Cedar Point Trip Report July 6th/7th

[MDMC01]

Hey all, I recently went up to Cedar Point for the KIC meetup and stayed an extra day to enjoy more of the park. Here’s what happened:

Day 1:

Got to the park around 10 and after going to the bathroom and getting a locker for the day, I headed straight for Valravn. It was about a 20-30 minute wait and I got the back (Row 3) of the Gold Train. It was a good ride and while in line, I named the trains. After my first time, I did it again and ended up waiting an hour. It was worth it as I chose the front of the Bronze train and had a great ride. While in line, there was this dude with some awesome coaster tattoos, including one of the Wicked Twister logo. After riding Valravn, I met up with the group (Brad, Matt and Korbin) in Frontiertown. On the way there, I saw this adorable sign for the pigs as well as walked into Red Garter Saloon. I was really impressed with the facility as I’d never been in there before (As it was closed when I went in May). Upon meeting up with the guys, we headed towards Gemini Midway and rode Gemini. I chose the Red train and sat in the second to last seat; it was jerky, but fun. I also breakdanced after the ride to the disco music as Brad was challenging me to (as I told him that I couldn’t breakdance to this music).

                Afterward, we all headed to Magnum XL-200. I rode in 1-4 and got an ejector-air filled ride full of “Bob Saget”*s. After that, we went over to Power Tower and we first did the down side. It was good, but the drop was rather anti-climactic. We then did the Up side and that was much better, plus, it provided a good view of Valravn. After a brief break in which malem fixed my computer and I went back to my hotel to eat lunch, I came back to the park and rode Ocean Motion. It was my first time on it, and it was pretty good, except there was someone opposite me screaming “Mommy” the whole time (it wasn’t a kid, I don’t think…). I ended up reuniting with the group (which also included Eric, Adam and Chris) and rode Wicked Twister. I rode in Row 13 and it was good, but I think I was too worried about my brakelight being out in my car to fully enjoy it (spoiler alert: it got fixed Saturday morning). After the group and I split ways, I rode it again, this time in Row 2. This time was much better, with the exception of having to wait an extra cycle as the riders ahead of me couldn’t figure out where the exit was. By the time they went the correct way, the gates closed, leaving 2 empty seats. After the awesome ride, I then rode a third time in Row 5. It was another great ride and I got more spinning as I was further back than I previously was.

                After proving that the sky is no longer the limit, I met up with the group at Matterhorn and breakdanced again as some guy was dancing to “Poker Face” and it was almost like he was challenging me. After I breakdanced, those who could see cheered for me. After that, the rest of the group went to Power Tower again and I headed over to the nearby gift shop to try to find a Wicked Twister shirt. I found one, but it wasn’t exactly the one I wanted. I asked someone if there were any different shirts and she advised me to try a different gift shop. After that, we all rode Corkscrew, which was interesting. I sat in the back and fell into my seat as I got in. Next up was Magnum and the guys convinced me to try the “ejector seat” (1-3), which wasn’t that bad until the return trip, then I let out a fury of “Bob Saget”s!

                We rode the nearby Witches Wheel afterwards and it was pretty fun and crazy. During the cycle, the ride op told us to sit all the way back in our seats for some reason… After that was Gemini again, but this time, I chose the Blue side and got a ton of air in the second to last row. I thought it was odd that that didn’t happen when I sat in the same place on the Red train earlier in the day… Next up was Cedar Creek Mine Ride and it was interesting and I even counted all the “Bob Saget”s I yelled. At the end of the ride, I got 7. Also, the ladies in front of me were really getting into the ride and wanted me to put my hands up for some reason. Afterwards, I wandered into the nearby museum and saw models of Steel Vengeance, Mean Streak and Blue Streak as well as some old-timey stuff that was unfortunately just for display (I really wanted to try this thing where you put a quarter in and do a screen test for a movie). On the way out, I grabbed a map of Cedar Point Shores as I’ll be headed there today. Next was Antique Cars. While in line, I met this swell guy named Matt, who was riding with his daughter. I rode with Brad while he drove, and some people (*cough* Korbin and Chris *cough*) were bumping us throughout the ride. Also, there was a huge line to get in the station, and that was amusing. Afterwards, Korbin and I decided to be crazy and ride Snake River Falls. I sat in the back as I thought I could avoid getting wet, but I got soaked! The drop was also pretty crazy!

                After some debating, some of us decided to do Professor Delbert’s Frontier Fling. I rode with Malem and Brad (Brad pulled the ripcord) and it was actually pretty terrifying. Even though it’s a foot shorter than Kings Island’s, it seems much, much taller. During our flight, we did see the remains of Shoot the Rapids, so that was cool. With my heart still pounding, we went to Auntie Anne’s and I got a pretzel with cream cheese dip, which, despite the different flavors, was actually pretty good. Afterwards, I split off from the group for Night Rides. I ventured down the bayou and rode Rougarou. I got front and it was actually a decent ride, minus some headbanging moments. I then met up with the group at Blue Streak and rode that, which was very fun (I also had my own “water cup challenge” of sorts going as I held my water bottle between my legs during the ride, which was an interesting “challenge”. Though the guys went to Magnum one last time (while I observed all the dead mayflies at the exit…), the last thing I did was get my final Night Ride on Steel Vengeance. While in line, I talked to some people from Chicago and gave them a rundown of KI and basically gave them the whole story lol. I rode in the back and it was incredible! There was so much weird airtime, even on the bunny hills leading up to the lift. I can now honestly say that it’s the best coaster at the park (followed by Valravn, Wicked Twister, and Maverick), however, I wouldn’t ride it every day as I feel it’s more of an “event” coaster (like, you ride it like once or twice a trip).

Laters,

-MDMC01

*For those who don’t know, I tend to use Bob Saget’s name in vain instead of cussing.

Day 2:

I got to the park around 2:30/3ish that day and after asking a question at Guest Services, I headed straight to Wicked Twister. The line had a decent length, but it was (As always) worth the wait. While in line, I noticed that the new “Danger!” warning signs were put to cover up old signs (as one near the rear spike revealed another layer underneath. I sat in Row 2 and got a fantastic ride. There was also this kid in line who talked to me about coasters and actually did his research (but was a little off on some of the terms). I then rode again in Row 9 to see how that was. It was more intense with more spinning, but still fun. I also noticed that every time I got off, the line got shorter! Instead of heading for another reride, I instead rode GateKeeper. The line was actually not terrible (though it did wrap around away from the station, which I was not expecting) and I got a fast ride in the back of the right wing. The restraint was a little tight on more shoulders, but nothing like last time (also, I saw stars in the second inversion!). After soaring through the sky, I headed to maXair, which I had never done before. I immediately noticed that it seemed to spin faster than Delirium at Kings Island, and that made me a tad nervous. Once I boarded, it was an interesting ride experience due to the spinning.. Also, I was originally assigned seat 45, but the guy behind me took a different seat than the one he was assigned, forcing me to sit in a different seat as 3 girls wanted me to move down a seat so they could sit next to each other. After that interestingness, I went back to Wicked Twister once more and chose Row 5. While getting in line, I told the separator that it seems like the line gets shorter and shorter, and she told me that sometimes it’s long and other times it’s really short. It was another amazing ride, but I moved on afterwards.

After leaving Wicked Twister, I saw the Swell Tones performing near Giant Wheel and also gave Schroader a high-five (as they were finishing up their show in the Main Midway). Though I meant to head for the waterpark, I got sidetracked when I noticed Top Thrill Dragster seemed to have no line. The line ended up being around an hour (which is still great for that ride) and I felt I’d been deceived due to the walls that separate the launch track/holding area from the line (as I didn’t see anyone there as the wall was in the way). The ride itself was insane and I was nervous as I prepared to board Row 5 of the green train. After that crazyness, I finally did make it over to Cedar Point Shores and the first thing I did was get Subway. After eating my (ham/salami/American cheese) sub with olive oil, I got a $15 locker and made the middle slide of Crosscurrent my first slide of the day (and of the park, since I’d never been there before). The water was really cold and at one point, my butt touched the slide (I was in a tube). After that, I decided to ride the slide formally known as DragsterH2O. I chose Slide A of the complex and it was pretty fast; also, the water was warm. Afterwards, I did Perch Plunge, which was an older slide I was looking forward to. It was a body slide and I chose the Blue slide as it looked like a bobsled run from above (the stairs to get to the slide’s entrance go above the slide). It was pretty fun and the water was warm-ish there too. I then headed back to Crosscurrent, and got assigned the Yellow Slide, which was fun (also, the water was warmer there). I then headed back to Perch Plunge to do the Purple slide, which was unique as it looked unfinished at the bottom as the last part of the trough looked half finished (I think the other half looked to be sinking into the water). Despite this, it was a good ride as there were tunnels and drops that surprised me. I then went back to Crosscurrent and chose the Pink slide. It was fun and had tunnels, which was cool. EDIT: The final slide was the Orange slide of Perch Plunge. It was cool as it started enclosed and opened up as the ride went on.

                After these slides, I got changed and headed back to the main park. Before doing so, I walked around a bit and then saw a slide I had wanted to do (Great Nor E’aster), but it was too late as I had already changed clothes and ended my locker rental. Once I was back in the dry park, I booked it to the 8:00 showing of Vertical Impact. This show was fantastic and it’s basically all of Kings Island’s shows rolled into one- it has Cirque acts and BMX bikers like Cirque as well as dancers from the music shows. It also featured a certain song from the fireworks show, which was a great start to the show. The only problem was, it almost seemed like overload at times as everyone was doing things at the same time. There was a superfan there who was excited about the show and was amazed by everything. Also, there was this one part with the dancers kicking water for some reason? Also, beach balls! After the show, I told 2 of the cast members and one of the security guards how awesome the show was. After that great show, next up was Millenium Force. The wait wasn’t too bad and I sat in 3-2, per Brad’s suggestion (he suggested I sit in either the 2^nd or 3^rd car for more airtime). Though I did get more airtime, it was somewhere in between floater and ejector air. While exiting the line, Security was behind two guys who had allegedly been pickpocketing (according to those nearby). Also, I got to see the train  (CP&LE Railroad) go backwards while I was in line, which was cool. Speaking of being in line, I also saw Chef Nate on FunTV and told people that he no longer KI’s Executive Chef, but now he was an Area Supervisor. After riding, I went over to Rougarou as it looked pretty dead. I rode the back row and it was actually pretty awesome. I then rode again and this ride ended up being my first night ride as it was getting darker outside. I got 8-4 and it was a little headbangy, but still good. Between the 1^st and second rides, I told the separator that it seemed like this ride gets better and better and she simply told me that the record for the most ride in a row was 13. After thinking about it, I accepted her challenge, but I only made it to 10 total rides due to fatigue and the fact that the ride was down before my 9^th ride (however, it was cool to see one of the trains being taken off the track and stored in the transfer track) During my other 8 rides, I rode in the following seats: 5-2, 6-3, 8-3, 2-2, 6-4, 8-3, 1-3. That last ride ended up being a Zen Ride, which was a nice place to end the marathon. I also noticed that the ride got more aggressive and seemed faster as the night went on.

After going 10 rounds with The Beast from the Bayou, I hopped on Millennium Force again. There was very little wait and the ride op was even encouraging re-rides! I sat in the back row of the yellow train (they called it the “banana train”) and it was a fast ride as I got dragged down the drops. Afterwards, I booked it over towards Valravn as I wanted to make that my last ride of the night. First, though, I rode the nearby Blue Streak. I sat in the second to last row and was disappointed that it was rough and tumble like The Racer. Although it still gave great airtime, it was a little rougher than Friday night. Also, it was somehow a fireworks ride as it was weird to have fireworks go off minutes till midnight. After that interesting ride, I made my way to Valravn and ended up getting last ride of the night on the Silver Train. I got the far right side and it was a great ride; it turns out Valravn was feeling patriotic as the lift hill lights were sporting red, white and blue colors. After riding, I realized that I had gotten to ride all three trains over the past two days (Bronze and Gold on Friday and Silver on Saturday) and I thought that was pretty cool.

So, I had a fantastic trip to the park and I think I am good for a while (though I am thinking about doing a Halloweekends trip just so I can do Blood on the Bayou, ride Rogerou again and get a Rougarou shirt) While on the topic of Cedar Point, I’d also like to add that I noticed that a lot of the coasters were running better this time than in May (namely Rougarou and even CCMR/Corkscrew) and I attribute this to my going during the first full week of operations when all the coasters were adjusting to running again. In addition to Cedar Point, I enjoyed Pokemon Go’s monthly Community Day with  a friend who lives about an hour outside of the park. The Pokemon of the day was Squirtle and I ended up not only getting a Blastoise with Sunglasses on like I wanted, but also a Mew (a very, very rare Pokemon that I had to do a lot of work to obtain) and a Porygon (via trade).  I hope you enjoyed reading this trip report and sorry it’s so late, but life got in the way lol!

Laters,

-MDMC01

EDIT: For those who want to know the final ride count, here it is:

Antique Cars: 1

Blue StreaK: 2

Cedar Creek Mine Ride: 1

Corkscrew: 1

CP SHORES:

                Crosscurrent: All 3 slides once

                Dragster H20: Slide A

                Perch Plunge: All 3 slides once

GateKeeper: 1

Gemini (Red): 1

Gemini (Blue): 1

Magnum XL-200: 2

maXair: 1

Millennium Force: 2

Ocean Motion: 1

Professor Delbert’s Frontier Fling: 1

Power Tower (Down): 1

Power Tower (Up): 1

Rougarou: 11

Top Thrill Dragster: 1

Snake River Falls: 1

Steel Vengeance: 1

Valravn: 3

Wicked Twister: 6

Witches’ Wheel: 1

 

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

It was a fun meetup and hope to do it again next year!

[MDMC01]

Hey all, on a related note to the trip report, my CP Coaster Rankings have been updated, notably with the addition of Steel Vengeance as well as Rougarou moving into my Top 5.

1.       Steel Vengeance

2.       Valravn

3.       Wicked Twister

4.       Maverick

5.       Rougarou

6.       Blue Streak

7.       Gemini

8.       Millennium Force

9.       Top Thrill Dragster

10.   Iron Dragon

11.    GateKeeper

12.    Magnum

13.   Raptor

14.   Cedar Creek Mine Ride

15.   Corkscrew

[IndyGuy4KI]

Is there a Bob Saget ranking as well? 

[HandsUp]

Very Nice. Heading up on Friday and I haven't been there since '09. Very much looking forward to GateKeeper, Valrvn, and Steel Vengeance....and idea what to expect line-time wise for those 3 on a Friday?

[King Ding Dong]

GateKeeper and Valravn (even Raptor) may have long lines in the morning becuase they are the first coasters people see.   Wait until 2-3 or after and they will be much shorter if not walk on.  Valravn maybe down to 15-30 minutes.    SV?  Probably 1.5 -2 hours but could go higher.