Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

^ The launch was definitely an issue, but a primary issue was the trains.

Since you've stated this with great authority can you elaborate some on the details so we all know exactly what the issues are? We're all obviously dying to know.

The whackiness of this element is increasing

I hope Cedar Point never releases the official layout. I'm having so much fun watching it piece together, not knowing what will come next. It really makes it much more exciting to follow.

I hope Cedar Point never releases the official layout. I'm having so much fun watching it piece together, not knowing what will come next. It really makes it much more exciting to follow.

I totally agree with you!!! Does anyone else think they are moving along very very fast?!? I'm starting to think this might actually open up late 2017!!! Oops I didn't mean to start up the 2017/2018 discussion... I'm thinking the lift hill and first drop will take a long time and hence the 2018 opening and the CF quarterly call.

^ The launch was definitely an issue, but a primary issue was the trains.

 

Since you've stated this with great authority can you elaborate some on the details so we all know exactly what the issues are? We're all obviously dying to know.

Don't know precise details, but it's been stated by Pete numerous times during events that the launch was certainly an issue at first, but a larger issue was with wiring and broken things within the trains. That's all that I believe has been told to us, publicly.

Screamscape's posted some great new pictures of new ledgers in the structure under this big turnaround. I know some of you were hoping for speedy headchopper bits - Here you go!

^ Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!! I think this is going to be my favorite part of the construction lol! I love when coasters go inside the structure like this! I've always loved head choppers! This RMC version of Mean Streak is becoming something I never even imagined.

In other news, the wind seems to have reversed direction today. Gatekeeper, Dragster and Raptor have all been closed for wind since Wednesday morning. Maybe today's the big day.

I know I've said this before, but I really am a little confused by this wind policy on Raptor and Gatekeeper. It makes sense when you're starting coasters but when coasters have been running for hours are they really going to valley just because the wind kicks up a few more MPH? I could see it if the trains are running slow through those valley prone sections (into Raptor's midcourse or through Gatekeeper's dive loop thing) but when they're warmed up, filling trains and hauling a** it seems a little nuts, especially when you're used to Six Flags park who will run coasters in anything once they're warmed up (or before they're warmed up for that matter, but I don't expect other parks to hop aboard that crazy train with them, lol).

Hey guys I'm at the park today and I have to say so far everything except for corkscrew is open at this point. However it is very cold. Also the wait times aren't working for most rides. Im still so happy to finally be here though!

^I'm thinking the wind issue has to do with a few factors. Future forecast of the day, wind direction/change in direction, etc. It's probably a little more complicated than that, but I bet CP stays extra cautious to avoid any potential negative publicity. As much as some of us would personally LOVE to be on a rollback/valley, or simply take the chance during windy conditions and ride anyway. They probably have weather parameters set by B&M, then add cushion to be safe.

I totally agree with you!!! Does anyone else think they are moving along very very fast?!? I'm starting to think this might actually open up late 2017!!!

But wait... what you see now may only be 1/4-1/3rd of the finished ride. We don't know yet if there will be a couple more passes after that mid-course launch (This is just speculation, most of us coaster nerds do not have reliable sources. But let's hope for that launch and record for world's longest coaster. With 6 trains and dual loading, of course...)

^I'm thinking the wind issue has to do with a few factors. Future forecast of the day, wind direction/change in direction, etc. It's probably a little more complicated than that, but I think CP stays extra cautious to avoid any potential negative publicity. As much as some of us would personally LOVE to be on a rollback/valley, or simply take the chance during windy conditions and ride anyway. They probably have parameters set by B&M, then add some cushion to it to be safe.

Wind direction was consistent, it's almost always blowing in the same direction at Cedar Point (though that's not the case today).

I highly doubt it's that complex. It seems like if the wind hits a certain speed then they shut the rides down regardless of future forecasts or wind direction. Magnum and Gatekeeper both went down for wind yesterday even though Magnum would have a much bigger issue with wind blowing off the lake and Raptor and Gatekeeper would have a much bigger issue with wind blowing off the bay.

My point is I'm all for being cautious when starting a ride but when the ride has been running for hours, they're filling trains, it's hot out and the rides are blowing through the course then it seems a little crazy that they would shut them down for a slight increase in wind speed. Plenty of other parks would never even consider that. I guarantee you that a park like Great Adventure wouldn't take a coaster down for wind once they've started it and it's been running successfully for hours (barring any absurd gusts of course but the winds yesterday were pretty sustained).

I seriously wish they'd ease up a little on rides like Raptor and Gatekeeper. I know Dragster is a separate issue but those two seemed to be flying through the course when they closed them.

I don't mind those rides being closed all day yesterday since they would have had to start them in those conditions and a valley would have been a legitimate concern, but closing them on Wednesday when they were running great all morning seemed a little overly cautious from the outside looking in.

^It would be nice to ask a maintenance person or a ride op manager about this stuff. I'd be curious. When I worked there, it was very do what works.

Operating Blue Streak (in it's glorious and perfect classic state of buzz bars, a large bench seat, single seat belt and manual hand brakes) at CP in the early 90s went like this: If the rain came, we had to go down to one train. Running one train in the rain, we would sometimes have to raise the drag brake a bit. Until a train shot the station, we were good to go. Unless there was a call from park op saying to close down, or maintenance came up. We unloaded many a soaked train at the load position, half-way out the station, and at the base of the lift. We wanted to keep people riding! On a related note, I still remember all my spiels...

I also heard Gemini is down today?

That sounds awesome. Blue Streak is a trooper, I believe it was the ONLY coaster running on Ohio State Day this year when it was sleeting at one point, raining the rest of the time and ridiculously (and I mean ridiculously) windy.

Also yeah, it does seem like Gemini is down right now though that ride often seems to have late openings on days with light staffing (which I imagine today is).

Cedar Point has sent us a press release about the start of this year's Brew and BBQ event in the park!

Mouth-watering barbeque from five unique sections of the country, paired with craft brews from local and national breweries will tempt taste buds during Cedar Point’s annual Brew and BBQ event, kicking off Friday, May 19.

 

Located in FrontierTown, guests can choose tasty items from “Taste of Carolina,” with pulled pork or chicken sliders served with a trio of Carolina sauces; “Texas BBQ,” featuring smoked sliced brisket on Texas Toast or BBQ caritas nachos with creamy cheddar and pickled jalapenos; “Kansas City BBQ,” including smokehouse ribs with bold BBQ sauce or a tasty dry rub; and much more. New for 2017, delectable desserts like banana cream pie and pecan tartlets will also be served.

 

Delicious barbeque is only the beginning. With over 100 craft, micro and specialty brews, there’s something for every brew lover’s taste. More than 40 breweries will be represented, including Rhinegeist, New Belgium, Fat Heads, Leinenkugel’s, Great Lakes, Goose Island and Cedar Point’s own custom brews from The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, Ohio.

 

Cedar Point’s special brews include: Shandy Shores, a bright and sunny shandy with real blood orange and a hint of mango that celebrates the new Cedar Point Shores Waterpark; Valravn, an IPA featuring a battle of malt and hops with every sip; Rougabrew, a light and refreshing Munich-style lager; Iron Horse Porter, a full-bodied porter, dark and rich with hints of coffee and chocolate; Slaughter House Red, a malty amber ale with hints of caramel and toffee to celebrate the park’s HalloWeekends event; and Frontier Trail Ale, featuring American hops for a light citrus flavor and firm bitterness.

 

Guests will also have a chance to enjoy cooking demonstrations by Chef Damaris Phillips from Food Network on Saturday, May 20 from 4 – 6:30 p.m. Impressing judges with her fresh take on Southern cuisine and winning over the audience with her impeccable charm, Southern spitfire Damaris Phillips outlasted 11 rival competitors to win season nine of “Food Network Star.” Guests can see three cooking demonstrations with the opportunity for Q&A and receive photos and autographs throughout her appearance. Wrapping up her visit, five guests who submitted their special barbeque sauce recipes will cook up their mixes live on stage and will be sampled shortly after by a panel of judges, including Chef Damaris Phillips.

 

Music will fill the festive atmosphere as local, live entertainment and Cedar Point’s own Bluegrass Jamboree play for guests throughout the event at the new Gossip Gulch stage. The Bluegrass Jamboree combines the traditional melodies of Bluegrass with a fun and modern twist.

 

Brew and BBQ runs weekends May 19 through June 11 (also including Monday, May 29) from 2 p.m. until park close. Guests can save when they purchase their event tickets in advance online. Event tickets include 15 samples that can be used for tastes of beer and/or barbeque.

 

Park admission is not included and is required to gain access to Brew and BBQ. Guests can purchase a special admission and event combo ticket online or at the park on the day of their visit.

 

To purchase tickets and find out more about Brew and BBQ, guests can visit cedarpoint.com/bbq.

Wind direction was consistent, it's almost always blowing in the same direction at Cedar Point (though that's not the case today).

 

I highly doubt it's that complex. It seems like if the wind hits a certain speed then they shut the rides down regardless of future forecasts or wind direction. Magnum and Gatekeeper both went down for wind yesterday even though Magnum would have a much bigger issue with wind blowing off the lake and Raptor and Gatekeeper would have a much bigger issue with wind blowing off the bay.

 

My point is I'm all for being cautious when starting a ride but when the ride has been running for hours, they're filling trains, it's hot out and the rides are blowing through the course then it seems a little crazy that they would shut them down for a slight increase in wind speed. Plenty of other parks would never even consider that. I guarantee you that a park like Great Adventure wouldn't take a coaster down for wind once they've started it and it's been running successfully for hours (barring any absurd gusts of course but the winds yesterday were pretty sustained).

 

I seriously wish they'd ease up a little on rides like Raptor and Gatekeeper. I know Dragster is a separate issue but those two seemed to be flying through the course when they closed them.

 

I don't mind those rides being closed all day yesterday since they would have had to start them in those conditions and a valley would have been a legitimate concern, but closing them on Wednesday when they were running great all morning seemed a little overly cautious from the outside looking in.

It actually can get that complex, with wind direction being one of the biggest factors. It's been a few years since I heard the details so it might have changed but for Raptor it is a mix of temps and wind speed. And even then there was threshold - I forget the exact amount- but if wind was greater than say 20mph, so many rows needed to be filled, over 25mph you needed more weight. Temp is layered in on top of that and if it is colder than the weight goes up. The mix in wind direction. If it is coming from one direction it can be really high and it doesn't matter, whereas from another it matters greatly.

It is hard to compare to a park like Great Adventure when CP is on a lake where winds can and do change quickly. They need to be more conservative with the cutoffs. There is times wind speeds or direction will quickly change before the park ops can radio it out, rides close down, or whatnot.

Valleying a coaster is costly and could cause some negative PR for the park. I don't fault them at all for being conservative. I think trying to figure out if a coaster can run or not based on an app or webcams is different than the park's inhouse weather system they use to make the calls. If you think that is conservative don't ever try to go to Japan... Steel Dragon was closed when I was there due to 5mph winds (though they told us, it can get complicated... it is 5mph from one direction, 10mph from the other, etc.). Then you have Fuji Q where if the weather forecast says it might have wind in a few hours they close down.

^Even with weather shut downs, CP still beats any SF park in terms of operations in a day. I'm not a CP fanboy either;)

I think trying to figure out if a coaster can run or not based on an app or webcams is different than the park's inhouse weather system they use to make the calls..

I get what you're saying and would never suggest making decisions on whether or not they should run a ride by looking at the weather on webcams or apps. My point is that when a ride is already running and has been running all day and you can see train after train hauling a** through the slow points on the course it seems a bit crazy to shut the ride down without a DRAMATIC change in weather.

As far as starting the coasters, I have no doubt that that's a complex decision making process that people who are much smarter than I am get paid a lot of money to figure out, but while the park admittedly has crazier weather than most it's still very rare for parks to routinely shut down coasters for wind when they've been running all day in conditions that were pretty similar. I'm not saying it doesn't happen elsewhere, but they do seem to be way more conservative than most parks.

P. 3874: Brew and BBQ event now underway!

Rhinegeist - the pride of Cincinnati.

http://www.rhinegeist.com/

If you like IPA's, I think their version "Truth" is the best IPA out there. Try it if they have it.

John Wardley's autobiography states that he was told that by B&M that their "coaster never stall". By this logic, there should not be a massive wind issue with their B&M rides. I don't know to what extent it is windy though! It just seems strange that the rides DO stall, despite B&M's confidence that they do not.

John Wardley's autobiography states that he was told that by B&M that their "coaster never stall". By this logic, there should not be a massive wind issue with their B&M rides. I don't know to what extent it is windy though! It just seems strange that the rides DO stall, despite B&M's confidence that they do not.

They do not when following manufacturers SOPs which will have restrictions on wind speed, direction, temperature, and other factors. Being on a very large lake, conditions can change rapidly and calm winds can suddenly stop the giant sails otherwise known as Gatekeeper and Raptor from operating properly. That's not to say that CP doesn't follow B&M's guidelines, just that conditions can (and do) change very quickly and what would have been appropriate conditions aren't while a train is midcourse.

Every coaster can stall. I'm very skeptical of the fact that anyone with B&M ever said that.

Every coaster can stall. I'm very skeptical of the fact that anyone with B&M ever said that.

Except Super Loops.

Every coaster can stall. I'm very skeptical of the fact that anyone with B&M ever said that.

Except Super Loops.

Pretty sure Super Loops stall at least twice a cycle. Once while upside down, and once at the bottom... You know, when they are loading and unloading.

Sounds like the beer & BBQ is offering pretty much the same food selection as last year, but with desserts. While I absolutely love the HUGE beer selection that they have at this event. (really excited to try out a couple of the CP brews), part of me wishes that there were just a few more food selections to choose from.

Not that that is a complaint, because I really enjoyed this event last year! Sure hope that I can go to the event this year, but it isn't looking like a go at this point.