Coastermania 6/6/14 - 17 hours of fun

Arrived at the park around 7:30 after leaving home at 6 to about a 20-30 minute line for registration. Unfortunately by that time the Jet Express cruise tickets were gone, but I still knew the day would be great. It was my first Coastermania (and my mom's who I had brought along as my guest) and I couldn't wait. The lanyard was a nice surprise and it had the day's itinerary. I was thinking that the giveaway would be given out during this time but I was wrong (more on that later). Also sometime during the day I wanted to meet up with someone who I've never met in person but we've talked and have found out we have a lot in common, Rcoaster10. This was also his first time at Coastermania.

We went straight to Millennium to start off the day, and we were surprised to see that it had a half hour wait. For ERT I was expecting maybe 15 minutes, but 30 minutes still isn't too bad. Rode in the front seat and loved it. It was a great way to start the morning and to wake up (I'm not a morning person at all, but for an event like this I'd wake up as early as necessary). We got back in line and after texting with Rcoaster10, realized that we were both in line. I told him I was wearing a red Ohio State hoodie and soon after we saw each other in line and said hi. We could only stop briefly so we planned on meeting up after the ride. This time we rode in the back and loved it just as much. The front and back are so different but are both awesome. However, I hate the rattle that the back half of this ride has, while the front is glass smooth.

After riding there was a family group that asked for their picture to be taken in front of the CP&LE Railroad station, so I happily did so. Right after I finally got to meet up with Rcoaster10 and his grandpa. It was great to finally be able to meet up person, and we ended up spending the rest of the day together.

All 4 of us headed to Blue Streak where I had the smoothest ride I've ever had on that coaster. As long as you don't ride on a wheel seat, this ride is amazing. I love it so much. We headed toward Wicked Twister next. As we crossed the main midway, we smiled at the barricade of the GP, only to be returned with a mix of hilarious confused faces and jealous glares. WT provided a nice punch as always. It was starting to get pretty warm so we all went back to our cars to drop off our hoodies and jackets. Once back inside the park we went on both Power Tower drop and launch. I love the airtime at the top of the tower on the launch side but I will never get tired of the drop side. And that tiny drop as it clicks into position at the top always gets me.

This was followed by a fun yet painful ride on Magnum's ejector seat, and a ride on Sky Ride to take us to the front of the park. We all had the noon lunch time slot and were shocked to find the line wrapping all the way from the pavilion to the main gate and starting to come back along itself. But once lunch officially started the line moved pretty quickly. I was very impressed with lunch, and the park went above and beyond what any of us expected. There were chips with I think a crab salsa, steamed citrus mussels, wings, ribs, brats, and more. Plus there were lots of Coke fountain drinks, and Blue Streak cookies and cupcakes. There was also a Blue Streak ice sculpture honoring it for its 50th anniversary which was really cool. Now let's get to the giveaway--I would be happy with anything. Heck, I even would have loved to have just received the lanyard. But the park was far too generous and gave us an entire box of souvenirs. The top of the box said "Coastermania Survival Kit" and we got to pick our size. Included was an amazing Coastermania jacket, 2014 Cedar Point shirt, fun sunglasses, a glasses strap, and a glass cup. This was a very nice surprise receiving all of this, so the park deserves a HUGE thank you not only for the lunch, but for the giveaways and just for the entire event. Tony announced that since Dragster would remain down for the day, Millennium Force would replace it during the night ERT. Following the delicious lunch, we took our boxes back to our cars.

Next was Mine Ride, Skyhawk, and the smoothest ride I've ever had on Mean Streak. We chose to skip Maverick due to its long line, knowing we'd get to on it a lot during the night ERT. Rcoaster10 and I raced my mom and his grandpa on Gemini, and the 2 of us won on the red train. This was followed by another ride on Magnum, Power Tower drop, and then a ride in the front row on Raptor. Then we rode Gatekeeper in the back left for a pretty bumpy ride. I miss how consistently smooth all older B&Ms are. It seems like most of their newer coasters are bumpier. Not necessary rough, but just with an annoying rattle/bumpiness to them.

Another ride on each Blue Streak and Millennium was next, and then we rode Iron Dragon in the back. I have never been on this coaster in the very back before and it surprised me. I wouldn't call it intense, but it was more thrilling that I thought it would be. Then we rode Power Tower drop again before getting a chicken finger basket at Dragon's Inn. It was nice to just sit in the shade for a little while.

After dinner Rcoaster10 and I rode Millennium in the front seat. While in the station, a train stopped on the lift and a ride op confirmed to us when we mentioned it that it indeed was a "passenger error," either a seatbelt issue or someone with a phone or camera. But it was a very short delay and we were on the ride soon. We had planned on buying this on-ride photo so Rcoaster10 and I agreed that we would each make a crazy, funny face for the camera. It turned out so hilarious and we each bought the picture.

By this point it was around sunset and we decided to head back to our cars to put on our new Coastermania jackets so we'd be good to go for the rest of the night. We noticed thousands and thousands of muffleheads swarming above our car and above all the trees. There were massive clouds of them. It was crazy! Upon reentering the park (yet again), Rcoaster10 and I rode Raptor in the back. Surprisingly it was the first time either of us had been on this coaster in the back row, and we both loved it. It was so intense, crazy, and disorienting.

We wanted to ride Power Tower drop side again and when we were walking back to it, we looked over at Luminosity. It seemed like it's a fun show again this year. I was really excited to ride PT at night since I never have before. It was an incredible view and it was cool looking right down on Luminosity. PT at night is a must. Then for our last normal ride of the night before ERT we chose Magnum, which is fun at night.

Right after this, we went back to Maverick and got in the line that was quickly forming outside its entrance. We just sat down on the concrete since our feet and legs hurt, but it was all worth it. Before we knew it, the ride opened and we were among the first on it for ERT. We rode in the front and immediately thought we would regret it since the restraints were completely covered in muffleheads. It was disgusting. But the ride itself actually wasn't that bad and really wasn't too buggy, surprisingly. We also rode in the back and middle. In total, we rode Maverick 6 times in a row and it was so awesome.

Next we went to Millennium to finish off the night. The line was so much shorter than the morning ERT so we figured a decent amount of Coastermania people must have left. We ended up riding 3 times, and for our last ride, Rcoaster10 and I rode in the front. It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.

None of us wanted the day to end since it was incredible. In total I got on 34 rides (including rerides), which is something I have never even come close to doing before. My feet were absolutely killing me but I'd had the most fun I ever have at the park. Plus it was great to finally meet Rcoaster10 and I got to spend the day riding with him and his grandpa. My mom really loved the day too. Already I'm looking forward to going to Coastermania next year! Thanks again to the park for putting on such an amazing event!

Something very interesting that we noticed: there are various flags and dots that seems awfully similar to what would appear before the start of a new project. What intrigued us is that they were not quite in the area we would have thought...I thought they would be around the Cedar Dorms area, but they were all around the Point Pavilion, and the area outside of Raptor's exit all around the restrooms and in that general area. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures, but Rcoaster10 did. Random markings? Or the first signs of Project 2015? Only time will tell, but they seemed pretty suspicious for just ordinary markings...

There were indeed plenty of markings and flags in and around Point Pavilion. There was somewhere else I noticed them but I can't for the life of me remember. It might've been in the back by Soak City and/or over by GateKeeper..