Millennium Force Seatbelts

Why does CP keep changing these stupid belts?

I have been the same weight for the last four, if not five years. For the first few years I can ride with 2" or more of slack, the next I am 2" short, then the next year I have 2" slack again, and now it looks this year might be another "two inches short year". So it looks like next year I can ride it again :)

My waist area has not changed, AT ALL. It is very frustrating to have to worry what year I can and cannot ride MF. Is it that hard to just keep it the same length? Seriously now.

This weekend I will go attempt the ride for morning ERT... If I have an issue, I will go right up to guest services and put in some type of complaint. Whether they care or not, they should hear it anyway.

I'm also a 40 inch waist. Haven't changed since last year. In the fall I had a solid 2-3 inches of slack. When I rode on Sunday, I was at the very end of the belt and needed a little effort to get it to click.

The worst part about the positioning of the female end of the fastener is that when you twist in order reach across your body with the other end of the belt, it causes you to lift your butt a little, which makes it even harder to get the belt around yourself.

I highly suggest anybody who has issues now (that has not in the past) let the park know somehow, such as the online comment section found on their website.

Any bit helps to let them know their changes suck :)

SteveWoA said:
I highly suggest anybody who has issues now (that has not in the past) let the park know somehow, such as the online comment section found on their website.

Any bit helps to let them know their changes suck :)

That was going to be my suggestion as well. Even if it's just a kindly worded letter.

I didn't even attempt to ride either Millennium Force or Dragster yesterday. But I got my first-time-ever rejection from Wicked Twister, in fact the first time I've ever had any trouble on that ride at all since they modified the shoulder bar height. I can also report that the Short Seat Belt Demon has also visited Magnum, where belt slack is in short supply. Traditionally, at the end of the ride I usually unfasten the seat belt, stretch it out to its full length and drape it over the back of the seat, for the convenience of the next rider. Yesterday, the belt would not even reach to the top of the seat back.

On the other hand, the situation seems to have improved over at Gemini, where last year you may recall that some of the belts were so short that they could barely fasten even when there was nobody sitting in the seat. It also seems that on * Streak, the inboard belt ends (with the buckles) might be slightly longer this year, making them easier to fasten. Now that those rides have the "Ed Dangler belts"* on them, I wonder if they will consider going all the way with that configuration and tying the inboard ends together at the top of the seat divider the way they are at Kings Island...just about the only thing that is right about Kings Island's PTC trains.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

* Ed Dangler handled maintenance at Kings Island, and moved to Cedar Point after the merger. The same season that he arrived at Cedar Point, the * Streak trains got retractable seat belts in the same configuration as the trains at Kings Island. Ed's doing? I have no idea. But in the absence of any evidence whatsoever, I'll loan him the credit. :)

--DCAjr

I always thought the Magnum belts were too long...it was like a car seat!?

Your earlier rides in the day, where they in the middle of each train versus the extreme front or back?

Earlier in the day I rode the middle of blue train and the back of yellow. It seems red towards the back is the problem seat. Either way, they should all be te same.

I've always wondered what the "pass" requirement was on Wicked Twister. Do the seats still have 2 different places where the belt can be fastened?

Pagoda Gift Shop said:

I've always wondered what the "pass" requirement was on Wicked Twister. Do the seats still have 2 different places where the belt can be fastened?

I haven't been up there yet this year, but last year they still had the two places. Last year it seemed lke the belts were shorter though...

RideMan said:
* Streak trains got retractable seat belts in the same configuration as the trains at Kings Island. Ed's doing? I have no idea. But in the absence of any evidence whatsoever, I'll loan him the credit. :)

--DCAjr

I wouldn't use the word "credit". "Blame" perhaps. I really do not like the retractable belts. I've never had a walk of shame on a coaster. But, I have to do what I refer to as the "PTC plop." I have to pick up the belt and buckle, then sit down. With the retractable belts, if I pull it out too much, I have a very difficult time getting the belt to retract to a point where it's restraining me properly.

In theory I like the idea of extending the buckle strap. But, go to far and it will be pinched between me and the lap bar. I hate belts like that. I inevitably end up pinching skin in some form or another.

I dunno, I think in practice, those belts do wonders for load times. I'm a fan.

What I dont understand is that as well as they work on PTCs there is some problems due to their location, there is no such problems with putting them on Arrows. I don't understand why Gemini and Magnum have not received these treatments.

Jason: Especially those big heavy Beam's lift-latch buckles. People keep suggesting that moving the buckle to the middle of the lap would be such an improvement on Millennium Force without considering the impact of having a lift-latch buckle (because you couldn't use a side-squeeze or push button buckle in such a configuration) between the body and the lap bar. Ouch!

Touchdown: To install retracting belts on Gemini and Magnum would be a little problematic because it would require cutting the Glas, which is a structural component of the car. Or it would require mounting the retractor at the belt anchor (which is the car frame) which is an inaccessible location should it be necessary to release the retractor. At Kings Island they bolted the retractors directly to the outer skin of the train. But while that is OK for Adventure Express, if they did that on Magnum the bolt heads would rip right through the Glas by the end of the first week.

The easiest way to retrofit retractors to those rides would be to do it the way Eli Bridge does it on the Wheels now: use a belt with an old-fashioned style retractor where the retractor is attached to the buckle tongue instead of to the mounting anchor. The problem with that is that the retractor would interfere with the lap bar.

The REAL answer is to come up with some other reliable means of forensically proving intent, and do away with the seat belts altogether. Seat belts and amusement rides are generally a poor combination.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave, you're not alone. After riding Wicked Twister successfully for 8 years, I got my first rejection last year. Something very strange and evil has occurred on that coaster's restraints - and continues to get worse.

As for MF and Dragster, this entire thread makes me ill, as I've ridden each of those hundreds of times, and my gut tells me I'll never ride them again. What a crock.

Not trying to be a jerk or overreact here, but maybe I've made my last trip to the Point.....how sad.

I was nearly rejected on Wicked Twister last year. Since then I've lost about 20 pounds (and continue to lose). So, I do not forsee any issues this year.

If we can't ride, "We have to eat.";) At CoasterMania, since we can't fit on rides, can have Exlusive Restaurant Time? I already canceled my trip. Since I already had time off from work, we're going to Hershey.

LOL@MrNinja at least you have new food options for exclusive restaurant time this year!

Seriously, if this many coaster/park enthusiasts are already complaining after 2 days.....just imagine all the frustration regular park guests must be feeling and sharing with family/friends..who then tell more people...who then tell more people..and so on and so on.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer did a quick article Sunday discussing attendance at CP and KI. Is it any wonder CP has fallen under the 3 million attendance mark for the first time in 30 years and is now ranked third in attendance of seasonal Cedar Fair parks? (Hello, power of 3!) If you were the CEO of an amusement park company who's "flagship park" is in the middle of a region where population is falling drastically and has huge unemployment issues, wouldn't you be doing everything in your power to make sure the guest experience was as flawless as can be by fixing silly things like a ride manufacturer who can't design restraints that fit the new "average" size of Americans? Come on already, this is COMMON SENSE stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm happy to read that someone is speaking with their wallet. I hope more people do the same.

The problem is that a lot of people are speaking with their wallets at Cedar Point, but the park does not seem to be listening...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Yeah, it's obvious that they're speaking if they're not paying to get in and attendance falls. And yet Kinzel is thinking about staying on after 2012? Hopefully the Mayans were right and we won't have to worry about it.