Millennium Force Seatbelts

RideMan said:
Chris: Have you seen how the belts are implemented on the Kings Island coasters?

I have, and I believe that is the best way to go with the retractable belts. I have no issues at all with them. I wish they would implement that on CP's wood coasters.

Brian Noble said:

Likewise, if you put a pushbutton buckle in there, you have the same problem...the lap bar would rest against the release button.

Not if the button is recessed, though, no?

The lap bar would push against whatever you're wearing (along with whatever is in your hooded sweatshirt/windbreaker front pocket), which could possibly find its way into that recessed cavity. Not incredibly likely, but very possible.

Intamin is just going to keep shortening the belts until Cedar Point buys new trains from them. :)

mlnem4s said:
@RatherGoodBear: I am giving Cedar Fair some credit by saying it is a two-way street when it comes to Americans and our eating habits which have some responsibility for the problems. There is no ride manufacturer who is capable of designing a restrain system that accomodates everyone from a 48", 130lb child to an adult who is 6', 300lbs+, that just isn't reality. Yes, Intamin restraints are unusually wacky and it needs to be addressed but also American's simply need to take personal responsibility and understand that being 300lbs+ is not healthy.

But the issue is not having to design something that fits every member of the human race. The problem is consistency with whatever the standard is supposed to be. The problem is that the standard in place in July of 2009 is not what's in place in May of 2010, which apparently was different than 2008, 2006, 2003, 2000, etc. The issue is that people who who try the test seats can close the restraint, only to find out on the actual ride, they can't.

Unless there was an urgent safety issue that had to be addressed, or someone from CF can say that by shortening the belts, they save hundreds of thousands on insurance payments, there really is no rhyme nor reason why the length of the belts is changing every year.

I agree that people. including myself, should take more responsibility for their own weight. Problem is that a lot of people will start by not going to Cedar Point and eating any of their non-healthy fare. More lost revenue.

RatherGoodBear said:

The problem is consistency with whatever the standard is supposed to be.

The *standard* seems to be adjusting on the fly - understandable *IF* there were some incident that spurred a change (like the Mordarsky SFNE incident did way back whenever that happened). But it is a little perplexing why these enhanced restrictions are occurring with no precipitating incident.

The issue is that people who who try the test seats can close the restraint, only to find out on the actual ride, they can't.

If there were ANY variation between test seats and actual ride vehicle seats, the difference should err on the side of riders (i.e., if you fit in the "slightly-tighter" test seats, you should fit in even the tightest seats on the ride). Or at least that's how I would do it...but I'm no Sandor! ;)

I think cp should have certain seat-belts that are a little longer to accommodate larger riders, like the 3 cars in the middle of the train.

If they were made shorter, and done so with a purpose in mind, having a few rows with longer belts would certainly defeat that purpose.

As I recall, it was brought up at (last years?) CoasterMania Q&A that the old MF & Dragster belts were shrinking due to exposure to the elements. Some worse than others. Which is why people could fit in one seat but not another. They said Intamin came up with a solution and that the belts were replaced or in the process of being replaced (i forget).

Well then they should buy new I305 coaster trains!

Kinda sucks when designs have deadlines and deterrents.

Today when riding MF I noticed no difference from last season, other then the fact the belts are new and may "stretch out" over the next few weeks to give a few more millimeters or so :P

They were not as bad as I was expecting... And last year, I usually only got 1" of slack or so. I could of done the same this year.

Maybe they changed them? My guess is how they route the belt (the female end) under the side bar versus over, which can result in an easy loss of 2" or more. They seem to be routed the same now as last season, but I did not ride opening weekend to see if they changed this. However, two seasons ago when the belts were changed to be very short, they were routed OVER that bar (on both ends I think?) which left me 2"-3" short to buckle, at least.

Just wanted to give a heads up though... They look to be fine now.

I don't ever recall them ever being routed over the bars.

The "Guests of Exceptional Size" section on CP's website has changed in the past week. It is now called "Restraint Systems". They have removed the sentence "Guests who have ridden Millennium Force in the past may no longer meet the requirements of the current rider restraint system." They're no longer being somewhat up front with us about it. Just letting us get there and figure it out for ourselves.

My Uncle had to do the Walk of Shame at Cedar Point this year as well. He rode the rides last year with no problem. This year, no change on his part, the belts were about a good 3" away from being buckled.....

I feel the parks will get a lot of complaints from people + people that wont come back for a second time due to the belts. Wouldn't be to shocked if at Coastermania some enthusiasts had to do the walk of shame...

Jeff,

They have been routed over the bar in the past. I remember this clearly but was changed later on in the season.

I see people inadvertently put the belt over the top all the time. But, I don't ever recall it being designed to go over the top. I don't think I would ever have been able to fit if that's how the belt was routed.

I think you may be misunderstanding me...

I searched on google and found exactly what I was talking about:

http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/dalthoff/adventures/tr2004/pic/uscp05092004.0009.jpg

You can see the belt is routed OVER the metal bar. Currently, it is routed UNDER that bar giving more belt length. The differences between the two ways result in about 2" at least.

It has changed back and forth a few times the past few seasons.

In this picture:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2597504108_bfb1277944.jpg[url][url]

You can see the belt is now routed UNDER that bar.

Depending on the season you will see it change... And guests can not change the routing, because as far as I remember the bottom part of those belts are 'rigid' into place, with some type of metal reinforcement inside the bottom mount area of those belts.

The same thing with Dragster... I have seen it both ways.

I'm not convinced that was ever SOP, because I never encountered it, and I'd like to think that I've been on that ride more than most people.

As have I, Jeff... In matter of fact, I have been there almost weekly the past few years (scary, I know) and feel that I am quite observant to things like this. :)

I found it very weird myself the times it has been routed over (versus under) as it just never seemed 'right'. But in fact, when it has been routed over the bar has been the times the belt ends up too short for many.

I have been through two seasons now in which MF was a no-go for me, even though my weight has not changed at all. The one thing I noticed is how these belts were routed as shown for those times I have not been able to get it buckled.

When it is normal (under), I have no problem getting it buckled and pulling an inch of slack if needed. That belt routing makes quite a big difference.

Why it changes, who knows. But it has at various times throughout the past few years. Most notably after the SROS accident.

I don't see how routing it over the bar could ever be considered better or safer. If they want it to be more restrictive, don't run it over the bar, just make the belt shorter.

Steve, in the cases where you had the belt over vs under, are you sure that you couldn't have just slipped it under on your own? I will be at the park this weekend and will definitely look at this closer.

No, you can't slip it over/under on your own. I believe it physically has to be unbolted from the mount, re-routed and remounted again. There seems to be a steel reinforcement in the belt that makes it rigid and unable to be moved enough.

Yesterday when I rode MF they all were routed UNDER. I did not find any difference in belt length from last season. I don't know if they switched it from opening weekend or not (many people claimed the belts were much shorter), but I did not ride opening weekend to see which way they had the belts. But it seemed to me that the belts were the same as last season (as of Sunday).