Getting off the turnpike, there's the Cedar Point sign:
We stopped at a grocery store to grab some food for dinner that day and breakfasts for the next two days. Then at around 10 o'clock we drove onto the peninsula and around the park, giving some cool night views of the coasters.
Blue Streak:
Millennium Force:
Mean Streak:
Gemini:
We stayed in the Hotel Breakers, on the eighth floor in the tower section. This was the view of Top Thrill Dragster from our room:
The weather was looking promising for the following day, with a chance of rain but nice temperatures.
Day 1
We woke up at around 8 o'clock so we could get to the entrance for early entry, which starts at 9. We got to the resort entrance by 8:30, and once they let everybody in at 9 we headed straight for Maverick. It's very easy to be first to Maverick, if you just jog you'll be miles ahead of everybody. Anyways, my brother Sam and I were first in the station and got on front row, with the train to ourselves. The front isn't as intense as the back, but it's a different experience that's worth trying.
After Maverick we headed to Millennium Force. The line wasn't out of the station, so we decided to go front row while the line was short. After a wait of about 15 minutes, we were on and I was reminded yet again why Millennium Force is still my favorite coaster. Super smooth and graceful, yet powerful and intense with nice floater airtime.
It was about 9:50 by the time we got off, so we went to Top Thrill Dragster to wait in line for 10 minutes until it opened at 10 o'clock. It became apparent around the time the park opened to the public that TTD wasn't going to be running soon, as it wasn't testing and people were leaving line, so we went to the front of the park to check out what we could ride. Gatekeeper was running, so we quickly hopped in line.
The line was about 20 minutes, and we rode near the middle of the train on the left side. It was very similar to how I remembered it being, smooth and graceful with lots of fun forces. I still didn’t notice the jackhammering people have been talking about, but I thought it might be because I didn’t ride in the back.
After this, we checked out Wicked Twister which is right nearby. People were exiting line and it didn’t appear to be running, so we headed over to the Raptor/Blue Streak area. Raptor wasn’t running either, and we discovered that TTD, Raptor, Windseeker, and Power Tower were all down due to high winds. Blue Streak was running though, so we got in line for back row which was about 15 minutes. I like Blue Streak more and more every time I ride it. I used to dislike it a lot, but the airtime is amazing and the bumpiness is growing on me. It really is a solid coaster.
It was close to noon by this point, so we got lunch near Raptor’s zero-g roll. I grabbed some pictures afterwards.
Raptor:
Gatekeeper:
After this we headed back in the direction of Millennium Force.
Corkscrew:
Most things had a really long wait, but Mantis’s line wasn’t too bad, so we waited about 30 minutes for it. It seems like each year I have a different experience with Mantis, sometimes I really like it and other times it’s a very uncomfortable ride. This year it was pretty unpleasant in the lower legs. Still a fun ride no doubt, but I have no idea how it used to be my favorite ride ahaha.
Mantis:
Millennium Force:
My parents had been riding the train while we were on Mantis, and we met back up with them.
Corkscrew without the train:
And with:
It was nearing the time when I was going to meet up with Brian (Cardsandcoasters), so we went over to Top Thrill Dragster’s exit where we met up. We then got to see a really cool area underneath Iron Dragon between Mantis and TTD, where I got some pictures.
Mantis's transfer track:
And cars:
Bad picture of TTD:
Good picture of TTD:
Launch room:
After that, my brother and I got a ride on Magnum while Brian got lunch. We rode near the back, and other than my phone almost flying out of my pocket it was a great ride!
My parents had gone back to the hotel for awhile and my brother decided to join them, so I met back up with Brian near Wicked Twister around 2:30 and we grabbed a ride on it now that it was running. The back is lots of fun, you really get thrown up the rear spiral.
After this we rode Gatekeeper, and the line was around 15 minutes if I’m remembering correctly. We rode left side again, but back row. This is definitely the best seat on the train in my opinion. You get whipped high and fast down the top of the drop, and I still didn’t really notice much jackhammering in the back.
Raptor still wasn’t running, so we decided to ride Blue Streak again in the back row. Just as good as before. Brian noticed that there were dummies sitting in Raptor’s seats in the station with no activity other than a maintenance man, so chances didn’t look good that it would be operating soon.
We went back to Brian’s room for a minute to grab some front-of-the-line passes that he had, and then went back out to Millennium Force where we used the first one because the line was over an hour long. Near the back is also another great place to ride on Mille, you don’t notice a whole lot more airtime but it’s definitely still there.
Maverick came next, again with a front-of-the-line pass because the line was an hour and a half or something like that. We waited a few trains for the back row, and it was definitely worth it. The back of Maverick is definitely more intense than the front.
Brian convinced me to ride Mean Streak again after Maverick, which I had originally said three years ago that I would never ride again. We rode near the front, and it was actually a relatively enjoyable ride. The track has definitely been worked on since 2011, it was still rough but much less painful. The trims on the first drop are serious, you actually get pulled forward because of how much the train is slowed down. The rest of the ride is paced pretty slowly, but I think it’s necessary to avoid too much roughness in the pullouts. I’m definitely glad I gave it a second chance.
We then hit up Gemini on the blue side, which I’ve ridden significantly less. I don’t have what the red side is like in my recent memory so I can’t accurately compare them, but the blue side was a lot like what I remember the red side being like.
On our way to Magnum we rode Pipe Scream, one of the new rides for this year. It’s a Zamperla Disk’O coaster, something that I hadn’t ridden before. It’s actually a lot of fun, the combination of spinning, changes in speed, direction, and angle make for a cool experience.
In line for Magnum, Brian informed me of the true ejector row: first car, third row. It did not disappoint, it was a great ride.
By this point it was about 5:30, and Brian had to leave for his next shift. He was generous enough to leave me with three more front-of-the-line passes! (Thanks again
)I met up with my family by the marina entrance, and we left the park for dinner at Famous Dave’s, which has great barbecue.
Famous Dave's:
Millennium Force from the marina:
The view from our table
When we re-entered the park close to 7, we went to watch the All Wheels Extreme show. The rest of my family had seen part of an earlier show and wanted to go back for the whole thing, and I must say it was impressive. I definitely recommend it if you want to take a break from riding things.
After the show, we rode Millennium Force again to use the first front-of-the-line pass. It was so busy they were actually assigning rows, so we got put in fourth row. Not the best position, but still a great ride, and with almost no wait I’m certainly not complaining.
After we got off, the skies to the north and west were turning dark, and we checked the radar to see what looked like a big line of storms moving in.
Darker skies:
The decision was made to leave the park and re-enter if it cleared. We left through the beach entrance and walked along the beach, where I got some pictures of the storm.
Windseeker with the storm:
Beach and storm:
We hung out in the hotel room for about half an hour, and it turned out to not rain much and the storms kind of skipped over the park. So, at about 9, Sam and I went back into the park again to see what else we could ride.
Ferris wheel:
Entering the beach entrance, Gatekeeper was nearby so we headed over to it. We had a bag, however, and didn’t want to pay for a locker, so we moved on. Raptor was still closed, and it was about this point that we noticed Top Thrill Dragster was testing! We rode Power Tower in the meantime, on the drop side. I hadn’t ridden the drop side before because the line is always a lot longer, and I’m not sure why. I like the launch side better hahaha.
Afterwards we used our second front-of-the-line pass on Top Thrill Dragster, which we made our last ride of the day as it was 9:45. We could choose any row except front, so we went with back. The launch is very powerful, rivaling Storm Runner when it comes to acceleration but it just keeps going and going. Rising up the tower at night is thrilling, and you can look around for just a second before diving back down to earth. The back seat whips over the top of the tower, which makes the drop much more intense.
Long exposure of Top Thrill Dragster:
Tilted:
Less tilt:
Bugnadoes!
Having our last satisfying ride of the day, we exited through the resort entrance and I took some pictures of the storm and lightning out over Lake Erie.
The great end of the day came with a half hour in the big hot tub by the outdoor pool at the Breakers, which has waterfalls. It’s fun.
Day 2
We woke up again at 8, and checked the radar as we ate breakfast to see that rain was coming at what looked like 10:30 or 11. My brother and I figured we'd get in as many rides as possible before the rain came, because we had to leave at 2 o'clock for the 6 or 7 hour drive home.
This morning we went to the beach entrance, and ran to Millennium Force with a few other people as soon as it opened. We waited the short line for front row again, and as we were riding we thought we were colliding with bugs. Luckily (or not luckily) it turned out to be rain, which came over an hour early. After the ride, we walked quickly to the Starbucks near the front of the park where my parents had a table as it started to really rain. All the rides shut down because of lightning, and we waited for about an hour in Starbucks before venturing back outside as the rain let up. We got about as far as the Pagoda gift shop before it started dumping rain again, and we waited another half hour until the rain let up yet again.
We had one more skip the line pass, so we decided to use it on Gatekeeper as Top Thrill Dragster and Raptor were still down. My brother was basically done riding things by this point, so I rode with my dad. We decided on the back row, left side again, and it was a fun ride with just a little bit of rain to add character.
After Gatekeeper it was pushing noon, and more rain was on the way. Looking at the radar, it looked like it would last at least an hour. Most rides still being closed, we decided it was probably time to leave. I was very content with all the rides I got in during this trip!
Magnum near the resort entrance:
Hotel Breakers sign:
Top Thrill Dragster:
Millennium Force from the Breakers parking lot:
Our room was one of these:
Driving out of the park, I got some more mediocre pictures of the coasters along the road as it started pouring rain.
Gemini:
Maverick:
Millennium Force:
Waiting in the rain:
Blue Streak:
Castaway Bay was looking pretty good right about then.
In conclusion, this was a great trip. It's always a blast to meet another member from SSC, and I have to give another shoutout to CAC for the front-of-the-line passes. Those were greatly appreciated.
The weather was great the first day, and even though it rained the second day we still got two great rides in. Cedar Point is an amazing park, but I'm sure you already know that. One last note: If you stay in the Breakers, DO NOT miss the waterfall hot tub. It's awesome. Ride count:
4 - Millennium Force
3 - Gatekeeper
2 - Maverick
2 - Magnum XL-200
2 - Blue Streak
1 - Top Thrill Dragster
1 - Mantis
1 - Wicked Twister
1 - Gemini
1 - Mean Streak
1 - Pipe Scream
1 - Power Tower
I hope you enjoyed the report!
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