PTR: Total Eclipse Of The Point 4/8/24

[Orion-XL200]

 

Total Eclipse Of The Point was beyond amazing! 

From checking in at the tolls to actually scanning in at the gate, it was a breeze! Once in the park, all were handed lanyards with information about the timing of the eclipse, a map of things available and it also had a button and pin featuring the "Total Eclipse Of The Point"  and a pair of eclipse viewing glasses as souvenirs.  The Wild Mouse crew of zany mice got their own glasses too!

As you walked into the park, guests were funneled to the right side of the midway toward the boardwalk, no one could walk past Kiddy Kingdom on the main midway. Throughout the path, there were signs dedicated to facts about eclipses as well as things to commemorate the event. They had a table to pass out cards "tracking" the phases of the eclipse, a table with a giant coloring sheet (markers as well) for guests to sign/color, a time capsule where guests filled out cards with questions about who you were with, what your favorite thing to do at Cedar Point was, how old you are, etc.  The boardwalk also featured a DJ with a killer playlist and a couple of games including 3 point challenge, wrangling a stuffed seagull,  and another game I didn't really pay attention to. 

I don't know the Kiddy Kingdom ride names that were open, but didn't seem like there were a lot of folks in that small area. The rides on the Boardwalk were Atomic Scrambler, Himalaya, Wild Mouse, Calypso, Giant Wheel, Troika Troika Troika, Maxair and GateKeeper. 

Grand Pavilion was open for drinks at the bar and food! The menu featured was what it'll be during the season with a few added desserts and meatballs (that will return for the season). I got the honey glazed chicken drumsticks, tropical rice and a cosmic brownie. The drumsticks were a little salty, but everything was good.  What was really cool was the front door area was wrapped in celestial versions of the park! 

Some folks (not me sadly) were able to purchase the VIP package to do a tour on top of Valravn. I had several friends who did it and I'm extremely jealous. From the pictures they have taken, it was gorgeous. 

I ran into the GM and AGM of the park as well as Tony (didn't get to talk to him), but we had great conversations. I've gotten to know the AGM from several years ago and the GM in the past year. They are both kind, funny and real. In the later part of the day, the GM came up to me and said, "hey if you look over there, we're about to fire up the big boy." She wasn't wrong! TT2 started testing and wow, it flies over the top hat. Seeing how far it goes up on the spike is a lot different in person than it is in pictures/video IMO, of course with people on it, it should go a little higher. My friend kept saying he didn't like how it doesn't have a stopper at the top. 

But of course, the main reason of going there was to see the Eclipse (well I was just ready to be in the park in April). I had never witnessed an eclipse before. Throughout the day, I anticipated being able to notice a difference in the brightness of the sky throughout the phases, but that wasn't the case. Looking up with the glasses it was neat to be able to see what was happening with the sun and moon. My friend and I were joined by other friends on the main midway, directly across from Raptor's first drop. Sitting on the ground/leaning on a bench, we were in just the right spot. Waiting for totality to occur, we'd have our glasses on looking and then look toward the ground without the glasses to see the change in brightness, there was a change but there wasn't almost....and then almost right at the totality we noticed a shift.  It looked different out, lights came on in some areas (though they made sure most of them stayed off). Then totality. It got dark and just looking up to see the moon right in front of the sun's ring shining behind it was breathtaking. The seagulls did not like the change in light...they went crazy (which was funny because one of the signs said wildlife would just go calm). Looking down the midway and seeing everyone just reacting, clapping, hollering, shouting "this is awesome," was great. It was just a great experience for me to be there with my friends and witnessing this once in a lifetime event for me. Then of course, the moon kept moving and daylight returned. A good amount of folks left after the eclipse but we all hung out and continued to ride.  There were a limited number of tickets available and it was a nice sized crowd, not too light not too heavy. 

 

IMG_1572.MOV  

(I have better photos of the eclipse, but saving those for me 

Took 5 spins on GateKeeper, 1 spin on Giant Wheel, 1 spin on Matterhorn, 1 spin on Calypso and 1 spin on Wild Mouse. While the number of rides wasn't a ton, the event was more about the eclipse, the friends and the experience. It was well worth the $99 I spent for a ticket. So incredibly thankful that Cedar Point hosted this event (even more grateful I didn't do downtown Sandusky that looked to be packed to the brim). 

 

[disco2000]

Thanks for sharing.  Looked like a great event.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Great PTR. Wish I was there with you guys, but Indyboy4ki and I enjoyed the Eclipse in the back yard. I did not tell him about this event otherwise I would be in trouble. 

[Tr0y]

Looks like a great event! Thanks for sharing!