Preparing for a summer full of thrills

Thursday, 15 March 2007

Cedar Point Press Release

Cedar Point's Maintenance Division is Hard at Work Making Sure That Guests Have a Safe and Fun Time This Summer

SANDUSKY, Ohio, 2007 – Every summer guests from around the country visit Cedar Point to challenge the park’s unmatched collection of rides and roller coasters. With towering rides such as Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster to adrenaline-rushers such as Raptor, Skyhawk and the new Maverick roller coaster, Cedar Point is a thrill-seeker’s dream come true. But just what does it take to maintain these massive structures and technologically advanced thrill rides? The answer may surprise you.


PREPARING FOR SUMMER - Jon Wagner, a ride mechanic at Cedar Point, works on the wheel carriage of a Disaster Transport roller coaster car. The park's maintenance crew will overhaul more than 2,000 vehicles during the off-season. Photo courtesy Cedar Point.

During the off-season, all of Cedar Point’s rides and roller coasters undergo an extensive preventative maintenance program that includes completely overhauling all of the ride vehicles and coaster trains. In fact, there are more than 2,000 individual cars, gondolas, carts and coaster trains that are removed from the rides and inspected each and every winter by the park’s maintenance staff. All of the ride vehicles are basically “stripped down” and then rebuilt to properly inspect every square inch of the vehicle.

To accomplish this during the short off-season, Cedar Point transforms the park’s two public picnic shelters into makeshift maintenance garages. While most of the Midwest is being ravaged by cold weather and snow, Cedar Point’s highly trained and experienced maintenance employees are hard at work inspecting, repairing and rebuilding the park’s ride vehicles and roller coaster trains. During these inspections, they examine wheels, bearings, hitches, padding, panels, seat belts and harnesses to ensure the integrity of each part.

In all, Cedar Point has more than 130 employees in its Maintenance Division during the off-season, including ride mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, laborers and more.

“The winter overhaul is the most important part of our preventative maintenance program,” stated Gary Gast, director of maintenance and new construction for Cedar Point. “Nothing goes further than the winter overhaul to ensuring the safety and reliability of our rides and roller coasters.”

Not only are the ride vehicles and coaster trains overhauled, but the coaster track and supports also undergo extensive scrutiny during the off-season. Non-destructive testing, which includes ultrasonic tests, dye penetrate examinations and X-ray inspections, is used to judge the structural integrity of the track on each steel roller coaster at the park.

Advanced safety measures are being utilized on Maverick, Cedar Point’s latest scream machine. The support columns of the coaster are being filled with a fine, dry silica sand. This serves two purposes: it reduces the noise of the ride and limits vibrations, which extends the fatigue life of the columns.

“Nothing commands more of our time and attention than our safety program here at Cedar Point,” said Gast. “Our maintenance employees take pride in our safety record and in knowing that all of their hard work and dedication help make our rides and roller coasters as safe as possible for our guests, fellow employees and ourselves.”

During the upcoming weeks, crews will be busy with their final inspections of the rides and roller coasters before inspectors from the Amusement Ride Safety Division of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (which serves as the outside regulatory agency for all amusement park rides in Ohio) complete their evaluations. Once licensed by the State of Ohio, the rides and roller coasters will be ready to welcome their first guests on Opening Day, Saturday, May 12.