7/21-23 2013

Hi all, I just got done with our annual trip to Cedar Point. I will try to break things down, and we had a good time, but I am going to be honest about somethings based on my experiences. Some good, others not as good.

First off, the weather. Monday was rainy, but not a wash out. Tuesday started to get a little windy as the day went on, so some rides did have to shut down, more notably Windseeker and Sky Ride. We got lucky, no thunderstorms.

Now for our hotel: we stayed at Breakers Express because Hotel Breakers was just too expensive for us this year. We go in the lobby, used to the operations that the Hotel Breakers do, and my first thoughts were, "This place is empty." I was used to us having to wait in line at the Hotel Breakers just checking in. Checking in this year was a "walk on", and because this place wasn't so busy, the employees were a bit more friendlier. The pool and whirlpool was more peaceful too. I will probably want to stay at Breakers Express from now on as a result, but I won't mind stopping over the lobby at the Hotel Breakers for a visit.

We were not in the park on Sunday, but all day Monday and Tuesday. As I mentioned earlier, Monday was rainy, but it didn't mean I couldn't do anything. Let me start off by saying I tried the Wicked Twister for the first time (15 minute wait in the morning). Please forgive me, I didn't like it. The sudden take off, going backwards, looking down. I feel sorry for the guy next to me, if I screamed any louder only dogs can hear me. I still have a scratchy voice as a result. Never riding it again. I hope you'll understand.

As rainy as it was, the crowds were unbelievable, and apparently, Cedar Point couldn't believe it either. They thought that not many people would show up. Therefore, on some coasters, only one train was running. You guessed it, lines got longer than they should. Gatekeeper, one train. Blue Streak, one train. Iron Dragon, one train. Even the Mine Ride, which 40 years ago my dad was able to walk on and off 30 times in a row because of a storm, took one hour. Stupid in my opinion.

Tuesday was not as crowded. Normal crowds no doubt, but not enough to make the trip unpleasant. Thanks to (I believe) Wicked Twister, I got worn out to early. By the afternoon, I didn't do a whole lot of riding. By the evening, I wanted to go back into the hotel.

And last but certainly not least, the entertainment. Of course, the Peanuts gang was throughout the park giving hugs and pictures to the kids as were a new group called The Beach Band; they could be found anywhere in the park playing songs and entertaining the crowd. Kudos to them for they're great job with entertaining the park and a great addition to the park. Luminosity this year was pretty good. Again, some things I liked some I didn't like. My aunt however, hated it and that's fine. I will say, the Broadway Show in Jack Aldrich theater (Centennial Theatre) was great. A lot of great parts from Luck be a Lady, to the Jukebox Songs from shows such as Mama Mia and Jersey Boys (after watching it a second time, you see a story in this little bit), to the costumes part of the show, and also songs such as Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera) and One Day More (Les Miz). I can't help as a single guy being intrigued by the part where all the girls sing He Had It Coming or whatever the name of that song is. All I can say is a personal code of mine: "How do you show interest, Bullwinkle?" Don't ask, it's an amusement park forum. I also liked how in the end the cast members greeted you on the way out the door. Perfect opportunity to congratulate them. I hope to see pictures online at Pointbuzz soon.

That is my trip report for 2013. Not the all time best year, but filled with new and unique stuff. Definitely a successful trip.

Coasters will run minimal units in rain (most it's one train.)Cedar Point likes to have as much capacity available to be used at anytime, the only times they will go down in units will be one of the following, Weather, Mechanical issues, or lack of riders. (Lack of riders happens at the end of the day when some rides are walk ons).

Justin Delbert said:
As rainy as it was, the crowds were unbelievable, and apparently, Cedar Point couldn't believe it either. They thought that not many people would show up. Therefore, on some coasters, only one train was running.

The one train operation had nothing to do with expected crowds. Ever since Magnum's accident a few years back many coasters fall back to one train operation as a safety precaution. As annoying as the long slow lines are it is better than the coasters being completly closed.

Justin: Nice report and I'm glad you had fun.

Both this spring and last fall we noticed that when MS was in rain mode with only one train, the trims at the top of the first hill did not go on and we had an awesome fast ride, even with air time. We rode it 4x in a row for the 1st time, too rough otherwise. Anyone else have a trimless ride in rain mode on MS? I don't know if it is routine to lose the trims during rain mode or if we just got lucky few times.

Thanks!