A 600 Pound Gorilla: June 29, 2005

So, it was my first and hopefully not last trip to Cedar Point this year. We (as in my dad, sister, cousin and I) awoke at about 5:30, packed 2 coolers filled with bagels, ham, and Wild Cherry Pepsi, and drove the 2 and a half hour trip to the Point. We arrived at about 9:15. Taking all of the Pointbuzzers and Coasterbuzzers tips, we parked in the Soak City lot (which was basically empty.) After a quick breakfast of bagels with ham, we got to the back gate just as the National Anthem ended. The gates opened, and we were off.

First off, (after a trip to the bathroom and to stop & stare at a Top Thrill Dragster rollback) was Iron Dragon for my sister. It was weird being in the front row on the first train out, but you know, it was fun. My cousin and I hopped over to the Wildcat, but it
closed down just as we were entering the line. Aw well, we would hit it later.

A nice walk past Mantis (which my dad says sounds just like a tornado), past Millennium Force, through the tunnel under Millennium Force's track, and over the bridge by Snake River Falls led us to yet another one of my sisters favorite rides: the Wave Swinger. I absolutely hate these, but decided that I needed a thrill, so got on. I quickly remembered why I hated those things.

A walk-on to Cedar Creek Mine Ride was next, and I have to say, the one position lap bars suck. I have decently large thighs, and it was a TIGHT fit. Needless to say, a good ride just to put your hands up and scream for no other reason just to have fun.

By that time, my sister and dad wanted more food, so at Gemini we split up. Mike (my cousin) and I went up to Gemini's platform, and had a four train wait. (Only the red train was running, but both trains were testing earlier in the morning.) This was my first time on Gemini, but let me tell you, the pop of air after the second turn was brutal. I hate airtime, so I don't like that feeling. Anyway, I still had fun, and this will be a ride I have to do each time I come back.

Mike and I were hungry by then, so we went back to the car for munchies. We looked at my 2004 souvenir map for directions and decided that the front of the park was next. A decent sized walk and a walk-on Sky Ride ride led us to the Raptor freeway booth and then to Disaster Transport. The wait was roughly 20 minutes, but it was dark and air conditioned. DT is a pretty tame ride, but I noticed that in the middle of one of the helixs was something that resembled the giant machine digger thing in Matrix Revolutions. Odd.

We split up yet again. My sister and Mike wanted to ride the Giant Wheel (not enough money in the world to get me on that), so I went to the line for maXair. My dad went to get some water for us. Let me tell you, the line for maXair extended way out, practically next to Chaos. However, it was not more than a 20 minute wait. A weird thing happened to me while in line, though. In the waiting que (where you are assigned a number) I bent down to tie my shoes. Oddly enough, my shoes say "maxair" on them. Yes, I know. Strange.

maXair is something else. It is a very smooth ride, and the view is incredible from up there. However, the spin motion was odd in the fact that you would be facing one direction going up, and facing a totally different direction going back down. I was in Seat 12, and it was intense. That was a wonderful choice that Cedar Fair made to put that in.

The time was now about 1:15, and I wanted to get to the Top Thrill Dragster freeway booth by 1:30 (the booth doesn't open until 2:00) so I could get a stamp. Since we had time, a ride on the Scrambler (which was really hauling!) and the Matterhorn were in order.

Well, my dad, sister and cousin went to sit on the bleachers by TTD and watch a few trains launch while I went to get a TTD stamp. Oh. My. God. Arriving at 1:30, I thought that there wouldn't be anyone waiting for a stamp. How wrong I was. The line was about 100 people deep.

I quickly jumped in line, having a conversation with someone about rides. The second I got my stamp (for between 5-6) an announcement came on that Top Thrill Dragster was closed. Noooooo! Aw well. I just hoped it would open up later.

Water rides were next. Got ripped of at the lockers, and rode Thunder Canyon. Got blasted, but no one else did, so they got back in line. Me, I took the key to the lockers (my shoes were in there) and walked to White Water Landing. A nice flume ride, walk-on, all that stuff. I stopped for a large Cherry Icee (4 bucks... what a jib) and ran into my friend Kristi. We split the Icee (I'm so nice) and after talking to her for about 10 minutes, it was time to head back to the exit of Thunder Canyon. On the plus side, I saw Top Thrill Dragster launch with people on it. Good sign for later. Got there just as they were walking out.

Being wet, Mike and I decided to walk back to Iron Dragon and Wildcat. Stopped by the test seat at Millennium Force, and, lo and behold, I couldn't fit. I fit last year in August,but not now. I needed another quarter of an inch to buckle the damn thing, and even if I sucked it in, there was no way I could of gotten the slack. Aw well. Maybe next time. Waited two trains for front row on Iron Dragon, then walked over for a 5 minute wait for Wildcat. For a jerky as the turns are on that thing, the drops are very smooth.

By now, it was nearing 5:00, and I wanted to use my TTD stamp. Mike wanted lemonade, so while he was doing that, I hopped on Corkscrew. Good lord, running 3 trains is a joke. I waited longer on the brakes than the length of the actual ride. Bah. The seat belts were okay, but it nailed me in the face upon exiting. I wont be riding that any time soon.

We met up with my dad and sister at the bleachers, and I took the slow walk to Top Thrill Dragster. I was shaking with fear. The tallest and fastest coaster I have ever ridden was Magnum. I show the stamp to the guy, and got to skip a whole que of people who were giving me dirty looks. Entering the packed station, I made my way to the front. Being a single rider has its perks, and I skipped about 7 pairs of people waiting for the front. I was with some nice dude named Shawn, and he was here with his wife and best friend. He has never ridden TTD before, and neither have I. He told me the only thing he wanted to do was ride it with his hands up. Anyway, we sat down and the guy operating the ride was making the "Arms down" noise over and over and another op said in a funny voice "Are you almost done?" It was funny. I sat in the front right seat, and something weird happened. The op bucked my belt AND pulled the slack. Is this normal? I thought that was against the rules.

Finally, we pulled out of the station. My dad, sister, and cousin were laughing their asses off at my scared facial expression. Before this ride, I counted how many seconds after the
brake fins went down, and it was exactly 5. So, ever so slowly, the break fins went down, and I slowly counted. "One... two... three..." I never said anything more.

This is where my thread title comes into play. I think I have found a way to recrete the feeling of the ride. First, have a 600 pound gorilla sit on your chest while having an
industrial fan blowing at you full power for about 4 seconds. Have the gorilla get up, and slowly turn the fan down for 3 more seconds. Look at a small picture of Millennium Force for a second and a half, then remove the picture and turn up the power of fan again for another 4 seconds. Stop the fan and volia- instant Top Thrill Dragster.

Since I big talked about riding it and went through with it, my dad bought me a picture of myself on TTD. Woo. We were all hungry, so we decided to try something new: Midway Market. Be on the lookout for Tommy, our waiter from Poland. He was the nicest guy we have ever met. My Mountain Dew never got below half-full before he came and filled it back up. Awesome.

My cousin looked miserable. He had a headache, so he opted out on Raptor while my dad went back to the car to get some Moltrin. Raptor was about a 10 minute wait, my Freeway stamp expired about 10 minutes ago, but the lady still let me use it. I didn't really need it, the freeway point was about the longest the line was. Anyway, an extra 5 minutes for the front seat, and once again, being a single rider has its advantages. I got on with 3 other people, and the guy was nice. They were manual spieling on Raptor, and the girl was funny. Raptor from the front is something everyone in their life should experience. Ah... my favorite ride in the park.

We met my dad at Speed Freaks (or Speed Zone, whatever it is called) for a T-Shirt (once again, it was because I rode TTD) and then hopped on Iron Dragon. Got off, and was immediately POUNDED by raindrops. Not small ones, mind you, but quarter sized drops. Even though the rain was coming down HARD, Iron Dragon and Power Tower (?!?) were still running! Is this normal??? We decided, even though it was only 8, it was time to call it an early day. Of course, the rain stopped and the sun came out as we passed by Magnum. We asked somebody to take a photo of all of us, and we got in the car to go home.

All in all, my best day ever at Cedar Point. I rode so much I never thought that I would. Although, I think I am done with Top Thrill Dragster. Just the launch was enough to make it a one time ride. Someone once said that Top Thrill Dragster was a one-trick pony. That may be so, but it is one DAMN good trick.

Sounds like you had a great time!!!

nesdude said:
A nice walk past Mantis (which my dad says sounds just like a tornado)

Which would explain why it was originally named "Banshee" :)

nesdude, it takes you 2 and a half hours to get to the park? Which way do you take? I come from Lansing, and it takes me the same amount of time to get to CP as it took you, and you are closer!

CP will generally run rides in the rain as long as there isn't any lightning. Wildcat generally goes down immediately.

Glad you had a great trip, hope you can make it down again. Glad you enjoyed MaXair. I agree, it is a great addition to the park.

Jillly: My greatest day at Cedar Point.

raptorqueen: Since the I-280 fiascio, we wanted to avoid that. We took I-23 all the way to the Ohio Turnpike, and then followed the signs to Cedar Point. Which way do you take?

raptorqueen: It takes me 2 1/2 hrs, but we're roughly the same disntance away. The distance for him sounds pretty accurate.

nesdude: Sounds exactly like my first time on May 15th in the morning. :)
*** Edited 7/1/2005 1:37:00 AM UTC by Cedar Dan***

I live downriver, Lincoln Park, I can get there in under 2 hours, taking I75 all the way to the turnpike. I normally take I280 and that takes me an hour and a half.

Disaster Transport also goes down for rain.

raptorqueen said:
nesdude, it takes you 2 and a half hours to get to the park? Which way do you take? I come from Lansing, and it takes me the same amount of time to get to CP as it took you, and you are closer!

I've ridden with you, and I can definitely say it takes 3 hours from Lansing if you follow the speed limit. :)

bholcomb said:

I've ridden with you, and I can definitely say it takes 3 hours from Lansing if you follow the speed limit. :)

We took that god-forbidden route 96-275-75-280-2. That takes 3 hours. Taking 96-23-turnpike-4, takes 2 hours, 35 minutes (that includes a quick stop for some much needed Mountain Dew in Maumee). I think I am going to stick with the turnpike from now on.

Speed limit??? Wasn't the speed limit 120 mph??? OPPS!

Like your car would do 120. :P
*** Edited 7/1/2005 7:54:57 AM UTC by bholcomb***

Got any first time to the POINT tips for me Nesdude? I'm going July 11th, and I wanna make the best out of the one day I have in the park.

Hmm... park in the Soak City lot. That way, you can get to the back first.

Don't try and rush, take your time and just look at the sights.

Get a Top Thrill Dragster freeway stamp, but get in line for it about 1:30. (The booth doesn't open til 2:00, so bring something to eat or drink.) When riding TTD, make sure to wait the extra half hour or so wait for the front seat. That is a rush (but feels like a gorilla on your chest.)

Ride maXair. Wow, just wow. It IS an incredible feeling that everyone should experiance at least once in their life. Even if the line is near Chaos, the wait is only 20-30 minutes.

Get a front row ride on Raptor. The feeling of speed and the concrete flying towards you are great effects.

Eat at Midway Market. Great food, good price for all-you-can-eat.

And, most of all, have fun!

lol. Thanx. I'll use everyones advice that they are giving me. lol. ;)

I bent down to tie my shoes. Oddly enough, my shoes say "maxair" on them. Yes, I know. Strange.

I have the same shoes!!!! I noticed it too, i thought it was really weird, you think the name would be copyrighted by nike or whoever made the shoe.

Its good to hear you got a good trip in, I went the 2 days before you and also had a good trip.

nesdude said:
Eat at Midway Market. Great food, good price for all-you-can-eat.

What did you eat there, when I went there the food was not very good, and the drinks tasted like dishwashing soap, but the service was excellent...

MM seems to be overrated. I've eaten there twice. The first time the service sucked. And the second time the service was reasonable, but even with good service it didn't seem to be worth what I payed for it. We did go in just before a storm hit, so we were actually at the front of the line. The problem was that they filled up the left dining room, and seemed to be hesitant to open the right side. So we stood there, at the front of the line while the workers discussed what they should do (even though Captain Obvious saw the answer long before they did).

I understand that staffing issues may have played a role in their hesitance to open the right side, but when you have a line going out the door of hungry people, you open up every seat you have and tell your workers to bust @ss. The server we had did a good job of checking for refills and she got a good tip from us. Hopefully she didn't have to share any with the hostess/manager who couldn't see that opening the right side and getting butts in seats should have been a priority.

Anyway, I think I've had my last meal there, and I'll be trying some of the other places from now on.

I ate the roast beef, the ham, some mashed potatoes, mac and cheese from the kids section, a decent sized piece of cheesecake, and some noodles from the Italian section. The noodles were the only thing that were cold and not so good. But everything else was hot and tasty.

My Mountain Dew tasted good, and as I said before, the service was top notch. We at right around 6:30, and there were few people eating. Bummer about the drinks that tasted like dish soap, though. I would ask for a new glass/drink.