I arrived at airport in cleveland after some 23hours of travelling from UK. I was met by Anne (CP_IRVINE) and we were later met by Brian (WOLFHOUNDE) and they then helped me get my Rental car and drive on to my Motel in Sandusky. A good nights sleep followed.
We left for the Point about noon and the butterflies in my stomach started when i saw the sheer size of Millenium Force on the horizon! we went to get my season pass and we headed into the park. I was so excited at finally after several years being at Cedar Point and even being in the USA. Walking past the new Vertigo i was a bit unsure about it and was having severe doubts whether to ride Vertigo or not.
We started the day at Magnum and after hearing so many good things about this steel monster over here in the UK (still rated worlds NO.1 steel coaster here) i sat in the very rear seat with Anne. Finally i get to ride Magnum XL200 for my first ever time, and in fact my first ever coaster ride outside of the UK. The train chugged its way up the chain lift getting higher and higher (me not liking heights that is) i could see Vertigo beside me, and was getting more and more doubtful about it. We reached the top of Magnums hill and i flung my arms up high in true coaster crazy fashion, and what a rush speeding down that first hill and over the top of the second feeling airtime whilst admiring Lake Erie below. speeding through the tunnel and round the Turnaround at high speed. Back round the track over the camel backs and tunnels and back into the station cheering. What a rush !! My first ever ride at CP and what an excellent ride Magnum is, it certainely deserves its reputation.
After Magnum we rode Woodstock Express / Gemini then Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Gemini was excellent and seemed very fast when in the back seats, and of course we won, but then i am a bad loser so lucky really.!
The Mine ride was okay, after me and Brian waited a lifetime for maintenance checks (never mind) it was a mine ride, what can i say? Woodstock Express just had to be done so as my coaster count can go up. (true coaster enthusist you see) Then me and Anne headed for Mean Streak (I had to drag her, due to its reputation) I got lucky i think as in the second row back from the front i actually had a great ride which i thouroghly enjoyed, lots of airtime and fast banked turns, why oh why cant we have large wooden coasters here in UK? I see why it gets its nickname "Mean Squeak" though, as what an awful racket it makes (suddenly remembers why we aren't allowed decent wooden coasters in UK!) Great ride though i thought.
We headed for the Red Garter after Mean Streak and found out MF was having problems and we would have to ride it next in case of problems. After an enjoyable show in the Garter (working in a theatre as a stage manager, i can recognise a good show) we met up with Rob (RED GARTER ROB) and after a couple more drinks we all 4 headed for Millenium Force and joined the queue line. Now i gotta admit i love coasters and live for coasters, But not liking heights so much, the sheer height of that lift hill towering above us was putting the wind up me lets say. and DAMN it looked so steep too. After zig-zagging through many a queue line being entertained by Anne and Robs Humour (i was starting to come out of my shell now, and let my true sense of humour show through) I was in one respect excited to ride MF at last, and again nervous about its size! We eventually made it to the station and the first thing i noticed was DID SOMEBODY FORGET TO BUILD THE TRAIN SIDES ?? Well in true coaster fan style we headed for the very rear seats, me with Anne, and Brian with Rob. Buckled up and lapbar tightly down (ok first ride, i forced it down tight) we were clear for flight.. And oh hell, how fast and steep is that goddamn lift-hill !! The higher we got, the more i thought *i hate heights* and i am sure Anne will vouch for me when i say i was not enjoying the height and seem to remember saying "oh jesus" near the top, and NO i just couldnt bring myself to look back down.. Still there we were 310ft up and only one way down, And OH MY, what a way to come down!! AWESOME, the sheer speed is unbelievable and as for that drop? where was the track? i couldnt see it.. Next in to the banked turn, and i swear i would fall out, that turn is better than most inversions!! Well i wont describe my thoughts on every turn and slope, but just say that MF is one awesome beast of a coaster, no let-up from the start and speed is incredible all through the track right up until the last banked turn into the brakes. And wow did i smile and cheer when i survived Millenium Force.. Rob turned to me and said "well" and without thinking my only reaction was " f*****g excellent " which had evryone laughing i hope will remember me by.. No doubt MF has gone straight to the top of my Fav coasters list. If only it wasn't 5000miles away from home..
Still after MF i met Ben (Hi Ben) and then we headed for the Garter again for more fluid, Now being English i didnt quite get going on the Alcohol (lucky really) and only had 2 glasses of Mikes Hard Lemonade!! I cant remember the order of the next rides (maybe it was the Alcohol after all? ) but i know we rode Disaster Transport sometime, and my thoughts?? Well interesting, as Bobsled rides go it was better and faster than most, But CP attempt at theming i wont comment on as it may upset folk.. (come and check out Alton Towers UK for Incredible theming) Average ride none the less, and another to add to my list. Iron dragon next, and with a similar ride here in UK (Vampire) i knew sort of what to expect, and i really liked the final turns and helixes over the water, with fast g's.
Then we headed for Raptor, now as a major B+M fan (Anne / Brian will have noticed that... ) i was well excited about this bird of prey, As my favourite ride back home is Nemisis (Smaller baby of Raptor, with major theming) i knew how a B+M Inverted feels, and Raptor didn't disappoint, longer and bigger than UK's Nemisis it was very similar in feel, Fast / Smooth and full of G's and Inversions. God i love B+M coasters!! Still cant decide on best between Raptor or Nemisis, both equally awesome and intense. Maybe nemisis gets it on Theming, which is unbeleivable and seriously adds a unique atmosphere to the ride experience. Still i loved Raptor and it gets a joint 2nd place in my Fav coaster list (with Nemisis) B+M perfection at its finest.
Later we rode Corkscrew, now this again is very similar to a smaller Corkscrew we have also at Alton Towers (except ours only has 2 inversions, Vekoma same age though) and i suspected being a Vekoma that this may be a little rough ride. And yes my predictions were right, an excellent ride with great g's on the corkscrews but a little rough on the ears. But dont get me wrong, it was good and i enjoyed it.Slightly better than our Corkscrew with the loop. And i must say the position of the Corkscrews over the paths is excellent for visual effects, almost like theming.
Now i wasn't getting out of this it seems, as everyone (Anne / Brian and Rob) wanted to head for Vertigo now, and i will be honest i didn't !! (gone off the idea, now i love coasters, but this?? ) So i apprehensively followed behind over to those daunting 3 towers of terror (better name i feel) now they headed up to pay for there rides, and i was well........way back out of site (ok i am a coward) lol Brian headed over to me and somehow (all credit Brian mate) persuaded me to ride (he had a good point, i said i was going to ride, and well peer pressure) so i pays me money (bargain for being terrifed i feel) and follows Brian (who i might add was his first ride of Vertigo too, and a little anxious i hope he doesnt mind me saying) and we choose to ride Big Bang, so i get given this what i would describe as a seat-belt deal and told to wear it? (give me a clue) Anyway we were harnessed up by staff and headed on out to the ride (god help me) sitting down on the seats (well large lumps of what-not anyway) i soon realised how exposed and loose we felt there, Buckled up and ready to go i was pretty terrified (i am honest) and didnt want to do this.. We were taken up for weighing and i think i needed new underwear there and then (scared isn't a strong enough word) and when were lowered back down and told there was balance problems i just died !! I also noticed how damn vulnerable you feel as no-where sensible to put hands, i didnt like between my legs, so opted to cross my chest and hold the straps ( in a sort of death-tomb style, optimistic me) So we were again hoisted up a short way, and held, and whilst sitting there terrified all i can remember is Anne and Robs smiling laughing faces looking at us two sitting there nervously. (thanks guys....lol) and i would honestly have killed them at that time for getting me on that thing if i wasnt strapped in.
Well all i remember is "vertigo riders you are clear to fly" and i thought "oh s**t" then without notice WHOOSH we were away, right up to some 300ft (give or take) and then the seats kicked in and threw us face first down and i saw the ground rush towards me at great speed, having got over the fear now, i launched my hands out and cheered at the rush.. (strange really, first terrified, now loving it) and before i knew it we were back on Terraferma. And after all that fear and worry, i actually enjoyed it and it wasnt as bad as i thought. (no really) and i was shaking like a leaf still though.. But hey i am well glad that Brian got me on it, as i would have chickened out otherwise.. (i know, sad)
Needless to say we rode MF again by night, and later found out it was the last run the ride made on its damaged cable before it broke. !!
I wont go on about my day Sunday at SFWOA (boo-hiss i hear) and only say that Monday i was back at the Point for another day of coaster fun.And i finally finished my riding of all the coasters at CP with many more rides on Magnum / Raptor / Mean Streak (ok so i got a bad ride, and now know what you mean about being rough) and all the others too. Now Mantis i think is an awesome track with some great ideas, but should have been a sit-down ride. As i did find it a little rough and uncomfortable at times. Now as a major B+M fan i was surprised and a little dissapointed at it, But not knocking it as i had 3 go's on it anyhow, and loved them all, just could be smoother. I think i did manage about 5 go's on Raptor on Monday though, Such incredible fun and speed! I met up with Rob in the Garter and said hi, and headed round the park some more, riding Power-tower several times as i just love the rush it gives on both sides of ride. (you should try the 45 degree tilted stand-up version here in UK for a rush, 200ft face first) My last ever ride at CP was Raptor (the bird had me hooked) and then i sadly left the park ready for home (seeing CP get smaller in my car mirrors was so sad)
I had an absolutlely excellent time in the USA, and loved CP to the point were i want to move over there. A truly amazing park with some awesome coasters and attractions and never a dull moment had. The staff were very friendly and seemed to love there jobs, and as for those Pointers i met (Anne, Brian and Rob) a very big thankyou for making me so welcome and showing me around the Point. Shame i couldn't stay longer as would love to have spent more time with you all, and socailised a bit longer. But hell i be back next year, for sure, for much longer too...
Finally (god damn this is long, could be longer cos when i get going.........) a big thankyou to everyone and you guys just dont know how lucky you are with CP near you, And if anyone comes to UK and wants a tour get in touch...
Lee
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MF Reaction::: F*****G Excellent.
*** This post was edited by LeeUK. on 9/6/2001. ***
*** This post was edited by LeeUK. on 9/6/2001. ***
I am glad you had such a great time, I hope you got to ride the CP&LE railroad as well as Cedar Downs Racing Derby, two great rides.
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"Sorry but Millennium Force is currently DFD."
MF total - 393 laps
VertiGo Launches - 51
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
When it came time to get the tickets, Anne had already promised her first ride to Rob, so it was gonna be Lee and I. Ok, we can do this....as I'm doing my best to talk Lee into getting onto Vertigo, I was sitting there thinking "but who is gonna talk me into it???" First reaction as I walked up to the seats....you've got to be KIDDING me? Its a frickin' saddle!?! We get ourselves locked and raised up for the first time and I've got the death grip going on the little "handle" in front of me. I swear it was almost a depends moment. And then.....we come back down.....overbalanced????? Not something I wanted to hear as the imagination just takes off with that one.
At that point I resigned myself to thinking many and various thoughts of cruel revenge on Anne and Rob barely standing from laughter at the two of us. Up again and then gone! Lee like the true english nutter that he is, throws his hands out wide making me think "are you INSANE!" Next thought, we'll you were nuts enough to do this too.....so arms out both of us, it was a great ride.
We got back down and wobbled to the exit trying to debate which of us was shaking more. To wrap this up though, I'll say it was f*****g excellent spending the day with Lee and I'm looking forward to seeing ya in my trip to England next spring.
Oh yeah, more side notes, due to the absence of force at MM yesterday, Anne and I took the walk back to Vertigo and got in another 5 rides. Strangely enough I've now found I'm hooked on the ride. In one of our rides, we did setting #4, Big Bang Plus and I was happy to see that this time, it was Anne letting loose with a few unprintable phrases. Ahhhh, revenge :). This one we're doing together when you come back Lee.
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-Brian
"Chetto panelview"
And sorry brian i never thought you needed encouragement on Vertigo.Doh I was to busy being terrified myself....lol :) But hey yeah lets go for a Rob-style Vertigo marathon next time.. And you read me right (English Nutter) :) :) love it.....lol Hands out all the way next time for sure.
Be nice to get some more goes on MF too, as it broke and i only got 2 goes :(
And your e-mail got me tempted Brian (to come back yet this year) lol.. Been looking at flights and weekends.. :) Doubt i could make it this year though (go on twist my arm)..
Take it easy all..
Lee
PS: Brian explain that new signature.. :)
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MF Reaction::: F*****G Excellent.
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