I think we are all dissapointed becasue we are not used to this from Cedar Point, face it, this really hasn't happened here before, we are so used to CP being perfect that when there not, we notice it even more than any other park. CP has set their standards high, and now for the first time, they arn't meeting the public's expectations.
1) I am not a C.P Season Pass Holder. I make the 200 Mile Trek from Michigan once per year to go to Cedar Point, so I have the opportunity to go once per year. I am working a full time job, and paying mortgage Payments, so the extra money is not there, considering i make less than 20,000/year. So I can only go once per year.
2) I have had a BLAST every year I have been to Cedar Point. Before TTD, Before WT, before MF, Before Mantis. Sure, I get chills watching the commercial for TTD. But if it happens to be down for the two days I will be there I will understand that it WILL BE THERE NEXT YEAR AND THE YEAR AFTER.....How old is Blue Streak ? :)
3) If I was in the car, ready to launch, and something happened, I would be mature enough to understand that S**T happens!!! There is not some evil ride op in the control Booth pushing the Big Red "BREAK DOWN" Button....I am fairly sure on this. Once again IT WILL BE THERE FOR ME TO ENJOY FOR YEARS TO COME
4) "They marketed the H**L out of the ride"....yes, which ride HAVEN'T they marketed a lot....I am sure almost everyone remembers the commercial for M.F. That isn't even a valid reason to say " I am going to cedar point to ride Dragster, cause it is new and i want to be one of the many who got to ride in it's first year"...and you can all say "that isn't the point" til you are blue in the face. If you are starting a thread like this one, you are obviously upset. And tats the bottom line 'cause I said so :)
get ready to make the same arguments over and over again "disappointed ones"
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If you're scared of heights, you won't be after Cedar Point
This has happened to CP before. It's not like they WANT the ride to be down. They hate disappointing people who make the trek and hope to ride the premier attraction. They are well aware of the nightmare having a premier attraction down.
BTW, not sure when ERT on Dragster is supposed to happen today for Coastermania, but it doesn't appear to be running right now. Going to be a lot MORE disappointed people if it's not up by tonight.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm
*** This post was edited by OldCPer 6/6/2003 8:41:51 AM ***
Not being able to ride TTD is nothing. Try driving in a car for a whole week with your family to goto Wallyworld only to get there and have some moose out front tell you "Sorry folks, parks closed!!" Worst vacation ever.
Indeed! However a ton of great coaster I've already ridden COUNTLESS times.
I'm not going to sit here and flame about driving 4 hours (big deal) and not being able to ride TTD yesterday... I've already experienced it! ..i just feel bad for those not fortunate enough to ride yet. ...i was sad about the situation for just a little, then i played a game and WON!!!! ..."big Ernie"!!!!!!
..that and hearing this lady screaming BLOODY MURDER the WHOLE ENTIRE RIDE on Magnum made the trip more than worth it!!!!
TTD will be up and running soon enough, and you can bet your sweet ass I'll be back for more!
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The B E S T SEVENTEEN s-e-c-o-n-d-s of SHEER >>InSaNitY<< I've E V E R experienced!
Raptor1117 said:
well im sure Cedar Point is getting a ton of very worded phone calls and letters about how disapointed people are with Dragster. People are coming from all over the country, and the world to ride this ride, some say it's not Cedar Point's problem that the ride has bugs, well yes it is. I was there yesterday and heard people complaining about how CP has dropped the ball, and that T"TD is a $25 million pile of crap" or "TTD is doing Top Thrill Nothing" some were even calling it "Top Thrill Crapster". No one at CP is going to say "Wow, that Intamin, they really need to work out the bugs in their new coasters," People will blame the park. Even if its not at CP, if they have come to ride that one big ride of the year and its not working, the park gets blamed.
CP cannot be held responsible for the TTD breaking. Anyone who does is crazy! CP wants very much for this monster to run like the wind because of the profit motive. Holding CP responsible for TTD breaking is like holding American Airlines responsible for the T-storm that is keeping you from landing at your destination. Some things are an act of god and a new machine is just going to break more, whether we like it or not. So all you whiners go ride the 15 other coasters that have no line!
Raptor1117 said:
well im sure Cedar Point is getting a ton of very worded phone calls and letters about how disapointed people are with Dragster. People are coming from all over the country, and the world to ride this ride, some say it's not Cedar Point's problem that the ride has bugs, well yes it is. I was there yesterday and heard people complaining about how CP has dropped the ball, and that T"TD is a $25 million pile of crap" or "TTD is doing Top Thrill Nothing" some were even calling it "Top Thrill Crapster". No one at CP is going to say "Wow, that Intamin, they really need to work out the bugs in their new coasters," People will blame the park. Even if its not at CP, if they have come to ride that one big ride of the year and its not working, the park gets blamed.
Yes, CP has this kind of problem EVERY SINGLE YEAR! That is why they win the golden ticket, 4 years running now. A majority of the GP cannot comprehend the technology of TTD, and cannot understand why a ride that is brand new is going to have problems. It is too bad that your day was filled with quoting people with the disappointment of TTD being down, next time stay home and play with your N-64.
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The best thing about Six Flags "Worlds of Adventure" is that Cedar Point is nearby!
1) If you come to CP solely to ride TTD, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. There are far too many factors that can close TTD right now. Hell, if you come to CP ( or any other park for that matter ) to solely ride one ride you always stand a chance that it won't be running. Be rational, and have resonable expectations.
Do you have a right to be upset if you don't get to ride TTD? Sure. You paid your cash, and wanted to ride. Remember, however, that the admission price gets you into the park. That's it. All of the rides could be closed. No rain checks. The admission price is a chance to ride, not a guarantee.
It's tough to gauge the GP's overall satisfaction with CP based on a comments overheard while in the park. Given how successful CP is on an overall basis, I would say that the GP, for the most part, leaves CP satisfied.
2) With all of that out of the way, I do wonder if CP has hit the limit of what they can build during an off season and have reasonably ready by Opening Day.
For rides that have a lot of technology powering them, all of the pieces need to fall into place. This winter was the 3rd snowiest on record. TTD is a complicated piece of machinery. However, even given how many things are stacked against them, I still say they do a fairly good job of opening new rides.
There is going to be downtime for any new ride while the bugs are worked out. As someone mentioned in another one of these "disappointed" threads, CP does not have the luxury of doing a "soft launch" of a ride before they advertise it. You might as well consider the first couple months of the season a "beta test". Is that fair for the people who come during those first few months ? I don't know. There will be disappointment when the latest, greatest new ride isn't working. It seems these early problems are a bitter pill that CP is willing to swallow, because the gains far outweigh the losses in the long run.
I do wonder if they'll ever start opening new rides later, like having TTD officially open on Memorial Day, and doing a soft launch before then.
Edit: Typo
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- Dennis
When I die, They'll read this And say a genius wrote it.
http://drinkduff.com/
*** This post was edited by Big D 6/6/2003 9:06:30 PM ***
so you are saying for CP to stay away from intamin???, Here is an example of another new ride that is down alot. S:UF at SFGADV. That ride is a B&M and its down almost everyday.
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- Dennis
When I die, They'll read this And say a genius wrote it.
http://drinkduff.com/
The people who are "disappointed" have every right to be disappointed. Flaming them isn't proper. People's feelings are THEIRS, and theirs alone.
You know, I was just at Cedar Point for the first time since Coastermania 1996. I had been at every single one before that, plus a couple extra trips through those years. It was such a ROTTEN time and handled so poorly, I made every excuse to NOT attend Coastermania OR enter that park for seven years.
But, with MForce, PTower, WTwister and now TTDragster as additions, I thought it would be good to drag my old 47-year-old body back there and check things out. The only difference was just saying "no" to Coastermania in place of a couple days the week before. My partner and I were there 6/1 and 6/2.
Luck had it that TTDragster was operating (at least part of the time) and I got one ride in each of those two days.
Story: On 6/2, we were at the Magnum gate at 9:00, as were were told. We headed over to TTDragster and got in line, as we were allowed. It was testing... all six trains. Then it stopped. 9:20 by this time. Then they OPENED THE RIDE ENTRANCE and let us into the cattle corrals. And we wait. And we wait. And wait. NOBODY is on the platform. NOBODY is walking the launch area. You could hear the crickets chirping. Wait. Nobody. Meanwhile, train after train of happy MForce ERT riders mock us. And we wait. Nobody. Nothing. Chirp chirp chirp. At 10:45 they announce that the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties". How could that be?!?! It was running at 9:15 and the workers all went off for coffee. Where was the voice coming from??? I did not SEE anybody!!! Who was making the announcement???
So... was I disappointed that we squandered two FULL HOURS waiting for nothing? That we were let into maze-like claustrophobic queue when they KNEW at 9:20 it was not going to run? You bet your life I was "disappointed". Matter of fact, I was quite teed-off thinking about what we COULD have been doing. But, no... THEY let us in. They COULD have told us while we were waiting in line on the midway. THEY IMPLIED, by opening the ride entrance, that it was operational.
It does NOT take 90 minutes to decide that the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties", especially when there was NOT ONE WORKER to be seen anywhere.
For that, I blame CP 100%. Intamin cannot be held responsible for the park's stupidity. I, my partner, and a few hundered other people were disappointed and nobody, NOBODY, has the right to tell me, or we, or any of us were wrong about it. As far as I know, our emotions are not under the rule of the government, much less the flamers here.
As somebody pointed out, the posters lambasting the disappointed ones have all managed to ride it and/or mention their season's passes and/or say that they can wait until their next visit. They have not a clue as to how someone that only gets there once in a blue moon feels.
One thing to consider is that SOME people here are old enough to work for a living and SOME of those people must plan their vacation time at the beginning of the year. They do not have the luxury of calling in some morning and saying, "I'm taking a vacation day" and whisk off to The Point on a whim. It's a carefully planned event for them and is done months in advance. They cannot tap Mommie and Daddie on the shoulder for a lift to the park, or pile into a Neon lowrider with seven other jobless gang-bangers and go raise hell at The Point.
And saying that there's a whole park to enjoy instead does NOT take the disappointment away. Maybe they have ridden all the other coasters. "Been there, done that."
Anyway... I do hope the folks at Cedar Point are raking Intamin over the coals about this. CP is really, really getting screwed... again.
I also hope that all the Coastermania attendees are being righted in some way for yet another year of bait-and-switch. Yes... bait and switch. That is what it is called when a business lures people in with IMPLIED promises of product being available when they KNOW stock is very low, if it exists at all. Then, they sell the customer something else.
Coastermania has been "advertised" for MONTHS and, from what I remember, the flyer specifically IMPLIES "come ride TTDragster". I do not recall ANY disclaimers.
So for the disappointed ones here, you do have me on your side and I do understand your feelings. Don't let anybody get away with brushing you off. You have every right in the world to feel disappointed. "Flamer" is not spelled G-O-D, as much as a few of them here would argue differently.
Oh yeah... God is not spelled C-E-D-A-R P-O-I-N-T, either.
First, no one is really flaming, and if so, they aren't implying they are gods.
Second, just because its Coastermania doesn't mean they have to cater to the needs of the coaster nuts. Sure, it is expected to have every ride operating to its max capacity everyday, but CM is just another operating day(s) which happens to be the holder of a large event. A ride breaks down, it happens. Read the back of any amusement park ticket.
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2002/2003
KP Team Member
But, let's talk about Coastermania, since you bring it up. It cost $32. That's just about as low as single-day admissions go. Oh, and it's free for Cedar Fair passholders. What did that $32 get you? Well, admission to the park during normal operating hours, just like any other day. Anything else over this has to be considered "free". That's free as in lunch plus 5 1/2 hours of *extra* time to ride.
True, folks did not get to ride Dragster. But, to my mind, "bait and switch" means "we screwed you on purpose." Given the negative publicity within the enthusiass community that the park is going to get by having their new ride closed for Coastermania for the second year in a row, I suspect they would have had it open if it was humanly possible.
I'm sure that some people will be furious that "the only reason they went to the park", Dragster, was down. I'm sure they feel they were ripped off. Then again, if you put all of your eggs in one basket, well, you know the rest.
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It's not war, famine, or pestilence; it's only downtime.
*** This post was edited by Brian Noble 6/6/2003 10:50:14 PM ***
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