Cedar Point Operations

Good afternoon.

We are planning our first trip to Cedar Point since 2017, given family schedules and of course, the pandemic in the middle. What should we expect versus previous visits? Last year at Kings Island things seemed pretty "normal", actually slightly less than normal business but fine from an operations standpoint. However, I seem to recall hearing Cedar Point was still in more of a "recovery mode". Anyone have any incite from this year?

I don't think it's recovery mode from the pandemic. I think it's just slow ride crews and really bad policies that close attractions unnecessarily for even the most minor rain or wind events.

My trip in May of last year was kind of a disaster. It was the best trip I had ever experienced there in terms of food and beverage, fortunately, but rides... yikes. I'll let you reference the trip report.

It was “fine” 2 weekends ago. If it weren’t for Fast Lane, the queues would move fast enough. Steel Vengeance still can’t open consistently and Maverick is always breaking down though.

It's not the same Cedar Point of a decade or so ago, when they somehow got riders to hustle, and the restraint-checkers hustled too. Fast Lane doesn't help the lines move any faster either. I noticed a one-to-one ratio on MF. The line for that ride, and a few others like Maverick and SV, move noticeably slow. It's like wading in a pool of molasses.

Here's my own TR from last year. My experience wasn't nearly as bad as Jeff's, but certainly a mixed bag on the operations side: https://coasterbuzz.com/For...nt-622-626

As LostKause said, it's not the same Cedar Point of a decade ago. The difference in their ability to move the lines staggering. And frankly, it has impacted my decision to return this summer. Don't get me wrong, I'll be back, but I'm in much less of a hurry.

One noticeable exception though? Magnum. Why on earth they had it figured out and were pumping out trains with lightning speed and others can't is a head scratcher. I also can't figure out why King's Island, just a few hours away, owned by the same company, blows CP's operations away.

Danimales:

Why on earth they had it figured out and were pumping out trains with lightning speed

I could be wrong but I think that if they don't dispatch fast enough it can emergency stop when they have 3 trains running and someone has to run out to the lift to press a button.

Also of note, Millennium Force is not running at full capacity regardless of how fast the train is loaded. The crew can be thumbs up but they still have to wait for the lift to engage.

Danimales:

I also can't figure out why King's Island, just a few hours away, owned by the same company, blows CP's operations away.

This. I just got back from Kings Island and the difference between CP and KI’s ride operations is truly amazing. Yes, there is still some stacking on the B&M’s (and even Adventure Express), but it’s not long before the train in the station is moving out again. Beast was really doing well today as a train would clear the second drop and the next one was rolling out. Eiffel Tower was down, and Delirium went down for a bit, but everything else was open on time and the lines moved smoothly even with FastLane (which I think is implemented far better than it is at CP). I know this is sacrilege, but I have honestly been enjoying my visits to Kings Island way more than Cedar Point lately. Just wish it wasn’t a 4 hour drive!

(Oh, and here’s an opinion for the Hot Takes department- Orion > Millennium Force. 😀)

eightdotthree:

I could be wrong but I think that if they don't dispatch fast enough it can emergency stop when they have 3 trains running and someone has to run out to the lift to press a button.

Yep. Three train Magnum will set up if the third train has to hard stop after the last tunnel. The reset process isn't nearly the process it was prior to the most recent update to the controls, but it's still a process to "release safeties" and have the op at controls visually watch the train clear the block after the tunnel.

I guess the word "inconsistent" is the word of the day. We just got back from a 5-day trip, and Steel Vengeance crews were very good each and every day, as were the Magnum and Valravn crews. SV crews really stood out as kicking ass.

We saw a lot of "training" going on a lot rides which was confusing to a lot of guests and somewhat disrupted ops on a few rides, but honestly I thought ride ops were overall pretty damn good on our trip. The only hiccup was on Pipe Scream of all rides. The lead ride op while we were in line felt the need to have a 3-4 minute conversation between dispatches with her fellow ops (none of which seemed to care one bit about hustling)...turning what should have been a 15-20 minute wait into a 45 minute wait.

RayP1970:

Orion > Millennium Force

Crapping on 23 year old Millennium Force is the coldest take. “Orion is the best B&M giga”… THAT would be a hot take. 😀

So the outdated poor Arrow design actually leads to better operations 😁

I'd love to see all ride operators ever trained by the Olympia Looping crew.

28-seat train dispatches every 30 seconds or so is a sight to behold.

A mid level manager for IROC gets an unexplainable eye twitch any time anyone watches that video

My mind was blown watching rides turn over at a German carnival so I can’t even imagine how a safety person would react.

You don't have to be a traveling, German roller coaster to have fast operations. Disney has proven that coasters can have quick dispatch times when you stop forcing so many unnecessary polices at the platform, all while still having a top notch safety record.

I will forever point to "the Goofy coaster" as Simon used to call it. A Vekoma roller skater with two trains, often non-stacking with tourists and children no less. I've never seen anything like that.

Elliott also called it Goofy Coaster, and yeah, the throughput on that was really something to watch.

99er:

Disney has proven that coasters can have quick dispatch times when you stop forcing so many unnecessary polices at the platform, all while still having a top notch safety record.

But what if I don't want to ride behind a family holding up 4 ipads?

Wait… It’s not Goofy Coaster?