No cell phones... at all

I know I am in the vast (EDIT ) minority of adults that do not own a cell phone, but none the less we pay the $10 a day for the multi use locker feature, and have zero worries all day long.

I truly don't care if someone rides SV or any ride with a cell phone, in fact every time I rode SV this weekend they asked if I had one, so it slows down the entry. The box behind the ride hosts with the smashed up phones made me smile I will say.

So Sunday there was a can of chew on a ride support right outside the FP queue, and a dirty sock. Monday the chew was gone, but the sock remained - weird.

For whatever it's worth, I stood in line yesterday 40 minutes waiting to ride Steel Vengeance and for the second time, I did not see anyone with a cell phone. The policy seems to have worked for the 1 hour and 40 minutes I've stood in line since its implementation.

They have a box of smashed cell phones in the diamondback queue. Most are phones from 2002-2006 but the ride didn’t open til 2009. They just put trash in those boxes; not actual lost phones.

This still really irks me as someone who always makes sure to wear clothing that ensures I will not lose an item despite looking like a total dork. It's not about being entertained for the wait, it's about being unable to be reached for any emergencies during the wait. What if I ride to the park with a friend and split up with them since they don't want to ride Steel Vengeance? What if I'm visiting with my children and need for them to be able to call me? What if I have a job that requires me to pick up the phone and answer questions sometimes?

But most importantly from a business standpoint, it's 2018. People are attached to their phones. How many times have we all seen groups using their phone to play games together?

Also as others have pointed out, why only cell phones? My keys could do some serious damage as could some sunglasses. The policy even explicitly states those things must be in a zipped pocket but I didn't hear a word about that from any of the staff members, only the abrasive folks at the entrance staring down every guest entering the line for a few seconds as they shouted about cell phones.

They've simply got go find another way to deal with this sort of thing if they want to attract guests. My personal favorite would be a locker bank accessible before and after the station like Holiday World.

It’s 2018, get a lte smart watch if you are so important that businesses will collapse or people will die if you are unable to be reached in an hour.

They are inexpensive and $10 on a plan, get your job to pay for it.

Also, what do you do on airplanes without WiFi to be reached in these dire emergencies?

I meant minority in my original post, I know I am behind the times - by about 15 years!

RyanRSheets said:

...it's about being unable to be reached for any emergencies during the wait. What if I ride to the park with a friend and split up with them since they don't want to ride Steel Vengeance? What if I'm visiting with my children and need for them to be able to call me? What if I have a job that requires me to pick up the phone and answer questions sometimes?

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time people were able to sit through entire movies, and even an entire day at Cedar Point without having immediate access to a phone. We survived. Somehow. You will too.

XS NightClub said:
It’s 2018, get a lte smart watch if you are so important that businesses will collapse or people will die if you are unable to be reached in an hour.

They are inexpensive and $10 on a plan, get your job to pay for it.

Also, what do you do on airplanes without WiFi to be reached in these dire emergencies?

Okay, pick a tiny, narrow piece of my post and fixate on it.

I never said business would collapse or people would die, if that was the case I shouldn't be in line, I should be at the office.

Watches necessarily have a very limited feature set and nowhere near the call quality of a smart phone. If I'm halfway through the line and it's something I just need to see a picture of to make up my mind, I'm going to pull up the picture and probably give my response via text.

Flying on a plane and waiting in line are entirely different scenarios and if you fly on a plane you'll notice that they've tried hard to accommodate despite the regulations.

But really you just ignored the part about how cell phones are integral to the experience for most these days. The park acknowledges this with free wifi even in line for Steel Vengeance, park apps and even characters for roller coasters appearing in those apps. Hell, Top Thrill's AR photo op piece is in the queue! It's contradictory to their own strategy and there are better ways to deal with this problem. I don't expect them to fix it this season but hopefully they'll read all these comments and do something in the off season.

If it wasn't for the idiots who take out their phone to record their own video of the ride this rule wouldn't be in effect. And these same people would not place their phone in a free box/locker in the station.

^That's not true. The rule was put in place immediately after the incident at Kings Dominion, when a phone flew out of someone's pocket.

I just can’t believe this is a continuing conversation! Although, I never even thought about carrying my phone in the park. I’ve always left it in my truck. Just one less thing to carry. I stick to keys & cash.

djDaemon said:

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time people were able to sit through entire movies, and even an entire day at Cedar Point without having immediate access to a phone. We survived. Somehow. You will too.

Our ancestors used to get by without a lot of things...indoor plumbing, cars, Cedar Point. I trust that you don't use a car or an indoor toilet in respect to them. Probably shouldn't go to CP either.

I can stand in line for SV without driving nor pooping the entire time, so your analogy is poor.

I spent more years of my life standing in line without a smartphone than with. I could do it, so can everyone else. I don't see much "business" being conducted in a ride line, just stupid Facebook posts, games and selfies. It's mostly crap, no one will go insane without it.

^^and your ancestors used to get by just fine without a car so your analogy is poor to start with.

Our ancestors got by without fast lane, what did enthusiasts bitch about?

I assume they complained about every year coming and going without the announcement of that AquaTrax.

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time people were able to sit through entire movies, and even an entire day at Cedar Point without having immediate access to a phone. We survived. Somehow. You will too.

Its not hard for me to imagine those days as I lived them. Not only at Cedar Point but in general. But the pace of business has changed in the last 10-15 years. Dramatically. And in large part its because of smart devices and mobile connectivity. Both a blessing and a curse. Allow you to work anywhere so you are not tied to an office chair. But also allow for 24/7 access which for many of my clients is now the expectation. Will people die or businesses collapse if I do not response to them in an hour? Pretty much never. Reality is though that is also true had I not worked all this week. No one would have died and no business would have collapsed. Using that as a standard isn't helpful for much of anything (though not as worthless as the world not ending).

What could happen if I don't respond quickly? May well lose the client (either to someone else in the firm or to another firm). Have that happen too often and the firm loses me. Isn't that 24/7 expectation always true? Nope. Though it is becoming more common. And a sure way to lose a client it to tell them that their expectation isn't justified or real.

In terms of a smartwatch, I am reading and responding to emails and reviewing documents. Don't see how that would work with a watch (there are enough challenges on a phone screen sometimes). And the smartwatches I have seen require you to have your phone near. Wouldn't that require that you have your phone with you in line (presumably in your pocket not so that you are complying with the CP rule but so you don't get caught breaking it). The issue isn't with having a phone with you and/or using it while in line. Its having it on the ride and losing it. Not sure how the smartwatch helps in that instance if you must have your phone in your pocket.

Cedar Point is an entertainment venue. Smartphones are becoming more and more popular and more and more a part of every day life for more and more people. Older generation dying off will accelerate that. Winning strategy as an entertainment venue isn't to tell people that what you expect to be able to do (and which we encourage you to do via wifi access, CP apps and social media, etc) but then restrict the use of it (particularly not by saying 40 years ago no one had phones at Cedar Point and everyone survived or you are just spending time on Facebook, taking selfies, etc. so none of that matters).

People are still blaming this rule on “the riders who just have to record a video of their ride”? Do phones fly out of peoples’ hands on rides? Absolutely. But I’m telling you the vast majority of phones lost fly out of peoples’ pockets because they think it’s safe there. Hence the reason for the mandatory locker.

Its not a mandatory locker (at least not how I understand the policy is being enforced). They ask you if you have a phone when you enter the line. They have people scanning the line looking for people using their phones. If you answer no to the question and keep your phone in your pocket while in line (or use it and manage not to be spotted by an employee while in line) you can ride with your phone. And even if you answer no, I suspect they do not escort you to a locker and watch you put it in a locker but only state that you must do so. Circle around a little and come back to the line entrance with phone still in your pocket and answer no to the phone question and presumably you can just keep it out of sight in the line and ride with it in your pocket.

A mandatory locker policy would involve metal detectors/scanner wands like Universal uses. This policy (as enforced) seems to me to be less about rider/customer safety than reducing the park's liability. Their policy (as enforced) allows for phones on the ride just that the park does not know about. They are also reducing use of phones while in line which itself isn't a safety issue.