July 6-7 Satisfied from NJ!

Ever since seeing the amusement park on TLC and Discovery Channel Specials five years ago (around the time Millennium Force was being planned) I have always wanted to visit Cedar Point. I was surprised when my dad (who doesn't like roller coasters and prefers watching them on TV) offered to let us visit there in July. Nevertheless, it was worth it for this New Jerseyean to travel 8 hours (we split the driving, as I got my license four months ago) to a park that can't compare with Six Flags Great Adventure (an hour away from where I live).

We stayed at the Ramada Inn, a decent hotel with a free shuttle and a good restaurant. The shuttle was a little late on pick-up but good on the return trip to the hotel. Saves the hassle of driving in traffic. The first day we arrived at 11am and went to get Freeway passes for Raptor first. followed by a ride on Blue Streak first. Since I love wooden roller coasters, I wasn't disappointed with the classic dips of the 40-year old ride. My mom, a born-and-bred Coney Islandite says the Cyclone is thousands better. We (my mom, brother and myself) walked around the park for a while checking out the various rides before me and my brother went on Thunder Canyon. Needless to say, we got soaked and wearing jeans shorts, it was unconfortable for the day but it didn't ruin my day. We went on the Mine Ride next, fairly time but still enjoyable. This was followed by a ride on Gemini Red, in which our car won. I even high-fived an adjacent rider on Blue, the only instance I saw on my two rides. Waiting for our 3-4 time for Raptor, we went on Iron Dragon (a decent suspended coaster, plus the water spray was nice) and Corkscrew (to think that this is one of tamer rides says a lot, I happened to like this coaster). We then went on Raptor and I wasn't disappointed, as it delivered the excitement I expected, and the estimated 45 minutes saved from Freeway didn't hurt either. We finished off with a ride on Disaster Transport and it ended my curiousities on bobsled coasters, followed by me and my bro on Wicked Twister, which is a fun yet too short a ride in my opinion. That ended the day as we left at 5pm.

The second day we intended to go on Millennium Force knowing that TTD was broken from the day before, and I decided TTD would not be a priority. After an 80 minute wait (which I've been told is lucky for a weekday in July) I experienced the greatest 75-plus seconds since the 1994 Rangers Stanley Cup celebration. The ride is terrific and it would be worth waiting 80 hours for. Satisfied by the Freeway the day before, we got it again for Mantis, this time from 6-7. This was followed by rides on Mean Streak (I noticed that there are problems with this coaster among fans, but the fact I enjoy wooden coasters meant that riding on this was a highlight), and Magnum XL-200 (an ACE classic for a reason, the 200-foot lift hill is suspenseful and a terrific view). We spent a lot of the time walking until a short 10-minute storm passed by, and it was fun watching the short panic of visitors scurrying for cover (We were under the midway roof next to Johnny Rocket's). After that wet spell, we went on other rides again (Gemini Blue [where the preceding ride actually had a Blue win], Mean Streak, Corkscrew, Iron Dragon, and Magnum XL-200). We also went on the SkyRide, CP&LE Railroad, and Cedar Downs. The trip concluded with a ride on Mantis, and about a half-hour off the wait due to Freeway. A great ride with many inversions, and the stand-up ride is one to experience. That ended our Cedar Point experience which will certainly not be the last, as we plan on convincing our relatives to go with us next year. For anyone curious, I was in the "Don't Feed Phil" shirt, which actually got a lot of attention... good to see some "Viva la Bam" fans out there.

Pros: Great Coasters, Nice Atmosphere, Quick Moving Lines, Arcade, On-Ride Photos, Almost Everything Else.

Cons: Expensive Food, Humid Day = Bad for Walking, WT need at least another run through.

Final Words: After riding MF, Raptor, Mean Streak, and Mantis I doubt I can find any reason to find any other park better, as Cedar Point delivers the goods. Next year I'll try going there in June, as my Freshman college year ends in May.

Wasn't TTD down all day on the 7th? I was there from 9am-11pm and it never opened.

I saw a car with New Jersey plates driving around, perhaps it was you?

TTD was down all day, they had a test run around 5:30 and it barely made it (I was watching from the Magnum queue) but that was the only time it went over. There was a huge line for TTD, and despite the fact that I was told by others to avoid it, it seemed that CP workers at TTD were telling people on the line it would be open... waste of time if you ask me.

And if that car was silver with a crushed grille, yes that was me. *** Edited 7/11/2004 1:58:42 PM UTC by capsgm2002***

To Capsgm2002: You came from NJ to visit Ohio, and I'm from OH and I just returned from NJ visiting Six Flags Great Adventure. Your park is nice too. Had fun on your coasters, but my shoulder is badly bruised from riding Viper. Ouch!

Haven't visited SF:GA since I moved here two and a half years ago but I'm planning to go soon. I may stop by SF:NE on my way to Boston this week (trying out for Dream Job) and a trip to Dorney is almost definite for next week. Based from my last visit, SF:GA is a fine park for our area, but the traffic on the NJ Turnpike to I-195 can be nuts.

To: capsgm2002: I also visited Dorney Park on July 4th and had a great time there too. Lots of good coasters and no lines. Everyone was there for the water park, and the rides were empty. We kept riding the big coasters over and over again til we were tired of them. I also visited Six Flags America which is a smaller park, but still OK. My hubby travels to New England a lot on business, and I'm trying to talk him into talking us to SF:NE. Let me know how that park is and good luck with your job interview.

You waited 80 hours for Millennium Force? lol