Change in Weather Policy

[Delirium_Guy]

Just an FYI, as a few of us found out today, there is a new policy regarding operating the coasters during weather. Gone are the days of riding in the rain. In the event of rain, ALL coasters will be shut down. This came down from a security guard at Firehawk tonight and was confirmed by a stop by Guest Relations. Meanwhile, rides such as Drop Zone, Sling Shot, Delirium all continue to operate. Stupid policy. According to the man at GR, they've had lots of complaints about it today. Lets hope it goes back to the old way.

- Todd, who watched the coasters sit silent during the slight sprinkle of rain around 930 tonight

[WooferBearATL]

Just an FYI, as a few of us found out today, there is a new policy regarding operating the coasters during weather. Gone are the days of riding in the rain. In the event of rain, ALL coasters will be shut down. This came down from a security guard at Firehawk tonight and was confirmed by a stop by Guest Relations. Meanwhile, rides such as Drop Zone, Sling Shot, Delirium all continue to operate. Stupid policy. According to the man at GR, they've had lots of complaints about it today. Lets hope it goes back to the old way.

- Todd, who watched the coasters sit silent during the slight sprinkle of rain around 930 tonight

Is that a Cedar Fair Policy across the board? I can't imagine it being at all parks? What about the days that it rains all day? That means no coasters?

[PKIVortex]

I can see pouring down rain, but not just for a sprinkle that sounds silly. Or was it raining at CP when the Magnum trains bumped?

[Banshee]

Yes, it was raining when the Magnum trains "bumped" and this seems to be one of the main causes of the accident. My guess is that this is the reason for the cahnge of rules as far as rain goes. Not too suprising as there has always been SOME coasters at CP that shut down in the rain. The list will just get longer now. Can't say I blame them.

[Delirium_Guy]

Yes, it was raining when the Magnum trains "bumped" and this seems to be one of the main causes of the accident. My guess is that this is the reason for the cahnge of rules as far as rain goes. Not too suprising as there has always been SOME coasters at CP that shut down in the rain. The list will just get longer now. Can't say I blame them.

The list will certainly get longer now, as ALL coasters will not operate. There is some belief that the biggest reason Magnum could have possibly slipped was due to the fact that it has been running BRAKELESS all season. Removing those trims from the pretzel adds an amazing amount of speed to the end of the ride, more so than I ever imagined it would. With that said, Magnum has operated for 18 years now with out incident.....rain or shine. It is a tad overkill, but it is what it is. As I said, the frustrating thing was seeing things like Drop Zone and Sling Shot still operating.

I would assume, Woofer, that this policy is now across the board at all Cedar Fair parks. Funny, I used to look for rainy days to head up to KI to take a couple quick spins. Guess not anymore. Ironically enough, after the Magnum incident yesterday, they continued to run Maverick in a downpour. Go figure.

- Todd

[Purplehaze]

Back in the day the only thing that would close during rain was the giant "red white & blue" slide in Old Coney. That was just cause the burlap bags would stick with any type of moisture.

[PKIVortex]

We used to keep Action FX Theater opened in bad weather, but only had to close if the exit got blocked, as it caused a fire hazard.

[WooferBearATL]

Back in the day the only thing that would close during rain was the giant "red white & blue" slide in Old Coney. That was just cause the burlap bags would stick with any type of moisture.

Yeah, only coaster I can remember closing was The Bat because of the breaking system. The other rides stayed open depending on if there was or was not lightning in the area.

[teenageninja]

I see this as being a temporary policy, not a long term thing. The midwest has been known to be very wet in the summer, and if this policy continues, it will just hurt their business.

[Delirium_Guy]

I see this as being a temporary policy, not a long term thing. The midwest has been known to be very wet in the summer, and if this policy continues, it will just hurt their business.

I certainly hope so. Just two weekends ago, I popped up for a bit and it was raining. Still rode the rides. While I can't confirm, I'd be willing to bet that this new policy went effective yesterday following the incident on Maggie. It was just so weird seeing the coasters sit silent while it just barely sprinkled.

- Todd

[Ki Man]

This happened when I was waiting for Firehawk. It was sunny and they said a storm was comming. 1/2 hour later it rained for 10 minutes. Eh, I still got a free t-shirt!

[gripshod]

I also had the unfortunate pleasure of standing in line for close to 4 hours this morning waiting for Firehawk. I think it is hilarious that they are blaming their incompetency of operating this ride on the 15 sprinkles we felt in line. Wonder how else they are explaining the bio-spill delay, the shoe collection delay, the lack of running two trains, and the lack of staff training. I know this thread is about the weather but honestly if it sprinkled for a total of 10 minutes before 6pm today that is pushing it, no excuse for closing Firehawk when we could very clearly see The Racers, Vortex and every other ride in the park running.

[SOB_TOM]

It was quite a pain to wait in line for Firehawk for 2 hrs just to leave line because of the policy. Not to mention the overhangs only cover about a quarter of the line, and Ryan and I were baked before that (sun, not the other other other tobacco)

[coastergirl]

We were at Geauga Lake yesterday and it was raining most of the day, at times there was even some thunder. They never shut 1 coaster down even for a few minutes. Has something changed with the weather policy at Cedar Fair parks? We were expecting to do some standing around and waiting but it never happened. I have to say that I was a bit surprised.

[The Interpreter]

And yet apparently that is NOT the case at Cedar Point. See:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...view=getnewpost

where Jasper081691 asked:

...The third and final day it rained and we thought oh yes no crowds. Well i have always thought that you can run rides in the rain but i guess not because all day there was only 3 rides up and going. MaXair, Skyhawk, and Power Tower. I mean even Disaster Transport was not running and it is an indoor roller coaster so if anyone can explain that to me i am all ears....

Inconsistent application of policies and/or wildly varying policy from park to park seems to be somewhat common at Cedar Fair (and at the old Six Flags, it was, too). See also loose articles policy, home park perks (such as gold pass perks vs. Joe Cool) with Maxx passes, parking with Maxx passes except at the home park, etc.

[Keysersoze]

And yet apparently that is NOT the case at Cedar Point. See:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...view=getnewpost

where Jasper081691 asked:

...The third and final day it rained and we thought oh yes no crowds. Well i have always thought that you can run rides in the rain but i guess not because all day there was only 3 rides up and going. MaXair, Skyhawk, and Power Tower. I mean even Disaster Transport was not running and it is an indoor roller coaster so if anyone can explain that to me i am all ears....

Inconsistent application of policies and/or wildly varying policy from park to park seems to be somewhat common at Cedar Fair (and at the old Six Flags, it was, too). See also loose articles policy, home park perks (such as gold pass perks vs. Joe Cool) with Maxx passes, parking with Maxx passes except at the home park, etc.

I was at Cedar Point a few weeks ago and it started to rain, they closed all the coasters. I asked why Disaster Transport was shut down because it was only a drizzle and it being a indoor coaster and I was told by the girl out front, it's because there roof leaks real bad!

[Cody]

They might as well close the park down if it rains :\

[erniebald57]

Thats almost true. I was there in mid July amongst the rain, and they had almost every coaster closed at one time or another. It was pretty much a drizzle, so some coasters they kept open. Millennium Force ran through the rain, Mean Streak also did (on an annoying one train operation...something the ride op told me happens in the rain). All of the launch coasters (including Maverick) were intermittently down, and most of the steel ones were as well. The swingers and spin and pukes were up, but it really does put a bummer on CP when it rains because well...they have so many rides that close when it rains. Safety is obviously the first priority here, so I can't argue too much with them. They did wait until it was a good hard steady rain to shut rides down.

Perhaps the reason that Firehawk gets closed quickly is because of the extensive circuitry on the train that operates the seats. I know that flyers have such setups on the back of the train, but I don't know if it's totally protected from the rain. Even so, I have noticed a few differences in park policy between the Cedar Fair parks. I guess we just should figure out what to expect untill they get everything integrated.

[Browntggrr]

CF is in a difficult position.

The Magnum accident early this year was blamed on wet brakes. Now if there would happen to be another accident with the same type of conditions, the guests involved would have the opportunity to really rake CF over the coals. Our society today is filled with many frivolous lawsuits, there really is no reason to give a ambulance chaser good ammunition.

Or it could have also been a directive from their insurance company. I would not be surprised if CF used different companies for different parks. That would explain the different policies for the different parks.

Yeah, the policy sucks. But it will not deter me from a great day at the park.