CP 5/16 & 5/17...what a park! (LONG)

CP has accumulated some great rides since my last visit in '96. Of course the main reason I was there was for TTD. Planning my bachelor party trip around CP was required with this ride completing CP's already amazing lineup.

We arrived at the Radisson Harbour Inn late on Thursday evening, purchased our two-day tickets and got our early entry passes.

We managed to get out the door Friday morning in time to get us into the park by 9:40am. I was in awe as we rounded the curve and CP's skyline came into view for the first time. TTD's height is just not right. We parked, headed in, and of course headed straight to TTD. As we approached the ride we caught what I believe was it's first launch of the day. All we could do was look wide-eyed at each other and exclaim "Oh My God!". We found our way into the que and were releaved to see about 1/3 to 1/2 of it was all that was full. The que is designed well for first time riders. As others have said taking in riders reactions is great anticipation fuel.Two hours (including two breakdowns) later and my freind and I are in the front seat of the black cherry train (5 trains running). My eyes are peeled on the brake fins. They take forever to drop as jealous and nervous eyes watch from the midway. Then they do......

The lights are fast....then WHAM! This thing doesn't let you really catch up with it until 60 minutes after you buy your on-ride photo. Usually when I'm on a ride I anticpate what I see in front of me. Not the case here.....your constantly trying to take in whats about to happen with what is happening. So, were finally through the launch and as others have said you just can't believe the length of the acceleration. Then its up, up, turn, up....I'm waiting now for the sky to turn into the view of CP below......the horizon is there, then MF below, then....OMG! I am up high.......then OMG! look at that twist....through the twist and before I get a chance to remember it's coming I'm flying at 120 again. You slow down so smoothly as you fly by the que full of onlookers. Then you get to share this experiance for the first time. "That was insane!" followed by full descriptions of each section as best we remembered it. Over to the online photos which we had to buy.....OK..onto the rest of the park quickly....

Mantis: 2 trains running, 1.5 hr wait, back row, jerkier than I remembered, but still a good ride.

CCMine Ride: 1 train wait, back seat, missed this on my 2 previous visits to CP so took it in...fair mine ride.

Gemini: 15 minute wait, just blue side going, front seat....this is a good ride, good speed, good drops, good air.

Magnum: 30 minute wait, back seat, love the long ride up, good ride but bumpier than I remembered, realized I like floater air over ejector air.

Corkscrew: Walk on, back seat, love the corkscrews over the midway

Power Tower: 15 minute wait, thrust up side, much better than I anticipated, great acceleration, great float at the top, great view.

Raptor: 30 minute wait, front seat, three trains running, this crew is AMAZING! (2nd day we were there, full que just past the entrance, 10 minute breakdown, still beat the 1.5 hr estimated time including wait for front seat).....the line is almost constantly moving. And they are energetic and into the crowd constantly. I don't know what motivates them but keep it up CP. This ride is great, my 2nd favorite in the park, and with no trims running the latter half is fast fast fast.

MF: 1hr wait, back seat....love that drop, and the speed this thing keeps is amazing. Great floater air, wished I could have rode it again.....not so sure I like the cable lift....I think a slower ride to the top might be better. But then again the wait would be longer....

2nd Day: got to the park later, around 1pm. No rush today, just taking the rides we missed Friday.

Demon Drop:20 min. wait, still enjoy this ride, good free fall and just plain fun.

Mean Streak:45 min wait, back seat, 3 trains running....this ride needs help. It just feels like it's laboring through it's course and you can tell it's not at its full potential.

MF wait was 2hrs, TTD was 4.....knowing it was our last day and that we had to leave the park in 3 hrs we moved on to ride Raptor again. Love that ride.

Distruction Transport: 45 min. wait, front seat....bought the glasses which made the que fun, but they're worthless for the ride. Good ride, liked the parts in total darkness.

Wicked Twister: 1hr wait, back seat, glad we suffered through the chilling north wind hitting the back of que. This was a great ride to end our trip on. Good speed, and enjoyed flying backwards up that spiral.

We managed about 14 rides in about 16 hrs at the park over the two days, weather was good and everything was running when we needed it to. As I watched the CP skyline disappear from the back window I felt very pleased with my trip as I thought that I can't imagine what CP will have by my next visit.

Dale
*** This post was edited by Dale Picolet 5/19/2003 2:11:09 PM ***

Dale, too bad we missed each other, 'cause I was there at the same time. Were you at the causeway at 9:40 or the gates at 9:40? The reason I ask is that we walked through the Soak City entrance at 10:00 sharp, got in line for TTD, and got on in 80 minutes. We were at the entrance to the station when the first breakdown happened. After about ten minutes down time, we got on (Red train).

How did we get ahead of you?

Later,
EV
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Remember that if you're one in a million, that means that there are 5000 other people on Earth just like you.

I'm not sure it was exactly two hours....we were at the parking lot gates at 9:40, so we probably walked through the main gates around 9:50 or so. We didn't rush to the line, so I'm guessing we entered the que just after you. The second down time lasted about 20 minutes, plus the wait for 4 sets of trains till we got on. That puts us at around 100-110 minutes or so. Honestly, I was too excited to pay attention to my line wait time.