Security??

after 9/11, i have really been wondering about security in amusement parks. if you think about it, there is really nothing anyone could've done to stop a terrorist attack on an amusement park last year. hopefully this year CP will put in metal detectors or something to prevent any attacks. what does everyone else think??

Well, I just hope nothing like that ever happens! But I think terrorists may not try to go after amusement parks since they go after government places and such. Still though when I went to CP after 9/11 I still was a bit nervous, but not anymore.

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ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DAY HERE AT CEDAR POINT...AMERICA'S ROCKIN ROLLER COAST. *CLEAR*

I hope we never see magnetometers at Cedar Point. For an amusement park they are an expensive, useless item used to make people think you're doing something about security when you really haven't a clue.
When park security is working the way it's supposed to, as a customer you shouldn't even notice it unless something happens. If trouble happens, the security team should be on top of it immediately.
I'm pleased to say that the two parks I visit most frequently...one of which happens to be Cedar Point...are experts at park security to the point that NOTHING happens in those parks. That's the way it should be.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Last summer I visited my friend in Colorado and one of the afternoons we payed a visit to Six Flags Ellich Gardens. They were the first park that I've ever seen with metal detectors at the front gate. It was wierd because they have them disguised to look like normal gates and most people don't even notice them. It's not until you pass through them into the park that you can see the electronics and light bars flashing above everyone's heads. They also had a couple of guards at the gate with handheld detectors that were checking everyone who set off the gates. It beeped when I went through but luckly they were busy with someone else and I didn't get checked. (No I wasn't packing...I just carry a lot of metal) All of the security seemed unnecessary; the only reason I could see for it is because the park is right in the middle of Downtown Denver. To make my point (finally), even if Cedar Point implimented this new security system, I don't think it would stop much (I was able to walk right through at Six Flags, and that was with a fairly small crowd) and it would cause too many other problems.

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Brad Wagner
The Ohio State University
2002: Snake River Falls

From what I understand CP will be having extra security measures after 9/11. I'm not sure what though. I heard it on the radio one day but didn't think much of it.

I hear SFWOA put in Metal Detectors. I don't understand why though.

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- Chris -
http://www.thepointol.com/~simplycp
Computer Science - Ashland University
Witches' Wheel/Monster - 2002
3rd Shift Trash Removal - 2001

Yes, SFWoA now has metal detectors. With their one turnstile operation it should only take about a half hour to get in now..

Remember the people responsible for 9/11 went through airport security and their metal detectors. Did not do a whole lot of good.

Some detectors are probably put in place to create an illusion of safety, sorta like seat belts on coasters. ;)

When I went to Disney World over my Christmas vacation, anyone with a bag had to wait in line for a security guard to check around in it. They were pretty picky about it too. My friend had to open up her wallet, glasses case, etc. It wasn't as big of a pain as it sounds and it made me feel a lot more secure. Also the wait wasn't THAT long, the guards were pretty quick about it. I could see them implementing something like that at CP.

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Brent Haley
Gemini Crew '02

Well, Joe you have a good point, except a terrorist can't really drive a ride into a building. They weren't carrying anything extra to indicate they were going to do what they did, and it'll be hard to hijack a car on a rail without being noticed... A metal detector can detect knives or guns of the sort. How many of those probably make thier way into amusement parks daily. I think if parks are increasing security I think it is for safety from thatone person who might do some unwanted things with his pocket knife or whatever. Honestly if CP ever put in metal detectors I wouldn't mind, it would be just 1 more thing for me to say they care about safety and are 1 step ahead of anything that could happen. I'm not sure if it is an illusion of safety, if they reduce the number of weapons that enter a park. I found a couple of incidences with weapons at CP just browsing through the old topics here. Some food for thought.

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- Chris -
http://www.thepointol.com/~simplycp
Computer Science - Ashland University
Witches' Wheel/Monster - 2002
3rd Shift Trash Removal - 2001

*** This post was edited by Flisk on 4/5/2002. ***

Interesting that SFWoA has metal detectors now. I've never thought of the park as having much of an "urban" problem (quite the contrary, it's the hilljacks that irritate me).

I personally "felt" more security at Cedar Point during Halloweekends and what not. There seemed to be more police or guards at the gates and such. Generally speaking Cedar Point isn't priced right to invite people to come in just to cause trouble. Season passes and single day tickets are too expensive for that.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

According to trade publications, Cedar Point has beefed up its security measures a bit, effective with HalloWeekends last season.

Here's a tip for you: A few security guards patrolling the park are a whole lot more effective than paying those same guards to stare at a magnetometer all day, or to sit at a table and go through people's camera bags. Cedar Point knows this. Have they increased park security in the past six months? Yes. Should we as park customers notice? Absolutely not. The most effective security measures are the invisible ones. Why? Because if you don't see it, and you don't know what is being done, you as a Bad Guy™ can't circumvent it.

Last fall, Kings Island was doing bag searches, which was patently stupid for two reasons: First of all, if you wanted to sneak ANYTHING into that park all you had to do was slip it into your pocket, and anybody watching the bag searches could easily see that. All a Bad Guy™ would need to get, say, a firearm into the park was a pair of cargo pants. The other reason it was stupid is that a large proportion of the park's security team was tied up at the front gate peering through people's personal effects instead of patrolling the park. Again, any Bad Guy™ who was bent on wreaking havoc would have noticed this...I know I certainly did.

To truly be effective, security needs to be active, and it needs to be mostly invisible. Sure, it helps to see the armed, uniformed guards walking the park, but the most effective security measures are going to be the ones that are invisible, because those are the measures that are impossible to circumvent.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

SFMM has had metal detectors at thier enterance for some years now. Of course they have a much worse problem with riff-raff there. On weekend some of the local gangs converge on teh park to "have fun" and usually end up getting kicked out.

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82 Farewell my good friend..

*** This post was edited by Red Garter Rob on 4/5/2002. ***

I was at disney land in cal and they search all of you bags before you can enter the park
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Matt
Marion, Oh
Point Fan and soon to bee Employee next season (2002 Lifeguard or Ride Opp)

Disneyland and Disneyworld seem like the only amusement parks that really do the bag searches...But can you really blame them...It's required because Disney has a reputation as a family park with a great family atmosphere...Though an incident like 9/11 happening at any place would be horrible, if it happened at one of the disney parks, which was rumored shortly after 9/11, it would be horrible for disney...they are doing the extra security just to make sure nothing like that happens at their parks...I'll bet they search you before you can even enter Epcot or MGM studios for that matter...Security at every place is probably being enforced...

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Be wary of falling shoes while waiting in line for Raptor

Kennywood pokes around in your bags as well. How does an urban park like that not have gang problems and such? Easy... they don't offer season passes.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

At the siz flags down in atlanta they were doing the metal detector thing last year. I set it off, so they had to do me with the little hand detector, which also got set off. Then the guard stood back, looked at me for a second and I guess he decided that I wasnt gonna be doing anything bad, so he let me through (or maybe it was cause there were 5 or 6 more people wanting to get checked after me) anyway, seems like a total waste of time, nothing got solved, but I'm sure it backed up the lines at the gate pretty well.

Shawn

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville) and Six Flags Great America (Gurnee IL) both have metal detectors at their front gates. And I've seen signs at Kentucky Kingdom's front gate that says back-packs brought into the park are subject to a search.

In My OpinionI don't think that if done properly metal detectors will slow down lines. People could flow through the gates normally if an alarm goes off a security guard can take them aside and do whatever they need to allowing people behind them to continue to pass through the gate. This could work, cause after all not many people go to amusement parks looking to cause trouble but to have fun.

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- Chris -
http://www.thepointol.com/~simplycp
Computer Science - Ashland University
Witches' Wheel/Monster - 2002
3rd Shift Trash Removal - 2001

*** This post was edited by Flisk on 4/5/2002. ***

Remember that guy that lived on the Chausee ?, Was it last year or the year before? Anyway...he had a house full of weapons and ammo within walking distance of CP. After seeing that story the "what if's" did cross my mind. I do think however, that park security is quite good, but stoping crazy people from doing crazy things is still difficult if not impossible at times (as we all have learned).

Here's to a safe summer!

-craig

*** This post was edited by wings51 on 4/6/2002. ***

Actually, he wasn't really within walking distance. It was way on the other end of the Chausee, at least 4 miles from the park.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

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Gemini said:
Actually, he wasn't really within walking distance. It was way on the other end of the Chausee, at least 4 miles from the park.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

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Your right, I forget how long that road really is.
-cm

*** This post was edited by wings51 on 4/6/2002. ***