CP opening day - JD and Dex

I took my little friend JD to CP on opening day. I haven't been there since being employeed as a ride op in 2000. Just a few notes that interested me...

I noticed MaXair was not running a lot of the times we walked by it earlier in the day. I got in line for my one MaXair ride of the day just before the fireworks. I thought it was really fun, but it made me a little sick. Maybe it was because it was so late and I had already rode rides all day.

The new games area looks WONDERFUL at night. High tech meets old fashoned. WOW! It really adds a lot to the charm of this area.

TTD was on and off throughout the day, but I got one ride :) JD was nice enough to wait in line with me, even though he didn't want to ride TTD (also WT, and after some arguement, MaxAir). He really enjoyed just watching the run. While in line, we witnessed a rollback. That is when he got scared for me and said, "Please don't ride this, You might get hurt". lol.

Desaster Transport was much better than in 2000. It's like a whole new ride. I have a new respect for it now.

Mean Streak seemed to be a lot smoother than I remember it in 2000. This doesn't mean much though because the Four times we rode it, we only rode in the very front seat. I would go as far as to say that I really enjoyed my rides on MS this time, and it may just have climbed into my top 20.

The fireworks were top notch. I didn't expect them to last so long; the show was around 20 minuts.

We did Ripcord, and both loved it.

JD didn't want to ride MF, and I love the thing but have rode it so many times in 2000 that I decided that I wouldn't make him wait for me to ride it again.

JD's favorite ride of the day - Tied between CS and MS. JD's scariest ride of the day - Magnum (which was my fault, bacause I said in an very excited tone, "Wow! Look how high we are JD!" as we crested the top of the lift).

No rides on Mantis or Raptor. Even though we talked about riding them a lot, JD didn't want to. Maybe next time?

As I expected, the parks staff was awesome. Could they be any nicer? Maybe it was "First day of work smiles". I just hope they can keep their great attitudes up all year. I mean, how happy can a guy get selling his 500th park guest of the day some Fries with cheese? "Best Park Staff On The Planet!"

Other than a chilly night, and a little misbehavior from JD, this was the best time I have ever had at CP, and I used to work there.

Who is JD? Is JD a kid? How old? *** Edited 5/10/2005 5:54:11 AM UTC by Geewhzz***

Sorry. I originally wrote this wonderful long TR and it just vanished when I was almost done, so I quickly typed this one up... I forgot his introduction because I have wrote about him here a few times, but who ever really remembers everything they read here anyways? Not me, anyway. :)

Long version of who JD is...He is the son of a family friend whom I have known for years and years. He "adopted" me into his family as his big brother when he was 7, and over the years our friendship has become very strong. He is now 11 years old. He was in the TR I wrote last year about Kennywood. I have taken him to smaller parks (like DelGrosso's) in the past but KW last year was his first big park with me.

I am finding that by taking JD with me to parks, this old, stale, and almost boreing hobbie (to me) is becoming much more exciting because I am being reminded of how I first felt when big parks were first introduced to me. He just gets SO excited when we visit a park, and some of it rubs off onto me.

Even though I got a little carried away with the JD part of the TR, I was hoping we could talk about Cedar Point :) ...

"JD's favorite ride of the day - Tied between CS and MS"

CS? Something in Camp Snoopy, I assume? What is CS? But at any rate, I agree that taking someone who has never been to a big park to one is a great way to breathe new life into the hobby. Sounds like you had a GREAT time.

CorkScrew....nice report Dex, and I'm glad you've found someone to share your coaster experience with. I remember how I was when I first started going it must be fun to see it all on his face.

Yes, Corkscrew (lol).

Here are some more random thoughts and cute little stories...Call it part 2, if you will.

So did any of you notice how great the games area looks at night with all of the special effect lighting? Wow! It wasn't like this last year, right? It was so high tech and made me think of how game midways will look in the near future.

When we saw TTD's rollback, we were in line. I was SOOO jealous. It was funny hearing the collective "gasp" from everyone in line, and then the cheering when it later crested the top.

We freeking spent some $50 at Challenge Park. I don't think I'll ever go back there because it was fun, and we could have spent twice that if I hadn't put a stop to it.

Motel 6 in Milan was a great hotel for the price. Someone here on CB (sorry, I forget who) reccomended it, and now I do as well.

Flash Forward to my first day back to work at the State College Target store, and I now relize how much I really miss working at CP :( . It's the only place of employment that I truely felt like I fit in to.

Reality has again started to set in...

Oops. My bad.

This kinda sounds familiar to me. My cousin who is 11 too was like that until this past year. His family doesnt exactly have the money to let him do the amusement park thing.

Well they let him go with his friend last october for halloweekends. He was a bit scared to that point i believe. He never had been to cp and was like wondering what was there.

Being a freak like i am for coasters, i was educating him the week before he was to go. After telling him how much fun i had there over the years, he was like willing to ride anything.

He went and had fun although his parents told him not to ride TTD. He really liked Mf, and had a blast on raptor and even mantis. The thing that kills me is that his parents wont let him go this year, and i would be willing to pay.

I want to take him so i can see how much fun he has at the park and i actually feel like a big brother to him, cause his brother is a waste of life (and yes i mean this literally). I just want to have fun and give him something that he can enjoy even if his parents cant provide it for him. So Dex you are a great guy for taking your bud to the park.

One day i wish i can and i will get him his first ride on the TTD, he just has to keep the secret of saying he rode it against his parents wishes.

Great TR Dexter! If I knew you were going I would of PM'd you. I was there as well, from about 10am to 7pm with my friend, Katie.

Maxair was FREAKIN awesome and the highlight of the day. We didn't get a Dragstergasm though....not this time. :-(

Magnum was running better than ever, but I had a different impression of Mean Streak than you. I thought it was at it's WORST! The first drop was SO braked that I thought we were going to stop, and it beat the crap out of both of us. What a piece of s***! But that's just my take on it. It seemed a little smoother last year.

It was a nice opening day, and most of the coasters were walk on after the college kids left. It's always fun going to an amusement park with a kid/newbie as I had the pleasure of experiencing on opening day. My friend was a newbie and acted like a kid in a candy store. It was VERY refreshing and fun to introduce the park to a *CP virgin*. She was blown away by Magnum and Raptor. I can't blame her. :-)

Glad you had a great time like we did!

-Tina

*** Edited 5/12/2005 6:19:57 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

I'm glad to see all the love for Mean Streak. ;)

I feel like it's going to be my bastard child. I "have" to love it because it's mine, but I would much rather spend time the other kids. I guess I'll find out in a week.

*** Edited 5/12/2005 6:56:59 PM UTC by Neuski***

I think that JD liked MS so much BECAUSE of the braking on the first drop, which slowed it down a little. He was scared going up the lift the first time we rode it, but I reminded him about the brakes and he was fine.

I found it very odd that JD rode Ripcord (He begged to ride, and even pulled the cord himself), but was way too scared to ride MaXair, Mantis, Raptor, MF, TTD, and WT.

CoasterqueenTRN, I would have liked to meet you. I was on the Meeting Calandar, but I'm the kind of guy who waits for his friends to call him. Maybe next time.

That is really surprising about Ripcord! I haven't even took that jump yet. Maybe I just haven't wanted to part with a $20. ;)

Great tr. Maybe next year when JD is a little older he will be willing to ride everything. It's nice of you to take him.

I was at cp may 7th-11th. Almost everything was a walk on all weekend. rode ttd 6x 3 on tuesday. Saturday it went down and my freind and I left the line. Same with sunday. Ride wicked twister 10x.

Of fist off, CP does not have the best park staff. Now, don't get me wrong... I love CP (hits CPCoasterKing) however, PKI's and Island Of Adv. staffs are much better. Lets call it Southern charm.

CP does have an amazing capasity, however many CP staff don't care a lick about their job. I bet 50% of Sandusky works at that park every summer and can't stand to see Top Thrill launch one more time...

^I rarely check out the meeting calendar. I guess I should pay more attention to it next time! lol.

-Tina

Okay, CPCoasterking, I'll bite.

I have been a member of both CP's and IOA's staff, and I consider PKI my favorite park ever. Having said that, during my visit to CP on the day of this TR, it is my OPINION That they were way on top of things and very friendly.

Some parks that I have visited the past few years have had some really cranky employees (especially at the food stands). Maybe I simply was not expecting to be smiled at when served my fries or being motioned at to board the skyride. I know this sounds strange, but they seemed to not be mad that I was a guest at the park that they work at, unlike a lot of other parks I have been to.

When I worked at CP, my co-workers and I thrived on keeping the guests happy and took great pride in our work. I didn't notice anything during this visit that told me that the positive morale has changed since my employment there.

Yes, I agree that IOA and PKI have nice employees too, and believe me when I say, It is really hard to be a nice employee at IOA. It was easily the most frustrating job I have ever had.

---

MagnunBarrel said:
My cousin who is 11 too was like that until this past year. His family doesnt exactly have the money to let him do the amusement park thing.

I want to take him so i can see how much fun he has at the park and i actually feel like a big brother to him, cause his brother is a waste of life (and yes i mean this literally). I just want to have fun and give him something that he can enjoy even if his parents cant provide it for him. So Dex you are a great guy for taking your bud to the park.

One day i wish i can and i will get him his first ride on the TTD, he just has to keep the secret of saying he rode it against his parents wishes.

---

that is sad about your cuz and his bro. I know if I was there I would try and do the same thing as you. ;)