Pillsberry123

Good to hear that it ran if nothing else. It's my favorite flat in the park, and I hate to see ANY ride not run for a lengthy period of time.

How does Cedar Point NOT offer a unique collection of rides? I don't care if anyone doesn't like Millennium or Top Thrill Dragster, heck even if the park didn't have those two rides it would still offer the most unique collection of any park. I'm not even going to bother going into detail of why each of the rides are unique in their own way... And Cedar Point isn't all about coasters. There's the family atmosphere, there's the beach, there's the relaxing walk on frontier trail, there's the flashy 1950s atmosphere of the midway at night, there's the classic rides, there's the location, the sights, the people, the resorts... so much more than the coasters that enthusiast look at. Families have been visiting the park for more than a century making a memory of it each summer, just as many people on this forum do to this day and will continue to do with their kids and grandkids... but if you visit with a such a negative, opinionated view then you might as well not visit at all...

I look forward to that place on my annual visits as much as I do Cedar Point itself! I put the New Sandusky Fish Co in my top 5 places to eat anywhere.

Welcome to KIC! If you are staying in a resort or have a Platinum Pass then make sure to get Millennium Force and Maverick out of the way during ERT (early ride time), because these will be your longest waits of the day otherwise. After ERT head straight over to Top Thrill Dragster. Even though Raptor is open for ERT, I recommend waiting until later in the day (evening) to ride it since the lines can be shorter then. After you ride the Dragster tackle the back of the park first and work your way forward and take your time. Most people hit the front of the park first during their visits, so hitting the back after 10 o'clock is what I would recommend doing. After 3 is when I'd recommend heading to the front of the park. This will give you plenty of time to take in Frontier Town, Top Thrill Dragster Midway, and Gemini Midway. It will also give you some time to eat lunch at the park, or leave the park and get lunch. If you don't have a Platinum Pass or staying in a resort, then I can't really give a good guide since I've never visited without using a pass or a resort. Just keep this in mind: - Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster will both have long waits throughout the day. If you see a line for one of these that have less than an hour wait, jump in. I assume Maverick is the same way, but I don't spend a lot of time in Frontier Town later in the day. - The front of the park will be crowded earlier in the day, the back of the park will be crowded later in the day, the middle section of the park (Millennium and TTD) will be crowded throughout the day. - I've never waited more than 15 minutes for Magnum XL200, so get as many rides on this as you can. - Don't pass up Blue Streak. It's similar (but much better imo) to The Racer. - When riding Raptor, ride up front. The line moves fast for that ride, so waiting for the front seat is worth it. - When riding Magnum, Gemini, Mean Streak, or Blue Streak, ride in an even numbered row. By doing this you are sitting off the wheels, and you'll get a much smoother ride. Park food can be expensive. I recommend visiting a local fish shop for a fresh Perch Sandwich. St. Louis is famous for their ribs, Brooklyn is famous for their pizza, and Sandusky (should) be famous for their Perch. I recommend the New Sandusky Fish Co. It's less than a 10 minute drive from the park. 235 E Shoreline Dr is the address.

It doesn't surprise me at all. People just aren't willing to spend two hundred dollars for an amusement park visit anymore. Holiday World takes every advantage it can by making a visit as cheap as possible, and this is why its attendance has risen. Larger chains need to take note of this. And I agree that parks need to focus more on family atmosphere. The "coaster wars" have ended at this point. It's become obvious that the bigger and faster we build coasters, the more expensive and less reliable those coasters will be. In these economic times amusement parks need to go back to basics.

The fact that Delerium is down is not the fault of Cedar Fair. It isn't an issue of failed daily operations, it's a problem with the ride itself. This goes back to the company that built the ride, which is Huss. Firehawk and Invertago are both very unreliable rides, if not the most unreliable rides in the park. Downtime for these are typical. (and this goes back to the manufacturer again, Vekoma) As for the other rides, things like this happen. They are machines and machines break down.

On a youtube video comment: SoB is undergoing a $7M~ layout and track reworking. The ride will only be the same up to the top of the lfit hill. Everything after the lift hill (including the first drop) will be torn down and completely redone, this time using higher quality Intamin track, instead of the cheap, prefab Intamin track it used before. The ride will be much smoother, and the new layout will completely eliminate previous problem areas. The coaster is due to reopen summer 2012. ... The italicized part made me laugh the most!

Glad you had fun! Millennium Force is my favorite ride there, and it seems that most people either like Maverick the best or Millennium the best. I fall in the Millennium camp I love the Wicked Twister ride op team! Certainly a crew that stands out from any other ride at any other park. Every trip to Cedar Point I look forward to the Twister crew almost as much as the ride. I also recommend checking out Wildcat and Blue Streak. Wildcat is actually a fun coaster and smoother than it looks. Blue Streak is just like The Racer, but much better imo.

Around the 3:00 mark you get a good look at the control room. Obviously, this is 1980 so the control panel has probably been changed.

Adventure Express is my favorite mine ride in operation. In fact, it's the only mine ride that I will go out of my way to ride, as I've never been the biggest fan of them. I love the themed tunnels, I love the way that most of the themeing is still working, and I love it because it was my first roller coaster outside of (then) Hannah-Barbara Land. It is jerky and painful at times, but it's a mine ride. Isn't that the point? As far as Adventure Express being better than Cedar Creek Mine Ride: CCMR really isn't that great of a mine train. Sure, it's fast, jerky, and out of control but it lacks themeing. It rides just like Adventure Express, but no themeing makes it a coaster that I have passed by on multiple visits.

The Beast sucks in the front seat. I prefer towards the back, preferably in the middle of the car off the wheels. 4-2 or 5-2 are my favorites. With woodies it normally doesn't matter if I sit in the front or the back, as long as it's in the middle of the car. It's the same way with most Arrow coasters. Of course I like 5-1 on The Vortex. With B&M coasters I always prefer the front. I don't see what the big deal is with the back seat on the Diamondback. The drops feels a lot faster, but other than that the view sucks. I like the front because of the view, and with the way B&M trains are designed you can get outstanding views in the front seat. On Millennium Force I prefer the back, the front, and the middle for different reasons. The back gives great ejector air down the first drop, but the rest is a little dull. The middle gives great pullover on the three airtime hills. With that being said, my favorite seat is the front. You hang over the crest of the first drop, which is great. The train also feels a lot faster.

The economy and the market is different than it was in the 80s. People are always going to complain about prices no matter what, this is true. However a drive from Indianapolis to Cincinnati is equal (if not longer) the distance from Indianapolis to Santa Klaus, and since the prices are cheaper it's obvious who's going to get more business from the area. Even the people who come and will continue to come will spend as little money as possible. Packing coolers is becoming more and more coming. This means less money for Cedar Fair.

Yes, but smoking is an addiction. There are no alternatives that can absolutely replace smoking. However, there is Holiday World nearby, and from a family standpoint it serves as a good replacement. The local atmosphere along with the unlimited soft drinks make the park a more wallet-friendly park.

The expensive costs of visiting King's Island are very well known in my area, and it stretches across the state all the way to Indianapolis. Holiday World is starting to capitalize off this fact by advertising heavily in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. King's Island is starting to loose area trust, and no matter what ride is introduced, families won't visit if the costs are high. And it doesn't really matter what rides are introduced to King's Island either, as teenage thrillseekers will typically make a 3-4 day trip up to Cedar Point rather than spend time in Cincinnati. King's Island is obviously the park trying to work the family market. They're loosing trust to Holiday World, especially in areas where the distance is about equal. King's Island needs to offer more family discounts, and increasing the ticket prices by $5 to compensate for cheap food won't make a big deal.

Keep in mind, Dick Kinzel has said that the new ride will deliver a nice dose of nostalgia. Similar to Shoot the Rapids, look into the history of the park. Kinzel has also said that the plans on keeping Cedar Point the "Coaster Capital of the World". With Magic Mountain having plans on building a new one, something tells me that the new addition WILL ME a coaster. Demond Drop has been up for sale for years prior to its removal, which is about right considering that Maverick was planned before the Dragster was even built. Don't assume that the new ride won't be a coster yet, a large amount of evidence points to a new coaster.

What makes Cedar Fair the better company is the fact that they have improved day-to-day operations. Lines move faster, rides are dispatched faster, the park is cleaner, and the park looks a lot better. You can't be angry at Cedar Fair for not adding something every single year. They've built the Diamondback, which has been the most popular new addition since Son of Beast. Considering that the economic situation is completely different than when Paramount owned the parks, one could only expect there to be less additions. If Cedar Fair started operating the park in 2001 or 2002 the situation and the park as a whole would be completely different.

I will admit that Maverick is the all around more intense ride, but I don't see how one can say that Millennium isn't intense. It may be lacking in laterals, but when I sit in the backseat I gray out at the bottom of the drop and over the over-bank.

^ When I say that Action Zone will fade as an area, I mean that in 30 years there will be little to no evidence of the Action Zone we have now. This will lead to a re-theme or a changing of the name. When I say the park will expand in that direction and beyond, I mean that the park itself will expand to the left (Son of Beast's current location) rather than to the back (the location of Vortex and The Beast). New rides will be added to the area and beyond, but I doubt Cedar Fair will maintain Action Zone as a "movie set" themed area. Again, this will lead to a re-theme. The GP may love BLSC, but Cedar Fair doesn't. It has lost 70% of its themeing, and it will soon be a skeleton of what it once was. As soon as it is in need of a costly repair I foresee Cedar Fair scraping it instead of fixing it. These are all my predictions. I don't claim to know any more than anyone else.

I've only ridden Diamondback, but I can safely assume that Diamondback stands out from the bunch because of the staggered seating. From my understanding Goliath at SFOG stands out as the best, and it looks like it based on pov's too.

Biggest bon fire ever for Independence Day 2011? I know... fail joke...

EDIT: It's 1:43 in the morning, I'm going to bed. I posted this but didn't have time to proofread. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes. Wooden coasters last longer than steel coasters. Cyclone, Giant Dipper, ect... The reason many rides from this age aren't around today isn't because they couldn't, but because the depression and the following decades weren't kind to coasters. If a wooden coaster is maintained well, which many of the popular rides around today are, then they will last a good long while for generations to enjoy. Therefore I can picture The Beast remaining at the park for another 40 years and The Racer lasting at least another 30, and that's being pessimistic. This I'm positive and I say this with 100% confidence. I'm not as sure about steel coasters, so maybe someone else can back me up: Steel doesn't seem to last as long. Steel coasters don't age well, which is obvious. Re-tracking steel coasters isn't as cheap as re-tracking wooden coasters, either. Therefore, I can picture The Vortex, Adventure Express, Flight Deck (obviously), Back Lot Stunt Coaster, and Flight of Fear being gone in 30 years if not less. As far as Magnum XL-200 is concerned, I believe that Morgan has the situation covered as far as replacement parts are concerned if need be. If it was located at any other park than Cedar Point I would be a little worried, but Cedar Point seems to be more worried about maintaining their rides than any other park, so I don't picture any Cedar Point coasters leaving any time soon. I can also imagine that newer steel coasters like Millennium Force and Diamondback will last a lot longer than the steel coasters of the 70s and 80s. With that being said: - In the future years I predict that Action Zone will decrease in size and eventually fade. Son of Beast will be demolished within the next few years (2011-2013), Flight Deck will follow shortly after (2012-2014), Invertago will probably leave soon after (2017-2019). This leaves Congo Falls, Drop Tower, and Delirium. As sad as I am to say it, Delirium doesn't look like a ride that will last much more than another 7-9 years, and after it is removed Drop Tower will see its fate within the next 5-7 years. Congo Falls seems like it will last the longest of the rides currently in Action Zone. - When Son of Beast is removed I picture the park eventually expanding in that direction. Who knows what will be built. I've thought of putting a B&M in that area, but it would seem more efficient to expand in that direction instead of enclosing the park with yet another ride at the edge of the map. - After consideration, I think that X-base will receive new modern flats to replace the ones that we will eventually loose from Action Zone, but I don't see it becoming as large as the other areas of the park. - I picture Coney Mall being untouched with the exception of Vortex being removed and replaced by something else. I picture the small, family (carnival style) flats remaining. - I picture Oktoberfest remaining an area. After Adventure Express stops operating it will probably become an area similar to the Frontier Trail at Cedar Point. More of an area about shops than rides. - I picture Rivertown being left alone with the exception of the Crypt being removed and probably replaced by another flat or (hopefully) trees. The Beast will most likely stay open as long as the park does. White Water Canyon will remain for a while. Diamondback will probably remain into the foreseeable future. - Planet Snoopy, or whatever name it may be changed too, will doubtfully see a lot of change. Rides will be removed and replaced. Woodstock Express and the Log Flume will remain. - International Street will remain the same it always has been. Shops will change, but the tower will stay and the fountains will stay. The Carousel will hopefully stay, and I hope Cedar Fair brings it back to it's full potential again. - Not sure what area of the park it's in, but BLSC will be removed soon after Invertago. I don't see BLSC lasting till 2020. - Boomerang Bay will hopefully receive more attention in the coming years. Sorry for the long post. Feel free to pick at it and tear it apart as you please

Maverick is the more "out of control" ride. It may be low to the ground, but it simulates riding on a Mechanical Bull. G Forces shove you all over the place. Millennium Force may be taller, but the height goes away when you close your eyes. Closing your eyes is probably the last thing you want to do on Maverick. Millennium Force is also glass smooth, Maverick isn't. I love both rides, but not equally. I can't make a trip to Cedar Point and not get multiple rides on MF. One lap on Maverick is all I need.

I LOVE the shot of The Beast. Good selection of pictures. Thanks for sharing. Oh yes! All the leaves on the trees turn orange, the temperature calls for jackets, and there's more time to get night rides on The Beast. I love the look of King's Island in the fall. The trees are pretty, especially in Rivertown.

Comments from youtube Son of Beast video: "Wow she got hurt after Son of Beasts loop? I bet she wuld die on Firehawk and Vortex" "They lied then this was open yesterday." (comment posted one month ago) and my favorite "This is why Ohio is the best state... And they took out a loop cause it fell off at the top."

Zippers don't seem to have the reliability that most larger amusement parks want. I agree that it would fit nicely in Coney Mall, just as any "fair style" flat ride would.