Coming from KC, with my girlfriend and 9-year-old son in tow, I could hardly wait to feast on all of these coasters. Cedar Fair owns my local funpark, Worlds of Fun, whose hypercoaster "Mamba" has up till now been my favorite roller coaster. Our season passports allowed us free entry to Cedar Point, hence the final decision to drive 13 hours just to ride some rides
Anyway, our first day was Sunday, July 15. I beautiful sunny day in the mid 80s, I was awestruck looking at the the park's skyline of twisted metal as we came over the causeway. Coming from a park that has never had more than 4 coasters at a given time, you can imagine my delight. My son was literally jumping up and down as we approached the gate. Once inside, we decided to start things off with a bang.
The Demon Drop line was minimal, so we hit that one first. A great way to start the day. That sucker is a stomach cruncher! Then we rode the Space Tower to get a look at the park. Once we got off that, we cruised into Disaster Transport for a nice, cool and short line for a fun family coaster (okay toboggan) ride. I know it's weak on the thrills, but the short line left me with no complaints. On to ride some non-coasters for awhile. We hit the Scrambler, the Matterhorn (I can't tell you enough how hilarious the guy on the PA was. He was from Slovaka or Poland or somewhere. But his tirades on how the lap bars don't lock, I repeat they do not lock, they do not lock, they do not lock! cracked us up), the Troika and Chaos. All very fun rides with very short lines. Kudos!
Next up was the Power Tower. Since the lines were a little longer here, I decided on the blast up, since you get a little freefall with no extra charge with that one. This beast is easily twice as tall as the one at my local park, so needless to say it was a rush. If want to maximize your thrills, try this ride on top of the 1,000 foot Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas... at night...facing the strip. What a trip!
Then it was back to the coasters... The corkscrew was next. Yes, this had a special place in my heart for it is a replica of the Scream Roller, the very first roller coaster I was ever dragged onto kicking and screaming as a 7 year old. The Scream Roller is now long gone, but the Corkscrew brought back some great memories, albeit painful ones as my neck and head took quite a beating through the loops.
Next up was the Gemini. What a blast! I know it was a little tame through the middle part of the ride, but for the life of me, I couldn't get the smile off my face the entire ride. After that we doubled back and rode the Magnum XL200. This is very similar to World's of Fun's Mamba, so I knew I was in for a good ride. Not disappointed, but shocked at how rough it was. I guess it being the first hyper and the fact it was built in '89 are the reasons, but in contrast, the Mamba goes 205 feet and 75mph and is smooth as silk (Much like MF). Anyway...not knocking it, just an observation.
We had lunch after a ride back on the ski lift ride. What a nice restaurant the buffet was. I know we're not talking 4-star here, but in comparison to other theme parks I've been to, the fact there was a reasonable all-you-can-eat place was great. And the quality of the fun was good to boot. Another kudos!
After lunch, we headed back towards the back of the park and hit Mean Streak. Holy $#@! What in the hell was that? Did I just get hit my a truck or what? That was one pissed off roller coaster. That's like riding a bull right out of the gate while you got a firm grip on his unmentionables! AWESOME!!!!
We calmed things down a bit then, riding the water rides. Thunder Canyon again unleashed it's fury on me dropping hundreds of gallons on my son, girlfriend and I as we rolled slowly under one of those dastardly waterfalls.
Next up was Woodstock Express - what a fun little coaster! After that was the Mine Car coaster. Mild and tame, yet still a lot of fun. Now...the day has worn on and it was time for the big one.
My son squeezed my hand so hard I thought it was going to fall off. He was so excited to finally be in line for the Force he could hardly contain himself. It was contagious. First up, we rode in the middle, just to get on and get off as fast as we could. We came back the next day and rode the two extremes (front and back - and they are worth the wait!).
What is there to say about the Millennium Force that hasn't already been said. The raw speed and sheer power that coaster generates is unbelievable. The speed, the speed, the speed. And by the way, when you ride in the very back car and hit those overbanked turns, move your neck and your head as if your trying to look at something directly above you (if you were standing on the ground). Doing this makes you like behind you and down at the ground as you hit the weightless stretch in the banks. What a rush!
The main reason we drove 13 hours was worth every gosh darn mile, construction barrel, overpriced gas station and crappy Taco Bell we had on the way there!
Once I got done stammering out what it was like to my chickens##t girlfriend who rode everything but the MF, we rode the front car on Mantis. What a kick*****ride! Those hairpin turns glide effortlessly and those brakes on the first drop hill (which at first seem insidious) actually add to the ride as it almost stalls the car over the first loop. Brilliant!
Next up was Iron Dragon. Although not long on thrills, I had a blast on this in the front car, especially when going through the helix right over the water. Great sensation!
After that was the Wildcat... another great "whee!" ride that was a lot of fun.
Finally, we ended the coaster fun that night with the Raptor. Front car of course. It had just gotten dark and may park patrons were flooding towards the Spectacular, so we only waited 15 minutes!!! Riding this ride in the dark was very disorienting and thrilling. Being 6'3" with very long legs is a little disconcerting as well. I had to look and see once done riding to make sure I still had everything. That ride was an absolute blast!
We came back the next day and rode the Blue Streak, but Monday was considerably hotter and twice as busy for some weird reason. We rode MF a couple of times and hot all the top coasters a second time. All in all, it was a flawless trip. We got a day in at Put-In-Bay as well.
Cedar Point is a topnotch thrill park. It was clean, offered great food and snacks. The rides were all breathtaking or fun and even the staff seemed thrilled to be there. If you are lucky enough to live near Cedar Point to go regularly, consider yourself an incredibly lucky person.
10/10
100%
5 stars
A+
Jeff in KC
I'm glad to hear you had such a good time. Everytime I go, it always amazes me at all the rides and aweseom coasters.
Did you get to ride Power Tower's Turbo Drop? That is the most scary thing for many of the CP Placers...
I just love to hear from Cedar Point virgins! I can feel the excitement in your post. I am a roller coaster snob and CP is the only park for me. Each ride has a special meaning, the first coast I ever rode (Blue Streak), the coaster my son rode ALL day (Iron Dragon) the list goes on and on. Hope you make it back to the Point real soon.
After countless visits to CP in over 39 years it is enjoyable to read a "virgins" point of view. I am glad you came away with the same perceptions of things as I do. CP is a World Class park that not only has world class rides but continues to run the rides at a world class rate.
CP always considers capacity of a ride before adding it to its arsenal.
Glad you had a good trip. Business will take me down your way soon (If I don't make it to WOF this season I will next year). Hope you will "tolerate" the long drive next year.
I always challenge those of us who live so close...can you/or do you want to go a summer without a visit to the Point?
I say NEVER....