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A friend of mine (John) and I shot up to CP from Columbus (My wife's parents live there) for a full day on August 9th, 2002.
We arrived in Sandusky around 8:30 and attempted to check into our hotel early. Unfortunately, they weren't able to let us do early check-in so we headed out and grabbed some breakfast at a local Micky D's. The weather was perfect with temps around 78 when we arrived. We got out to CP at about 9:30 and headed for the main gate. John was not to disturbed by the site of Millenium from the parking lot, but had heard plenty about it from me. I had been on MF before but John's last trip to the park was about '92 so he was in for a treat as many coasters didn't even exist then. We had tickets via my wife's mother through AAA so we didn't have to wait in the ticket lines. We got through the gate and headed for the back of the park. Raptor and Wicked Twister lines were already full so we decided to head back and see if the FastPass was up and running for Millenium. The "running of the bulls" had long since taken place and the line for MF was already up to a 1.5hr wait. No-one was at the FP booth but the crowds were VERY light so I suppose the park decided the stamps were unneccessary that early in the day, so we got in the line for Mantis. John had never ridden a stand-up. The line opened and we boarded the train a couple of rows back from the front. I did notice the extra train tarped under the loading station and the other two were running. The loading crew at the station were fresh and enthusiastic. They were VERY active in ensuring that passengers were in their harnesses correctly and had several people re-adjust. It was obvious that this was getting far more attention than the last time I was at CP. Had someone complained? Got hurt? Hmmmm.... We rolled out and to the top of the lift hill and around to the first drop. The trim brakes were DEFINITLEY ON and grabbing every train that ran. The ride was great in the cool air and the train performed wonderfully. I've been reading recently here about people complaining that Mantis has gotten a bit rough. Let me tell you, this ride was smooth as silk. No head banging, no rattling, no shaking, just smooth floating and gliding here so I'm not sure where the complaints are coming from, could it be the time of day? The tempurature?
We left Mantis and John already had a smile on his face as his first coaster of the day, stand-up and a good one had already set the adrenaline pumping and we checked MF FP again. It was up with a long line waiting for the stamps to start at 11:00. That was 40 minutes away so we opted to head further back in the park. We rolled around to Corkscrew and found it a walk-on. Now, I know that CS is not the newest or greatest of coasters but I have always been fond of Arrow designs and I think CS is a good one. The first drop and small hill offer a nice, though brief, shot of airtime and I still find rolling through the corkscrew over the midway to be a cool experience. Kudos to the station crew for their enthusiasm and proud anouncement that this 26 (or is it 28 I forget) old machine was going to turn you upside down "not once, not twice but THREE times" a bit tounge in cheek I guess. Next we headed for Magnum which we found to our delight was a walk-on. John was surprised since the last time he was at CP Magnum offered 2hr waits all day. We took the first ride in the "Money" seat, first car-third seat. The most pop i've ever gotten out of Mag no doubt! THANK YOU to the poster who suggested it! After the first ride we headed around and gave Mag another go in the very back seat. Once again, Mag delivered and air-time was had by all in great abundance. After a quick break we made our way across to the Woodstock Express. Did I feel like an idiot climbing onto this thing? NOT A BIT. This is a great mini-steel and I was going to ride it because I CAN. John and I took seperate cars because it was just too tight for two adults to fit in one of those little train cars. A perfect ride to introduce the youngsters to coasters and as we waited in the small line, I saw many future Millenium riders starting down the Coaster-Junkie road. I couldn't help but feel like a Peep riding a mini-steel in RCT on this one. Over to Gemini for the next ride. I LOVE THIS COASTER! Gem turned out to be the GEM of the day and my previous feelings about it not being so great were destroyed. I have come to find that Gem is really the most "fun" coaster at CP. It's not the biggest, fastest, tallest or most extreme but man is it FUN! The trains racing, the drops (back seat of course), the air-time and pacing make this one of the best coasters you can ride anywhere. We headed around to Mean Streak next and another walk-on We boarded the middle of the train and headed out. I have always and will always maintain that MS is a beautiful coaster to look at but is not much to ride. This coaster has never gotten me the least bit excited and completely looses all pace after the trim landing. It trims HARD on the first drop which renders it worthless. It's "gorgeous but gargantuan" and as far as I'm concerned, if CP is looking for more real estate to build new coasters, I know a place where they can get ALOT of space back!
Part II - I'd like mine with a twist please, That cat is wild, Most things are insignificant when compared to the power of the Force and Alaska? What in the world does this have to do with Alaska?
*** This post was edited by AMartin777 on 8/12/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by AMartin777 on 8/12/2002. ***
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