Philrad71

I just missed a reunion concert that they played in Buffalo last month! I really wanted to go as I was a fan of 'Last Splash' (Saints/Drivin' on 9) and liked some of the Pixes and Amps stuff. Didn't make it out there as I already had something going on the same night. Cool TR...the park reminds of Waldameer a little bit.

Two words: Dust Storms

How come no one has started a thread on 'Howler'?? Everyone seems to be overlooking this lil' tidbit.

Very nice trip report! I do like the close-up's of the people on coasters. It really is fun to see their expressions! BGE is one of my top three parks to visit...I am hoping to get back there in June, but the plan is still up in the air. I got my BF a new camera for his birthday...an Olympus 8 MP with an 18X zoom. Can't remember the model at this time, but I am hoping that we might be able to get some great theme park pictures (similar to these) to share with everyone soon!

Interesting article! While the guy obviously is not a theme park enthusiast, most of his thoughts and points were somewhat comical and valid. There were some definite soft jabs here and there, but there were compliments thrown into the mix as well. Really, I did not see this as a horribly written article at all. He gave his opinion of the parks, albeit from a somewhat non-traditionalist viewpoint. I initially expected that the article would be a total put-down slam of all things Disney (I read the responses first), but I was mildly surprised. I had never even heard of 'Slate' before, so I was unsure of what to expect. I had to chuckle at some of the cheesiness that he pointed out about Epcot. While it may indeed have some cheesy, outdated areas, it is still one of my favorite of the Disney parks. I think we could all say that every amusement/theme park has it's cheesy aspects. It's all part of the fun in my book! Everybody has an opinion and even though his article wasn't in the highest praise that most Americans (and a lot of theme park enthusiasts) would expect, it certainly is not worthy of saying it was total garbage and a slap in the face to all Disney fans. BTW...I still plan on going to Disney in 2010 no matter what anyone might write in an article!!!

Great trip report! It was cool to see a pic of the old main midway with the "good" Blue Streak, the double ferris wheel, and 'The Pirate Ride' dark ride! I wish that I had been more of a camera enthusiast back in the day, I would have lots of memories to share from Cedar Point. Makes me realize how old I am getting!

I have those kinds of coaster dreams as well. Sometimes I am on the coasters and other times, I am just watching them. It is usually at Cedar Point, but it never actually looks like it, except for Lake Erie. A lot of the coasters (including one like Magnum) usually ends up dropping it's riders into the lake - killing them all. Coasters jumping tracks, people flying out, orca's jumping out of tanks to eat unsuspecting coaster riders...everbody pretty much dies. ***But I still love me dem coastahs!***

Flight Desk...I think that they should actually call it that! http://www.wlwt.com/entertainment/15910178/detail.html

Rats! I don't think that I can waste a vacation day, otherwise it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Most of my days are already booked up through the rest of this year to go to other parks, but I plan on hitting Waldameer and RFII in May/June. Have fun guys!

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, so I guess that I will state mine. Rolling Thunder in my book, is a complete pile of garbage. When you come back into the station and everyone on the train is chanting "WD40!!" you know that it is bad!!! I know that wood is supposed to be rough, but this thing had no air, was slower than molasses, but yet still managed to leave you with bruises. AWFUL! Now mind you, I rode Gemini twice last year (front and back) and the smoothness of this classic has also taken a noticeable turn for the worse. But the first drop and the arm chopper make it easily better than Rolling Thunder...any day of the week. Plus, it is on steel tube track, so parts of it are still smooth. Just watch the helix at the end! OUCH! As far as the original topic, go to Cedar Point and have a great time. SFGA, SFMM and CP are all good parks that have their good and bad points. If you don't feel that you will make it back to CP again, you must go this year....enjoy!

When I visited MM a couple of years ago, I walked away feeling somewhat disappointed. Superman was down all day, Deja Vu was down all day, X was a four hour wait, Freefall was closed, Tatsu was a brutally hot two and a half hour wait, and Scream! was an hour and a half wait. Because of this, I still would not say that CP is the better park. I think that we just happened to hit MM on a bad day where the lines were long, a lot of rides were closed, and the employees were not at their friendliest. That could happen at almost any theme park visit. Even though I did not have the greatest of visits, I would surely like to go back someday and ride the coasters that I missed. I definitely enjoyed my ride on Tatsu (even though it bothered my GERD) and the other coasters. I actually thought that the best ride was Riddler's Revenge in the front seat! I love Cedar Point because I consider it as my "home park" (being three hours away). There are more parks that are closer, but I have been going there almost yearly since 1983 and it does hold a lot of memories of my childhood. I still remember being absolutely terrified the first time that I rode Demon Drop and Gemini!!! So considering everything, I enjoyed both parks even with the somewhat disappointing day that I had at MM. The whole point is going to have fun and I do just that at any theme/amusement park. I think that they are both great parks and both deserve respect. I think that there are great coasters and horrible coasters at both parks. Also, any theme park can have it's fair share of slackers as employees!!!! I have been wowed and thoroughly disgusted by employees at a lot of parks during the same visit! That would include CP, MM, Hershey, and La Ronde, and SFGA.

Heck yes! I used to love the Blue Streak back when there was only the biege lap bar. The air time was incredible! I have only ridden it couple of times since they changed the queue line and dispatch and was severely disappointed over it's roughness and lack of airtime. I don't think that I will even bother with this one anymore during my visits. As far as Mean Streak, I have been on plenty of coasters both steel and wood that I thought were far worse. While it definitely has been tamed down since it's debut, it is worthy of one ride during a visit. Ride it in the front at night if you're going to do it at all. You actually feel like you're going faster. Oh okay...a couple of JD and Pepsi's before you ride will help too! Geez!

Hey! If St. Peter's Basilica can sell shot glasses and cigarette ashtrays in the gift shop on top of the cathedral, I am sure that riding roller coasters and going to theme parks are most certainly not against God's will! Who ever said that the Pope leads a boring life???

17/20...guess I'm an official coaster geek now! Ding dong the dang 'Moonsault Scramble'...that last one tricked me!!!

I have to say that I was very disappointed with this park and really wished that I would have talked my friends into driving up to Alton Towers during my visit. I do recall a lot of closed rides and was shocked when told that the park closed at like 5 or 6:00 PM...ummm, in the middle of July??? Is that some kind of law? Being that we were a little late in getting to the park, we did not get to see and ride everything before they closed. This park definitely needs a little TLC. Perhaps if Cedar Fair were to come in, buy the park, brand everything, and then put in a few more trash cans and install perhaps...an Aquasmax??

^ Hmmm..Thomas the Train vs. Rocky Raccoon! I will have to ponder that one for a bit!

I agree, but the American side is pretty much depressing no matter what time of year that you visit. NY really needs to beef up this end of the state because it is really lagging in the tourism department. Western NY is, and probably always will be, the ugly step-child to NYC. We are like the ugly puppy that no one chooses at the pet store, or the Durian of fruit, if you will. Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful, scenic places in the country, but from a tourism standpoint, it is severely mis-managed and has been for years! The only thing that I do when I go to the American side is to hit Goat Island and Three Sisters Island to take in the scenery. Have you ever been to the Rainbow Center?? Guhhh...there is definitely nothing happy and gay about this place! I did the balloon ride there last August and while it was pretty cool and offered great views, you couldn't ummmm...see the Falls. Not to give the Canadian side a free pass either. Clifton Hill is really pretty lame, with the exception of the new ferris wheel and indoor water park. But at least they are making an attempt to salvage and restore the area and the tulips and landscaping are much better. This new attraction will help bolster revenue to the Canadian side and have NY state officials scratching their heads again and saying, "Duhh, what do we have to do to get more people on the American side of the Falls - hyuk!"

Who would not love a coaster with that name? I would bet that people would flock to worship it even if it was a crappy, head-bangin' SLC!

I would think that the bigger name Disney-type theme parks might take a bit more of a hit than say a Waldameer, or Indiana Beach, because those are smaller, cheaper parks that seem to cater more to local peeps. Not to mention that the price of admission is a bargain and most people can afford those over the highly priced Disney resorts. I believe that you can get an all day ride and slide at Waldameer for under $25, but how many can now afford the $80-$100 per person range that some of the Disney and Universal parks charge, not to mention the lodging, travel and food? I would imagine that people will probably flock to their home theme parks and avoid the gas-guzzling long treks across the country to go to the big name theme parks. And the way the airlines have been lately with all the delayed and cancelled flights for safety inspections, I would imagine that might slow down some of the air travellers as well. I know that I am not going to let the economy, or the price of gas slow down my trips to theme parks this season. But, I will probably be more apt to hit up my "local" parks - CP, Waldameer, Canada's Wonderland, Fantasy Island, Hershey, and Darien Lake are all reasonably close. Instead of staying at the higher priced hotel chains, we look for local campgrounds that are usually reasonable. For example, you can stay at Sara's campground right next door to Waldameer and pitch a tent on the beach on Lake Erie for like $23 a night...and the view and sunsets are killer! Just don't tell them that you are there to ride Ravine Flyer, or they might not let you have a site! That is another reason why I think that the coupon thread in this forum is a wonderful idea. If anyone happens to be traveling and hitting up a theme park, at least they know where they can pick up some discount tickets and save a little cash.

^ I will definitely look into the KOA's on my next adventure to Williamsburg/Richmond...thanks for the tip!

Just make sure that if you are camping and decide to stay at the Anvil campground that you ask for a site away from the train tracks! I do believe that this is advertised as one of the closest campgrounds to BGE. While it is a nice little family campground and reasonably priced, it takes some getting used to with the freight trains running through the area all night. Being that they do not have a lot of sites, you will hear the trains no matter where you camp. I would recommend that if you stay, try for one near Rt. 603 on the right side of the legend below. We just happened to get placed at one fifteen feet from the tracks on the left side. Notice that they do not show the train tracks on the legend below. I do not think that this was one of the amenities mentioned on their website either! As far as things to do, I think that recent posts have addressed those questions. Me and my partner went last year to see his kids/grandkids (they live in Richmond) and we found lots of fun things to do besides theme parks. I agree that the Colonial Parkway is very beautiful and would be great for trekking. My partner is a historical buff, so we did just about everything that we could do in Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. While I am not into the historical sites quite as much, I very much enjoyed them and walking around. A nice way to spend a day, or two. Virginia Beach was nice, but very crowded! Make sure you give yourself plenty of time if you head there for the day. I would recommend going early in order to find a decent parking spot. Hope you enjoy your trip! I can't wait to go back, as I think the area is picturesque and full of wonderful things to do...I guarantee you will not be bored! About fifteen feet from our tent! Left side right next to the tracks.

I can certainly vouch for that! I was out in Erie a couple of weeks ago (forgot camera) after they had gotten nailed by quite the snow storm that actually came up from the Southwest and not directly across Lake Erie (as lake effect snowstorms normally do). While we didn't receive as much snow here (I'm about forty minutes from Erie), I can honestly say that this has been a pretty horrid March, with no signs of spring yet. We still have about five inches of snow on the ground. Glad that summer is on the way...can't wait to get out and ride this one!

Last fall, my father, best friend, and partner went to Cedar Point for the annual Halloweekends. A great time was had by all! The weather was great, the lines were not bad and best of all...Maverick opened the second day we were there! I leave you with tree and no garbage can shot. Can you believe this is Cedar Point...a theme park??? "Cedar Point....it'll freakin' move ya!!!!" I just love my 'America's Rockin' Roller Coast!' YAYUHHH!!!! Looks like someone was drinking too much Jack Daniels and Pepsi before they rode the front seat on Millenium! Random Maverick shot that I forgot to post earlier. This creature was doing it's best to make me feel like I was on LSD. Headless Hawaiians! I really like the fact that CP is gay friendly! They are soooo not Dubai!!! Seeing that GWAR was not currently on tour, they let CP borrow their virgin eater! Beads, beads, beads!!! Where are all the cheerleaders? Everyone loves a parade! I wonder if Tim will say the f-word during his first experience on TTD? This was right before my Dad said the f-word! CP getting dangerously close to being un-politically correct...Gajews on a gravestone? Looks like Tim and Dad are ready to rock and roller coast! Hey, I know them...they lucked out and got the front seat! Queue line, dispatch, random rider close-up, and train shot for all you "real" enthusiasts! I love getting whipped over that first hill and I am not even into that sorta kinky stuff! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!! It's running! What is this?? A full queue line for Maverick can only mean one thing... Day two starts with (uggh) MORE theming! Next thing you know, they will announce that they are going to have cheerleaders roaming the park! Darkness decends, so we hit up front seat on the Magnum before heading back to Camper Village for the night. This lovely woman was kind enough to flash the patrons some o' that sweet jelly roll! Lucky for them, they had ice cold Molson at the Saloon to soften the pain! Speaking of pain, Mean Streak rises in the background. Pure and utter failure all day for Maverick. Will I get my first ride this year?? Maverick open yet??? People are going to start calling CP a theme park if they keep this up! Look out Disney!! More theming...how dare they?? The dude from Led Zeppelin - 'Stairway to Heaven' fame decided to pop in for some coaster action. Beads! Throw us some beads, or show your t*ts!!! I miss 'Earthquake' and the 'Pirate Ride'! Demon Drop is all "I don't wanna end up here next year!!!" Darn it...no MaxAir for you! Two good rides broke down on the same day? What is this, Six Flags??? Obligatory wheel, DT, and WT spike shot. Awww...he IS a share-bear!!! Rock on, Elvis! Tim teasing the parched looking Elvis with his $8 draft Molson. The Grateful Dead still party! Break out, dude! Theming at a non-theme park. Iron Draggin' had some nice festive theming. Next was Millenium Force. The line ran out of the queue, but that was just because the queue was closed. Millenium got stuck on the lift hill turning what would have been about a ten minute wait, to a thirty minute wait. Our ERT failed! Of course, Maverick was the first thing that we ran for when the park opened early for the resort guests. It was broke down, so we hit up the Skyhawk...yay Skyhawk! TTD glittering like a beautiful giant appendage in the morning sun! I sure love that darn TTD! Ahhhhh....nothing cures a hangover like a brisk ride on the Magnum! AAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Strange things began to happen... We raised them all: witches, warlocks, ghosts, and of course, hairy demons. We had a fire and were raising the demons in no time! Shpooky CP skyline at dusk.

. I agree that a name definitely does not make or break a ride experience. Although, I actually prefer the lame-o names over the movie themed names, but that is just my preference. Who's gonna say they didn't laugh their toot off when they first heard 'Steel Eel'? I still find it funny...lame, but yet so awesome! 'Drop Zone Stunt Tower' + 'Drop Tower' (Lame name x 2) = Still a Fun Ride

This is like the NHL teams south of Ohio having cheerleaders at hockey games!!! "Put those hands up in the air Wave them like you just don't care, Roller coasters that's our game, Come to Six Flags, we're not lame! Who loves coasters? WOOOOOH HOOOO...YAY COASTERS!!!"