Cedar Point Apprecation..

TOPGUN1993 said:
Which PKI coaster did you think were rough ?

It could have been the fact that was around 150 degrees and I was sick from the heat, but Vortex seemed really rough, as well as FOF. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed FOF, and it was a different type of ride for me. I guess I'm just spoiled from CP. I never said the area wasn't pretty, because it is. I didn't notice any large amounts of trash or anything lying around. For my taste, however, I'd rather hit up CP once a year, (it's a nine hour drive for me to CP, around 4-5 hour drive to KI), than go to KI 2-3 times. It may have just been the heat getting to everyone in the park, but I just didn't feel as "happy" as I do when I go through the gates of Cedar Point. :)

I did love the Beast though, and rode it twice in a row.

FOF is a frat hazing on wheels.

Not to mention the good ol', almost too tight for the train, hand made transitions on Vortex. I'm never riding it again unless I'm with a group. Twice in the span of 4 or 5 years was good enough for me.

Once in a lifetime is probably good enough for most... ;)

Ensign Smith said:
FOF is a frat hazing on wheels.

I would agree with you, but only before the OTSR's were removed...

I really enjoyed my last ride on it... Unless it's gotten worse in the past 2 years...

Those who do not enjoy King's Island must have missed The Beast, or perhaps even TR:TR. A shame...

I really like the Viking Fury best as it goes for Kings Island's flats. Especially since Ocean Motion sucks so bad compared to it.

I like several of the rides, but the park atmosphere is ruined by the seeming lack of spiels. When I was there last October I heard all of one or two spiels on all of the rides, and have had similar reports from friends who have been down there this summer.

While PKI is a nice park it can't compare to Cedar Point. I will say that PKI has better kids rides than Cedar Point but, that is the only place it outdoes CP.

Now more than ever do I appreciate Cedar Point. Especially in their efforts to make the park affordable. Disney announced today that they are raising the price of a single day/single park ticket at Disney World to $67. Sure makes that $39.95 ticket and $.25 cotton candy much more attractive. Kudos to Cedar Point management for keeping America’s Roller Coast affordable!!

Ensign Smith said:
Morte615, great pictures. Some of those shots almost made me cry. I never knew SD wound up at Camden. Now I wish I had gone while it was operating. Speaking of Camden, do you know how it's doing? I'm hoping to make a run down that way next year... maybe as part of a trek to Dollywood or something.

Well the year after taking those pics I moved to Sandusky, to work at Cedar Point. But I still have some friends who work there. The park is slowly but surely making a return. It is looking better than it has in years and the operations are improving greatly.

Dave Althoff (RideMan) has a few trip reports from the last few years which I found very nice and informative.

http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/dalthoff/adventures/index.html

Anonymous said:
Those who do not enjoy King's Island must have missed The Beast, or perhaps even TR:TR. A shame...

I did say I liked the Beast and rode it twice. However, I was NOT fond of Tombraider. I found it very painful. Blood rushing to my head and beating my back to death is not a feeling that I like very much.

Vortex is only rough in the middle and front but in the last two seats if very smooth and enjoyable.

Thanks, Morte. I'll definitely try to work Camden into one of my next big trips, maybe even next year. :)

TOPGUN1993 said:
Vortex is only rough in the middle and front but in the last two seats if very smooth and enjoyable.

See, I guess I need to learn the tricks. We rode in the middle of the Beast the first time and I thought I was going to lose a body part it was so rough. However, the next time we rode in the front two seats and it was significantly smoother. I guess its all about ride position. You don't have to worry about that at Cedar Point though. Any seat is going to be just as smooth as another, for the most part. I guess its because the rides are all older type coasters. As said previously in this thread, they have an excellent kid/family section. Now that that is in great condition, CF can come in and give them some good adult rides. :D

Living in Columbus, I have had significant exposure to all 3 of Ohio's world-class parks.

I spent my childhood at KI for the most part, with a CP or GL trip sprinkled in once every couple years.

I loved KI, the Eiffel Tower, the awesome landscaping, the smurf cones, International Street, The Beast, the racer (before and after one went backwards), the King Cobra when it was brand new. My last "riding" trip to KI was for grad night in 1990.

I met my wife in 1992 and she is from Northern Ohio, so I was immediately forced to go to Cedar Point instead. Since then, Paramount bought KI and I have refused to go back. I guess I was bitter, or whatever, that a big company owned them, but I have only been back in 2003 for a company picnic, and we spent the day with my 3 year old daughter in Nicktown.

On that trip (a Saturday) all of the kids rides were a huge wait for a 3 year old, and we waited over an hour to ride the Scooby Haunted House ride.

All in all the park wasnt horrible, but I didnt ride any of the regular rides.

I actually look forward to going back to KI next year as a CF season pass holder. If CF does for KI what they did for GL, I will be at KI at least once a year for a long time to come.

I hope the appreciation for Cedar Point now boils over to KI the way it does for GL.
*** Edited 8/8/2006 3:02:31 PM UTC by RTurb0***

Yeah, It totally made me appreciate Cedar Point when I went to Six Flags America. The ride- Superman Ride Of Steel even had half of the "Bumper Nose" broken off. There rides their we're VERY rough and dirty. When I say dirty, I mean the trains we're very un-kept. I also got very mad when I got off the Batwing, and there was gum on my shoulder.

I spent a lot of trips during my growing up years going to Paramounts Kings Island. Me and my family would always spend a few days at the Campground when it was still there. I haven't been there since I was like 17. I guess I'd have to say I started going to Cedar Point a lot more in 2000. Now I have to admit I'm still in love with Kings Island because I have a lot of memories from that park, but when it comes to the Steel Coasters, Cedar Point has Kings Island beat. Now I would definately recommend Kings Island to anyone who has a family.

I'd have to say I'm really proud of Cedar Fair now for purchasing the paramount parks. I love the Beast, my favorite Wooden coaster ever! Top Gun, Flight of Fear, The Racer, Vortex, and Adventure Express are very fun coasters. I just want to visit now, but it's such a long drive. I hope next year that you can use the season passes at all 12 parks, that would be awesome.

2 part post:

1. The interesting thing for my wife and I is that we remember when Kings Island, and not Cedar Point, was the true leader in Ohio when it came to coasters. They had the Beast, the King Cobra, and I really think when they introduced the "Vortex" they were at their peak. Something happened just after that, though, and it seems that somewhere in there CP became the coaster capital (no doubt the intro of Magnum takes place here), and PKI really built this kids-section empire. There really is NO park that even comes remotely close to having the kids section that PKI has. It will be very interesting to watch what CF does with this park.

2. I mentioned on the last page about my Six Flags Great Adventure experience and how my wife and I would never go back. Well we wrote a letter, and they are actually giving us free tickets PLUS a free flash-pass to use if we decide to go. Should we go? (hell yes we're going). Interesting...and a breath of hope about the new management over there. But what....a....mess....whew. God Bless Shapiro if he actually makes a difference.
*** Edited 8/10/2006 4:27:23 PM UTC by Kevinj***