Opening Weekend -- In a Nutshell

Weather:
Fairly chilly all weekend. Saturday had a few hours of rain and got colder as the day went on, and Sunday was much cooler, but at least the sun was out.

Crowds:
Typical busy day on opening day. Comparable to a midsummer weekday. Lots of buses for Music in the Park. Sunday was busier than I remember from years past. MF, Raptor, Maverick had waits of over an hour both days.

Accomadations:
Bayshore Campground on Cleveland Road again provided a great stay for a great price. 2 nights in a 2 bedroom cabin was 130 dollars. Cabin included kitchen, dishes, TV, bedding, futon, etc... I just wish they would get some more comfortable mattresses. The ones they have are plastic and quite stiff.

Rides:
Dragster struggled to open all weekend (Weather/Mechanical). MF had downtime Sat Eve-Sun AM (Weather/Mechanical). Skyscraper never opened. Magnum, Gemini, and Blue Streak were all giving better rides than I remember.... especially Magnum (even with the cold it was flying!). Mean Streak seems faster, but is still too rough with no real exciting moments. Everything else seemed to be running ok. Crews were pretty fast, especially for opening weekend.

New for 2009:
The new interactive fountain looks fine. I was a bit underwhelmed at first, but it looks like there are more jets that will be used, and I hear it will look great at night. People seemed to be enjoying it, and that's what matters. The Chippery on the Frontier Trail has amazing fresh made potato chips. They are quite possibly the best chips I have ever had. Don't miss it! The new pavers/banners/signs all look great. I'm all for cosmetic improvements. It appears that DT's entrance has been moved to it's Halloweekend entrance permanently. Never had a chance to try the new Dippin Dots sundae stand back in Frontier Town, but it looks good. Lastly, the cosmetic improvements for Magnum's 20th all look great! Especially the sign. As many others have said... it's about time. Starlight Experience had a preview on Saturday night. Only a few things were turned on, but they looked quite nice. When the whole thing is up and running, it should be quite a sight.

Random Notes:
- I noticed on Saturday that they had choir risers set up near the Aquatic/BMX Stadium for the Music in the Park performers. Is this the first year they have done that?
- The new screens in the front of the park are great for helping people see which line they should get in for Early Entry, General Admission, Wheelchair, etc...
- The park is really pushing the new drink wristbands. Given CP's prices, it's not a bad deal. Free soft drinks would be nice though ;)
- The Magnum ceremonies looked to be nice, it was funny to see the line for cake being longer than the line for Magnum itself.... people love free cake :)
- I was shocked that people were actually riding Snake River Falls on Saturday Evening. It was in the mid 50's and people were getting absolutely soaked. The new haystack dryers were getting a lot of use...

Hours in Park: 15
Ride Count: 30
MF - 2
Maverick - 1
Magnum - 5
Gemini - 5
WT - 1
Maxair - 2
Skyhawk - 6
Blue Streak - 1
Mine Ride - 1
Mean Streak - 1
Power Tower - 2
Raptor - 2
Disaster Trans - 1

^It was pretty funny to see the line longer for cake and ice cream than the ride. I was going to wait for some free Toft's Ice cream but figured I could ride a ride instead! I missed the ceramony, I really wanted to see it. Time just got away from me and a Mantis walk-on was calling my name!