Cedar Point 10/10/03 - Jackasses and kickasses

After a really bad experience with the park the first Halloweekend and then two rain-outs, I was really hoping this Friday would be better. For the most part it was, but we had one snafu.

We ate dinner at Johnny Rocket's. It was adequately staffed so it looked like a good plan. Boy were we wrong. We waited 15 minutes to be waited on, then 30 minutes after that to get our food, which was cold, and we never saw the waitor again until he brought the bill. I complained about the cold food and he snatched the fries right out of Steph's hands! Jackass! He took the fries off of the bill, but we still didn't tip him for being an ass. What made the whole thing worse is that he only had four tables, and if he didn't spend so much time dancing to the same three songs over and over, the service might have been better.

So we went to guest services and filled out a complaint form to get it out of our system. The cutie working there was too cute to yell at, so that helped things. :)

So off into the park we were surprised to see how crowded it was for an October Friday night. Fortunately, unlike our last visit, the park was otherwise up to the challenge. Raptor was running like the well-oiled machine it should be, in a manner that would make Walter and Claude proud. Not a single train stacking and the line never stopped for the 15 minutes we were in it. It was the first ride I had since July, believe it or not, and what a way to go. I wish I'd get more chances to ride Raptor.

While Steph hit the fortune tellers in the old Pirate Ride building, I took a spin on Blue Streak, which was apparently open in place of Wicked Twister, which was down (again). You know that BS is running well when you can feel the upstops slam up against the track. It was running really well, and could've been even better if they lubed it a little more (lots of squealing on the turn-around). Blue Streak has really become one of my favorites again this year.

At that point, I was content and had my fill. Friday nights for us have mostly been about just being outside in the fall air, and this night was perfect, full moon and all. We did a lap around the park, and one point of the Fright Zone I think was too dark to be safe, as a light or something seemed to be missing there.

Dragster was running in the most consistant manner I've seen it run ever, and the trains are moving around in a way that's significantly more efficient. I didn't see how fast the hook was resetting, but clearly the trains were moving quickly and overlapping blocks as they should from one place to the next.

Here was another good sign: They actually had the fries stand across from Gemini open, and it was really busy. Good call, as that back end of the park is nearly useless on Friday nights. I still think they should try to scrounge together a Camp Snoopy crew if they can, because giving the kids that little bit more to do would I think round out the offering for the entire family.

So aside from the jerk at Rocket's, we had a good time, and we're glad to see things running more up to speed.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

Jeff sez:

......and if he didn't spend so much time dancing to the same three songs over and over

I've never been to Johnny Rockets. Do the waiters actually perform for you? Or maybe its just too early in the morning and my cogs aren't turning.

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Lyrically, I'm supposed to represent
I'm not only a client, I'm the playa president!

How many times has WT been down lately? This past weekend (luckily, although I would have liked to see that ... ) was the first time in 5 weeks I hadn't gone to the point and I only saw WT down once. What's up with it, you have any idea Jeff?

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Brett
Resident Launch Whore
2003: (new) SFMM, KBF, PGA, SFMW, PKD, SFGAdv, Dorney (old) CP [17], KP [5], SFWoA [7], Hershey [2] ... What a summer!

About every 30 min a song comes on that's markedly louder than the rest of the soundtrack in which the wait staff drops everything to dance. Although this has never compromised my Johnny Rocket's experiences, I can see how it might conflict with good service on a busy day.

Jeff couldnt agree with you more on the state of Blue Streak, was there a week ago and it was a blast. For the first time ever I enjoyed my ride on BS better then MS.

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I dont care what anyone says Magnum is better then MF, which is better then TTD!

Friday night was packed and the Dragster line was really moving. Just about all of the queues inside the track were filled but we only waited 1 hour, 15 minutes, including extra time waiting for the front seat.

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Bob M.

So I assume that they had more than one Raptor train running? I know the first couple of HW Fridays I was there they only had one train going, even when MForce, Magnum, WT, and Dragster were all down at one point.

I really had fun the Werewolf Canyon thing, even if the fog machines were on MAJOR overdrive. :-)

I also think they should open up Camp Snoopy on HW Friday nights......or at least the Gemini. :-)

As far as the Blue Streak I have been enjoying MUCH more than the Mean Streak these days.

-Tina

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Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 10/13/2003 7:47:26 PM ***

All three Raptor train were being used. In fact, everything that was open was running all trains

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Bob M.

We were in the park friday night as well and finally got our first ride on TTD. It was incredible. We waited for a little over an hour and got a front seat. It was definitely worth the wait! Every coaster that was running was running very well indeed.

Went through the fright zone once. Since there wasn't much of a breeze the fog just sat. I saw more people scared from bumping into others than I saw get scared by the screamsters. I usually love the fright zone but the fog was so thick it really killed my contacts. If you could see more than six inches ahead of you it was a minor miracle.

Other than the thick fog it was a perfect evening at the park.