Down for Maintenance- the new catchphrase? Or was it just Fri. the 13th?

This Ride is Currently Shut Down for Maintenance.

Yesterday (on Friday the 13th), I took my 15yr old cousin to the park. We left the Toledo area around 8:30am and the fog was horrendous. There were sections of the road (especially around Fremont/Woodville) where we could not even see the road. It was "THAT" unsafe.

Arrived at the park around 10:10am and headed directly to "Shoot The Rapids". It was down for an undetermined time. Then went to Maverick. Stood in line for 1/2 hour and then was told that the ride was temporarily shut down due to technical error. We waited in the line and it started up again in 20 minutes or so, so we were fine. Then went to Raptor, where we stood in line for a good half hour and .....you guessed it! We were told to exit the line due to maintenance issues. The ride op girl was excessively rude and robotic, nastily yelling the same directions over and over.

We got in a few smaller rides before 11:45/noon, when the heat got to us. Temperatures had to be in the high 90's with nasty humidity. Air conditioning was our only goal. We went to Joe Cool's Cafe for lunch. The food and the ambience was absolutely fun and great for kids!! A perfect respite from the heat. However, it was somewhat empty and the service was non-existant. I didn't understand how service was so poor when the restaurant was empty and there was plenty of wait staff on hand.

Was told by an ride op at one of the rides that "Shoot the Rapids" had re-opened, so we headed that way. And just as we got in line and waited 10 minutes or so, ta da....it was closed again! WTF? The only great thing during the nasty heat and packed crowds was that we barely waited for the rides that 'were' open. The longest waits were around 1/2 hour'ish.

Went to "Everyone Loves Snoopy", which of course both of us adored. I recognized many former aquaintances from years past "in" the ice skating cast. It was relaxing and very fun. A fun event for all families.

Rode Iron Dragon and I will definitely be writing a commendation to Park Op. Darnell, a ride operator, was fantastic!! A regular stand up comedian- making clever comments about LeBron James, Miley Cyrus and Dale Earnhardt Jr. during his spiel. Also made it a point to be very personable and accomodating to "all" the guests. Way to go, Darnell!

About choked when I saw that a Lemon Chill was $4...but it was too hot 'not' to get one, so we shared a Lemon Chill and sat through the painfully embarassing "Tropical Heat, Island Beat". The concept and 'idea' of the show is fantastic. The follow through is ridiculous. Definite revisions in order for next year.

Decided upon leaving the park and heading out for fast food for dinner where I only spent $5 on the value menu for the 2 of us. Then came back and rode Disaster Transport twice before getting in line for our 1st experience at "Rock Band LIVE".

Wow is all I can say!! Obsessed. God bless the Live Shows Gods!! "Rock Band LIVE" is an absolute treasure of a show. The cast/crew/creative staff are to be commended on an amazing show. The entire audience, young 'and' old were so involved in the action- singing along, clapping, etc. THIS is what defines live entertainment at Cedar Point. Way to go!! Here's to utilizing all of its successes towards "ALL" shows in the park next year.

Ended the night with a quick ride on Milennium Force (20 minute wait!!!) and then off to Tofts ice cream factory (Rte 101) for Key Lime Pie ice cream. Mmmmm!!

I agree about the Raptor crew. I have been to CP several times this season so far, and each time they are pushy and rude. " Robotic" is a great way to explain it.

I understand that they are just trying to load and unload the trains faster, but they have to find a better way of going about it. They need to remember that it may be just another humid unpleasant work day for them, but it is supposed to be fun for the guests.

I am not sure if this is policy on Raptor or not, but they were saying repeatedly to "Keep your sneakers on. Tie your laces if need be, but keep them on. Do not take them off and put them in the bins. If you have sneakers you must keep them on."

Like I said, I understand it is all about loading and unloading the trains faster, but they way they were going about it was not very nice. It made me have the attitude that if I wanted to take my shoes off and put them in the bin, I would have.

Even when one of the ops was being not so polite about the line for the front, we tryed to joke around with him to lighten the mood. I guess he is just a very unfriendly person, because he continued to snap at everyone.

Maybe the entire Raptor crew needs a big hug, and ice cream cone, or something to cheer them up. Maybe they know what the new 2011 attraction is going to be, and it is making them grumpy that they have to keep it a secret. ;)

What's funny about this is I ended my "busy season" (mid June thru mid-ish Aug) self-ban for CP today, and while I thought Raptor crew was fine-enough, my sister thought they were rude and horrible (slamming down people's restraints and over-tightening them, for ex.) especially compared to the other crews and even wanted to go to Guest Services to register a complaint! But for me, the line never stopped moving so I was satisfied and I convinced her otherwise.

Btw, other than Space Spiral, I had zero maint. issues on any ride.

maybe it was Friday the 13th because literally like 6 major rides were down consistently throughout the morning/early afternoon.

Jesz said:
I am not sure if this is policy on Raptor or not, but they were saying repeatedly to "Keep your sneakers on. Tie your laces if need be, but keep them on. Do not take them off and put them in the bins. If you have sneakers you must keep them on."

I think it might be some made up policy by the crew. Well here is the thing the Raptor crew has to understand, if someone looses their shoe because they are loose, and it lands in and off limits zone or even hits someone in the head, the guest is going to be pissed and make a scene in the station. I have witnessed a few scenes in the station, sometimes the ride ops stopped operation to talk to the guest. If someone needs to take their shoes off, let them do that.

A solution to the problem would be moving the bins closer to the actual trains. If you have a couple little ones, it could also serve as a barrier to the exit. Raptor and Magnum both always have guests waiting on the exit platform, it is really annoying.

I have a semi related incident to the shoe problems. A guy forgot to take off his sandals and he threw them onto the platform right when the middle floor went down. The ride op almost got hit,

Why can't people just wear shoes that are tied and appropriately sized for them? Having worked a couple of rides where guests unnecessarily insisted on taking their shoes off, it's definitely a pet peeve of mine. I don't blame the crew at all for making people keep them on.

I have noticed the Raptor crew attitude all season. In past years, they have been one of the funnest crews in CP, right up there with MF, Maggie and MaXair. This year, it's like they are the coaster nazis. I keep expecting to hear them say "No ride for you!"

Now the kids on MF and MaXair (I say kids because I'm 41, anyone under 25 is now a kid :)) could be the training video for ride ops. Those two crews are always fun, always have a smile for guests, and make the before and after experience of the ride enjoyable. Not to mention my 11 year old daughter found her first crush in the form of a young man on MaXair this summer.