I guess now we know what all that orange tape was for...

Remember late last season how little bits of orange tape appeared on fences all over the park?

Well, this year, all that orange tape has been replaced with a ridiculous number of red and white signs indicating "RESTRICTED AREA - KEEP OUT". Big ugly signs all over the place indicating ride kill zones at about 12' centers. File this one under "Don't say we didn't warn you."

There is a new fence under the Gemini which is festooned with the orange tape, and there is still some orange tape on the fence along Millennium Force. But the signs appear to have been installed at approximately the locations marked with the orange tape last season.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

It's pretty sad that parks even have to post signs. But then again, humans are both the smartest and DUMBEST species on the planet, and they'll climb a fence to go near a 5-ton object moving 50 mph to pick up a $15 hat they lost when they weren't supposed to have it on the ride in the first place.

3rd smartest.

Right after mice and dolphins.

Sorry to double post. We saw tons of those new signs on the wooden fence around Maverick's perimeter while riding the train. It definitely takes a bit off the ambience, but what are you gonna do?

OSHA seemed to have a field day with the park this year.:)

The only new fence I noticed was under Corkscrew in the area where the train leaves the station. Seemed live a very bazaar spot for a chainlink fence since there is a wooden fence along the midway with a black steel fence behind it.

The reason they have those is because their lawyers decided it was time for CF to have them up so no one else gets decapitated. This came after that horrific day in Georgia, when the camp kid got decapitated...

I'm opposed to preventing Darwinism from taking its course. Although I guess lawyers and insurance companies disagree with me...

I was standing in the smoking section by Panda Express when 3 kids jumped the fence and bee-lined for Millennium Force's exit. 2 CP police and an employee made a run for them. The police came back with the kids in tow and the employee behind them. My girl made mention of line jumping and the employee said "nope, they had the papers to enter rides from the exit due to a doctors note, but one of the biggest rules we are supposed to enforce is people entering the low zones. These kids will get kicked out, no exceptions."

She then went on to say how this year the staff was being trained heavily on low zones and were being told repeatedly about what happened to that kid who lost his hat at Six Flags last year.

He may have lost his hat, but the human race gained so much more that day.

I'm with you Ralph, we should not stand in the way of Darwin. And neither should the lawyers.

^^People entering the low zones during ride operation (employees or guests) has always been cause for termination for employees and banishment for guests. We just hear about it more since that oh-so-intelligent kid lost his hat, and then lost what his hat sat on.

Spent the day at Seaworld Orlando yesterday, they now have the signs everywhere also. Must be a nationwide thing.....

Corkscrew never had a real fence between the queue and the track. It was never really considered necessary, since the track on that first curve is about 8' in the air. The new chain link is on the inboard side of the track, and it's there because the queue rails in the infield do not qualify as a fence.

They did something very similar on Gemini, which seems very odd because first of all Gemini does not have any previously unprotected low zones, and second, because Gemini's infield has always been a restricted area.

I'm not sure what Ohio law says. But there is nothing in the ASTM standards that requires that there be a fence around a ride. There are specifications for what the fence should look like if it is present (at least 42" tall, openings shall reject a 4" sphere, resists climbing) but there is no requirement that the fence actually be present. That's actually a good thing, because I can name three rides off-hand which it is impossible to put a fence around...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Do these new fences take away from the beauty of the park or do you not notice them?

Dave - SkyRide, Paddlewheel Excursions and ..... drawing a blank on the third one.

^The Railroad.

I wasn't actually thinking about Cedar Point rides: think about the Main Street transportation options at Disneyland, and the backlot tram ride at Universal Studios as two rides that can't logically be fenced.

In response to OKSIRYDOC, you're asking the wrong people. This gang notices *everything*. :)

That said, the new fences on Corkscrew and Gemini are both in places where they are not immediately obvious, and after the fences have had a chance to weather for a few years you'll never remember they were ever not there.

The signs are far more distracting.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.