TTD ERT

I came up to Cedar Point on Friday for the ERT that night for Dragster and Magnum. I noticed a couple of things that I didn't notice last year, although I may be wrong and please correct me if I am. Cedar Point now advertises the ERT for whatever rides are that night by posting a sign outside of that ride as they did on Friday for both of the rides. This made the ERT for Dragster seem completely pointless because it drew such a crowd that once all of the ERTers were in line for Dragster it filled the ramp and extended into a straight shot nearly all the way back to the entrance. What is the point of ERT if the line is going to be as long as it would be during the day. This prompted me to immediately leave the line once I got in and realized how ridiculously long it was and go to power ride Magnum a few times. It wasn't the least bit surprising to learn that Dragster gave barely any rides for ERT anyway as it broke down for the ever-mysterious "mechanical reasons." However it was highly frustrating since it was closed for a decent portion of the day and then opened in the evening all the way until ERT of course. This led them to open up Maverick so everyone who got screwed over on Dragster could get about one ride on Maverick (two if extremely lucky), although it is appreciated that they did compensate for it in some way. This may seem like a trip report as it does fall into that category somewhat, but I do have a couple of questions. First, is this the first year that they ever posted signs for the ERT because last year Dragster's ERT was only in the station indicating a significant difference in the line from this year? Second, was Millennium's ERT in May more crowded than it's ever been as well if they did use signs for it?

I was not there for Dragster ERT last Friday, but you certainly pose some interesting questions. I have a few thoughts on all of this. First, I would guess that most Platinum Passholders would have known about the ERT anyway, regardless of whether Cedar Point advertised it at the ride entrances or not. Why would you be a passholder and not know about this--although there might have been a few. I think the most plausible explanation for the increase in crowd size this year over last year is simply that ERT for Dragster this year was on a Friday night, enabling more passholders to take advantage of this benefit. You may recall that ride nights last year were on Thursday nights--not a good night if you work on Fridays, can't get the time off, and live some distance from the park. In fact, this is the very reason that CP scheduled a few of the ride nights this year on Fridays. Also, perhaps there are more passholders this year because the economy is improving. But I think the Friday night scheduling is the most logical explanation.

That would certainly explain the crowd size difference MForce, didn't think about that. Hopefully since Maverick's July ERT is on a Thursday it will not draw as many people because of the work.

DumaKey12122 said:
This led them to open up Maverick so everyone who got screwed over on Dragster could get about one ride on Maverick (two if extremely lucky), although it is appreciated that they did compensate for it in some way.

I must be really lucky then because my wife and I got 5 rides on Maverick for ERT Friday. I thought it was great that they opened Maverick once they determined that TTD was not going to get running. I would much rather have ERT on Maverick than on Dragster any day.

To answer your questions DumaKey, this is the first year they've implemented a posted sign at the rides letting platinum pass holders know. And from what I've heard (since I didn't attend), Millennium's pass holder in May was very crowded. And it did use the posted sign as well.

I was there this friday and I vow to never attend a Platinum Pass holder night ever again. I'm sorry but it's not as fun as it use to be when Joe Cool was the perk special ONLY to Cedar Point. Now that the vast majority of people at the park at any given day who own any kind of pass are platinum pass holders and can be from anywhere in the country, it just doesn't "feel" exclusive anymore. It's fine that this perk exists for every CF park and I realize that it truly benefits people who ARE traveling from afar by letting them take part in the merriment.

But the switch from a Joe Cool ride night to the Platinum Pass ride night was too drastic and put me off the idea of attending. I'm fine with a slow day in which I can ride Dragster over and over with minimal wait. :)

I heard something over at CoasterBuzz to not think of ERT as exclusive ride time but rather as extended ride time.

That thinking had more to do with Coastermania than with the ride nights, but that is obviously changing now.

Whether or not you get lots of rides during CoasterMania is all dependent on which ride you pick. Dragster will probably give you the least amount of rides for various reasons. Including the long walk around, the line id draws when it is running, and it's untimely downtime. (Though it is much better than in years past). My nephew had just reached 54" this year and loves Raptor. He rode 13 times and only had to walk around once. I got 2 more rides after he got off. At a quarter til, we headed to the back gate and got the 2nd last train of the night on Maggie.

The Platinum nights on the other hand are more marketing than anything. The more perks they can add to the card, the more cards they will sell. Simple as that. So, even if it isn't the "exclusive ride time" that we're all used to, it's more than most of the Platinum Pass holding GP will ever get to experience. So, I wouldn't hold your breath on the park changing it too much. If you want real ERT, join one of many available clubs and come to an event. Any club gets you into CoasterMania. Plus, CoasterBuzz holds an event every year and ACE or GOCC usually hold an event too.

Want some ridiculously exclusive ERT? Go to BooBuzz (once you've joined the CoasterBuzz Club, of course), and get more Maverick than you can likely handle. Both times we've gone, we rarely had to leave the train. :)

^Can you give me more info about that?

Here's the info.

We had very little trouble getting in 3 rides with time to spare on Maverick.

The only problem I saw with the signs was from a few guests who did not understand them. A few people had to have it explained to them that it was for Platinum Pass holders only. The signs are nothing more than to get a few more people to buy a pass.

BooBuzz is great. I've gotten 10 rides in an hour every time I have gone. Jeff has stated on Coasterbuzz that ERT this year will be Millennium Force.

I might join next year. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the agreement TTD 120mph. Overall, the ERT night was a disappointment and total ass reaming.

The link doesn't take me to anything but a homepage. Even when I sign in it doesn't. Can someone explain what "boobuzz" is?

http://coasterbuzz.com/content/BooBuzz2010.aspx

Platinum passholders will already get in at 5:00 for that ERT. I don't see how that's boobuzz exclusive.

I've never been, but I assume the ERT will be not open to the pass holders, only Coasterbuzz. But the exclusiveness, is also the meal and behind the scenes tour of the new house. Jeff would know more...

Well, if you had clicked CoasterBuzz Club you'd have found it.