Cedar Point June 2017

I managed to get back to Cedar Point this past week for the first time since 2004. Generally, it was fantastic. The best rides had the shortest waits, Gemini, Wicked Twister, Magnum. There were quite a few new coasters since the last time I was there however: Maverick, Gatekeeper, Valravn, and Rougarou. Gatekeeper was fun. Rougarou still isn't anything to write home about but it is much improved over Mantis. Valravn? Yes, amazing ride, love it, too short, but awesome af. The only ride I was willing to wait for the front seat on, totally worth it.

Maverick though, took my breath away. Maverick is by far the single best roller coaster I've ever ridden. It had the longest line in the park. We visited on Monday and Wednesday. My group got right up to the station on Maverick on Monday after waiting an hour and it broke down at that moment, we were angry. On Wednesday, we made a point of going to this ride first thing and it was still an hour wait, we stuck it out. Best hour wait I ever survived, Maverick is incredible. From the semi-launch up the lift hill to all the crazy twists and turns and inversions, this ride is the pinnacle of everything a coaster could be in this century. I was blown away, because I've only seen photos and videos and they really can't convey the experience of actually being on Maverick. Every park needs a Maverick, not the tallest or fastest coaster ever, but by far the funnest.

PS: Top Thrill Dragster was closed both days I went, Windseeker and the Sky Ride too. Winds were crazy high all week, and I'm really disappointed I didn't get a chance to ride those two (I don't care about Sky Ride obviously.)

Maverick is downright epic. I felt like that was the first steel coaster in the US where Intamin decided to go for almost brutal intensity. I'm not saying that their previous offerings were weak, but Maverick had an aggressiveness like nothing that preceded it.

I am planning on heading out next year, but Rougarou is actually the ride I'm most excited about behind the new Mean Streak because I was a huge fan of Mantis (it was the park's best B&M by a longshot, in my opinion), so I'm eager to experience it more comfortably.

Yes, Maverick! I think my favorite part of the ride is the fact that the last few elements (Stengel Dive, camel back hill) are just as intense, if not more intense than the first few elements. There are so few coasters out there which are start-to-finish exciting.

GateKeeper and Valravn are great rides, and I will definitely ride them every visit. However, they are not off-the-charts good the way Maverick is. I'm excited to see if the RMC that opens next year can challenge Maverick in that category.

Had you ridden Dragster before during '03 or '04? Getting a ride on it then was more difficult back then than in recent years. From reading Pointbuzz, it sounds like it has a mechanical outage for several days.

sirloindude, I just hope you aren't as disappointed by Rougarou as I was. I too was one of the few who really liked Mantis, despite the pain it caused. Loved the layout and the way it felt like you'd never quite have enough juice to get through the inversions. But somehow, the new format doesn't have the same effect on me. Still an okay ride, but Rougarou ranks lower in my CP coaster ratings than Mantis did. I don't mean to dampen your spirits, just maybe lower your expectations a bit ...

I rode it as Mantis, don't really remember it that well besides being uncomfortable. The best part of Rougarou is the part towards the end though, where you're pretty much going in circles and figure-8s, low to the ground at high speed with a couple corkscrews thrown in. It's really a huge rush. I rode it twice both days, because both days it was a total walk on. Just stood in line for MF for a half hour? Need a break from lines? Let's go on trusty ole Rougarou, thrilling old ride with no line right across the way!

Half hour wait for Millennium Force is a long line?!? Anything under an hour and I'm running* to join the MF queue.

*OK not really running. Running is against the rules. And I'm fat...