Photo TR: Cedar Point August 23

[gigacoaster2k]

My dad went with me. He bought a ticket and I got him the $8 coupon from the back of my brochure, so he got in for $34.95.

My dad has not been to the park since 1975, and was in awe at how much the park had changed since his last visit there. He said it's a gorgeous park.

It was about 9:50 am so I asked the park attendant if we could just go ahead and enter the park since I had a platinum pass, but my dad didn't and he was with me. The attendant politely apologized and said he didn't know if he was allowed to do that. I told him it was worth a shot, and thanked him.

I was wearing the pink no line jumping ringer tee, and I got a few smiles from security guards.

Once we got in, we wanted to ride Raptor, but the line was hideous because it was at the front of the park and everyone wanted to ride it.

So I decided to make Wicked Twister my dad's first ride. We sat in the third seat from the back because the wait for the very back was just too long. As we shot off up the first spire I heard him yell "Holy smoke!" When the ride was over, I looked over and asked how he liked it, and he gave me a high five with a smile on his face. (Whew!)

Then it was off to Magnum, and my dad was excited until we started going up the huge hill. His reaction was "Wow, this is really high." But he loved it. I used to not like Magnum that much, but it grows on you. It's still a great ride.

He's a big fan of wooden coasters, so we hit Mean Streak. He liked it for the most part, but said his back hurt a little afterward.

Since we were at the back of the park, we decided to go for Maverick. The wait was an hour and a half, but he had been watching the coaster in action and said he didn't mind waiting. After we rode that, he said it was amazing, and couldn't stop saying "Wow."

Here's a photo of me in front of Maverick:

We were getting a little hungry, and stopped for some nachos and a LOT of water. It was getting very hot outside by this time.

He was pretty pumped by this point, so we decided to just go for it and hit Millennium Force. We were almost to the end of the queue by the wall when I noticed I hadn't seen a train go by for several minutes and the line wasn't moving. I looked at the hill and to my horror I saw that the cable lift was stuck in the middle of the hill. A few minutes later, it descended very slowly and disappeared out of sight into the station. About 10 minutes later, I saw the yellow train go up, and breathed a sigh of relief.

On our way up the lift hill, my dad looks over the side and goes "Oh my God" about 5 times. About halfway through the ride, I saw him throw his hands in the air. I was so proud. He had been really nervous about riding it.

His exact words were "That was INCREDIBLE. That was something I'd never thought I'd do in this lifetime. It was more than I'd imagined, and the best coaster I've ever been on."

After that, we rode Iron Dragon because he wanted to, he likes Flight Deck at Kings Island so we went on this. He said it was fun, but nothing compared to the coasters I'd taken him on so far.

We were getting really hungry so we stopped for pizza by Raptor. Except for the rock-hard crust, it was fairly good.

Since we were right by Raptor and hadn't ridden yet, we went for it. The queue was mostly in the sun, and it was almost unbearable. But he loved Raptor too, and was laughing through most of the ride.

Dragster had been down for a couple of hours, and I was excited to see that it was up and running again. So we went for it. My dad's eyes were so wide every time one of the trains roared past. He said he didn't think he was ready, but he also said he didn't want to come all this way just to chicken out. I love my dad.

We were in the loading station ready to go, and the train had just started to move forward.. when the lights on the tree all shut off. Our train slowly moved back to where it had loaded, and I was wondering if it was going to shut down again when the ride op started yelling "420 FEET!" I breathed a sigh of relief for the second time that day. Once we launched, I thought to myself "My God, I probably just gave my dad a heart attack." I heard him say holy s-word on the way down.

He gave me a high five after the ride, and said it was a very close second to Millennium as far as his favorite, because of the adrenaline rush. He said that it was amazing how far you could see from the top, and swears he could almost see the curvature at the edge of the water. He was completely blown away.

We hit the red side of Power Tower because he's been on a drop ride, but never one that shoots you up. He liked it, but said it was nothing compared to what he just rode.

I went into the restroom to check my contacts because they were bothering me, and I forgot that I had my sunglasses on my head. I tipped my head back to put eye drops in, and my Fossil sunglasses hit the floor and broke. So I went to a gift shop to get a new pair because the sun was still brutal, and also got this Millennium Force keychain.

We hit Toft's Ice Cream Parlor. Wow, one scoop looks like two and their ice cream is really good. It was nice to chill out in the air conditioning.

Afterward, we went for the Giant Wheel, which really needs a new coat of paint and some new lights. I took this opportunity to take some photos.

Then my friend Ben met up with us, and we hit Wicked Twister again.

This time, my dad and I rode in the very back seat. He now understands why the very back is the best. I always end up shouting a few expletives from the very top of the spire, but I love it.

Ben went to meet up with a friend real quick, so my dad and I hopped on MaxAir. He said that one was a lot of fun.

Ben met back up with us, and we hit Millennium Force for a night ride. Ben and I ran back to get the last train of the night, and my dad sat out because he was getting tired. It's too bad he missed the slow claps. I love that.

We got lucky enough to get the very back seat on the last train. I'm telling you, I felt every single force, every single negative G, and every single positive G on that coaster, 20 times more than I had in any other seat. UNBELIEVABLE. I will now choose back seat over front any day.

We headed out of the park around 10:15 pm, and as we did, my dad thanked me for the experience of a lifetime.

Ride count:

Millennium Force - 3 (Dad 2)

Wicked Twister - 2

Dragster - 1

Maverick - 1

Magnum - 1

Raptor - 1

Mean Streak - 1

Power Tower - 1

MaxAir - 1

Iron Dragon - 1

Giant Wheel - 1

[tigellinus]

Really good trip report, and I'm glad you got to make it out to CP again and the weather looked pretty good too!! (although maybe a little hot) So for a Saturday how busy did it seem to you? Based on your ride count I'd say it looked busy (Saturday, right?! ), but definitely nothing outrageous which is good!

Oh also, for Wicked Twister, you should try the 2nd to the last row in the back and on the right/outside seat (park side); on the highest backward up shot you get a completely unobstructed view looking down to the ground!!

But anyway, good to hear even your dad had a really great time!

[Jasper]

Nice TR i love Cedar Point for the sheer fact that old and young can both have a kick butt time there. Glad to see you got to experience maverick as well.

[pkimike]

I was there on Saturday August 16 and the place was packed. We got there at 5:30 and only rode three rides by 11:00 when it closed.

1:30 for Maverick

1:20 for MF

1:30 for TTD

[gigacoaster2k]

Nice TR i love Cedar Point for the sheer fact that old and young can both have a kick butt time there. Glad to see you got to experience maverick as well.

It wasn't my first time on it, but it was his first time. He absolutely loved it. Maverick is one amazing ride experience.

[The Interpreter]

Your love for your dad and your obvious excitement with his being thrilled shows through! I am happy for you both. Enjoy these times, and treasure them always.

Terpy, who knows whereof he speaks

[Gordon Bombay]

Great TR and photographs, really enjoyed reading that. I was originally planning to go to Canada's Wonderland this week but plans fell through and we are heading up to CP tomorrow for a two day stay. I've been sick and was thinking about canceling, this report has got me really excited to go up there though!

[Monroe]

Your love for your dad and your obvious excitement with his being thrilled shows through! I am happy for you both. Enjoy these times, and treasure them always.

Terpy, who knows whereof he speaks

Thanks for making the sentimental Dad comment for me Interp, but I think I can do it my self.......

What he said^.

Great TR, I have not been able to make it up this year. Maybe while every one is at KI riding Diamondback I will go to CP, new coaster means short lines for others.

[gigacoaster2k]

Great TR and photographs, really enjoyed reading that. I was originally planning to go to Canada's Wonderland this week but plans fell through and we are heading up to CP tomorrow for a two day stay. I've been sick and was thinking about canceling, this report has got me really excited to go up there though!

*points finger at you and uses her mom's tone of voice* NO CANCELING ALLOWED!

Seriously. You will regret it more if you don't go. It is worth every second of the long drive up there. Just take extra medicine with you.

[gigacoaster2k]

Your love for your dad and your obvious excitement with his being thrilled shows through! I am happy for you both. Enjoy these times, and treasure them always.

Terpy, who knows whereof he speaks

Oh definitely. My dad recently lost his dad and one of his brothers, so he really needed this.

I also needed to get away one last time before this week. I go back to my full time job tomorrow and I start fall semester on Tuesday. So I have a crazy few months in store for me.

I'm going to try to make one more trip to Cedar Point for Halloweekends, and one more trip to Kings Island for Halloween Haunt. Gotta love the platinum pass.

[tigellinus]

Great TR and photographs, really enjoyed reading that. I was originally planning to go to Canada's Wonderland this week but plans fell through and we are heading up to CP tomorrow for a two day stay.

Except that Behemoth is potentially the best steel ever built....but it's not like we won't be getting something very comparable very soon and a lot closer!

Oh yeah, you'll also miss out on Canadian gold...Bounty Bars, of course!!

[Cormaster]

wow that sounds awesome. I'm so jealous, i've dieing to get out there I really am. Its been 13 years since my first and last trip to Cedar Point. Just such a long drive from Indy... you really have to plan it so that you have a day to get there, at least 1 day to enjoy the park, and 1 day to come back! That was a really good trip report

[Kawana]

Thanks for the report. Your dad sounds awesome. I can just imagine the huge smiles on both of your faces at the end of the day.

[gigacoaster2k]

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments.

Cedar Point is such a magical, surreal place. I feel like I'm 10 years old again when I go there, all my problems just seem to vanish and I feel like I'm on cloud nine. 4 out of my 5 trips this year I have blinked tears back while heading toward the exit after the park has closed, and the 3 hour drive home depresses the heck out of me.

[Beast1979]

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments.

Cedar Point is such a magical, surreal place. I feel like I'm 10 years old again when I go there, all my problems just seem to vanish and I feel like I'm on cloud nine. 4 out of my 5 trips this year I have blinked tears back while heading toward the exit after the park has closed, and the 3 hour drive home depresses the heck out of me.

Another one hit's my sig!

[BavarianBeatle]

So many great thoughts in this thread.....

I hope my children still want to go with me when they are gigacoaster's age, I feel the same way every time I go to a park and ride a roller coaster, especially when we get to go to KI on a weeknight after a tough day at work. The first drop on The Beast feels so good at that point

The boys and I will be at CP the first weekend in October, celebrating my 40th birthday. They said their gift to me was that I get to take them to CP. I think they meant it selfishly, but they are right!!! Then again, they didn't care for it the first time I took them, so maybe this really is a gift, who knows with kids.......

[gigacoaster2k]

I hope my children still want to go with me when they are gigacoaster's age, I feel the same way every time I go to a park and ride a roller coaster, especially when we get to go to KI on a weeknight after a tough day at work. The first drop on The Beast feels so good at that point

I'm lucky to have a great relationship with both of my parents, I'm the one who asked my dad if he would like to go with me. My mom, however, likes to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground "where they belong." Same with my brother.

The first ride I hit at CP is Millennium Force. Nothing like being towed up a 310 foot hill and dropping almost straight down at 93 mph to jump start your day.

I usually hit front seat of Invertigo or Drop Tower first when I visit KI.

Who needs coffee in the morning when you have rides that push you to the limit?

[TopThrill]

Yeah nice trip report, so it seems like you a your dad had a good time. The back seat of MF deliver's the most G's, but I like the middle, it gives you more of a floating feeling going over the hills. My last trip there in May we got on it 19 times in three days.