I'm glad I read a few of your trips posted on here before I went, and joined the discussion on fast pass. My girlfriend and I decided in the end that the cost of one fast pass we would just go for two days (well a full day and better part of a second) instead. I'm glad we did.
So we left Minneapolis headed westbound on I-94 on Friday August 1st at 0615. We made it to Wooster, Ohio that night and spent the night and most of the 2nd at her parents’ house where we picked up a pinball machine she grew up with, Williams' Black Night, circa 1980. After loading it up into the station wagon and celebrating her mother’s birthday with dinner on Saturday we left Wooster at 8pm, and made it to the Sandusky peninsula a little after 10pm, in time to see park lit up in all the pretty lights.
We stayed at the Hotel Breakers and I loved the view from our room, looking right at the top hat of Top Thrill Dragster and the Power Tower. Since it was Saturday the park was still open and I enjoyed hearing the sound of TTD's launch. WOOOOOOOSH.... While unloading the car I got to watch a bit of the fireworks display. It was all too surrealistic.
The following morning we woke up at 0730 and got ready to go. At 0845 we finally made it to the hotel's park entrance to see quite a line already formed. It wasn't a shock to me considering how big these hotels are. I had plans in my head for what I was going to do and how: enter the park and turn left to hit up Magnum XL-200, then Mantis, and hopefully be in line for Top Thrill Dragster before the park opened at 1000 to the general public.
Then a women in front of us and announced to her party what the early open four coasters were. I was under the impression that the entire park was to be ours for an hour prior to open, not that only certain rides would be open for that hour. The list was Maverick, Millennium Force, Gatekeeper, and Mantis. This ruined my expectations. We spoke with that group for a bit and they gave us the low down of the park and the what nots. I decided to follow them to Maverick and then the girlfriend and I would venture from there.
So off we went. Wow this park is HUGE. Prior to Cedar Point I’ve only been to Cedar Fair’s smaller park, ValleyFair in Shakopee, Minnesota, Camp Snoopy/Nickelodeon Universe located in the Mall of America, and Disney World center in Florida (though I don't count Disney World really as there was not much there when I went some 28 years ago, and I didn't get to experience Space Mountain). My girlfriend being from Ohio has been to CP a few times in her life, with Top Thrill Dragster being the newest coaster for her. Unfortunately she doesn’t have the best memory so she knew there were coasters she did not like, she just couldn’t remember which ones those are.
0910 We entered the line for Maverick. It was a wonderful welcoming start to our experience at CP. The only thing we agreed that we didn't like about it was the right bank to left bank twists the coaster does a couple of times. However it gained a 5 for thrills and my suggestion is try to keep your head straight and centered.
From there we ventured to Millennium Force.
We entered that line at 0934 and I loved watching the catch car cable system at work on that lift hill. Never seeing one in person before it was a lot of enjoyment to watch the mechanics at work. Finally it was our turn and we were both in LOVE. Holy %#&( how SMOOTH of a coaster that was, how pure exhilarating the lift hill, where you can't see the supports on either side giving a sense that there is nothing holding you up, the sheer drop followed by massive air hills. It became my favorite experience ever.
We had to ride it again. So back in line at 1003, and the second time around confirmed everything from the first time, and solidified in my mind why it was voted #1 coaster for 14 years in a row. In my opinion the only thing that would make it better is if they added 2 more air hills.
I was so adrenaline pumped at this time I was afraid that the rest of the part would be a disappointment.
At this point we continued along the northwestern loop and got in line for Iron Dragon at 1035. While watching this suspended coaster I was put off on the fact the cars have actuators on them, forcing a sideways sway, but enjoyed the theme around the coaster with its green vegetation and the pond with fog. I also noted to be prepared for the sudden jerk of the cars as they returned to neutral position at the end of the ride.
I'm curious as to how the ride would be without those actuators. It was a very smooth coaster, very twisty without the change in lateral g's like Maverick, a perfect coaster for the youngsters, but only registering a 2 on my thrill meter. I did get a sense of the twisting nature of the dragon that the ride aimed for, and the theme fit perfectly.
After that we jumped right into line next door at Mantis, the standup coaster, at 1051. I had high expectation for the feel of this ride standing up. The experience was not fun at all. The harness system made it feel like I was in a boxing ring getting my ears pummeled on by Mike Tyson. We were in firm agreement; we will never ride it again.
At this point I was amazed at how short the line times were, nothing over ½ hour, and wondered why anyone would pay more for the fast pass. My girlfriends pointed out how much of the winding queue lines were not being used at the time and that normally they would be full and we’d be in line for over an hour or more.
My girlfriend was eager to round the corner from that point and get into line for Top Thrill Dragster, her favorite coaster of all time. We entered it at 1114. The length of the launch made me think about the length of the Knex cable launches and I enjoyed watching all the pumps at work, along with the WOOOSH sound. At 1125 we noticed the line stopped moving and someone pointed out a maintenance worker walking along the track. We looked and sure enough there was one, two, then three maintenance guys. For five minutes we watched as they tried lubricating a pump then after a couple of cycles to force the lube through the system the third guy sat down on the track support and began to work on the hydraulic lines. I decided since we were only in line for about 15 minutes that we should just leave, who knows how long it would be before it was fixed and I had a lot more coasters to get to.
We then headed to Magnum XL-200 to see that it’s line was at an 3/4 hour so I decided to continue on to see how long Mean Streak wait was. 15 minutes. So at 1224 we entered the line and noted just how short the line really was. At this point I realized the 15 minutes lines were on coasters that were not fan favorites, and the longer lines, well were. Mean Streak is aptly named, as it is the most rickety shaking wooden I’ve ever had the displeasure of riding. We sat in the second to last row which was a grave mistake, and the only thing that got us through the horror of body abuse was the two teenage boys behind us complaining the whole time on how bad it hurt, pronouncing all their words very slow and long to get the shaking sound in the voice. It was worse than Mantis. I liked the layout but the side to side shake was absolute horror.
Once off I had to convince my girlfriend to go on Gemini, being a classic wooden racer I was determined that it would not be the torture fest that Mean Streak was. We got into line at 1246 and sat in the back of the red train. It was painful, not as bad as Mean Streak, as by this time we were beginning to feel the overall abuse these coasters were having on our not young bodies. The combined work over between Mean Streak and Mantis it was hard to enjoy Gemini. When we got off I was determined to ride again, so I hopped in line at 1254. This time I rode on the blue train so I could experience that layout, and I sat in the front seat. My girlfriend sat this one out as she needed a break and did not believe that there would be a difference between sitting in back vs front. Of course there is, due to the whip effect, and it was a much better experience. There still was that side to side slamming but it wasn’t as pronounced in the front. Both times the blue train won the race.
By now the girlfriend wanted a time out from the hard core rides so we hopped on the coal powered steam engine CP & LE railroad at 1313 and rode half of its loop. I wasn’t expecting the skeleton mining scene theme they have visible only from the train. It was fun.
It was time for a flatland ride to cleanse the palette so at 1334 I got on the Scrambler, a classic ride that I know all so well.
Afterwards we decided to jump on the Skyride at 1350 and made way to the front half of the park. Gatekeeper had an hour and a half line so we skipped that and headed to Raptor, which we entered the line at 1409 with an hour wait time. By this point between the heat of the day and our bodies not willing to produce more adrenaline to keep us fueled and on our toes, that hour wait time took a toll. By the time we got off the ride I realized I could not even think about where the cobra roll even was, all I knew is the loops were fun but any turning or twisting was not. The thrill just was not there.
Girlfriend wanted to go on the classic Blue Streak next and I was all for it. By this time I wanted air hill fun and didn’t have the energy to run back to Millennium Force to get it, so an out and back wooden was just what the doctor ordered. We jumped in line at 1520 and it was final, the heat had taken its toll and I was not having fun anymore.
So it was clear we needed a break. We headed for Johnny Rockets and enjoyed its strained air conditioning. I remember reading someone else thought that JR’s prices were expensive and looking at the menu it’s not that much more than the one we have at the Mall of America. I also remembered reading several people watched the Extreme Wheels show as a break so we decided to head that way after our food. A burger, fries, and shared malt later (had to do the dual straw in the malt 50’s iconic romantic thing) we went to the theater. We got there 15 minutes early, just in time.
I will say this now, if you go to CP, take a break and watch this show! I cannot stress this enough. I am a member of Generation X, and spent some of my youth with BMX bikes and skateboards, and have followed the careers of Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquest, and the like, and lived off Mountain Dew and X Games, so nothing that was done in this show was super crazy extreme, but the choreography was spot on. It was amazing. Seriously, do yourself a favor and see this show.
We were originally thinking we would nap during the show, but we were too enthralled to do so, so we headed back to the hotel to take a nap. And for an hour we did. It was much needed. We were thankful I decided to spend the extra money to stay on the peninsula rather than off, the convenience was well worth it. Feeling a bit rejuvenated we headed back out and at 1908 hit up Magnum XL-200.
This coaster got that adrenaline pumping again. Back to a fun thrill ride with lots of air hills. It was the fun of the wooden out & back but packaged in a smoother steel track with a gnarly lateral g force turn. I suggest sitting on the left side.
After this we headed to the Cedar Point Mine Ride. The girlfriend was not thrilled about the prospect of riding this, but I had to do it as I had to ride every single coaster at CP with the exceptions of Corkscrew and Wicked Twister as I’ve been on those rides at ValleyFair, and the two kiddy coasters. At 1955 we entered the 15 minute queue line, which turned into a long endeavor when we made it to the final gate due to a small child urinating on a seat.
There is a problem with having a bunch of teenagers & barely legal young adults running rides, and that is the immaturity when dealing with this issue. I was annoyed with how they reacted, very unprofessional with them going on about how “I ain’t cleaning that up” and the fact that there was no bodily fluid clean up kit located in the operators booth. This later fact I was completely appalled at, enough that I wrote at comment and submitted it to Cedar Fair. Seriously, how do they not have a clean up kit at each and every operator booth? It’s an amusement park, people are going to expel fluids and vomit, its par for the course. Oh, and train your operators to be a lot more professional when having to deal with such a crisis.
After the situation was dealt with we got on, and I must say it was a lot more thrilling of a ride than I thought it would be, I gave it a 3. The over bank turn after the 2nd lift hill my girlfriend grabbed onto me as she thought I was going to fall off. If they didn’t have the newer molded seats with the combo belt and lap bar, and it was still the older style bench seat with loose bar, I might have.
From here the evening was beginning to creep in and my girlfriend’s sister called to inform us she just made it to Cedar Point so the girlfriend left to meet up at the hotel. I took this opportunity to ride the just opened this year Pipe Scream as the girlfriend does not like spinning rides. At 835 I got into line and a short wait later I was enjoying what felt like the scrambler meets coaster.
Once I got off I reunited with my girlfriend and her sister and the 3 of us entered the Top Thrill Dragster line at 2103, which was slated for an hour queue, meaning it was to be the last ride of the day, provided it didn’t break down, again.
I have two words: HOLY SH!T.
0 to 120 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds, straight up 420 feet and then down again all within 30 seconds…. Yeah. It was one hell of an experience to wrap up a day.
We returned to the hotel exhausted, total count 12 coasters, 17 rides, and one show.
Day 2
Since we were planning on splitting the return drive home into 2 days, we only had about 8 to 9 hours on Monday to ride coasters. This day it was 3 of us, my girlfriend’s sister joining. I expected Monday to be a lighter day than Sunday for attendance since it was the first day of the work week, and as I packed the car first thing in the morning was happy to see all the final hotel bills sticking out the bottom of many hotel room doors. I figured all of these people would be leaving so lines should be shorter.
We headed out to the hotel entrance at the same time as the day before, 0845 and omfg… the line was over twice as long. I was flabbergasted. I had called the hotel room the night before and inquired which coasters would be open first thing for the early entry: Magnum XL, Mantis, Raptor, Pipe Scream, and Gate Keeper. Since Gate Keeper was the last mandatory coaster I had to ride to complete my quest of riding every coaster at CP sans the exceptions that was our first stop, high tail ass to the front of the park and hit that baby up before the main gates opened.
And high tail ass we did.
At 0923 we got in line. It was longer than I hoped it would be and I was nervous as there were a lot of people outside the main gate waiting and it was already almost a half hour into the early entry time. We decided to take the left side of this winged beast first because I thought I remembered from watching the Youtube videos that the left side was the more psychological thrilling due to head choppers.
Up to this point, Millennium Force had become my favorite coaster of all time. That all changed from the very beginning when the winged coaster goes into that dive roll off the pre-drop into that massive Immelmann. I was hooked beyond all comprehension. This was hands down, the best, the smoothest, the craziest ride EVER. The first air hill was so perfect, the twists through the entry front gate was exhilarating, the feel of my legs begin forced out in front of me at the brake run…. I HAD to ride it again, this time on the right side.
Four minutes before main park open, at 0956 we got in line again, and this time rode the right wing. It doesn’t have as much of the sweeping feeling on the first drop but is by far the more psychological thrilling side. If it wasn’t for Millennium Force being at the opposing end of the park I wanted to run and ride that to compare the two. Unfortunately I never did get to re-ride Millennium Force, so Gatekeeper became the reigning champion as my all-time favorite coaster. It was the perfect coaster to finish my quest off with.
The other major aspect of this coaster I absolutely positively adore is the restraint system. Instead of big, thick, hard padded pipes sitting over the shoulders this coaster has straps with an additional outer roll bar system. I want every other coaster with inverts to be revamped using this restraint system as it would make them way more enjoyable and not feel like getting my head slammed in by a UFC fighter.
It was apparent from the get go that the park was fuller than the day before. My girlfriend thought I was imagining it as we spent the first part of the day prior in the back half of the park furthest from the front gate. Looking at the line times that was not the case. The day before we didn’t see an hour posted until after noon, when we stepped off Gatekeeper for our second time it was listed at an hour and a half.
The girlfriend voted to head next door to ride her second favorite coaster, Wicked Twister. This invert is slightly different to Steel Venom at ValleyFair in that both vertical sides are twisted, it’s 4 feet taller, the length is 6 feet longer, and doesn’t rattle the cars on the third pass (Steel Venom is supposed to be a snake so when you go backwards on the final run the train gets captured and a hydraulic press rattles the train before letting go). Her sister noted that it wasn’t running, there were a bunch of mechanics at the ride so we opted to ride Blue Streak again since we were burnt out the day before and didn’t enjoy it.
In line at 1032, this time we voted to stay in the front cars for our experiences and it was much more enjoyable. It is the classic air hill woodie.
From there I wanted to retry Raptor since I was brain fried from the heat the day before but it’s queue time was also at an hour and a half so we headed for Top Thrill Dragster, which had an hour queue. We entered the line at 1123. At this point I was thankful we decided on two days, and also thankful that the day before was not as busy since we did not get fast pass tickets. Based on the crowd size this day I could see the point of spending extra. While in line I chatted with some other folks about how busy it was vs the day before and they stated that it’s very hit and miss on any day as to how packed it will be. They also mentioned that Top Thrill Dragster would be their favorite coaster if it wasn’t for the fact of how often it breaks down.
Sure enough 20 minutes later the line stopped moving, and the maintenance crew was back out again, working on the same pump as the day before. We left the line, annoyed that for the 2nd time in line it broke down and we were losing time.
We decided to re-ride Magnum XL-200 as the girlfriend could not remember which one it was (she had a very hard time remembering any coaster that started with M except Mantis, that one she knew all too well she did not want to ride it ever again). At 1146 we entered the line and it definitely made its way into the #3 spot of favorite coaster.
We then headed to Millennium Force to enjoy that deliciousness again but the line was a two hours long and there was no way we were going to stand in the heat for that long, so I voted on Mean Streak. I wanted to know if it was truly as horrible in the front seat as the last. Girlfriend was having non of that but her sister was game so the two of us went.
We entered that 15 minute listed queue time line at 1225 and we wove all the way through the empty maze and arrived at the turn style without stopping. By this point I realized I made a grave mistake, that this coaster is really that bad, no one wants to ride it. After waiting two runs we got into the front seat and yes, it is that bad. I discovered almost mid-way that if you push your legs up into the lap bar to brace yourself, and lean forward so your back isn’t on the seat, it’s a much more tolerable ride.
Like Mantis I will never ride it again. Ever.
The noon time heat was higher than the day before and I got a sudden desire for a bowl of the Dippen Dots so we timed out to sit under a tree with our frozen ice cream. It was hot enough out that if you spill any dots they would begin to melt instantly upon contact with anything outside the cup. Everyone agreed that I made a good call on the dots and we settled on a coaster that we knew would be fun and have a short line, the Mine Ride. At 1303 we got in line and it was as fun as the day before.
The girlfriend wanted to head back to see if Wicked Twister was running, she was determined to get it in so we headed back to the front of the park, which was packed. We got into the 45 minute queue line (Gatekeeper was at 2 ½ hours, even Iron Dragon's line extended beyond the official entry point) at 1344. While in line I spent a lot of time studying the electromagnetic ILM launch system. The ride was just like the one at home, except the added twist and sans rattle.
The girlfriend’s sister had to leave (real short experience for her, I know) and since we were at the front of the park I wanted to experience another ride we don’t have at home, maXair, a 140’ pendulum with a large spinning wheel at the end. So I entered the half hour queue at 1442 while they headed back towards the hotel. I am amazed at how many times you get the feeling of zero gravity on this ride. For that alone it’s well worth it.
The girlfriend sent a text stating she was too tired to walk all the way back to the front of the park to meet me and wanted to ride Top Thrill Dragster again. I was not feeling eager to do so as it had broken down on us while in line twice and it’s such a short ride I wanted a longer reward for being patient through a long wait. Since Gatekeeper was down to an hour I text back that she should go ahead and do TTD, I was going to do GK instead and that this will be our last ride as we needed to get on the road for our first leg trip back home.
She agreed and at 1556 I entered the queue. This turned out to be the worst line as it was the only one that had very little shade tents and none of the water fans at all. Several times I felt the onset of heat exhaustion and thought about exiting but kept watching that train dive into the Immelmann, remembering how much fun that sensation is.
By the time I got on the ride it didn’t have the thrill as before as I was tired from the heat. I was done, worn out, used, abused, and tossed wayside for the younger folk to ride the day away in a blaze of glory.
We met back up, grabbed a churro, and headed back to the car to begin the journey home.
At 1640 we left the peninsula, so happy I made the trip, knowing I will probably never return. Total day's count, 6 coasters, 9 rides total.
Coasters: Blue Streak(x2), Cedar Point Mine Ride(x2), Gatekeeper (x3), Gemini (x2), Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200 (x2), Maverick, Mean Streak (x2), Millennium Force (x2), Pipe Scream, Raptor, Top Thrill Dragster, Wicked Twister
Non Coaster: CP & LE Rail Road, maXair, Scrambler, Sky Ride
Shows: Extreme Wheels Show
Edited by Terry Hughes, 07 August 2014 - 01:45 AM.
