No Longer a Cedar Point Virgin 7/22

Started the day out early and left Dayton for the Point by 6:15 a.m. It was raining like crazy and my 2 younger sisters were skeptical. I told them it would be a perfect day by the time we got to Sandusky. The rain slowed us down a little bit but we finally made it up to Cedar Point by 9:45. This was the very first trip to the CP for my two younger sisters and I. When we pulled out onto the little causeway and got our first look at the park we all thought we had just spotted a little piece of paradise! Seriously that was one of the coolest sights I have seen.

Right from the get go CP was impressing me with all the workers they had out parking cars. We got the front row and off we went. We got into the park about 5 minutes before 10 and it looked like they had already opened to the public so we started walking back towards Dragster to see if it was even running. I had my doubts from everything I’ve read on the forum about wasting my time in line for this ride. We only had one day to be here and I wanted to make the most of it. I had these horror stories floating around in my mind that I was going to be stuck in line for 4 hours because this thing is always breaking down. Well, we got to the line and it looked forever long, but my younger sisters were dieing to ride it so we got in line. I was pleasantly surprised that an hour later we were getting on for our ride. It didn’t seem to have any problems while we waited in line.

Dragster: Excellent! Awesome! Unbelievable! Just a few words to describe this ride. It was so powerful and mind blowing to be moving that fast on a roller coaster! I know a lot of people were freaking out when the cable snapped and were saying that this ride has way to many problems. I even remember some people saying that they should take this ride out. No way! We are all screaming for faster, higher, bigger, and better. This is exactly what CP has given us. They took a chance to give us what we want now we have to give them a chance to work out all the little kinks. I also have to throw in that TTD ran almost the whole day (at least up until 8:30p.m.) except one time that we could see that is was actually down for a little while. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the ride and how it ran almost the whole day that I was there.

Corkscrew: One nice thing about have coasters like Dragster at your park means that there are tons of other coasters you can walk right on, which was pretty much the case all day. So after TTD we walked onto Corkscrew and I thought this ride was great. For an old Arrow looper I loved the little air time hill before the loop and the corkscrews over the midway are just classic. Pretty smooth for an arrow looper.

Magnum: I was really excited to ride this because of everything I have read and heard about this ride. I was surprised to see this was a walk-on and just figured it was still early in the day. We took our seats in the back and anticipated the first drop. Nothing but airtime all the way down. I loved all the little bunny hops and was getting ejected into my lap bar each time. I thought it was a blast! Now I understand why it still gets so much hype. I loved the quick drop in the last tunnel because you don’t even know it is coming. Count me in as another Magnum fan!

My youngest sister is a sucker for flat rides so after Magnum she saw the Witches’ Wheel and had to ride. I wanted to stay away from the flats and get on all the coasters but I saw how bad she wanted to ride so we took a spin on the Wheel. It was fun, but I would rather be on a coaster. So off we went to ride Gemini.

Gemini: We took the red side and lost, which looked like the trend. It was a walk-on. I had a good time on this ride. I found it well paced and like the quick helix at the end.

Now we took the hike back towards Mean Streak. I didn’t know what to expect with this ride because of so many different views. I had heard about the trimmed first drop and other things but I try to always keep an open mind. Once again another walk-on, but my mind is now closed. For some reason this ride failed to impress me and I thought it was the roughest ride of the whole day. Maybe I was just so blown away from Magnum and TTD that MS never had a chance. Next time I make it to CP all give you another chance.

After MS it was time for an elephant ear. Delicious and then a quick spin on Cedar Creek Mine Ride. It was an okay mine ride in my book but it didn’t even come close to the mine ride down at PKI. After the Mine Ride we made the trek through “WaterWorld” and finally made it over to the Force!

Millennium Force: This was going to be the big 100th coaster for me so I was already pumped. We waited 1 ½ hours to ride. For me after I wait that long I just want to get on so I didn’t wait for the front or back. I rode in the third car. I still can’t believe how fast the cable lift is. I thought I would have tons of time to look around and before I knew it we were going over the top. Beautiful drop! Loved every second of this ride. The speed the hills and the tunnels. This ride is perfect. I only got one ride because my sisters didn’t want to wait that long again but I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Mantis: A good standup, but for me it doesn’t even come close to Riddler’s Revenge. Stood in line for 45 minutes and I enjoyed the ride but I wouldn’t wait 45 minutes for it again.

Went to ride the Iron Dragon but it was closed. Should have gotten on it early in the morning when it was open, but sometimes you can’t win them all. Looked like a good ride from the Power Tower.

It was 3:00 and we headed to the car for some A/C and lunch.

After lunch it was time to hit the front of the park. It was time to concur Raptor. I love B&M inverts. My favorite invert was B:TR, at any Six Flags near you, for the longest time. Then one day I rode Montu and I had a new favorite invert. Now I was finally going to ride the mighty Raptor. We walked on the third row from the back and had an outstanding ride. I liked the Cobra Roll and the pacing. The whip into the station brakes was also very intense. As always I fell in love with another B&M invert but it did not take over Montu’s spot on my list. There is something about the Batwing, Immelman, the late loop, and all the themeing in this ride that just can’t be beat.

My sisters wanted to go ride Wicked Twister now, but I talked them into going on Disaster Transport first. They didn’t know what the ride was and I wasn’t going to tell them. I figured there might be a little wait for this ride because it was inside and there had to be A/C. It was 97 degrees outside, so I knew people would be in here. Well I was right about one thing, people were in there, but there was absolutely no A/C! I swear it had to be at least 105 degrees in that building. People we walking out of line right and left to get outside. When they would open the exit it felt like an artic blast coming from out there. What is up with the A/C? It was seriously a dangerous situation for how hot it was. People were sweating like I have never seen. After about 20-25 minutes in the “sauna of Satan’s lair” we made it to our ride. If I thought it was hot in the queue, man it was practically a furnace at the top of the lift hill, but we were about to go down so it was okay. I can’t even imagine what would happen if a train were to get stuck up at the top. Once again not a safe situation. At any rate that didn’t happen and I thought the ride was a good time. I love the quick drops into the pitch black. It was very smooth and I kept wondering why we don’t have more bobsled coasters. This one and La Vibora are the only two I have ridden but I had a great time on both of them. If gives a totally unique ride compared to all other coasters.

Wicked Twister: We finally got out of Disaster Transport and we were actually thankful to be out in the cool 97 degree humid weather. We got in line for WT and watched the train get a bad launch and never make it back to the station. I was about ready to leave when they got it back in and running. Only took them about 5 minutes. Nice job. I was pumped to ride this because it would be my first twisted impulse coaster. We waited about 15 minutes and got a car towards the front. I believe this is Cedar Point’s best kept secret! This coaster was pure bliss! I can’t believe we waited only 15 minutes. We went back later and waited 15 minutes again for the very back! The back is awesome. Twisting up that spike then falling and whipping out of the twist. Awesome! Where were all the people…

Blue Streak: No wait for the back seat. Had a great ride. Liked this one way better than Mean Streak. Got some air and had fun on this little woody amongst all these steel giants.

Wildcat: 10 minute wait for a fun little ride. I loved the quickness of this ride and man you sure do come flying into the station for such a little ride.

After Wildcat we went over to TTD and we waited in line for 30 minutes for the front seat! I guess it was down for just a bit and we just timed it right. The front seat is unreal! I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt like I was going to fly right out of my seat on the way down. The extra time to wait for the front was well worth it.

We got re-rides on Magnum, Raptor, and Wicked Twister. We also went and rode Woodstock’s Express. My youngest sister went and stood on the bridge over Snake River Falls and got a bath for the day. I wanted to ride the Force one more time but my sisters were beat and we still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us.

My overall impression of Cedar Point…this is by far the best amusement park I have ever been to. I understand why you all love it so much. I can’t believe I rode 14 coasters in one day with a bunch of re-rides. I couldn’t believe how many people they had checking restraints on every coaster! These guys know how to run a park. I can’t believe it took my 26 years to get to this piece of heaven on earth. All the employees were extremely nice and helpful. Thanks for having Dragster up and running…I honestly didn’t even think it would be open after what had happened. Thank you Cedar Point for being America’s Roller Coast!

Only a couple things I could think of that I thought would be good additions to the park. I love Delirium at PKI and I thought it would fit real well over by Wicked Twister. They have a lot of room over there and maybe it would be another draw for people to go and ride WT. I just can’t figure out why more people weren’t in line for WT. Also could they put in a themed ride somewhere between Thunder Canyon and Millennium Force. I don’t remember there be anything but some shops, museums, and a petting zoo not that those are bad or anything, it just seemed like a bit of a walk between any rides. Is there any way to put a flat ride out by Mean Streak. It seems like that coaster is all by itself.

Just some things I thought of. Last of all I did get one more ride on Raptor in the front. I still believe the only way to really experience a B&M invert is from the front. Fantastic ride but Montu is still on top. I had a great time and will be back. Thanks for giving me the greatest roller coasting day of my life Cedar Point.

Doug *** Edited 7/24/2004 12:05:47 PM UTC by S&SFAN***

Montu is definitely best from the front....but Raptor is best from the very back row, right side.

I wasn't that impressed by Montu until I rode in the front, but Raptor still beats it out when you get that ride in 8-4.

I agree with you about most things. But you really didn't miss anything with Iron Dragon. It just creeps through the whole ride. For me Raptor is only good in the front seat. it was running pretty rough this year. Also about that AC in Disaster Transport. The times I've been there its been freezing in there. The AC must have been broken. *** Edited 7/24/2004 4:30:53 PM UTC by SFgadvMAN***

Raptor is the best invert in any seat. The pacing in the second half is way better than Montu and it has enough big elements.

Iron Dragon is also the best suspended coaster I have been on. Apparently I am the only person in the world that knows this, but it blows away BBW. Once again, it is the second half pacing. BBW has no flow to it and if they wanted a coaster to rely on speed, then they chose the wrong type to build . The flow between the turns on the second half of ID is like music.

I love reading TR like this. You can re-live the first time you saw the skyline and that first TTD experience all over again. CP is just an awesome park.

If you think you got good air on Magnum in the back, try 1.3 next time.

I agree with you about a "Deliruim" type ride over by Wicked Twister. Can you imagine how cool it would be swinging through the middle of WT's spikes and over the beach? Mean Streak is rough, but not SOB rough. I'm happy to hear that you're TDD experience was a pleasant one. I've seen it from both ends of the spectrum while waiting in that line. I'm glad you had a good day, and great TR!

Nice TR. Brings back great memories of my first CP virgin experience last summer. I love this place...everything about it is wonderful. You are so right about Blue Streak. Like you, I enjoyed it so much more then Mean Streak.

I guess I need to try Raptor in the back and Magnum in the front. I actually wanted to try Raptor in the back because I love the back on B:TR at Six Flags. My sisters wanted to ride in the front though so as a nice older brother I let them get their way.

macho nachos: I was thinking the exact same thing. Have "Delirium" swing right between the two spikes on Wicked Twister. That would be incredible. I love the first half of SOB, but the last half is definitely more rough than Mean Streak. However, I'll keep riding because the first half of SOB is so good!

S&SFAN, it really would be a perfect place for a ride such as Delirium. Wicked Twister's station is covered so they wouldn't have to worry about loose articles falling and hitting people. The other place I thought a ride like that would work was in the middle of MS. There is so much room in that area they could fit a ride in there easily. Kind of like the ride that sits in the middle of Riddler's Revenge at SFMM.

Raptor is just plain awesome.

Just the whole Raptor experience is awesome. Going through a line, no matter how long, that never stops to the station having fun watching the ride operators which are all awesome, checking the train in less than 20 seconds, having fun on the mic..."When she says you are clear that means you are outta here!" You've all heard that stuff.

BTW, MF is STILL THE BEST RIDE BABY. Like you said, it's unbelievable. It's reliable and it's always such a blast. Great Drop, air time, g's speed, everything.

Glad you had a good day.

I agree, Millenium Force is the best roller coaster ever. I didn't manage to grab a front or back seat ride on Raptor but I still managed to get a good four rides on it. I was a CP virgin until the weekend before Memorial Day.

I feel for you waiting in the sauna they call Disaster Transport. We were there on Wednesday the 21st and it wasn't quite as warm as Thursday was (89 degrees on Wednesday). We decided to take a break from the heat to ride DT and were amazed the AC wasn't on.

I agree with you that Cedar Creek Mine Ride is only a shadow compared to Adventure Express at PKI. I still have a soft spot for both CCMR (the first coaster I ever enjoyed) and Blue Streak, my re-introduction to wooden coasters.

Glad you enjoyed your frist trip to CP and that Dragster behaved for you. It ran very well all day on Wednesday too.

Great TR. I have not been on Montu, so I can't say if it is better or not, but Raptor is at it's best in the back. Also, I love Magnum the best in the back. Row 1-3 has a little more air, but the whole ride is better in the back.

Glad that you had a great day and got a couple of laps in on TTD. There is nothing like a front seat ride on TTD.

I'll second that it's fun to read a report like this - brings back that first time take-your-breath-away feeling!

I also wholeheartedly agree about Wicked Twister and I think the location and the capacity of this ride contribute to the short line. That's the only possible explaination I can think of. You could argue that people figure it'll be too short of a ride, but look at their highlight attraction and try to tell me Cedar Point goers are concerned about length of ride ;) Whatever the reason, I couldn't be happier about the short lines on the best kept secret in Sandusky.