September 22nd & 23rd with two 1st timers

Taking first timers to Cedar Point, during Halloweekends, what could be funner? The looks on everyone's faces while coming down the causeway and going around perimeter road were priceless, as always. My group of 4 checked into hotel breakers just after 4 and ate at Tomo hibachi downstairs, which was pretty good.

Stayed in the park up until closing. We rode Dragster more times than I care to count since they loved it so much. Maverick was unfortunately down all night, so it had to wait until Saturday. We rode almost everything else Friday due to the very light crowds, but the lines for the haunted houses were long-ish, so we never bothered with them. This was one of the best times I've ever had at the park.

Saturday, the park was very busy, which is to be expected for this time of the year. The weather was almost perfect too. We didn't make it in for early entry do to a longer than expected breakfast at Perkins. We immediately saw that Dragster was down. The swarm of maintenance guys and gates going up were signs that we wouldn't get to ride it again while were there. No biggie, off to Maverick. We got on it right after someone had what appeared to be a very large protein spill, which they got cleaned up in about 10 minutes. The 2 newbies were flabbergasted by it. Eventually we got one more ride on it after sundown due to it breaking down again. Overall, they liked almost every coaster, although Magnum and that ejector air at the end caught them off guard. The beach was very busy, and rightfully so, it was a wonderful day to be on it. All in all, we had a great day and didn't make it to park close due to everyone being physically exhausted.

*Rant warning* However, rides were breaking down far faster than maintenance could fix them for most of the day. We lucked out and managed to ride our share of things anyway. Staffing levels were quite a bit lower than I would have expected. Beer stands and food trucks were rocking though. None of us recall seeing anyone cleaning in general, except in Breakers. The bathrooms needed some generous TLC later in the day. Tables in most areas were dirty. Some garbage cans were overflowing by sundown. Cobwebs were large and in charge, way more than normal. We actually watched spiders almost land on people a few times, most memorably on MF. A ride op swatted the spider away from the guy it was about to land on who was leaning over as far as he could while trying to board.

A noticeable amount of employees were in poor spirits and had that "F this place" look on their face. We ate at Melt Saturday for dinner and had a great waitress thankfully. However, she was glad to be leaving soon and wasn't planning on coming back next year. Some of the screamsters where just standing around chatting. We were close to a guy and his daughter Friday at the very end of Blood on the Bayou, when what appeared to be a screamster (we never figured out if he was or wasn't) told the daughter he was going to cut her legs off and mail them to someone, in the most sincere way possible. We all did a double take when we realized what we heard. The music in the CCMR shed was horrifying alright. A small percentage of ride ops also seemed to have lead weights in their shoes, very big lead weights.*end rant*

The 2 first timers are already excited about coming back next year for Coastermania! We had a great time despite the crowd Saturday and breakdowns both days. I also fit in Wicked Twister without having to get squished in, that was pretty cool. I'm ready for 2018 :)

After riding Possessed at Dorney Park this past weekend, I remembered how much fun Impulse Coasters are. I'm hoping to shed some pounds to ride Wicked Twister next year. Did you lose some weight to fit in WT?

Unfortunately I think CF managements intense drive to make the financial goals of Fun Forward 2.0 are coming at a cost of staffing. This year has been particularly glaring for poor staff levels.

I hope it’s something that they correct next year.

Shane Denmark said:

After riding Possessed at Dorney Park this past weekend, I remembered how much fun Impulse Coasters are. I'm hoping to shed some pounds to ride Wicked Twister next year. Did you lose some weight to fit in WT?

I actually went from 265lb down to 238lb to do Sky Dive Key West over the summer. It took about 3 months to drop that weight. I'm 5'11" and it makes a very noticeable difference. The last time I rode WT was CoasterMania 2015 and I was a tiny fraction of an inch from not getting that seat belt to click, even with my friend pushing the harness with everything he had. I'm hoping to get down to 220 by next season, but it seems like I've hit a weight loss wall.

XS Nightclub said:

Unfortunately I think CF managements intense drive to make the financial goals of Fun Forward 2.0 are coming at a cost of staffing. This year has been particularly glaring for poor staff levels.

I hope it’s something that they correct next year.

Me too. If they don't, I'm not renewing my pass for 2019.

Good for you, congrats on the weight loss. I haven't ridden WT since 2007... We didn't go to the park 2008-2011. I tried in 2014 but no go, even with the ride ops' best efforts. Haven't tried since as I've put on weight since then. 6'4", 295lbs; Wicked Twister and Volcano (KD) are the only 2 coasters I can't ride. I use the big boy seats on B&M coasters. However, I can't fasten the belt on the test seat on MF or TTD but can ride those just fine. Couldn't fasten the belt on Possessed test seat, but the ride ops gave the harness a good shove and the belt clicked and then had slack. Maybe I would have fit on the actual Volcano train, but I wasn't willing to gamble the nearly 2hr wait to find out. My goals for next year are to ride Wicked Twister, ride B&Ms in any seat (really dislike B&M inverted coasters anywhere but front seat because I can't see anything), and run at least one 5k. If I run the 5k early enough in the spring I can use Run & Ride as an excuse for an extra CP visit.

Thanks. All I can say is to set goals and keep at it. I started watching my calorie intake pretty closely, aiming for 1,200-1,300 calories per day, started a multivitamin regimen and took an essential fatty acid supplement in addition to doing some mountain biking. I did fit in Volcano and Possessed last year without issue, so our body shapes must be somewhat different.

You have a good half year to slim down, I'm sure you can do it. I'm not a runner, so if you can manage that 5K, you'll have me beat.

My height also works against me with OTSRs. Can't lose the height, so gotta lose the weight. I'm not a runner, either. Never have been. But everyone tells me that's the best exercise to drop the pounds.