NEW Policy with MF seatbelts?

also is this just a prank someone started or is this the real thing because if it happens to me when i go and they are rude i will cause them hell. i mean unless they bold plate it on every ride and bold it on the web site there is no reason why they can do this because the seatbelt fit me last year but i can't remember if it had an inch of slack on it or not

An upward force acting on a lap belt will not loosen the belt. Don't you think that if it did, it would defeat the purpose of the device?

Are you a prank? Do you honestly think that a prank spawned a 10.5 page thread with 12,236 views?

Wow dude. Wow.

Wow indeed .....

DUDE!!!!

Well all I can say is it that its great to see that there are others with as much passion about coasters and CP in particular to spawn this massive thread. Thanks to pointbuzz for this website otherwise I may have been in a Sandusky jail next weekend for strangling somebody after they threw my fat ass off the ride!

With this much passion and people effected this early in the year I am confident something will be done by years end so I am postponing my trip until then.

Good luck to all.

I have been to the park every year since I was a baby. So this entire issue concerns me a bit.

I just hope the park is doing the right thing. I can't imagine they just added this policy without alot of thought and conversation. (though I may be wrong, considering other decisions in the past)

I don't think Cedar Point wants to turn away guest and generate pounds of complaints. I am sure thats the last thing they want. They have a 420ft tall lemon to worry about right now.

This decision must have been a tough one. Getting bodies into the park day after day is everything. Which is why I think season pass sales have stayed so cheap. This will create guests who simply lose interest because "the other rides" just don't do it.

The problem is Cedar Point is way to quiet about these decisions. They have their one canned response. We don't know all the factors that lead to this and may never know.

I haven't had a problem with the new seat belt policy. My Father did.

I hope that Ride Ops learn better positive ways to deal with this every minute of the day. I know it gets old, but to the people in line it may be the first time and it isn't fun for them either.

So I guess we wait and see if the park tries to remedy this problem as the park's attendence increases. Until then you can find me on the stair master.

Its starting to look like they need to put an entire trains worth of test seats at the beginning of the line.

That Sanderson lady ticks me off too. Sure a billion things to do at cedar point... But i go there for about 5 of those billion things. the rest mean nothing to me. So being someone who could be affected by this I am gonna be concerned... not just say oh well at least I can ride the midway carousel.

I stand by my statement that an emergency overhaul needs to happen. to change the restraint system to something close (or the same) as TTD.

That way most everyone can ride. And as for the comment about the height issue... I can only say this... once you FINALLY reach the height requirement you get to ride... but imagine if one year you are 48" tall and can ride... then they say... well now you got to be 60" because someone in another state goofed up and ruined it for you. You rode last year and were okay.. wouldnt you be mad? sure you would. now thats how we all feel with the seat belt issue.

You know, it's funny you mention that. When I was a youngin', my parents used to take me on the Hershey Park comet. My first ride was at 2 years old, held on a lap. There was no height requirement back then. A few years after the first ride, they made a height requirement, and I was denied riding. Sure I was mad, I was a kid, but changes in safety requirements happen. If I don't fit (42" waist), I'll work hard on a diet, and get in by the fall. This is something I can control, just as long as it is consistent.

i personally don't think that you should have to diet and excerise when you are a little over weight you know with a 36-40 inch waist you should be able to ride as the park says. i believe if you can fit in the seat with the seatbelt claped properly and the lap bar or sholder restraint you should be able to ride. i think when they made that rule they were smoking something. i don't think they thought about how many people it was gonna tick off. it also makes everyone have a bad day the person the ride ops and the people at the complaint office. but i personally think that now they know it was a wrong decision and now have to find a way to back out of it and still look good. good luck to them

Intamin called for the changes, not Cedar Point. Pointing all your fingers at Cedar Point and demanding that they ignore the changes called for by the ride's manufacturer is stupid. If you find yourself too large (waist-wise) to ride, use that as your motivation to lose weight! Not only will you be able to ride Millennium Force again, you will be healthier too.

Edit: I can't spell "manufacturer." *** Edited 5/23/2004 4:01:29 PM UTC by Anonymous***

I find it so funny that skinny people think that "larger People" can just go on a diet and lose 30lb. like that! THat is not how it works. For most of us larger people losing weight is very difficult. First u have to stop eating your favorite foods and then you have to exercise ALL the time plus your metablism is workign against you.

John Malone

Well, we all know it's not Cedar Point's fault, but I know they will not go back to the old seatbelt rules and positioning. Cedar Point will put the safety of their guests before anything. They probably aren't losing a ton of money because of this issue. If they were to change the belts back and someone was to get injured, it would cause a huge problem. People wouldn't ride MF at all.

lets talk about the skinny people here ive seen alot of skinny people get on mf and u wounder they dont fall out of the seats being so skinny u would think with all the gaps u would have a better chance of falling out than u would if u were a heavier person maybe im wrong

You are wrong. If you fit properly, you will be stapled in to that seat. Apparently, these restraints were not designed for guests of larger size, and for whatever reason if you are taller or have a bigger waist than the restraints were designed for, there is a risk the restraints will fail. Intamin wishes not to take any risks. You should be thankful.

As for losing weight...Jared did it. ;-) I, for one, know how it feels to have your metabolism working against you. In my case, it's too darn fast. However, i have seen my weight flucuate, and I notice that when I stick to my diet (more protien!) and work out in my limited free time my weight increases. Yes, you will have to replace your diet with a healthier one. (Gasp.) Yes, you must exercise. (Gasp.) My theory remains the same: in the end, you will not only be able to ride Millennium Force safely, but you'll thank yourself in your older years for that smaller waist line.

If you will read through the entire thread, you will see that the issue isn't size and weight. Large people have been turned away from Millennium Force since it opened. That's nothing new. There are other issues at play here.

The science behind the change seems questionable at best. Is it really "safer" to have a fastened belt with 1" slack vs. a fastened belt with no slack? If anything, I'd guess the fastened "no slack" belt is "safer". If you're stuffed in there that badly, you're less likely to come out...

If Cedar Point wants to convince me this change is necessary, they'll need to convince me it actually makes the ride safer. Good luck.

Dave A., any comments on the "science" behind this change? I can't imagine this makes sense to you either.

(P.S. Yes, I know -- questioning the science behind it is opening a can of worms. Next thing you know, they'll be turning people away who have "too much slack" -- which is probably the "less safe" scenario, if anything... )

Again, some of us are big but not fat, I am 6'4" and rode with no problem previously, I won't know till I get there whether or not I'll fit. I am more ticked off at people on this thread telling people to lose weight than I am at Cedar Point. Knowing Cedar Point I can't help but think that there will be some solution/compromise in the near future.

And by the way as a Shareholder I am not concerned about lighter crowds (no pun intended). The people that go only to ride a few rides are probably not the big spenders that the family of four, kids begging for toys, staying at Breakers types are.

FYI, over the course of the past week, Magnum's seatbelts were replaced and made 6 inches longer than they were when this season started. I just found that to be kind of interesting.

6 inches longer? I thought the belts were long enough to begin with.

I wouldn't be surprised if this belt rule remains in place for the course of this season. I'm sure the people at Intamin and CP are working on a compromise to deal with all the bad pr that the park has been getting now that the news people have gotten the info out. With the ACE tour coming next month and CoasterMania in September, it's going to really interesting to see what happens.

If they do come up with a better solution, just do one train at-a-time so the ride can stay open with two trains. I personally would like to see the belts lengthen an inch or so. Course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Ralph Wiggum, you're a genius. You've found the solution.

Just make the Millennium Force seatbelts 6" longer. There will be no problem getting 1" of slack. LOL!

I too agree that the ignorance of some people to say just lose some weight and you can ride. Wow if it was that simple Atkins would be broke as would Jenny Craig etc.

I also agree that CP and intamin will come up with a solution by the end of the year and also that the coaster freak is not their big money maker. However, CP is a very good organization and I am sure they will come up with something (I Hope) to stem the PR nightmare.