[Firechaser]

Behemoth got seatbelts according to Screamscape.

[coasterfreak]

Behemoth got seatbelts according to Screamscape.

Just looked. There's no info on that.

[RollerBee]

Again with the seatbelt rumor, I will believe it when I see it.

[redrunner97]

What about Leviathan? If it has belts too, then ours probably will next year!
Anyone know about Diamondback?

I sincerely hope this doesn't affect ride wait/load time and experience.

I blame the crazy old people on facebook that randomly claim the Hypers are "unsafe" and should have seatbelts. Question: why listen to them Cedar Fair?! They aren't your "fanbase" they are just casual visitors. Lame!

[gabed]

What about Leviathan? If it has belts too, then ours probably will next year!
Anyone know about Diamondback?

The picture firechaser has shown us is Diamondback. Look where it says, "King's Island is not responsible for..." on the bins for loose belongings.

[Jay]

I blame the crazy old people on facebook that randomly claim the Hypers are "unsafe" and should have seatbelts. Question: why listen to them Cedar Fair?! They aren't your "fanbase" they are just casual visitors. Lame!

Fans don't dictate this type of thing, insurance companies and lawyers do.

[homestar92]

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is self-insured, so it wasn't an insurance company. Lawyers may have had a part in making the decision, but I really do think that the seatbelts are an example of erring on the side of caution. As for the seatbelts on Diamondback, the only time you can even tell that they are even there is on the lift hill. Once you get going, you forget about them.

I'm just thrilled that Diamondback started its season without them and I had a chance to get one last ride in its original form. I'm interested to hear if Intimidator has these or gets them in the near future. Ohio has particularly strict laws regarding coasters, so it is possible this would only affect Kings Island. But in my experience, when Cedar Fair rolls out major changes, they roll them out chain-wide.

[intaminboy]

I wonder what kind of seat belts they used on Diamondback. Are they the regular Intamin ones, or did B&M make their own? Because, the only B&M seat belts that I know of are the ones that connect to the seat and buckle into the harness.

[Firechaser]

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is self-insured, so it wasn't an insurance company. Lawyers may have had a part in making the decision, but I really do think that the seatbelts are an example of erring on the side of caution. As for the seatbelts on Diamondback, the only time you can even tell that they are even there is on the lift hill. Once you get going, you forget about them.

I'm just thrilled that Diamondback started its season without them and I had a chance to get one last ride in its original form. I'm interested to hear if Intimidator has these or gets them in the near future. Ohio has particularly strict laws regarding coasters, so it is possible this would only affect Kings Island. But in my experience, when Cedar Fair rolls out major changes, they roll them out chain-wide.

Were the seatbelts Retractable?

[homestar92]

Were the seatbelts Retractable?

I'm not sure. They seemed more like a sort of an elastic material than the other seatbelts I've seen. At any rate, they are adjustable - either by elastic or by being retractable. They can stretch quite far, and I feel comfortable that if someone fit before, the only thing that might make a difference is the buckle itself blocking the restraint from getting to the second notch. The belt is plenty long enough that larger riders will not likely be unable to ride if they fit before. It does slow down loading quite a bit, but I would assume that once the public and the operators are used to them, it will become a more streamlined process.

I should also add that they were the kind that go across the lap, rather than the kind that clip into the restraint itself like you'd see on B&Ms with over-the-shoulder restraints.

I wonder what kind of seat belts they used on Diamondback. Are they the regular Intamin ones, or did B&M make their own? Because, the only B&M seat belts that I know of are the ones that connect to the seat and buckle into the harness.

They don't look like anything I've seen on a B&M before, but I've never seen a B&M with seat belts that go across the lap. I'm not sure if they were made by B&M, or if Cedar Fair added them on their own.

[Edwardo]

See there? Post a pic and people believe you!

[homestar92]

I don't feel comfortable directly linking to someone else's picture, but on a Kings Island forum that I frequent, another user has a very nice shot of the seat belts fully extended. For now I will just hyperlink to that post, since it's visible to non-members. If she gives me permission to post the picture here, I'll edit this post and embed it directly.

http://www.kicentral.com/forums/index.p ... ntry611567

[Jonathan]

Might as well just scrap the third train on all of these rides now. Congrats to Cedar Fair on killing one of the main advantages of B&M hypers: the loading efficiency and free floating feeling of the restraints.

[redrunner97]

I don't wanna be the "let's go start a petition" guy... But let's go start a petition! 1/2JK :p

[homestar92]

Might as well just scrap the third train on all of these rides now. Congrats to Cedar Fair on killing one of the main advantages of B&M hypers: the loading efficiency and free floating feeling of the restraints.

The free floating feeling is not really affected. Capacity, however, has suffered majorly. Diamondback was stacking all day. I'm still hopeful that maybe things will improve once the crew adjusts to the seatbelts. I'm sure that capacity CAN recover, because look how many coasters operate just fine with seat belts at Cedar Fair parks... Worst case scenario, they could do away with the bins. Banshee has no bins in its station and the loading times on that ride are fantastic, even with seat belts.

I don't know how well removing the bins on Intimidator could work though. Crowds at Kings Island are used to needing a locker because Firehawk and Banshee don't have the bins. I haven't been to Carowinds since 2012, but I don't recall any coaster NOT having bins except maybe Ricochet and Woodstock Express.