Millennium Force...breakdown???

While at Cedar Point this past Saturday, I got in line for Milliennium Force around 10:00 PM, planning to ride the ride about midnight. At about 10 minutes before midnight, the ride supposedly "broke down" due to mechanical problems, and opened up again about 12:15, after the line to the ride was safely closed and several people at the back left the line to go home for the night. I seriously doubt this was a real breakdown but instead a crowd control tactic designed to make sure the employees werent running the ride until 2 in the morning. It worked, too. The line didn't seem very long when we got off at 12:30. Also, park employees were doing everything possible to make the line look extremely long from the outside (closing off queues inside the main waiting section and leaving people to wait outside by the lockers). I can't prove the ride really didn't break down, but I highly doubt it did. While I understand why the ride ops would pull a stunt like this, the whole idea of it seems sort of shady to me. I don't like manipulative ride ops. Don't the Disney parks do things like this too to ensure their rides close at a decent time?

There was no conspiracy, they really had a problem. I remember hearing the ride running from the beach as late as 1:30. Give me a break, what would they possibly stand to gain by denying ten minutes worth of riders the chance to get in line?

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Yea, I'm pretty sure there was a real problem. While my friend and me were waiting in line we saw three mechanics go to and from the MF. My mom who was waiting by the benches by the exit of the MF said she saw some mechanics going underneath the station.

I heard that MF broke about 15 minutes before closing Sunday, not letting people who waited until the end of the day try and get the last GP ride on MF (because when its down they dont let anyone who isnt in line into line)... Is there any truth to this?

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What's life if you never get to the Point?
http://people.mw.mediaone.net/mckinnie

I was on the second to last train of the night on Saturday and we got out of the ride exit at 1:45 am (Sunday morning, in actuality). I'm so sure the ride ops would shut the ride down, making all of 100 people leave, but wasting about 25 mins in the process. Did you not think about that?

JC -- who got 5 rides this weekend on MF, ending at 33 for the year. And what a year it was at CP.

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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."

The only deceptive thing the MF ride-ops did that night was mask the length of the line. Instead of filling the queues starting at the bottom of the ramp, they filled all the queues from the overflows (or at least start closing off the final sets of queues). The last switchback used was in front of the pop machines. It was a straight line from the DJ booth to the station. I waited two hours, and that was with the delay.

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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

How dare you call that deceptive, Scott! That's SOP at SFGAm! (called "expressing") :)

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"Legend 1 looks too intense for me."

I could have sworn that this post was at GTTP.

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Randy Hutchinson
You build it, I'll ride it

Why would you even doubt that an Inatmin coaster wouldn't have a problem??? Sorry, but I have MAJOR beef with Intamin.