Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

Oh boy. I try not to care, because I really don't, I make it easy on myself by traveling light, but it does seem like this is getting possibly out of hand.

Cmon CP (or any park) just make it easy lol Most of my life there was no issue with station bins, nor was it any issue at BGT, or KK, HW the other parks Ive been to that do it. I get it, storage is a way to make $ and I am 100% OK with that, really I am just make it easy like it was. Don't get crazy with it. Over reaction always bugs me (in whatever venue). And Im glad not everyone is jumping to defend, I mean lets be real some things are just annoying and as humans its OK to be annoyed

OH and yeah, taking pics in line is something the best way, and can be a time kill. The ride, I get it....in line? I don't see how people are hurting themselves, again been coastering since what 1999...never seen it personally. Of all the stupid/weird stuff Ive seen cant say that has been one

Yes, I look forward to Robb's and others input when they go.

Just wanna know, if I have zipper pockets can I keep my stuff in them?

I like Universal's idea. Simply incorporate clear plastic sleeves that velco closed on wall in front of each seat for folks to drop their phones in after boarding and done.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information but that's not what Universal does for their big roller coasters. In fact, what Universal does is even WORSE than this policy at Cedar Point and I'd like to hope that no park ever ever ever adopts what Universal does. I honestly don't go to Universal as often as I used to because of their insulting loose articles policy where everyone is treated like a criminal. In order to ride a coaster like Hulk, you have to go through TWO METAL DETECTORS at their park! One to get into their park. One to get in line for the roller coaster. Sorry, you've lost me as a customer at the second metal detector.

Yeah Universal was awful, it kind of made things a mess and Im glad to hear you say that criminal bit, because I never wanted to sound silly but I did think it detracted a tiny bit (no not enough to not ride or anything) but it did take away a little from the experience.

Parks are fun and I like to make it easy, Universal made it a bit of a buzkill. Glad I was with some non riders who had to hold stuff (though idk couldn't have been terribly fun to keep your stuff and the phone/wallet/keys/etc for others)

Is there a reason parks don't have "swinging door shelves" on the platform like T Express even for 3 train rides like this. It's such a simple design, 3 rows of shelves with two doors that swing with the flick of a switch so the only belongings accessible match the train on the station. Nearly all the people climb across to put their stuff on those shelves and are still sat belted and ready to go by dispatch time. Or is it just a "never in America" thing in terms of people being that organized?

I've seen other parks with that type of system and it works great - I think the park has to have some reason because no only are they not building them they've removed bins from several ride platforms. They had bins on Magnum's platform for what 10+ years? People rode with loose articles for 25 years? Now a locker is needed? My guess is maybe they get some insurance credit for putting up these signs and trying to force leaving items - this is same chain that installed seat belts on every ride.

To me the frustrating piece is the lack of consistent policy between rides and years. Magnum had bins for years but doesn't now and requires locking items up, yet Maverick which is equally as intense still has bins. Rougarou there is bins - but only for shoes. They make you leave for line if you try to put anything else in the bin - if there is space for items why can't I leave my phone or hat there? So if a guest rode Rougarou, Magnum, Maverick and then went to SV it would've been 4 different polices on 4 different coasters.

We all know about the crazy weather at CP, I mean what happens when a big storm whips up in the matter of 30 minutes? Having to run to the lockers to get your valuables or trying to find your group before a storm hits without a phone sounds like a nightmare.

I'll keep adapting to the rules I guess but damnit I got a glasses strap just for CP and now that seems to be an enigma

Just wanna know, if I have zipper pockets can I keep my stuff in them?

No phones.

I had my wallet in a zipped pocket and it looked like a phone. I was actually told I couldn’t enter the queue, and all I said was that it was a wallet and they let me go. I didn’t actually show it to them.

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I'll keep adapting to the rules I guess but damnit I got a glasses strap just for CP and now that seems to be an enigma

I was on it yesterday with sunglasses. Nobody said anything in the queue or on the platform or when I was sitting in my seat. Plus there were no signs that I saw that didn’t allow glasses with a strap, and not once did I hear a staff member say no glasses. So you should be good unless they came up with this policy yesterday after I left around 3pm

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I agree the policy sucks. But I feel like people who are against the park in this situation are blowing it out of proportion. After all, this is for peoples safety and obviously the park who deals with thousands of guests on a daily basis decided folks can't be trusted with their goddamn phones. And yes, ONE person got hurt on a ride because of a flying phone and now we're all paying for it, but that's not Cedar Fair's fault. And I get the zipper pocket stuff is pretty safe, but if you let ONE go then it becomes a slippery slope.

I also don't buy the "gotta have the phone for muh emergencies!" Come on. You can be without your phone for an hour or two. Believe it or not, teenagers (even ME and my pals!) used to go on day long round trips to theme parks for a whole DAY WITHOUT a phone or adult supervision...and they survived! Imagine a world!

Only thing I don't agree with is if you're going to require people stowing their stuff away, at least provide them for free for an hour or two or however long the rides line is. After the allotted time, require payment to get your stuff. I think they do this at some Disney or Universal Parks water rides? Or at least they used to. Also requiring someone to "throw away" a magazine they're carrying is dumb. Let the people put it on the other side of the station for craps sake. This isn't TSA.

I feel like it's good for people to get away from their dumbphone for an hour or two. The thing has become way to much of a false security blanket.

As a Great Adventure local/regular that's been dealing with a similarly strict loose article policy for a good while now on El Toro, Kingda Ka and Joker (everything in $1 lockers, security at ride entrances, greeters pointing out and questioning bulges in pockets, etc), I find it inconvenient but necessary (as I realize its thanks to idiots), though I have to say its far less cumbersome now that I'm used to the routine. We'll throw everything in a 2 hour locker and ride those few rides and then grab our stuff and then use our zippered pockets for everything else. We've gotten into a routine where we rarely get stopped at the ride entrances as we'll just wave our locker receipt in the security/greeters face as we walk past them.

Its worth noting though that as a local I rarely visit the park on crowded days so the whole idea of not having my phone for an extended period of time while waiting in long lines isn't really a factor for me. Sometimes while our stuff is locked up I'll have a few moments where I wish I could take a photo or maybe look something up online really quick while waiting/walking to the next ride, but I try to remind myself its nice to not be attached to my phone/socials all the time. But its rarely an issue - usually if I go to Great Adv and its crowded I'll just hang out and drink beer/not ride or just go home.

^ Yeah, I feel like part of the reason I totally don't care about this (even though I do agree that it could be done much better) is because I'm just used to it at Great Adventure. To be fair though, I don't even know the last time I waited more than 20-30 minutes for El Toro, Kingda Ka or Joker (the 3 rides that have this policy). I might feel differently in a 2 hour line.

Hey, at least you can bring beer in line. That's all that really matters to me (and it's an improvement over Great Adventure's dumb alcohol policies). Hopefully that bar next to the entrance keeps the Rougabrew flowing. And Tony, if you're reading this I promise that there won't be any beer left by the time I board the train... you know... for safety reasons.

^^-- this. I don't actually carry my phone in most of the time but I can see it's an unusually significant and useful item in line. Also it's not just "idiots" I still nearly lost my phone once because although my normal items were safe, I thought the phone was in the car!

One simple thing, I think the $2 for first hour is an irritating price structure. Changing it to the more common flat $1 would be a gesture of goodwill towards safety and compliance, but they really should have thought it out better in the first place.

It should be obvious flying phones are a problem only on a few rides. I don't think it's odd to have different rules for them, what would be arbitrary and greedy is to apply the rules to rides that never have had a problem. It seems that's the case to me with removing bins at FoF and I305. I don't know about thievery etc. but applying the additional personnel to actually running the ride would increase throughput more.

Looking at SV, seems the first drop is the only element particularly likely to result in riders being hit by phones at high speed (it might be possible to add some sort of catcher net or roof over the pull-out). Every other large hill or drop has a side curvature to it. There might be some risk to pedestrians. With software these days it should be possible to perform Ballistic Phone Analysis. Or they could have a person ride the ride while dropping old phones all the way haha.

Just wanna know, if I have zipper pockets can I keep my stuff in them?

 

No phones.

 

I had my wallet in a zipped pocket and it looked like a phone. I was actually told I couldn’t enter the queue, and all I said was that it was a wallet and they let me go. I didn’t actually show it to them.

 

 

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Yikes, wont lie a tad OTT.

Yeah, with fast lane I guess its really not an issue, I'll be solo so the phone is a nice time killer but guess it don't really master with FL. People on the 2 hour line without one, well guess they'll need human interaction again

Also I cant help it, I reeeeeealllly question how much is for safety, or how much is part safety part $ (or mostly the latter) which again I don't begrudge, I seem to be more accepting than the avg of parks making $ but eh, I'll let it go. It seems that its just SV.

If it was park wide I'd have some beef.

....its not park wide right?

Or they could have a person ride the ride while dropping old phones all the way haha.

I totally want to see this.

Here is my problem… If you don’t allow phones but wallets, car keys, pocket knives or whatever else people carry these days is OK… What the hell is the point?

A cell phone is not the heaviest projectile people will have in their pocket. Either you enforce a strict no carry-on policy of any kind or don’t do it at all.

How I see it, if this is strictly a safety issue… A 100% no loose article policy would be enforced and storage bins would be complimentary during the wait. If you only enforce for cell phones and charge for the lockers on the most-popular attraction in the park, it makes me question the intention.

Lower attendance and trying to get that in-park spending up to please the investors next quarter, perhaps?

I don’t mind the storage bin policy at Universal honestly, as they are free and I’m not being charged for safety concerns. When you charge guests to be 'safe' (that is the parks responsibility, all things considered) I just don’t buy it anymore. It’s a cash grab.

^ So what the hell, then? We'll be at Cedar Point next week and I can't wait to see for myself what is going on. I'm really happy I booked us two ERT sessions on Steel Vengeance because at this point I'm not sure I'd suggest that any of our group actually stand in line for it until the park gets their act together.

Are phones the main enemy here? If they are allowing wallets and other stuff, it's making me think people were trying to pull phones out on the ride

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^^ Definitely makes me question their intention too, especially considering what was said on the last page:

I had my wallet in a zipped pocket and it looked like a phone. I was actually told I couldn’t enter the queue, and all I said was that it was a wallet and they let me go. I didn’t actually show it to them.

A wallet hitting you at 50 mph isn't going to hurt much less than a phone hitting you at 50 mph. That makes the policy even more strange..

LOL people aren't pulling their wallets and keys out in the middle of the ride. The park is obviously concerned about people pulling phones out. How is that not obvious?

LOL people aren't pulling their wallets and keys out in the middle of the ride. The park is obviously concerned about people pulling phones out. How is that not obvious?

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The only wallet I've seen as heavy, and still not as dense, as a phone is my mom's, and it's inside a purse.

The only wallet I've seen as heavy, and still not as dense, as a phone is my mom's, and it's inside a purse.

New iPhones are super thin as well. A full leather wallet is very dense. I know a lot of folks carry money clips now days, but as seen in the past before a ride opp saw something in a pocket that looked like a phone so I'm sure that rider had a failr large wallet.

My mom's and wife's wallets, in their purse, are much taller, thicker, and probably heavier than my large 6inch phone

If I'm allowed to have my wallet just let me keep my phone.. I don't break rules and would even risk losing my expensive phone lol

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It just irritates me that the park wasn't willing to enforce the rule they had, so they had to make up more rules...

And are the people who broke the 'no phones out on the ride' rule going to listen to the 'no phones in your pocket' rule anyway???

It just irritates me that the park wasn't willing to enforce the rule they had, so they had to make up more rules...

 

And are the people who broke the 'no phones out on the ride' rule going to listen to the 'no phones in your pocket' rule anyway???

It definitely won't affect the people that take their phones out. These type of rules punish the innocent, not the guilty unfortunately.

“But what if I have special pockets? Surely this can’t apply to special people like me.”

Hi there Bill. Welcome to this new world filled with self-entitled people where they think the rules don't apply to them. I hope you enjoy you're stay here. Or at least as long as you can stand it before you want to kill yourself and/or everyone else... or maybe the other option is a move to Japan where they probably still have a few more years left before the entitlement plague infects them, too.

Thanks for the needed laugh, Robb!

I admit that I took my glasses off (I had a strap) before riding SV for the first time and put them in my zippered shorts pocket because I didn't want to risk losing them on the ride. I didn't know what to expect and didn't want to risk losing them, so I rode the coaster with fuzzy, watering eyes. I had my cell phone at the time (early May) and also tucked that away safely in my other zippered pocket making sure that it wouldn't come into hard contact with the restraint.

Luckily I can opt to wear contacts the next time that I go. I don't like wearing them much anymore, but at least I would be able to see a bit better while on the coaster until they (hopefully) figure out a better way to control this loose article/cell phone issue.

I can see this being a problem where people are going to hold the line up at the entrance while they complain about the rule. Like Robb said, the proper thing to do would be to go to Guest Services, but you know that there will be people that are going to stand there and complain and argue about how they HAVE to have their phone while in line. Whether it be a Mom/Dad, child/teen or a self-entitled person.

And that is going to piss off the other people waiting to enter the queue to where I could see it getting ugly at times. I certainly would NOT want to be the employee/security guard that has to police this at the entrance, in line or at the gate...I already feel sorry for them TBH.

Who would want to be the sucker that draws the short straw to enforce this policy at the ride entrance? They couldn't pay me enough to do THAT job.

I agree this doesn't seem like the best way to handle the current situation. I know people are suggesting bins as an alternative to strict enforcement, but just because a bin is available doesn't mean people won't take their phones with them and continue to be irresponsible. I noticed that on my trip to Kennywood, Knoebels, and Hershey Park last week that they were awesome at providing bins to the point where I couldn't give a shit less about capacity being slightly impacted. That said, I still saw plenty of people with their phones on the rides, including Skyrush. I think there's still a possibility that this could be a temporary reaction and that Cedar Point is considering long term solutions.

I agree the policy sucks. But I feel like people who are against the park in this situation are blowing it out of proportion.

This was my initial thought. I guess it would be a bigger deal for me if I visited parks alone, but I always have good conversation standing next to me. Usually my awesome wife. Sometimes I leave my phone in the car so I will intentionally spend more time taking in my surroundings and enjoying the detachment from personal technology, but I understand everyone is different.

I think the only stiff penalty that would work is to press misdemeanor charges if it's actually a misedmeanor in the state that has these rules for parks.

I don't think any judge would ever convict anyone for this charge unless it resulted in injury. It would be a waste of time to fill out the paperwork. The misdemeanor violation sign is basically a deterrent. This type of warning is similar to the maximum penalty signs for speeding through a construction zone, which would absolutely never fly unless it resulted in injury.

Just kick them out. If you tell them to leave the park and they refuse to do so criminal trespass to property is taken more seriously and will result in some kind of fine and possibly being booked in at the Sandusky Jail.

I’m for sure in the minority here, but I understand this policy completely. I was at KI a few days ago, and I can’t even tell you how many phones I saw out on coasters.It was at least four I’d say, and I rode every coaster once except Mystic Timbers twice. Operators didn’t even try to take loose items at all (hats, cross body bags, flip flops on rides without a floor, etc.) Trains left the station while guests had phones out in their hands. Now imagine this being the case on a ride as intense as SV. They would be completely gone. And yes, you can argue that you have your cargo shorts, however explaining that logic to a guest is impossible. They won’t understand that it isn’t secure if it’s in a regular/back pocket. A blanket policy is always the easiest way to go.

On Voyage at HW, I see at least one phone disappear from a pocket every day. Part of it is also that guests will absolutely pull phones out of their pocket once the train leaves the station/clears the lift. The sad thing is, people will lie.

Keep in mind that this policy didn’t come around until mid-season. This means that they had issues with it, so they had to react to fix the problem.

It’s 110% a safety issue, and I’ll argue that until the day I die. I’m happy a CF park is finally strictly enforcing loose items, and I don’t mind to pay the $2 if it means the safety of my phone, and the safety of others around me.

I totally understand the need for these rules and that it is a huge safety risk, but it is just so annoying that us responsible human beings have to have these rules slapped on us because of all the idiots who feel the need to take their phone out on the ride. I was at Darien Lake last week and I rode Ride of Steel 5 times that day. Out of those 5 rides on it, I saw a total of 8 phones out on the lift hill taking “selfies” and the amount of announcements I heard as trains returned to the station was insane to me, it seems like every ride some idiot takes their phone out and poses a huge safety risk. These idiots ruin it for everyone else and yet they will probably be the first to complain when new rules are introduced because of their actions.