DISCLAIMER: This Trip Report contains Fright Lane Skeleton Key spoilers.
On Saturday, October 4th, my girlfriend and I took one of her best friends and her oldest son (age 13) to Cedar Point for our annual HalloWeekends visit with just the four of us. I looked back in this thread to find I didn't write a Trip Report for last year's visit, but to give you a brief summary: It poured all day. We got soaked. And we had so much FUN that we decided to make our HalloWeekends visit an annual tradition.
The weather forecast for this year's trip wasn't promising, with temps in the high-40s and a slight chance of rain showers later in the evening. We packed accordingly with several layers of clothes, hats, gloves and winter coats.
We arrived at 11:15am and noticed on our drive back to the Soak City parking lot that many of the rides were down or still testing. GateKeeper wasn't running, Raptor still had test dummies in its seats and Millennium Force wasn't open yet either. Blue Streak's queue was half full (more than we're willing wait for the ride), but we did notice Mantis and Maverick were up and running.
Maverick was our first destination since we waited 2+ hours for the ride to open during last year's trip, only to give up when the rain kept persisting. The posted wait time was 45 minutes but we only ended up waiting 30 minutes for an exhilarating first ride of the day. Strong winds made it a *tad* chilly once we reached the platform, but Maverick is always well worth it. It was our friend's first time on the ride and he loved it.
Our next stop was Skyhawk, which was a walk-on. I haven't seen a line for the ride since the cable snapping incident earlier this summer. I wasn't too concerned about getting on the ride, however, and we all had a blast on one of my favorite non-coasters at the park. A walk through Frontier Trail led us to explore the Barnyard, which was a pretty lively area. We stayed for 20 minutes and laughed our asses off when our guest had to clean goat poop off his shoe. We also ventured inside Fort Sandusky, where a souvenir shop containing leather-made items is located. Our friend purchased a really nice $22 leather wallet w/chain attached for my girlfriend's son. Among the other items available for purchase were hats, belts, leather iPhone cases and more.
By the time we reached Millennium Force, the line was 1hr & 45min long, so we decided to skip it. We struck out on Mantis too, which looked to have a 30-45 minute wait just judging by the queue line. Since we were all starting to get hungry, we decided to head back to the car and leave the park for lunch at the Thirsty Pony around 2pm. I love the novelty and atmosphere of the Thirtsty Pony, but I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going there for lunch since the food hasn't been the best during our most recent visits. I previously found the steak sandwich to be rather bland and the sirloin steak/frickers wing combo wasn't very impressive either. I gave the frickers wings another chance, however, as the three adults ordered draft beers (Blue Moon, Pumpkin Ale and an Octoberfest), a Spinach Artichoke Dip bread bowl appetizer and 30 wing platter for our meal. For our three wing sauces, we ordered Sweet Teriyaki, Lonely Pony Honey Garlic and Hot Garlic Parmesan. I really enjoyed all three, but highly recommend the Lonely Pony Honey Garlic. My girlfriend and her son engaged in a quick, but highly competitive game of bowling at the adjoining alley before we drove back to the park.
I made the mistake of over-eating at lunch and had to sit out while the other three rode Magnum. I shivered and shook for 20-25 minutes in the cold before they got off the ride, and since they were freezing too from the ride itself, we all stopped back at the car to layer up. I'm really glad we did, because the winds really picked up and the temperature noticeably dropped in the late afternoon/evening hours. It took two long-sleeved shirts, two hoodies, a winter jacket, hat and gloves for me to feel comfortable.
At 6pm, we made our way towards the front of the park to begin our rounds at the haunted houses and outdoor scare zones. On opening night of HalloWeekends -- -- which I detailed here via a Trip Report: http://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/31124.aspx?page=1#526112 -- we were given four complimentary Fright Lane & Skeleton Key passes due to a registration delay, but we never ended up using them since we had my girlfriend's 11 year old daughter with us during that event. I'm really glad we saved the Fright Lane passes since there was a full line at Zombie High School upon our arrival. I'll be honest -- I felt a tad guilty bypassing roughly 150 people in line who had probably been waiting there 30+ minutes at minimum. We walked right up to ZHS entrance, and that ended up being the case for every haunt that was included with the Fright Lane pass.
The 13 year old and I previously went through ZHS on opening night of HalloWeekends, but we were excited to go through again and see what the Skeleton Key room was all about. The SK room was located at the Homecoming Dance section of the house and we waited there for a good three or four minutes before we had the desired group size to enter. Once inside, the ZHS Homecoming King & Queen greeted us with a quick spiel in front of a wall of 12 lockers. Three volunteers in our group each picked a locker and had to eat or drink whatever was inside in order to "escape" the room alive. My girlfriend, her best friend and one other person not in our group courageously stepped up as volunteers. My girlfriend was the first to pick a locker (number 3) and wasn't too happy when she found a dead cricket in her hand. To my surprise, SHE ATE THE DAMN THING! It's not like anyone was putting a gun to her head, and knowing her, I was shocked she went through with it. Her best friend picked locker number 8 and inside was a small Dixie cup. Whatever was inside the cup was frozen, so ZHS King and Queen found a non-frozen concoction for him to drink. Whatever it was had a coagulated layer of film across the top and his facial expression upon drinking the shot even made me gag. He said afterward that he would've rather eaten the cricket. I didn't pay close enough attention to what the third person had to eat, but they passed it off to someone else in their party. I have to give major props to the ZHS Homecoming King and Queen for their acting ability and being very engaging and entertaining.
After a few laughs while my girlfriend pulled dead cricket legs out of her teeth, it was time for Bloodweiser and a ShockTop Pumpkin Ale from Hurricane Hannah's. I refrained from ordering one since I was the one driving home later that night, but the 13 year old and I treated ourselves to Yogurt Plus near Hexed haunted house. If you've never been to Yogurt Plus, it's a self-serving yogurt/sorbet station with an extensive toppings bar. You pay by the weight of your frozen treat, which was 79 cents per ounce at Cedar Point. I didn't load up on yogurt or toppings since I was still pretty full from dinner, but the total cost for both of us came to $14.76. My creation was a small serving of vanilla yogurt and chocolate yogurt with Kit Kat and Reese Cup toppings. Unfortunately, the Kit Kat topping was so stale that I couldn't even eat it! I went back and complained and the employee changed out the stale topping for something fresh. He allowed me to make something new, but I was pretty discouraged with how stale the Kit Kat topping was that I barely filled my new cup.
Hexed haunted house was the second stop on our Fright Lane tour. I was very impressed with the detail of this house on opening night and was excited to go back. The witch in the opening room didn't give us a spiel this time, however, and the Skeleton Key room full of mirrors was rather disappointing. The Screamster inside gave us an attitude when we didn't understand her instructions at first and the gimmick mirror (which slid down to have a Screamster pop out) was expected.
G.A. Boeckling's Eerie Estate was next and this was the house I was most excited for since I hadn't been there yet out of all the years I've been going to Cedar Point. It was cool to see the dining room where Boeckling's Banquet is hosted. I've always wanted to try the banquet due to the positive reviews I've read, but it's a bit pricey for what I can afford. EE's Skeleton Key room was the most thrilling one by far, as we were instructed to turn off our Skeleton Keys before going inside a pitch black room. We had to feel our way around the room for the Screamster who held the key to escape. In doing so, they messed with us by tickling our faces until we found her. Props to my girlfriend who found the Screamster and props to our friend who found his Skeleton Key in the pitch black room after it fell off his lanyard to the ground. We all wondered afterward how often the female Screamster inside the Skeleton Key room accidentally gets groped. I'd imagine it happens quite frequently, because you literally can't see anything in there.
It was approaching 8pm when all the outdoor scare zones were preparing to open. Blood on the Bayou was our next logical destination since it was closest in proximity. There was already a decent line forming that extended past Power Tower, so we decided to kill 10-15 minutes elsewhere before coming back. Across the way, I noticed that Iron Dragon was a walk-on, so we rode that. There was no line for Blood on the Bayou by the time we returned and we enjoyed the walk-through, as we always do. Two Screamsters in particular stand out to me every time I go through this haunt: the cop with the loudspeaker and the voodoo guy with the cane. Both are extremely entertaining and kudos to the guy who springs out at you from nowhere in one of best prop surprises in all the haunts at Cedar Point.
The three guys went through CarnEVIL while my girlfriend met us at the exit due to her overwhelming fear of clowns. This walk-through has so much potential with awesome props and some of the most terrifying looking Screamsters, but it always falls flat for me.
We were getting hungry again, so we did the Platinum Pass fry deal from Happy Friar on the Gemini midway and took a quick break. The line for Gypsy Fortune Tellers was too long, so we skipped it without much hesitation. Has anyone done it before? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Tombstone Terror-Tory was next, which was a lot better than the first time we went through it on opening night. That's probably because we got a lot more attention from the Screamsters this time around.
Before I get to Eden Musee, I must apologize for this potentially stupid question I'm about to ask. Who can tell me the correct way to pronounce Musee? Is it just like it's spelled? Like 'museum' without the 'um' or what? That's been driving me nuts... anyway... this haunted house has one of the best rooms in the whole park. Can you take a guess as to which room I'm referring to? Give yourself a prize if you guessed the room with the strobe lights. I legit get freaked every time I enter that room, and of course I was the first one through it out of our entire group! The Skeleton Key room was... interesting... to say the least. While the hosts of this particular skeleton key room were very engaging and playful, reaching inside the bowels of an animatronic fat person that's supposed to be covered in maggots and diarrhea -- no matter how fake it looked -- wasn't very appealing. I suppose the room did it's job in making me feel uneasy. Kudos to Cornelius, the Screamster inside the SK room who did well in his role too.
Cut Throat Cove was next. We love this walk-through for its views of Maverick under the fog and moon. We often have a tough time deciding which is better between it and Blood on the Bayou. I'd have to say BotB won this round as CTC appeared to be short on Screamsters this time through. The rifle sounds at the end always get me, even when it know it's coming. It's just so LOUD.
Moving onto Cornstalkers, which had a convenient Fright Lane entrance only a few steps away from CTC's exit. This walk-through always makes my girlfriend jump out of her shoes, as the Screamsters who blend in with the cornstalk walls startle her every time.
Eternity Infirmary was our last Fright Lane stop and I've always considered it to be the most unsettling haunt on the peninsula. This time, however, I couldn't help but laugh at the dirty diaper "calendar" in the Skeleton Key room. The "baby" inside asked me to rub his belly to get out of the room. It was a hilarious way to cap off our first-ever Fright Lane experience. I want to extend thanks to Tony for comping these passes for us, as it really made this trip to Cedar Point special!
A maniacal walk through Mechanical Screamworks around 10:20pm led us to Millennium Force. The line was still too long, so we took our "Last Stand" on Mantis. The ride was a walk-on and we obviously sat in the front row as the rain and wind gusts added a little something extra to the bittersweet experience.
We were hoping to catch the 11pm Skeleton Crew performance to close out the night, but it was canceled due to rain and a wet stage. The weather definitely played a factor throughout the day, mostly due to the cold, but we had an absolute BLAST and I felt incredibly fortunate that we were finally able to use the Fright Lane passes we received on HalloWeekends opening night. A single Fright Lane pass costs $75 on Saturdays and they're something that my family and I typically can't afford. To be able to get to every haunt and walk-through on a night where most people maybe saw 2 or 3 of the haunted houses made us feel very lucky. I will say that if you CAN afford to purchase a Fright Lane pass, it is WELL worth the money on a busy HalloWeekends night.
@RyanRufe
Moozsay, more easily pronounced while holding a baguette and sneering disdainfully.
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