Cedar Point new security checkpoint

Jeff said:
So you haven't been to WDW then? I went to Epcot for lunch yesterday. The screening at worst added 10 seconds to my entry.

And just like everything Disney does - theme, ride design, dining, etc. - CF can do it just as well given their equal resources, right?

Seriously though - as I said, implementation is key. If CF can do it as well as Disney, great. But I'll believe it when I see it.

Cedar Point can't and shouldn't get metal detectors.
1) It was NEVER mentioned in the presentation that was given by Jason McClure & Tony Clark at Winter Chill Out.
2)It was NEVER mentioned verbally at any of the tour stops.
3) IF they do instal metal detectors, it would STILL BE security theatre/SHOW OFF security. Do they need to take extra precaution when the park is super busy, absolutely. But when they have a police department at the amusement park that is commissioned through and works closely with the City Police Department along with doing walk throughs, having plainclothes officers on patrol, and survalence cameras that scan the park, water park, parking lots, and toll Boths, they don't need "extra" everyday. Just save that for 4th of July, Columbus Day Weekend, and Saturdays in October when the park is super busy that you probably most definetly WILL have trouble just finding a parking spot. Plus, kings dominion & Kings Island used to have metal detectors when they were Paramount parks, but Cedar Fair got rid of them as soon as they bought out the Paramount Parks. Also another thing, Cedar Point has all semi-new and brand new entrance gates from when they made improvements/built new rides. Why in God's good name would they want to just clutter it up with something really ugly?

Well it's settled then, no metal detectors, because the park failed to inform the coaster geeks at WCO that they may have to go through a new search this season different then the searches last year.

RideMan said:
Metal detectors in an amusement park environment have a nearly 100% false positive rate unless they are set to such a low sensitivity as to be completely worthless. I don't care if this is a direction the industry is heading, I still don't like it, think it's a terrible idea, and should be scrapped in favor of useful security protocols inside the park.

This. Security screening at an amusement park entrance is a show, not an effective way to catch actual threats. Every dollar spent on searching the bags of every single person entering the park is a dollar not spent in the park tracking down actual threats...

...and how many people have been caught by these security theaters?

Why would the park or any business release the numbers of people caught by their security measures?

CF is run by a very competent management team, if anyone here thinks that they are just throwing money away at a useless endeavor in order to inconvenience and annoy their customers without any merit or justification, then you have no understanding of business.

I made it through checkpoints completely unchecked at HW and KI with a stroller that was loaded with stuff.

RideMan said:

Aside from the overall hassle and inconvenience, I hate the fact that we as a culture are so willing to throw away one of the founding principles of our National identity: that we believe in the presumption of innocence. That we believe that most people are decent people who are not out to cause grief or harm, and that it is a better practice to deal with the occasional evil-doer than it is to make the blanket assumption that everyone is evil. Which, when you subject everyone to a search on entering the facility, is exactly what you are doing.

Very well put Dave, there is no need for terrorists to plan anything anymore when we as a society do such a great job of terrorizing ourselves by fearfully putting up all these security checkpoints. Every blinking magnetometer light just advertises that the terrorists have won.

noggin said:
...Every dollar spent on searching the bags of every single person entering the park is a dollar not spent in the park tracking down actual threats...
{/quote]

There is a less quantifiable version of this. As parks have made it harder and harder to get into the park and get onto the rides without hassle, I've been paring down what I carry into and in the park. Often that means only my camera bag, containing only my camera (which, because my pockets are empty, means I can stuff the bag in one pocket and the camera in another when I get to brainless operations like Banshee or Fury 325) and my flip-phone. Guess what park security protocols have insured that I am NOT carrying anymore. And I can't spend what I don't have with me.

Not that I would want to buy any souvenirs anyway...those would have to be taken out to the car, and that would require going through the checkpoint again to re-enter the park.

...and how many people have been caught by these security theaters?

There really is no way to know. The checkpoints tend to find a lot of stuff, but how much of that stuff was ever really a threat? Most of the time (generally not if I am in a park anymore) I carry not one, but two pocket knives. If one of those ever hurts anyone, first of all that anyone will probably be me, and second, it would certainly mean that I am doing it wrong. But if I forgot to leave one in the car, that would count as a stopped-threat 'win' by the security team even though it presents no threat to anyone. Of course in most parks the thing that the bag checks find most frequently is smuggled food.

"Sir! Drop the sandwich!"

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

1) The "throwing away founding principles" thing is total hogwash. This nation was also founded on separation of state and privately own business. Nobody is forcing you to patronize their park. Your rights are not being infringed upon in any way, shape, or form. Share your opinion with your dollars if you're that adamant about this rights infringement nonsense.

2) This isn't a victory lap for terrorists. Security checkpoints at various venues, events, and locations have been a thing way longer than the modern threat of terrorism it would seem is being alluded to in this thread.

3) Next to no security operation is fool proof, but that doesn't mean it isn't effective. People still get killed in car accidents; are airbags and seat belts just a safety theaters, should we just get rid of safety features and stop developing safety technology on cars cause they're not 100% effective?

I'm generally not a fan of them, but at the same time I've never really thought it was that much of an inconvenience. I'd say the longest I've waited for a detector is around 5 minutes. At Six Flags Great America, they added a "season pass only" entrance queue, and that line generally moves very fast.

MichaelB said:
2) This isn't a victory lap for terrorists. Security checkpoints at various venues, events, and locations have been a thing way longer than the modern threat of terrorism it would seem is being alluded to in this thread.

Of course it is a victory lap for terrorists, the whole point of terrorism is to cause fear in society and disrupt routine. Doesn't matter if it is radical Islamic terrorists or domestic terrorists, the goal is the same. Past terrorism events instilled a fear of attacks that was not there back in the day.

I never heard of a significant problem in a major league ballpark, but MLB in their infinite wisdom decided a couple years ago that all ballparks must have magnetometers. Everytime I go to an Indians game now I must prove I'm not a threat. As Dave said, that goes against our founding principals of innocent until proven guilty, it doesn't matter if it is government or private enterprise, principals apply to both.

Back in the day, the only security checkpoints I went through were at concerts at Blossom, and they were not looking for weapons, they were looking for booze.

These security theater checkpoints are fairly recent and are a direct result of fear caused by past terror events. I think it is really sad that there is that mindset in this country now and that is why the terrorists have won.

They better be running these ride warriors through 15 minutes before early entry. I can't wait to see the coaster itch on people passing through a single file line to make sure they didn't leave an extra quarter in their pocket.

Just jokes of course, but seriously, after traveling through everything from airports to malls to baseball parks, yes, the security checkpoints and monitors are one more step to get into the venue/event, but they're almost never the headache that all of the moaning people claim them to be.

MichaelB said:

1) The "throwing away founding principles" thing is total hogwash. This nation was also founded on separation of state and privately own business. Nobody is forcing you to patronize their park.

And no one has made that argument. The argument was simply that too many are too accepting of this type of security theater as "normal", not that businesses aren't within their rights to put on such theater.

Security theatre can be a huge annoyance. For example, I went to a Packers game in Lambeau a few years ago, and my mother was made to take her very small handbag back to our car, which was about a mile away. And the line itself was 30 mins. Not exactly painless or convenient

I live in Green Bay, if you are referring to the change when all bags had to be see through, then you didn't read your ticket. It's printed clearly and signed throughout the stadium property.

A lot of the annoyance can be alleviated by people paying attention.

If you want to see people not paying attention self-creating their own inconvenience go to the Orlando Airport, by far the worst airport for adults not paying attention. The airport staff does an excellent job of trying to get people through efficiently.

I own a nightclub here, it's our policy to card every person no matter what their age is. I do it to protect my business and also my clientele. Scanning IDs and saving that information serves as a deterrent to undesirable persons that may have illicit intentions.

I think the point is it is stupid and disruptive to require see through bags.

It's their private property and they have the 'Rights' to require it for admission, they are protecting their business and clientele.

I don't think anyone is going to lose an M9 in a handbag that can't carry more than driver's liscense and some tampons without being overloaded.

However, applying the same rules to every person helps alleviate confusions and complaints about their own individual bag regardless of how many tampons it can hold.

I didn't say they don't have a right, I said it was stupid. I've never seen a clear ladies bag out in public and how many people want to walk around displaying their stuff for everyone to see? Stupid!