Giga's CoasterMania 2009 TR

[gigacoaster2k]

Day 1: Friday, June 5

My dad drove me to work Friday morning, and Kat (violakat03) and Tom(76257) picked me up after I got off work at 3 pm. And we were off to Cedar Point in Kat's shiny black Vue aka Spooky!

We learned a lot about each other on the way up there. Kat and I are fairly close, but we didn't know much about Tom. The drive up there was hilarious, with us jamming to techno while eating Skittles and drinking Mountain Dew. We discovered the true meaning behind Tom's random numbers.. which I will not tell since he wants it to remain a mystery.

While we were traveling down Route 6, we saw that the road was closed. We saw a small group of Harley bikers stopped (they had some seriously nice bikes!!), and chatted with them about how to get around the block without driving too far out of the way.

This was Tom's first visit to the Point. He was in total awe at how huge the coasters were as we drove over the causeway.

We arrived at the KOA campground, and started the fun of setting up Kat's MASSIVE tent (Tom is 6'3" and could stand up in it with some space to spare!). I was being lazy and instead of really helping, I kind of stood around with a tent pole in my hand. Most of the time I stood and watched them, laughing and drinking beer. We finally got everything set up, and we were off to the Point!

We got to the Point around 8 pm on Friday night.

Warning: I may not remember everything that happened this weekend, or everyone we met up with. It was a very long weekend with lots of stuff going on.

Our first ride at the Point was the Space Shot side of Power Tower. Everything we wanted to ride later was an ERT ride, so that is what we decided to ride.

I desperately wanted a ride on my precious Millennium Force, so we headed that way. We met up with Adam (pkiboy) and Jackson on the way, so we all rode together. After the ride, I asked Tom what he thought.. his response was a wide-eyed "Talk to me later." He had a huge smile on his face.

By this time, it was getting to be time for ERT on Magnum, Skyhawk, and Maverick. We then learned that Skyhawk was down, so they substituted maXair! Since there was a KIC meetup at 10 at the Magnum gate, we headed that way. A big group of us hit Magnum twice in a row. Adam busted 2 line jumpers in this ride. I am not sure if this is TMI or not, but I "hadn't been feeling well" and had taken 6 Midol that day and was still in pain. On the second Magnum ride, the lap bar slammed down on my abdomen and beat the hell out of me on the bunny hills. I was to the point where I was almost in tears and could barely walk after the ride.. I was in a lot of pain.

Kat, Tom and I decided to head for Maverick. I was excited because I had never had a night ride on it. However, I couldn't shake this feeling that something just wasn't right.. boy, was my intuition on target. As we zoomed through the twists and turns, I heard Kat scream bloody murder, and not in a "this ride is fun" kind of way. I looked over to see her holding her right ear. She was in tears and screaming that her 1/2 carat, $500 diamond earring was gone. I flipped out because I was on the left side and couldn't see her right ear, and didn't know if she was bleeding. When we stopped, I jumped over and checked her ear. Maverick had completely ripped out her earring, back and all, straight through the front of her earlobe. We went to the first aid station to get her an ice pack, and that was our last ride of the night as ERT ended.

We got food, went back to the campsite, and got about 2 hours of sleep.

My Friday ride count:

Magnum - 2

Millennium - 1

Maverick - 1

Power Tower - 1

-------------

Day 2: Saturday, June 6

I woke up around 5:15 am because I wanted to take a shower.. however: 1.) I was too tired and lazy, and 2.) the campground showers were COVERED in muffleheads. So I skipped it and just changed clothes in Kat's Vue (thankfully she has tinted windows!).

Kat took me down the old causeway because I wanted to see it.. I love historical places. I'd never seen it in broad daylight before, and the sunrise was absolutely beautiful to watch over the lake.

ERT on Millie started at 6 am.. however, we were more concerned about Dragster that morning and were hoping for a rollback because it was COLD. So Kat, Tom and I rode Millie once, where they had a table with coffee and orange juice for us. Then we headed over to Dragster where they had coffee and donuts! Trooper Mom grabbed a donut for me and a donut for Kat. We met up with Jackson, and the four of us got 5 rides on Dragster! Who needs caffeine when you have that? We did not roll back, and didn't even see one, but you have to love that launch!! The more I ride Dragster, the more I love it!

We wanted to head to the front of the park for a great reason.. Raptor was running and they were letting us on!! Nice surprise ERT, Cedar Point!! We hit the turbo drop side of Power Tower on the way to the front of the park. Tom, Jackson, Adam, Kat, Jesse, indianapolisman, Unrealsk8r, Nick, BeastRider, and I all got 2 rides in on Raptor before the park opened at 9 am to passholders and hotel guests!

THANK YOU, Cedar Point!!

The ROTB wasn't pretty, so we decided to hit Blue Streak before it got too packed. Great air as always on this.. a tad rough, but I don't care.

I convinced Tom to ride maXair with us, and he finally agreed. After we exited the ride, we all agreed that it does indeed destroy Delirium.

Since we were over that way, we hit Wicked Twister. I busted 2 line jumpers in this ride. I exited, and turned around to see everyone else jumping on for a re-ride. There was no open spot for me, so I walked over and sat down on the benches while they rode again.. I felt left out, but I got over it.

Since I had never ridden Disaster Transport, we went over to ride that. I found it to be a fun ride. It was a little stuffy in the building, but I liked the feeling of not knowing where you're going. I was being mean and saw the flashing "REJECT" sign, and told Kat that her name was flashing on the wall. This sparked a lot of play fighting within the group, and we even managed to entertain the people around us.

By this time, we were all sweaty and sleep deprived. Since the KOA campground showers were infested with nasty mayflies (along with earwigs and the occasional bee), Adam was kind enough to say we were welcome to crash at his hotel room at Breakers Express and use his shower if we needed to. We took him up on that. It was actually quite funny to see a huge group of people throw all their stuff down and pass out almost immediately in one hotel room. We slept, took short showers, slept some more, missed the 2:30 pm lunch, destroyed about 6 bags of chips and several caffeinated sodas, and headed back to the park.

Our first ride back was Magnum since we had parked in the Soak City lot. Tom wanted to get his coaster count up, so we decided to make a circle around the part of the park we hadn't done yet. We hit Dragster on our way to the left side of the park. On our way to Wildcat (another coaster I hadn't ridden yet), we hit Iron Dragon.. yawn. I am not sure I like Wildcat.. it's kind of jerky. The dips are really fun though.

We hit Dragster on our way back to Millennium. Kat and Tom busted a line jumper in Dragster and he was escorted out by security. I wanted my 50th ride and was darned if I wasn't going to get it this weekend.. so yes, I hit ride #50 on Millie!

We hit the Space Shot side of Power Tower again, and another ride on Millennium Force.. then it was time for ERT on maXair, Blue Streak, and Raptor! I rode Blue Streak once, but skipped more rides on that in favor of Raptor. Most of my rides were in the back seat. Let me warn you: Raptor is straight up violent in the back seat and pulls so many Gs that I almost grayed out. So I kept going! I rode once, then got 3 rides in a row without getting off the train because no one was in line for our seat! I ran back and rode again, then got 2 re-rides for a total of 7 rides on Raptor during ERT! My stomach didn't like me, but I really didn't care!

We were going for ride #8 and my friend Schuyler that works the ride jumped in to ride with us, but then the train in front of us got stuck on the MCBR. Schuyler had to get off the train and manually release us. We ran down to the midway and watched the riders on the MCBR get evacuated from it. I was severely jealous.. I think we all were!

We headed back to the campsite, where Kat's hubby Nick joined us. Plans then extended to staying all day Sunday, which didn't bother me one bit. We all agreed on skipping ERT in favor of sleeping in, and promptly passed out in the tent.

My Saturday ride count:

Raptor - 9

Dragster - 7

Millennium - 3

Power Tower - 2

Blue Streak - 2

maXair - 1

Disaster Transport - 1

Wicked Twister - 1

Magnum - 1

Iron Dragon - 1

Wildcat - 1

-------------

Day 3: Sunday, June 7

We had to get gas, hit the store for a few things, and get some food. We got to the park around 2 pm, and I was secretly afraid that we wouldn't get a lot of rides in.. was I ever wrong on that.

We decided to start our day off with a front seat ride on Dragster. I got mauled by bugs, but it was totally worth it.

We hit Millennium and then our friend Shawn notified us that his sandal was broken, so Shawn, Erin, and Kat walked toward the Magnum entrance to the car. Tom and I decided to stay and ride. He and I hit Space Shot on Power Tower on our way to Magnum, and rode that twice before our group got back together.

We decided to hit Dragster again on our way to Skyhawk and Millie. We met up with Cory (Butcher) and his friend, and we all rode those three rides together. Shawn and Erin went elsewhere, and Cory, Kat, Nick and I decided we wanted a front seat ride on Raptor.. I love the front seat. Not only can you hear the B&M roar, but you can not see where you are going. Yes, the track is in front of you, but you go upside down so many times that there is no way to see the whole ride and know where you're at. I love it!

Tom wanted more coaster credits, so we hit Woodstock Express. I am still surprised at the velocity of this ride for a kiddie coaster.

I had been insisting all weekend that we ride the Giant Wheel, and I still hadn't ridden Demon Drop, so we headed that direction. I honestly wasn't impressed with Demon Drop. It's too jerky for me, and IMO that drop needs to be way taller. I'm sorry but I think KI's Drop Tower is much better.

We headed for a ride on the Giant Wheel, and we were all impressed with the scenery. We were getting tired of walking, so we took the Sky Ride over to Power Tower and rode Space Shot. I had told Kat I'd ride Super Himalaya with her, as it is likely the only spinning flat I can ride without turning green.

We wanted to end our night properly, so we squeezed in 2 rides on Dragster, and our last ride of the trip was my Millie.

My Sunday ride count:

Dragster - 4

Millennium - 3

Magnum - 2

Power Tower - 2

Skyhawk - 1

Super Himalaya - 1

Sky Ride - 1

Raptor - 1

Demon Drop - 1

Wicked Twister - 1

Woodstock Express - 1

Giant Wheel - 1

TOTAL RIDE COUNT FOR THE WEEKEND:

Dragster - 11

Raptor - 10

Millennium - 7

Magnum - 5

Power Tower - 5

Wicked Twister - 2

Blue Streak - 2

maXair - 1

Maverick - 1

Disaster Transport - 1

Iron Dragon - 1

Wildcat - 1

Skyhawk - 1

Super Himalaya - 1

Sky Ride - 1

Demon Drop - 1

Woodstock Express - 1

Giant Wheel - 1

** I just want to thank Kat and Tom again for letting me go along with you for the whole trip, and Adam for letting us use his beds and shower. And Trooper Mom for holding all of our stuff. I also liked how the whole group would chip in for food and drinks. I am terribly sorry if I was grouchy at any point in the trip.. I quickly got over it, and I am sure you all know I don't mean to be that way. This was one of the best weekends I have ever had, and I won't forget it.

[violakat03]

Don't forget about passing out in the backseat on the way home!

When Tom and I tried to wake her as we were getting off the highway, I yelled her name a couple times, turned on the dome light and Tom shook her leg and she didn't even stir. But as we slowed down at the top of the exit ramp, she randomly wakes up!

I don't think I've ever seen someone sleep that hard in a car!

Posted from my BlackBerry mobile device.

[gigacoaster2k]

I forgot to mention that both Millie and Dragster tried to rip my shirt off.

[Diamondback FOF]

That is one long @$$ trip report. It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun. I hope you're feeling better, giga. I hope kat's ear is doing better. And I LOVE kat's car (is that creepy to say? I saw it in another thread she posted).

I must say, I'm a bit surprised that you hadn't ridden everyh coaster at CP before. I'm also a little surprised you just got your 50th ride on Millie this weekend. I am definitely jealous I couldn't go to CP .

Glad everyone had fun!!!!! :)

[DaveStroem]

My daughter & I were so glad to sorta meet you. If yelling between the exit station and loading ramp on Millie counts. I had talked to her about you to the point where she thinks your some sorta a coaster queen. I just wished we could have hooked up and done some rides together. Of course, we may have on Raptor. since we did 13 laps during the ERT and only had to get off the train once.

Kat, I was truly hoping to meet up with you to for some more discussions about your recent coaster trips. I hope your ear is healing and feel for your loss of the earring. You might check with your insurance company to see if it might have been covered.

[markr]

Great TR. Loved how those line jumpers got busted. Like I have been arguing on the other threads, all KI needs is a bunch of big, burly police officers like at CP and they will have the line jumping problem solved.

I see you guys didn't do Gemini. In my opinion a classic but, again, just my opinion.

[violakat03]

Kat, I was truly hoping to meet up with you to for some more discussions about your recent coaster trips. I hope your ear is healing and feel for your loss of the earring. You might check with your insurance company to see if it might have been covered.

When we were trying to fill a train on Dragster with KIC folks, we were trying to figure out who was at the Point this weekend that we didn't have and your name was mentioned. And my reaction was "HEY! I wanted to meet him!" I didn't know they'd run into you before that, and we didn't see you after that.

My ear isn't hurting now, but I can't wear an earring in it until the back of it heals. It didn't rip the hole, it just tore up the back because the backs on my earrings fit tight enough that you practically need pliers to remove them, so the force it required to yank it out was pretty great. I do have insurance on them, I'm in the process of finding the paperwork for it (I've moved twice since I bought them). It feels odd to not have them in, I have only taken them out for cleaning since I bought them 3 years ago. I even sleep, shower, and go diving with them in! Of all the coasters I've ridden, including many that say to remove earrings before riding (such as FOF with the OTSRs) I've never had one actually try to pull one out - just slam it into my head, which is why you're supposed to take them out.

markr - we did Gemini but Angie sat it out. The final helix bothers her neck and she didn't want to be benched for the rest of the day. Can't blame her!

DiamondbackFOF - Thank you! I love my car too.

[markr]

Yeah, I forgot that final helix on Gemini can be a killer.

[gigacoaster2k]

Yeah, I forgot that final helix on Gemini can be a killer.

I was in a car accident 4 years back where the right side of my neck was the target of the same airbag that broke the windshield. The driver smacked a stopped car at nearly 50 mph. Gemini's final helix (on both sides) caused that part of my neck to make a snap noise that caused stinging pain, and a loss of feeling in it for several minutes. I will not ride Gemini.

[maverick2007]

Kat the (almost) same thing happened to my brother. We went on Maverick and when he got off his lanyard was completely seperated and broken from the actual card. I had always wondered why they posted that sign in line. Hope it heals fast! But, overall, sounds like you had fun.

[Tom76257]

I had a blast with you, Kat, and all the other KIC'ers this weekend, Angie! I don't care what it takes, I WILL get my brother and my dad to go up to The Point this season! We should have gotten that picture of us on Dragster where you spontaneously grabbed my neck and I acted like you were choking me on the brake run! Oh well, all us KIC'ers can always carry on the tradition of posing for the ORP on Diamondback!

Kat - I can't thank you enough for being gracious enough for the ride up there! To prove my point - THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! LOL!

Dave - I thought I saw you outside of Dragster's exit, but I didn't see DD12. Because of this, I didn't know for sure that it was you and didn't introduce myself. I'm sorry. I'll post the next time I go to KI or CP and if we coincide on the date I'll definitely PM you my cell phone number so we can officially be acquainted with each other and hopefully ride some rides together.

[Dvo]

Nice TR, but I win this round. 13 Millie laps.

And what's this I hear about napping??? My friends and I did every ERT and the only breaks we took were for the presentations and the food.

Also, who said that maXair was substituted for the Friday night ERT? Skyhawk was definitely up and running. We got 8 rides on it (some were before ERT really started).

[violakat03]

Tom, you need to change your avatar now.

[gigacoaster2k]

Friday night was supposed to be Maggie, Skyhawk, and Maverick.. but they added maXair too.

And Saturday morning was supposed to be Millie, Dragster, and Power Tower, but they added Raptor too.

Works for me! Another reason why I love CP so much.

I really was not shocked that they threw in extra rides for ERT, but I was definitely happy about it. It seems like something CP would do.

[Hoeter]

Nice TR....thanks for sharing Angie!

I've never been to Cedar Point and I'll definately have to check it out soon- I want to so bad!

[markr]

Wish I could have joined you all this weekend. I plan to go up to CP in a few weeks.

[Tom76257]

Wish I could have joined you all this weekend. I plan to go up to CP in a few weeks.

So what ride at CP is your equivalent to Diamondback at KI? Sorry, I had to ask!

[markr]

Wish I could have joined you all this weekend. I plan to go up to CP in a few weeks.

So what ride at CP is your equivalent to Diamondback at KI? Sorry, I had to ask!

TTD is my absolute fav. Maybe its only 17 seconds but to me, 17 seconds of heaven. And for the icing on the cake, you simply cannot beat a front seat ride. I've had one rollback too.

Of course love Millie but I have rated it behind DB because of DB's superior airtime. ( Of course I can be very fickle and I am liable to put Millie back ahead of DB after my CP trip in a few weeks. We'll see. )

Of course, love Raptor but if I had marathoned it like you guys, I would have probably gotten very ill.

[UnrealNightmare]

We wanted to head to the front of the park for a great reason.. Raptor was running and they were letting us on!! Nice surprise ERT, Cedar Point!! We hit the turbo drop side of Power Tower on the way to the front of the park. Tom, Jackson, Adam, Kat, Jesse, indianapolisman, Unrealsk8r, Nick, BeastRider, and I all got 2 rides in on Raptor before the park opened at 9 am to passholders and hotel guests!

THANK YOU, Cedar Point!!

You mean Dragster? lol

[Beast79]

Nice trip report, I'm really going to have to make it next time.

[MeanStreakLady]

Tom, you need to change your avatar now.

Thanks for posting that Kat. I have to get him the file via e-mail.

[The Interpreter]

Welcome to KICentral, MeanStreakLady!

Terpy, who has to ask..."Is that your name because you love a ride at Cedar Point or because someone said you have a mean streak in you?" Terpy is now running away...and quickly, too!

[Kawana]

Thanks for the TR. Sounds like a KIC flavored blast. Glad you had fun.

[MeanStreakLady]

Welcome to KICentral, MeanStreakLady!

Terpy, who has to ask..."Is that your name because you love a ride at Cedar Point or because someone said you have a mean streak in you?" Terpy is now running away...and quickly, too!

No need to run away, Terpy. My name is because I love a certain roller coaster at Cedar Point. I use this name at all Cedar Fair park sites. I jokingly call Mean Streak my "chiropracter". Tom76257 got to see the change in me after I ride it. I took him on it Sunday after taking him on the last row on Maverick. Wanted to make sure he got his credit for Mean Streak.

[The Interpreter]

That's fine! Terpy is one of about three people who adore Rolling Thunder at Great Adventure, so he understands...

[rotag]

Tom, you need to change your avatar now.

that is a good photo, sounds like you all had fun...

rotag, who really wants to visit the point but has yet to go.

[The Interpreter]

But you must! Anyone here who hasn't been to The Point is missing out on a very grand park....it truly is an experience not to be missed....just don't go on a Saturday!

[Beast79]

I'm really starting to miss it, haven't been there since 2004. I used to go at least once a year, but I'm goint to make sure I make it for CoasterMania next year!

[Tom76257]

I'm really starting to miss it, haven't been there since 2004. I used to go at least once a year, but I'm goint to make sure I make it for CoasterMania next year!

That means you haven't been on Maverick or Skyhawk (My two favorite rides at The Point!)! You simply HAVE to try Maverick! It had me from the first drop and I never looked back! If you have the chance, GO TO Cedar Point! My first time will NOT be my last!

[Diamondback FOF]

I'm really starting to miss it, haven't been there since 2004. I used to go at least once a year, but I'm goint to make sure I make it for CoasterMania next year!

That means you haven't been on Maverick or Skyhawk (My two favorite rides at The Point!)! You simply HAVE to try Maverick! It had me from the first drop and I never looked back! If you have the chance, GO TO Cedar Point! My first time will NOT be my last!

Wait, how could you look back if the Maverick train faces forwards and not backwards? That would be difficult.