat. Also, there's Great Escape's mine train, which I think just has an extra padded bar as an alteration but is otherwise largely identical to how it ran at Opryland.

[BigDipper 80]

So what's this all about?

 

 

Secret ride coming to Cedar Point?

Ryan C Haidet, WKYC

SANDUSKY -- Cedar Point seems to have a secret attraction up its sleeve...

 

An apparent recent filing with the Federal Aviation Administration lists a "2014 Sling Shot Ride" with a proposed height of 236 feet and construction schedule from March 7 through June 7.

 

Cedar Point nor Cedar Fair's names appear on the FAA listing, but coordinates reveal the construction site in Sandusky at the eastern tip of the Gemini racing roller.

 

When looking at satellite image, the blue circle within the green box indicates the exact location when plugging in the provided coordinates.

 

This is the same area currently undergoing a major overhaul where crews are working to install a pair of previously announced attractions -- Pipe Scream and Lake Erie Eagles -- for the upcoming season.

 

Upon request for comment Wednesday, park spokesperson Bryan Edwards says, "We have no new projects to announce at this time."

 

The full article is available at:

www.wkyc.com/story/news/features/2014/02/12/secret-ride-coming-to-cedar-point/5420463/

[kidcoaster 2]

So what's this all about?

 

The sling shot ride going in near Gemini?

[COASTER FREAK 11]

So what's this all about?

 

The sling shot ride going in near Gemini?

 

[BigDipper 80]

^ and ^^ was there ever an actual announcement for this? I haven't been following CP's offseason too closely this year. That article was the first I heard about it.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

No clue, I have no info. The picture is what's in the article if you follow the link.

[coasterfreak101]

If they do end up getting this random slingshot ride, I wonder if it'll be 236-foot towers or if the ball itself will hit that height at its max? The Magic Midway towers are about 250 feet tall I believe, and the capsule almost hits 400 feet - I'm surprised Cedar Point wouldn't push the limit and break that record.

[coasternut]

The Coastermania agenda has been posted! It's Friday June 6, 2014.

 

EVENT ITINERARY*

Friday, June 6 | Park Hours: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

7:00 AM Registration & Admission gates open

7:30 - 9:00 AM ERT on Millennium Force, GateKeeper, Raptor, Iron Dragon

9:00 - 10:00 AM ERT on Blue Streak, Wicked Twister, maXair, WindSeeker

1:00 - 2:30 PM Lunch in the Point Pavilion

10:30 - 11:30 PM ERT on Gemini (racing!), Skyhawk, Pipe Scream, Lake Erie Eagles

10:30 PM - 12:30 AM ERT on Top Thrill Dragster, Magnum XL-200, Maverick

 

*Schedule subject to change (weather, maintenance, etc.).

[coasterfreak101]

Wow, they really cut back on CoasterMania, didn't they? Glad I'm doing Holiwood Nights for the first time this year!

[thrillrider]

^Yea, I noticed that also.

 

But they have added more events this summer like the campout and media day event.

[JonnyRCT3]

If they do end up getting this random slingshot ride, I wonder if it'll be 236-foot towers or if the ball itself will hit that height at its max? The Magic Midway towers are about 250 feet tall I believe, and the capsule almost hits 400 feet - I'm surprised Cedar Point wouldn't push the limit and break that record.

 

If it is something like that. I'd be willing to dish out 5-10 dollars to ride.

[tarheel1231]

^Knowing amusement park prices, it would be 5 + 10 dollars.

[rcjp]

When I went to SFGAdv it was 5+10+10 dollars!

[thrillrider]

Kings islands prices for the slingshot change several times during the day. One day we were there, it was $5 in the morning and $20 later in the day.

[tarheel1231]

It would be cool if Cedar Point's slingshot had a colorful color scheme to go along with the midway like this: Source

[Koasterking48]

I also hope that CP tries to build a 400 ft slingshot, but I wish it would be closer to the lake to get an added effect of dive bombing into the water.

[CPSFMMCW]

A colorful one would be nice! Will it be colorful? Prob not.

[XYZ]

It would be cool if Cedar Point's slingshot had a colorful color scheme to go along with the midway like this: Source

 

To be honest, wouldn't that look really ugly in Cedar Point?