Cedar Point - Opening Day (5/17/09)

Getting To The Park
All week I told myself I'd take full advantage of early entry. The plan was to wake up at 6:00 AM, leave Cleveland at 7:00 AM and park by 8:30 AM. Then, hit Millennium Force, Maverick and possibly Top Thrill Dragster before the major crowds start, well, crowding everything. After that, I'd stroll the park, frolic through a water fountain, eat some cake and wait for friends to show up around noon.

Sounds like a good plan, right? But, as is usually the case, I overslept. My keys didn't go into the ignition until 8:02 AM, which means I'd have to turn an hour and fifteen minute drive into an illegal, 58 minute dash to the Point (Had I owned a Top Thrill Dragster, I'd be parking at 8:37 AM).

Parking
I arrived at 9:12 AM, which COULD have been twelve minutes earlier had some jerk-off cop not pulled me over. Was he mean? No. Was I speeding? Yes, but I don't care, hes an a**h**e for butchering my good time on I-80.

Kings Island Platinum Passes don't scan at the parking booth. The woman had to call her manager for permission to let me through.

Kings Island Platinum Passes don't scan at the gate. I signed in at Guest Relations and was told to mark which Platinum Pass I had bought (KI, MiA, etc.). I wonder how they use this data. I may have checked Kings Island, but Cedar Point is certainly my home park.

"The Power of Platinum," said the sarcastically angry man in Guest Relations. He, too, had a Kings Island Platinum Pass and was distraught with the check-in process. Even though he was incredibly rude, I have to agree.

Inside Cedario Pointo (Spanish for Cedar Point)
With only a half-hour of early entry left, I headed for Maverick. I noticed the right side of the midway was heavy with guests, while the left side was somewhat light. I assumed the right side was for non-pass guests and walked to the yellow chain dividing the midway. The security guard let me jump the chain after I showed the platinum (My only successful use of the thing all day).

The New Interactive Water Fountain
I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm a little disappointed. It looks small. The surrounding yellow benches are the dominant visual. However, I'm assuming I didn't look close enough because its nice in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6tyZyl24-c

The Rides
Maverick - I waited about 20-25 minutes for a front row ride. Operations were efficient. As usual, the ride was amazingly intense. Maverick, hands down (no pun intended), is the best coaster in the park.

Mean Streak - The ride was a walk-on, as I entered the queue right after park open. I sat last car, front row. It wasn't as rough as I expected, but still very much uninteresting. Judging from the new wood, the off-season rehab would not have affected the ride experience in anyway.

Magnum XL-200 - I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the Magnum XL-200 Birthday Ceremony. The speeches lasted a total of fifteen minutes and the queues opened shortly thereafter. Prior to opening, the line had grown just past the bathrooms. The new sign was cool, I guess, but I don't know. I find it hard to get excited over something like a sign, but it didn't look unappealing and will definitely serve its purpose.

As for the ride itself: ROUGH! Since classifying myself as an "enthusiast" I had yet to experience the ejector seat or 1-3. I wish I hadn't! What an unpleasant experience. Don't get me wrong, I love the ride, but I'll be sticking to the front row.

A Stroll Around the Park
By this time, I had learned my friends were NOT coming. The weather forecast had scared them away, but the skies were pleasant for the first quarter of operating hours. I decided to head home after a lap through the park.

A Few Observations

• The Frontier Trail has a new sign. The positioning is a little weird, as you don't have to walk under the sign to continue down the trail. Also, the trees within the trail are littered with lights! I can't wait to see the Starlight Experience in action. My question though: Will this thing look like the rest of Cedar Point's lights by the end of the season? I have to imagine maintenance is a real b***h, that is, if its anything like x-mas lights.
• Maverick's water cannons (is there a proper name for these?) were NOT operating, which really annoys me. When working, its an incredible visual.
  
• Iron Dragon's mist was in full force. Not only was it surrounding the pretzel finale, but overflowing onto the midway, a refreshing place to stand during hot summer days.
• Gemini was not racing while I was in the park.
• I'm pretty sure Millennium Force was stuck on the lift around 11:30 AM. I heard a loud noise, looked up, and the yellow train was slowly gaining momentum. I can't be sure though.
• The rain finally showed up just before noon. Unfortunately, but fortunate at the same time, I had to leave, but I'm glad the season is finally here!
  

"So is this the Millennium Force?" "Yup." From a group on their way to Mean Streak.

Did you get a piece of Magnum's cake?

Unfortunately, no. The dispatch rate was horrible.

Hmm, isn't this a later then usual opening day for CP? Did they have some private events beforehand?

You know, that pisses me off that they STILL don't scan other Platinum Passes at the gate. I was told when I emailed CP, and when I asked Tony/Tyler directly that they would scan just fine at the gate if we processed at Kings Island. I hate having to go through the sign in crap every time I go to get in. Hopefully they take care of it...

Yea, I don't get it. I didn't need to do anything special to enter Worlds of Fun last year. Or Kings Island. I saw that people had checked in from other Cedar Fair parks, as well. Is this issue exclusive to Cedar Point??

I got into CP just fine with my KI PP.

Interesting. I have a feeling this has to do with the Kings Island computer system. Some data being entered, some not.

Dorney passes don't work either. Plus, the ticket people that scan the passes are not consistent with what they do to let you in. Some just let you right in, and then others send you to Guest Relations, where you have to get a "complimentary" ticket and then go back to the gate. I mean, the Guest Relations is right next to the entrance, but it's the principle of the thing. Either there needs to be consistency with the pass/ticket policy, or the parks need to get the same computer systems so they scan correctly for every Plat Pass member.

Great.. Looking forward to my Kings Dominion home Plat. Pass not working then..

Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.. But I guess a trip to Guest Relations is in order, just in case..

Yea, it seems to be a circus. Definitely give yourself extra time.

I already lost my pass this season and attempted to get a second one. Kings Island Guest Relations said they needed my bar code to replace the pass. Think that one through for a second.

They had to search the system with my MasterCard number. The Guest Relations woman (incredibly nice, btw) said most names, addresses and phone numbers were not entered into the database yet. I was lucky to have purchased with credit, as a cash transaction was impossible to prove at the time.

Not only did my pass scan, but I saw my picture too so at least Im in the system.

My MIA platinum did not scan at KI this year so I will be very surprised if it scans at CP.

I didn't have a problem with my KI pass (after I told the person at the gate to scan it.) She first looked at it and said "oh, sister park, you'll have to go inside and get signed in." I asked her to scan it and it was just fine. And she was a supervisor.

Had no problems after all at CP today with our KI Plat. Passes. Parking they scanned and let us in no problems and the same with the gate. Thankfully!

My Kings Island PP worked perfectly at the parking booth and the marina entrance all three days.