Cedar Point/Kings Island - June 28/29

So, after a 17-year absence from CP and countless thwarted attempts to visit, I finally made it back to Sandusky for the first time since my first - and only- visit (the summer Raptor opened).

Two days had been planned, but we managed to do everything we wanted in the first day (arriving to the park @ about 1PM) we decided to drive the 3+ hrs to KI since who knew when we would be back in Ohio again.

Some random highlights from the 2 days:

Time to process Platinum Pass: 5minutes

Number of Coasters Ridden: 22 (19 of them new to me)

Number of Flats Ridden: 4

Longest wait: 45min for Millennium Force and Maverick
Shortest Wait: Walk-on Gemini (Red)
Most common wait: 15min (@ CP). KI varied wildly.
Incidents of "Technical Difficulty" while in line: 2 - Diamondback and Firehawk

Surprisingly NOT painful: Mean Streak and Mantis
Surprisingly Painful: Flight of Fear (those OTSR must have been unbearable!)

Biggest difference in Ride Experience based on seating: Maverick Front Seat = Awesomely Intense; Maverick Back Seat = Jarringly Intense.

Most Pleasant Surprise: Gemini packs a lot of fun for a ride as old as me ;-)
Least Pleasant Surprise: The Crypt. Really? That's all?

The "I Should Have Paid Closer Attention: Award: The Beast. I have known about this ride for most of my life and I never really thought too much about it. That ride is amazing! Shame on me...

Most Random Ride: Matterhorn @ CP. Had actually never been on one of those before.

The Lift-Hill to Nowhere: Final Adventure Express lift.

Tastiest Food Eaten: Famous Dave's Beef Brisket Sandwich.
Strangest Food Eaten: A Burger made of Elk meat while on the ride home in Clearfield, PA

Other random notes:
-Sunset ride on Maverick was beautiful.
-Night Ride on MF was wicked.
-Final Ride of Trip was Front row of DB. Awesome.
-7 hours of driving 3 days in a row is so NOT fun.
-# of Advil taken: 8 (and 2 Aleve)

Overall, pretty great time. :)

I like the style of your trip report. It was really fun to read!

I agree about the Beast. According to a lot of people, it used to be even MORE fun, and now it's a piece of garbage. I totally disagree with that. Ever since my first ride on it, it has been one of my favorite wood coasters of all time, and still is.

And yes about the Crypt. If it's going to that way, just sell it and build something else already. Not only is it the worst ride at the park, it is one of the worst ride in existence, in my opinion.

Gemini is very much underrated. It's just plain fun; every last drop and turn. My only complaint is that the ending helix is a bit painful, especially if you forget to brace yourself.

LostKause said:

According to a lot of people, it used to be even MORE fun, and now it's a piece of garbage.

Hey, that's me! Well, it's not a piece of garbage. Rather, a very watered down version of it's old self. Very good for the 'masses'. And brown. Yup, they painted a wild red stained, rugged looking coaster brown. It looked great stained, with different shades, some new track, some worn looking new track - it was very natural and wild looking. Then brown paint - I just didn't get it.

I had rides on it before 1990 that scared the crap out of me. The ride used to vary alot too; brakes had different wear, faster at night, etc.

Yep.. back in the 80s, you never knew what kind of ride you'd get, based on maintenance, moisture, wear, etc. You could sort-of judge it by how far the train made it up the 2nd lift before it caught - the 2nd platform was attainable! And you learned quickly that sticking your hand out the left side at the helix was a Very Bad Idea. Looks like they've brought the wall in much more gently now.. :)

I miss the rock music they used to play in the station, and the waterworks that.. well, worked. It's certainly not a bad ride now, but it's lost a bit of its former glory. And I so want to smack the silly ride ops why say "da best" (re: "da bears") during the spiel.. sorry, it's not any more...

^Funny thing is, starting in the 1990's, we always said the best woodie in the park was the Beastie. Reliable air time ! But I would have to say the Beast was still the best ride there back in 2005, just a shade of what it used to be, however. Racer used to delight as well....

I pretty much almost only visit Kings Island these days, and while rides on Beast seem to vary from time to time, I have yet to have a disappointing ride on it. It delivers excitement with every ride, in my opinion. Just saying. :p

^We need to get you to IBeach, Travis :) And HWorld ;) Hell, even Great America I think you would find more thrilling than KI.

I would. Ever since I moved to WV, I have been having trouble not going to Kings Island all of the time. It's close and convenient. Dare I call it my home park?

Tsunami78 said:

Most Random Ride: Matterhorn @ CP. Had actually never been on one of those before.

I've always said the only stupid questions are the unasked ones. So:

I've been to Cedar Point eight times. What the heck is Matterhorn? I don't recall any ride there by that name.

Yeah.. I messed up the quotes. Sue me.

I won't sue, but will advise...make sure to put everything you're quoting (including the SoAndSo said: part) inside the {quote} {/quote} tags. Then add your response below the last {/quote} tag.

Mike Gallagher said:
I've been to Cedar Point eight times. What the heck is Matterhorn? I don't recall any ride there by that name.

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Matterhorn is a pretty standard flat ride. (wikipedia)

Matterhorn at Cedar Point (courtesy of pointbuzz)

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Matterhorn is a pretty standard flat ride. (wikipedia)

Matterhorn at Cedar Point (courtesy of pointbuzz)

Ah. I guess I never paid attention to the name. I always just call it a Himalaya. Thanks, Gonch.

The Beast might not be what it once was but I still enjoy it. The real travesty as mentioned in the report is The Crypt. I remember the ERT we had on what was then known as Tomb Raider: The Ride for CoasterbuzzCon 2002. That ride was amazing, to think they were able to turn a topspin into a dark ride that told a story while simultaneously thrilling us. The condition it is in now is simply depressing.

Beast was running REALLY well when we were there pre-HWN. Just wish they'd do something about the God-awful seat dividers...at lap level, they hurt your thighs and hips, forgivable if annoying. Beast's dividers come directly from Satan.

We had one of the best Beast rides a few nights ago. It had just stopped raining and we were on the second train to go out. It was dark and fast. I am not certain how far we made it up the lift, but I know we barely slowed down in the brake shed.

It felt like the old days.