TR: 1st trip to Cedar Point & Paramount's King Island - Part 2
Associated parks:
None
Got up and took the walk next to Lake Erie to the back beach gate, beside Wicked Twister. Got into the park around 9:10am and headed straight to Millenium Force. News Flash: The weather in Sandusky Ohio is NOT like the weather in Georgia and the wind coming off a lake, that looks like a freaking ocean, is cold!
Millenium Force
My first hyper or mega coaster, and I'm glad it was MF. We waited around 1.5 hours for the ride and rode the blue train about midway back. I was actually more nervous riding MF than riding Dragster. That first hill is HUGE. I think that the restraining system is still somewhat binding, but like Dragster, I understand why its there. Anyway, the cableing system for the lift hill is amazing and it really gets you up there in a hurry.
Dropping off the first hill I was amazed at how steep the decent was and how quickly we gained speed. The banking second hill was really great, giving me a great sense of the speed we were traveling. As the ride continued, I wasn't really impressed with the sheet metal tunnels, but the smaller bunny hills (which are still huge by any standard) were the best part with great negative G's throughout. All too soon we sped by the station and came through the banking turn above the que lines. Overall this was a great ride
We would ride MF 3 more times before the trip was over (front seat on yellow train at night & mid point of blue train again). The wait for the front seat was 3 hours on Tuesday night, but the night ride was astouding.
Rating 9/10
Raptor
Yeah, a B&M flyer. I love these things and since we have the best one I have ever rode
in the south (Montu) I figured this would be its northern equal. The theming is very lacking on this ride, which I really like on Montu, but the ride was fast and smooth till the very end. Much like Mantis, the helix at the ending beat my head around somewhat, but it was still a good ride. Of the B&M flyers I have rode I would put Raptor behind Montu and Top Gun - The Jet Coaster at Carowinds, but before Batman the ride at SFOG. Riding front seat later in the trip improved my impression of it somewhat.
Rating 7/10
Magnum XL-200
I didn't really know what to expect on this ride. It wasn't the reason I made the pilgramage to CP, and MF was bigger. Boy was I suprised. The line was tiny, with us getting on in under 15 minutes. We rode in the second car, and the train design reminded me of an
overgrown mine train ride. Going up the traditional lift hill was great, with the clicking of the chain you don't get on MF, and our excitement building up with every click. Coming off the lift hill we gained huge speed and the drop was great...but nothing like the massive airtime we got on the second hill as we sped toward the tunnels and great banking turns located near the Sandcastle Hotel. On the way back I was simply astonished by the airtime we had on the bunny hills and how freaking sweet this coaster was. This would end up being one of my favorite rides in CP, and I would almost rank it above MF.
Rating 9/10
Blue Streak
It seems like every wooden coaster, of the out and back design, I have ever rode was designed by John Allen. The man is truly an icon of coastering. Anyway I'm really not that
great at rating wood coasters, with many of them seeming very similar to me. I loved the ride and my later nightime rides on Blue Streak were great. It reminded me alot of Cannonball at Lake Winnie in Georgia, which I dearly love.
Rating 7/10
Wildcat
Wow, what a great suprise here! My wife is addicted to crazy mouse coasters and we half-expected wildcat to fall into this category. The Schwarzkopf designed Mind Bender at SFoG is one of our favorite coasters, and this would be our first small Schwarzkopf. Anyway the breaking is a little harsh in places, but that is the only fault I can find with this ride.The airtime you get with the drops is crazy-fun and we fell in love with this little coaster. I lost track of how many times we rode this, we enjoyed it so much, but it was the last coaster we rode before leaving Cedar Point.
Rating 8/10
Wicked Twister
We would only get this one chance to ride Wicked Twister, due to high winds the rest of the week. We rode toward the front, and the acceleration out of the station was great. I loved the sensation of falling as the train twisted down the towers, but I was suprised that the train never actually got that close to the top of the tower.
Rating 7/10
Disaster Transport
Our first ride on a bobsled coaster. The theming was priceless, reminding me of a bad 1980's sci-fi film. It looks like something the local carnies would put together for the traveling fair. Anyway, the ride was great but heck if I know what was going on half the time.
I liked the sensation of traveling in a chute and my only complaints would be the theming and the short ride.
Rating 6/10
MeanStreak
This is simply the biggest wooden coaster I have ever seen (remember I hadn't been to PKI yet). Most of my wooden coaster expereince centers around out and back designs with very few exceptions (Hurler), but Meanstreak had me in awe before I ever got on the ride. We rode toward the front for a smoother ride. Overall I was impressed with this massive coaster, with some great lateral G's but little airtime that I could notice.
Rating 7/10
Tuesday August 10th
Junior Gemini
The only coaster we couldn't ride in the park. On Tuesday morning we ran to this ride, as everyone else was sprinting to TTD & MF, and asked the guy operating it if we could ride. He said we had to have someone with us under 48" tall or no dice. He asked if we had kids, and I responed that no, we hadn't chose to propagate quite yet. He seemed confused by the statement and his superior came over and told us we could ride if we got a special letter from Park Operations. So...it was off to Park Relations. There we were basically stonewalled. Amy and I offred to ride it early, late, whatever, just please let us ride it once. They didn't seem to symphaise with us driving 12 hours to ride 16 coasters, but hey whatever. We thought about asking some parent to borrow their child, but came to our senses before we traveled down that path.
Rating ???
Woodstock Express
So...after the miserable failure with Jr. Gemini we proceeded to Camp Snoopy and to a line of parents with their offspring to ride Woodstock Express. The looks Amy and I got were not to be forgotten. Anyway, this was a great little coaster with some real speed and some fun lateral G's. We would ride it 2 times over the course of the trip.
Rating 6/10
Gemini
This was a really freaking great coaster. I didn't expect a whole lot from it and boy was I mistaken. It seems that CP actually figured out that racing coasters are dedigned to be "raced" unlike numerious other parks we have been to which only run one side. Anyway, The airtime was crazy great and the fact that another train was next to you till the very end made it all the better. We really loved this coaster and rode it so many times I lost count.
Rating 8/10
Cedar Creek Mine Ride
As a rule of thumb, I don't like mine rides. Even so, this is the best one I have been on. I love the drop over the lake and the tight helixes. While my wife liked this more than I did, it still a good ride.
Rating 7/10
Corkscrew
My last experience with an arrow looping coaster was the Carolia Cyclone at Carowinds which I enjoyed. We rode 4 seats from the front and the coaster still beat us senseless. We both had headaches after the ride and swore to never ride it again this trip. The only saving grace for this coaster to me was the fact that I loved the track layout and its proximity to the center of the park.
Rating 3/10
Other Notable Rides:
Ferris Wheel
Great views of the lake, city of Sandusky, and the Park. The best one I have been on to date
Calypso
Usually rides like this make me sick (Scrambler) but this one did not and is a boat-load of fun. The music and lighting really adds to the ride and Amy and I had a blast on Calypso.
Cedar Downs
Not your dad's carousel. This was my favorite flat ride of the trip. I have never seen another carousel/ride in this configuration and we had a blast on this thing. If anyone knows of other installations of this type of ride I would love to hear about them.
The Bottom Line:
My first impression of Cedar Point was slightly disappointing. I thought the park was
small, but after we found the well hidden frontier area in the back of the park it really started impressing me. The Jr. Gemini thing is kinda aggrivating, but I understand they have a policy and I am impressed they stick to it. Even so, there should be a special concession for coaster freaks such as myself. I don't mind getting a letter or jumping through a bunch of hoops.
The staff and service at Cedar Point is second to none. It seemed like there was
always someone cleaning the park or sweeping the paths. Security kept a close watch on line
jumping and we saw multiple people get thrown out of the line for infractions. We are already planning a shorter return trip next year, and I'm already excited about the prospect
Next stop...PKI
Dragster said:
Nothing to say about TTD eh?
How could you go to Cedar Point and not have something to say about Dragster?
Look a little further down the page for my first post, in which I go over TTD, Mantis, and Iron Dragon.
Stephen
Glad you had fun though!
Kyle Says: Diamondback was a lot of fun! Made his first time at Kings Island worth it all!
StephenG said:Cedar Downs
Not your dad's carousel. This was my favorite flat ride of the trip. I have never seen another carousel/ride in this configuration and we had a blast on this thing. If anyone knows of other installations of this type of ride I would love to hear about them.
Cedar Downs is a Prior & Church Racing Derby and there are only three in the world. The only other one in the U.S. is at Rye Playland--and that one runs even faster than CP's, however I don't think the horses move back and forth anymore. The third one is at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England.
*** Edited 8/16/2004 2:01:57 PM UTC by Jeffrey Seifert***
Intamin Fan said:
As Kyle said, you're a bit confused. Montu and Raptor are inverted coasters, not flyers.
The two of you are right. I got my terminology mixed up, Superman Ultimate Flight at SFoG is a B&M Flyer while Raptor & Montu are B&M Inverted Coasters. Thanks for pointing that out.
And why should there be a special concession for you on Jr. Gemini and not others who've traveled equally as long to get there?
I think you misread what I typed...My original statement was:
Even so, there should be a special concession for coaster freaks such as myself. I don't mind getting a letter or jumping through a bunch of hoops.
"freaks" is plural in the sentence and I am simply identifying myself as part of a larger group which will drive 10+ hours to ride 16 coasters. I met more people than I care to remember who identified me as "crazy" for driving from Georgia to Sandusky for coasters. Even so, I think anyone who proccesses through a stack of red-tape to ride a kiddie coaster should have the right to ride, no matter how far they drove to get to the park. The only issue I had, which was a small one, was that CP didn't have a way to make a formal request to ride a kiddy coaster.
In the end, we rode 15 of the 16 so I'm not going to loose any sleep over it. :) It truly was a great trip and an equally great park.
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