CP Sunday, 10/6: Walk-ons, Great Haunts, and Downpours

[Ride On_17]

My family wanted to get at least one more trip to Cedar Point before it sadly closes. Being as busy as we are, it was tough to fit in another time and it invovled my dad taking off work but it all worked out. Believe it or not, this was my dad's first time to the park this year. Like I've mentioned before, he isn't as into rides and coasters like my mom and I are so he'd prefer to stay home while we go, but we finally convinced him to go. Despite the threat for rain and storms later in the day, we didn't really have a choice to go another day due to our busy schedules so we decided to go and make the best of it. We arrived at the park at 11:45, just before official opening at noon and went straight for Gatekeeper. Usually we'd avoid this one first since the crowds would flock to it, but crowds were nonexistent and my dad really wanted to try it. The wait ended halfway down the steps to the station for both side. We first went to the back left, and had a smooth, fun ride. My dad loved it so we decided to ride again, this time in the front right. I really love all the head and foot choppers on the right side, and my dad said he prefered this seat over the back left. I probably could have gone on this ride several more times but we wanted to make sure my dad went on everything he wanted since I'd already had my fill of Gatekeeper.

Next we went over to Wicked Twister. My dad had never been on this coaster before, so I talked him into doing it. We walked right on to the back row. I really like this ride, but my dad got a little dizzy and disoriented after riding it so we took a little break. It was nice being able to get right on it, though. I hoped to get on Raptor since we were basically right by it, but like before, we wanted to make sure my dad got on what he wanted and he doesn't like Raptor so we passed. I wanted to get back on it later, but unfortunately never did.

One of my dad's favorites is Dragster so we headed over to it. Walked straight through the queue and into the station. Decided to wait for the front row, so in total we only waited about 15 minutes. It was nice to feel the wind flapping my cheeks again--I'll never grow old of this incredible coaster. My mom and I wanted to ride again, but my dad decided once was enough for him. So the two of us went back and got in line again. Make that several more times. We ended up riding it 3 times in a row. For the next 2 rides on it we just went in random rows, but had no waits. The queues for the last 2 rows were chained off, so we didn't get a chance to ride in the back. On our 2nd run, we almost had a rollback. We have yet to have one so were got excited when at the top of the hill, our train started to slow and almost stalled at the top. But just as the train was about to come to a complete stop and roll back, it ended up having enough momentum to keep it going. We were so close to getting our first roll back so we were a little disappointed, but it was still a great ride. So 3 runs on Dragster later my dad was ready to head to Millennium Force.

My mom and I wanted to wait for the front seat, but my dad didn't so he got to walk right on. 15 minutes later, we were on it too. I can never get enough of this coaster! It's just so graceful and fun. We noticed that the ride ops in the unload station were letting people get back in line from the station without having to exit and come all the way back around if there were not many people coming up the ramp. Of course we wanted to ride some more so we choice to do this, so we ended up back on the ride within a few more minutes. Then we did this another time, so like Dragster, we also rode Millennium 3 times in a row. We had only been in the park for around 2 and 1/2 hours and we'd already gotten 9 rides in. We were getting hungry so we stopped at Panda Express. I got the panda bowl which is the perfect portion, with orange chicken, chow mein, and rice. We watched Eternity Infirmary screamsters make their way toward their haunt. I love how they all stay in character, even when they're not actually inside their haunt.

To let our stomachs settle before going on more rides we decided to do some haunted houses. We hadn't been through Zombie High School yet so we went up front to try it. I'd heard mixed reviews about it but was curious in going through it. We waited no more than 10 minutes before we got in. We all loved it! The theming was really cool and the screamsters were EXCELLENT. Plus it was fun watching my mom get scared. No matter what haunt it is or whether she's in the front, middle, or back, the screamsters go after her. It's hilarious! After reading some negative reviews on this haunt, the only thing I can think of is that maybe the screamsters have improved. They truly were phenominal. They used well chosen hiding spots and worked together to scare people. Also, the jock straps were pretty funny. My mom didn't want to go through them and screamed and ran to get past them. It was pretty funny. I was very impressed, and ZHS became our overall favorite Haunt. Very well done. Next was Eerie Estate. I love the theming in this haunt, and it didn't disappoint. Had some good scares in here. We didn't even have to wait at all for this one.

It was time for more rides so my mom and I rode Power Tower (drop side) while my dad took a break. This is another fun ride, and I love the view from the top. The 2 of us then went on Dragster again. Then we went on Magnum, and almost the entire station was empty except for the front and back rows. Even though we could have walked right on, we chose to wait a few minutes for the front. The ride ops at this ride were really funny. They were trying to guess guests' names as they were waiting to get on the ride. One guy tried mine but failed several times. Then he asked what letter it started with and got it immediately. They were having lots of fun. As for the ride itself, it was just as airtime-filled as always. We thought about going on Gemini but since only one side was running we decided against it. The racing aspect is really what I like about this ride, so without that it's not on my high priority list.

Maverick was the next stop. Sometimes we avoid this ride due its long lines, but we were happy to be able to walk right on the back row (the best place to ride it). Lots of airtime and twists, and overall a fun ride. I'm just glad I didn't have to wait in a long line like usual.

We noticed some dark clouds starting to move closer to the peninsula, and I checked the radar on my phone. Sure enough, the rain and storms were moving in so we decided to get some last rides on Millennium. My dad stayed back while my mom and I went to it. The ride ops recognized us and we rode it several times, front, 2nd to front, and back. We did what we did before and went straight from the unload station back in line. We saw many other people who were doing the same thing. On our 3rd ride (which was our 6th ride on it of the day) we could see the rain over the lake as we were going up the hill, and it started to lightly rain. It was actually pretty fun. If it was raining any harder I think it would be miserable, but I could handle light rain. It did sting a little but I didn't care. We decided to call it quits since the rain was getting harder, and soon after we exited it really began to pour. We quickly made our way back to Frontiertown where my dad was waiting for us on the porch of the Chick-Fil-A building. We decided to do the other 2 haunts and ran the short distance over to Eternity Infirmary as the heavens opened up on us. Drenched, we luckily only waited about a minute before they let us in. Several weeks ago when we came through the Infirmary I was very disappointed. The screamsters were few and far between, and I was never startled at all. However, this time it was completely different. The screamsters all did excellent jobs, and I actually loved this haunt. A million times better than before.

Next we went to Eden Musee. Even this one improved from last time, and unlike before, there were more screamsters pretending to be wax figures. This really added to the effect and some of them were very good--you couldn't tell which were real and which weren't. I was very impressed yet again.

By now deep puddles had formed and the pouring rain continued. We ran to the train station to get shelter from the rain and to wait for the next train to come so we wouldn't have to walk all the way back. Even though it was 6:45 and the park didn't close until 8, we were cold, tired, and had already done the haunted houses so we were ready to leave. So after 15 minutes the train arrived and everyone got on. BUT....an announcement was made that due to weather, the train was closed. There was lightning, so it was the right call. But it was till tough for people to realize that they were going to have to walk all the way to the front of the park in the soaking rain, which still hadn't let up. So we thought about waiting it out a little longer in the station, but another announcement was made that the storms were only supposed to get worse. This caused a lot of people to decided to make a run for it, including us. Since we were already drenched, I decided to make the best of it. I acted like a little kid again and ran through the rain and splashed in the puddles. It was actually pretty fun. Hey, might as well make the most of a bad situation. Eventually we made it out of the park and found our car. After drying off and putting on dry clothes, we left and stopped at McDonald's before heading home. Even though our day ended in an interesting way, we had a blast. We got on lots of rides, and the Haunts were amazing. Hopefully we'll get to go back to the Point for one last visit, but if not, I'd be happy with this as our last trip. It was fanstastic.

[Joncars05]

Sounds like a great trip! It's amazing what a little rain can do to the crowd size. My wife and I are making the trip up there for the 11th-13th. We hope we get similar crowds and wait times on Sunday as you did. But looking at the calendar and seeing that the 13th is the only sunday with extended hours makes me think it will be packed... :-/

[fanofFirehawk]

Great Trip Report!

I love that got a ride on Wicked Twister, one of my favorites of the Cedar Point line up.

You really seemed to have a very successful day at the Point, I definitely need to get up there on a day like that.

I can't go to Cedar Point with out a ride on Gemini though. I do agree with you though the Racing aspect of the ride adds to it a lot and makes it all the more enjoy able. Going around the turns making faces at the other train, giving them LOSER signs, the plunging down the next hill, love that ride!

I remember going to the point with my friend Austin, we stood in a 2.5 hour line for Mille, because I promised him it would be just as good as the Dragster. But on the way up the lift hill it began to pour, it wasn't the most pleasant ride on Mille I have ever had. But there were quite a lot of laughs afterwards. It might be a little more difficult to get him on that ride next time we head up there. I have assured him that it is a lot more fun when it isn't raining cats and dogs.

I actually am intrigued by some of the Haunts down up there, eerie Estates sounds cool as do many of the others. I love all of the puns that come out during the haunt!

Just a few post TR questions...

1. Which ride had the best ride crew?

2. Favorite experience of the day?

3. Any signs of the Renovation of the Breakers or pieces for Pipe Scream on site?

[Ride On_17]

1. Millennium and Dragster are always favorites, but I was really impressed with Magnum's. Just basing it off of today's trip, I'd say winner is Millennium, followed closely by Magnum and then Dragster.

2. Hmm my favorite experience? That's tough. It's a tie between being able to marathon the coasters and watching the screamsters scare my mom.

3. No activity yet for the 2014 project. As for Breakers, I didn't see it in person but someone named Patrick Schultz posted this picture on one of the Cedar Point fan pages I follow.