First rider event review

Just got back to our hotel after the event. Wanted to post some thoughts...

1. Steel Vengeance: WOW!!! It's intense, it's insane, it's relentless. The airtime never ends and it's mostly hard ejector airtime. I really thought it was hauling tonight in cool temps. We did front and back car, no middle cars tonight. Back car night ride was the most intense ride I've ever had on a coaster.
2. Restraints were fine. I was nervous about fitting. I saw a rider not make it all 3 times I was up at the station. Some dispatches took a while as they had to check various seats as directed by the ride operator. I am 5'10 255. I pushed my bar down further after the ride host placed it each time and was still comfortable enough. The final lap is pretty crazy no matter how you position the bar I think.
3. I loved the event. They had great food available, my wife even had some crab legs! 2 drink tickets plus free pop/dasani.
4. It was nice to get a few rides in on Maverick as well. Tunnel effects were going, no smoke though of course as explained at Chill Out. The water jets were dry firing after the launch and they were SUPER loud lol.
5. We grabbed two ride photos that were included and the lockers were free for the event. Nice touch there. Also got a print and old MeanStreak piece of wood at exit. I grabbed a Chess shirt for my wife and a hoodie for me. Merch looked pretty good overall. Only negative was that the Shores parking lot lights weren't on so it was super dark walking out to the car. When that's the only thing that went wrong you know it was a great night!

It'll be interested to see if your signature gets updated!

May I chime in?
I was proud to be a contributor at this lovely event. The park did everything right and it was on their dime. Over fifty thousand dollars was raised and every cent went to the LeBron James Family Foundation. At the presentation it was revealed (to me, at least) that they are able to build a brand new brick and mortar school and our contributions only serve to help.
I rode Steel Vengeance three times. I could’ve had more, but I kind of noped out. The First Train Riders (actually second train in my case) were treated to double rides. At check-in they had us draw from a shortened deck of Steel Vengeance playing cards. I drew the nine of spades so I was in the second train in the ninth row. I had anticipated the back of the train as the best, so I was satisfied with nine. We kept the card, not only as a souvenir, but it was also our ticket on the platform.
Row nine didn’t disappoint- the first drop was everything and the surprising second half was just awesome from back there. (Especially that dive on the last station turn-holy crap!) After those two amazing rides my legs were shaking so I grabbed some grub, a couple of beers (free!) and a smoke or two where I visited with other riders who were equally as impressed.
After night fell I got in line and rode in the front seat. I’d agree with those who say there’s not a bad seat but the very front was so very extra. The airtime over the curves, hops, and inversions was unsurpassed in my book. Smooth, comfortable, and totally kick ass.
I can’t say enough about this ride. I have almost 500 coasters to my credit and as I’ve mentioned I don’t keep a list from best to worst, or favorite to least. But after tonight I have to say I’m handing it to Cedar Point. It was so thrilling it’s beyond words.
Enthusiasts tend to step off of a new coaster and immediately attempt to re-design the ride to their own tastes and desires. In all I’ve read and from everyone I’ve talked to there’s been absolutely none of that.
So thanks, Cedar Point. In addition to the new ride being spectacular, the food was laid out, the swag was nice, the music from a Brooks and Dunn-ish cover duo was fun, and the new store looked great, (I bought a tee to wear to SDC next weekend), the weather was gorgeous, and the evening couldn’t have been better.
We got to interact with the characters, get photos, and they showed the Cavs game on the screen in Lusty Lil’s Golden Palace. And clearly, LeBron might’ve had a better time if he had only come to Cedar Point instead....

Great review, awesome night, your description made me feel like I was there. Glad it turned out so well!

Steel Vengeance blew me away! Easily my new favorite coaster. The air time does not stop, with major ejector air in the back. It is a very intense ride, with extremely insane maneuvers. The only thing that needs tweaking, is the angle of the camera. The way it is now, if the person sitting to your left has their hands up, you will be cut out of the picture. Other than that, I can't say enough about this rollercoaster. Great job by Cedar Point, RMC, and IOE. You folks have raised the bar again.

The food was probably the best I have ever eaten at the point. The smoked beef brisket is on point, the pulled pork is money, and the loaded fries are also delicious.

I got one ride on Maverick, and it is nice to see the tunnel effects restored for the most part. All in all, what a great event, by which of the way, raised almost $54,000 for the LBJ foundation. Great food, a out of this world rollercoaster, and a very nice commemorative piece of Mean Streak to top it all off. Well done!

FANTASTIC coaster! I don't believe there is anything else that I can add to the reviews that are already posted. For me, it was raining on the drive to CP, and those clouds didn't just look like regular rain clouds either. But, as soon as we parked, SUN! I was a first train rider, seat 9. (I believe I was chatting up RCMAC while waiting to leave the station.) The ride was amazing. My thighs got a little beat up, and I'm not sure how I can make that better in the future, but Holy Hannah, it doesn't really matter because the coaster is amazing. The amount of air time/ejector feeling . . . is that even legal? :) I can't imagine how intense this fantastic creation will feel in the heat of summer.

The Peanuts characters were decked out in Western garb. The three Outlaws were out and meandering through the event. They looked incredible. My picture with them turned out GREAT. The food was great, everyone was beyond nice. The only little let down was the ride photo, since the person I was riding with had his hands up (which is fine, I don't care really) I was blocked from the snapshot. :( Left with my print and my piece of Mean Streak, which I absolutely love and appreciate, probably more than anything else.

And, I agree with the parking lot -- oh my goodness was it dark.

Was that you?? Here, I thought that cute gal was Pippi Longstocking! Nice to meet ya! And I’m glad we, along with everyone else, shared the same review. Row 9 rocks!

I forgot one thing. I was walking by the fabulous Steel Vengeance sign late evening and there was a small crowd gathered and they were clapping and awwwwing. I looked and someone was getting engaged! He was on one knee in front of the sign, she said yes, she cried, I clutched the pearls, it was awesome. What a nice, romantic memory for them to have. Maybe they’ll come for their 50th anniversary and ride, because Steel Vengeance will still be ruling the midway without needing any pesky retracking.

Nice to meet you as well. It never occurred to me to ask about PB. I didn't see the engagement, but that is great.

Can you imagine if he’d lost that loose article on the ride? Cause that would suck. :)
Musta had a velcro pocket.

I just finally got home after the event last night. I can echo the comments of others above, it was a terrific event. Here are my thoughts and observations.

It was very generous of the park to run Maverick as part of the event. They really didn't need to do that, but it was great to take a few laps. It was a strange experience to have the water cannons going off in the pond with no water (KA-POW, KA-POW, KA-POW).

The food was great. They had it spread throughout Miss Keat's Smokehouse (formerly Chuck Wagon), Last Chance Saloon, and Lusty Lil's. I think the majority of people didn't eat until about 7:30 after they had gotten a lap on Steel Vengeance.

They ran 2 trains last night, Chess and Digger. It's easy to tell the trains apart because the name is printed on the side of every single car. In addition, when each train gets dispatched, a train-specific audio cue plays in the station.

I don't think running 3 trains would have helped capacity (not that they even needed to really) due to the loading times being slowed by the instructions to not lower your own lap bar. I think they are going to need a giant flashing sign in the station to get people to obey that instruction. It goes against all the normal coaster-riding behavior everyone has learned over the years. Many dispatches were delayed because someone lowered theirs and it then had to be released and re-lowered. There was a lot of status announcements from the control booth about which rows needed re-checked (12 load, 21-22 unload, etc). The crew was doing a great job of hustling and I'm sure things will get smoother, but the lap bar thing will be a pain.

The lift hill is definitely the loudest in the park. It rivals the old Son of Beast lift hill, which ironically was about the same height.

The ride itself is phenomenal. Air time like crazy all over the place, floating inversions that are super smooth, over-banked turns to keep constant speed. If I had to pick a favorite element right now, it would probably be the drop right out of the mid-course. That drop is so bonkers. It got me every single ride.

Most of the reactions I saw after riding were almost of disbelief. It reminded me of reactions to Millennium Force after people first rode it back in 2000. Lots of laughter and clapping in the brakes behind the station.

Thank you to Cedar Point for hosting such a great event and supporting the LeBron James Family Foundation with all of the proceeds.

Oh my gosh, and was I an offender? On my second lap (no, not the first) I reached right up and started to pull that bar. I caught myself, but I was busted. The tall thin guy came by and gave me the side eye. I couldn’t apologize fast enough- he said it was ok.

A thing about those restraints. Even thought they pull it down for you the final adjustment will be in your hands, literally. If it needs to go down any further, which was the case with me, they wait by you while you push. That in itself could cause some delay. A saving grace may be in that these lap bars aren’t nearly as stiff as those I’ve found on rides like Outlaw Run and Lightning Rod. Perhaps that single point floor hinge has something to do with it, and if so it’s a welcome design change.
I didn’t notice the fact that each character had their own spiel. Maybe because I got Chess every time. I did think they seemed quite cartoonish, Chess sounded a little Ellie May Clampett to me.

And did anyone notice the ride op that sported CP tattoos all over his legs? I bet he’s glad he’s able to rock the shorts this season, so there ya go.

I was guilty of pulling my lap bar about a quarter of the way down before I realized I made a mistake last night. Thankfully I only did it once, as it is a big habit of pulling it down yourself on every other ride in the park. IIRC, didn't the ride op's pull down your lap bars on Millennium Force and TTD some years back?

Thank you Cedar Point for a first rate event!

Anyone know the reasoning for not pulling down your own lap bar? I guarantee 95% of guests do it on instinct.

It's easier for them to check the seatbelts with the lapbar up. I think that's the main, if not THE, reason.

I love seeing that so many people were able to be there and had such a great time. It was great to hear about raising over 50k for the LBJ foundation. Awesome night. My new #1 coaster at the park for sure.

RCMAC said:

Oh my gosh, and was I an offender? On my second lap (no, not the first) I reached right up and started to pull that bar. I caught myself, but I was busted. The tall thin guy came by and gave me the side eye. I couldn’t apologize fast enough- he said it was ok.

Haha sorry if it looked like I gave you a side eye it was not intended. The lapbar thing is indeed for us to check seatbelts and you are also correct on the guest needing to get it green if we don't. For those of you on here who haven't ridden yet, please, PLEASE use the test seat

Ha! I was hoping I would be able to identify you, so there was a happy accident.
Have a great summer. You gonna be BUSY!

Thank you to everyone that put together this exceptional event! It felt like the celebration it should be, and I drove home, feeling recharged with a joyful energy. Things kept exceeding my expectations throughout the night.

The event started with a quickly-flowing entrance line. I initially left everything in the car, but then I decided to grab my ID, in case Lusty Lil's was open to buy beer. Minutes later I was handed 2 free drink tickets upon check-in - what a nice surprise!

My friend & I redeemed those and sampled the various food options. If these are going to be some of the new options in Frontier Town, they're exactly what the park was missing - the BBQ pulled brisket was very good in particular.

After this, the charity ceremony began. It's always a pleasure to hear Tony & Jason speak, and it felt gratifying to hear that over $53,000 was raised for the Lebron James Family Foundation. The ceremony concluded with the ribbon-cutting synced to fireworks - nice touch!

At this point, nearly everyone got in line for Steel Vengeance, while I stared at the empty queue for Maverick. Sorry Steel Vengeance, there were still 3 hours left. Digger, Chess, and Blackjack chased after us in character, telling us to not step foot near Maverick. We laughed and snapped a picture with them. You can tell that they practiced taking photos, because their poses and facial expressions were spot on.

We walked right on the front seat of Maverick, and it was running very well - I didn't think SV would top it. The train crossing lights and sounds were working again, which totally surprised me considering I hadn't seen them since about 2007. It was a minor detail that made me so excited that it's funny thinking about it. Please keep peppering the park with more little surprises like this, Cedar Point. An updated LED light show in Magnum's tunnels with its classic sounds would be really cool at night... ;-)

So, all of this built up to the big moment...my first Steel Vengeance ride. My favorite ride I ever had on Lightning Rod was my first ride, in the very front seat, at night. I determined this was exactly what I wanted for Steel Vengeance, and that's how it went down.

I haven't felt floored like this by a new ride since Maverick in 2007. You've read all the beaming reviews everywhere saying SV is the best roller coaster ever. I didn't believe them. This coaster was too hyped up to ever meet the expectations, I thought. Then, I rode it, and I arrived in the station, nearly in tears of happiness. It was SO awesome. Cedar Point has outdone themselves, and I don't know how they're going to top this anytime soon. This feels like one of those cutting-edge, classic CP coasters that we all long for, like Magnum, Raptor, Millennium Force, Dragster, and Maverick in their opening years - a new one to shake up your list of favorites.

I was worried Steel Vengeance was going to be too intense to the point of painful, but it wasn't. For those experiencing sore thighs after riding a bunch of times, what I've learned to do (especially helpful for Lightning Rod's quad-down) is to hold your hands, palm-side up, between your legs and the restraint. Let your upper arm muscles absorb the more-extreme forces if you need to. That way you can ride it more AND get the arms of Digger & Blackjack.

The night concluded with one last surprise...the best gift I've ever received from Cedar Point. It was the same gift media day attendees had received...an old piece of Mean Streak wood given new life with an overlay of "Steel Vengeance," which seemed highly symbolic. I applaud whoever thought of and approved of these being made; it's definitely earning a special place in my house. Thank you.

What a great event! I don't really have anything else to say that hasn't been said before. Thank you, Cedar Point for hosting us, and for building, imo, the perfect coaster!