Cedar Point 5/11/14 - Great Weather, No Crowds, and CrabFries!

The time had finally come after 6 and a half long, grueling months. A record number of snow days, minus 40 degree windchill, and staring at empty parks on webcams were quite common throughout this brutal part of the year. Then came Saturday, May 10th. All day I had to constantly check updated, the webcams, and live feeds for the latest on Cedar Point's Opening Day 2014. Prom was amazing, and then I was able to look forward to post prom - a trip to the Point.

Since it was Mothers Day, I was more than happy to let my mom come along too to spend the day with her also. My dad wasn't able to go, but the two of us left our house a little before 8 to go pick up several people that we'd take with us. By 8:30 we were headed for the park. We arrived pretty much exactly an hour and a half later at 10 right as the park was opening to the GP. Even though my mom, one of my friends, and I had Platinum Passes, two of my friends who were with us did not so it wouldn't have been fair to get there an hour early, only for the two of them to have to wait outside the park for another hour.

First things first: Typically I hate going to amusement parks with groups of 4 or more people. It just gets too complicated when deciding on what to ride, eat, and all that stuff. Plus being a coaster enthusiast makes it worse since I don't want to tell everyone what to ride and when, so it's hard to sometimes try not to let the enthusiast side of me take over when I come with a group of non enthusiast friends. So I patiently waited as everyone had to get selfies and pictures of the park...as soon as we stepped out of the car. But I don't blame them. It sure is an impressive sight from the parking lot, and boy did I miss that view. Even though it had been over half a year since I had last been there, in a way it felt like it had only been a week.

So finally everyone was ready to actually make it toward the entrance. The park was so empty. As soon as we even pulled into the parking lot I knew it would be a great day. My mom, one friend, and I went to get our actual passes and were in and out in 5 minutes. As soon as we entered the park I saw my 9th grade Honors Biology teacher (and our theater director) and his family. We just said hi and talked briefly before moving on. Again, I had to remind myself that I could come back to the park anytime and ride whatever I wanted and to let my friends do what they wanted this time. So whenever they wanted to go look in a shop or meander slowly for a while I'd go along with it. Same with my mom. We all finally decided on going to Millennium first. But of course, we walked by Iron Dragon and someone in my group really wanted to go on it. It wasn't my idea of my first coaster of the year, but I went on it and forgot how much fun that ride is. My mom decided not to ride it but my three friends and I did. It's pretty long and is a fun mild coaster. I still don't get why the height requirement was bumped up 2 inches though. Oh, and there was absolutely no wait. Walked right on toward the back.

Then we finally arrived at Millennium. before we even got in line I was super excited. I could see that there was no wait, not even on the ramp going up to the station. Sure enough, we were able to walk right on. Just to make it easy, we all got in random rows toward the back and I loved my first ride of the year on Millennium. It already had its rattle but it was still as great as always. We all agreed to go right back on, and due to the lack of people the ride ops opened up the gate and let us right back in line by the station so we wouldn't have to walk out and go all the way around again. After this second round my friends were ready to move on wanted to go on Mantis. I absolutely hate this ride so I refused to ride, same with my mom, so we just waited outside the entrance until there were done. It didn't take long since...what a surprise...no wait.

While we were on ID we saw that Dragster's line was nonexistent so that's where we wanted to go next. One of my friends doesn't like launches so decided to opt out of Dragster. So it was my mom, two of my friends, and me who went on it. Just like the previous rides there was not a line. We only had to wait about 5 minutes in the station. Hands up the whole time and it was just as thrilling as I remembered it. Plus one of my friends had never been on it before and she loved it. We went back and rode it a second time.

The parents of the friends I went to prom with then met up with us. They drove down separately, but joined our group. It was fun to have so many friends and my mom to enjoy the day. If it wasn't Mothers Day we'd be on our own but we thought we'd be nice. So even though our group was now up to 7 people, I still had tons of fun. Heck, I'd have fun at Cedar Point (or any amusement park) no matter what.

Next stop was Magnum and I rode in the last row. It's a fun classic coaster despite being jerky. Then we walked down the new Gemini Midway. All I can say is "WOW!" It is such an improvement and I didn't even recognize the area. I did not miss the blacktop at all, and the whole are looks so refreshed. There's so much color and excitement and I love it all. Pipe Scream was down when we walked by, so I'm not sure what was wrong with it. Lake Erie Erie Eagles was running but it had a long line (capacity nightmare on a day that's not busy--not a good sign for later in the season) and none of the people I was with felt like going on them so I'll have to try them another time. I'm still hesitant on both of these new rides since spinny stuff gets me dizzy easily but I'll probably at least try them sometime. I don't like eating much at amusement park but was getting hungry so decided to get some fries from Happy Friary. Everyone got a little snack and I loaded my fries with vinegar. They were so delicious. Sling Shot will look really cool where it's at too. The way is positioned, you'll be able to see it coming from FrontierTown toward the Gemini Midway. It will be very impressive to see. Also, I even loved the new planters by the Gemini restrooms. They add a nice touch. And yes, there is now a sea of concrete in front of Gemini. The grassy area in front of the station has greatly been reduced and replaced with concrete. I actually don't really mind it too much but it just looks different.

Next we got to Maverick and it said it had a half hour wait. The line stopped just outside the entrance to the old White Water Landing station building and knowing this ride I figured it might end up a little more than a half hour, but that's still good compared to how long this ride's line usually is. But it was still a huge contrast compared to all the previous walk-ons.

Maybe 15 minutes into our wait, the ride shut down. What a surprise (Not). I swear, Maverick always shuts down while I'm in line for it. I just never have good luck with it. My friends really wanted to ride it so we stuck around and waited. Slowly people trickled out of the line until there was hardly anyone left. We talked to some really nice employees. Eventually so many people had left the line that there was nobody else in front of us, only 2 people behind us. We just sat on the steps leading up the Maverick's station. At least it was warm and sunny. By this point we had been waiting over an hour and my friends were getting frustrated. So we decided to leave and come back later, and just as we had walked back down the stairs into the WWL building, a train ran. We hurried up and got back in line behind the 2 guys who were previously behind us. We were hopeful it would open soon and then we would be one of the first people back on. Well we waited, and kept on waiting. No more runs. So then we really left the line completely. And guess what. As soon as we were about 20 feet away from the ride, it started testing. So we hurried toward the ride's main entrance to get in the quickly forming line. Finally after at least an hour and a half of waiting for it, we got on. I only ride in the back row on this coaster and loved it. It's nonstop and is relentless. Something interesting I noticed after getting off is that the row of trees between the patio area outside of Maverick's exit and Maverick's launch tunnel (also near Chick fil A) were all chopped down. It looked really strange and I hated it. I have no clue why the park removed those trees, but I miss them.

I had seen that CP Rundown posted that Gatekeeper didn't have any wait, and since two of my friends had never been on it we headed there next. To get there we walked through Frontier Trail. I was very impressed by the new and improved petting zoo. It was a really nice surprise. I figured it had been a crazy April Fools Joke but it turns out there was some truth in that the petting zoo actually did get expanded and got a face lift. There were so many animals, including piglets and other babies. There were lots of people here and it was fun seeing the little kids so happy to see and pet all the animals. We then made a quick detour as someone wanted to go on Corkscrew, so my mom and I went on Power Tower (drop side) meanwhile. We were lucky enough to get the seats facing the park. I love this ride a lot.

Once at Gatekeeper we walked right on. First we rode the right and then went on it again on the left. I rode toward the back both times. My favorite is still the back left. The first ride was very smooth, but the second one had that annoying rattle. It wasn't bad enough to make the ride enjoyable but it was just a nuisance. I was also happy to see that the vests still did not lock. I'm glad they're fixed for good (hopefully). We were all getting really hungry by this point and went to Chickie and Pete's. My mom and I couldn't wait to get the CrabFries. We've had a craving for them ever since we first had them in Ocean City, NJ last summer. They were just as good as we remembered my mom and I ordered two. Then the two of us split a classic cheesesteak. It was pretty good, but I definitely love the CrabFries.

Two of my friends were crazy enough to want to ride Raptor right away but there was no way I'd go on something like that after eating. My friend's parents left at this point, and my mom and one other friend rode Giant Wheel. It's a great way to relax and enjoy the view of the park. Then we met back up with my other friends and rode Cadillac Cars. It was then 7pm and we only had an hour left til the park would close. We decided to go to Millennium (which was still pretty much a walk on) before heading back to Maverick to finish off the night. Thankfully it was running fine this time. We got to see the start of a great sunset before coming back toward the front of the park by going back through the Gemini midway. I can't wait to go back to see it once it's dark and all the lights are on.

Before leaving we stopped in several more shops and got ice cream at Toft's. I got 2 scoops of Buckeye Bites and it was really good. We all had a great day at the park, and I was happy to finally be back.

One more comment about the park: I loved the customer service. I'm not sure if it's just because it is early in the season or if the park has been doing a better job at hiring and training, but every singly employee I encountered was friendly. Whether it was a restaurant, ride ops, merchandise, food service, or any other staff, everyone was very nice. Hopefully this will stay.

Wow!! Sounds like you had a great time! My husband, a friend and I are going to be there Sunday and Monday and I hope it will be pretty empty and a lot of short lines. I can't wait to go back! Thanks for the review of your trip!

Hopefully there will be short lines and nice weather and you go!

Great review and now you have me craving fries with vinegar! I am excited to check out the revamped petting zoo too with my son.

Regarding your dizziness concerns... we rode the Flying Eagles (different name) and Kings Dominion last summer and I've never been so dizzy from a ride. Maybe because it was hot out but I usually tolerate ANY spinning ride and that one did me in. I'm afraid to try it again because I felt nauseated for at least an hour after :(

^Oh, that's not good. I'll still at least try them once, but hopefully I won't get too dizzy after riding them.