Kings Island to bring back Flyers and add second kiddie ride

In the final weeks of the season, Cedar Point's Flying Scooter got some important upgrades: the ride runs faster, and it stops quicker. Sadly, they did not fix the godawful seat belt buckles. On closing day, I got a pretty good ride, got a satisfying snap out of the tub, and the operator didn't seem to object. An hour later, different operator at the controls, the ropes barely went slack and he frobbed the E-stop, resulting in a couple of mild bounces.

If Kings Island's ride runs like my first Cedar Point closing day ride, it will be okay. If it's more like the other rides I have had on the Lake Erie Eagles, then I might as well not waste my time.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Those *horrible, awful, asinine, time-wasting* seatbelts seem to be the norm on the new Larsons. With one op, they cut capacity a full 50%.

All these enthusiasts wining about "capacity" all the time makes me so angry that I could through my iMac out the window. ;)

I am kidding.

So these seat belts you guys are speaking of, are they the kind in which the ride operator has to unlock with a key?

Yes. In spite of ASTM F2291-14:6.3.8.3 which clearly states in regard to restraint design, "Special tools shall not be required to operate the manual release, unless otherwise determined by the ride analysis." The weasel words technically allow it, but that still does not make it a good idea. Kudos to the Columbus Zoo for taking the covers off of theirs.

LostKause, I don't know about your iMac, but the Apple ][e Owners Manual actually has a line in the care and maintenance section where it says, "Of course you should protect it from physical violence, such as hammer blows or defenestration." Back then (circa 1983), I actually had to look up "defenestration".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I understand having those covers on kid rides where little ones may try to unbuckle the seatbelt. Makes sense. But I agree, they are a capacity killer. Interesting that code prohibits them, but yet the rides still have them. Doesn't this code contradict the code about following all manufacturer's reccomendations? One code says you can't use special tools to manually release restraints, but the other says you have to run the ride the way the manufacturer intended?

On another note, are these codes county, state, or federal mandated?

They are a giant PITA. I usually stick my sunglasses in the hole and unlock myself. In the interest of capacity and dispatch times, of course. :)

I'm patenting my automatic unlocking amusement ride seat belt right now. With the push of a button, the ride operator can unlock all seat belts on the ride at the same time, without having to walk around the ride and stick his key so close to everyones private areas. I'll be RICH! RICH, I tell you!

Just use a handcuff key. That is how I unlock my kids from the kiddie rides so I don't have to wait for the operator to get around to them.

That's something we all have lying around the house.

My key for my camper works too. But I don't use it for getting us out of the rides, I use it for getting them IN the rides.

~Rob

I wait for the attendant. Call me crazy.

If they change the seat belts, they'll have to raise the height requirement (according to the Cedar Fair book of common practices). 44" is much too low for common sense unbuckling. You must be 48" to really know how the seat belt works and not be an idiot.

If that's really the case, it's another one of those completely arbitrary and strange policies they have.

I'm pretty sure that Pagoda was kidding. Wakka-wakka-wakka!

But let's think about it for a second.
Flying Scooters are suspended in the air and never really come to rest. The cars can and do continue to move after the ride has come to a stop, especially if the rider has had a high swinging ride. I know personally, my plane has on many occasions been swinging so that I've had to drag my leg out of the car to get it to stop. If the attendant is responsible for visiting each tub (which I'll give you is indeed is a capacity killer and frankly, quite boring) they have a chance to steady the tub and even assist riders in disembarking if needed. Side note: an op on Kings Island's Eagles once told me they burned through many pairs of shoes a season, just from stopping tubs.

Since CP (and every other park for that matter) have a strict "remain seated until the ride has come to a full and complete stop" policy, unlockable seatbelts keep those riders in their seats until the op lets em go. As for the height restriction, 48 inches may be at the point where it's deemed the riders legs are long enough to leave a swaying vehicle without potentially falling to the pavement. At 44 it may be that those little legs can't reach the ground without assistance, or at the very least, a more stationary vehicle.

So the park is faced with a choice. Do they allow a shorter person to ride and unlock the belts manually, keeping those "we need more family attractions" people quiet and happy or do they raise the height requirement to keep the "we demand higher capacity attractions" people quiet and happy?

Hmmmm. If these forums are any indication, I'd say Sophie had an easier choice.

So am I reading this right? Some of you think your time at parks is so valuable that you will use a tool brought from home or something on your person to jimmy the lock on a restraint instead of waiting the 1 to 2 minutes it takes for the operator to do so properly? Wow. EnthusiASSt behavior at its finest.

I sit quietly and wait. While thoughts race through my head that sound like "Hurry up! C'mon, man! Gemini has no line! HUUUUUURRRY!"

Some people might suffer from anxiety or claustrophobia being trapped without a way to get out. I'm not speaking entirely from experience, other than I could definitely see someone feeling like that.

Somehow I doubt that's the case here, but, sure, that could be true. Even if it is and you can't wait the 1-2 minutes it takes for the operator to let out, then Gonch's "sometimes everyone can't do everything" rule comes into play.