August 13 & 14th (Two-Park)

My wife and I headed up to Geauga Lake on Sunday morning, hoping to get there right at opening. Turns out we were a few minutes late, but looked like we avoided the initial surge of people.

We seperately had rdden the Big Dipper and in 2002 we waded through the trash and crowd long enough for one ride on S:TE. We vowed never to return to SFWoA after that day. Steel Venom, incidentally, was still closed on Sunday.

So we started with X. The line was about 10 minutes, and I was surprised by the ride. It was quite a bit more "reclining backwards coaster" than I expected.

We moved on to Thunderhawk. Another 10 minute wait -- I was pleasantly surprised by this coaster, as it appears to be well designed, although my wife, who is about 5'4" had some trouble with banging her head on the OTSR and her glasses hurting her ears. I had no problems at 5'11".

Next up was Dominator. A very short line of 5-10 minutes. This coaster was one of our favorites. Very intense, but also very smooth, both of which we like.

From floorless to woodie - Villain was next. Another 10 minute wait and we were on our way. The first hill was a little too much for my back, but the rest of the ride seemed fairly smooth compared to what I had read here. We sat in the front car, second row.

We skipped the 80's loopers because quite frankly we cant stand the head boxing.

Another ride on X proved even better than the first, and the second time on Dominator proved too much for my head - sinus headache was setting in.

We ended our day at GL with a ride on raging wolf bobs, which both my wife an I enjoyed quite a bit. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me, as I found my "sweet spot" for restraints on this ride and it followed me through the rest of my day.

We left GL at 1pm and shot back over the turnpike to CP. I took a bunch of Tylenol Sinus to ward off the headache. We got to CP at around 4pm Sunday and the park was packed! We had a bit of a hickup getting in. Apparently during our trip to GL someone accidentally erased my wife from the season pass system, and CP would not let her in (even though we used her pass just 5 hours earlier). 15 minutes later, a new photo and a few curse words, she had a new pass and we were good to go. (Not a CF shining moment)

We went right to Magnum, which is still one of our favorite rides (#2 on our list). After a 30 minute wait, we were entertained by an idiot getting the train stopped on the hill by taking pictures. 15 minutes later (after the ride op traversed the hill) we were on our way. We sat in the second to last seat and because of finding my restraint sweet spot earlier, I had the best ride on Magnum EVER.

Next up, Gemini, my sentimental favorite. I was 6 when they built it, AND was tall enough to ride it, so it was my first big-time coaster (I was too afraid to ride the Beast until after I rode Gemini). On this ride, on the blue train, we lost but I again used my new restraint technique to the best Gemini ride in quite a few years.

We skipped MS, my wife refused, citing previous horrors we have had on it, and I dont like it enough to ride alone.

We made it over to Project 2007 just in time to see them finishing up with the first piece of track. Moving on, we decided to ride Mantis. Millenium had a 1-1/2 hour wait, and being Season Pass holders, we werent ready for that long of a wait. Our ride on Mantis was uneventful, other than the female ride op who attempted to life me off the ground via the Mantis seat and managed to make me scream from the wedgie! OUCH.

Next we decided to hit WT. Sign said 45 minutes, line looked more like 15, so we went for it. 18 minutes later, we were on the train, second from the back. Great ride on WT as always. Almost made up for Steel Venom being closed.

For the last ride of the evening, we chose MF for an "in the dark" ride. It was awesome, again due to my restraint bliss. It was the first time since 2001 I had waited more than an hour for MF, but the DJ and the conversations in line made it almost bearable. The smoker four or five groups in front of me, and the "Honky-tonk Badonkadonk" music made sure it was not totally bearable.

All in all, a good two park day. If I had it to do all over again, I would have stayed at GL because it was alot less crowded and the rides really were a pleasant surprise. CP seemed to get busier as the day went on.

We also came back to CP on Monday for a trip through Camp Snoopy and the "other" kids area and besides intermittent rain, it was also uneventful.

Heading to PKI tomorrow. I have a feeling Camp Snoopy is going to be second favorite for my kids now.

*EDIT* I should point out the curse words were not directed at anyone. Just a general "WTF" to the whole situation.
*** Edited 8/16/2006 2:04:42 AM UTC by RTurb0***

Have a blast at Kings Island! Nick Universe is really a gem.

So, are you going to let us in on what your "restraint technique" is? I'm just a little curious! haha
*** Edited 8/17/2006 1:50:56 AM UTC by Bodes***

I was at GL last night. Just to be a smartass I wore my old Six Flags Worlds of Adventure t-shirt. Got a few glares. Cool.

I did notice that there are six cars mounted on Supervenom, I mean, Steel Man, er...whatever. Anybody know if they're working on getting it back up or is just status quo?

BTW, rides were virtually all walk-ons, except for Pepsi Plunge, which was a ten minute wait. Crowds were light on the ride side. I didn't get to the water side.

So, other than the inconvenience of needing to get a new picture an pass, did they handle it alright? I find it hard to believe that once management was involved that it was a problem (though I can see the kid at the turnstile being a problem but not really his fault).

John - Yeah the important people handled it just fine. It was the "green tag" person working the gate who seemed a little off.

She took a good five minutes to look over the pass, ask my wife five times whether she had ever used her pass before and whether she had already been in the park that day. All the while I was on one side of the gate and my wife was stuck back on the other.

Not exactly worth complaining to anyone with CF about, but a nuissance nonetheless.