How was your ride?

I really love the new ride! I can't wait to ride again!!!

I have been to CP twice and have Ridden four times. I have been in every corner except the front left and my favorite was the front right. If this were in any other park then GK would be the best but I would rank this 4th or 5th behind some of the other Coasters at CP.

And as far as the Restraints go, I can see where some people come from but compared to other over shoulder harnesses this is among the best systems.

I rode gatekeeper for the first time yesterday. Twice in the afternoon and once at night. The ride really blew me away and is by far the smoothest ride at the point. Even smoother then milly in my opinion. I'm not sure what people were talking about when they said it seemed slow. Gatekeeper was flying through the course yesterday. I rode back right twice, and front left once. Both places gave me tons of airtime on the camelback, which people say has been lacking. The first drop is exhilarating, and it's very forceful. I was even suprised with how forceful the helix was. The restraints didn't bother me at all and I can that they were the most comfortable otsr's I've ever dealt with. The crew yesterday was also phenomenal! The trains were halfway up the lift hill as the other train was entering the station. The line was always moving and that's why the waits seemed so short. At night the ride is visually stunning. Unfortunately, the red eyes were burnt out on two of the trains but other then that everything seemed in working order. I could only handle one night ride however because it was very disorienting. Overall it was an awesome ride that will thrill for years to come!

I had the opportunity to ride Gatekeeper this past weekend on a trip up from Florida. First off, the new entrance is really a step up from what was there before – much more deserving for a park of Cedar Point’s stature. I put it up there with parks like Epcot and Magic Kingdom with the feeling you get when walking through the gate. In addition, I really like the new pavers, both at the main gate and the new Gatekeeper plaza. However, it does make the rest of the park’s surfaces look more outdated, including the patchy concrete down the midway and the old blacktop near Gemini – which would be incredibly expensive to replace and I’m probably one of the few that actually cares about that stuff since I unfairly compare everything to my hometown parks here in central Florida.

Anyways, on to the ride. Overall, I think this was a great addition to the park and will probably be a favorite for many in the general public. I was lucky enough to ride the front left and right, back left, and outside third. The front and back were certainly my favorites with the back perhaps being more intense with slightly more air, but I thought the front gave a much greater sensation of speed and flying which I enjoyed. The first part of the ride is great, but I thought it really lost speed and intensity after the first keyhole pass. The second keyhole pass, while visually spectacular from the ground, just feels awkward and felt like I was in a slow motion replay. The helix at the end was decent enough though. Now the bad – third row outside right gave me quite a bumpy ride. In fact, it vibrated/bounced so much or at the right frequency that it gave me a headache for about a hour afterwards. I’m not sure if I got a bad wheel or the fact that it was barely in the low 60’s on Monday night, or perhaps was something to do with being towards the middle of the train? Although, my riding partners who were in the front of the train didn’t quite have the same experience.

For someone who hadn’t been back to the park since 2003 this ride is a great addition, especially with the reliability that B&M brings. I love the fact that it moves so many people through the line and makes the other lines in the park that much shorter, but I would place it behind several of the other big coasters further back in the park (which is okay), including perhaps my new favorite in Maverick :) Now that ride really surprised me and constantly delivers considering it does not look all that intimidating.

I enjoyed the ride but wasn't "wowed" by it. IMO I thought Wild Eagle at Dollywood was a better winged coaster.

SteveDePoy said:
I enjoyed the ride but wasn't "wowed" by it. IMO I thought Wild Eagle at Dollywood was a better winged coaster.

Really? Why is that, because of the location?

Just curious, as Wild Eagle looks like it has the least interesting layout of the Winged coasters.

Wild Eagle just felt a little more intense to me. Gatekeeper does have some thrilling sections like the initial drop and the key hole effect but overall just felt a slow to me.

I did a mini-marathon on Wild Eagle (until I was ready to vomit), and I don't think it's as good as GateKeeper. I mean, it's a fantastic ride, but GateKeeper has a lot more variety to it, especially with two barrel rolls.

Gatekeeper is a good ride don't get me wrong. I have only ridden it once so more rides and sitting in other parts of the train could change my mind on things.

My favorite seat is the back left, seems the most intense. I do think that the more you ride it, the more you'll like it. I really love the ride, and one of my favorite sensations on the ride is zooming down from the hills, especially the airtime hill, close to the ground. With nothing under you, it almost feels like you are jumping off, the visuals are really great. Look around when you ride and take it all in, to me the ride is half motion and half visual. Rode it five times in a row yesterday night and was wanting more, but the park closed for the evening.

I was blown away by how unique and really thrilling Gatekeeper was. The restraints weren't very tight for me at all, I am thinking maybe my height (6'5) keeps my shoulders up against the top so they don't tighten as much. Not sure just a theory. I just love this ride I rode middle left and back right. Both rides were fantastic, but I prefer the back right for the fact that you seem to just hang on the first flip on the hill. That was a terrifying feeling and one I loved. Overall I put this in my top three CP coasters. I just love how unique it is and it is truly different from all the others. It is not slow, but it is slow enough that you really feel the barrel rolls which I think makes them even more fun. One thing no one mentioned I love how in the station it feels wide open when getting in your seat, they are far enough apart that you don't feel cramped at all which I think really adds to the experience.

^You basically summed up all my thoughts on it. Except for the restraints (I have to hold onto them in order to not have discomfort) I agree completely. GateKeeper is unique, thrilling, and overall just an awesome ride. I really don't see why some other people don't like it as much, but I guess everyone's preferences are different.

I still can't stress enough that I love how unique it is. It isn't like any other coaster that just goes up and down, twisting and turning, because when riding outside the track, you get a completely different experience. I've never experienced anything like it, between the way you get pulled and whipped around inversions, the head and foot choppers, and especially the wing over drop.

All of these reasons are why it's my #2 favorite coaster at the park. Even though super tall, super fast coasters are awesome, I'm glad that lately the park has been trying to go with more unique coasters. Sometimes these are the best rides. I still like Millennium the best, but GK is an amazing addition.

I finally had a front seat ride today, right side. I thought it was similarly intense to the back, leading me to believe the middle is the smoothest. A little bit of vibration on the outside, but not to an uncomfortable extent. Visually it's just completely ridiculous, from the roll off the lift, to the keyholes, to the apparent proximity to supports. Great stuff.

It's also worth noting that the queue length seems to have a lot in common with Raptor, in that it gets shorter later in the day.

Here's my thoughts on Gate Keeper which i got see and ride at coaster mania. First off its a beautiful ride and makes the whole new front entrance to the park look fantastic. The park also did a great job on the entrance plaza to the ride and it looks so nice to see the whole beach now and it looks so much modern than before. As for the ride itself, having ridden wild eagle last year i pretty much knew what to expect from the ride experience. I only rode it once in the back left outter seat and the 1st drop was definitely the best part of the ride. The ride seemed to lumber through the course taking the elements gracefully and not forcefully like say Raptor does. I don't care for the OTSR's on these type of coasters but i did pull them away from my shoulders during the ride which made it bearable. I was glad they had 2 trains running and there was really no stacking that i saw. I did notice that it did have quite a few breakdowns during the day which seems weird for a B&M, but it cold have been the cold weather and wind.

I finally got a chance to ride today, and I can definitely see what everyone is talking about. Gatekeeper is fun but it doesn't really stand out. It comes across as just another coaster, nothing really special. I don't think it's the ride itself but the fact that Cedar Point has so many other amazing coasters. Another issue is that it's placed close to Raptor, and amongst a lot of the other rides that have no floor, so if you ride those first the wing concept won't really impress you. I think this coaster would've been able to shine more at another park. Sure as hell beats Disaster Transport though!

Agreed about right front, outside seat. I've had the opportunity to ride all four corners. Best seat for my money. It's a great ride and I never once felt like it was lumbering through the course, as others have stated. It's definitely a favorite of mine. Even more so as I get more laps on it.

So, am I the only one that experienced quite a bit of vibration and/or bounce? If so is that due to the weight load of each train?

No I've felt it, only on outside seats, left side more than right. It doesn't bother me or distract much from the ride however. It's damn near the smoothest thing I've ridden even with that. Millie honestly got beat in smoothness here IMO

The outside seats, closer to the front or back, do have a little bit of vibration in the high-G parts, especially the pullouts before and after the airtime hill and keyholes.

Its sad that a month after its opening the lights on the ride dont work anymore :( (referring to the eyes)