According to the web site, Maverick is NOT listed as an ERT coaster, but Valravn will be.  Hopefully this will change before the season begins.

 

https://www.cedarpoint.com/plan-a-visit/platinum-passholder-benefits

If Gatekeeper, Millennium Force & Valravn are the only Early Entry coasters, lines - and whether you enjoy marathoning Gatekeeper - could be a factor in whether to come for that hour.

 

Early Entry coasters in 2015 were Maverick, Millennium Force, Raptor, Gatekeeper, & Rougarou.

I may be making this up, but I'm pretty sure i saw on Pointbuzz that Maverick experienced a lot of down time this year. If that is true, that may be a factor in why it's no longer available for early rides. 

We did experience a fault during ERT which gave us several minutes to look inside the second launch under the station.  It seems CP has a love/hate relationship with Intamin.  Arguably the 3 best coasters in the park, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and Maverick, experience more down time than the B&Ms or Arrows.  I don't expect to see a new Intamin product in any Cedar Fair park for a long time, which some might consider a disappointment.

Remember the Shoot the Rapids.

The park sure does.

Skyhawk is usually mostly empty during Early Entry, without the draw of Maverick back there, will there be any riders at all???

Sooooo, they change the restraints to make Maverick comfortable and re-rideable, and then they remove any possible chance for people to get multiple rides on it within an hour.  Every choice that park has made since last season, has made me less and less inclined to miss being just a few hours away once we move.

Our first ever visit to Cedar Point was in 2013, Gatekeeper's premier.  Was Shoot the Rapids an Intamin product?  What problems did it have that created tension in their relationship.  I am only asking because I don't know.  Thanks.

Shoot the Rapids is indeed Intamin, and has had multiple issues. First, the opening was repeatedly delayed because, of all things, the boats provided did not fit in the trough. Then, in 2013, a boat occupied by riders broke free from one of the lift hills and flipped over, landing upside down in the water. Several guests had to jump into the water to flip it back over before riders would have drowned.

 

The latter incident had quite a bit of discussion here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/27789-shoot-the-rapids-boat-flips-over-with-riders/

Shoot the Rapids is indeed Intamin, and has had multiple issues. First, the opening was repeatedly delayed because, of all things, the boats provided did not fit in the trough. Then, in 2013, a boat occupied by riders broke free from one of the lift hills and flipped over, landing upside down in the water. Several guests had to jump into the water to flip it back over before riders would have drowned.

 

The latter incident had quite a bit of discussion here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/27789-shoot-the-rapids-boat-flips-over-with-riders/

That incident was surreal to me since i had just visited Cedar Point july 31st and rode STR. 

Dick Kinzel, then Chairman, CEO, President, Grand Poo-Bah, and Father of The Most Qualified And Able Man In All The World To Run Carowinds Because He Said So, had insisted on teasing Shoot The Rapids as a thrill ride...and it did turn out to give chills beyond compare.

Cedar Fair, INTAMIN, and Dick Kinzel, among many others, were very lucky no one died that day. It was a VERY close call. And a wake-up call.

So what changes were made to the ride after this incident to keep similar incidents from happening again in the future?

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Shoot the Rapids is indeed Intamin, and has had multiple issues. First, the opening was repeatedly delayed because, of all things, the boats provided did not fit in the trough. Then, in 2013, a boat occupied by riders broke free from one of the lift hills and flipped over, landing upside down in the water. Several guests had to jump into the water to flip it back over before riders would have drowned.

The latter incident had quite a bit of discussion here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/27789-shoot-the-rapids-boat-flips-over-with-riders/

Wow that is pretty scary experience. Can't believe I never heard of that till now.

STR was a bad idea in every single sense.

 

It was advertised as a thrill ride and promoted with an in-depth, viral marketing style backstory all about a feud between two rival hillbilly families and their bottling business. Sure, it was Cedar Fair, but I know I wasn't alone in expecting at least a few rudimentary animatronics, sound effects, music, maybe a "falling barrel" effect, a pre-show video in the queue.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL4A974F53C3E5FDBF&v=shCyUzTqdto

 

Shoot the Rapids floats lazily at a crawl past fences and ferns. The only semblance of story is a sign that says "Watch For Falling Rock." But then, of course, no rock falls. Lazy in every sense. 

 

The mechanical issues that endangered lives are obviously much more important. But I don't think STR is worth being in Cedar Point's line-up anyway. 

It was the perfect addition to highlight what had become of Cedar Fair in Dick Kinzel's last days there. In oh so many ways.