Here's a little trip report from our visit to CP yesterday.
We were originally going to visit on Thursday, the 18th of May, but decided against it due to the fact that CP were expecting 8000+ students to be there for their annual Math, Science, and Physics Day. Plus, it looked like there were going to be T-Storms in the area, rather than just rain, which I assumed would shut down more rides.
So, we left Fort Wayne, IN, on Thursday night and stayed at the Hampton Inn near the toll road, as I was able to cash in some Hilton points for a free room. From the looks of it, though, if you can get a room at the Hampton Inn closer to Rt 2 and CP, then go for it. This one left a lot to be desired. But, it was free, and it was only a 15 minute drive to CP in the morning.
The forecast was for rain, rain, and more rain. Most sites were predicting a 60-70% chace of rain all day long...with the exception of NOAA saying showers would probably taper off after the morning hours. But, we went anyway hoping for the best.
That morning, there was some light rain falling at 9am when we left the hotel. Nothing intolerable, for sure, but (I was hoping) enough to keep some wimpy folks at home. ;)
It took all of 5 minutes to get our tickets and get into the park and realise it was cold with no sun, temps in the 50's, and the wind. So, my wife and I bought some hats and gloves in one of the shops to stay a bit more comfortable.
RAPTOR - Ride 1
First ride was for the Raptor. No more than a 5 minute wait to get into the station. Another 3-5 minutes or so netted a front row seat for the first ride of the day.
TTD - Waiting, but no ride.
After Raptor, we saw them shooting test trains off on Top Thrill Dragster, and the rain stopped completely for a few minutes. We went and joined the line in the Midway to see if they'd open. No dice. An announcement came on that TTD was down for mechanicals and there was no estimate of the delay. No problem...only 5 minutes lost waiting for nothing there. Decided to take a quick ride on Corkscrew, and then come back to check on TTD.
CORKSCREW - Ride 1
Only a 2-3 minute or so wait here, and that only because they were only loading the first and last few rows.
MAGNUM - Ride 1
Upon exiting Corkscrew, TTD was still not open. So, off to Magnum. A 5-minute wait there, as only the front half of trains were going out. But, we got front row seats. :-) The drizzle came back, though.
GEMINI - Ride 1
Why not? It was there...only the blue train was running...and again only the front and back portions of the train. The wait here was about 10 minutes whilst they put sandbags in one of the trains and sent it empty. By the time we got back from our ride, full trains were going out. Light rain now.
MINE RIDE - Ride 1
Again, I've always passed this up due to crowds in the summer, but decided to try it. We waited about 3 minutes. Again, they were sending part of the train empty, and an empty train with sandbags. Full trains were leaving after we unloaded. This ride is boring. Still light rain after this ride.
SKYHAWK - Ride 1
We practically walked on to this one. Seats were really uncomfortable, but the ride was good fun. I would've liked a few more swings. I would've been really bummed if I had waited more than 15-30 minutes for it, since you only seemed to get one swing at full speed before it slowed down again. But, it was cool since we walked on anyway. :-) The rain was starting to taper off.
MILLENIUM FORCE - Ride 1
This was our longest wait of the day...probably about 45 minutes. I think we hit a large high school group that was all riding together, though, because the line didn't seem to re-lengthen to the same point behind us. There was also a delay during part of the time when they put a third train on and loaded/unloaded the dummies for a test run. During the line, our eyes were glued to TTD, whilst more test trains started to go off and actually make it over the top. My hopes for TTD started getting higher. Great ride, but a little chilly. By the end of it, the rain had stopped again.
TOP THRILL DRAGSTER - Ride 1
After our ride on MF, we noticed that TTD had PEOPLE on it...only about 1/2 full trains, but the ride was open. We went straight over. The wait was about 30 minutes, but we were about the third train to go completely full by the time we made it up to the platform. This was the first of many visits since TTD opened when I've actually been able to ride it!! What an awesome takeoff!! I was thrilled!!
LUNCH - At this point, we were a little hungry and quite chilly, so we went for the burger joint across from Corkscrew for some lunch.
TOP THRILL DRAGSTER - Ride 2
After lunch, TTD was still up and running, and I wanted to go again whilst I could! The wait sign said it was 45 minutes, but the wait was actually shorter than the first ride. 15-20 minutes and we were racing for the sky a second time! And what's this? The sun comes out!! ...and I get some nachos.
MANTIS - Ride 1
Over to the coaster we missed. Back to ride on Mantis. Probably about a 20 minute wait, made about 25 minutes because we opted for the front row. Man, my ears are always really sore after this ride!! More sun out now, and some blue sky.
MILLENIUM FORCE - Ride 2
Back to MF for a second ride. This time, only about a 10-15 minute wait to the station, and another 10 minutes to get a front row seat. The sky is almost clear now!
Got some cotton candy and corn dogs for some munchies.
RAPTOR - Ride 2
Back to Raptor again, my wife's favourite. About a 10 minute wait total for another front row seat.
Time for some Dippin Dots for my wife.
TOP THRILL DRAGSTER - Ride 3
Because we can. Only about a 10-15 minute wait.
MILLENIUM FORCE - Ride 3
The line is only as long as the "ramp" up to the station. Only about 10 minutes and we're on.
Time now: 7:55
MILLENIUM FORCE - Ride 4
Right back in line again. Only 5 minutes and we're off again!
Time now: 8:05
The line for MF is still OPEN, but my wife wants to leave. :( Oh, well.
All in all, a VERY satisfying day. There were still a large number of students (high school and middle school), but the lines were short, which made the whole trip a lot more enjoyable!!
You must be logged in to post