Opening Day 2014

This was my first ever trip to Cedar Point on Opening Day. I was intrigued to find out just what the weather was going to be like, and what the crowds would be like. I don't think I could have asked for a better day at Cedar Point in all my times there.

My wife and I took along my best friend and my sister, both of whom love Cedar Point but aren't quite as enthusiastic as my wife and me. I was the huge nerd in the group, and I am completely comfortable with that.

This was also the first time my wife and I had purchased season passes of any type. Way back in September we decided on Platinum Passes (we'll be making a road trip to Michigan's Adventure, Kings Island, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, and Cedar Point in July for our 10th anniversary. I can't wait.) So, since I was new to the process for getting the passes processed, I was expecting a long line and a huge wait. We got to the park at about 9:15, and were out of the processing center at about 9:18. Not exaggerating.

We had a tougher time buying the discounted tickets for our other guests than we did at the Season Pass Center. We were also under the impression that my friend and sister wouldn't have been able to get in early with us, which is disappointing but understandable. We were dead wrong.

The ticket attendant wrote "Early Entry" on their tickets, much to our surprise, and we rushed over to GateKeeper, which would be my friend and sister's first ever rides on the big blue machine.

We'd seen it fly by earlier, but weren't sure if there were people on it and why the line was all the way past Krazy Kars. It was ridiculous. Thankfully they opened up the line, and we decided to wait for the front of the line on the lake side. What an amazing way to start out our summer.

GateKeeper (9/10): The ride is smooth as silk and just glided perfectly in and out of each transition. Sure, it isn't the most forceful ride in the park, but it sure packs a thrilling punch over the midway and with the turnaround. The restraints, which killed my collarbone last year, were much more comfortable and allowed for a better experience. I'm really glad the park decided to adjust these.

Wicked Twister (6/10): After we got off the ride, it was about 10:05, meaning ERT was over and we decided to head over to Wicked Twister, which had zero line. The biggest problem we ran into here was the restraint issue that is apparently pretty prevalent this year. My friend, Brad, is about 6'1" and broad shouldered, but not in any sense overweight. The train before ours had to have the restraints released 3 or 4 times because of those damned buckles. Our train had a similar situation, including Brad. He's ridden WT several times before, and WT has never had an accident involving riders to my knowledge, so I don't understand why they decided to shorten the belts even further.

Regardless, I've always liked this coaster, but it hasn't ever blown my socks off. This was a first time ride for my wife, and it looks like I'll be riding alone from now on. She hated it. She doesn't do back and forth very well, but I thought the times in between would be enough for her to recover. Big mistake. For me, it was a fun ride, but for the others in our group, it wasn't the greatest.

WindSeeker (8/10): After WT, we decided to take a spin on WindSeeker, which was a walk-on as well. For as many times as this monstrosity is down, it is still a wonderful addition to the park, giving amazing views and genuinely fun when you get to the top.

So, after our trip on the Seeker, we decided to head toward the back of the park, seeing as how most people were at GateKeeper and Raptor. I wish we had just gone straight back to Maverick, but I decided to keep my inner coaster enthusiast in check, letting everyone else decided where to go. They decided on Magnum next, which had a 15 minute wait.

Magnum XL-200 (8/10): I'm sensing a pattern with how smooth every ride was. I don't know if it's because they don't have a ton of wear and tear yet this season, but every ride was smooth as glass. Magnum was amazing. My sister and I rode in the ejector seat, and had a blast on the back half of the ride.

Next up was my first time walking down the newly renovated Gemini Midway. What a difference. It looks like a place where I would want to hang out and ride rides, and not just skip past back to Maverick. Monster looks like a completely new ride and Lake Erie Eagles just fits. The pavement also made such a huge difference in the heat of the day.

Pipe Scream (10/10): Now, I had never been on a Disk-O before, even though I'd been to Kings Island several times before. What a great ride experience. I didn't think the ride would pack as much punch as it did, but wow, at full speed this thing kicks butt. Now, we only got a go in the middle of the ride, so I'm excited to ride the outside on my next trip, but I'm grateful that Cedar Point added this to its lineup.

Gemini (6/10): Now, I love Gemini. It was one of my first big coasters as I kid, and I still think it is one of the best rides in the park, when running two trains. They were only running one when we rode. I didn't think it would take that much fun out of it, but it really does make a difference having that blue train running. Disappointing, but certainly not ride, or day, breaking.

After Gemini we were all pretty hungry, so we decided to head to the car to get some food. I hate spending money on food in the park, especially if I can bring something better from home.

Raptor (9/10): After lunch, we decided to see what Raptor's line was up to. At an hour, it was the longest wait of the day, but still so worth it. My sister and wife split off from my friend and I when we go to the platform. They wanted to ride the front, while I always enjoy a ride in the very back row. I absolutely love getting tugged around the track, especially not being able to see where we were going. The intensity through the loop and the zero-g roll was especially prevalent and just plain fun.

Blue Streak (8/10): After Raptor, I convinced the group to take a turn on Blue Streak for its 50th birthday. It had about a twenty minute wait. The old man was running quickly and with more airtime than I remember. I loved every second, and I'm wondering what it's going to take for Cedar Point to go the woodie route again. If it means removing Mean Streak, I'm all in favor.

Next up, we headed toward Millennium Force, stopping by to see what the line for Mantis was like. On past visits, Mantis has had no less than an hour wait. This time it was about 20 minutes, which is just about perfect.

Mantis (9/10): I love this ride. Yeah, that's right, I said it. I love the intensity, I love the corkscrew, I love the figure eight ending. It feels like taking the trim brake off the first drop has breathed new life into the ride. I also noticed how often the crew was cranking out trains. This may be because their TL is a guy by the name of DeAngelo. The guy has been the TL for GateKeeper, Raptor, Wicked Twister, and maXair, and been on crew for a bunch of others. You could just tell that they were working like a well-oiled machine when he was in the booth and it was a great sight to see. There were a few times that the station was empty because they hit interval. Anyone who knows how Mantis works knows how much of an accomplishment this is. So, kudos to that crew for a phenomenal job on Opening Day.

Millennium Force (10/10): After Mantis, we we headed over to Millennium and it only had a half hour wait. So far, this day could not have been more perfect in terms of wait times. It was glorious to be able to get on this many rides by 3:00. What can I say that hasn't already been said about this beast? We rode toward the middle of the train, and it still gave amazing views and was just all out speed. After 14 years this thing still rules them all. Amazing.

Maverick was calling our name after getting off Millie. We stopped by the newly renovated petting zoo, and wow what a difference. Brad was completely enthralled by a gigantic rabbit in one of the enclosures. Seriously, this thing could have passed as Bugs Bunny. And of course, the girls were in love with the teacup pigs too.

On our way back toward Mav, we noticed that we hadn't seen a train in a little while. Sure enough, mechanics were working on a train sitting at the bottom of the lift. Brad wanted to ride Mean Streak for whatever reason, so he and I rode while the girls stayed behind.

Mean Streak (5/10): I really don't like this ride. It was smoother than previous years, but it's just so boring. And definitely not worth the 25 minute wait that it was.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride (6/10): I've never been a huge fan of CCMR and maybe that's because as a kid it was one of the last rides I rode the first time I was at Cedar Point. I had already ridden Magnum and Gemini and Blue Streak. Those were all more exciting than Mine Ride, and maybe that's why I've always been ambivalent towards it. The helix at the end is fun, but otherwise, there never is a draw towards CCMR for me. It was fun freaking my sister out on it though.

SkyHawk (8/10): We walked over from the exit of CCMR to SkyHawk. Look, I worked on maXair for the summer of 2010. We used to make fun of and compete with SkyHawk over the summer, and even when we rode on Saturday, the ride host spieling made a comment that SkyHawk was better than maXair. It isn't true, but SkyHawk is such a great ride. The cycle needs to be a bit longer, but the ride is just freaky and awesome.

Maverick still wasn't up, and my sister wanted to ride Top Thrill, so we decided to wait a half hour for a 17 second ride. Look, I love the feeling of the launch, and I'm still waiting for my first roll-back, but to me, Top Thrill is only worth a wait less than a half hour. Thankfully, that's what we got. It was fun, but still a one-trick pony to me (5/10).

While in line for Dragster, we counted up the rides we'd been on for the day. We quickly realized that after Dragster, we only had Corkscrew, Iron Dragon, and Maverick to go for the coasters that we weren't giants on. At that point you just have to get them all in, right? That was the plan...

Corkscrew (7/10): I have to admit, this is another one that I gave up on a while back. When I was a kid it always gave me a headache, and headaches aren't fun, so I stopped riding it. By no means, is it an example of a great steel coaster, but I have to say it was fun this time around. The pop of airtime right after the first drop is cool, and flying over the midway has always been a fun experience. The crew for Corkscrew was also by far the most fun in the park.

Iron Dragon (6/10): We decided to get in line for Iron Dragon after Corkscrew. We rode in the very back. The first half is meh, and the second half pretzel helix is phenomenal, especially in the back of the train.

It was about 6:30 when we got off Iron Dragon, and decided to see what the lines for Mantis and Millennium were. Through the trees, I luckily saw a Maverick train drop off the first hill, and we began a brisk walk back to Mav.

Maverick (10/10): Another perfect run. This thing runs at a break-neck speed and never lets up. We also rode toward the back, where going over that hill feels like you're getting bucked out of your seat. I wish I could ride it over and over again.

I want to take a moment to talk about a couple I saw in line for Maverick that just made me cringe. He had his headphones in listening to music, while his wife was reading a book. What? I get how boring standing in line for an hour can be, but you can't come up with something to talk about? I hope that I'm never like this. That would be miserable. Sheesh.

After Maverick we had done it. We'd ridden every major, non-kiddie coaster in the park. It was about 8:45, so we decided that GateKeeper would be our last ride of the night. Walking back down the Gemini Midway, again, I could not be anything but awe-inspired by the dramatic change that took place in this area. The lights, sounds, colors, all give this aura of a place I'd want to hang out in, if I weren't making my way toward GateKeeper. If this is a sign of things to come, a great night-time atmosphere (lighting, music, etc.) is coming all over the park. And I couldn't be happier about that.

On our way to GateKeeper, I told them I wanted to ride maXair for nostalgia's sake, so Brad and I rode that while my wife and sister bought some t-shirts we saw on our way into the park.

maXair (10/10): My favorite ride in the park. Seriously, the views, the intensity, the speed are all abundant on this ride and there isn't a bad seat on the ride. I absolutely love it. It does help that I worked on it in 2010, but still. It's awesome.

We met up with my wife and sister at the entrance to GateKeeper for one last ride. The line was only 5 minutes long. Wow. Instead of the lake side, we decided to ride the park side, dipping under ourselves at the very top of the lift. It's such a different experience, but still so amazing. After we got off, we had about 5 minutes left. We tried to line up going in the first row on both sides, but unfortunately, we were told that our train would be the second to last ride of the night and that we had to find other seats. Bummer, but we still got in one extra on it.

In all, we got on 20 trips on rides in about 12 hours at the park. Like I said, I don't think I could have asked for a better day at the park. The sun was shining all day, we got a ton of rides in, and we just had a bunch of fun. I love this park.

Sparty42 said:

The crew for Corkscrew was also by far the most fun in the park

I was there opening day too and had a bit of interaction with them before boarding as they were told to go down, then a bit after too. Def. had a few good returners and good crew so far.

Sparty, I love the fact that you referenced Deangelo and how he always has his crews trained so well!

As for WT, was your friend able to ride? Or did he have to get off?

There was an accident on the WT?

^^Bloop

DeAngelo does do a good job, wish I would have had been able to work under him at some point. Mantis is a crazy ride to work, esp controls. Your fingers contort in ways you never thought were possible.

TwistedWicker, no, he had to get off the ride. Again, broad shoulders and just generally being tall were the main culprits. He's still kinda bitter, lol.

krzperfo, no, and I mentioned that I wasn't aware of any, which is why I'm perplexed as to why they continue to shorten the belts on the trains.

And re: DeAngelo, he was the TL for Wicked Twister when I was on maXair, so we saw him all the time in our booth. He helped us train due to the fact that he was on Maxi the year before. Well oiled machines, every single one of his crews. Its amazing what happens when you have someone so skilled and experienced on a crew.

Mantis will have a record year if downtime is decreased, solely because that crew will churn out those trains.

I was going to say, I have a feeling Mantis will be on point this year in terms of ridership. I guarantee Gatekeeper's inaugural season ridership wouldn't have been as high if he wasn't TL.

Great trip report Sparty (love your name btw). It's awesome that you mentioned Deangelo! Deangelo White is an amazing team leader! He did an excellent job on Gatekeeper last Season.I was so impressed with his leadership, that I ended up writing letter of praise to management. I usually dread Mantis, but I am actually looking forward to it this season with Deangelo at the helm.