The week before Labor Day

Well first off I had a great trip. The weather was bad on Tuesday but then just stayed windy for the rest of the week.

Now last year I went at the same time of year and waited less then 15 min for everything. This year TTD got over a 2 hour wait at times, MS had a 45 min wait at one point and PT was close to 45 min the whole day for the drop side. Many of the other coasters had a healthy wait as well.

Now I don't mind waiting to ride but when the line for Raptor is 45 min and they are only running 2 trains there is a problem. The same goes for Magnum and even Gemini could of used the Red side. Part of the problem was staffing issue and the other part I can't figure out. Is their a policy against running 3 trains when you really need them?

Now the crowds were big for 3 reasons. The Michigan discount, Michigan going to school later and the weather. There were maybe 2 people in Soak City at a time. On top of all this some attractions were closed due to the wind.

So was anyone else a little surprised at the crowds that week? And do you think CP was caught off guard with the crowds.

I was planning on going this past week, but all the factors you discussed were one of the reasons I stayed away. Detroit and Cleveland are CP's two main markets, and with Michigan extending their school start date, I knew that this past week was not going to be mostly empty, as it has been previously.

As for if CP was taken off guard by the crowds... Possibly. But when they put out the Michigan discount, they were obviously hoping for larger crowds last week. Im sure staffing was an issue, as many of the seasonals have headed back to college.

I noticed Raptor was running only two trains on Friday night and thought that was quite annoying. I figured there was something wrong with the third one. Of course, Raptor's crew sucks so hard this year that it probably doesn't even make a big difference since they seem to stack all three on a pretty regular basis.

Magnum was running three on Friday.

When I was there, we'd always open with three and only go down to two if we were sending at least 12 empty seats on every train. To us (and management at that time), causing any wait whatsoever (even 10 minutes) by cutting capcity was not the right thing to do. Things may have changed now.

As far as staffing, you can get away with one less person (the third person on the load side) running two trains on Magnum, but you could also still run three trains without any problem with one less person.

It'd be even less of a problem if the ops weren't hiding behind pillars for "safety."

I was there Friday night and Sunday. Friday I did notice they were definately in a bit of a staffing crunch. There were a few people from Geauga Lake working on some rides, although they were all moving at the same speed GL ride ops usually move at. I agree they probably should have been running that third train on Raptor if they could though, the line definately warranted using it. I stopped by to see the 6:00 ice show and came in toward the end of the pre-show. Judging from the response when they ask what state people are from, Josh is definately right about the park being full of people from Michigan.

I was also at the park on Sunday, and it was the busiest I've seen it this year, probably on par or busier than the really crowded Halloweekends Saturday from last year. I didn't ride anything between 11 AM and when I got in line for Raptor at the end of the night. Mean Streak, Raptor, Demon Drop, Corkscrew, Blue Streak and Wildcat all had full queues for most of the day. Gemini, Antique cars, Troika, Maxair, Disaster Transport, Space Spiral, Skyhawk and Dragster all had lines running down the midway at at least one point in the day.

I was there Sunday as well, and while it was busy, it was far from being the busiest I've seen all year.

Agreed. I'd say Sunday was between 35 and 40,000 where as that Halloweekend Saturday was probably high 40's or low 50's. The main parking lot was essentially full with only a row or two at the back open, but they did not use the bay side of the parking lot or the spots out by the toll booths. There were also a good 5-10 rows open in Soak City.

With operations on many rides really in the toilet though (Raptor and Gemini are the glaring examples that make you say WTF?), I'm not surprised it felt about as busy as that one Saturday you speak of.

I'm not sure when you were there Matt, but when I got there around noon, the main lot was full to the brim, and they were parking some cars in the overflow lot (left of Perimeter Road).

Funny that CP's web site says that Labor Day weekend isn't that busy.

Last year I went on Saturday of Labour Day weekend. The weather was perfect without a cloud in the sky and in the low 80s. When I was there earlier last week (mon tues) I decided that I will probably never visit at the end of August again. The crowds may be lower, but the lines are the same, if not longer. Two train operation, shops/food locations closed, and shorter hours of operation are not what I go to Cedar Point to see.

I highly, highly, highly doubt that Raptor was running 2 trains for any reason other than the third train being down mechanical. There's no reason why staffing would affect how many trains they have working. CP would rather see them stack three trains almost every time than run two, even if it does result in the same numbers. If there is a line at all, they will have 3 trains on. The only POSSIBLE reason I can think of is if it was too windy to send trains with any empty seats, but, again, if there's people in line there's no empty seats, so that isn't plausible.

No, Magnum was running 2 as well.

Magnum was running three Friday evening, but I am not sure about the rest of the week.