Hoeter

The Racer, I believe from what Don said, is poised to give out its 100 millionth ride this season as well. And I almost went up after work for a bit...

From Kings Island's Facebook page... Grant Pedersen of Lexington, Ky scored the one millionth ride on our new record-breaking Banshee roller coaster this evening. He was awarded a Banshee gift package that included a poster, picture frame, T-shirt, glass cube, coffee mug, tote bag, commemorative limited edition pin set, and a large sign proclaiming him as the coaster's one millionth rider. Congratulations Grant!

I saw these guys at Kings Dominion when I was there Sunday. Should have checked it out. Won't be there til Saturday for the GOCC event.

Lora, Again I want to thank you and everyone that participated in this trip for putting up with me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to do it again with y'all. You are welcome for using my car. Saved you some money in gas as we averaged anywhere from 37-40 miles per gallon the entire trip. Six Gags America...Lora is EXACTLY right. Dee and Rick went right onto Kings Dominion and did not go to SFAm. Good decision on their part. I was afraid my car would be up on cinder blocks by the time we left and that's no joke.

I haven't been on either. Just the sheer size of Ka intimidated me, plus it was dark. I wanted my first ride to be during the daylight. My first and only trip up to Cedar Point...Dragster was closed. I will be riding Dragster when I return hopefully sooner rather than later. Six Flags Great Adventure and Kings Dominion were my two favorite parks on the trip. El Toro (especially Row 1 and the INSANE ejector air) and Intimidator 305 blew me away. I will be back and I will be sure to get me a ride on Kingda Ka. LoraX loved Ka!

I was there with LoraX on Friday and it was running. However, I did not ride. I HATE drop rides. I did not ride Kingda Ka either. I'm starting to regret that decision now. El Toro was by far my most favorite coaster there. Honorable mention, Nitro and Bizarro. Got the old walk of shame on Batman. Sucks being 6 foot tall sometimes.

The only part of Bypass 4 that I've been on is the intersection with Route 4. To make a turn, you have to turn right, and sit at two stoplights Where on Bypass 4 is this? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

I heard awhile back that they were wanting to turn the Beechmont/Five Mile intersection into one of those like on Bypass 4...hope it doesn't happen Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

The I-75/State Route 63 interchange just 10 miles from the park was redone into I believe what was one of those X interchanges fairly recently. It was when the outlet mall was being built.Quite confusing at first. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

I'll second Terpy on Atlanta traffic. Rolled through there Saturday morning on the way to Tybee Island and I-75 was still backed up. We will be coming up through North and South Carolina and hitting I-40 on the return trip later in the week. Hate Atlanta. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

The only thing the train at KI seems to have now is a Pikachu wearing a conductor's hat back at the old Western area.

I went ahead and signed up for Coaster Crew. I'm a member of GOCC (which is $15 if you sign up for the electronic newsletter instead of the printed) It was only $10, really not that bad of a deal and you get the best bang for your buck. I already paid $26 to attend, what's another $10? When my renewal comes due for GOCC, I may stay just with Coaster Crew.

I already paid for this several days back before this was brought to my attention. Glad I'm finding out now and not when I get out there for the event. I'm signed up for the GOCC event that same week, of which I'm a card carrying member. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

Trip report is up in my thread. Quite an interesting visit! Thank you Tony Clark, Jason McClure, and Cedar Point for having us! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

June 6, 2014: My First Ever Trip to Cedar Point and Coastermania! This year I took the plunge and upgraded from a gold pass to a platinum pass with the goal of finally visiting Cedar Point. I've heard people rant and rave and say nothing but good things about Cedar Point, so I most definitely wanted to check it out for myself. Worked Thursday, drove up to Sandusky after work, and visited the park for over 12 hours yesterday on what I believe was an hour and a half of sleep...was it worth it? Hell yes it was. I arrived at the park around 7:00am and waited in line for registration to Coastermania! The line itself was only 20 minutes or so but it moved quickly. One person in my group talked to Tony Clark a bit and we found out that Top Thrill Dragster was closed for the day due to mechanical issues. It happens, but I'll be able to ride it next time I'm there. I'm here for the first time, so today consisted of getting in as many rides as possible, while checking out the park itself. First ride of the day was Gatekeeper. I rode this one in Row 8, which was about a 10 minute wait at the beginning of ERT. I've been wanting to check out one of these B&M wing coasters since the first one was built a couple of years ago. This ride was different but I was impressed. I loved the keyhole elements and the near misses it provides. Next up was Millennium Force. Now I'm not going to lie, the height of this thing intimidated me almost to the point that I didn't want to ride but it's been on my "must ride" list for several years now so that went to the wayside. I thought that I definitely was going to take a Walk of Shame on this one but surprisingly I fit with room to spare. Waited 30 minutes and I rode this one in Row 3. Absolutely nothing short of amazing. That first drop...the speed...wow! I think I have a new coaster in my top 10. At this point, we headed over towards Maverick. Along the way, we checked out the petting zoo attraction where we stopped along the midway and looked at the animals. Apparently, I had my back to the animals and was right next to the fence and I felt something tug on the back pocket to my cargo shorts. Thinking it was one of the people in my group trying to have fun, turns out it was one of the goats trying to get my attention. Definitely an awkward moment! We finally got to Maverick, waited 20 minutes for Row 1. That ride as well is now in my Top 10, the speed, that drop. Maverick is one intense ride. Intamins definitely pack a punch! Never been on any of their coasters until today. After Maverick, we headed towards Gemini. Only red side was open, 10 minute wait. Rode this one in the very last row. Very intense, loved the headchoppers throughout the ride. You can tell this is an Arrow, and that Ron Toomer was involved because of the transitions. Fun ride, but some parts were downright painful. While we were over this way, we did a quick spin on Lake Erie Eagles which was a 2 cycle wait. First time riding the Flying Eagles. I loved it! Please bring them back to Kings Island. Next...Magnum XL-200. Row 2 ride, waited 20 minutes. I loved it, decent airtime, but being a guy, those bunny hills coming back were downright painful. At this point, I broke off from my group to catch up with Devan, Lindzay, and company for a bit. Chatted awhile, and headed towards the train to get lunch at the Point Pavilion. The lunch was delicious...grilled chicken, ribs, brats, and mussels were the offerings. Also, got a decent sized box filled with a Cedar Point t-shirt, Cedar Point sweatshirt, sunglasses and a beer glass. After lunch, I decided to take my gift out to the car. At this point, I decided to call Dee and see if they were in the park. They were over near Challenge Park so I decided to move my car from near the front gate over to the Soak City lot. The drive back there was beautiful as you drive past Mean Streak, Maverick, and the lift hill for Millennium Force. The lake is on one side, and the coasters are on the other. Very cool. Another ride on Magnum XL-200 was on the plate. Decent airtime again, but those bunny hills were even more painful than the first lap. Lora snapped a picture of the on-ride photo, which if you've never ridden Magnum, is right towards the end of the ride after one of the bunny hills. Comedy gold. I should have purchased it! Row 1 with a 20 minute wait. While we were over this way, we wanted to see if we all could fit on Woodstock Express. Kind of funny seeing 6 adults get in line for a kiddie coaster. Me, Dee, Rick, and Lora took the ol' Walk of Shame while Zach and Kaitlyn were able to ride. I didn't mind the Walk of Shame, as it gave the 4 of us that did bragging rights that we got turned away from a kiddie coaster! After all 6 of us were together, we did Gemini. Blue side was open so I hit that up as the last ride was on the red side. A whole lot smoother and it was much more enjoyable than the last trip. Seated in 3-1 for this ride, 10 minute wait. Next up was Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Sat in 2-1 on this ride, 5 minute wait. This ride is something else. It opened in 1969, and the ride has the T-shaped restraints. I liked it and thought it was fun, but I prefer Adventure Express any day of the week over Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Also found it interesting that the ride op has to manually release your restraints. I'm assuming the ride was all manual when it opened in 1969? Corkscrew was the same way, manual restraints. That one opened in 1976 and I'm thinking this same ride was manual as well as well as Gemini. Both are now computer controlled from what I saw. At this point, we were informed by Malem that they are allowing people to wait standby for the cruise around Lake Erie in case they don't have enough people in line to send out a full ferry. We took the train from Frontiertown to the Millennium Force area and headed towards the Marina Gate. I didn't bring this up earlier but the train actually has theming! I loved it! Something Kings Island needs! Skeletons, fire, gunshots...would be nice to see this at Kings Island. A quick trip on the Matterhorn and then we headed out towards the Marina. We ended up being able to go on the 5:00pm cruise due to the amount of people that were waiting in line. Interesting perspective from the water. Pictures below for your viewing pleasure. Back from the cruise, our group decided to hit up Raptor. I was actually interested in seeing if this ride was better than Banshee. I've heard both yes and no to that but I prefer Banshee any day of the week over Raptor. I enjoyed the ride, and it packs that 90's B&M punch as inverted coasters were fairly new to B&M in 1994. It was definitely just as intense as Banshee, but the elements themselves? Banshee, I believe, is the clear winner here. Rode in Row 3, 15 minute wait. Great ride, especially the cobra roll. I split up from Dee, Rick, Lora, and them for a little while and got in rides on Blue Streak (Row 1), Iron Dragon (7-1), and Corkscrew (3-1). Everything but Iron Dragon was a walk-on, Iron Dragon was around a 10 minute wait. All three were good rides. If only The Bat was as long as Iron Dragon and kept the same speed... I headed towards Mantis. Never have been on a stand-up coaster before but always have wanted to do it. Tight fit to say the least but it was not a Walk of Shame. The seatbelt fastened but was too uncomfortable for me to enjoy the ride, I voluntarily walked on this ride. Wait was a walk on for those who did participate. Last ride of the night was on Mean Streak. Front row seat, walk on. I'm in the minority as most people that I talked to yesterday couldn't stand the ride. At this point, I headed back to the cabin for some much needed relaxation. Physically and mentally I was drained and could not handle anymore. I literally passed out as soon as I hit the bed- I was that tired. 14 hours in the park, operating on an hour and a half of sleep, again without a doubt was definitely worth it! Until next time...ride on! You text a Cincinnati area phone number if you have a problem with the restroom...same for all Cedar Fair parks?

See I go to Cedar Point yesterday for the first time and then this happens. It's not my fault, I swear!

You're welcome buddy!

Yes, regardless if you have a pass or not, you are required to pay the $26 to participate in the event. The cost helps pay for such events, including food, drink, the labor that Kings Island needs for the event, and what have you. I'm still on the fence as to if I will be there. It's my birthday, and I am off that day, so probably a sporting chance at this point. My wallet will also be dropping early in the morning at the DMV. Happy Birthday to me from the State of Ohio!

I will be headed up tomorrow night after work. All my stuff is packed and ready to go. Come home, change, grab a few things, then it's full speed ahead. I work for a company that is business casual, meaning my normal attire consists of khakis, a polo, and dress shoes. Tomorrow a big event is happening in the Conference Center at work and business professional dress is required, meaning that I am required to wear a suit and tie. Of all days...

Thanks Chris for clarifying this for BB1! Sort of still not answering the money question, but thanks! I just talked to Timmy. Select the $26 option. If you have a Platinum or Gold Pass, obviously you get in for free. Otherwise, you'll need admission. I trust you have a pass.

Let me reach out to Tim directly and see what he says real quick. Stand by...

Tim Holloran stated on Coaster Crew's Facebook page that the event is open to both Coaster Crew members and members of KIC. You can attend by being a member of KIC and not having a Coaster Crew membership, although having a membership is highly recommended. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk.

This will be my first trip. Devan, I expect you to give me the ultimate Cedar Point experience!

I really don't think it's a bad deal if you just rent it for a couple hours. I won't rent a locker for the full day, that's where it gets expensive. Firehawk is one of those rides that has the same type locker and price structure. I will not ride with things in my zip pockets on Firehawk.

How much more reasonable in price do you want them to be? Hell, I think $1 an hour or however much their charging is fine. Put your stuff in the locker, ride Banshee, end the rental, and head to rides that have bins...