Originally it was just going to be the bridal party, but the group quickly grew to over 35 people once the word got out. My sister Jen and her fiancée Chris gave us all corny tee shirts at the dress rehearsal dinner on the 3rd. The shirts said 'groomsmen', 'best man', 'maid of honor', 'father of bride', 'mother of bride', etc. Even our pastor got one.
We arrived on a hot and humid Thursday morning and gathered in front of group sales. Besides the bridal party the group included relatives from Oklahoma and California along with friends from church and college. As we where posing for a picture, a CP employee walked by. He saw what where doing, quickly collected all of our cameras and took the pictures so that everyone could be included. This was just he first in many nice things the CP employees would do to accommodate our rather large group.
My sister wanted to do at least one ride where everyone was on the same train. We figured the Millennium Force would be our best chance to do this. So we walked over their first to get our Freeway stamps. Freeway doesn't open until 11:00 so we decided to go on Mantis for our first ride. After mantis we got our MF stamp for 3:00.
Next was White Water Landing. Our group needed a whole armada of boats. Some friends started to sing 'I'm Going to the Chapel of Love'.
Next we headed over to Mean Streak. The operator announced that Chris and Jen where getting married on Friday, which drew a nice round of applause from the other guests.
Gemini was the next stop. We got the groom and groomsmen in the blue train and the bride and bridesmaids in the red train. The men won which led too much taunting of the ladies.
Next we rode Magnum. I got my cousin from California, who had never ridden Magnum, to ride with me in the ejector seat (1st car, 3rd row). He was very impressed.
At this point we where pretty much dying from the heat and humidity, so we decided to grab some lunch. We want to Macaroni's and they where nice enough to seat our group of 20 people in booths next to each other. After the much needed break from the heat, it was time to ride Millennium Force.
By this time we where getting pretty pumped up. While waiting in line we formed a little tunnel that the bride and groom could run under. Some of the other people in line even helped. When we got to the station we asked if we could all get on the same train. The operators said no problem and made sure we where all first in line for the next train,
We loaded into the train just like we would line up for the wedding: Bride and Groom and in the 2nd seat, followed by the best man and maid of honor, then the bridesmaids and groomsmen, then the pastor, parents, and everyone else. Needless so say, I don't think it's a ride any of us will ever forget. My sister was so excited that we all got to ride together. The operators where all very impressed with out tee shirts.
My cousins from Los Angeles, who frequently go to SFMM and KBF, declared MF to be their new #1 coaster.
As it turned out, our timing was incredibly lucky. A storm was moving in and there was some lighting and thunder in the distance. Our train was the last one they sent before shutting down the ride. We knew the storm was coming because every other ride was also stopped. Sure enough, we barely made it to the midway when it started to rain. And it rained hard. We actually didn't mind that much because it cooled us down. Luckily, the rain didn't last more then 10 minutes and the skies cleared.
One funny side story I need to tell. While we where riding the other rides, my Mom, my Mom's best friend, my Aunt, and my 12-year-old cousin went to the Power Tower. None of them had ever ridden before. We have been trying to get Mom to ride for years but she never would. But when her 12 year-old niece asks, she jumps right on. As they where being loaded into the ride, my cousin and Aunt chickened-out and walked out the exit. My Mom and her friend look at each other and said 'What the heck' and rode anyways. My sister and myself could not believe it when she told us this story.
After the rain, we decided to head over to Wicked Twister since the line was fairly short. My sister had rode this once in the front seat and was not that impressed. I got her to ride with me in the back and she loved it.
By this time it was 5:30 and we where all fairly worn-out. We decided to make Raptor our final ride. I waited for the front car with my future brother in-law and we had a great ride.
Everyone had a excellent time, the employees where very helpful, and the other guests where constantly asking about the wedding and congratulating Chris and Jen. This is one CP trip that I'm sure we won't soon forget.
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Bob M.
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