What's New for the 2011 Season?

I agree that SRB or any other single rider shouldn't get special treatment.

Though, why not let EVERYONE re-ride if seats are empty and no one is waiting / riding? As Jane points out, it would mess up ride counts, but at least there's no waste. Also, the rides are possibly satisfying the guests so that they don't need to add to the wait later in the day.

King's Island allows re-rides for all when no one is waiting, and there was no harm or confusion....everything went smoothly, and the trains were fuller this way. You just had to change seats to where a person wasn't waiting. I racked up some high ride counts on Diamondback, Beast, and Flight Deck quickly this way, but this ended the day sooner. :)

Yeah I've gotten many re-rides on Diamondback at the end of the day when there was no one waiting, but if it's a busy day than no one should be re-riding. I do not ever remember being told it was ok to re-ride at Cedar Point even if there was no one waiting in line, have always been told need to go though the line to ride again.

Did they finish painting MF hill?

New ride operator uniforms I guess...

I also feel that no one should get any special treatment like that single rider person did. If CP has empty seats needing filled, split the line starting at the steps (or further back) and get single riders that way. A little different of a topic, but is Maverick's single rider line still in the same spot? I know there were a few complaints last year about people cutting in line and using it.

Still in the same spot. But since they cut entrance hosts they now have station crowd control so the single rider line actually is working.

I think the cutting of entrance employees was kind of a good thing? It always seemed like a waste of an employee to me, especially when there was another employee controlling crowd at the platform. Magnum is the perfect example...one employee at the platform is enough to me...

CPboy77 said:Did they finish painting MF hill?

No, it's still about 70% unfinished. It will be finished come next offseason.

Ffej I agree, but rides like Dragster, Millennium and Maverick should have them. Since many need to try the test seats, plus someone to change the sign when the ride goes down.

There are also new height check stations in different spots in the park.

I saw on pointpixels some pictures of new cars for the kid dodgems and some new LED signs on the midway

The one thing I like about employees working at entrance is they can more easily catch line jumpers. Line jumping is a HUGE problem over at TTD, and it drives me -insane-. As a guest, you really don't have much power in stopping douchebags from slipping in with the rest of their friends an hour ahead of them line. As for maggie, yeah, I don't see an employee at the front being of much use. I never really saw an employee working at the front entrance last season, though. And since the wait for that is usually 15 minutes or less, line jumping is not too much of an issue.
I am assuming they still have an employee stationed at TTD, though. If not, I'd be surprised.

pointperson said:
Ffej I agree, but rides like Dragster, Millennium and Maverick should have them. Since many need to try the test seats, plus someone to change the sign when the ride goes down.

Oh really??? I'm sure the ride ops at these rides are going to have a BLAST turning down a million guests with sun glasses and stuffed animals and basket balls. Unless TTD finally conjured some storage bins?

I was there today and it looked like Iron Dragon only had two trains on the track and they were only running one.

Maverick and Millennium definatly had no one. Seen a guy ask a sweep to see if he was fitting correctly in the seat on Millennium.

I didn't see anyone at Dragster plus the little metal seat was gone. But since I was one of the very first waiting in line waiting for it to open they were sending employees down periodically.

Millennium's seatbelts are only 2" longer because they are new. They're always longer when they're new. As they get wet and dry out in the sun, they shrink, which will eventually lead to many of them being the same length as the old ones over the course of the season, and into next season.

Millennium also received a new lift cable and catch car.

Word is that ride entrance positions were cut across the company, not just Cedar Point. I think over time, this is going to severely impact guest experience/service and operations; specifically on rides where no loose articles are allowed, like Millennium and Dragster. Guests do not read signs, and thus, will bring their loose articles and short children in line and assume they can ride with them. Anyone who was in the park yesterday (Saturday) and waited for Millennium saw the huge number of guests employees were trying to catch before they reached the platform that had loose articles. Not catching them at the entrance just makes it harder to catch before they reach the platform, and guests more upset that they weren't told prior to getting in line. On some attractions, you also have the children who wait in line and are too short, only to get turned down after waiting an hour in line... ending in an upset parent and child. Both slow operations. And there are more issues that should be, or can be more easily resolved at the ride's entrance, like special access times, guests with prosthetics, general questions about the ride, assisting with test seats, updating wait times, and more.

Dealing with these issues (those that apply) at the ride platform or while boarding will slow down capacity in ways that can be easily avoided if they're addressed at the entrance. Yes, perhaps not every ride warrants having entrance, however, I think anyone who regularly visits the park, and pays attention to operations closely will see the negative impact.

Iron Dragon has only two trains on; the third is sitting in the Mean Streak maintenance area. I'm very interested to see if they get it this season, or if the ride permanently loses it, much like Mantis, Corkscrew, Gemini, Mine Ride and Mean Streak all have.

I suppose it's easier to cut the position that is actually needed on some rides when you have a list is in front of you of "Things we can cut from the budget" as apposed to THINKING about what might happen when you DO cut it. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this news. I encourage everyone here to let management know that this is something that can't be done for the good of the park.

There must be something else that would make more sense to cut from budget than this. If there's going to be more decisions like this, this will not be a good PR year.

I noticed this topic trended towards the common issue of cutting... So my 2 cents...

What SHOULD BE NEW for coaster parks has been around in the skiing parks for years... The "Singles Line"

For those traveling alone (as embarrassing as it is to admit, Ive done a park alone) or a group not worried about sitting together, holding hands, and getting a picture for each ride, this singles line would make sure the ride actually gets filled EVERY LAUNCH. I havn't studied nor read about it but I would guess that could mean that if every seat was filled you could get one or two more trains per hour. Not much, but it could mean a faster wait.

What do you think?

Also, Ive never been to CP because it is across the country. I will only have one day to spend. My girl and I will probably do VIP. Please be kind to VIP. I do not mean to cut, I just wish I lived closer ;)

Cheers!

The biggest improvement in my opinion was the overhaul they did on Blue Steak. I actually thought the ride might have gotten brand new trains (they sure look brand new) but the TL told me they were just refurbished at the manufacturer. That ride was kicking major butt. The airtime was incredible, the train flew through the turnaround, and the ride was smoother than a lot of steel coasters I've been on. Kudos to those improvements.

The lack of an entrance position at MF, TTD, and Maverick is a little odd. They didn't so much eliminate the position as move it. MF and Maverick (I didn't ride TTD) had someone walking in the queues with a height stick. On MF, every time they found someone with a bag, they would escort one member of the group out to the lockers, and then escort them back to their group. It just seemed really odd and inefficient. Although the plus side to having ride ops in the queue is they can be on the look out for line jumpers and smokers. I did witness them catch and remove one line jumper from MF's line early on Saturday.

MF's seat belts fit me exactly the same as last year, and my pants still fit the same as they did in the fall, so I'm unconvinced of any change there. I didn't ride Dragster, but I heard from several people that their belts were shortened by about 2 inches. The test seat fit me the same as it did last year, but I know those aren't always accurate. I only rode Magnum once, but the belt there seemed dramatically shorter than last year, although I could have just gotten an oddball one on my only trip.

As for the re-ride thing, I've only seen it happen if a ride is a walk-on and the trains are going out partially empty. I agree if there is any kind of a wait that everyone should have to walk back around. On Raptor I did have a ride op bring someone who seemed like an enthusiast from somewhere on the exit side of the platform to the open seat next to mine, but I don't know if the guy was using special access/parent swap or getting special treatment.

The rest of the general improvements look great. The toll booths got a much needed coat of paint, and the LED sign just before the booths and the Peanuts topiaries were really nice.

So long as they move the ride entrance employee to the station entrance, I think that's an improvement, operationally speaking.

That's fantastic news about BS. I think I'm more jazzed about that than any new ride or ride relocation this year. Can't wait to check it out for myself, next week.

coolkid said:
I also feel that no one should get any special treatment like that single rider person did.

But they don't get special treatment - they buy a very expensive, special pass that lets them re-ride. At least that is what the Raptor op told me last year when I specifically pointed to a rerider and asked why they got to go again and I could not. Had some fun with that as I walked to Park Ops and asked if this is where I could buy the re-ride pass. They said they would have a chat with the Raptor crew.

On topic - I noticed signs on Wildcat and Mine Ride that said they do not open until 11:00. I don't remember that last year.

And Blue Streak's trains look awesome. I still feel this is the hidden gem of the park. Fantastic ride for airtime. Just wish they would fine tune the controls. Why does the train have to stop 3 times before it gets into the station?