Rider Height Wristbands- What's the Point?

Exactly... and then they followed up by going to Pointbuzz to search for justification for their insolence.

I worked the guessing game for an evening.
Weight is easy, age is harder, and birthday is slightly better than 50/50.
But height? Now that's a tough one...

Bluestreaker said:

Sounds like some entitled parent is upset because his/her kid was measured more than once.

Did you even bother to read the original post? Nothing about that post sounded entitled, rather he was asking a legit question. I spent 11 years at Cedar Point and too often ride operators would make it sound like getting your child a wristband from either Town Hall or Park Operations would solve the problem of getting stopped at every entrance. Maybe this is what he experienced?

maybe they weren't referring to just the original post...

I really don't understand the issue with safety first, especially when it comes to children

I was referring to the overall tone of the thread. At least the way I'm reading it.

Maybe there should be metal detectors at every ride entrance that you need to go through in order to ride.

...

Or maybe going through one set of metal detectors as you enter the park is enough to declare someone as "safe".

Chuck Wagon wins the interweb award today.

You know, it really is frustrating how obnoxious some of the fanboy enthusiasts posting here can be. The parent who started this thread asked a legitimate, lucid and well-thought out question, only to be immediately subjected to public shaming by at least one person who is determined to defend any half-baked decision Cedar Fair makes like it was some kind of personal attack.

I agree. What is the sense of advertising (in the park's pamphlets) that you can have you child "officially" measured for height if the park has no intention of abiding by its own official measurement? Sure kids like wristbands, and seven minutes isn't much but that is beside the point. Why announce one policy and then have your entire crew expressly disregard it? Sounds like a well-meaning question to me. Why the rush to defend this kind of insanity from a "no-fun" corporation that in the last few years brought us metal detectors, TSA-style bag searches, cameras at game booths, test seats, maximum height limits and the rash of refillable cup thefts?

It also seems a bit harsh to deflect the question by invoking the tired, old "minimum wage employee" rationale. As anyone who has attended a Monday morning arraignment in the Sandusky Muni Court can attest, these "employees" mean less than nothing to Cedar Fair. They are used, abused and sent away constantly. If CP could possibly use robot animatronics to run their park, they would. Don't flatter yourself by believing otherwise.

Most parents (and park guests in general) are not out to screw the system. At Disney parks the staff goes out of their way to make sure you're having a great time. At Cedar Point, they go out of their way to enforce capricious and nonsensical policies and rules and to ensure that no one is possibly getting over on them, at least without paying a healthy premium for the privilege. Cedar Fair doesn't give a fig about safety. There i$ a much more pre$$ing motivation.... (Be$t day of $ummer, my a$$. )

Defend the corporation if you feel the need to, but don't expect that they would ever return the favor. But at least be civil to those posters who aren't as institutionalized as you may be.

Um....

Yes. Well said on all parts.

^^well I guess it's safe to say that 'Home to the biggest fans of the world's best amusement park' doesn't apply.
Seems odd to complain about corporate fanboys on a site that labels itself Home to the biggest FANS of the world's best amusement park.

(The company that brought us metal detectors, TSA-style bag searches, cameras at game booths, test seats, maximum height limits- pretty sure these were found at Disney first. )

I am a fan of Cedar Point. I grew up there and have continuously held a pass since 1992. If I am a fan of a baseball team, do I reserve the right to criticize any stupid or unpopular decisions they may make? If I didn't care, I wouldn't be emotionally invested. I still love CP. I used to have a lot more fun there, though, before they became so damned corporate.

I guess that it just irritates me to read well-meaning and constructive criticism shouted down by apologists who defend anything CP does like its their family honor.

(And Disney does not have game booths or maximum height limits and few, if any, test seats. Their rides are pretty accessible, And they don't have three tiers of costly parking plans either, at least not in Anaheim.)

You talkin about me? Because if you are, it's ok to call me by name. Then we'll go.

Go Where...Disney?

We just got back from two days at Kings Dominion. On the first day, our daughters got measured; the 9 year old hit the 54" mark (barely!), and the 5 year old was literally a millimeter away from the 48" mark. The 9 year old got her 54" band, and in a nod to common sense the employee gave our 5 year old a 48" band.

And guess what?

Not once on our trip did an employee measure my 5-year old (or 9 year old); they simply looked at the bands on their arms and let the 5-year old enjoy Grizzly, Avalanche, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Wave Swinger, and others. The 9-year-old got hassle-free rides on Intimidator and Volcano among others...

We made them keep those bands on their wrists overnight just in case, and day #2 was exactly the same in terms of not having to be bothered with the dreaded stick. Is it a time-suck? Absolutely not; that said, it was nice to see the wrist bands serve a purpose at this park. Any parent knows that when your kid is at the borderline it is hit or miss at any given ride; meaning, in one day you could get on a ride and not on it later in the day.

What a difference.

And there you have it.
I've been a visitor to CP for 55 years, and one of the main things that I've noticed since the beginning is the park's emphasis on rules. And yes, every park has and needs them, but it seems that CP leads the pack in rule making and enforcement. I'm usually a pretty good citizen but I've had my share of park reprimands over the years, usually for stupid s.

When CP started into its renaissance phase in the early 60's one of the things that Mssrs. Legros and Roose emphasized was cleanliness, courtesy, and safety. Surviving parks everywhere were trying to pull themselves out of a period when they were considered tawdry, tacky and unseemly places to go, and CP of the 50's was no exception. It was the worst.

Sparkling regionals started popping up , so it was made clear when the public was invited to the "all new" Cedar Point that they would have nothing to worry about and it was a nice place to go to again. Disneyland of the Midwest and all that. When I worked there in the 70's, the old guys would still patrol the grounds looking for infractions. And if we looked out onto the midway and saw one of them standing there watching you better believe we all snapped to.

Since then the park has changed hands and leadership several times, but I firmly believe that the original concept is so firmly entrenched as part of their core values that their daily operations continue in the same fashion to this day. If taking that extra step is evident then I'm not surprised, and if people these days feel inconvenienced by some of it then I'm not surprised by that either.

So if CP is so focused on the rules, why do I see people pretending to know someone further up in the line, like their "kids" or a "friend named bob" consistently cutting, or smokers always in the midways.

Do you think they don't have rules against those things? Cmon, man. 3 million guests. I'm sure they catch their fair share and many, many more than what you see.
Early in the season I'd had several early morning Maverick rides then headed over to catch a smoke in the designated smoking area. Without thinking I moseyed over to the fence behind it to look at MS forgetting I had a cig in my hand. There was literally no one around, but one of the CPLERR guys who was sweeping the platform of cobwebs made his way all the way from the other end to ask me to refrain from smoking and pointed out the area right behind me. I wasn't an ass about it but I did look at him. He laughed and said "I know, man, but I have to tell you".
I'm telling this little story on myself to hopefully emphasize that the park tries to stay on top of their self established rules as best they can, and it's ridiculous to say that because you personally see the occasional infraction that they don't.
My point was to say that throughout history they've always been a little over the top when it comes to making guests toe the line, sometimes to the point of excessiveness.

And I totally appreciate (and expect) that at Cedar Point. What's interesting to me as a (first) parent and a (second) consumer is the difference in behavior and culture.

As I stated in my previous posts, my expectations from Cedar Point are pretty clear. What's interesting to me is that two parks in the same chain can behave so very differently.

That said, Kings Dominion was a breath of fresh air in a way, from a parent's point of view, in this regard. Then again, I'm not someone who is trying to take advantage of a system or put my child in some sort of risk.

I guess we've been lucky to have the exact opposite experience. My son, who just hit 54", gets a wristband every time we go. In general he walks right through the turnstile with no measurement.

When he was 48" tall, the CP employee at the entrance to Mine Ride told him that he was tall enough to ride (with a measurement). Then he was remeasured again after we waited in line and was told that he wasn't tall enough to ride. That's why we started to get the wristbands to begin with.

I was surprised when I was there last night hearing a ride op on Mine Ride saying that they re-measure kids with wristbands. On multiple laps, there was a kid who was just under the height requirement. One of the parents said their kid had been able to ride other 48" rides during the day and they should have had her measured for a wristband. Ride op said even with a wristband, they re-measure. Seems to me it totally defeats the purpose of having wristbands.