CP - 6/15+16 (LONG)
Associated parks:
None
It had been a long 11 years since my last visit to the Point. Way too long, I know, but I am working on getting my wife to like amusement parks more. Let me tell you, CP lived up to all the hype I told her about it. She is a convert (but I am afraid what will happen since no other park will match her new expectations).
Friday 6/15:
First off, it was really hot. By 3pm, it was 97 degrees and humid. Put a damper on the day. (Especially when it started pouring at 6:30pm.)
We got to the park at 9:30 and I decided to start her off slowly and hit Corkscrew. We both liked it! Very smooth for an old Arrow looper. No headbanging. 3.5/5 stars.
We then hit Magnum. Fun and fast. Made sure to not get stapled. Liked it. She noted the smoothness of the ride and loved the hops at the end. 4/5.
We next went to Gemini, but she wanted to take a break. I went on by myself, and had a fun ride, despite being stapled and were not racing. 3/5.
We had to go back to the van to let my wife do her meds. On our way back to the van, we hit DT. It was good, but I do REALLY REALLY miss all the theming elements during the queue. THe line was long (30-45 mins) but we weren't complaining since it was air-conditioned. 3/5.
After our break, we re-entered the park and hit the Raptor line. After an hour in the heat, the ride broke down. Grr. We decided to wait but after a half an hour, it was still out of comission. We quit the line and went to lunch.
Johnny Rockets: We had a great time! Our waiter, Darren, was a blast and the food was great for the price. 4.75/5.
The heat was really starting to take a toll on my wife so she decided to sit-out Wildcat and try to re-hydrate. Wildcat was another fun coaster with neat headchopper effects. 3.5/5.
We then walked to Mantis, (she again skipped the ride-not feeling well). This queue was the one negative experience in my entire trip to the Point. Earlier, when in line for Raptor, a big (6'5, 300#) african-american male and his friend, had just walked through the line line jumping all the way though the line without getting caught. Well, while I was waiting in line for Mantis, he was up to his old tricks again. This time, being by myself in line, I decided to put a stop to it. (I am 6'3, 280). When he got to me, he told me to get out of the way. I refused, telling him about the line jumping rule. He grabbed my arm at which point, people around me rallied to my support. They told him that he just made a biiiiig mistake and that they would back me up if he was to try anything and also let the ride ops know about his tactics. He eventually left the line (no security aound to get him busted). After he left, I became sort of a "hero" and people gave me a round of applause and high-fives. When reaching the platform, I informed the ride-ops (as did others) and gave them a complete description of him. The ride-op seemed disinterested and it didn't appear that she did anything about it. The ride itself was great! Much much better than IronWolf! 4.25/5.
We went to the Splash2001 dive show. It was a good show and a nice rest.
My wife, now feeling better, and I decided to try Raptor again. This time, we were able to get on. We really liked it and bought the ride photo (which I will scan soon and post a link). The photo has her with a wide open scream and white knuckes and me sitting with my arms crossed and smiling. 4.5/5.
I then rode Demon Drop (she wouldn't go on-she still remembers the "Edge" incident). It's been years since Ive been on it. Fun, especially as a walk-on. 3.5/5.
At this point (6:15pm) we were both exhausted from the heat and decided to call it a day. Little did we know at the time, our timing was perfect. We no more then got to the causeway than the skies opened up with a torrent of rain and it ended up raining all evening.
Saturday 6/16:
We again got to the park at 9. We decided to go right to MF. We hit the line at 9:15. At 9:30, they started operating. I convinced my wife (don't ask me how-I don't know) to wait for the first row. The drop in one word - amazing. The ride was very smooth and the speed was incredible. My wife said she could barely catch her breath (I doubt it...it's over a day and a half later and my ears are still ringing from her screams.) ;) 4.75/5.
We had to go back to the van to let my wife do her meds. (They have to be done at the same time every day). On our way back in, we hit Blue Streak. Good old wood. Fun bunny hills. 3.5/5.
We then hit Iron Dragon. We both liked this ride and agreed that the second hlaf of the ride was better than the first. But, getting off the ride, she said "...this is my favorite ride". Hey...to each their own. 4.5/5.
We then did some shopping and bought some souvenirs and left the park for lunch.
Upon our return we hit CCMR, good ride, grat headchoppers. 3.25/5.
Meanstreak was up next, fun wood. Fast wood. didn't feel the trims that everyone seens to complain about on the first drop. I liked it, but I still rate Viper at SFGAm higher. Wife liked it too. 4/5.
We wandered around the park and I hit both sides of the PT. We went to the "Hooray for Hollywood" show and liked it, great show, all the pricipals had great voices and stage presence.
From there we went to dinner at Macaroni's. Good food, good flavor to their pasta sauces. Service was friendly but we felt rushed. We no more then got our salad bar plates then our entrees were on the table (2 minutes).
We then camped out a spot to see the "Summer Spectacular". Great show. Having been away from Michigan for 11 years, I forgot how much UMich is hated by Ohioans. I was quickly reminded during the show when they showed the UM logo which was met with a rousing "Boo" which could probably be heard a mile away. ;)
After the show, I got in line for one final ride on MF before, sadly, calling this trip complete. Ride was even better in the dark and is tied IMHO with X-flight for the best ride I have been on.
Final thoughts:
Great trip to the Point. All the crews and staff were very friendly and fun. So many of the op's appeared to have fun and not just "going through the motions". One example of such is the op at Iron Dragon who stated, "Yes, we are not even half the height of MF, and yes, we barely hit half its speed, but we have just as many inversions as it! And for that, I am proud!"
We had a great time and all other parks have large shoes to fill as far as customer service in my wife's opinion.
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra *** This post was edited by redman822 on 6/18/2001. ***
Friday 6/15:
First off, it was really hot. By 3pm, it was 97 degrees and humid. Put a damper on the day. (Especially when it started pouring at 6:30pm.)
We got to the park at 9:30 and I decided to start her off slowly and hit Corkscrew. We both liked it! Very smooth for an old Arrow looper. No headbanging. 3.5/5 stars.
We then hit Magnum. Fun and fast. Made sure to not get stapled. Liked it. She noted the smoothness of the ride and loved the hops at the end. 4/5.
We next went to Gemini, but she wanted to take a break. I went on by myself, and had a fun ride, despite being stapled and were not racing. 3/5.
We had to go back to the van to let my wife do her meds. On our way back to the van, we hit DT. It was good, but I do REALLY REALLY miss all the theming elements during the queue. THe line was long (30-45 mins) but we weren't complaining since it was air-conditioned. 3/5.
After our break, we re-entered the park and hit the Raptor line. After an hour in the heat, the ride broke down. Grr. We decided to wait but after a half an hour, it was still out of comission. We quit the line and went to lunch.
Johnny Rockets: We had a great time! Our waiter, Darren, was a blast and the food was great for the price. 4.75/5.
The heat was really starting to take a toll on my wife so she decided to sit-out Wildcat and try to re-hydrate. Wildcat was another fun coaster with neat headchopper effects. 3.5/5.
We then walked to Mantis, (she again skipped the ride-not feeling well). This queue was the one negative experience in my entire trip to the Point. Earlier, when in line for Raptor, a big (6'5, 300#) african-american male and his friend, had just walked through the line line jumping all the way though the line without getting caught. Well, while I was waiting in line for Mantis, he was up to his old tricks again. This time, being by myself in line, I decided to put a stop to it. (I am 6'3, 280). When he got to me, he told me to get out of the way. I refused, telling him about the line jumping rule. He grabbed my arm at which point, people around me rallied to my support. They told him that he just made a biiiiig mistake and that they would back me up if he was to try anything and also let the ride ops know about his tactics. He eventually left the line (no security aound to get him busted). After he left, I became sort of a "hero" and people gave me a round of applause and high-fives. When reaching the platform, I informed the ride-ops (as did others) and gave them a complete description of him. The ride-op seemed disinterested and it didn't appear that she did anything about it. The ride itself was great! Much much better than IronWolf! 4.25/5.
We went to the Splash2001 dive show. It was a good show and a nice rest.
My wife, now feeling better, and I decided to try Raptor again. This time, we were able to get on. We really liked it and bought the ride photo (which I will scan soon and post a link). The photo has her with a wide open scream and white knuckes and me sitting with my arms crossed and smiling. 4.5/5.
I then rode Demon Drop (she wouldn't go on-she still remembers the "Edge" incident). It's been years since Ive been on it. Fun, especially as a walk-on. 3.5/5.
At this point (6:15pm) we were both exhausted from the heat and decided to call it a day. Little did we know at the time, our timing was perfect. We no more then got to the causeway than the skies opened up with a torrent of rain and it ended up raining all evening.
Saturday 6/16:
We again got to the park at 9. We decided to go right to MF. We hit the line at 9:15. At 9:30, they started operating. I convinced my wife (don't ask me how-I don't know) to wait for the first row. The drop in one word - amazing. The ride was very smooth and the speed was incredible. My wife said she could barely catch her breath (I doubt it...it's over a day and a half later and my ears are still ringing from her screams.) ;) 4.75/5.
We had to go back to the van to let my wife do her meds. (They have to be done at the same time every day). On our way back in, we hit Blue Streak. Good old wood. Fun bunny hills. 3.5/5.
We then hit Iron Dragon. We both liked this ride and agreed that the second hlaf of the ride was better than the first. But, getting off the ride, she said "...this is my favorite ride". Hey...to each their own. 4.5/5.
We then did some shopping and bought some souvenirs and left the park for lunch.
Upon our return we hit CCMR, good ride, grat headchoppers. 3.25/5.
Meanstreak was up next, fun wood. Fast wood. didn't feel the trims that everyone seens to complain about on the first drop. I liked it, but I still rate Viper at SFGAm higher. Wife liked it too. 4/5.
We wandered around the park and I hit both sides of the PT. We went to the "Hooray for Hollywood" show and liked it, great show, all the pricipals had great voices and stage presence.
From there we went to dinner at Macaroni's. Good food, good flavor to their pasta sauces. Service was friendly but we felt rushed. We no more then got our salad bar plates then our entrees were on the table (2 minutes).
We then camped out a spot to see the "Summer Spectacular". Great show. Having been away from Michigan for 11 years, I forgot how much UMich is hated by Ohioans. I was quickly reminded during the show when they showed the UM logo which was met with a rousing "Boo" which could probably be heard a mile away. ;)
After the show, I got in line for one final ride on MF before, sadly, calling this trip complete. Ride was even better in the dark and is tied IMHO with X-flight for the best ride I have been on.
Final thoughts:
Great trip to the Point. All the crews and staff were very friendly and fun. So many of the op's appeared to have fun and not just "going through the motions". One example of such is the op at Iron Dragon who stated, "Yes, we are not even half the height of MF, and yes, we barely hit half its speed, but we have just as many inversions as it! And for that, I am proud!"
We had a great time and all other parks have large shoes to fill as far as customer service in my wife's opinion.
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra *** This post was edited by redman822 on 6/18/2001. ***
Your wife's response to Iron Dragon illustrates why it's so important to have a diverse group of rides. Sounds like you had a good time!
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I hadn't ridden Iron Dragon for years, always skipping it in past visits because I thought it was a dumb kiddy ride. We rode it last week and we forgot how sweet the ride is! Who says Cedar Point only has 4 good roller coasters?
_________________
"We took pop music and we kicked its arse"
http://fly.to/christopherpeeper
_________________
"We took pop music and we kicked its arse"
http://fly.to/christopherpeeper
Almost every CP trip report I read concludes with the following,
"We had a great time at the park..."
That's an amazing feat to accomplish!
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Chris B.
http://sfwoa.tripod.com/
Radioheader08@netscape.net
"We had a great time at the park..."
That's an amazing feat to accomplish!
-------------
Chris B.
http://sfwoa.tripod.com/
Radioheader08@netscape.net
Johnny Rockets: We had a great time! Our waiter, Darren, was a blast and the food was great for the price. 4.75/5.
Ahhhhh, take that back!!!;)
(Fascination ya know)
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If Millennium Force doesn't go upside-down, then how could Mantis?
Ahhhhh, take that back!!!;)
(Fascination ya know)
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If Millennium Force doesn't go upside-down, then how could Mantis?
Force312,
yea yea...I can feel their pain, but since I hadn't been there in 11 years I had no emotional attachment to it...
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
yea yea...I can feel their pain, but since I hadn't been there in 11 years I had no emotional attachment to it...
-------------
"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
That Story about the Limp Jumper was interesting, you said he was doing it in the Raptor Queue and Got Away with it, Was there no Security Guards around at the time on Raptor??????
I'm telling ya, Its a good job he didnt visit the park on 4th and 5th of June when I went, The Raptor Line had 2 Security Guards patrolling the Line at All Times, and they done a great Job, I remember seeing Some Girls quite far behind me, but then before I knew it, they were somehow behind me, Of course they didnt get away with it, because straight on the scene was a security Guard who seemed to chuck one Girl out of the line and Park,and sent the other 2 Girls to the back of the Line, SERVES THEM RIGHT.
I'm telling ya, Its a good job he didnt visit the park on 4th and 5th of June when I went, The Raptor Line had 2 Security Guards patrolling the Line at All Times, and they done a great Job, I remember seeing Some Girls quite far behind me, but then before I knew it, they were somehow behind me, Of course they didnt get away with it, because straight on the scene was a security Guard who seemed to chuck one Girl out of the line and Park,and sent the other 2 Girls to the back of the Line, SERVES THEM RIGHT.
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