Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[GigaG]

A random comment about CP: I have noticed great customer service and staff friendliness so far this year. All employees have been much nicer and happier than in previous years, which is great to see.

 

And I have to give a shout out to the Maverick crew. Best ride crew BY FAR. Anyone who went to Coastermania, remember the Maverick Song?

 

YES

 

Let's gather 'round the Maverick and sing our Maverick song,

Our M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K-S-O-N-G Song!

And if you don't think that you can sing it faster then you're wrong,

But it would help if you just sing along...

 

OR

 

In Sandusky, the dark (?) Sandusky, the Maverick runs tonight...

 

 

Just makes the best ride there better (not to mention that the ride was running insanely fast.)

[coasterfreak101]

Let's gather 'round the Maverick and sing our Maverick song,

Our M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K-S-O-N-G Song!

And if you don't think that you can sing it faster then you're wrong,

But it would help if you just sing along...

 

Someone up there in that booth must really like Spongebob.

[JonnyRCT3]

Was doing some casual browsing around Youtube and discovered this video. I only wish that I could ride this version of Dragster (minus the more frequent breakdowns). It wasn't till 2005 till I got to ride it. Anyways, this thing was flying over the crest even during media day!

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

This video also makes me yearn for a Dragster repaint...

 

Odd -- I was browsing that exact same video today as well . ..... would have been very cool to ride over the top at that speed. Over, even better, Xcelerator at the testing speeds show in that video above -- WOW.

 

 

Wow! That is at least -.5g

[TyRush]

^More than that, I'd say close to -2

[glouthan]

I wish it was still like that! A whip of airtime and then down a 400 foot drop = extreme airtime sensation!

[pkdcoaster]

For media day they removed a car to insure it cleared the hill every time, which is why it was going so much faster.

 

Jeff

[TroyWD98]

Spent an awesome day at the park today and plan on doing so again tomorrow.

 

Magnum - 10min wait

Maverick - 5min wait

Everything else including millennium force, walk on. (Excluding the front of the park coasters cuz we didn't go on those yet, will do so tomorrow)

 

Never thought I'd be lucky enough to visit the park on a day like this where the lines were non-existent!

 

Also, rode sky hawk for the first time and enjoyed the jumbo screamin' swing quite a bit. Looking forward to riding pipe scream tomorrow!

[CPSFMMCW]

^ Everyone here is most likely jealous of you. You lucked out, thats for sure!

[bonsaiisuperstar]

I drove up from Cincinnati today. First time visiting since July of last year. The park was empty! Everything was a walk on. My longest wait was 10 minutes for the Lake Erie Eagles haha.

A few observations:

1. Mantis needs to be destroyed by a meteor, low yield nuclear device, or anything else that will level it. It is a pain machine. I hate it everytime i ride, but figured what the heck might as well ride everything in park today since there are no lines. Never again. I hate it like i hated Son of Beast. They should let the general public dismantle it (bring your own demolition device). I will happily come and assist. The worst B&M ever? Yes.

2. I was excited to compare Raptor to Banshee. I've always been a big Raptor fan but it looked old, faded, covered in bird poop and tired today. It was rough too. Banshee is the King of B&M inverts. No comparison.

3. Gatekeeper was more smooth than ever. Had several great rides on it. It's station smells like dead fish though.

4. I've ridden MF over 40 times in almost every seat and just don't understand why people love it so much. The first drop is good and it has one nice airtime pop. I do not understand why Golden Ticket thinks it's the coaster sent from Jesus. It's certainly no i305. Most B&M hypers are better actually.

5.Dragster was broken for most of the morning and afternoon. I did catch one ride on it before it broke again. It always provides a nice adrenaline rush! I rode with a first timer who peed on himself lol.

6. After 10 visits to Cedar Point i FINALLY got my Wicked Twister credit as it's broken every time i'm there. It was disappointing.

7. Gemini was smooth as butter and i loved my rides on it today. Funny as it never really stood out on any other visits.

8. Iron Dragon should last another 100 years because it is so slow. Was it always so slow? The cars barely even swing.

9. Maverick is awesome. Maverick's crew is awesome too. I rode it 7 times and enjoyed every one of them.

 

I love Cedar Point and this was a great day to go, but nothing seemed to thrill me too much today. It seemed dirtier than it usually is. In fact, I think King's Island is a giga coaster away from taking it's coveted "Best Amusement Park in the World" moniker.

[Koasterking48]

^ I will assist you in your nuclear destruction of Mantis. The only way I will enjoy it again is if it turns into a floorless or sit-down.

 

Edit: I'm not sure if this was discussed earlier in 2013, but apparently this Twitter exchange did happen

@marvmiller to @TonyClarkCP

 

"Has CP ever considered converting headbanging Mantis into sitdown coaster? Make load times go faster & more comfortable ride?"

 

@TonyClarkCP to @marvmiller

 

"We consider all kinds of options for our attractions. *hashtag* not telling.

[Mossed]

^^ By the time that happens Cedar Point will have added a brand new shiny epic coaster of some kind.

[CedarPoint27]

Mantis needs to be torn down. I would love to see something like firechaser express in replacement. With that being said Raptor is in dire need of paint job. When I went to Cedar Point last year it looked very unkept.

[Superbatboy]

The camera angle on the live cam is awesome today! They backed it up so you can see more things going on at once

[aCoasterStory]

^ I will assist you in your nuclear destruction of Mantis. The only way I will enjoy it again is if it turns into a floorless or sit-down.

 

Edit: I'm not sure if this was discussed earlier in 2013, but apparently this Twitter exchange did happen

@marvmiller to @TonyClarkCP

 

"Has CP ever considered converting headbanging Mantis into sitdown coaster? Make load times go faster & more comfortable ride?"

 

@TonyClarkCP to @marvmiller

 

"We consider all kinds of options for our attractions. *hashtag* not telling.

 

I don't know how much (if anything) that would fix. Most of the problems are due to the transitions causing headbanging. Both the floorless and normal sit-down trains still have OTSRs like the stand-up trains. The only difference would be that you would lose all of the intensity of riding in the standing position. IMHO, that would take away the only redeeming value of the ride and actually make it a *less* enjoyable ride experience...

[coasterkyle]

What if they redid their floor-less trains to have the new vests like they redid their Inverted trains?

[Superbatboy]

Hmmmmmm I don't see CP spending millions of dollars to replace Mantis' trains when the ride is approaching 20 years old. I may be wrong of course, but it just doesn't seem like CP would get a return on that investment.

[AndrewRnR]

It isn't as easy as changing the trains - B&Ms are designed to around the center (or heart) of a rider vs of the train (like how I believe Arrow designed their rides). Meaning if you switch the trains you are potentially putting the riders through all types of different forces. Would those forces be small or too big to make the switch? I'm not sure - but I don't see it happening. (And yes I know Arrow has done it before in reverse.. but that didn't turn out good!)

[Mr Komar]

Anyone know if dragster is running yet? If not when do you think its going to be up?

[coasterbill]

Yes, Dragster has been open since Monday.

[simaticable]

Headed to the park today for my first visit! I'm very excited and I hope that the park gods allow me to catch the major credits today. Hopefully, lines won't be bad since schools are still in session.

[Invertalon]

It isn't as easy as changing the trains - B&Ms are designed to around the center (or heart) of a rider vs of the train (like how I believe Arrow designed their rides).

 

This is true, but the floorless trains have a higher heartline compared to the standard sitdown trains. I bet if you compare the heartline between the standup to a floorless, they are probably really close. If you look at Mantis, the platform you stand on is really close to the frame of the train and the track. On a floorless train, the seats are mounted higher on the chassis to get you high enough so your feet won't hit anything.

 

I think the main reason CP does not do the retrofit is simply because the ride is still popular, converting would be expensive (mostly new station) and it may not pay off over time for them. While I think most of us would like it, it probably does not make much sense... New trains, station and overhaul would probably cost nearly 5 million, as a quick guess.

[TheDarkMaxim]

Im in the major majority on this, but I loved mantis. I rode it one time, in the front row. I had made it so the crotch restraint was just below nutsmasher position, and I didn't have any head banging.

[coasterbill]

How big of a line does Mantis normally get? It seems like it's still a really popular ride, people love standup coasters for some reason.

[Superbatboy]

Looking at the cam, kinda wet/rainy at CP today and their ridiculous rain policy must be in effect. No coasters running at the moment except Mantis

[coasterbill]

I was just looking at that too. Wicked Twister isn't even running and it usually runs in the rain. So does Gatekeeper if it's not windy (which it's not).

 

I love that Windseeker and Skyride are running though, that just proves that this little rain storm is a complete non event since they close for everything weather related.