CP rainy and empty on sun 6/4

Went on a spur of the moment trip to "the point" on Sunday, June 4th. My brother called me from Grand Rapids on Saturday tellying me that he had bought his family season passes from MIA and they decided to use them at CP the next day. Well, after some battling with the wife (we have 4 year old twins and a 2 year old...so it really was a battle), I got the OK to drive up by myself and spend the day at the point with my older bro. We both worked at CP and have very good memories of those summers (maybe too good?!?). He worked as papa bear for three years in the mid 80's and I worked on the Giant Wheel for two summers in the mid 90's.

I drove the two hours from north of C-bus and met them in the parking lot at about 9:00. It had rained on the way up and the sky was still dark. All of us "coomon folk" could only go as far as the barrier right by the skyride entrance as all the hotel visitors got their ERT. I decided to check out their new donut/coffee shop. I couldn't believe the size of the cinnimon rolls that they had for 3.49. I bought one since I didn't have any breakfast. Big mistake. They really are quite tasteless. The frosting is even kind of gross. They look really good and taste really bad. Yeah, I know, it's park food, what did I expect. I was just hoping for better I guess.

They let us through at 9:30 and while most were running to Raptor, Millenium Force, or TTD, we decieded to take a spin on Maxair. I had been on it it last year but the trolls from Michigan hadn't. It was a walk on and we did one cycle and then got back in line for a repeat ride. Still very good, but I'll be honest with you, it loses a little luster after riding Skyhawk. More on that later. Overall I give Maxair a 7.5/10. Very re-rideable and the ride cycle is a good length. Great way to start off the day.

By now it was starting to rain a little so we were wondering how much we were going to ride. We were so worng. The next 2 1/2 hours were some of the best times I've had on the point since I worked there. The rain was keeping the people away and the rides that were up had little to no lines.

My brother cut my nephew and their friends loose and we went on our merry way. Next ride: Mantis. This is a ride I have skipped the last 3 or 4 years because it was never all that impressed with it and the line always seemed a little long. It was running in the rain and it was a walk on. Went on twice in a row. I remember why I don't wait a long time for it as it puts a little stress on my legs and isn't all that comfortable. Still it was fun just because I hadn't beeen on it for a while and I didn't have to wait long. It wasd a little rough but pretty intense. I give it a 7/10

Millenium Force was not open yet (rain I'm assuming) so we worked our way back to skyhawk. It didn't look to menacing and it was quite loud. Suprising how loud it was actually. We did three rides on this monster in about 15 minutes. We just walked off and walked back on again. It was a little irritating that they just wouldn't let us stay on the ride. There were only 6-8 people on every ride cycle. I have to say that this is probably my favorite non-coaster ride (except for maybe Spiderman at IOA but that should really go in a different catagory). One negative is that Skyhawk has a very short ride cycle, however, you get SERIOUS airtime on this thing. This ride is crazy cool. I'd give it a 9/10/ Would give it a 10/10 if they added a couple more swings to the cycle. Great addition to the park.

Checked out the construction site. No suprises here. Basically looks like oall the pics on the net. Did see some track pieces across the causeway right by the Breakers Express. They were mostly straight track with a few that curved.

Next we went to Mean Streak. It had stopped raining by now and they were opening the gaits just as we wlaked up. We were on the first train out of the station. I had read somewhere that it was running a little smoother this year. While it has been a while since I last rode it, I would have to agree. I didn't seem to get thrown around nearly as much as usual. I give it a good solid 6 out of 10. I don't think I would have given it more than a 3 or 4 in the past. Actually enjoyed parts of it but is still a little rough for my taste.

Since we were in the area we figured we would try the mine ride for the fun of it. The train before us got stuck in the tunnel and the shut it down. So much for the mine ride. Not exactly one to wait around for.

Next in line: Gemini. They were only running the blue side and it was still a walk on. Took a quick spin but it really loses a bit of its luster when its not racing. Gemini is still one of my favorite coasters in the park. It's not really thrilling...it's just really fun. I give it an 8/10. Add a half a point if it were actually "racing"

Off of Gemini we walked on Maggie. Still love that first hill but she's showing her age a bit. Getting a little jerky on the turnaround and those bunny hops left bruises on my thinghs from the safety bar. Still a fun coaster though and good enough to take a second spin on it. 8/10

Walked past TTD but it was down. Was temted to wait in line as there were basically only people in the staion. There were also may2 dozen people outside the ride waiting as they were not letting any more in. I figured I'd wait to see if it actually started running before I got in line and wasted a lot of time. The crowd was still small and I didn't know how long that was going to last. I've only ridden it once and I wasn't all that impressed with it (gasp) so I didn't want to waste the time

Millenium Force was up so we made our way to that area. There was about a 20 minute wait. We figured it wasn't going to get any better than that. Still just an awesome ride. By far my favorite in the park...in any park for that matter. Just lots of speed 9.5/10 (hey, nobodys perfect)

It was almost noon and thats when we had planned to meet the nephews for lunch. We walked by the Draggin' Wagon and decided to take a quick spin since once again...it was a walk on. yeah....4/10. Probably a good starter coaster for kids but just not worth my time of day

Lets see...it was going on 12:00 and had ridden Maxair x2, Mantis x2, Skyhawk x3, Meanstreak, Gemini, Magnum x2, Millenium Force, and the Iron Dragon.

See, now thats how you spend the morning

The park did start to get a bit busier in the afternoon as the sun came out. I did finally get on TTD after about a 40 minute wait. I really undersatand why people like it but it's just not for me. One of my favorite parts about a coaster is that climb up the hill. The anticipation of what is about to come and the view you get. On TTD, I just don't get that. It's over so fast that I just don't have time to enjoy it. I'm glad that other people find it to be the best ride on earth but I've ridden it twice and am just a little uderwhelmed by it. Just not my thing I guess. It's good, just not what I want in a ride. 7/10

On a side note: For the longest time I always looked at CP as the best amusement park I had been to. Over the last few years I've kind of gone in a different direction. Having a hard time on deciding exactly why, but PKI (or just KI now?) has taken over that number one spot for me. I'm not sure if I have spent so much time at Cedar Point that I am a little burned out on it or what but if I had to choose between going to CP or KI, I would pick KI. I really like all the trees and shade at Kings Island and also the wide variety of rides that they have. The fact that their water park is included in the price doesn't hurt either. I've probably visited CP 20-25 times and also worked there for 2 summer so that also may have something to do with it. Probably only been to KI 10 times or so.

Anyway, had a great day at Cedar Point on Sunday. It was the first time since I worked there that I saw the park so empty. Even as the park got a little busier in the afternoon the lines were pretty short.

One thing that kind of irritated me was that the one thing my wife wanted me to do was to bring back four bags of cotton candy. One for her and one for each of the kids. You would think this would be a fairly easy task. First of all, I could only find one place (right in the front of the park) that sold the stuff. Granted it was only a quarter but they only sell it on a stick and they don't give you a plasic bag for it. Yeah, I know, having the plastic bag would probably increase the price but still....c'mon....throw me a bone here. That was the only thing I was suppsed to bring home and couldn't do it.

They survived without it. *** Edited 6/5/2006 7:30:25 PM UTC by Giant WheelJay***

They have billboards saying 25c cotton candy, and yet I have not been able to find any in my two visits this season. I also paid close to $8 for cheese fries and a soda. So much for cheap food.

Gemini hasn't run both sides in my two vists either, the one weekend was ridiculous busy too. Its one of my favorites too, but its not the same with only one train.