June 10th (kinda long)

I've been reading this site for a while but never got an account until today so this is my first post. Hopefully you enjoy my trip report.

Well, I started the day with me (20 years old) and my cousin (17) driving the 2.5 hours from Dayton to Sandusky. I had planned for the worst in crowd sized but was very pleasantly surprised to find it to be one of the smallest crowds I've seen (I only usually make 1 trip a year). I thought it would be best to park back by soak city as to avoid the crowds at the main gate and to have a more central entrance/exit. Got through ticket booth around 10:30 and headed to Magnum. Walk on with only one train wait. (The walk through the queue gave my cousin a great view of TTD which he had refused to ride every time he has came to the park before and had a pretty firm stance about not riding it today, although that did change.) Magnum was running 2 trains and was smooth, great airtime, the last "bunny hop" always gets me. After Magnum we headed to the back of the park for the real reason we were there, Mean Streak, ha, just kidding.

Maverick doesn't look like much but it definately packs a huge punch. We got to the entrance around 11 to find that it was closed, appatently "all morning" according to some random woman walking by, but there was people waiting inside the queue which had to mean it was running one time or another. We decided to wait it out and it was up and running in around 20 mins. After they opened the gate, we walked into the now fairly empty queue. We were on the path above the water before you enter the old WWL station. It turned out to be a 30 min wait after it started to run.

I decided, without my cousins input who is a little hesitant about coasters, that we were going to sit in the last row. I figured it would give the "wildest" ride based on what I had read. As you pull out of the station you can get a better look at the layout of the track and what you are about to do. Also, if you ride in the second train out of the station you can watch the first train take the trip through the first half of the ride, pretty cool. As you start to roll forward and hit the LIMs it is kinda shocking. You are really moving up that hill! As you start to crest the top it does slow down a considerable amount but still enough to really throw you over the top. I really didn't think the 95 degree drop was going to be much different from any other drop but boy was I wrong. That is a totally different feeling. After going through the first half of the ride you can get a feeling for how it turns, which is quite quick. I got whacked in the neck a good number of times but not really enough to be a huge problem. The negative G's are insane, especially being in the back of the train.

As we pulled into the tunnel we stopped and sat for a few seconds while I assume the train in front of us finished. I thought it was a quick stop followed by a immediate launch but in this case it wasn't. It didn't take a whole lot from the ride but the second ride (later in the day) it was a lot more "streamlined." The launch is good and the turn out of the tunnel is forcefull but a lot of fun. The dive over the pond gives some good air and, yes, a heartline roll above the water would kill you if they had kept it (not that I wouldn't have rode it though!). The ride back to the break run is one intense manuver after another (I don't remember the names but you know 'em). The ride is nearly perfect and is nonstop from start to finish. This is now by far my favorite coaster at the park.

After our exhilarating ride we headed to Skyhawk which had a 3 cycle wait. I really like this flat, much more intense than MaxAir, only its too short. Next, we headed to Raptor. On the way we saw Mantis was a walk-on so we decided to take a spin. Bad move. I've never really liked the ride but will usually ride it with a short wait. My cousin had never rode so I thought he should at least try it. We sat towards the middle and still got beat to hell. We both had bad headaches for the next few hours till we stopped by first aid to get some tylenol.

At Raptor, the sign said a 45 min wait but was more like 30 mins. Great ride as always, only I wish the last turn into the breaks wasn't so rough. The video is really cool. I could see it selling but after reading problems about it I could see it causing some problems with customer satisfaction. After Raptor we headed to Demon Drop, no wait. This is one of the most terrifying rides in the park because you really think you could die on it. haha, still fun though. We hit up Disaster Transport (20 mins) and Wicked Twister (5 mins) both ok coasters. Next we hit up the first aid for our headaches and then got a burger at the "oldies" diner (forget the name). $10 for a cheeseburger and small drink, no fries!!! That is outrageous. People pay it though, just as we did so I don't see prices lowering any time soon.

We took the train back to Mean Streak and got on in 2 trains. It was the smoothest ride I've ever had but still the MOST BORING ride at the park. I feel like I could fall asleep. Nothing exciting happens and the trims down the drop are a joke. If I had it my way this would be the ride to remove to put in something new. Next we got in like for Maverick again. The sign said it was up to hour wait. We were in line a few mins before it broke down for about 15 mins. Then after running for 15 mins it stopped for another 10. In the end with the breakdowns the wait was around 1 hour 5 mins. This time we rode in the second row which gave a much smoother ride. Also like I said the launch in the tunnel immediately followed the brakes which makes it much more exciting. In the end I liked the back better because of the EXTREME negative G's you pull, never seen anything like it.

We walked over to Gemini which was only running 1 train all day. 3 cycle wait and we were gone. One of my favorites in the park, only not as good when your not racing. Next was onto what my cousin had been dreading all day, TTD. It was listed as a 30 min wait and I had a plan up my sleeve to get him to ride. I told him I'm not going to wait alone and he's gonna have to wait with me and then just "cross over" or something to chicken out. I thought that somehow in 30 mins I could coax him into it or at least the humiliation of chickening out would make him ride it. He reluctantly agreed and we got in line. After he watched launch after launch I began to think he REALLY wasn't going to ride no matter what I did. Once we got into the station that is where he changed his mind. We lined up behind a couple cute girls his age and changed his tune real quick. Went from "heck no" to "I can't believe I'm going to ride this." In the end, he of course loved it and now is tied for his number 1 with Maverick and MF. After TTD we headed over to a 15 min wait for MF. Its a great ride and all but I have never been in awe of it. It just never really does anything for me other than having good speed throughout. By this time it was 5:30 and we were wiped out and headed back to the car. Overall the trip was great. No crowds, awesome weather and two rides on Maverick.

(Sorry for any misspellings, I'm tired)

Top 5 Coasters
1. Maverick
2. TTD
3. Magnum
4. MF
5. Gemini

Nice report. I'm glad you had a great time and welcome to PointBuzz!

Good report! Sounds like you had a good time.

Whether I'm beat silly by the restraints, knocked out by the g-forces, or I'm just overall extremely uncomfortable, Mantis always seems to hurt me, and apparently it's not just me. They ought to scrap that horrible thing.

Mean Streak? Boring? I've never heard that description before. But I agree in that the trims are laughable. There's nothing like getting trimmed to almost a stop about 140 feet above the ground while facing the track below. :)

Jamie the Crazy said:

I agree in that the trims are laughable. There's nothing like getting trimmed to almost a stop about 140 feet above the ground while facing the track below. :)

So true! I noticed this on our Memorial Day trip. It kills the first drop, and then on top of that it eliminates the airtime. They either need to make the first drop less tall or turn off the trims or tear the ride down.

adams819 said:
We both had bad headaches (from Mantis) for the next few hours till we stopped by first aid to get some tylenol.

Make sure you stay well hydrated and well fed. If you don't you will get those headaches, especially after riding Mantis. They give out free cups of ice water (and there are plenty of drinking fountains) so be sure to take a minute to get some water at least a couple times an hour. I have also found that if you adjust the OTSR's so that they are touching the top of your shoulders (instead of having that bicycle seat an inch from your crotch), it will result in less headbanging. I did this on Chang last year and it was an absolutely amazing ride (I had ridden it before and I didn't really like it). However I still haven't got it to work on Mantis yet.

adams819 said:
Got through ticket booth around 10:30...it was 5:30 and we were wiped out and headed back to the car.

Unless you are a regular with a season pass, I would advise that you enjoy the park from open it close. It is really a shame that you left at 5:30. You could have had over 4 more hours of near-walk-on coaster riding for the price you paid for your tickets. But of course it is up to you how long you stay. Looks like you had a great trip.

Yea, I didn't really want to leave that early but my cousin still had one more day of school and finals on Monday morning so he didn't really want to be out late. I'm planning on trying to get up to CP at least once more this year. Maybe for Halloweekends. Anyone know how it compares to Fearfest at PKI? How's the haunted houses?

hmmmmm..... Finals or Cp?? Thats a hard one. :) As for Mantis I wonder if it would help if was turned to floorless?

^ Though I'm no expert, I think floorless trains would definitely make a difference. I don't know to what extent, but anything is better than how it is now.

I can vouch for the 5:30 departure. Trying to drive from Dayton to CP and back in one day can be a killer if you stay till close. In order to get there near opening you have to leave at like 7ish, so by the time it's dark, you're tired. Sounded like a great trip overall!

I was at the park on the 10th as well. I have a season pass and I had been there the day before with friends but didn't get to ride everything, so my girl and I decided to take a drive out for Sunday afternoon.

I was shocked at the lines. I don't know if Sundays are normally like this, as I go on Saturday normally...but everything was SO short. We rode MF 3 times with no more than a 15 minute wait. Raptor was MAYBE 15 minutes. TTD was 15-20 minutes. Magnum and Mantis were both walk-on. I took my second ride on Maverick after about 45 minutes, and was bummed when it went down a few hours later at the end of the night. I walked on Skyhawk before taking the last train of the night on MF.

I guess I'm wondering if I should change my schedule to Sunday trips to CP, or if this was just a fluke. Most Saturdays are at least an hour for MF. Granted, I did get there at about 4:30, so maybe a lot of folks had already headed home.

Easily the best day I've had at the point.

Jonah said:

I guess I'm wondering if I should change my schedule to Sunday trips to CP, or if this was just a fluke.

it was not a fluke! Sundays in June are the best time to go. I've been going the past 5 years and it's never crowded.

Sounds like I need to make a Sunday trip in June.

Jamie the Crazy said:
^ Though I'm no expert, I think floorless trains would definitely make a difference. I don't know to what extent, but anything is better than how it is now.

I agree, a floorless would be a great ride at CP.