Cedar Point: July 25th, 2013.

Well. That was not the case with M-force on Thursday for my night ride. The queue sign at the entrance read 1 hour. I got in line at 9:00, and was not on the ride until 10:25. So, it was 25 minutes longer than they said it would be.

Also, the wait for Magnum on Sunday was posted at 1/4 hour, and the wait was around 40 minutes. Though there was a large group of Fast lane folks who entered the line as a group, and set people back about 30 people. The only ride that had a shorter line than posted, was Gate Keeper on second ride on Thursday, with a queue sign of 1 hour, ended up being just over 45 minutes.

Iron Dragon was also a longer wait then the queue stated. 40 minutes, vs a half hour on the sign. So, they are probably not accurate, with pros and cons. Though, you are right Touchdown, I have been in some lines where the wait was a lot shorter than expected.

I think I waited 50 minutes once for Top Thrill Dragster, when the wait was posted at 1 and half hours. So it does work to your advantage sometimes. But, when it takes longer than expected, It kind of throws off your game plan. And, when you are at a park that is as packed as Cedar Point, Time is a really big factor in enjoying your day.

So, I need to ask, who thinks that Gatekeeper has been successful this year in bringing many more people to the park? I know most any new coasters will do that, but Gatekeeper seems to be wildly popular, and a must-ride, because it has changed the park more than just adding a coaster. The entrance is new and the beach view has opened up, and I think that all of this possibly attracted a lot more people than just a new coaster would.

Gatekeeper has been marketed very well this year. I think it has been a very good year for Cedar Point so far. I still need to get there this year. Maybe I will wait until early next year though.

When we were there during the 4th of July weekend, Iron Dragon's 3rd train sat under the station the entire time. Has it ran with 3 train operation this year?

Also, I wonder how many people bought those Christmas in July tickets that were valid July 25th - August 11th. I can't wait to see how that affects the crowd level.

Funny you should mention that JW. When I went on Iron Dragon, I did notice a train sitting under the station. Could be why the wait was so long. But, I could not tell if it was running 3 trains or not. But my guess is, with gaps between trains, they were only running 2 trains. With a wait of 40 to 50 minutes, when there is usually hardly a wait for it at all.

Another one that kind of freaked me out, is the smashed up Mantis Train sitting off in the woods. Just on the other side of the incline loop. It is just sitting there in the woods away from the ride, and looks pretty messed up. Some cars are laying down, and others are standing up. Also looked like a pretty mangled shoulder restraint on one of the cars too.

If you look to your left, just before you get to the queue stairs on Mantis you can see it. I wonder what happened there. As for ride times. I also talked to a few guests who had ride time slips. I guess where you have to be at a certain ride at a certain time in order to ride? One guy was complaining, because he had missed his ride time, while waiting in line for Top Thrill Dragster. (Due to the constant break downs) I wonder if he could still use his ride time slip.

Anyways, it seems like they were messing with capacity big time on Sunday as. Gemini had a 2 hour line, and when I arrived, they were only running one side, and not racing the trains. When I went back to Soak City to get in my car to leave. It was not running at all. Though the go karts at Soak city were being used, as was that extreme swing thing at Challenge park. I guess when you pay to ride, they don't close that.

They could never get Mantis to run with three trains without horrible stacking, so one train is always off the track every year getting rest in maintenance. Same thing is true with a mine train train and two Gemini trains (due to their now required castle gates.)

They've been stripping that third train for parts for a while now. I'm surprised they keep it where guests can see it, but nothing about what you saw is really unusual or surprising.