Loose articles on rides

Rules have definitely changed. It used to be that if you were carrying anything, it had to ride with you. Then Raptor came along with a vehicle with no floor to set your backpack on. (Yes, it was common for people to ride Magnum placing a backpack on the floor and a foot through the strap. Or with those string bags, to wear the bag backwards for the ride. Or when carrying a purse, to put it over one shoulder and under the opposite arm. I used that same method for carrying my 35mm SLR.) So Raptor got a set of platform bins.

Then something aggravating happened involving one of those damn mini basketballs and those were banned from all coasters; big blue trash cans suddenly appeared on the platforms to hold them. Gradually the situation devolved into the madness you see today. Millennium Force was the first coaster where you couldn't actually take anything up to the platform with you. That's when the locker thing really got started. Oh sure, the park had lockers before then, but not very many, and they were all up at the front of the park...basically a place to put your "evening wear" or rain gear.

One nice thing about Cedar Point is that even on their strictest rides, they still allow spectacles (secured with some kind of securement device; I typically use a neck cord, useless as it may be) and they allow waist packs on all rides. This means I can carry my pnzren bag on Raptor, GateKeeper, Wicked Twister*, Dragster, Millennium Force, Rougarou and Valravn, even though it has illogically denied access to Banshee and Fury 325. Fury was the real head scratcher. Can't carry the zipped-closed bag around my waist where I can position it well clear of the restraint and protect my equipment from loss or damage, but I can stuff the pnzren in one buttoned cargo pocket where it can interfere with the lap bar and cram the bag into another. I never claimed the rules made any sense. I'm not convinced they really make us any safer, either.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

*Yeah, as if I could actually squeeze into that thing...

--DCAjr

I used to just put the seat belt through my purse strap. I think once or twice I squashed a stuffed animal under the lap bars of something. They used to let you take a crazy amount of stuff on rides.

deeturnerjr72 said:

Most of those could be put into a locker, and some can be put into a fanny pack or pocket.

No argument here. Just saying that some people have reasons to have/need/want whatever items they're lugging about immediately at hand. A locker could be used, yes, but that requires walking to the locker each time you want to use an item.

Why would you expect to be able to pack around a laptop and carry it onto a ride?

Some people have jobs that require them to be able to log on within minutes (or like to imagine that they have such an important job).

I have always been against people needing to carry around backpacks full of junk. I have always used a fanny pack and will continue to regardless of what people might think. I hate carrying things in pockets.

In recent years after meeting my wife. Things are different when we take her son to parks. He is autistic and still needs to wear adult diapers, as he is non-verbal and cannot understand letting you know it's time. He will just go. So, we take one of those smaller draw-string sacks (with extra pull-up, wipes, and shorts) in with us and leave in bin (if provided). If not, we have to go with locker or choose one of us not to ride. Last couple of times at a park, we were able to squeeze a pull-up into fanny pack to eliminate having to deal with bag and lockers. Not complaining here. Just a part of life learning to deal with.

Even now, I agree with the park with having no bins. Just wishing CP had better, cheaper locker options. I don't mind using, as long as it doesn't cost me so much.

My main thing that I would put in bins would be when we carry rain ponchos because that is something that does you no good if it's in a locker. It needs to be with you to be useful. Obviously you don't need one everyday but on the days you need it having to walk any great distance back to the locker makes them useless. Last time we needed ours we found out very abruptly and would have gotten soaked going back to a locker to get them.

My thoughts on this have changed after recently going to the Universal Studios park in Florida. If CP doesn't want you to take a bag,purse,etc on a ride....then they should provide a FREE locker to put your stuff in. Other parks out there do this. Universal Studios is so adamant about not bringing even keys,cell phones and small items on certain rides that they have metal detectors in the lines (!) to make sure you're not sneaking them on. I guess they're serious about stuff falling out, haha! I thought it was a hassle to put away my stuff sometimes but the FREE aspect of it made it that much more tolerable.

Universal Studios park lockers have a fingerprint technology when you check in your stuff to be stowed away, for up to 1 and 1/2 hours of free time. They let you pick your estimated time (based on the ride wait time) and anything over 90 minutes is a $3 fee. I thought this was genius. If you think you might have to pay the $3 fee and don't want to, then you could come back later when wait times were lower. Great idea.

BTW, I personally don't carry around alot of stuff (don't understand the backpacks,sorry) but I feel the above proposal is the best solution. I still carry my camera,phone(if I bring it in), car keys, and wallet on TTD,MF, and every other ride to this day no problem. And...I tuck my hat into my shirt, nobody says a word. Yes, providing free lockers for certain individual rides that you don't want people bringing loose items on is the best solution.

Paisley said:

If it's completely secured in a zipped pocket it should no longer be considered a loose article...

They don't want the possibility of if being removed from said pocket after leaving the loading station.

Once the restraints are down on most coasters honestly I would have to be a contortionist to get anything out of that pocket.

I would say if you get caught with phones or other things on rides, you deserve to be ejected from the park...

Keys, wallet and phone are all I bring. Wicked Twister tried to break my phone 3 years ago (and I was positive it was deep down in my pocket), so sometimes it stays in the car.

If anyone wants to see what allowing people to bring anything and everything into line with them does to ride capacity, come visit my local park, Six Flags Great America.

Here's a question for the ladies; or gents who may have a clue. My wife currently got a small...well..."side purse". I'm not sure exactly what the official title is, but the actual purse is probably no bigger than than size of a fist. OK, a large fist, but a fist. The strap goes around the neck so the purse rests on the hip.

Now, obviously the rules for Dragster and Valravn (via the website) are "no purses of any kind", and to me this is a "purse of a certain kind". But, last season we both saw many people getting in line for Valravn, TTD, etc., with these on (which is when she got the idea for her cell phone,etc. since she does not like wearing cargo shorts, etc).

What do you think? Have you been allowed in with these?

My mother has been able to ride with them as long as it's secure.

I had this very conversation with a nice young man working at Millennium Force last weekend. My friend had a small "slip" purse around her shoulder. We were next in line when she realized that she still had it on. Standing next to the "nice young man" and assuming they wouldn't allow her to board the train with her purse, I asked if there was something we could do without getting out of line. He stated that because it was thin and could fit between her and the seat, it was not a problem for her to ride with it. He seemed to suggest that this was a universal rule at Cedar Point. But, in my experience, when given the chance, people often exert authority. So, I would still be concerned that all ride operators at Cedar Point would not be as nice as the young man working at Millennium Force and that such policies will/have deteriorate into judgment calls being made based on how much sleep the operator received the night before or how little water s/he drank throughout the day etc.

I have been allowed to ride with a small about 5x7 inch purse on a long strap at least one visit in the past few years although on Magnum they asked me to put the strap around my waist like a fanny pack instead of around my shoulder and neck. If the purse has a thin enough strap she could probably tie a knot in it and have it fall around her waist like a fanny pack to begin with I've seen other women do that. I saw someone ride Valravn in front of me on Mother's Day with a full sized purse. Not sure how they got away with that but they did.

Thanks for the replies. My guess was that this would probably vary based on the mood/training of the ride ops and line gatekeeper.

We'll see how it goes; we have a plan B. :)

So this was brought up during Q & A about if they would ever shut down a ride for someone who lost a personal item. Anybody go to this meeting today with Tony Clark? I enjoyed this Q & A except when people asked about project 2018. That made me nervous.

And the answer during Q&A was?

That most of the time, they can't retrieve personal items such as a cell phone, wallet, or keys. They will only shut it down for something personal like pills or an inhaler.

It was me who asked that question, and I can't say I was happy with the response because I have definitely seen them close Rougarou for a shoe last year (understandable), Blue Streak for a phone this year, and Rougarou for keys this year.

My best day of summer does not consist of saying "Mother May I?" To a bunch of a--hole kids who barely speak English but somehow know how to keep me safe better than I do.