Well, the days finally came and went, and much too fast. Me, my fiancee, and my parents were up from Texas visiting family in northern Indiana so me, my fiancee, and my mom made a little side trip over to the Point. I've been excited about this day since last summer when they announced the Millennium Force. This was my first trip to the Point since '95 when the Raptor was the new thing, so I got to try out 3 new major rides with MF, Mantis, and Power Tower.
7/10
Due to the time zone, we had to leave Indiana at 5:30am to be able to make it by opening. We stopped and got some donuts and were on the road. We got to the park right at 9:00. We drove around and parked in the Soak City lot and lined up to get our tickets. The line went pretty fast and we were in the park in about 20 minutes. Keep in mind that my fiancee has ridden no other coasters than what we have available at Six Flags Over Texas, and this year is her first time to ride any coasters. I am limited in past experiences to SFoT, CP, Walt Disney World, Silver Dollar City, and Opryland USA.
I was just kidding, but when we got in the park, I suggested we ride Magnum first. To my surprise, my fiancee said yes, so, that's what we did. The queue was closed and the line was to the rest rooms, so we got in line. The queue opened and we were done with the ride by 10 till 10:00. This ride still has it! My poor fiancee was so scared going up the lift. I was trying to show her the sights some, but she wouldn't look. hehe I have a method of never being stapled, so I had my bar pretty loose. I just LOVE the air on this ride! Wonderful! My fiancee about killed me after the ride since I started her on such a big ride, but she loved it anyhow. A woman after my own heart.
We then walked over and took a spin on Corkscrew. We had about a 2 train wait. I'll always like this ride. It was much smoother than I remember from years past. Maybe it's just because I'm taller than the restraints now, but I had really no headbanging in the corkscrews like I remember. I got some pretty good air over the second hill too. Good ride, even after all these years.
We decided to walk around and see what the MF lines looked like. I don't know if it was the TTR line or what, but the line stretched all the way back to the bridge by the swan boats. Forget that!
We went for a spin on CCMR. I'm always a fan of mine trains, since my home park has the very first one ever built. We had a 1 train wait. I like this ride a lot. Nice and smooth. For some reason the trains are more comfortable than the ones at SFoT. Maybe it's the padded bars that help, but being 6' tall, it's hard to get totally comfortable in these trains. Even though, I still enjoy it. Good as ever!
Next up was Mean Streak (Squeak!). Man, why has such a gorgeous coaster been done so wrong? Whether it's fair or not, I always compare the MS to the Texas Giant since they are from the same builders and similar height and ages. Those brakes on the first drop just totally destroy the ride! Man, I thought we were going to stop. Since the ride is so slow, it's not as rough as the Giant, but that's the only thing it has going for it. It is just so slow. I was too bored to keep my hands up. My mom and fiancee enjoyed it, though. So, I guess a lot of the general public will too.
We went to go ride Gemini, but it was closed, so we walked around and got in line for Mantis. The line was about 45 minutes. I didn't think that was too bad. The ops seemed to be doing a good job and weren't stacking too bad. They were pretty energetic too. I think they were one of the best crews at the park on this trip as far as getting the crowds hyped up. This was my first ever stand up coaster experience and only my 3rd B&M coaster. I kind of felt sorry for a guy that was loading in the train ahead of us. He was a little on the large side (looked like Tony Soprano from the HBO show Sopranos). The poor girl ride op was trying to get the harness down over him so she could buckle the belt, but could only come within about 2". He had to skip the ride. He didn't throw a fit or anything and got off with a smile, but you could see the disappointment in his eyes. I think the ride op felt bad too. Oh well. Anyways...We got on and I used Jeff's suggestion of putting my feet all the way back. I liked the ride, but I didn't love it. I'll ride it at least once every visit, but that's about it. I prefer to sit down. Very fun, nonetheless.
Our next stop was Iron Dragon. I don't care how bad people put this ride down, I really, really enjoy it. It's the only Arrow suspended I've ever ridden and I really like the swinging sensation. Does the 1st lift always go that slow? It came to a near stop on the way up every time we rode it on our trip. I think this is one of my mom's favorite rides at the park and my fiancee really enjoys it too.
We strolled over to the sky ride to hitch a ride up to the front of the park. This was a new experience for my fiancee too. It was funny to watch her get scared when the car went over the wheels on the towers. It freaked her out a bit. hehe
We were hungry, so we got some fries before we headed to Raptor. We got in line and had about a 45 minute wait. We had some light sprinkles off and on while waiting. I now remember why I liked this ride so much 5 years ago! My other B&M inverted experience is Batman at SFoT, and that just does not compare to Raptor! Raptor's elements are spaced out better and not as intense as Batman, which is a good thing. Excellent ride! I think it's my mom's favorite. My fiancee got a kick out of it too!
Next up was Blue Streak. This ride is always a nice surprise. It's always nice to have a walk-on also. For a little 36 year old woodie, this ride can pack a pretty good punch. Nice air and some pretty good speed for such a small ride.
Cedar Downs is always a good favorite and is the coolest carousel ride ever built, so we did it next. I won!
We walked over to Disaster Transport next. The A/C felt sooo wonderful, and it was only about a 15 minute wait. Has this ride always had the 2-abreast cars? I always remember the log ride-style seats like they have on the bobsled cars of La Vibora at SFoT. Oh well, I like these better. I really don't care what people say about it, I enjoy it. The only negative things I can say are, yeah, it's ugly from the outside, especially if they're doing the boardwalk project in that area and yeah, the capacity isn't all that great. Other than that, I really enjoy it. It's a much better ride than La Vibora at SFoT.
We left DT and made the long walk over to the Space Spiral. Why don't they put A/C in this thing? Man! I bet that thing can get hot! If it weren't for that, I could stay up there and look around all day long. One thing really cool I noticed was a floral arrangement in the middle of the main midway...it was the Millennium Force logo all done up in flowers and was angled as if it were done especially for Space Spiral riders. Neat, huh?
Next we headed to Ocean Motion. As we were riding, it began to rain. No good. It was raining pretty good by the time we got off. So, we headed over to the dive show and waited the rain out and enjoyed the show. The show was pretty good, but after it was over, all the divers just started playing around and having fun. I think that was better than the actual show.
The rain stopped, and I had been eyeing Power Tower all day long, so we went over there next. We decided on the Space Shot side. Just before we boarded, the skies opened up. This is my first S&S ride experience. I like how they're proud of themselves and put their name on the seats and restraints. You don't see that much. We strapped in and sat and waited in the rain for the launch. BOOM! We're off!! I LOVE this ride!! We shot up the tower with the rain stinging our legs. That is one heluva view from up there! On the way down, we were falling so fast that the rain was going up! That is COOOL!! I want one of these in my backyard!
After riding Power Soaker, we decided to leave and wait the rain out. It was about 4:00, so we drove out to Breakers Express and got checked in and threw our clothes and shoes in the dryers. Then we drove in for dinner at Steak N Shake. We headed back to the park around 6:00 and were seeing blue skies breaking over the park!
We went over and rode Gemini first. This has always been one of my favs since my first visit in '84 when me and my dad did marathon runs until they found out I was too short. The ride is still as wonderful as ever and I love the smoothness! We rode the red train. We lost.
Next up was the Force! There's no time like the present! The queue was filled back to the vending machines and they were running 2 trains. Blue was on the transfer track. After about 45 minutes, we were about 2 rows from the ramp when the trains both started dragging over the top of the lift. Then they started dragging the bottom too. Before long, they pulled 1 train (yellow) and then the red started draggin all the way up the lift. They shut the ride down. An op came out and said it could be 5 minutes or it could be all night. They didn't know. A lot of people bailed. At about 8:45, after inhaling a ton of cigarette smoke and watching a very civilized young man relieve himself off the ramp, we bailed also. We would be back tomorrow, so it was no big deal, even though I would have liked to have gotten a night ride.
We did some shopping, went to go ride the Giant Wheel, but it was closed. Then we got in line for the Turbo Drop side of Power Tower. After about a 30 minute wait, we loaded up. We started climbing and climbing and climbing and climbing...and climbing. Finally, we were at the top. OH MY GOD!! Sitting up there, hanging 260' in the air with your feet dangling below you and being able to see nothing but lights is a crazy feeling! The anticipation is insane! This is the closest I've ever been to being scared on a ride! AMAZING! My fiancee was talking to me, and all of a sudden we're being shot down! She and I both, "HOOOLYYYY SSS*********!!!!!" THAT is what I call an exciting ride!
After that exhilirating experience, we went to go check out Giant Wheel, which happened to be closed anytime we wanted to ride all day. Again, it was closed. We grabbed a couple of souveniers and walked back to Wildcat. This is a cool little Schwarzkopf ride. Anton is a master of building compact steel coasters. We never rode this back in '95 because the lines were always too long, and with the low capacity of this one, I'm not up for waiting in too long of a line. We only waited about 10 minutes this night. This ride surprised my fiancee. She was thinking it would be a bum ride. hehe I love it!
We decided to take 1 last ride on Gemini before we left for the night. Always a great ride in the dark! I think we lost again this time. It was now 11:00, so we left for the hotel.
7/11
We checked out of the hotel and went for breakfast. It's really disappointing that Breakers Express doesn't even serve a continental breakfast. With the rates they charge, they should. Anyhow, I hate McDonald's breakfast, so we went to Coasters across the street. "Nobody's here. Cool. We'll get good service." Whatever! I ordered french toast and country fries. My mom and fiancee both ordered pancakes. I got my french toast about 5 minutes before my mom got her pancakes. After some talking and head scratching by the employees, my fiancee finally got her pancakes and I got my country fries. My fiancee took 2 bites of her pancakes and bit into raw batter! Gross! What is that crap all about!? We got a refund for them and left. So, now we know, NEVER eat at Coasters!
We got to the Soak City lot about 8:45 and got in the ticket holder line which stretched back nearly to the tunnel under Magnum. Once they opened the gates, we were in the park in about 5 minutes. We headed toward Millennium Force. By the time we got near it, we noticed they were already running full trains. The line was back a little past the tunnel. The line was moving pretty good, and in no time at all we were in the queues. They were running 2 trains still this morning. Even though, the line moved along pretty well. After about an hour, we were at the top of the ramp watching the trains fly by 5' away from us! WOW! That is cool! We got in the 4th car 2nd row. My fiancee was in the left seat and I was in the right. I kept my lapbar loose, but the ride op stapled her. She about freaked going up the lift because she saw nothing but water and Sandusky off to her left. That is sooo cool! That 45* lift is amazing! Over the top we go, "OH MY! WHERE DID THE TRACK GO!?" WOW!! This ride is so amazing! I got a good 4-5 seconds of air over the Magnum hill and the return hill! I could almost swear that when criscrossing the track on the island that you could touch some of those supports. I got another good 2 seconds of air over the bunny hop too! We got off and I was nearly without a voice. I want one of these rides! We bought the pic. My mom was in the TTR line and got me a ticket for 2-3. Whatever. I'm not riding solo without my fiancee. She wanted to go again very badly.
Next we took another spin on Iron Dragon. We rode in the front car this time because I like the swing you get on the final brake run. So did my fiancee.
We finally got to ride Giant Wheel. I like big ferris wheels. The view is so cool from up there.
We just kind of strolled around for a while and got a couple souveniers including a copy of "Cedar Point: Queen of American Watering Places" for myself. We walked back and caught another ride on Gemini. Blue train. We lost.
Then we headed for White Water Landing. I'm not a water ride person, but I can handle log/flume rides like this because you don't get totally soaked. That dang moving floor nearly got to me when we got off the ride though. hehe
We grabbed a bite to eat and then rode the Wave Swinger. We walked around the Frontier Trail and checked out some of the shops and started making our final plans for the day, since we couldn't stay till closing since we had to drive back to Indiana.
It was in my 2-3 time slot, so we walked by MF just to check it out. The queue was filled past the vending machines. Yep. Looks like TTR is really working to me! Idiots!
We headed for a final ride on Magnum. We waited about 30 minutes to get on. I love this baby! It's my 2nd favorite ride of all time. We rode 3rd car 3rd seat. My fiancee was able to look around this time and enjoy the ride a bit more too, since she knew what to expect. I had my lap bar very loose and got some major air on this ride! Some genius female in the 1st car was wearing hear glasses on top of her head and, well, Magnum claimed them. The smoke was working in the final tunnel today. That was a cool treat. On our return trip we got stopped on the brakes just after the bunny hills because there was a train in the station still and one on the final brakes. We heard crying behind us when we stopped. We turned around and this poor little girl was crying her head off. She was so scared. I think she was mad at her mom for making her get on. I felt sorry for her, but it was kinda funny at the same time. We got off and I was actually going to buy the photo. Everyone was standing around saying they couldn't find their pic and all this while the girls behind the counter just stood there. Finally, one of the girls pulled her head out and said they were having problems and that what you see is all they got. Dangit! I wanted a Magnum pic! Oh well.
We headed over for a final ride on Gemini. Blue train. We won!
I wanted to finish the day in a big way, so we headed to MF. This time they were running all 3 trains! Sweet! When we first got in line, 2 guys behind us were talking to their buds up about 20 people ahead of us in line. They were contemplating getting up there with their friends. After listening to them talking to each other behind me for about 5 minutes and one of them finally saying, "Dude, we gotta get up there!", I finally turned around and spoke my mind. "Why don't you have them come back here to you? I don't think that everyone between here and there would appreciate it if you took it upon yourselves to go up there." I never heard anything about it the rest of the wait. After about 90 minutes, we were there! We were hoping and hoping for the luck of the draw. We got stopped at the turnstiles, yes! No, wait, they need 2 more people. Dang! Wait a minute! Can it be? Yes! 1st car 2nd seat! Close enough for us! This ride is so much better the second time around. It's so much better in the 1st car! Again, I had my bar loose and my fiancee got stapled. The view is amazing! I love it! I definately recommend wearing eye protection on this thing, especially in the front car. I wore my shades on both rides. My fiancee's eyes got pretty dried out. I think the girls in front of me were drooling because I felt some wetness hitting my face. ick! I think I was too. When I got off, I had NO voice left! MF is just so powerful! I can't wait till my next trip.
After our final ride, we met back up with my mom and got a few more souveniers before we left. It's always sad when I leave the Point. I almost want to cry when I do. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back again next year.
This was my best trip to the Point ever. I was 18 on my last trip 5 years ago, and I've matured a lot over those years. I've realized the CP charm and it's stronger than ever with me. I've had trips to CP in '84, '90, '95, and now '00. I miss a lot of the old stuff like the Frontier Lift, the unenclosed Avalanche Run, the big slide that was in Bernstein Bear Country (I guess?), and, most of all, the Pirate Ride. Even with the missing attractions, it's still CP and it still has the charm. I've talked the park up and hyped it a lot to my fiancee and hoped she wouldn't be disappointed. She wasn't. She too has experienced the magic on that peninsula. I'll try to make it a yearly thing from now on if at all possible to visit the Point.
Thanks for reading,
Jason
Cool report. I was there the same two days!
Only got 1 ride on MF though. We were in line when that big rain on the 10th came. We got right into the loading station as they announced they were shutting down until the weather cleared. They already had people lined up for the next train and we were about 4 or 5 back in line for the train after that. The rain eneded up lasting about an hour and in that time the exact number of people decided not to wait. MF reopened to cheers all around and with our group first in line for the second train to run. Guaranteed first car in the rain!!! WOOO HOOO! Needless to say it was great. The only ride I'll get this year and I nailed front seat in the rain.
Somebody loves me.
No CP_bound, I didn't make it to Fun Spot. I wanted to go check it out and see what kind of stuff they have there as well as add the Afterburner and whatever else they have to my count. I did drive by one night and look out of boredom, but that's as close as I got. Oh well, maybe next year. ;)
LoL Nut, no I didn't. I'm just real attentive and remember lots of details.