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PTR/VTR: Cedar Point Closing Day 2009!


gigacoaster2k
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Tom (Tom76257) and I had planned for a while to go to CP closing day. A small part of us wanted to go to KI closing day, as their closing days were the same, but I have many friends from up north that I never see during the off season.

We dragged our butts out of bed at 5:45 am, and left my house around 6:30 am, since the park opened at 10 am to platinum passholders. I had driven about 10 miles when Tom reached for his phone and realized it was still on the charger at my house. So I drove back, thinking I could get in with the garage door key. I opened the garage door, and went to enter the house, but the storm door was locked. So we said forget it, and jumped back in my car.

I still do not know what these letters on this tower mean (it reads EHCRWA for anyone who can't see it, sorry for the bad pic quality).
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Earlier this summer, we had figured out that once you pass the SANDUSKY - 6 MILES sign, if you look to the left, you can see Dragster over the trees. The tree line was clear as many of the leaves had fallen off, and we could see Dragster and Millie, clear as a bell!

We finally made it to Cedar Point shortly before 10 am. I didn't feel like speeding, because every time I did, I saw a cop.
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I chose to drive around to the Soak City lot, as we wanted to hit Maverick first. On the way around, we were lucky enough to drive past Millie's first drop just as a train roared down the hill and over the first overbank!

We parked over by Gemini, and I had to take a pic of my baby.. oh Maggie, how I've missed you.
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Witches Wheel in full spin with people (not ride ops) on it! Didn't realize they'd be running this during morning ERT.
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We walked to Maverick. We figured there was no sense in running since it was cold, and it was a few minutes past 10 am anyway.
This is how I feel about being at Cedar Point!
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(yes, I am wearing a hat, gloves, and 3 sweaters.. you don't begin to understand how COLD it was up there! BRR!)

Tom looks like a ninja.
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We got to Maverick to see NO LINE WHATSOEVER! STATION WAIT, FOR MAVERICK! We literally ran from the entrance all the way to the station, and got right on seat 4 of the train in the second loading area! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin about, w00t!

We then headed for Millie!
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I walked into the queue and I was so excited, I literally started skipping and dancing, even though there was no music.
Here's why.
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Isn't that beautiful?

Now it was time for Raptor, we ran all the way to the station and jumped right into row 6! We also got a second ride without getting up out of our seats!
This little kid next to me said something to his mom about how the ROTB didn't look that bad. I realized I was sitting next to an enthusiast kid and his mom, and we shared a few good jokes about GP'ers.
I love you, Raptor.
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I wanted to ride Blue Streak, so we headed that way, and it was a total walk on too! We sat in seat 1-3, which has WICKED ejector air! We saw my friend Scott too.. and we also got a second ride without leaving our seat!

Then we both wanted a ride on Magnum, so we headed that way.

Aren't you supposed to be at Holiday World?
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Got a sweet shot of Dragster on the way to Maggie. It was BARELY clearing the hill all day.
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We got to Maggie.. and saw THIS. I literally screamed with joy.
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I'm about to print that photo and frame it.. it's too beautiful for words!!

We rode, and saw my friends Megan, James, and Bre working. Then we decided it was time for a ride on Dragster. It was posted at a half hour wait, but like last year, the line wasn't even to the bottom of the ramp. We waited 10 minutes, if that.

We decided to hit Demon Drop on its last day at the park. On the way, we hit the Space Shot side of Power Tower, then headed to Mantis so I could see my friend Tony.
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As I walked through Mantis' queue, I looked around at the track and suddenly remembered a much smoother, blue and yellow B&M standup, and I got depressed at the thought. I saw Tony working, but he didn't see me. I was going to say goodbye for the season. :(

Off to Demon Drop we went, for a last ride. I expected a huge wait, but we waited around 10-15 minutes.
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I had never been impressed much with this ride, but as we entered the queue, I suddenly became sad. It seemed a very realistic example of the saying that you don't realize what you have until it is gone. I literally hugged the hand rails and told it I was going to miss it.

Goodbye. :(
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It was a better ride than I remembered, which made me even more depressed. I blew a kiss at it and told it goodbye.

We were getting hungry, so we went and ate. Then it was time for Tom to keep his promise to our friend Erin, and ride Mean Streak in the very front seat. I chose the best seat possible.. on the bench outside the entrance.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? Run AWAY from the entrance, not TOWARD it!
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Tom is on this train. I hope he still has a spine when he returns.
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How I feel about Mean Streak, combined with how I feel about Demon Drop moving.
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We headed for Tom's favorite flat, Skyhawk!
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(By the way, I HATE how the camera on my BlackBerry reduces the resolution when I zoom in to take a photo.)

We hit Magnum again, and went for another ride on Dragster.
Back toward the front of the park we headed, because I wanted to ride maXair (a ride Tom does not do). I realized that with as much as I love swinging ships, I'd never ridden Ocean Motion, so we chose the very end seat on that. Same ride as Bluebeard's Bounty at SFKK, minus the color scheme.
We hit Wicked Twister, and rode in the second seat from the back.
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And then I headed to maXair while Tom waited at the exit for me.
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For anyone who hasn't ridden it, it is not the same ride as Delirium. maXair has smoother and higher swings (and without that annoying metallic whine), a longer cycle, and a much better view.

My friend Katrina texted me to meet up because the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade was about to start. I videotaped the entire parade.. watch and enjoy! And yes, that is Tony Clark driving the HalloWeekends hearse, with Tyler Adams in the passenger seat!


We met up with my friends Katrina, Rachel, Amy, and Garrett, and headed for Magnum!
My friends from Akron :) (Amy doesn't like being in pics)
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After that, we went back to my car to get my coat.. yes, it had gotten THAT cold.
We headed back to Millie, and I had to take a photo of this.
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In line for Millie, we saw my buddy Single Rider Bob! He laughed at me for taking his picture. He is a really nice guy.
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The sunset over Lake Erie was GORGEOUS. My camera didn't begin to capture the blood red color in the sunset.. it looked like the sky was on fire.
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Last pics of Millie for the season.
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Goodbye, coaster that was the reason for my KIC username. :(
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We went over to Raptor to see my friend Schuyler helping another employee put trash cans in storage. I did get to say goodbye to him.
Then we went over to Blue Streak to say goodbye to Scott.. and he wasn't there. That really made me sad.

As planned, we headed to Magnum where we would be ending the season.
On the way there, this kid was running and jumping through the fountain.. what an idiot. It had gotten freezing cold.
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We got to Magnum to see my friend James working! He said he wouldn't be around for last rides, so I took a pic with him.
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We rode Magnum 4 times in a row. Then Tom sat out for 2 rides which was my 2 rides without getting off the train. I also saw my friends Bryan, Danielle, Ryan, and Matt from the Cleveland/Detroit areas.
My friends Bre and Megan were working, and trying very hard not to cry while doing their spiels, as there was less than half an hour left in the season.
I lost track of when Tom rode with me and when he didn't. I know he sat out for 2 more rides, and I got a total of 5 more, one with Bre.
I walked to the exit after my last ride, and realized that it WAS my LAST RIDE. Bre was in the control booth crying while doing spiels. Megan hugged her and they both just broke down bawling. I couldn't help it. I felt tears rolling down my face and was literally sobbing in Tom's arms (in fact, my throat is getting tight as I write this).

I said goodbye to Bre, and she insisted that I get a pic with her. I look psychotic, lol I have no clue what is up with my left eye.
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Then I said goodbye to Megan. The tears came again as we left, and again as we got in the car. That may sound silly to some of you.. but do you have friends who live hundreds of miles away that you never see? Remember how it feels when you say goodbye and walk away.. it is NOT easy. I am really going to miss them.

We left Cedar Point around 8:45, and even though I drank a 12 ounce Red Bull on the way, I was hitting the rumble strips around Findlay as my adrenaline crashed. I pulled off to a rest stop and slept for a few hours, and we made it back around 2 am.

My ride count:
Magnum - 14
Raptor - 3
Blue Streak - 3
Millennium Force - 2
Dragster - 2
maXair - 1
Maverick - 1
Ocean Motion - 1
Wicked Twister - 1
Demon Drop - 1
Mantis - 1
Power Tower Space Shot - 1
Skyhawk - 1

Tom's ride count:
Magnum - 10
Raptor - 3
Blue Streak - 3
Millennium Force - 2
Dragster - 2
Mean Streak - 1
Maverick - 1
Ocean Motion - 1
Wicked Twister - 1
Demon Drop - 1
Mantis - 1
Power Tower Space Shot - 1
Skyhawk - 1
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Nice Trip Report Giga. Glad you got at least enjoy one park's closing day. For some on here Cedar Point is their home away from Kings Island., at least for me it is. Also glad you got to say goodbye to the best steel coaster on earth as well.

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Nice report. I really wish I could have gone up there one more time. But I did get 5 trips in this summer for a total of 12 days at the park (i think!), so I can't complain. I wish I would have known demon drop was leaving though... I love that ride.

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It wasn't that cold out, I was still in shorts. It's amazing I didn't run into you all day.

IMO MS front seat>Park Bench.

This coming from the person who wore shorts to the Offseason Blues Party.. if memory serves me correctly, there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. :P

Last time I rode MS, I had a backache for 3-4 days afterward. It hurt me that badly, so I choose not to ride it. CP has plenty of coasters to keep me happy.

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I am very glad you two had a great adventure at Cedar Point!

This year, literally at the last minute, I for some reason decided I had to get at least a couple more rides in on Diamondback. And so, I did. After eating the last slice of pizza served at a small park this season where I had also had the first slice served this season!

And so it goes....

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I am very glad you two had a great adventure at Cedar Point!

This year, literally at the last minute, I for some reason decided I had to get at least a couple more rides in on Diamondback. And so, I did. After eating the last slice of pizza served at a small park this season where I had also had the first slice served this season!

And so it goes....

Hmm, so you went to Great Adventure, Kings Island, and possibly Knoebel's?

Just a guess :D .

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Missed you. Raptor Guy ( Brian ) and me were at CP Friday nite, Saturday and Sunday for ERT. I looked for you as I recall you saying you were going to be at the point closing day. We entered through the Marina gate and did some ERT on Mildred and Raptor then left for closing day at KI. Too bad we missed each other.

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