CP #16 Criticism Unwarranted
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Love,
The Mole
Well, I wouldn't exactly consider Magnum and MF to be "prototypes" because of their heights- that is like saying SFMM's Goliath is a prototype for being the first coaster to reach 255 feet, or that SFGAm's Shockwave was the prototype seven-inversion looper. Neither of those coasters were technological break-throughs... they were more like expansions on existing technology. Magnum is more or less a really, really big mine train and Shockwave is/was a loopier PKI Vortex, which was a loopier SFDL Viper, which was a loopier Orient Express... you get the idea.
Face it... Cedar Point has never been an innovator or a risk-taker. They play it safe. They installed a mega woodie after SFOT did. They installed a B&M inverted after SF did Batman. They went for a B&M stand-up only after many other parks did. And while MF did utilize a new lift system, it was more out of necessity rather than the desire to be different. Rather, CP's forte was been taking an existing, proven concept and taking it to the next level.
The downside? The coasters you ride at Cedar Point can be found elsewhere, albeit in a dilluted form. The upside? All of CP's coasters are pretty much guaranteed crowd-pleasers that almost always work flawlessly.
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-Rob
DWeaver said:
Craig the Coaster Freak said:
Trying not to flame here but....
It is true that CP at the worst has a roller coaster down for a week to get a part while some SF parks have had roller coasters down for months at a time:
X, Deja Vu (SFGAM arghhh!)
Who care about records....we are getting world class rides!!!
My only suggestion to you would be to find some wood to *knock* on...
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Superman:The Escape(1997-2002) May he one day fly again.
I can't wait for people to attack me here.....
MF and WT were open and operating on opening day, in fact I rode WT on opening day. When I went to SFGAm this year, Deja Vu/Shockwave (way to close down a ride in the middle of the year without notifying anyone) were down all day. All 15 coasters at CP were up each day I went this year. S:UE was down all day when I went to SFWoA this year.
I trust in Cedar Point. They are a well run park that gets the job done.
*Note: Yes, I had a good time at SF parks this year; I simply have faith that CP will have rides functional and that SF is a little more fickle when it comes to downtime.
I would agree with some on here who say Cedar Point doesn't build prototype rides. You know what? I am glad. They did the inverted and standup (arguably) better than anyone else. Maggie is in fact a gigantic Mine Ride. Mean Streak was an attempt at a better woodie.
Keep the prototypes (and problems) at the other parks as far as I am concerned.
A few thoughts/opinions have come to mind while reading this thread:
I thought the Moonsault Scramble coaster broke 200 feet like 6 years before Magnum?
Didn't a portion of a Cedar Point attraction literally collapse?!?! Didn't Wicked twister operate at a ridiculously slow speed for a good portion of the season due to structural problems? Therefore you cannot attribute uptime/downtime to a theme park company rather than a maufacturer. Ironically, S&S isn't known for downtime, which makes the CP collapse even more odd.
When I went to CP in May, they had Raptor, WT, MF, and Mantis closed until at least 2pm. Mantis never opened that day. MF opened with 1 train. It was very cold & rainy that day, but I (and many other Midwestern buzzers) know SFGAm had all of their coasters operating on their last weekend in November, with similar, if not colder weather.
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It's Giant, it's Inverted, it's a Boomerang, Beeyatch!
Boomerang Beyatch -
It was one of VertiGo's tower arms that snapped 1/3 of the way up.
And yes, Wicked Twister had structural problems that required the ride to be "toned down" so to speak. It was still running that way when I was at the park late in the season close to before the park's seasons end.
kRaXLeRidAh said:
It is because of Six Flags and other risk-taking (innovators) that other parks can jump on the "what's hot?" bandwagon.
...or maybe the reason why parks like CP and others don't purchase prototypes is because of the HUGE downtime that may/will occur. Which in the process, causes lots of customer complaints. Ever think from that perspective??
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Come on Get up...Before you make, me change my mind!
Comparing the engineering problems of Cedar Point's WT and Vertigo to the general maintenance problems at some of the Six Flags parks is insane. They don't correlate.
SFWoA, in a bit of cost saving cheapness, put a chain not appropriate for water onto their chutes ride. Of course, it snapped during the season. You won't see Cedar Point choosing the "cheap alternative" for its maintenance issues.
When a ride is down at Cedar Point, the park doesn't look at that as an opportunity to save on staffing costs by keeping it down for a while. That happens down the road on a regular basis.
The fact that Cedar Point chooses to place safety over convenience for their guests by keeping rides closed during inclimate weather is hardly a reason for criticism.
Back in the 80's and 90's you could make a case that Cedar Point cared more about the rides than foods, games, accommodations, etc but now they realize that it is the entire package, not just the coasters, that keeps people coming back.
96% up-time, including stops for mechanical, weather and puke. That says it all.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED!
Boomerang Beeyatch said:
I thought the Moonsault Scramble coaster broke 200 feet like 6 years before Magnum?
Sure, if you sat in the back row and leaned your head back, I guess.
When I went to CP in May...It was very cold & rainy that day, but I (and many other Midwestern buzzers) know SFGAm had all of their coasters operating on their last weekend in November, with similar, if not colder weather.
Cold, but not with the wind gusts CP gets. And don't tell me about the puny Chicago 'hawk'--that's a Canadian current that blows over Minnesota and Wisconsin first. If Chicago wind is a Hawk, it's a freakin' Pterodactyl over here.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
CP closes Raptor, Magnum and MF due to windy conditions, other coasters close in rain. They do not close them due to cold.
We all admit that WT had some problems early in the season, but I never considered the launch to be "ridiculously slow". The trains just didn't climb to the ends of the twists like they did the first week WT was opened. As for Vertigo, a collapsed tower during the winter off season did not affect anyone, except S&S after CP decided to remove the ride altogether.
They still have a great uptime record regardless, and with so many other coasters, rides and attractions available, it's not generally a problem if a ride has to close due to weather. There is always something else to do, unless you happen to be one of those people who only consider coasters to be worth riding.
When I took my trip to SFGAm in August, Deja Vu was only running from noon until 5 pm with a 2-3 hour wait. I was told that was a regular occurance. (It actually valleyed the following week). But that hasn't affected my opinion of the park at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to CBuzzcon there.
Personally, I find criticism of many parks and rides to be unwarranted. Too many people with too narrow a view on things. Or maybe it's because I remember when parks had mostly flat rides, there WERE no steel coasters, and the largest woodies had hills that were under 100 ft.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
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Superman:The Escape(1997-2002) May he one day fly again.
Screw all that...I say it's about time someone built a good racing looper. Let's push the envelope a little.
They already have, it is called Dueling Dragons.
heraldvanyel: not to be picky, but The Dragons are considered a dueling coaster, not a racing coaster. Racing means that the 2 trains run mostly parallel for the length of the course.
As for CP 16, expect some downtime. That's life. No park runs 100% of their rides 100% of the time.
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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!
Playa, We had one.
Windjammer ;)
And heraldvanyel, DD is a not a racing coaster.
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Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!
Yes Virginia, I am Santa Claus!
I AM WITTY!
On my one day at CP earlier this year, WT was down all day. That wasn't quite so bad (although I was a bit dissappointed), but they had a sign out front that said "Wicked Twister will be up later today." I don't really blame them for it being down; that's understandable. I do however have a bad taste in my mouth for expecting it to be up and never getting to ride.
On an unrelated note, was Raptor the first custom B&M invert?
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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
You must be this dumb to ride Viper. -SFGAdv.
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