Rides Close at What Wind Speeds?

So, a trip is planned, but the predicted winds are around 20-30mph the whole day.

Now, I used to go to CP 20 times per year, but I'm limited to once or twice now. I remember many days when Raptor, Magnum, Top Thrill Dragster, MF, etc. were closed for wind.

Knowing many here are CP enthusiasts, does anyone know the wind speed it takes to shut down the rides in my previous paragraph?

With Maverick down, I'd hate to be further disappointed by having all the best roller coasters closed for wind.

How does the weather affect the rides and attractions at Cedar Point?

Rides will close due to weather conditions, particularly rain, high winds and/or lightning. A specific answer as to which rides close or remain open is not possible because varying degrees of inclement weather cause different effects on different rides. Those rides affected the most are the roller coasters and the high rides. Cedar Point makes every effort to reopen the rides as quickly and safely as possible after the adverse weather conditions cease.

High winds:
Demon Drop, Gemini, Giant Wheel, Magnum XL-200, Mantis, maXair, Mean Streak, Millennium Force, Power Tower, Raptor, Sky Ride, Skyhawk, Space Spiral, Top Thrill Dragster, Snoopy Bounce (in Camp Snoopy), RipCord (in Challenge Park) and Zoom Flume (in Soak City).

Most of these are 25-30+ MPH but SkyRide will shut down at 20.

^better add Raptor to that list.

We all know what happens when someone dispatches Raptor, especially when empty, in high winds.

Skyride will shutdown for a lot of things *end sarcasm*

Yes, after seeing what happened to the Raptor, I'm sure that's on the list.

bholcomb said:
High winds:
Demon Drop, Gemini, Giant Wheel, Magnum XL-200, Mantis, maXair, Mean Streak, Millennium Force, Power Tower, Raptor, Sky Ride, Skyhawk, Space Spiral, Top Thrill Dragster, Snoopy Bounce (in Camp Snoopy), RipCord (in Challenge Park) and Zoom Flume (in Soak City).

It was right there.

Raptor is also affected by direction. If it is coming off the Bay, the wind will keep the train from reaching the MCBR. I would imagine high winds in general can cause problems for it, but that direction specifically causes the most.

I copied that from the official website.

Thanks for the replies, but I figured someone working these rides might know an exact wind speed where they're told to shut down. With lake effect wind adding to Tuesday's forecasted high winds, it'll be a very borderline day to go.

I did find interesting information on Wikipedia about Dragster and Raptor wind, though not sure how accurate.

For TTD:

"Top Thrill Dragster will not operate in winds or gusts exceeding 35 mph. A sensor placed at the top of the hill reads out onto a display in the control room. If winds persist above 35 mph for over 5 seconds, the trouble light will illuminate and the ride will emergency stop. Standard Operating Procedures requires Operator 'High Wind Speed' Confirmation at 20, 25 and 30 mph. Operators are required to notify Park Operations when wind speeds are greater than 25 mph. This is a safety and operational precaution, because a strong wind will prevent Top Thrill Dragster's cars from successfully cresting its hill."

For Raptor:

"Raptor will not operate empty in winds stronger than 20 mph. The Raptor will not operate loaded in wind speeds greater than 30 mph."

Years ago when I worked Millennium Force, we started morning testing. The wind was was quite strong and solid but it was also cold out. We sent one train around, it went around slow but okay. The second went up the lift and the wind speed increased. When the train was coming over the hill back from the island, it slowed to nearly a stop. We couldn't tell if it was moving. After several long seconds, it started to creep forward. When it reached the overbanked turn, it slowed to a crawl. When the train came out of the overbanked turn, it hit the brakes and slowed in the brakes when the front was about halfway into the first brake run. It took well over a minute to clear the first brake run. The ride was shut down for weather for the rest of the day. If memory serves me right, we were down for weather the next day for simular winds.

As a side note, if you have been near the front of Millennium Force's load station in wind, you will notice that it acts like a wind tunnel. That day was neat because you could stand there and lean quite far into the wind and it would hold you up.

High winds have made many a trip to Cedar Point very disappointing.

High winds have made many a trip to Cedar Point very disappointing.

Demon Drop experienced wind issues on Monday. The wind prevented the car from reaching the drop area and it got stuck up there until they pushed it over. The wind also stopped the empty cars when they were flat, before dropping to the station. I decided to stay and watch them fix it...guess it happens when you're into engineering.

TTD was also down for wind for most of the afternoon due to wind.

I'm not sure what else closed, but I think Magnum did for a bit, but it may have been mechanical. *** Edited 5/16/2007 1:38:20 AM UTC by Kyle Dersch***

Ffej is right about TTD closing if winds at the top exceed 35mph. I read something on cedarpoint.com one time that said it was 35mph. By the way, TTD closed for about ten minutes due to winds on Sunday and then when it opened back, it launched and it stopped at the top for about 5 seconds. Then it rolled over the hill. Then 2 trains later, I rode and totally flew over the top.

I was watching the mechanics push the car up there on Demon Drop. I thought it would be kind of scary. The car was in the drop position, but only a few inches off. Literally just kind of hanging there.

This morning for Raptor ERT, they were only sending full trains due to wind. We had to wait a good 15 minutes before there were enough people to fill the train.

Welcome to Cedar Point the 3rd most windy place in the USA.