Had the opportunity to attend Cedar Point's official opening day on May 6th. The crowd was pretty decent, most of the rides ranged from a walk-on to about an hour wait. I got to ride most of the rides except Mantis and Millennium Force (Yes there is a reason why). So here's the lowdown on a few coasters and attractions.
The Raptor looks just like it did during its inaugural season. The brilliant neon green track dominated the Cedar Point skyline. The ride is aging quite well too. I rode the back to feel the G-forces rip my face off. Great ride!! Nice and smooth.
The Bluestreak opened up for it's 37th season with a little bit of retracking done on the first drop and fourth drop. Lots of airtime with a bumpy ride. I love this classic still.
One of my biggest disappointments of the park however was the Mean Streak. Or the "Not-so-Mean" Streak. For its tenth birthday we definitely got a brake... literally. The first drop was braked more than ever, hindering the effect of the airtime this ride once had. However, the ride wasn't as bumpy as I remembered. It seemed a little more tame and merciful.
Gemini was running four trains and NO BRAKES.. yeee haaaahh!! Great ride, I felt more airtime on the final two hills than ever before. Fun ride and we won!! :)
the greatest thing I was looking forward to was the Magnum. After hearing that the trains were getting overhauled and such I knew I was in for a different ride. The padding was a nice touch, softer than I remembered from last year. The ride still has the woodie bumpiness, but there was one big thing missing. The pretzel turn seemed smoother and faster because not only were the trains redone, but the trim brakes before the turn were gone!!!! YAAAY!! It really brought back the memories of the major airtime I experienced when I first rode it in '92. Great ride, awesome air!! I left the lap bar about 2 clicks loose and was out of my seat for the whole ride. Great job on reconditioning the ride.
Another ride to report on is the Disaster Transport. They certainly put the Disaster in it. It is basically a dark warehouse with a ride a strobe lights. Very few effects are left, and the black lights in the first room have been replaced with boring white florescent lights. :( Okay ride, I have a feeling CP is going to let this ride go soon.
I really wanted to ride Millennium Force and Mantis. Millennium Force seemed to have been broken down every time I went to get into line. So I'll have to ride that when I go again next week :). The Mantis to me isn't worth waiting an hour for which is what it was most of the day. But like I said before I will hit that next week, that's one of the goods of having a season pass ;).
Overall, the park looks cleaner, it got a new entrance gate, some new landscaping here and there, and Johnny Rockets will be opening on May 20th. I had a fun time. Way to go CP on your 130 somethinth season!!
Later!!
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***Why can't all parks have a Millennium Force?***