10/4-10/5 Report

This was the only time I could get out to Cedar Point this year and really was excited to see all of the changes made to the front gate. I arrived at the park around 7:00. I purchased a Friday night ticket, but then decided to get the Platinum Pass for next year and use the free admission for the next day. The setup inside the processing center is very bizarre. It must get very chaotic in the room during peak pass processing times. The 2014 Platinum Pass and Season pass design look great this year. However, the bar-code on the back is already starting to come off. The processing probably took 20 minutes, the one of the longest waits I had that night.

Upon entering the park, the new gate really looks amazing. It is great to finally have something picture worthy at the front of the park. Everything Friday was either a walk-on up to a thirty minute wait. Wicked Twister felt to go much higher towards the top of the tower contrary to other years. It might have been I haven't been on the ride in a year. Next, we rode Gatekeeper. The ride looks great against the lake. The lights are awesome on the train. However, I really don't have anything positive to say about the ride itself. I rode the ride three times over the course of the weekend in different seats. Every time it was bumpy, boring, and force less. The capacity on the ride was pretty good, but if the ride operator ratio gets cut after a couple of years, it will definitely struggle to keep the numbers up. Lakeside Express looked very nice [looks new]. The only complaint I have about the area is it seems a bit minimal towards the entrance of the ride. After Gatekeeper, we rode Blue Streak, Raptor, Ocean Motion, Power Tower, Maverick [30 minute wait], Mean Streak [didn't know it was open Fridays], Magnum, Top Thrill Dragster, and Windseeker. All the rides were walk-ons. In addition to the rides, we went through Blood on the Bayou and saw the Sideshow: Carnival of Magic. The scenery in Blood on the Bayou looked great. The Sideshow was also pretty good, but the magician kind of ruined the show. Also had dinner at Chick-fil-a. The paint added over the off season is chipping like crazy.

We arrived at the park at 12:30 on Saturday. Nothing was operating because it was raining like crazy. We left around 3:00 and returned about 7:00 as it stopped raining. The park wasn't that crowded for a Saturday. I saw the Skeleton Crew show. It was okay, but nothing breathtaking. The Good Time Theater show was pretty good. My favorite however as usual was the Edge of Madness.

Here are a few things I noticed:

1. There were not as many decorations/ Halloween themed music as in the past.
2. The park seemed well staffed; there were quite a few ride prides.
3. The smoking was out of control. There is a problem when you smell like smoke after leaving the park.
4. There were quite a few security guards placed in the haunts. I don't remember this being the case in the past.

Overall, I had a very fun time @ Halloweekends.