Ah, I've been to CP enough times now that I can be comfortable not doing everything twice and being there from 10 to 10. On the way there, on I-75 south, I saw a Hapag-Lloyd box on a flatbed truck. I was thinking, there is something in there, because I remember seeing the EXACT same boxes that housed the X-Flight trains.
http://www.refreshinglook.com/2001Construction/Construction2001/Dozer%20Note%20Archives/DozerNotes04122001Chip.htm Scroll down a bit.
Anyway, we got to the park at one and went to the Magnum. Got a great ride, felt it was running exceptionally well. I explained the man next to me about VertiGo because he was curious. I have to say, VertiGo looks to be completely insane, and I can't wait to ride it.
Hit the Gemini, great ride. Next we went to the Mean Streak, and it wasn't squealing. I was surprised. That pleasant ear-splitting screech sort of personified the Mean Streak to me! Even with the trims, it was running very fast. Was there a new coat of grease on it?
Next we took the nice walk over to MF to find a 1.5 hr. wait. Waited about another 20 min. for the front, which my comrades felt wasn't worth it. MF was great as usual, but it's getting hard for me to wait 2 hrs for it. Still my numero uno though.
We went to Mantis next, to find a very small 30 min. wait, nice. I had a GREAT ride on Mantis, everything seemed so perfect. The forces on my legs were intense, but not painful, and there was only head banging in the flat spin. Got to love those whip turns!
Next we shelled out 20 bucks for a pizza, holy crap. I hit Blue Streak while my bro and his girlfriend were chilling out letting their food settle. Wow. I'm impressed, the Blue Streak seemed to be running at an incredible pace, with HUGE air on the "out" portion. I have a lot of respect for this classic ride.
30 min. wait for the Raptor! 30 min. is the correct wait for the Raptor in my opinion. A great ride, but not 1 hr. worthy. Raptor's block brakes were hardly on, providing two crazy flat spins! I liked this run way better than my other runs, but still not as good ad Alpie or the Dragons. I love giving my arms a workout fighting the G's in the helix.
Took a spin on the Space Shot side of the PT. The Turbo Drop side was having problems all day. I saw an empty vehicle slowly descending the drop side and also saw a load of people slowly getting lowered down. Air compressor failure? I forgot how much air you get at the top of the Turbo Drop, very cool, but I still like the TD side more.
Our last big ride of the day would be Magnum, still with only a half hour wait. While dispatching from the station, the ride ops suddenly said stop, and crossed their arms in an x position. The train didn't stop in the station, it was too late, but it did stop on the lift. The op came out to check everyone's belts, I guess one was undone or something. It was very cool to see all of the ops calmly say stop and give a hand signal. I feel that at some other parks (not bashing SFWoA) this doesn't happen, and they just kind of scream stop. Anyway, NO TRIMS providing an absolutely insane run. This is the way the Magnum is supposed to run, why can't it stay this way. That run rivaled MF for me.
Decided to hit Witches Wheel. This ride is freaky for me. I was on the verge of getting negative gravity at the top, very cool. Hit the Corkscrew as my last ride of the day. Nostalgia value, high.
Overall it was a decent day, with all rides seeming to run with practically no brakes. I think my love for MF is slowly dying, while Magnum is starting to really impress me. I also have rediscovered my respect for B&M, as Mantis and Raptor gave great rides. Off to Kennywood and SFWoA next weekend!
P.S- I know that those Hapag Lloyd boxes weren't coaster parts, but it was neat to see it anyways.