Maybe five times is the charm?
For the fifth time since it opened in June, the Siren’s Curse roller coaster left riders stranded at Cedar Point.
The popular roller coaster stopped atop its 160-foot-tall lift hill on July 26, forcing riders to walk down evacuation stairs.
The series of unexpected “delays,” in the words of park spokesman Tony Clark, have been the result of the coaster’s safety system halting the ride before or in the midst of its signature tilt feature where riders are dangled over the Midway before the train attaches to the coaster track below.
The Siren’s Curse roller coaster at Cedar Point.
No one has been injured in any of the five instances where the coaster has stopped unexpectedly.
In two instances, the coaster stopped mid tilt.
If the coaster’s safety system can be reset, the ride continues along some 2,966 feet of twisting track at a top speed of 58 mph.
When the system cannot be reset, Clark said, guests are then escorted down the evacuation stairs by park personnel.
In each instance, the coaster has been able to reopen.
“Over the last few weeks, the coaster has experienced minor technical delays − similar to a check engine light − that paused its operation,” Clark said. “Its safety system performed as designed, keeping all guests safe. Following a complete systems check, guests either continued their ride then exited in the station, or were safely escorted off the ride if additional review was needed.
“Guest satisfaction is extremely important to us, and we will continue to work closely with the ride’s manufacturer to deliver an experience without interruption.”
The Siren’s Curse roller coaster at Cedar Point.
Is the Siren’s Curse safe to ride?
Cedar Point says the Siren’s Curse is equipped with a series of safeguards to ensure the coaster is operating as expected.
These “delays” are a result of the safeguards kicking in.
The Coaster101 website points out that the Siren’s Curse makes an average of 240 runs a day, or 7,200 in a 30-day period.
And when you factor in the number of instances the coaster has experienced a delay, it accounts for just one tenth of one percent.
Coaster enthusiast Nick Weisenberger, a mechanical engineer who has authored a couple books on the science of coasters and works with Coaster101, said the ride’s safety systems are performing as they should.
“It’s important to understand that thrill rides are over-engineered for fail-safe performance,” he said. “There are hundreds of sensors and they all have to agree; otherwise, the ride stops out of an abundance for caution.”
While this type of coaster is new to the U.S., he points out these Vekoma designed rides have been around in other countries for quite some time.
And there have been other instances of a tilt coaster leaving passengers dangling, including a highly publicized one in Tawain in 2019.
Any time a new coaster is built, Weisenberger said, there’s a bit of a “learning curve” for the maintenance and operations department at any particular park and such delays should be expected.
“Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Florida, opened in 2014, has three motion base track segments including a tilt track,” he said. “It also experienced frequent shutdowns and evacuations during its first few months before its reliability was smoothed out.”
Weisenberger said he has been on the Siren’s Curse several times and loved it and would not hesitate to ride it again.
“Being positioned right on the Midway is a double-edged sword – it’s been great for all the viral videos of the ride working normally, but if it gets stuck at a dramatic angle for even a few minutes then it goes viral for the wrong reasons,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Siren’s Curse at Cedar Point leaves coaster riders stranded again
