Associated parks:
None
This is not a complete report just some highlights of the weekend.
Friday, Oct 11! Cedar Point
Left MSP at 8:20 am, arrived at CVG earlier than scheduled so it was a quick trip to a gate agent to see if the earlier flight to TOL was an option and it was. Within 15 minutes I was on another CRJ headed to Toledo, in row 1! Nothing to exciting except that the flight attendant stored the bottled water in the overhead bin over my seat, when she opened it 4 loose bottles fell out and hit me. Ok have a few bottles on us! First time being that close to the flight deck.
Picking up rental car was quick and easy, there is a lot of construction in front of the airport to deal with. Arriving in Sandusky 2 hours early allowed a food stop at Steak and Shake. Choices to order a big meal or not.. Ok need to get on Wicked Twister so small servings are in order.
Checked into Breakers Express, overall a good experience however my room is next to a elevator shaft! Attempted to get a nap with little success due to activity and overall excitement.
The clock showing 5:00 I decided to take a drive down the Causeway to the parking troll booth and leaving behind $8 I secure a front row parking spot or as close to front row as possible in the lot.
Knowing that at my home park, Valleyfair! wanted season pass holders from the other parks to walk through Guest Relations I headed there. The person behind the counter wrote down all the info onto the magic form and had me wait the next 10 min in the office until the early admission opening. During this time we had some interesting discussions about the park and my home park.
5:30 came, the national anthem was played and they ejected me out the other door, as if I could not have made a run out of it on my own early.. However the security guards on the other side of the door probably would not have approved.
Headed right for MF, passing by Raptor where a lot of guests where stopping. Managing to get some back seat rides in under walk on conditions was nice, overall got in 5 rides before the queue became too long. Being there are other coasters available I head off towards Wicked Twister.
On my last visit to Cedar Point in May I did not ride WT due to failing at the test seat.
At that time I was coached by the height checker as to several tricks on how and where to pull down to get some leverage but had no success in getting that buckle fastened.
Looking back I probably should have tried it on the real train.
Upon walking up to the entrance I noticed the test seat was missing the required buckle and upon quizzing the line guard got a comment of the test seat is now on the train in the station, now go up and try it. With no line I walked onto a middle seat fully expecting to be sent walking out. Well sitting on a train does offer some more encouragement to the pulling down and attempting to get that buckle fastened. Well I was not able to get it fastened myself, however a helpful attendant was able to get it latched while I pulled down in the magic spot.
First ride, well it did not impress me that much however I'm willing to give it a few more tries with the near walk on conditions. Overall I rode it about 4 more times in the back, with little difficulty after learning the loading tricks. Ok, back rows are much better!
Walking back towards Magnum, stopping at Power Tower for a visual inspection of a construction area. By this time it was getting dark, so night nights on Magnum 1.3 & back occurred countless times! I suspect the brakes where off and it was running fast and rough. I still like this ride.
Walking back towards the front of the front of the park in hopes of some Raptor time, I find it was DDM.
Go back for a few more MF rides, then Magnum and before long the night was over.
Raptor did come back up later however it had a good-sized line.
Staying at Breakers Express was a good deal being so close and with the early admission.
Saturday Oct 12, Weather: Too Nice!!
10:50 am Same person was at GR who was trying to talk me out of SFWoA the next day citing all the common slow lines poor service etc and that I would have a lousy time!
This morning there is almost no crowds at the start so I head to Raptor, grabbing the front row for the first ride of the day. Well the crew is hosing off a lot of bugs off the front seats! After this short delay I was ready for dispatch with a crew having fun on the PA about not screaming and eating bugs, however we are told the bugs are high in protein if we do decide to have a snack. The flying insect population was defiantly a factor, so much for more front seat rides! On to the back right for a few more rides, in all problem another 5 before the crowd comes over and fills the queue. So its off to find another coaster. In the un crowded back of the park I head for Mean Streak just in time to hear the dreaded words of we are down due to mechanical difficulties. 20 min later still down so I figure that I should be able to go ride Gemini and Magnum a few times and return to a small line, well upon return I find 1 hour line posted, soon even Gemini has a line out onto the midway! Where did everyone come from? Seems that everyone in Ohio has come to the point on this very nice fall day. Hearing that Wicked Twister never gets a line, I head over there since I have not tried out the front seat. After 50 minutes I was sitting in the front seat pulling down OTSR and managed to get seatbelt closed without assistance. On this ride, the dispatch cycle was slow and I noted over 3 riders being sent out the exit before the ride started. Front seat defiantly offers a different effect on the first tower.
At this point the park was very crowded, so I went out to the rental car and got my digital camera and spent several hours taking about 130 high-resolution pictures of the park as I walked around. This is when I realized that the park was really packed, busy and I picked the wrong weekend for a visit. I returned back to car around 6:30 to place the loose article aka camera back in car.
I managed to get probably 5 more rides on Raptor Wicked Twister and Magnum before the park closed. I just had to wait in lines that reminded me of the time I came in July! Cedar point does a excellent job on keeping lines moving, so it was bearable.
On the way out, the same person was still working at Guest Relations, she happened to spot me on the way out and waved me over, still trying to talk me out of SFWoA.
Sunday Oct 13 SFWoA: Weather Cool, forecast Cold.
Left Breakers Express about 8:30 headed for Solon, OH to find the hotel and then proceed to the park. I found the Days Inn Solon, to my surprise the manager offered a early check in as there was several empty rooms available. Everything was going good until I missed a turn on the way to the park, luckily I had looked at some maps of the area earlier in the day and found my way.
Parked in a almost empty parking lot, nice and close..
Now being I do not have a Six Flags Season Pass things get interesting. I have a 2 for 1 coupon but no second person. No one is buying tickets, talk to GR and a ticket seller with no luck. It looks like I will have to pay full price, will reluctantly digging out $40 up comes a group of 3 to buy tickets. A mom and 2 kids, Mom decided that the 3rd person should still be 1/2 price! She ignored me at first but the ticket seller suggested that she should listen to me for 30 seconds, now we where both happy. I just put $21 on the counter and told her to keep the change..
After passing through the turnstile past the metal detector and inside the park, waiting for that rope to drop, what to ride first? Is there any question!
Xflight my first flying coaster! After a quick walk with a small crowd, I'm soon reclining in the station in the back row. Having heard about how this coaster empties ones pockets I had left almost everything in the trunk of the car and secured everything else. It was interesting to heard all the loose change fall out of pockets, and the words of those who just lost all there change. Up the lift hill and roll over, I was surprised on how comfortable the train actually is to ride. Xflight is the first coaster to earn the honor of getting me disoriented while on its track. Upon returning to the station, I have decided it's a hit worthy of a reride! While after several re rides I now experience something different. Traveled 8 feet out the station and stopped! Well Xflight now is on the small list of coasters that I have been stuck on! 10 min later maintenance has cleared the problem and re-dispatched the train. Line is now somewhat long so move next door to Superman Ultimate Escape.
Xflight: I want one closer to me! After 20+ rides through the day and finishing up on it at night it's a real interesting ride. However it left sore shoulders till about Thursday! But it was worth it!
Superman: Ultimate Escape, ok after the tight fit on Wicked Twister I had questions on if I would be able to ride. Walking up to the gate, I notice seatbelt buckles are 2 holes tighter. Yikes this is probably not going to work! Getting onto the back seat, its not going to work I tell the loader, reponse was yes I think it will. He knows exactly where to push on the OTSR with very little effort to get a lot of leverage and I'm on. Got to stay on for a ride, more like I really do not want to push down again. Walk around again for a front seat ride, front is better. I like the LIM holding break effect over the twist on WT better! Over the day I managed to get about 8 rides
Only crew that I had a complaint with was Villain, with a line out the station and almost to the midway here is a coaster with the center cars blocked off, very slow moving line and the crew was more interested in talking on the phone than dispatching trains. This was disappointing as I really liked the front seat ride and would have loved to ride the back, however I was not willing to wait 30 min for another ride that should have been a 10 minute wait with a slight bit more effort on the crews part.
Other rides that I experienced in no order, most I rode several times
Rode Double loop, ok it's a arrow!
Batman Knight Flight
Mind Eraser
Serial Thriller
Big Dipper
Texas Twister, probably got 8 rides with several "interesting" re-rides.
Mr Hydes Free Fall
Silver Bullet
Did not visit the animal side due to rides being a walk on for the most part!
Only problem with a employee who decided that she was going to give me $4 in dollar coins instead of paper, I had to point out that I did not want to contribute to the Xflight station fund.
Evening cooled off, experienced windchill while riding coasters! All the locals decided that 2 sweatshirts and a jacket. Being from Minnesota, I was only wearing 1 lightweight sweatshirt and was comfortable most of the time.
Crowds, what crowds? I think most of the guests where in the haunted houses.
Overall on this trip Cedar Point was ok, Six Flags was great! Had there been a crowd at SFWoA I might be saying differently.
Jerry Dorf
jerryd@jerryd.net
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