Mechanical / wind issues all over the park Sunday!

Yesterday was a real bust... Got there for early entry around 8:45... into the park by 9. NOTHING was open except for ocean motion, and shoot the rapids (keep in mind it was 43 degrees when the park open and according to weather.com it felt like 38) :( around 1:00 pm the only rollercoasters that were open were the kiddie ones, WT, MS, BS, corkscrew. and mine ride. Millennium Force was closed all day due to maintenance issues (I heard that they had to remove a train by crane the night before near the top of the lift hill but did not see that so I cannot confirm that). GK, TTD, Windfinder, and Raptor were closed all day (due to wind I suppose), What I can confirm is that Maverick was stuck upside down on Sunday (see picture below). We left the park (very cold and frustrated) around 4:00... I heard that Maverick, Iron Dragon, and Mantis later opened after we left. Total bust for me IMHO

Maverick stuck upside down: http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac272/crazzzynick/Maverickstuckupsidedown.jpg

Oh I forgot to mention, I got stuck on the windseeker Saturday for 30+ minutes. Was kind of mad that we riders did not get any kind of updates (except for about 20 minutes into being stuck someone announced 'we are having mechanical issues and will eventually bring you down'... The worst part was that they kept playing some creepy Harry Potter music. We did however get 'front of the line' passes to the ride of our choice (with the exception of gatekeeper). Also the highlight of my day sunday was getting pictures of me on all of the coaster test seats with the closed sign next to them (I guess it saved me money from buying on-ride photos!)... OK now I'm done venting!

Two things.

Maverick wasn't stuck upside down. It valleyed at some point yesterday due to the wind and cold. What you have a picture of is maintenance in the process of winching the train forward so they can get it to the second launch so they can get it back to the station/storage track.

Secondly, there's a picture of Millennium floating around here someone in the same position. The train valleyed somewhere in the middle of the course and they had to remove it. It wasn't stuck at the top of the lift.

Wheels don't like to spin in the cold. The colder it gets, the less wind it takes to start causing problems for the rides.

I think it's awesome the park opened as much as they did. How many parks do you know of that open a coaster on the same day it valleyed? Six Flags Over Georgia is known to admit several people into their park on a cold windy day and then close the entire park two hours later, kicking everyone out without refund. Kudos to the Point.

You have my sympathy--especially if yesterday was your only option for going to CP.

That said, you knew the forecast before going. You knew it would be cold & very windy. You took the risk and lost. You could have postponed your trip until you had a day with a better forecast. :(

Now, if the forecast was for 75 degrees and no wind and you got lower 40s with 45 mph gusts. . .

#1, its beginning of the season. Of course there are going to be mechanical issues from rides that haven't operated during the winter.

#2, its Windseeker, not Windfinder. That sucks you were stuck for 30 minutes, but atleast you got FOL passes. Some people get stuck for a while and get nothing.

#3, Maverick didn't get stuck upsidedown, it valleyed on an empty test cycle, and they were slowly wenching it to the next block location when you saw it. There was a mechanical issue and wind that caused that to happen

#4, high winds were predicted since Thursday. I hope you're not mad at the park for your mistake of taking the trip on Sunday.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off rude, but there's a reason for everything, and mechanical issues happen all of the time. Sorry, but it happens

I am completely fine and understanding with rides being closed for wind issues, I understand that.

It was all of the maintenance issues that just got frustrating to me. I was prepared for ttd, raptor etc being closed but there were so many things that weren't wind related that frustrated me... I've been to the park yearly for over 30 years and have never seen so many things down at the same time (The coasters and thrill rides will always be my favorites but would love to see some dark rides for when the weather is less than kind).

And yes it is WindFINDER... that thing ALWAYS finds wind! lol. I was very grateful for the line passes, I honestly was not expecting that. I did find it amusing that one of the only rides open in the morning was STR considering how cold it was. Some of the workers even were commenting on how creepy it was with nothing working.

Which rides had maintenance issues, as opposed to wind issues?

I think Sunday brings up an interesting question of rain checks / refunds. I can see Sunday's events from both sides. Sure, it wasn't the park's fault that the weather was terrible, but at the same time, they did essentially take a lot of people's money with little to offer.

Although the park didn't technically do anything wrong on Sunday, the fact remains that a lot of guests went away angry. Would it kill the park to turn some of that anger around by offering a partial refund or coupon or something? In the long run, I can see that sort of customer service mentality paying off.

Just my opinion!

Sounds like opening a can of worms. If they start setting a precedent, the threshold at which guests start to expect/demand refunds or rainchecks will get lower and lower.

^ Well obviously they would need to set some specific guidelines and stick to them (Universal has such a policy [http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/rain-guarantee/] and if I'm not mistaken, a Six Flags park is launching a similar pilot program this year.)

Rules are rules, yes. But I think it can benefit a company to occasionally bend them. Focusing on making the customer happy will pay off in the end, IMO.

Which brings up the question why open the park at all? It's not as if they don't know what the weather conditions there this time of year. I'm going into old fart mode, but when I worked there back in the 1970's they didn't open up until the week before Memorial Day. It was still brisk but it was a darn site better than it was two to three weeks before that.

But Dutchman, you know that if they wait until a later weekend, the earlier weekend will be sunny and 80. They have opened up on Mother's Day weekend for years and most times it's worked out pretty well as far as the weather is concerned. Sunday was one of the most miserable, cold days we have experienced in many years during mid-May. That just doesn't happen very often.

I also think Woodstock Express valleyed this weekend.

Top Thrill 182 said:
Although the park didn't technically do anything wrong on Sunday, the fact remains that a lot of guests went away angry. Would it kill the park to turn some of that anger around by offering a partial refund or coupon or something? In the long run, I can see that sort of customer service mentality paying off.

That's the guest's fault if they're leaving angry. On the LED big screen before the causeway, the strip screen before entering the toll booths, and the new screen installed on the new entrance; a message specifically said "Due to high winds, some rides may not open today". Just saying.

Sunday was just none of those freakish miserable days. Most of the rides were not operating because of weather and not mechanical reasons. Nothing you can do about that. I'm actually surprised they had as many rides going considering 3 coasters vallied during morning test runs. I sat and watched the maintenance crew get Maverick going and I give CP thumbs up on the day because they actually got Maverick going by the end of the day. MF blue train vallied on the island and they had to remove the train. Again, hats off to CP to get it back up and running today.

I was there from Thursday through 2pm today and it was some crazy weather swings.

People upset that rides were down due to the weather just need to get some common sense.

Anyone know what's running (or not) today?

Millennium is stuck on the lift, evac car is in use.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=517876174925437&set=a.43923...=1&theater

Video of MF's blue train being taken apart
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=529119057150734

I bet Jr. Gemini was operating ;)

They purchase a ride that breaks down when it is windy, put it right on the beach where it is windy, and call it WindSeeker! Really?!?