No cell phones... at all

I am trying to make sure I am understanding this right. People are not responsible enough to secure their belongings so some people believe the solution is to trust the same people to be responsible enough to put their stuff in a bin and to only take their stuff out of the bin. Seems like solid logic. Bins used to be a great solution to the loose item problem but that was before people taking items valued at $100s of dollars (smart phones). The value of items placed in bins is much higher now so that means theft is going to be more tempting and previlent.
As for exceptions for zipper pockets, I feel that will create a huge mess. You will have a discussion of what makes a pocket secure (zipper, velcro, button, pocket on inside of clothing?). Also having a zipper pocket doesn't mean that you will put it in that pocket or zipper it shut. It has been proven by the fact they are making and in forcing this rule that the public isn't to be trusted when it come to securing loose articles. Then you will constantly have arguments were Jim bob is raging that you can have your phone in line but he can't.
Finally this is not a cash grab. If it is to be believe that attendance is down then why would they add a policy that will only upset guests and give then a reason to not return? A repeat guest is worth a lot more to them than a guest buying a $2 locker and being upset.

I don't know how the parks in Europe do it, but I hear they all seem to manage station bins fine, and Europa is known for its extremely fast dispatches among enthusiasts. Does anybody here know how those work? Perhaps the US parks could learn from their counterparts in Europe.

Station bins don't have to kill capacity, but I imagine they have to be implemented differently than most rides at CP do.

Unfortunately, the reason why this is an issue is because a few people failed to properly secure loose items in the first place (even though it is clearly stated). You just cannot fix stupid! So because of a that, we are stuck with zero tolerance policy.

I am guessing even if the lockers were free people would still try to take the phone in with them. So back to a zero tolerance policy. It is just the security/crutch/lifeline that we seemed need to have to have our phones. I get that- it is nice to be connected to our friends or social media. Hey, I had to talk to my wife the whole time while waiting on Saturday. :-)

So on the idea of bins in the station: So what makes anyone think that these people will put their phones in a bin? Who/how are you going to ensure that the phone goes in the bin? Some people think the dispatch times would increase minimally, I am not in that camp. I know it works with some of the other coasters like GK but those trains do not require you to crawl over/through (slowing down the process) to get to the bin. Maverick you have to crawl through but Maverick has a long load cycle time IMO to begin with along with the smaller capacity trains which does not hinder dispatching of the trains. I would be willing to try the idea if we could make sure that everyone somehow complied.

Not sure how to solve this problem- maybe shut down the WiFi- reducing desire for people to have their phones with them, problem solved :-)

Holiday World has free lockers on the platform. At least they did the last time I was there. You just strap the key around your wrist. It slows dispatches but Cedar Point isn't as fast as they were before anyway.

That article about the Twisted Timbers incident says the guy said he put his phone in a zippered pocket and forgot to zip it. I guess that can happen and could be why they won't make an exception for zippered pockets. It sucks but they have to do something if a phone in a pocket does that much damage.

Amazon has a solution for just about everything. Don’t think I will go this route but some will.

https://www.amazon.com/Speakeasy-Briefs-Underwear-Secret-Pocket/dp/B07DHWYBDG

^ That looks uncomfortable.

Why not just require all riders wear full-faced helmets and let the smart phones, car keys, loose change and dentures fly!

ANNNDDD, Uncle Steve for the win

I hope this policy is just a stopgap until a more permanent policy can be devised that balances safety with guest experience.

Today will probably my first trip with this rule. I guess I shall take one silver lining, I will save more phone data now (the wi-fi never was strong enough at least for me in the tunnels in the queue).

There are tons of secret pockets you can get. It doesn't have to be on your junk, and shouldn't be especially when you're on a coaster. If Cedar Point decides to allow phones that are secure, they sell arm band holders for runners. If not, you're still breaking the rules.

Seeing it from a safety standpoint, banning phones on the ride is a great move. However, charging riders to put them in a locker is ridiculous. With that said, any suggestion of adding bins is ridiculous also (in reference to a lot of tweets and FB comments). Perhaps adding something on the load side gates with 3 slots (1 for each train of course) that guests can put their phones in while riding. The monitoring is absurd as it seems like they will be watching like a hawk to see if anybody has a phone out in line. Quite frankly it sounds like a school teacher who is upset that a student has their phone out during a test. But if everybody was responsible enough to keep their belongings secured and actually cared about the safety of guests around them, it shouldn’t have to come to this. I’m kind of torn here.

Front Seat Rider said:

Holiday World has free lockers on the platform. At least they did the last time I was there. You just strap the key around your wrist. It slows dispatches but Cedar Point isn't as fast as they were before anyway..

They no longer have those lockers.

It was very strange being in line for SV on Sunday and not seeing people's faces buried in their phones. People were actually talking amongst themselves and even with strangers...too weird.

If this policy is going to help prevent me from needing reconstructive surgery on my face, I'm for it. I was on Magnum two weeks ago and the moron in front of me was recording him and his friends the entire ride. If it had flown out of his hand, there was going to be Hell to pay.

In addition to the threat to those on the ground/onboard, the 3-inch long crack in my screen protector which came about as a result of the insane airtime on SV makes me think the no phone policy is a good one overall; however, there should be some alternative to paying for a locker.
I’m reiterating what others have already said but the GP isn’t going to comply with a rule that’s seen as a money grab. After all, money is the greatest motivator - they’ve gotta make it free to follow the rule.

In my opinion, given all the options, the mesh pockets would work the best and would have a marginal (if any) effect on operation time.

I was doing laps on The Voyage a few years ago. Had my phone in an upper zippered pocket in my jacket. As I unzipped my pocket to check the time, the ride op started talking to me. Evidently, as cautious as I had been on the previous rides, the ride op distracting me helped me to forget to zip my pocket up. My phone flew past 2 kids faces and was left out in the spaghetti bowl. While I was disappointed to lose my phone, I was extremely relieved I didn't hurt the kids behind me.

That’s the pitfall right there. Someone else above mentioned forgetting to close the pocket on Twisted Timbers. I don’t think it would add an outrageous amount of time to each dispatch for the ride ops to quickly verify that the pockets are closed when they check restraints. If my memory serves me correctly there are usually 4 ops on the platform itself checking the lap bars/seatbelts. Perhaps those who start at the back side of the station could visually verify the zippers are on the right side as they make their way forward. Just a thought

My screen protector gets cracked riding any ride, not just SV. I go through all of winter no issues, moment I start riding coasters I get a crack. My unlimited screen protector replacement plan has gotten a lot of use.

A phone in a zippered pocket should not be considered a loose article, and it is the rider's responsibility to zip that pocket. Perhaps a reminder in the station would be helpful for people with secured pockets? Because it's just not right that one person who forgets to zip a pocket will ruin it for everybody else.

Just remember, it can always be worse. My brother was at Fuji-Q. While checking his restraint, the ride op found a park map in a zippered pocket. They unlocked his restraint, put the map in a locker, and gave him the key before checking his restraint again. Made for very slow loading times.

So what are people doing with their phones? Are they actually paying for the locker or just keeping it in their pockets and not pulling it out?

^^ Don't think that can't happen here. Five years ago we probably thought CP would never implement this policy, it was just a Universal thing. And yet, here we are.