Safety - Six Flags vs. Cedar Fair

Silly, those overgrown weeds aren't deferred maintenance. They're there to hide the guys who jump the fence to look for their hats.

I don't understand how a coaster derailment caused by a fallen tree translates to conversation about gun safety.

I'm a little surprised that they don't do bag checks in Ohio, but only because I'm so used to them here in the Orlando parks. (And by the way, you can bring outside food into Disney.)

Jeff said:

...(And by the way, you can bring outside food into Disney.)

If you wanna do Disney cheaper, bringing your own food is the way to go.

If you're cheap, sure.

Besides, if you bring your own, you'd be missing out on some of the best food the industry has to offer.

Indeed. We finally went to Via Napoli recently, and as someone who doesn't care for Neapolitan style pizza, I love what they have. It's crazy good.

You have to eat, so I don't even include buying food in the extra money I need at a park. It's money I am going to spend even if I'm not at the park.

Whoooh.. I'm getting WAY off topic now. lol

Jeff said:

I don't understand how a coaster derailment caused by a fallen tree translates to conversation about gun safety.

I'm a little surprised that they don't do bag checks in Ohio, but only because I'm so used to them here in the Orlando parks. (And by the way, you can bring outside food into Disney.)

It is a conversation of safety in general. Safety is not only on rides, but also on the midways. A few posters made the comment that Cedar Fair parks are "safer." The point is Six Flags is spending money on security that some Cedar Fair parks aren't. Security does make a park safer as it is some kind of deterrent to bringing weapons in a park. Six Flags parks look more run down and that might translate to lack of ride maintenance or in this case even a diseased tree that should have been removed.

super7* said:
Security does make a park safer as it is some kind of deterrent to bringing weapons in a park.

You're making the assumption that there's some desire to bring weapons into parks in the first place.

For normal people, there is no desire to bring in weapons. But with all the wacko's out there and shootings happening, I think this is a valid concern. The media just gives those events way more attention than they should. The problem with metal detectors though, is that it would cause a bottleneck at the gates with everyone going through metal detectors.

On another note, I think I remember seeing CP police wearing SWAT gear doing some kind of drill on the Pagoda cam right before the season began. They are prepared if such a situation occurs.

I'm going to go WAY out on a limb and suggest that CF's gate-pricing policies do more to reduce the prospect of violence than SF's metal detectors do...

Good point. It's highly unlikely anyone would spend the money to go into the park to do something violent which is probably why stuff like that occurs in public places.

As soon as I saw the word 'gun', I was like WHAT?! Guns in a theme park? Guns anywhere and that's ok? How bizarre.

Back to my tea and crumpets.

Jeff, I am still amazed that Disney and Universal *do* perform bag checks! Especially since Disney doesn't care if you bring your lunch with you. Which makes me wonder what they are looking for, and why someone wanting to cause trouble wouldn't just stick his contraband item in his pocket...as people are not searched.

In fact, my method for reducing my hassle at Disneyland and Universal (policies and procedures in this regard are similar between California and Florida) is to take my video camera out of its bag, jam the bag into my back pocket, and hand-carry the camera, then put it all back together once I am inside. Because if I am wearing the (empty) camera bag, I have to take it off so it can be searched, but if I put it in my pocket, it doesn't have to be searched. Wait, what?

Besides, if they really want to keep guns out of parks...well, hasn't anyone else ever seen Beverly Hills Cop 3? Axel got frisked when he entered, and still managed to come up with a BFG!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

It seems to me that the security measures at many amusement parks -- metal detectors at a Six Flags park, bag searches at a Disney park -- are more PR than protection.

I think it's a reasonable deterrent. They also prohibit bringing in glass, which has pinched some people because they buy a glass at a gift shop, park hop to the next place, and can't bring it in.

super7* said:
The point is Six Flags is spending money on security that some Cedar Fair parks aren't. Security does make a park safer as it is some kind of deterrent to bringing weapons in a park.

I think you are really misjudging the benefit of metal detectors and what an organization is spending security money on. I would bet that Cedar Point spends a lot of money on security that is not visible to the average park guest but gives CP Police the tools they need to keep the park safe.

Furthermore, every market is not the same. A place like Six Flags America, with a bus line to a large metro with high crime in some areas, is far more prone to issues than a park like Cedar Point, which is an hour away from the nearest major metro area (and priced a lot higher).

Plus, webmasters are more prone to chain breaks while on coasters at SFA.

Speaking of never mentioning stuff, have I ever mentioned that I haven't been to SFA since 2003?

I don't remember the last year I went to any Six Flags park. It's not that I'm avoiding them, they just haven't been in places I have.