Season Pass Holder Days: Thoughts, Observations, & Changes

Dvo said:

That actually makes no sense whatsoever, but I'll spare the physics. Ride any coaster at CP by yourself (if you're lucky enough to do so), and then with a full train, and report back.

Sorry. I'll admit, I'm not a scientist. What's your explanation?

CP has many wide open midways where distancing is easy however there are many choke points as well. Also consider most groups do not walk single file but often 3-4 wide. Groups of teens tend to focus on the socializing and not what they are about to plow into. (Mine included)

My wife and kids are redheads as well, so I feel your pain. Floppy hats with a strap and travel size sunscreen are required accessories at the park.

Seems like opening day at CP is always less than optimal and it takes a week or two for the crews to gel so I expect it will get better soon, but probably not like the old CP.

Edit: Sarah, not using the correct physics terms but the same reason the Pinewood Derby cars that have added weights as close to 5oz as possible usually win over those that are just the block of wood.

I have a friend who is well established in the service industry who says if you go to a new restaurant within the first 6 months of it opening, expect lousy service.

I feel similarly about CP. Yesterday was bound to be a s**tshow in some ways. In addition to the normal "opening day" hiccups, they now have new procedures in place that are going to make things rough.

I will visit the park this year, but I will temper my expectations. Not a slam on the park or workers, it just is what it is.

^^^Momentum. Additional weight will make the trains go faster through the course.

As for Whiskey on a Sunday's report... that's a great report with good observations. I'm agreeing with the sentiment that there are assuredly some hiccups with it being the first day of operation. As someone said, the day before opening day was like college move-in day, so who knows how well the employees have been trained with the policies.

With that said, I'm sure a lot of what he experienced is in fact here to stay. The maXair spacing seems excessive to me, personally. Hopefully they find the right balance of crowd size/safety/efficiency to keep the lines moving. But I'm certainly going in with very low expectations when I do return to the park.

SarahB1863 said:

Dvo said:

That actually makes no sense whatsoever, but I'll spare the physics. Ride any coaster at CP by yourself (if you're lucky enough to do so), and then with a full train, and report back.

Sorry. I'll admit, I'm not a scientist. What's your explanation?

Potential energy is the name of the game.

PE = mgh where m is mass, g is gravity, and h is height. As m (or any other variable) increases, so does potential energy.

Yes, there's a certain point where if you loaded too much mass on the trains the increased friction would act against it. But, you'd need more than you could put on a train in the form of humans to achieve that begin seeing negative impacts on the speed.

So be nice to the plus size riders. :)

We noticed that one of the billboards at Antique Cars in Frontier Town was advertising "fall fun" from September 18-November 1. They are apparently planning to have the park open beyond Labor Day.

When did this change yesterday I had fastlane plus and I rode sv with that.

I made a last-second decision to go today when I saw there were open spots available. Park look like a light crowd but ride wait times are almost an hour and a half at least across the board

Not quite there on the physics of train speed. It's actually a lot more subtle than it first seems.

The question is, what force is acting on the train that's independent of its mass?

Is it gravity? No, the first thing we learn in Newtonian mechanics is that gravity acts on all objects equally, e.g. all objects fall at the same rate. Considering only gravity, a loaded train dropped from a height of 310 ft will reach the bottom of the hill at the same speed as an empty train. While certainly the loaded train does have more potential energy (proportional to mass) at the top of the hill, it will similarly have more kinetic energy (also proportional to mass) at the bottom of the hill.

So is if friction between the wheels and track? Well, it turns out the friction between surfaces is proportional to the normal force between them. The normal force is equal and opposite to the force of gravity. Therefore, a higher mass object ends up having a higher surface friction force, such that the deceleration due to friction is constant regardless of train mass.

So what is it? Well, if you look at the front of a rollercoaster train, it doesn't really change much regardless of how many people on are the train. So, the frictional force due to air resistance would be expected to be independent of the train's mass. Given the equation F = ma, a constant air resistance force will result in a lower deceleration given an increased mass, allowing the train to maintain a higher speed throughout the course of the ride. This is why Cedar Point so carefully monitors wind speeds on their rides, as a higher wind speed in the face of the train can easily slow it down enough that it could valley, especially if the train is only partially loaded.

Greg A said:

When did this change yesterday I had fastlane plus and I rode sv with that.

Midday apparently, and I guess that's the plan today

Are the same rides that were closed yesterday closed today?

Curious if they were not open because they were not yet ready (certification, etc.) or if they are rotating what rides are open on given days.

Looks like Corkscrew and Power Tower have joined the lineup today

That's good news; I have 2 little ones ready to face their fear of Power Tower next week. :)

From my observations today, the crowd was light but most lines were long due to reduced capacity. They were out of Maverick and SV cards by the time I got there, but I managed to get one for MF. Rougarou, Wicked Twister and Dragster were closed. I saw ID running but I don't know if there were riders on board. Many shops as well as food and drink stands were closed. It's very obvious there's a staffing shortage. I only went on 3 rides today, but I was fine with that. I only had 6 hours to spare today plus there was some weather downtime in there. Did not try any of the new eateries. I haven't gotten the meal plan yet. I'm waiting to see how things go at KI before I get the meal plan.

Hoof. I knew things weren't going to be the same this year and I'm okay with that. However, I hope things are just a little more robust by the end of the month- with more stuff to do it should spread out the lines.

I went to the park today as well. Someone above said Steel Vengeance was not accepting FastLane, however when I was in line in the evening, the same 3 groups got multiple rides via FastLane to my one in the regular line.

I only got on 5 rides today, partially from taking it easy in the heat, partially cause of afternoon/evening rain, and partially from eating off point. Despite riding so few rides, I was overall happy with how my day went, and I definitely felt safe with all the precautions taken. I understand the frustrations of some with things moving slowly, but for me personally, I was just too excited to be back at the park. Definitely looking forward to my next visit on hopefully a cooler day!

TwistedCircuits said:

... unless someone goes groping a row they aren't in I really don't see why it needs cleaned...

very interesting choice of words

I'm long winded so I try and make what I say have something interesting for everyone!

Also my trip report is up for anyone interested. I'm having a difficult time getting my photos upload to imgur. Does anyone have another site they recommend?

! said:

TwistedCircuits said:

... unless someone goes groping a row they aren't in I really don't see why it needs cleaned...

very interesting choice of words

Which choice of words- "groping a row", or "needs cleaned"?