Ffej's 6-10 Trip

This was my first visit to CP this year, and it was full of disappointing and satisfying experiences -- with the end result being a great, tiring day of CP.

I'm 25, yet I still have that unable-to-sleep excitement the night before the first trip to CP each year. Got 2-3 hours of sleep for the 14-hour day (9AM Millenium Force until 11PM Maverick), so it was a little tiring at times, but it's fun having days crammed full of entertainment every once in awhile.

I parked in the Magnum lot and entered the park close to 9AM with a couple friends. Headed straight for Maverick, but it was down for ERT...so off to MF, where I got 2 great rides. Like clockwork, I always black out on that first banked turn; though I didn't black out completely this year, so that was cool.

We headed back to Maverick, but it had a 45 minute wait at this point, and my friends didn't want to wait. I told them it'd probably be the shortest wait for it all day. But it was starting to sprinkle, so I agreed that we should just try to jump on some rides.

We got in line for Magnum, and it was raining one of those rains where you feel a drop here and there every bit. The Magnum line was crawling, and I was wondering what was up. After I got to the stairs, I saw 1 train operation, and I was annoyed. Grrrrr Magnum...why'd you have to slip through your brakes? You ruined CP rainy days.

Magnum was a great ride, but what I quickly found out was just how sensitive Cedar Point has become in rain. This was NOTHING like the rainy days of CP I had experienced all my life. I remember riding Iron Dragon in complete white-out downpours, laughing, 3-train operation. As long as there was no lightning or thunder, it was up to the rider how much rain they could tolerate. Even in recent years, I had ridden MF, Dragster, & Raptor in rain -- if it got extremely heavy, they'd shut down the riskier rides, but that was expected.

It was just the annoying, barely-drizzling rain, and CP quickly shut down half the rides as a result. The remaining rides were converted to 1-train operation, which I found just unbearable. I waited for Raptor with 1 train operation a bit, and the misting became heavier, so CP shut Raptor down completely. I was just in disbelief. I told my friends, "Let's go watch 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' and maybe it'll stop raining." They had never been to a CP show, so they looked at me annoyed, like "Why?" While waiting for the show, we hopped on the carousel and just laughed at the whole situation. Here I am, 25, crammed on a tiny horse looking ridiculous, and just laughing at what the day had become.

We watched the show, and I was a bit underwhelmed by the singing (but thought the show was good overall), but surprisingly my friends seemed to really enjoy it, so I felt like I had just made a great decision. They wanted to go to more shows then, but none were convenient (or in case of the Extreme Stadium - closed for rain). The rain hadn't stopped, so off to MaxAir & DT. There was a funny experience of a family buying 3D glasses and getting pissed off by the lack of 3D (made a whole thread about this in general).

After riding Power Tower, the rain stopped, and out of nowhere, we saw a Top Thrill train Blast off, so we all ran there and they opened the line. Just happend upon a walk-on...got right to the station, and the rain started misting ever so slightly, and they shut it down again. GOD! My friends wanted to go, but I said, "No, we're waiting ths one out." Rain stopped again in 10 minutes, and they blasted another out...we got on it as fast as possible, any seat. We all put cupped hands up to try for a rollback, and I managed to hurt my neck a little, having it turned ever so slightly upon launch (it's fine now though). No rollback, but the train before us had one... Tear.

Rain got a little heavier, so we headed to Fridays for dinner. Disappointingly, the common Fridays buy 1, get 1 free dinner coupons don't work at this Friday's, as it's owned by CP, so the meal ended up costing a little more. But oh well, it was good. At this point, I got the feeling that one of my friends might want to go home. But, I assured them...these last hours were going to be awesome. The rain was supposed to clear, and all the schools would go home for an empty park.

Boy was this right on...empty and even the sun tried to come out. The last 4 hours of the day were just awesome. We parked at the front this time. Walked on Raptor, Blue Streak (great front seat ride), Iron Dragon, Wild Cat, Mantis (while I have always hated Mantis, the front seat was tolerable this year for me), Cork Screw, Magnum, Gemini, & Mean Streak. While I have been protective and in defense of Mean Steak all my life, this was the year I may have finally let go. The ride was just awful this year...so slow and just a level of annoying vibration that I had never experienced with it; it was sad. I hope it gets better as the season moves along, so I can defend it once again.

As night came on, I was re-energized at how much I love CP at night. Please CP, make some kind of all-night event sometime. The rides, mood, and lights everywhere just feel so much better to me. I walked through Starlight Experience 2 times and thought it was a great addition (wrote full review in Starlight Experience thread), and we finished the night by getting in the Maverick line at 10PM on the dot with a 1 hour wait.

I decided that I think Maverick is my favorite ride at CP (at least at night). The ride is just intense and doesn't let up...at night, it's dark, confusing, and feels even faster. I love Magnum & Millenium Force night rides as well, but they're so predictable for me at this point. After Maverick, it was 11PM, and we took another stroll through Starlight Experience back to the car. It was a really peaceful way to end the night, and it made me love CP all the more. Overall, another great day at the park!

Lastly, was happy to see "credit cards happily accepted" signs everywhere in the park as well...about time. Oh, and the interactive fountain...not as beautiful as the old one, but certainly more entertaining. A mid 20s guy was making me laugh. It was pretty cold...60 or so, and this guy was just running through the fountain in full clothes. It looked as if he had been full submerged in water for an hour...he was just laughing at himself like an idiot. It was great.

What do you mean about blacking out on MF? The two teenagers I took with me this year said they blacked out on it and I was perplexed.

I doubt they blacked out. When you black out you lose consciousness, and control of muscle tone. Im betting that just their vision was "blacked out" for a second, aka they had a brown out (tunnel vision/loss of vision with no change in consciousness.)

I get some nice tunnel vision going down the first hill, best part of the ride LOL. I figured it was from the G's, but I've never come close to blacking out on any ride.

^Most likely, although dehydration can amplify the effect of Gs on you as well.

ALWAYS drink a pee, drink and pee at Cedar Point! It's way too easy to get dehydrated at that place, especially on a hot day.

^I know that was a typo but seeing "drink a pee" in print is funny!

It was most likely more of a "grey" out than a black out. This happens to me every now and then too, on that banked turn. Just shake your head when it happens, and you will be fine.

Sorry, been in the process of buying a house...

By black out, I meant just my vision completely blacks out and hearing starts to fade/ring from the G's on the overbanked turn. It quickly all comes back once in the first tunnel. It's so quick, so I don't think there's ever a loss of consciousness. If the entire ride had the same amount of G's though, maybe I'd never know I had ridden it upon return to the station. lol

Anyway, the tendency to "grey out" or whatever you want to call it shows that an extreme has been reached with Millenium Force. We want taller and faster roller coasters, but engineering isn't the only limiting factor...it's also about controlling a comfortable level of forces on a person. As a younger kid, I always thought one day I'd see a 1,000 foot roller coaster in my life. Now I realize that in order to maintain comfortable G forces, the foot print of the ride would be so huge that it'd be too costly of an investment.

I had the blackout that you described happen to me once on Mantis from the bottom of the first drop until the high turn over the station. Kinda freaky stuff. Not sure why it only happened that one time, I presume I was dehydrated or something.

Just last week, I had too call it a day around 4:30pm, most likely from dehydration. 1hr 20min wait for MF. Was a little tired, I hardly ever get a -grey out-, but it has happened before. But man, did that ride on MF really screw me up.

1st hill- normal, no problem, but then at the bottom, major -grey out-, I only saw a shaky blue track, and nothing else, no ringing in the ears. I shook my head, and just before the tunnel my vision was clear, until the air time hill. I have never -greyed out- on an air time hill, shook my head, started concentrating on staying alert, but more blurry shaky blue track, and nothing else. Around the helixis, only trying to stay partly alert.

Over the next air time hill, regained vision again, enough to think to myself, -oh the camera is coming, sit still- Then I really think I -Blacked Out- I remember the Flash of the Camera, but then I remember going down the last air time hill, and not through the curve before the hill.

We came into the brakes, everyone cheers, obviously, I am just shaking my head, thinking what the -H * L L - just happened.

I pretty much -grey out- the entire ride, with a -Black out- Section.

That was the last ride of the day for me. July 3rd. I rested about an hour, got some food and water, and nothing was helping. So my son drove us home, and around 8:00pm I was feeling better.

Dehydration is probably the biggest problem at Cedar Point. But its not like I didn't drink anything. I hit every water fountain while walking around, and I also got a bottle of water while in line for MF.

So who knows. Dehydration, too Hot, Low blood sugar at the time. Never the less, major -grey out- on MF.

Low blood sugar can do it too.

On really hot days, my solution is loads of water (2 cups requested at least once every 2 hours,) Soak City, and the Garter and Centennial Theater shows. Its all about surviving 12-5, after that the sun starts going down, the air gets cooler and you instantly have more energy.

Interesting to learn I'm not the only one that gets that "blackout" feeling on MF, for me it happens on the 2nd banked turn, I get very lightheaded and it scares me, although it doesn't do anything to my vision. Glad to know there are other stages to go through before I would totally go limp and bounce around in my seat! I haven't ridden it for a few years for that reason, that and the wait, if I can go on rides I think are more fun (Magnum & TTD) with less line and no fear of a blackout, that's what I'll do. I'd ride it if I was with someone who had never been on it before, but otherwise, I'll skip it.