Cedar Point Trip Report - Warning Long!
Associated parks:
None
4 of us went in total, myself, my wife and two friends. Bearing in my mind that our friends are not as bonkers on coasters as we are, we decided we would do 2 days in the park, with optional twilights if we wanted to – in fact this worked out perfect, as a full day at the point is very tiring.
We arrived on the Saturday pm and decided to visit the park on the Monday so we could use the Sunday to relax and get over the jet lag. We stayed at the Breakers Express Hotel and I have to say I was impressed, for the money it was excellent, very clean and very comfortable. On the Saturday evening we decided to drive down the causeway and take a sneak peak at the park, and WOW, what a site, it was like manor from heaven, just incredible, everywhere you look there are lifthills. Top Thrill looked almost cartoonish it was so tall, after a few photos it was back the hotel.
First day in park – Monday 26/5
I was awake very early as I was so excited. After a quick breakfast in McDonalds over the road, we headed into the park for 9am. To say Cedar Point is overwhelming would be a huge understatement, there are so many rides it is mind boggling and the landscaping is beautiful, the setting right by the marina is fabulous.
As we were early into the park (a perk for resort guests) only two rides were open, Mantis and Millennium Force, unsurprisingly TTD was down again!
We decided on Mantis first as we thought Force might taint all the other rides as it’s so wonderful. Mantis was OK, just another B&M looper really, I didn’t think the stand up part made much of a difference really, quite a bit of headbanging towards the end, which I was surprised about with a B&M, nice hangtime in the loop as the first drop was trimmed.
After this we grabbed a coffee and decided to have a look round the park and get used to the layout, it is huge and beautifully laid out.
Next up we did Magnum XL200. I loved this ride, now I know why everyone says it is so much better than the Big One, they’re leagues apart. The Airtime on Magnum is fabulous and I cannot praise this ride enough, suffice to say I rode it 6 more times during my time at CP.
TTD was still down and it looked like it would not be up again until the PM. We made a decision not to ride it until our 2nd day there.
We were then itching to ride Millennium Force and I’m not ashamed to admit I was a tad nervous about this one, the height is very daunting. The lifthill is very fast and before you know it you are ready to drop. To be honest I don’t know what I was nervous about, the first drop is just sublime, beautiful floater airtime all the way down I was screaming with utter joy on this ride each and every element is wondrous and the whole ride is a smooth as butter, in fact the smoothest ride I’ve ever been on. It makes all other coasters I’ve been on seem almost lame in comparison, the overbanked turns, the sheer speed and floater air made this my No 1 coaster in the world – The Force is in a league of it’s own. I rode this many times during our stay and it just got better and better.
I’ll list all the other rides I did that day and what I thought;
Gemini
Loved this, smooth as glass and great air, and all the rides I took we raced (which I understand is a rarity on this ride), did this several times.
Mean Streak
Worse than I even imagined, 10/10 for looks, 2/10 for ride quality, simply dreadful lumbering ride, should be torn down and replaced with something decent. How a ride this big and expensive cannot have any airtime at all is mind boggling, but they seem to have managed it. Only did this once and that was enough.
Blue Streak
Far better than Mean, with good doses of air and much smoother than I expected, didn't like the headrests or seat dividers though.
Raptor
Enjoyed this immensely, another great B&M inverter, with strong G’s and even the odd dose of air. The final helix is very impressive and it looked beautiful by the marina. I rode this 4 times in total.
Wicked Twister
This is a great ride, great launch and if you sit at either the front or back of the train you can some great hangtime and air, really enjoyed this.
Corkscrew
I know this sounds awful, but I didn’t even bother riding it because I knew what it was going to be like. The others did and were very unimpressed.
Disaster Transport
This is a strange ride and I’m not quite sure where is sits at CP, it seems somewhat out of place. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either, worth doing once though.
Cedar Creek Mine Train.
OK ride, but why they have to push to lap bar so far down until your legs are crushed is beyond me.
Wildcat
I loved this ride. A Schwarzkoph (SP?) jet star classic, and as smooth as they come, great little ride.
Iron Dragon
I thought this was OK. Better than the Vampire at Chessington, but as I only has this to compare it too I’m not really too qualified to comment.
2nd day in the Park 29/5
A very hot day, but with a lovely breeze off the lake. We did most of the rides in the park again as TTD was down all AM. Then as we got off Gemini we saw it launch, it was only a test run, we ran round to the ride to see another test launch. The speed of the launch is indescribable in fact, the whole ride looks almost alien.
The line for TTD was closed off, however, we decided to wait it out by the fence until it opened, we had to bear in mind that this could be hours as it had no finite time before it opened. It seemed our decision to wait paid off, within 20 mins we were in and at the front of the queue only to be greeted with yet another breakdown, again this was only 20 mins.
So at last I was sitting in TTD waiting to launch and let me tell I was terrified. The sound of the revving engine and waiting for the lights to change made me almost numb. Then a little rollback, and it launched. I cannot even put into words the intensity of the launch, you cannot scream or hardly even breath and before you know it you are cresting the top and plummeting back down, the drop almost seems tame compared with the launch but is staggering none the less. Intamin have surpassed themselves here, it is the most outrageous ride I have ever been on and I’m sure it must be on the limits of human intolerance, we ran round and did it again straight after, by which time the queue was 1 hr. When we got off the 2nd time it was up to 3 hrs queue, something I was not prepared to do.
So is TTD the best coaster in world? As I’ve always said before, coasters are a subjective topic, however on the extreme thrill factor, nothing can touch it. I would have to say that MF and TTD are neck and neck, but is hard to say why as that would be like comparing apples and oranges.
We did one more twilight visit, but did not include TTD on this visit as it was down fore nearly all the 4 hours we were there. But ended our trip on a night run on MF, WOW what a way to end your trip!
So in summing up, Cedar Point is the best park I have ever been to or are likely to go to. Everything about it was clean, well laid out, beautifully landscaped and the staff were all wonderful.
If you have never been, then I suggest you go NOW, I’m already planning my next trip.
Miles
PS on the 2nd day I bumped into Rob Alvey and Elissa White form themeparkreview. Nice people and had a long chat with them in the queue for MF
I am eagerly awaiting my visit to CP in August...
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--George H
---Currency tracking experiment... http://www.wheresgeorge.com (Referring to The "George" on the $1 bill - Not Me)
I appreciate the Raptor more everytime I ride it. I have also learned to not wear loafers on it. I have a hard time holding them on.
TTD is the best ride as far as I'm concerned. I liked the fact they twist the cars on the way down so you can see straight to the ground without someone blocking your view. I, when younger, used to drag race and I really liked the start. The ride was down all day until 5:30 PM.
Regarding the Disaster Transport. That actually is a convert ride. It used to be a tobaggon ride if my memory serves me. They converted it one year to have a NEW ride.
I've got to go. Next time you travel to CP, probably not often from UK, let me know and our group may try to meet you there.
I was there 5/29/2003. We were lucky. Except for a short wait on the first Raptor, 30 min, and the second ride on the TTD, 1 hour, we didn't wait at all. None. I am gratful you were able to ride TTD. It was down all 5/30. It is down more than it is up.
Meanstreak was MUCH better when it first opened: much faster, and more air time. Sadly, I'm not sure they'll ever have it running like it did the first couple of years.
As dragon said above, Disaster Transport was once in open air and called Avalanch Run. When it was converted to a dark ride, it had pretty cool themeing that has since fallen into great disrepair. What you saw is actually better than it was a couple years ago. It's a great "family" coaster though.
Iron Dragon, again, is not the best of it's type (Hopefully you'll get to Paramount's Kings Island to ride Top Gun) but again, it's a great family coaster.
Oh...and Gemini. Actually, they do race the trains more often than not, but they have a tendency to not race earlier in the mornings if the park is rather empty. Many times I've seen them race the trains, with the middle sections roped off when it's not crowded.
Glad you enjoyed your trip to CP! I always like reading trip reports from first time visitors!
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm
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I have been arrested more than you
One is for certain, I will be back, hopefully next year.
Miles
PS Did anyone find horrible popping G's on their legs on Mantis, it was horrible!
CPLady said:
Not many people are happy with the headrests and seat dividers on Blue Streak. These changes were made (replacing the single seat belt and buzz bar) in 1992 I believe, and it lost it's ACE Classic status at that time.------------------
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm
Blue Streak's trains were renovated in 1995. I remember going in '94 and that was the last time I remember the one lap bar mechanism.
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YOUNGSTOWN 2010
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