Cedar Point 07/15-07/16/17

[KIBeast]

So, my little family and I, along with my brother, made a trip the weekend of my birthday, July 16th. This was the first trip for my 8 year old boy and my fiance'. So, before I begin this report, let it be known that my son has been obsessed with CP since the age of 3, when he started watching my Roller Coasters of Cedar Point DVD. Having said that, he has really been looking forward to Millennium Force for years, to say the least. His current height is 51 1/2" and thus cannot ride a few rides. We also purchased Fast Lane, which I am liking since I am getting to be middle aged and waiting is not my forte any longer. ;-)

Having said all that, we had a great time at the Point. His first experience was Blue Streak, which he enjoyed very much. Next, we made our way to corkscrew and he was really surprised at just how close it is to the midway. He also liked Corkscrew fairly well. Next, we were headed in the direction of Gemini and Magnum. Unfortunately, Gemini was closed at that time, so on to Magnum. This was another coaster that he was really looking forward to as well. We didnt't wait but maybe 15 minutes and we were off. It was personally fun for me to see the excitement in his eyes as we traversed the lift hill. I still enjoy Magnum to an extent, but my threshold for pain seems to be getting lower as I get older. I love the airtime on those bunny hops, but they really beat up my legs. By the second day, I found a defensive way to ride, which helped me. Anyway, Magnum quickly became his favorite of the day thus far.

Next, we hopped a lap on the CCMR. My memory must be horrible as I seemed to remember liking it better than Adventure Express at KI, but this coaster is extremely boring. This was the only lap all weekend. After that, we made our way around to the Skyhawk. We all enjoyed this one a lot. I had only been on it the year it opened, so this was a good reminder why I like that ride so well. On to Millennium Force. My son Trey was looking forward to this coaster the most. We went through the Fast Lane line and were boarding within 15 minutes or less. I wondered if he might chicken out as I am sure to an 8 year old, that coaster looks like it touches the sky. But, not my kid. We boarded MF and quickly were at the top of the lift hill. When we came into the brake run at the end, he was stunned and excited simultaneously. This by far was his favorite of the whole weekend. We rode it a total of 5 times and it was our last ride of the night on Saturday the 15th. We boarded around 11:40. I was totally surprised that he hung with us that late as he is usually asleep by 10. 

The second day, we did not have FL. We never really waited too long for anything as the crowd was lighter. The highlight of my second day was getting to ride Gatekeeper with my fiance' as my brother took him to ride other stuff. I also got to try out Tiki Twirl, which I found to be very cool. Trey also got to ride Joe Cool Dodgems and Troika. 

We ate at Panda Express the second day and I thought it was really good food. Day one, we ate at a place that I can't remember the name of, but they serve chicken tenders and I had a buffalo chicken sandwich (if memory serves me correctly, it was fairly close to the Museum). I thought the chicken was very good and the buffalo sauce was excellent as well. We all enjoyed those two food places. We also walked through the museum. Trey was impressed with their models and we managed a pic on the Gemini Cars contained within. We never did manage a lap on the Iron Dragon as the few times that we stopped by, it was a 45 minute wait and that coaster is not worth anything above 10-15 minutes, IMO.

This trip was really special for me and my family. Not just because it was the first time for two of our group, but because I overcame my own demons (drug addiction) a little over four years ago. 

PS, we got a decent view of the MS construction and it looks even better in person.