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"Let's do the numbers..."
I go to Cedar Point a lot. For the most part, if I'm not somewhere else, I'm at Cedar Point. But it occurs to me that so far none of my Cedar Point reports this season have included any operating statistics. As most of the coaster nuts were at Kennywood this time (for Coaster Con), I was actually able to wander the park and take some readings.
It's unusual for me to start my day with the Magnum XL-200, but what the heck...it has a short queue for the moment; I'll give it a go...
Magnum XL-200:
Trains: 3
Load: 36 (6x3x2)
Interval: 1:20
Ride Time: 3:15
Hourly Capacity: 1,620 pph
Well, Magnum was having some minor trouble in that seats 2 and 3 (GASP!)
of the red train were roped off. I rode in 3 once anyway (in the blue train),
but otherwise ended up in seat #4. Y'know, train loading does matter. I've ridden
in seat #3 with seat #4 empty, and that usually results in a rough ride. I can
also state now that a ride in Seat #4 will be unusually rough if seat #3 is
empty. Even at that, though, Magnum isn't going to knock any fillings
loose. But it will jerk you out of your seat with enough force to make you worry
about the lap bar mounting. What an incredible ride!
Gemini:
Trains: 6
Load: 60 (2x(5x3x2))
Interval 1:08
Ride Time: 2:36, 2:38, 2:34
Hourly Capacity: 3,176 PPH
Gemini is one of my all-time overall favorite rides. It was the first
Really Big coaster I ever rode, and of course it is lots of fun. in celebration
of its 20th year, Gemini has a fantastic crew. Gemini is parked
in the station by hand, and the guy running the red side in particular showed
great skill in letting the train fly into the station then stop smoothly and
precisely with no jerking, no pulsing, no bouncing. If you couldn't see and
hear the calipers, you'd swear this ride had skid brakes and a Big 'Ol Brake
Lever. In spite of the seat belts (which often had to be secured on empty seats),
Gemini's crew was pumping trains through at an amazing rate. For much
of the day, they were racing with all six trains. This is the way Gemini
is supposed to run! Better still, take a look at those ride times. Now, recall
that even though the script says "2:40", Gemini's actual ride
time is usually 2:42. Yup, it was running an average of six seconds FAST. A
pace which it kept up all day long. And be advised...the mid-course trim brakes
were noticeably slowing the trains, so Gemini was in fact running VERY
fast. Wow! Whatever CP did to Gemini this season, they ought to try and
do the same thing to Iron Dragon and Mean Streak!
Cedar Creek Mine Ride:
Trains: 2 8-(
Load: 30 (5x3x2)
Interval: 1:41
Ride Time: 2:42
Hourly Capacity: 1,069 pph
I waited about 30 minutes for this coaster. I mention that because it was my
longest wait for a coaster all day. This ride could stand to have its third
train back. Hey, it's still a fun ride, even if it is 29 years old! 8-)
Mean Streak:
Trains: 3
Load: 28 (7x2x2)
Interval: 1:16
Ride Time: 3:20
Hourly Capacity: 1,326 pph
I took an instructive front-seat ride on Mean Streak. I didn't think problems would be so obvious when travelling at speed. Besides, I've never done wood coaster maintenance, so what would I know? But suprisingly enough, the bad spots are painfully obvious. From the front seat, I could see where the road wheels had worn deep angled gouges into the road steel. Those spots corresponded to rough spots in the ride, and places where the train screeched noisily. Likewise, pie-wedge gouges in the road rail corresponded nicely to screeching and shuffling on the turns. PTC's articulated cars still can't take turns, and Mean Streak proves it. I think a little grease applied regularly to those turns so that the road wheels can slide laterally would have prevented or reduced that rail wear, and would make for a smoother ride now. Of course, I can't let a Mean Streak trip go by without at least mentioning that it is absolutely necessary to keep clear of the seatback while riding, and that molded foam doesn't belong on a wood coaster seat.
Oh, it is worth noting that the spiel still claims that the ride time on Mean Streak is 2:56. I clocked it at 3:20, or 24 seconds slow. Even worse, I have a park PR packet which claims a ride time of 2:45. Yup...35 SECONDS SLOW. I've ridden coasters that don't run 35 seconds!
Mantis: The Coaster Formerly Known as Banshee
Trains: 3
Load: 32 (8x1x4)
Interval: 1:40, 1:20, 1:30, 1:35
Ride Time: 1:57/2:44/4:10
Hourly Capacity: 1,262 pph
The more I ride this one, the less I like it. There ought to be something in
the ASTM rules that stand-up coasters be REQUIRED to have all-male
crews. Even so, it is a neat ride. I kind of like it, but there are some ergonomic
problems with the train...not enough width for my feet, saddle too wide, shoulder
bar extends too high...stuff like that. I've ridden six B&M coasters, and
of those, I think Mantis has the most 'coaster-like' (for lack of a better
term) ride. It provides that out-of-control feeling that none of the other five
B&M coasters can produce. For reference, the other five are Raptor, Kumba,
Montu, Alpengeist, and Chang.
Iron Dragon:
Trains: 3
Load: 28 (7x2x2)
Interval: 1:01/1:07
Ride Time: 2:46
Hourly Capacity: 1,575 pph
I don't understand it. This ride's platform crew moves at what appears to be
a leisurely pace, but at 64 seconds, they somehow manage to flush-load trains
faster than any other ride in the park. And this is trains that are not particularly
easy to get in and out of.
This year, Iron Dragon still does that annoying side-to-side shuffle (just exactly like SFKK's T^2, in fact). But new this year is a nasty 'kick' in the knot at the end of the ride. They've done a lot of welding on that spot, and at CoasterMania they had it pretty well fixed, or so I thought. But on this visit, it bounced hard. Hard enough that it is almost frightening. The Dragon does seem a little faster in the heat, though.
Wildcat:
Cars: 6
Load: 4 (1x2x2)
Interval: 0:35
Ride Time: 1:30
Hourly Capacity: 411 pph
Wildcat has five block/trim brakes on the course. Every one of 'em was
wide open. 8-)
Wildcat is a fun coaster, and you can't ask for much more than that.
Blue Streak:
Trains: 2
Load: 24 (4x3x2)
Interval: 1:20
Ride Time: 2:06
Hourly Capacity: 1,080
It's a quick trip to the top of the lift, followed by a fast ride out and back
over ten drops. Brakes? We don't need brakes on this ride, so apart from the
station and station runway, there aren't any. Whee! Cedar Point has fixed the
computer program to increase the amount of time the train can spend in the station
(bringing it in sooner) thus effectively reducing the dispatch interval.
While this was a welcome change, this time it really wasn't critical as the
attendants flew down the train, lifting on each lap bar. This
crew has improved dramatically in the first month of this season.
Raptor:
Trains: 3
Load: 32 (8x1x4)
Interval: 1:28
Ride Time: 2:42
Hourly Capacity: 1,309
I only rode once, but sitting in the back-right seat I got one of the best Raptor
rides I've had in a long time. I still think it is learning a trick from
the Vekoma SLCs as the final curve up to the runway is the roughest spot on
the whole ride, resulting in a violent headbang. Also, the anti-rollbacks have
become painfully loud for the trip up the lift. But between the top of the lift
and the brake run, it's fast, smooth, and non-stop action.
Disaster Transport:
Cars: (?)
Load: 10 (1x5x2)
Interval: Ride DDM
Ride Time: 2:42
Hourly Capacity: 0 pph
I've ridden Disaster Transport once this season, but to do that, I have
waited in line four times. What keeps breaking down on this thing? And why does
it always break down while I am waiting?
Corkscrew:
Trains: 2
Load: 24 (6x2x2)
Interval: 0:55
Ride Time: 1:44
Hourly Capacity: 1,570
While Arrow sold a standard model Loop + Corkscrew coaster, Cedar Point's Corkscrew
is not one of those. In 1976, it was Arrow Development's first Custom Looping
Coaster, as Cedar Point wanted to run three six-car trains. Which is why it
has an unbelievably long brake run between the third inversion and the station.
What also seems unbelievable now is that during its first two seasons, people
waited four and five hours to ride it. Now, the park's ride capacity has grown
so much that on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Corkscrew was running with
one train on the storage track and the last car roped off! That doesn't indicate
that Corkscrew is a bad ride, or even that it is an unpopular ride. Merely
that it no longer generates the extensive re-rides it used to. Which is almost
a shame, as Corkscrew really is a lot of fun. Three loops, ejector-seat
airtime (I think my shoulders are still sore...), and pretty much no headbanging...probably
because the pad on the headrest forces you to stick your head out forward and
clear of the shoulder bar.
Other stuff:
I finally spent the 42 minutes necessary to see "Thrill Ride"
at the Cedar Point Cinema. It really is a good show in spite of its emphasis
on motion theatres and its outdated assertion that simulation will replace the
roller coaster as a favored form of amusement...an assertion which is rapidly
proving to be false (what film is running in BGT's simulator this season?).
But IMAX is a really effective way to demonstrate the difference between itself
and other formats. I did think it interesting that they described the 15-perf
70mm horizontal format, then failed to mention that it was what you were looking
at. The joke about keeping arms inside the theatre got old quickly, though,
and if you are looking for a coaster film, go elsewhere.
Speaking of elsewhere, I also wandered through the Aquarium and was suprised to find that the "Shipwreck" tank was boarded up. This is a little disturbing, actually. I know there is a lot of talk these days about CP taking down the vacant dolphin stadium and the adjacent aquarium, but I kind of like the aquarium, if for no reason other than the incredible heat capacity of all that water and concrete: even when it is so hot that the Cedar Point Cinema can't keep cool, the Aquarium tends to remain nicely frigid. And every time I go in there, I see a whole crowd of people watching the fish and sharks.
Cedar Point has really gotten into the season...rides ran uninterrupted all day, crews were friendly and efficient, and the park was really into the summertime swing of things. This is what many of us have come to expect from Cedar Point. No, it is never perfect. But my expectation of any park is that it will provide a quality, fun experience, and CP almost always delivers on this count. It was a good day to visit Cedar Point.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
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