May 28, 29 & 30 (Long)

This was a very good weekend to go to CP! My daughter arrived at the park at about 7pm Friday. We were already checked into the Breakers Express. My wife stayed in the room. Katie & I met my niece, and 1st grade nephew, and off we went. It was a bit cool, but a decent evening. Everything was a walk-on for us. Skyride to the far end. Magnum was a 1 train wait. I rode the Gemini for the first time, it was a 1 train wait. I liked it a lot, but the "headchopper" gets me every time! We rode both sides. Took the CP&LE to the front, grabbed walk-on rides on virtually empty trains for the Iron Dragon. Wildcat was down. Dodgems was walk-on, and then walk-on again for the very next ride. Ocean Motion & Troika we had to ourselves! The last ride of the night was the Blue Streak, just at 10pm. I made it on. It was close, but I got in. What a bone rattler, and a great way to start the weekend.

Saturday we parked in the Soak City lot, and went in the Magnum entrance. Love Joe Cool! Katie got on the Dragster as a front-seat single rider in less than 15 minutes. While I was waiting, I actually saw a guy hold a video camera at waist level for the entire ride. I was amazed. After Dragster, it was off to Maggie, for six walk-on rides in a row. Got in the front seat for the first time. Also the back car. I like both a lot. I think I am getting addicted to the drop. The Rec Specs worked out perfectly, no more fear of lost glasses! After the Magnum, down to Gemini for 2 rides, with 1-train waits. Then I did the CCMR. First time since 1970. Scrunched in, and got beat up. Just wanted to say I'd done it. Probably won't be a regular stop. Back up front for the Wildcat & Dodgems, but along the way, in the Funway Station, I found a piece of coal from the CP&LE on the platform. Perfectly shaped like the state of Ohio. Very cool souvenir, and free! As the crowds thickened up around 1pm, we left the park about 2:00 for a family picnic at Lion's Park in Sandusky.

Sunday was very much like Saturday, except we parked out front, and Katie rode the Force in under 15 minutes. The Joe Cool gate was waaaayy down near Johnny Rockets! More walk-ons on the Magnum, and a couple on the Gemini. Then the Wildcat again. We left the park about 2:00 Sunday also. But I wanted to get 30 rides in on the Magnum, so we went back Sunday night, about 7:00pm. The Magnum walk-ons this weekend were priceless. Ride #30 was in the front-seat, in the rain. The wind was whipping off Lake Erie, and there were immense rollers coming in and crashing on the breakwall. The rain was starting to pelt down hard as we went over the top. It was great! The train was flying, the track was wet, and the rain was driving horizontally into our faces. It was cold, it was wet, and it was screaming fast! I'm glad it was my 30th ride, and not my first! They only dispatched one filled train after that one, and then an empty one, and then they shut it down. We took a ride on the boat, but it was monsooning by the time we got back, so we finally left and I took Katie to Tofts for ice cream.

Dragster oddities this weekend: The guy with the video camera, and whoever let go the huge load of paper confetti on Sunday afternoon. Arcade oddities this weekend: The "dead zone" of mostly non-functional older games near the Kiddieland doors. Seawolf, Air Combat & the like. They haven't worked in years. Two Davies but no Goliath from the Big Choice. Employee oddities this weekend: The female arcade employee who bummed 50 cents from me to make a phone call. The guy named Jeff who works at the Corral, and came around chatting with folks at their tables while they were eating. He commented politely on the weather, wished us a nice day, and said if we needed anything, to let him know.All told, it was a great weekend. Breakers Express is a nice place to stay. It’s in good shape, the people are friendly, and the rate was good for Sandusky on Memorial Day. The coffee is pretty good. One elevator in our wing was down for a while, as well as the security door. They had an employee or a police officer in that lobby at all times, all weekend, asking for key cards. Very good policy. We paid for our passes and parking passes with this weekend’s visits. The rest of the summer is gravy! Happy Riding!