Another season….

Another season in the books. I hope that next year is bigger and better than ever!

That is a likely tall order, based on the state of things. Our beloved park is now run by a company in a state of flux, with lots of leadership turnover and seemingly cost-cutting measures wherever they can. It was very apparent this season that "keeping the lights on," both figuratively and literally, was a bit of a challenge. During my one visit in late August:

• Millennium Force was closed all three days
• Power Tower was still closed due to a near-miss cable snap, which I speculate could have been much worse, but thankfully was not
• Gemini blue side was still closed, having been down for months
• Giant Wheel's lights were about 40% operational

Things happen, of course. No park is immune to mechanical issues, and sometimes parts are hard to come by, leading to extended downtime. But the Giant Wheel in its saddened state really painted a picture into the new company's priorities, from my vantage point. So rather than hoping for bigger and better than ever, I think I'm just hoping that next year brings back a focus on the guest experience, along with the charm to which we've been accustomed for years. I like to think that we weren't spoiled before, and hopefully we see that realized going forward.

I had two trips this year.

The first was a weekend trip, the first weekend of summer. My family was there.

This happened to be one week before the opening of Siren's Curse. And TT2 was closed all day both days. So for me, it was like nothing had been added to the park since 2023.

It got worse. Three consecutive coaster breakdowns just as we got to them (Corkscrew, Gemini, Magnum). It got to a point where there was a 30 minute wait for Rougarou, of all things. Windseeker and Ocean Motion were also down the whole weekend and Skyride was down Saturday. Windseeker said it was down "due to weather" (there was a heat dome) but I call BS on that now. The second day, we had Maverick break down just before we reached the ride, stuck in a spot out in the sun. Given the heat and humidity, that's dangerous to stay there.

I was honestly considering taking another trip in the fall out of desperation.

Later in the summer, I took a trip to the Virginia/Maryland/D.C. area, partially to revisit my childhood home, but also for the three parks (BGW, KD, and SFA). Every single park had coasters that were long term SBNO, including, most unforgivingly, Pantherian. But even with the similarly extreme temperatures, I didn't have any issues with any of those parks' other rides (including KD's Windseeker).

I then looked at the Gold Pass deal and decided it was too good of an offer to refuse, and I decided to make my "desperation" trip mid-September, early in the Halloweekends. It was just myself this time. I got on TT2 (and ended up in the front row) and then straight to Siren's Curse. I only went on a few other rides (I've been on pretty much everything else before, and it was crowded there), and focused the evening on the haunts. Both of those coasters were definitely worth it.

For the haunts, I decided not to do the Conjuring thing. I got most of the others done, but I missed out on the Midnight haunt (near Gatekeeper). I wasted too much time waiting for the lackluster Cornstalkers haunt, even though it felt cool walking inside the Thunder Canyon ride. Giant Wheel was mostly lit up, though there were some spots the lights were out.

So I had a weekend of Six Flags Days and a decent Saturday.

That said, I am looking at 2026, and I can't see anything new being added to Cedar Point whatsoever, which is fair given the more recent additions. The only possible addition in my mind would perhaps be Steamwhirler from Six Flags America (a Nebulaz), but that could go to a lot of places. Financial pressures are clearly affecting plans for 2026, so the Snake River/Millennium Island replacement is a ways off.

P.S. My family was looking to take another trip to CP in October, but declined due to concerns of cold lake effect winds. So we went to Kings Island (it's closer to me, BTW) instead, and did the Conjuring experience together (I ended up carrying Annabelle). If I'm not mistaken, the Conjuring attractions at all four parks are identical.