Winter Chill Out 2019

I must ask about the zippered pouches being installed on SV, for cell phones. From the few & rather obscure 'stories', these will go under(or somewhere close to) the seat? I'm not quite sold that will solve the problem of potential projectile situations(keys, lighters etc.). Is CP and/or Cedar Fair taking on the assumption that other items will be secured properly? Sure, they post(and announce) their policy's, that most often aren't enforced. And yes, others/we take the risk with paid admission. I'm just imagining the pouch bouncing all around, taking brunt force of ride. And again, taking the risk of damaging our personal item(s). Does anybody have a current picture from other rides/parks, that are utilizing these? I don't like renting a locker, but will do so if it keeps my phone intact...lol :)

Here is the pouch on Twisted Timbers...(courtesy of Reddit via random Google search). The pouches themselves are very secure.

I have seen other people think that the phones would bounce around in the pouches. Cedar Fair would make sure the pouch is very secured to the ride (as the above pic shows), no way they let it bounce around.

As for enforcing, I won't be sure til I see it in person, despite someone asking when I was there. I believe if I heard correctly you are allowed to keep your phone in secured pockets like zippered if you wish. I would maybe guess there will be a person in the rotation who will check and inform riders of the pouches and make sure their items are secured in good pockets (someone who has rode Twisted Timbers with pouches could answer maybe).

You’re expecting these zippers on the pouches to last through June and for maintenance to have replacements on hand?

Twisted Colossus has them on the back of the seat in front of you. Though, they let people bring all of their other crap to put in bins which basically eliminated any chance of dueling when I was there a week ago. I did use the pouch for my phone and keys though. Placing under the seat will have many running back to say they forgot their stuff in them since out of sight is out of mind.

Cedar Point never seemed concerned about other items falling out of pockets on the ride (such as keys). They only asked if you have a cell phone in your pocket. From that I would say their concern was people using phones to take pics/vids on rides (and potentially dropping it) rather than falling out of pockets. Pouches will not eliminate that risk. But they will allow people to have their phones in line.

And I’ll maintain that secured in your hand is the safest place for a phone to be. Working Magnum for 3 years, almost every phone that was lost, the guest said it flew right out of their loose pocket.

We could go around and around about the unexpected consequences this may or may not create, but it seems to be the most reasonable solution.

That said, the most consumer-friendly option would be short-term free lockers near every major attraction (I would actually argue this would be a win-win for the park as well, but that's another discussion).

So, now you basically get your own free and very teeny-tiny locker on the ride with you. I agree with GoBucks89 above; the focus has always been on the phones and nothing else.

And to be fair, holding onto your phone on Magnum during the ride would be a walk in the park compared to doing it on Steel Vengeance. I would not want to be seated behind someone making that choice.

Is it true that some will forget their phone in the pouch? I suppose, but I can't see this making any type of dent in dispatch times. You just tell the attendant and wait. Chances are the next person climbing into that seat will make the discovery.

If it sticks, it will just be part of the routine for the riders and the crew. It seemed to work out at Twisted Timbers just fine.

CPVet said:
Working Magnum for 3 years, almost every phone that was lost, the guest said it flew right out of their loose pocket.

I wonder how many of those people were telling the truth.

To me the most consumer friendly option would be to have free lockers for people who want them for smaller stuff and who need them for larger stuff. But continue to allow people to ride with phones, keys, wallets, etc. whether in secure/zippered pockets or pouches on the rides.

In terms of phones in your hand on Magnum, the vast majority of riders will not ride with their phone in their hand. So I would expect vast majority of phones lost on the ride to have fallen out of a pocket. There is also the issue of denial. When reporting a lost phone if you say it was in your hand, the inference may well be you were using it against park rules. Do they even allow you to ride with it in your hand even if you aren't using it? Better to tell park employee it was in your pocket (even if it wasn't).

Kevinj said:

Is it true that some will forget their phone in the pouch? I suppose, but I can't see this making any type of dent in dispatch times. You just tell the attendant and wait. Chances are the next person climbing into that seat will make the discovery.

If it sticks, it will just be part of the routine for the riders and the crew. It seemed to work out at Twisted Timbers just fine.

Except they are still only at 750 passengers/hr compared to the 1,200/hr that they originally advertised. If the pouch is on the back of the seat in front of you, this will rarely be an issue. If it's under the seat, dispatch times will probably be hurt on a regular basis, since, once the next rider is locked in, they'll have to release the lap bars to access the pouch. While under the seat might look better, it's not going to help efficiency.

But pouches on the back of the car in front of you can be accessed during the ride. Once the lapbars are locked, you can’t get to the pouches behind your legs.

Besides, we all know the real capacity killer is Fast Lane.

Last season without being able to use the mid course brakes as a block, the trains sat locked and loaded for a while before being dispatched. If they are not using the mid course brakes as a block this season, there will be time to load pouches whether on seat backs or under the seat without impacting last season's capacity.

If the mid course block is functional (or at least used), I would expect that capacity will still be higher with pouch use than it was last season.

In most cases I would expect the next rider may be the first to discover that the previous rider left their phone in the pouch (next rider will see it when they go to put their own phone in the pouch). That will be before bars are locked.

And if the bars are locked, I would assume the crew would simply tell the person who left their phone that they need to wait until the train runs the course and returns to the station.

They might even end up with a "left behind" bin for stuff they (or others) find in pouches.

I would like to think you are right Kevin but given that Ops has demonstrated that they will shut down a ride in order to retrieve someone's phone that was dropped, I would be willing to bet that they will unlock the bars to let the person retrieve the left behind stuff

Ah yes, I haven't forgotten.

For a quick review of such a demonstration, you can read up on it here.

I would hope that at the premier coaster at the park, combined with its rich history of cell-phone related attention, that we would not see such an odd way of handling someone's lost object, and put the responsibility solely on the customer.

DRE420 said:

CPVet said:
Working Magnum for 3 years, almost every phone that was lost, the guest said it flew right out of their loose pocket.

I wonder how many of those people were telling the truth.

To be fair I've only ever lost 1 item on a ride and it was my phone on Magnum in 2009. It was in my pocket as I loaded and when I got off it was gone. Never saw it again. lol Definitely my fault cause I forgot to move it to a zippered pocket.

You sure it wasn't in your hands? Lol j/k

A thank you to Walt for the pictures.

I am asking the following for a co-worker who attended his first ever WCO. He had noticed my black knit CP gloves and asked how I got them. I informed him of the items I had received from past WCO I had attended. I asked him what items were received this year. He showed me the nice knit cap received upon arrival.

He was in the first group of the day. Upon exiting the park there was the sign to not forget to go over to the Season Pass office (I believe) to pick up your parting gift. However, the office the sign pointed to was closed, locked, and no lights on.

As a WCO rookie did he miss where to go? If so, he would like to know what items he missed receiving.