Well I hadn't been to CP for about a month, so I decided to go tonight on my night off...problem is that my only friend who has a pass didn't get off work till 9 PM, so I had to wait that long before we went. This particular lady friend and I planned on staying till park closing at midnight (we later found out the park closed at 11 - I thought that CP was open till Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays after the 4th of July until the end of summer - turns out that's not the case this year). Pulling in, the parking lot looked packed, so we didn't plan on getting to ride much (boy were we wrong). I don't know if the park is always like this late at night, but it was great. Lines were short as people were exiting en masse, and we had a great time.
By the time my friend got home and changed clothes and by the time we drove, entered, and got on our first ride, it was 9:45. So that means we were only at the park for an hour and a fifteen minutes, but it was definitely worth it! Walking in, we figured the Raptor had a long line so we walked by it to the Blue Streak where all we waited was two trains for the back seat. This was perhaps the greatest ride I've ever had on the Blue Streak! I really believe that wooden coasters can be finnicky because sometimes this thing delivers awesome airtime and sometimes it's dead. Tonight it was incredible! The fact that I had ample room to float between my lap and my lapbar couldn't have hurt, either! We're talking stand up ejector airtime on almost every drop! I never remember feeling quite so much airtime down the first drop and off the turnaround as my ride tonight delivered.
Going up Blue Streak's lift, I saw that the Raptor queue had all of a fifteen minute wait in it, so we sprinted there after BS. What a pleasant surprise! I would have never guessed the lines would be this short with so many cars in the parking lot. I sat in my new favorite seat on Raptor (Right side of row 8)and WOW...what a rush. This thing is running faster this year than I ever remember. The section of the ride around the cobra roll is just insane! After going to SFGAm last week and riding Batman, I thought I could possibly have a new favorite invert, but this ride on Raptor tonight convinced me that Raptor indeed rules the sky (and rules the inverts, also!)
Getting two rides in in a half hour, we decided to head to the back of the park to ride Magnum, and on the way there, we decided to hit Chaos. I hadn't ridden it yet this year, and the fact that there was no wait convinced us to take a spin...or take a several spins since that's all this ride does! Rocking back and forth, back and forth, we were spinning in every direction. I don't know why I don't ride this more!
After getting off Chaos slightly dizzy, we hit Magnum and were greeted with another 15 minute wait...woo hoo! Sat in the very back. Not the greatest ride I've ever had on Maggie, but she's still my favorite ride! The airtime on the return bunny hops wasn't really too forceful and the trims were grabbing hard, but still a great ride that I love at night. You can't beat whooshing up high into the nighttime sky on the second hill and diving down into the darkness with the moonlit lake right beside you! The pretzel through the darkness is awesome, too!
I tried to talk my lady friend into another ride on the Magnum in the ejector seat, but she would hear nothing of it. She had her first ride in that seat earlier in the year and it was too much for her! I guess the lapbar gave her bruises. Even my sad puppy dog face didn't work... :(
It was starting to get late so we started heading back to the main midway. On the way, we hit the Corkscrew because there was no wait and we almost never ride it. I forgot how forceful the airtime on that second hill is, and it was a great surprise!
The last ride for the night was supposed to be another ride I love but don't ride enough, the Wildcat, but at the last minute, we decided to hit Mantis instead. We got in line for the back but moved to Row 3 to fill in empty seats when the ride op announced that this would be the last train of the night. Another great ride. Forget the loops...it's the turns that make this ride. The low turn before the midcourse brake and the twisted figure-eight finale are absolutely awesome! I wish Raging Bull's figure eight was more like Mantis's.
After this we were part of the crowd rushing back to leave the park. I'm always a little sad when I stay at the park late and walk out with all the rides cycling empty trains or closing. Just sort of a downer, I guess. Traffic was easy to deal with and we were home before midnight. Great night. CP is magical at night with everything lit up and the great amusement park food smells seem to be even more intense than they are during the day. I need to start spending more evenings at the park if they are all like this!
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Signature Under Construction: A New Adventure Awaits in 2002!
Shhhhhhh. No, Nights at CP are packed. Don't go anyone. I mean I only have 70 rides on MF and 166 on Magnum this year from going almost every time at night.
I have also spent most of at my time at the park between 7pm-11pm. It is the best time to be there. Magnum actually sounded like it had a long wait!
