nesdude

Thanks for the fun times at Universal! Come back soon!

Operations were bizarre. In the morning, Cheetah Hunt was running 5 trains and both stations. In the afternoon, just one station and trains were stacked. Kumba had one train and the ride ops took their sweet time loading and unloading. Montu also had one train operation. Gwazi was running two trains. My girlfriend and I actually had time to watch the running of the cheetahs, walk to Montu, and ride 2nd row behind Robb and Craig since they were waiting for the front while the rest of the train sat empty. I get that the crowds were light (it was a weekday off season) but there's nothing more infuriating than seeing two trains in storage at Kumba while the line gets longer and longer. It was a real nice day to be at BGT though, all things considered. I'm glad I was forced onto Falcon's Fury (I have a fear of elevators), as I haven't been that scared on an amusement park ride in a very long time. When *that's* a 5 minute wait and a B&M 32-person-per-train ride is pushing an hour, there's something wrong. Also I failed at making a falcon face but hey it was fun anyway.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/police-2-shot-fun-spot-america-orlando/nkGZ9/ Yikes. I've been to Fun Spot a number of times now and I've never felt remotely unsafe. Things happen, though.

Hey Craig! I'm the dude that hung out with you and Robb at Busch Gardens. Really diggin' the way you're presenting this TR, it's fascinating to see Orlando through fresh eyes. Thanks again to you and Robb for letting me and my girlfriend hang out with you guys, it really was a nice day (even if operations were strange!)

My family and I happened to be in WDW when they were in the process of building the giant hat. We were driving somewhere on the WDW property when we saw a big piece of the hat on a flatbed truck - stuck under an overpass. There were a bunch of suits and other people standing around wondering what to do. It looked like they were trying to get the air out of the tires so they could move it one way or the other. Never really cared for it once I saw it finished years later, but I'll always have the memory of the piece stuck under the overpass.

The weather was completely against me in trying to take photos on Media Day, but I managed to get a few I really like. Click for full size! Wish I could have gotten more but the rain made me put my camera away. Besides, it's a pain to carry a DSLR around when you really want to ride coasters all day.

I think I'm going to do a full write up of the Coastermania event tomorrow, but for now, enjoy some pictures. I'm not a very good photographer but I found a few pictures that turned out okay! The rest can be found here.

At around 10:25 this morning, I used the bathroom in Hotel Breakers and flushed. Then the water main broke. Coincidence? Yeah, but still. My girlfriend and I took a late morning and didn't get up till 10. We were miffed about not having water for a shower but the severity of the situation didn't hit us until we got to the lobby to check out and saw a madhouse of angry people. Someone in a dress shirt with a Cedar Point name tag told us that rooms reserved for last night and today will have total refunds. It was at that point I asked a random person what was going on. We've been stopped on Perimeter Rd. the past 15 minutes, which has gotten us past Millennium Force. I type this next to the train bays and the dorms. There's quite a few people walking on the road, and my best guess is that they need to get back to the hotels but can't cut through the park. It's crazy. I feel for everyone who now has a ruined vacation, Cedar Point employees who have been berated by angry guests and the park itself for losing out on what should be one of the first busy Saturdays of the season. We're lucky that we were heading out anyway but this is a completely awful situation all the way around for everyone involved. Edit: It dawns on me that this is also the first day for a bunch of shows. The Snoopy ice skating show, the Broadway show, and I think one more. This is a disaster is every possible way for absolutely everyone involved. Ugh.

My girlfriend totally won a 2015 Platinum Pass from the Mean Streak challenge. Took forever but it was worth it in the end.

Oh, yeah. That was the Platinum Pass discount (use PASS as a promo code, but they do check for passes on check-in). Breakers has a number of rooms in the old sections that are a single queen bed, but they usually sell out quick. Got lucky when looking. The rooms are awful but it's cheap(ish), on point, and we're only going to use it to sleep, so it's okay for us. The ability to take a nap without driving anywhere during CM is totally worth the extra cash for us. I hope the renovations next off season really help, because while the new parts of Breakers are nice enough, the old parts are really awful.

With the Goliath media day delayed, my girlfriend and I decided to get a cheap room at Breakers ($123, which is cheap for Breakers!) for Friday night, so we'll be there open to close. I'll probably be rocking my Club TPR shirt. I'd like to try the Mean Streak challenge. Not sure what to expect, but we'll see. Also, those webcams are awesome. I can't stop watching.

Huh! That's cool. Thanks for the detailed info! This is why I love TPR so much. Knowledgeable people who enjoy sharing information.

Question: Between Riverfront and Valley Road, near the railroad crossing, is a large blue structure that goes over the railroad tracks. What was that used for? It seems abandoned and sort of an eye sore in an otherwise beautiful park. I seem to recall seeing a single employee climbing down the stairs at one point, but I wasn't sure. That one ^

Oh jeez. There's a test seat for your uncle, Jaykethekid, but that might not happen. I was ~250lbs and I'm 6' 1", but I carry my weight in my legs. I fit, but not what I would call comfortably. Because of where the shin guards were, it was hard for me to press the bar farther down on my legs/thighs. That's more a tallness issue than a fat issue though. Test seat is your friend. Also, interesting to note, on the restraint itself there's a engraved line that has to go past the side of the train. There's apparently a red/green light system that the ops can see as well (like the test seat), but it's nice to gauge it yourself when you sit down.

When in doubt, Fast Lane+. Cedar Point can be a tricky park to figure out wait times. First week of June is a maybe on crowds. You won't have a problem hitting everything over two days assuming nice weather on Coastermania day, but trying to hit everything on Thursday without a FL+ will be a challenge. I recommend getting one for Thursday, do re-rides on anything you really enjoyed on Friday/Coastermania ERT, and spend the rest of Friday exploring the park. If you're risking it, park in the Soak City lot. Try to get to Dragster for opening, then head back towards Maverick and Millennium Force. Lines will be shorter for Raptor and Gatekeeper towards the evening as most people rush to them from the front gate in the morning.

Welp. That was a fun day. We got in right at 9:15 for a 9:30 park opening. Walked to Outlaw Run for first train of the day, sat up front. Fun ride! Looped back around for a quick second ride, back seat. Wild, most definitely a back seat ride. At this point, I could have marathoned it, there were maybe 6 other people riding. Two train operation helped as well. Quick stop at the Barn Swing (seemed weaker than Skyhawk at Cedar Point but still fun!) then Powder Keg had no wait (two train op) and Wildfire was a two train wait, which was okay, but they were only running one train. Thunderation was about a 20 minute wait, made worse by the one train operation. We decided not to go with a Trailblazer pass after seeing how light the crowds were. The worst I saw Outlaw Run was top of the ramp, which was about a 15 minute wait. We tried to get on Fire in the Hole, but it was down. On the plus side, we got to see an actual dalmatian, so that was pretty cool. Ended up getting on it later in the day. The rest of the day was spent between walking around (my Fitbit says 10.26 miles walked and 49 floors climbed!) and eating delicious food. The giant cookie was delicious, the succotash was top notch, the BBQ we got was excellent, and even the giant pretzel was good. We didn't take in any shows, but my girlfriend's mom did most of them and really enjoyed herself. Ended up getting an Outlaw Run t-shirt and a carved wood name thing for my girlfriend. Powder Keg was fun, Wildfire was alright, Thunderation was surprisingly awesome, and Fire in the Hole was neat. There's little I can say about Outlaw Run that hasn't already been said, but I'm now a fan of RMC. Wild, smooth, yet still retaining the charm and the feeling of a wooden coaster. Ended up riding it 9 times total (it was a complete walk-on by about 5), and the back seat is where it's at. The extreme airtime from the turn/hill under the lift hill is unreal. It makes me excited to get on Goliath at SFGAm and makes me want to go to Texas as soon as I can. I really enjoyed Silver Dollar City. It was one of my "bucket list" parks and I'm glad I finally got to experience it.

Man, it's funny. SDC has been one of my bucket list parks ever since I saw an old Travel Channel show and they showed Buzzsaw Falls (the one that's now Powder Keg). I never thought that I'd get out there, but as luck would have it, my girlfriend's mom wanted to take a trip and my girlfriend's aunt has a timeshare out in Branson. We've been out here all week having a good time (highly recommend the "Ladies of the 80's" show at the God and Country Theatre!) and we're finally getting to SDC in the morning. I'm a bit worried about squeezing into Outlaw Run (~250lbs, fit Millennium Force with room to spare last week and down from 285 in January), but hopefully I'll be okay. For a May Thursday, should we bother with the Trailblazer Pass? I don't mind paying the extra money but if everything is under an hour and we can hit at least Powder Keg and Outlaw Run, we're pretty much set. The weather is supposed to be really nice (at least compared to the cold and rain the past 2 days!) but it's still before Memorial Day and I'm terrible at guessing theme park crowds.

Hey look, I took that! https://twitter.com/nesdude/status/459785965305737216 Yeah, it's interesting. Dispatches were down today and there was stacking on the final brake run, but it wasn't that bad. Honestly, I'm surprised at how little the belt did. I'm a decently large dude at 255 and the belt didn't do much to me. My girlfriend (about 140) said she didn't notice a lack of airtime either. Interesting to note, the test seat is still the three click go/no go light. No seat belt there. As for the park today, what a great day. Did everything and more in 6 hours. Banshee back row night time is insane. Beast is running fantastic too.

I had a vest that didn't lock on Gatekeeper last Tuesday. Right side, row 4, outside seat. Not sure what train, though. Made for a much more enjoyable ride compared to media day. After about 5 times, I was starting to get some serious bruises on my collarbone due to how the vest tightened. My friend who rode GK for the first time had some serious complaints about how tight and uncomfortable the locking vest was on the break run, and he's on the smaller side. Also I found a ticket redemption game I was good at in the arcade (averaging ~100 tickets a dollar) and walked home with these two Statix models for 1600 tickets. Not even $20 total for two of them. Not bad at all, considering they go for $20 each normally. Red Millennium and Gray/Gunmetal Maverick. They had a few Dragsters too, but I didn't feel like pushing my luck more.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Universal-Express/Express-Passes.aspx The unlimited wasn't around when I went or I probably would have splurged the extra cash on it. Park was packed with tour groups that made waiting in line most unpleasant. I can handle a little rudeness but this went above and beyond. It's like people get to Orlando on vacation and completely lose their minds.

On July 12, 2010 (read: near opening of WWoHP) I managed to do everything in one long Monday with Express Pass. Start in Universal Studios, most people make a mad dash to IoA and most everything was a walk on. Managed to get out of there by about 11, giving me enough time to go into IoA, and even with the wait for WWoHP (that was in the days you had to wait an hour just to get into the area for it) I managed to knock out everything with enough time to spare to go back into USO for a few re-rides. If you get the single use Express Pass and there's walk ons in the morning, walk on and save your one ride from the pass for later. If you get the unlimited Express Pass, disregard that and use it anyway, even if there's no line. It was a very long day and I was absolutely exhausted but it was completely worth it. It's also worth noting that I was a 20 year old and traveling by myself. This would have been considerably more difficult if I was traveling with people.

Holiwood Nights 2013 has been an experience. Splashin Safari in a steady rain and 60 degrees at 8:30am is a trip. Getting off Wildebeest and getting back on the same raft is pretty cool though, cold rainy morning aside.

I decided to do an opening weekend CP trip with a buddy and my girlfriend. With Fast Lane and nice-ish weather on Saturday, I kept my camera in the car. With cold and windy weather, I figured I would snap a few pictures. I invested in a DSLR this year and I still don't quite know what I'm doing, but it's fun being able to capture faces on rides from far away with a telephoto lens. So here's a few pictures! Forever in our hearts (and on a go kart) Cold and windy means trains stay in the station. Had a good ride on Saturday, though. These new 10th anniversary banners for Dragster are awesome. Hope they go on sale after the season is over. This picture would be more exciting if there were people on the train. Alas, that's where it sat. I really do like the new Power Tower sign. A hint of color in a cloudy day. Hey look, a ride that's open! A never before seen exclusive closeup of maXair. Story of the day. It was cold and windy. Like, really windy. Didn't stop these people for still waiting and hoping GK would open though. WT was running, but I could not get a clear shot. Have the flags instead. One of the rare roller coasters that were running, Corkscrew. Pretty sure no one has taken this pic of Corkscrew either. Yikes. In front of TTD but that was the theme of today. Nerd shot of TTD. One of my favorite coaster nerd behind the scenes areas is watching this in motion during a launch. We'll end with the ACE sign near Magnum. Didn't go into the back of the park, so no Maverick or MF valley pictures, sorry about that.

A few scattered thoughts about GK and the media day event: First, awesome ride, awful restraints. I'm a big dude - 6' 1", 266. I fit the black seat belt on the test seat (twice! In front of two different ride ops!) but no matter what, I could only ride on row 4. It was slightly disappointing to have to do the fat walk of shame to row 4 at the beginning of Media Day but I'm at least thankful that they have big boy seats to begin with. Also, after 13 rides, my collarbones are bruised beyond belief. They're currently painful to the touch. Second, it's a very quiet ride. We were enjoying coffee and cinnamon buns outside of Donut Time and we couldn't tell when the train would whoosh through the keyholes. I'm sure it will be even harder to hear over the noise of a typical day. Not really good or bad, just something striking enough to notice. Speaking of coffee and cinnamon buns, Cedar Point went above and beyond with the food and drink provided for Media Day. Everything complementary, from coffee and baked goods at Donut Time to full buffet breakfast at Midway Market to free burgers and fries at Coasters. Free bottles of Coke, Sprite and water throughout the day as well. Awesome, considering how much they charge for food and drink on a normal day! Also, opening Raptor and MF for a bit was amazing as well (well, Raptor anyway, MF is still a no go for me). Never before and never again will I reride Raptor without getting off the train. Fun ride. Highly recommended. Also, best part of the ride? These guys available for $15 each. Seriously they are soft and awesome

Did anyone here make the trek out for opening day? My girlfriend and I decided to make a Kings Island + HW trip from Michigan over the weekend, but we weren't prepared to wake up in Dale, IN to 55F and steady rain (neither of us packed pants nor warm hoodies) and decided to head back to KI and home instead of dropping $60 for tickets on a cold and rainy day. We were incredibly disappointed after coming so far, but weather happens and we're now planning on doing Holiwood Nights instead. If you did make it out there, was it cold and rainy and miserable or did the weather ever decide to let up?