Well I took a trip up to Cedar Point this past Wednesday. This was only my second of the season unfortunately, but I am going to go a few times this week.
Weather
The forecast was a bit grim, but it rained only once during the day for maybe a half an hour. Temperatures were in the upper 70's / low 80's, and it was quite humid.
Crowds
The parking lot was only at about 28, and wasn't crowded at all on the sides, but the park still seemed mildly crowded. I'm still trying to re-adjust, as I went to CP numerous times last year during the insanely crowded days, so in comparison, these days don't seem that bad. Big rides still had big lines, but the smaller rides had barely any wait for them.
Trip Report
maXair
We rode maXair once, the wait was 4 minutes.
We only had to wait one cycle to get on. I have never seen the line so small. It did however build to its normal 40 minute line after we got off. It is a really great ride. It just goes higher and higher, the spinning is amazing, and it has a really nice length to it. It felt as if it wasn't going to end! This is a really great addition to Cedar Point.
8/10
Wicked Twister
We rode Wicked Twister once, the wait was 10 minutes.
I have always loved this ride. It is fast, and sitting in the back it seems to go incredibly high and the twisting is pretty intense. It was a great ride as usual, with little wait. The crew was especially efficient and friendly. One employee asked me how my day was going, and everyone was smiling. Many of these employees were also literally running while they were checking the train. Really great crew.
8.5/10
Chaos
We rode Chaos once, it was a walk on.
I really love this ride, and prior to maXair and Skyhawk it was my favorite flat. Lots of insane flipping, lots of fun.
8/10
Iron Dragon
We rode Iron Dragon once, the wait was 10 minutes.
Nice little ride as usual. The mist was on in the pond and was a nice effect. This is a nice relaxing ride, and is perfect for those 46 inch kids out there, or those who don't care for coasters.
5.5/10
Millennium Force
We rode Millennium Force once, the wait was an hour and ten minutes.
The line moved along at a brisk pace, but was still a relatively long line. The first hill was amazing as usual, and there was an abundance of floater air which is great, but the whole turnaround was a bit dull today. It was also just a bit jerkier. Still an amazing ride, but not quite as good as my first ride of the season. The view from the top of the hill is unforgettable though.
9/10
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At this time we proceeded to Maverick, but it began to sprinkle and the ride immediately closed. Is this normal? It was just sprinkling, and I thought during its media day it ran through the rain all day?
We instead went to Skyhawk.
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Skyhawk
We rode Skyhawk once, the wait was 20 minutes.
Employees were just plain slow! Load times were ridiculous. At once I thought it was broken, but I realized they were just slow, and if they ever had to release the restraints for whatever reason, it took forever to re-check them. Have they always had just 2 employees checking restraints? I remember when it first opened they would run around doing their checks, and tried to be efficient with the arms up thing. But now it is if they don't care, and just move at whatever pace they feel like. Something needs to be done over here...
The ride was amazing as usual. Every time I ride this I amazed at just how high it goes. They could use one more big swing, if they could get load times down, but still this ride is on par with maXair, maybe even better. Another great addition to CP in recent years.
8.5/10
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We then rode the train from Frontier Town to the main midway. Nice ride as usual. We exited the park and had lunch at Famous Dave's. Great place to eat. [u]GREAT[/u] service (I think every employee in the whole place came to sing happy birthday to one party), and the food was delicious as usual. It wasn't too crowded as we went late in the day for lunch.
We then re-entered the park.
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Maverick
We rode Maverick once, and the wait was an hour and ten minutes.
I am surprised just how stagnant the wait time has been for this thing. It just never gets any shorter or longer. The sign, as usual, said an hour and a half, but we were on a little faster. I chose the back seat. Again, this is a truly amazing ride. I kept my head back during this ride, and it eliminated virtually all discomfort which made it even more enjoyable. The first half of the ride is truly amazing. The ejector air during the first drop is indescribable, as well as the first air time hill. I can't decide between the front and the back... The front doesn't have long lines though which is nice.
No mist in the tunnel today, nor was the fire hose working, but the water bombs were. The launch was great as usual, and we barely came to a stop before it. I accidently put my head forward during the stengal dives, which hendered my enjoyment of the element as my neck was banged against the restraint, so I can't wait to ride it Saturday and experience the element again. WOW. Still, a great ride. I hate to say it, but today, this was my number 1 coaster. I want to ride it and MF again Saturday though, before I re-adjust my top 10. The fountain in the pond got rid of algae and looks nice, and the pond by the WWL queue looks to have been stocked with catfish and tadpoles.
10/10
Gemini
We rode Gemini once, there was a 2 train wait.
This was a great ride as usual. Smooth, lots of airtime, and very enjoyable. We didn't race due to someone with an undone seat-belt as they were leaving the station on the other train which delayed it slightly.
6.5/10
Magnum
We rode Magnum once, there was a 2 train wait.
I went to the second row, and got on quite quickly as usual. The ride was great as usual. Extremely smooth, more so than past seasons, tons of airtime, and an all around enjoyable ride. All the rides with "M's" are great in my books. Well, except one... This ride is still in my top 10 by far.
8.5/10
Top Thrill Dragster
We rode Top Thrill Dragster once, the wait was just over an hour.
TTD had a sign up saying it would open late, and it opened around 1 or 2 pm. There was zero downtime while we were waiting, it ran flawlessly actually, and the line moved quite quickly. We rode in the back. The launch was just incredibly fast, and having this be my first ride of the season, it felt faster than ever. The view from the top is great, and for the first time ever, I realized just how weightless I was cresting that hill and going down. No part of me was touching the seat. Only the restraint. Really amazing ride as usual.
I did notice some things about this ride - mostly cosmetics. The trains look great, as well as the LED countdown lights now that the covers have been removed. I think it looks better this way. The track however is in desperate need of painting. Not all of it, yet, just the launch track as most of it has turned black. They could paint the launch track one year, the brake run the next, and the tower the next. It would make it look a lot better. They cleaned the signs in the line (the Dragster facts ones) and while they all look new, there is one actual new sign which shows just how faded all the others have become. And I really wish CP would remove that ever so ugly wooden fence in the line. It is really ugly, and looks more like a temporary construction fence instead of a fence around a 20+ million dollar ride. Still, its a great ride.
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We then left the park. Lines at this point looked to be pretty short - Raptor looked to be 10 minutes, Wicked Twister was a walk on, etc.
Notes:
- Aquatic stadium looks like it is being preserved / but it would seem as though they will remove it since they cancelled the show
- TTD in desperate need of paint
- Employees extremely friendly and efficient in most areas
- The park is really the nicest (tons of landscaping, and every coaster just gives such a "wow" factor, great atmosphere)
- Skyhawk not run very efficiently
- Maverick closed with the slightest rain (no fog in tunnel)
Overall it was a great day! Hope you enjoyed my TR. I am hoping to visit again on Saturday.
-- TT182 --
Thrills Around the Corner!
About the Maverick fire hose. I've been there quite a few times since they were adjusting the themeing, and it's been off everytime now and the water bombs have been working. I think they have purposely turned off the water hose because it stings you in the face and eyes when you arent expecting it. I don't think it will be coming back on.
About dragster, i compleltely agree about the black all over the launch track and the faded signs. I don't think it needs painting. I think thats just all dirt from the cables, water/oily crap. Dragster's launch just needs one hell of a power wash by the looks of it, it bothers me too. Also, if you look at old pictures from when it was new, the towers yellow looked way brighter and better, that looks to of faded. Andd i noticed the new sign showing how faded the others are, also needs to be changed. I hate that damn fence too i wish i could see more of the ride, but i've always been thinking about it, and maybe the wall is there to give you a break from the loud PSHHH noice the break fins make when they lower and come back up again.
As far as Maverick...you mentioned the 1 hour ten minute wait being constant, well, on Saturday's it's definitely NOT and usually at least 1 and a half hours!
And I don't know about media day, but on its opening day I can confirm that I rode it when it was raining relatively hard, and in fact, during those Memorial Days it was raining a lot and I remember many people saying (after the Magnum incident) that Maverick was one of the FEW rides that *would* operate in the rain still!! Maybe that was because it was new then and had just come off the delayed opening, but now for sure the reverse is true! :(
Finally, for Maverick's 1st drop the back seat IS by far the best, and while head banging and being thrown around increases, you should try leaving as much room as possible in the restraint to maximize the drop! This past Sunday I successfully managed to get the most amount of restraint room I've ever had (probably over 3 inches of space between my chest and the OTSR's) and WOW!!!! Complete seat ejection on the 1st drop to the point where if there was no restraint I would have flown out!! I still want a few more inches, but you need ride op luck and good restraint "games" for it work!!
*** Edited 7/20/2007 5:01:55 PM UTC by tigellinus***
We were there on Saturday July 14th. Line for Maverick was stated to be 3 hours long. I didn't wait so I cannot confirm if that was actually the case. MF had a posted 2 hour line which was actually 1.5 hours long. We lucked into a 1/2 hr wait for Dragster when it opened up late afternoon and the line had not yet developed. By the time we got off the ride, the line appeared to have built up to normal length.
Park was very crowded during the day. It looked like rain several times in the mid afternoon/early evening. That appeared to chase some people away because by late afternoon/evening, the lines were a lot shorter for most rides. Only bummer on the day was it started to rain while we were in line for a last ride on MF a little before 10 pm so we headed out.
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