Cedar Point TR 7/20/12

[jdawg1998]

Friday was my first visit to Cedar Point! My friend invited me to go with him and his family along with a quick trip to Cleveland for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Here's the trip report, and after are the reviews for the rides I rode.

On the way there, about twenty minutes away at about 9:30, my friend (Aaron)'s family's car was hit (just a little rear end bump), but that set us back about a half hour. So once we got to CP at around 10:30, it was packed! Our plan was to ride Millennium Force first, and we did, but we already had to wait an hour! While we waited, I asked Aaron, "Hey, how much money do you have in your wallet?" And thus, we got Fast Lane! The first thing we rode with Fast Lane was Maverick. We still waited a half hour, but opposed to around an hour and a half. The next thing we wanted to do was Top Thrill Dragster, but it was closed due to "high winds". It wouldn't be open for another three hours. After Maverick, for some reason Aaron really wanted to ride Mantis. I'd warn him it would hurt; and it did. We both agreed to not ride it again. With Fast Lane, we waited twenty minutes. So, not too bad. Since we had absolutely no clue where we were going, we walked around the park and as we passed Gemini I said, "We have Fast Lane. Let's just ride it." After a ten minute wait we rode, and I was very disappointed. Review below. We walked around a little bit more until we found a good place to eat lunch (a very late lunch, at 3:00). We ate at Chick-Fil-A, like we always do at Kings Island. Aaron had a chicken sandwich with a chocolate milkshake (he also had a pretzel earlier), and ate and drank everything. As we walked I saw Top Thrill running. I nervously said, "TTD is open..." I was honestly so scared to ride! I wasn't sure what to expect. In line for the hour Fast Lane wait, we met some kids our age and they comforted us about the ride (they were from Cleveland, go to Cedar Point all the time). After the long wait, we rode the second tallest and third fastest coaster in the world! At this time we were so disoriented and Aaron was about to puke (keep in mind what he ate!). So, it was his stupid idea that a smoothie would calm his stomach. He drank a whole mango smoothie within the twenty minute Magnum XL - 200 wait. Throughout the ride his stomach was killing him; he leaned over to the side of the brake run and almost puked. Thank goodness he didn't. After Magnum we passed Skyhawk. I'd been wanting to ride that the whole day. But old man Aaron sat down for twenty minutes and said "my legs hurt, I'm tired and I want to go home". But I made him ride Skyhawk with me; which was worth it. It was very fun, but scared the living crap out of me! Aaron's dad said he wanted to ride Millennium so we headed over there and told him we'd be there in a few minutes. I wanted to ride Raptor real quick. Aaron didn't ride because he was "sick". I got on and off in literally ten minutes and I got to ride front seat! After that we rode Millennium without Aaron's dad because we told him Top Thrill Dragster was more worth waiting for. Since he wanted to ride TTD really bad, we did; another hour wait with Fast Lane. We were lucky to ride it at night; it was very cool! It was 10:00 and we left back to our hotel after a long day at Cedar Point.

I know the trip report wasn't that interesting, so here's my reviews:

Millennium Force - The lift hill caught me by surprise; it was a lot faster than I expected. The lift hill got my adrenaline pumping as we crested the top. The drop felt like 10 seconds; most intense I'd been on (then I rode TTD). Millennium reminded me a lot of Diamondback. Intense drop, but the rest of the ride is peaceful and full of airtime. My favorite part of it besides the first drop was the little airtime hill right before the over banked turn into the brake run. With my hands up, it really lifted me up out of my seat! Overall, Millie was smooth, fast, and fun. 10/10.

Maverick - Thanks to some words of advice, we waited for front seat. What a great experience. The drop was really cool. It felt like a cliffhanger. The turns were rough and jerky but that made the ride fun. The inversions also caught me by surprise. The trains went into them so fast! The mid-ride launch didn't feel fast at all; maybe that's because of all the TRIM BRAKES right after it! The terrain and theme really added to the ride, but the ride itself was very fun anyway. (-1 point for uncomfortable restraints!) 9/10.

Mantis - Ew. It hurt, was uncomfortable, and honestly, wasn't that fun. It may look fun, but it just wasn't. Only part I liked about it was the loop. 4/10

Gemini - I was expecting airtime, racing, and fun, more thrilling than The Racer. I didn't get that. No airtime, it was only running one train, and in my opinion, was too slow. I know it reaches 60mph, but those slow turns really ruins a lot. 5/10.

Top Thrill Dragster - First off, I'm so happy I got to ride this just to say I did! Second, here's my review: The launch is so intense! I tried to put my hands up, but I put them down immediately. The ride races to the top so fast you don't realize that you're 400 feet high. The drop was the most intense drop ever. For one, the G's are insane. Also, as you turn, it feels like your head is going to be chopped off by the supports. So fun. But, then it's over. -2 for a 17 second ride! 8/10.

Magnum - Whoa! Is all I can say about this one. So underrated. There was almost no line and was virtually a walk on for us. But it was better than Diamondback. And it's a lot older. The first few large hills are alright; but those small hills through the tunnels - holy crap! I honestly thought I was going to fly out! The airtime is insane! Every time the train went over these hills, everyone would scream "whoa!" or "ouch!". But it was really good fun. 10/10.

Skyhawk - I liked this flat better than Delirium (or Max-Air). It also scared me more than Drop Tower. At the top of every swing, you get some good airtime, which I wasn't expecting. Being afraid of heights made it worse. But it was really cool. -2 points for being too short, just like TTD. 8/10.

Raptor - I went to Universal this year and rode Dragon Challenge, which was my first inverted coaster besides Invertigo and Flying Ace Aerial Chase. So, it was my second B&M invert. To me, it wasn't that much fun, really because I had been on Dragon Challenge just a month before. It also hurts your head, especially in the corkscrews. Well, really only in the corkscrews. 7/10.

Cedar Point - Cedar Point is amazing! I thought it had great rides, great staff, great food, and was kept very clean. Even if we didn't ride everything we wanted, we had a great time. I've been talking to my family about going next year; we probably will, but make a few days out of it. 10/10

Rankings of Coasters

1. Millennium Force

2. Magnum

3. Maverick

4. Top Thrill Dragster

5. Raptor

6. Gemini

7. Mantis

[The Interpreter]

I'm so glad you had a great time. This is one instance where Fast Lane definitely appears to have saved the day.

Thanks for the TR!

[KI FANATIC 37]

Glad you had a great trip! Ive only taken one trip to CP and I loved it. Best trip ever.

[kblanken]

You were using Fast Lane and had a twenty minute wait for Magnum? I have rarely seen the regular line much longer than a station wait.

Nice report, it sounds like a good time.

A decade or so ago, I felt the way you did about Gemini. Now it is one of my favorite rides at the park.

[ohiocolts]

Cedar Point sounds like a busy park, if you had to wait an hour for TTD with Fast Lane. But anyways, glad you had fun, and thanks for the TR!

[jdawg1998]

You were using Fast Lane and had a twenty minute wait for Magnum? I have rarely seen the regular line much longer than a station wait.

Nice report, it sounds like a good time.

A decade or so ago, I felt the way you did about Gemini. Now it is one of my favorite rides at the park.

Yes, it was twenty minutes. The station was really crowded and it made us Fast Lane people wait a lot longer because it seemed like they were over capacity in there...

[TombRaiderFTW]

I'm so glad to hear someone appreciate Magnum. It's one of my favorite coasters and EASILY the best hypercoaster I've been on. I rank it slightly above Millennium Force, as far as Cedar Point coasters go, but to each his own--I happen to love Gemini when it's racing. (Then again, I also think Blue Streak and Wicked Twister are some of the best coasters in the park, so I'm a little abnormal.)

Then again, the reason I rank Magnum as such is because of the rainy, trimless rides I once had in 2008 (or 2009... Can't remember.) You thought the airtime was intense on a regular day?

Thanks for the TR. It was great!

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Wicked Twister and Blue Streak are amazing coasters. WT is one of my all time favorites.

[jdawg1998]

Thanks for telling me that! I really wanted to ride Wicked Twister, but I didn't have enough time. Oh well. Next year!

[Original]

we met some kids our age and they comforted us about the ride (they were from Cleveland, go to Cedar Point all the time).

Im from cleveland.

[TOPGUN1993]

Mantis > Millennium Force

[dudecoasterman]

Mantis > Millennium Force

I agree with that to an extent, sometimes​ Mantis is better than Millennium Force. For the ride to be better you have to ride in the front seat and there has to be little to no line.

[flightoffear1996]

Millennium Force is the most over rated coatser built ever.

[dudecoasterman]

Millennium Force is the most over rated coatser built ever.

More than Kingda Ka?

[Gordon Bombay]

Mantis > Millennium Force

I usually don't get into these completely useless Coaster A is better than Coaster B fights because it's all someone's opinion, but seriously?

I'd ride my bike down Son of Beast's hill before ever riding Mantis again.

[Browntggrr]

I'd ride my bike down Son of Beast's hill before ever riding Mantis again.

I agree.

Your bike would feel more comfy & safer too!

[TheBEASTunchained]

Mantis > Millennium Force

I usually don't get into these completely useless Coaster A is better than Coaster B fights because it's all someone's opinion, but seriously?

I'd ride my bike down Son of Beast's hill before ever riding Mantis again.

I don't think that Mantis is a bad coaster, but it's comfortable days ended a Long time ago, and with that being said the ride is kind of a halfway decent. The only bad part about Mantis is that its uncomfortable, but besides that I enjoy Mantis.

[pkiboy]

I'd ride my bike down Son of Beast's hill before ever riding Mantis again.

I agree.

Your bike would feel more comfy & safer too!

With no handle bars?

[jdawg1998]

What? Do my eyes deceive me? Millennium Force is overrated, and Mantis is better?

Hipsters.

[thekidd33]

I have to admit that Mantis wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be when I rode it for the first time, but it certainly is no Millennium Force, in my opinion.

To each his own though, thats one of the great parts about this hobby.

[The Interpreter]

Amen.

That being said, Ka's a great ride.

[raptor]

The one thing I do like better about Magnum than MF is that you have that long chain-lift climb up that first 200 foot hill, the new coasters almost go up them big hills to fast for one to fully appreciate and get hyped about how high you are.

[TheBEASTunchained]

The one thing I do like better about Magnum than MF is that you have that long chain-lift climb up that first 200 foot hill, the new coasters almost go up them big hills to fast for one to fully appreciate and get hyped about how high you are.

Diamondback is another coaster that goes up a little too fast. I think that if it went up the hill at around the same speed as The Beast, than it would be so slow that you would have time to get Very scared of the height by the time you got up there.

[McSalsa]

I think it might have something to do with capacity- rush the ride up this lift hill so we can get another train out! Or something along those lines. I don't really like it- I enjoy a coaster that doesn't just dart up the hill, especially one that is over 200 feet. The Beast does it perfect- starts out slow, then speeds up when the other train clears the 2nd lift, but it slows down again just in time for you to see the infamous view from the first drop. As far as lift hills go, it's perfect- and the view from the 2nd lift is also spectacular (perhaps even more!), and you are given just enough time to take that in, too...before dropping into a itty bitty tunnel and experiencing a monster of a helix, of course.

[74Gibson]

When going to CP, I usually look forward to Magnum and Skyhawk the most. Magnum is under-rated, hype just wears off after 23 years

I think Mantis is a great ride if you use some leg strength and sit near the back and on the left side.

Maverick would be my favorite coaster if the wait wasn't always so long and it didn;t let me down so many times by not being ready for ERT going down while I'm in line for it.

Millie is awesome and I love the ride but it is getting kinda old... except the first drop. If it weren't for the wait, I could ride it all day for that first drop!

[jdawg1998]

Magnum was a great ride, trust me, there's a lot of people that like it.

I just didn't think Mantis was a good ride at all, not because it hurt, but I felt so forceless...the drop wasn't very good.

Maverick had a very long wait but we had Fast Lane so it was only about 30 minutes and the wait was definitely worth it.

Millie reminds me a lot of Diamondback, with a great first drop and somewhat relaxing rest of ride; still, the constant speed makes it my favorite coaster.

[KIfan1980]

My opinion on lift hill speeds - get me to the top as fast as possible. The ride is the ride - I get soooo frustrated at the slow speed on Beast (it wasn't always like that) but enjoy Millie an DB.