I'm going to be heading to Cedar Point for the first time in nearly 10 years next month. I have a condition that requires me to be cautious with strobe lighting. I've checked with the Disability Guide (boy has THAT changed over the years), and I see a number of rides mention the use of strobe lighting. I'm assuming that with the coasters we're talking the on-ride photo cameras. Those are usually fine with me, so long as I know their location. (That way I can turn my head and not look into them. Let's just say they don't sell a lot of on-ride photos to me! LOL)
I notice they mention that Windseeker has strobes. Is that an on-ride photo? or is that due to the intense lighting they use? I notice the same is said of MaXair...though that ride isn't on my list to ride.
Of the coasters, my one concern is Maverick. I tried it on my last trip and fell in love with it. (It's hard on my body, but it was worth it.) I can't remember if the launch tunnel uses strobes or not.
(And in case the question comes up, I'm aware of park services. The staff there is usually quite helpful. But often in matters like this, the best they can do is quote the manual. On my last trip, I stopped in to inquire of strobe use on Disaster Transport. (I told you it's been awhile.) They were unable to give me a definite answer, so I've learned sometimes it's best to turn to people with in-the-park experience.)
Any advice you can offer on the subject would be appreciated.
Last year there were no strobes in the tunnel on Maverick, but the camera strobes are very intense and blinding at night. They are on the hill after the S-Turn over the scum pond.
As for maXair, it uses strobes at night as part of the ride. They are on the ground and trigger every time the ride swings down to ground level. Very noticeable from the midway.
I don't know about WindSeeker, only ridden it once and that was during the day.
Thanks Shane...that's very helpful for me. It sounds like my major concern will be after the sun goes down. It does make me wonder, while I no longer can ride Raptor, do they still use strobes at night on the cobra roll?
RCMAC -
They did last year. And remember, the new Valravn midway gets you closer to that than ever.
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Here's all of the locations for the ride photos/strobe lights, in chronological order. (I'll exclude the children's coasters, since I don't know where the photos are on them--after all, I haven't rode them since I was a kid!)
Magnum XL-200: The last bunny hop hill before the tunnel. Left side.
Raptor: This one is tricky; there are two separate ride photos, for the left two and right two seats for each row. For the right side, it's right before the second corkscrew. For the left side, it's just after the final helix. Additionally, there's multiple strobe lights on the cobra roll at night, and they're extremely intense. I would highly suggest that you not ride this ride at night--they're that intense.
Rougarou: After the corkscrew after the mid-course brake run. Right side.
Millennium Force: Inside the second tunnel, on the way back to the station. Left side.
Top Thrill Dragster: Two photos: during the launch and in the final brake run. Both on right side.
Maverick: Previously stated, but in the s-curve after the launch tunnel/water bombs. Left side.
GateKeeper: After the pretzel loop at the beginning of the ride. Both on left and right side.
Valravn: Just after the first drop. Left side.
I don't think MaxAir's strobe lights are operational anymore, but they were as described by Shane above. It still remains to be highlighted, just to be on the safe side.
WindSeeker's "strobe lights" aren't really strobe lights in the traditional sense; rather, the LED lighting package at night includes a certain program that is extremely similar to strobe lights, and therefore likely able to trigger anyone susceptible. As such, while this ride is safe during the day, it isn't safe at night.
Hope all of this helps.
Thank you everyone for the great replies. It's truly appreciated. I appreciate the run-down on camera locations. And I never thought about the midways being affected by the lighting like that. Here's hoping for a good trip.
Big Al -
As for Maverick being hard on your body. They changed the restraints a few years ago and it is a much more enjoyable ride.
GDUBS -
I wanted to add that Valravn has strobes at the base of the first drop shining at you. It also has bright LED programed lights on the lift hill that do have a strobe pattern.
Windseeker, Giant Wheel, Power Tower (on ride, looking down), and Pipe Scream do have rapidly flashing patterns in their programmed sequences that occur fairly frequently at night and may cause similar issues.
The motion of the pendulums maXiar, Ocean Motion and SkyHawk cause a strobe-like lighting effect as you quickly pass the bright, static lights on the ground at the base of the rides.
Blue Streak, Magnum, Kiddy Kingdom, Matterhorn, and Monster also have less intense chase lights on and around the attractions. Most of the other flat rides have lights that flip between two or three colors.
Some places you may want to avoid at night on the midways are the Valravn midway, Celebration plaza (during Lumonosity) and the Gemini midway. The Valravn midway has a clear line of sight to those strobes mentioned on Raptor, plus Valravn's own lighting and camera flash effects. The Celebration Plaza is fine except during Lumonosity as that show features multiple intense strobes, lasers, fog, fireworks, fire, and projected images. The Gemini midway has multiple rides with led lights on both sides.
If you visit during Halloweekends, most of the Haunts contain strobe lighting and there may be some additional strobes and flashing lights scattered throughout the midways, especially in Frontiertown area.