NEW Policy with MF seatbelts?

Is it realy worth going to cedar point because of the weight and the new seatbelts?

come on guys...lets just shift the blame to where it REALLY belongs....

ED MARKEY!!!

if he wasnt such a raving lunatic over this kind of stuff, maybe Intamin and CP wouldnt be freaking out so much!!

"wont somebody think of the children"?--Mrs Lovejoy

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Magnum XL-200 said:
Well, it has been said that the seat belts were "modified" at the begin of this year. I noticed this last saturday day cause I couldn't get the belt to click, where last year I was able to (rode it 4 times last year). Just had to put it under the arm rest and do a little stretching to get it. Now this year, it seems like it's about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch shorter.

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I had difficulty fitting on MF early LAST season and wrote to the VP of Park Operations and received a mostly canned response but one which said that ALL the belts were replaced at the beginning of the *2002* season (which baffled me, 'cause I rode fine in 2002)... are you saying that the belts were replaced again at the beginning of this season.?.... Just curious...

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servo said:
i'm just curious about something...indulge me please....

how many of you have been turned away/removed form the ride due to "extreme size" so far this year, even after MANY rides in the past??

how many of you are considering staying away FOREVER?

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I was turned away this weekend because I couldn't get the extra slack required in my buckled seatbelt. My "gut" reaction (pardon the pun) is to stay away from CP forever, and never ride anything Intamin again. After being so publically humiliated, I've started a very strict diet. I know I'll loose enough weight to be "acceptable" to CP. But can I forgive what they did to me and so many others? There'd be no dilema for me if we weren't talking about MF. I go to CP at least 3x a year, and ride nothing but MF. No other coaster comes close to it. (my track record is over 300 coasters) I can't imagine life without MF. Maybe I'll compromise. Ride MF, but no more Breakers or CP gift shops. By the way ... does anyone else think it ironic that CP is discriminating against people who are even slightly overweight, yet what's one of their big new attractions this year? A donut shop. I think they know what they can do with their donuts.

MF never accomodated 46" girth riders. I have a friend who has a 44" waist and he didn't even come close to fitting the test seat last year. I wear a 36 and they checked my belt 2 times,tugging it as much as they could.

This issue is now the lead item on channel 5's website here in Cleveland.

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SandyandTom said:

I think they know what they can do with their donuts.

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mmmmmmm donuts...droooollll...

sorry. just trying to bring a little humor in here...

I fortunately was able to ride MF opening weekend, however not without slight humiliation. I had no troube fitting on MF last season, and am 20 pounds lighter this year. I am not skinny, but not large enough to be considered "of exceptional size". So while I had no trouble last year, this year I had to have the ride op assist with the seat belt while guests on the platform and all those waiting in line with a clear view, watch as he yelled at me to "keep pulling...i need to see at least an inch of black"...That made my ride very unpleasant, and I did not return and will not return to MF in fear of this happening again. I did however ride every other coaster, including Blue Streak, with NO problems. I understand Cedar Point and their safety standards, but whether or not the ride ops are new and getting used to this new procedure does not excuse them from being blatantly rude and drawing attention to a humiliated guest.

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servo said:
i'm just curious about something...indulge me please....

how many of you have been turned away/removed form the ride due to "extreme size" so far this year, even after MANY rides in the past??

how many of you will stay away from CP until this is fixed PROPERLY, allowing as many as possible to ride?

how many of you are considering staying away FOREVER?

just wondering what the numbers here are...cos if theyre as big as i think they are HERE, imagine what they'll be like in a few weeks when this REALLY hits the fan...

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I have sort of answered this in my prior posts. I have already cancelled my June trip to CP in favor of going to Michigan Adventure instead as a result of the seatbelt policy. So Cedar Fair isnt losing as much money with me, although they are losing some.

However, if the policy is changed (or I lose about 10 to 15 lbs LOL) I will definately go back. In fact, I'am tentatively planning on going during Halloweekends at this point. If they never change the policy and I cant fit, it would be a tough one. They will have to build another great coaster like MF that I can fit on before I will head back there. MF is my primary reason for going to CP. So I would need some other incentive to go if that is taken away permanently from me. I have Shivering Timbers an hour away that I CAN fit on with no problem, so I can still get my coaster fix even though I will miss MF and I would like to try Dragster, someday!

Honestly, I think I might fit right now. LOL, I pulled out the measuring tape and started measuring my "girth" (I wonder how many of us on the borderline here have been doing this!). I'am right there at the limit, I think if I sucked it in and they tugged on the belt I would probebly make it. But a 4 hour drive (one way) isnt worth the chance for me at this point. Plus one of my friends that would go may not make it either, so it would be an all around downer day under that scenario.

Servo, are you ready for THE tour next year??!! Probebly a good thing not to go to CP to much, I need to save money for 2005 anyway!

tell me about it dude!!

i hope yer coming to Chicago for services at the "church" on West Adams Street!!

boy, would a little "Streets" taste good right now or what??

[... does anyone else think it ironic that CP is discriminating against people who are even slightly overweight, yet what's one of their big new attractions this year? A donut shop. I think they know what they can do with their donuts.

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I wonder if CF will take aways some junk food stands and add some fruit stands like Disney has?

I was there today and I had no trouble with MF It was close though I have a 37" waist. 6ft1" 250. I saw quite a few angry people though that have ridden many times before. The seatbelts are small to begin with.. so I guess us "Biggens" will have to start purging in the clean bathrooms only. (snake river falls are usually the cleanest) down with the junk food.. up with the junkfood and a riding we will go...

Please keep your finger inside your throat at all times while our food makes it way out of your station! failure to do so will result in removal from the park.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know when they repositioned the seatbelts? I'm trying to figure out if opening day was before or after the seatbelt mandate came down the pike.

i would still like to know how the inch slack makes it any safer. They really shouldn't say they can accomodate up to 46 inch waiste. Because its not really about the waiste size, it's about how big your upper legs are.

I had a similar experience to that of Michelle B on opening day (it was night by then). The ride worker wasn't rude nor did he call attention to my situation. For that, I'm grateful.

Like Michelle, it did ruin the ride to some extent since I realized that my rides on MF were probably at an end, in my case, after four years of having no problems riding. My MF rides, apparently are finished, at least until I drop some weight (about 20 pounds based on the new guidelines on the CP Web site). By my recollection, the CP Web site previously stated 250 pounds as one of the benchmarks. It now says 225. I believe the site also mentions different waist size etc. Did this just change this week?

Some folks say the belts are no shorter. Some folks say the belts are routed differently, and others say they are not.

In the News 5 piece, "Cedar Point officials" (presumably Robin Innes since the subsequent direct quote is attributed to him) say the seat-belt brackets have been altered, resulting in a tighter fit, or NO FIT for a larger person. Obviously, the slack rule comes into play here, which is acknowledged in the story.

Is the media missing the boat here or just doing an inadequate job of explaining what's going on? Could someone please explain to me what's different?

Is it possible that all these people who are complaining (me included) just got more enormous over the past six months (unbeknowst to us)? We fit before but don't now. I weigh no more than I did at my last doctor's appointment, on Aug. 20, 2003. I was able to ride MF four times in the last 20 minutes of the 2003 season with no trouble and every other time early last season.

As for Dragster, is anything different there. The test seat is damn near an impossible fit, although last Sunday, a ride worker assured me that I'd be able to ride. (I didn't try for a variety of reasons). I was able to ride Dragster about 20 times last year with no difficulty.

A little clarity would be helpful.

I thank you all. *** Edited 5/20/2004 8:10:22 AM UTC by Boatman***

This story was also on Detroit's local news channel 7 this morning at 5am. The problem was they explained the belt change and larger people being asked to use the test seat and related this the the recent accident on Superman. They did not mention unfortunately, that there is a large population of people who formally could ride and can still even fasten their seatbelts that are no longer allowed to ride. Oh well, at least part of the message is out there. *** Edited 5/20/2004 10:21:01 AM UTC by cyberdman***

I wish someone could get this on FOX news. We need more talk on this through out the country.

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Jeff said:
It has been said over and over... the belts have not been changed. They aren't being routed any different. Some of you keep confusing the issue.

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"Cedar Point officials say the ride's manufacturer mandated the seatbelt brackets be repositioned after a man was killed when he fell off the Superman coaster at Six Flags New England." Sounds like to me that the seatbelts were changed

Does anyone know if there are any engineering solutions to this problem that Cedar Point is considering. New belts, etc.? It is usually not like CP to just sit back and take a lot of bad publicity or ill will.

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Jeff said:

Cedar Point's correct action is, "Intamin: If your seats are unsafe you had better replace them post-haste, and make sure our guests can ride them. If you can't do that, I don't think we'll be purchasing any more $25 million rides from you.

Of course, after (during) the Dragster nonsense, I wouldn't buy any rides from them anymore, period.

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I agree. Why chance it and make your guests mad with a dumb policy requiring an inch of slack. (after being at the park yesterday and watching the station of MF CP could be in for problems when the peak season hits. By that I mean MF was stacking just about every time. Dispatch intervals were between 1:20 - 2:10. In the 45 minutes we were standing there we saw about 16 people walk off the entrance platform). Anyway I order the new seat design and T-bar (that would be dragsters), and install it on MF's trains immediately. That is the correct and sure fix to be entirely safe. Dragsters seats are better, the bar is better, it's just 100 times more comfortable then MilF...I mean MF. Even if CP has to pay for it I still would do it. But there not going to if they have to pay, that isn't CP style. Instead they have this nonsense policy, that turns away guests, and loses business for them. When in my opinion all they have to do is change the seat & T-bar to Dragsters which is the safest design, thus keeping customers and making MF even better. NAH, that's too easy. *** Edited 5/20/2004 1:58:50 PM UTC by Hooper***

CP shouldn't have to pay for the seats to be replaced. If there is a safety flaw with the seats that doesn't allow larger yet reasonably proportioned guests to ride a ride then there is a problem. Especially since it would seem that most of these guests were able to safely ride for the past 4 years and now suddenly they can't?!
I agree with Jeffs standpoint that if intamin can't fix their ride to make it safe for everyone (within reason, I mean if you've got a 52 inch waist then you're not going to fit, but if you've got a 40" waist, you are of reasonable size and should be able to fit, just as you have for 4 years) then they shouldn't be purchasing anymore intamin rides, which is fine with me because I much prefer the couple B&M rides at CP and would like to see some more.

Thats my .011 pounds
John