RAWKIN_coaster38

I thought I remembered there being a thread that dealt with this issue, but I couldn't find it. Apologies if I'm just being dumb and it's right in front of my face. I've been wondering when you would prefer we post a separate photo TR in a new thread vs. posting in the relevant park's thread vs. making our own thread and posting all our TRs in there. I almost always just post in the relevant park's thread, but I've been considering whether some of them should be standalone. For example, this TR of my recent visit to Cedar Point for the first night of Halloweekends has about 30-40 decent photos and a few paragraphs about our night. I debated about posting in the CP thread or making a new thread, but I ended up posting in the CP thread since others were discussing that night as well. I'm planning to go to KI for the first night of Haunt on Friday and whatever I decide are my TR intentions might govern how many pictures I take. If I don't take very many, then I definitely would not consider posting them as a new thread. Let me know your preferences on this issue, and of course, I'm always happy to help take photos for more specific events if I am able to attend.

Yes! I'm pescatarian because I just couldn't give up seafood even though I gave up meat. I did have shrimp last night, too, but no burgers for the last 11 years (unless you count accidentally ordering a burger with meat on Labor Day because I thought it was a seafood burger and taking two bites before I realized). Do you drink coffee nearly every day?

I didn't see Skyride running but maybe it's just a Friday thing. We always love walking through that section after dark! We actually didn't spend as much time around there this trip besides rushing through to get from Slaughterhouse to Maverick and of course walking back through that area after closing. One scareactor asked where we were going and when we replied "Maverick!" she said we were going the wrong way. Actually threw me off for a second. And at least we planned it right this time so we were somewhat near Maverick around closing. Last time, we finished Hexed (by Gatekeeper) about a quarter 'till 12 and then had to basically book it to the back of the park to make it to Maverick before 12. Love me those Maverick night rides. I didn't even notice that

Was there any damage to any of the rides or animal areas? I haven't heard yet.

So we went to opening of Halloweekends on Friday. We made it a bit after 5 for early entry and hit up Millennium Force and Gatekeeper with minimal waits. We popped over to Dragster just in time for opening and rode in the back with a minimal wait. We decided to redeem our free FL+ at this time because why not? We were able to skip a 25 minute Raptor wait and 30-45 minute Valravn line. (Side note: D convinced me to sit in the front and our bug game got REAL. Not doing that again!) We rode Dragster again before Haunt started (definitely not in the front), but FL+ made no difference as it was a station wait. So our free FL+ basically did nothing but get us one ride on Raptor and Valravn. Oh well, at least it was free. Once Haunt started, that's all we did besides taking a food truck dinner break (super spicy Korean BBQ bowl, yum!) and making sure we got to Maverick before closing. One weird tidbit is they were still letting people into Maverick line and still running the ride at 12:15 despite the park closing at 12. We think what happened was there was no one to close the line, so more people kept coming and they had no choice but to let them ride until they finally got someone to close out the line. Because of this, we were able to get in three rides when we thought we would only get in one. As far as Haunts go, we went through all 5 scare zones and did 4/6 mazes: Hexed, Freakshow, Deprivation, and Slaughterhouse. At one point, we got in line for Eerie Estate, but the line was not moving at all so we left. I didn't care that we missed Zombie High this year. Oh, and we also did Mystic Mine Ride. Hexed and Slaughterhouse were pretty much the same as last year and not all that scary. The new scare zone, Harvest Fear, was delightfully cheesy and had a lot of funny "easter eggs." (Check out the "peepshow") The other scare zones were about the same. We still love, love, love Cut Throat Cove! There are so many great scare opportunities and it gets super dark and foggy. I still love CornStalkers because being white I guess I have a thing for wandering around in the corn (D. says corn mazes are a white people thing). Blood on the Bayou is also one of those scare zones that might as well be considered a maze, and there were still some great scares in it as well. For new mazes: Freakshow - Not as great as I was hoping, but still much better than Eternity Infirmary. Deprivation - Our favorite this year! It's basically just pitch black in there, but unlike Total Darkness at Magic Mountain, they let you in 4-5 at a time but you are not connected to each other by a rope. I would not say it is like Blackout at Kings Island because Blackout isn't completely dark and there are things to see in there. I wouldn't say this one is all that "scary" but it's an interesting challenge. It's also great because you get to see Steel Vengeance from a new perspective while you wait! (Scroll for photos) In summary, MUCH more chill and productive day than Labor Day Sunday despite having about half the time. We'll see how KI Haunt is this weekend but I expect it to beat Halloweekends by a mile. Now, for my photos. Skeletons everywhere! Good riddance Masochistic me liked Mean Streak, but rational me is glad it's gone and can't WAIT for the replacement! Who doesn't like Dragster pics? And pumpkins, lots of pumpkins. This guy sings and dances to "Halloween-themed" songs. Not sure how "What Does the Fox Say?" is relevant... There you go One of two past CP rides that I've actually been on. Don't care that it's gone now, but I love this description! Raptor at sunset. We forgot how awesome this coaster was until our last trip There was also a guy on his own "trip" on our last visit, and he kept screaming "SEND IT!!!" So now guess what I like to say to D every time we go on Raptor... One of these skeletons is sassier than the rest. Everybody loves a rockin skeleton Dragster getting in the mood It is now officially Halloweekends time! After I finished gulping down my 5/5 spiciness Korean bowl, I hopped on this thing. Only my second ever ride on it and now I appreciate Cedar Downs like the rest of you. I don't even know what to say about this, honestly. We were disappointed, to say the least, and a bit confused. The facade to this maze is the best! Too bad the maze itself wasn't too scary. While you wait, you can watch Maverick test trains after a break down! Hide your fries "What the flock??" These taglines were to DIE for! So when I photographed this skeleton horse, one of the scareactors came up and said I owed him for photographing his horse. Then he said, "You'll have to work to pay your debt! Good thing there's a brothel nearby. You'll be kept real busy!" We were laughing and shocked like "WTF just happened???" Seriously, I didn't know if I should feel offended or not. How would you respond? Deprivation! Basically just a completely black maze. The only thing you can see is the occasional exit sign to reassure you're going the right way. Now, what you've all been waiting for... night photos of SteVen! We got to go underneath.. oohhh...ahhh Pretty Main reason you should try this maze This maze will have a completely different ambiance after SteVen opens. For now, it's quiet. Drop still had no progress that I could see This section looks great! Corn Stalkers, perfect for Ohioans who love being around corn One of the last few to leave the park, as per our usual. Avoiding bugs in the mouth since 2017

Thanks for the pictures! It's been a few years since I've been to SFMM's Fright Fest and it looks like the mazes haven't changed very much. I didn't see if you mentioned what all of them were, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they still have that dang Chupacabra maze. Seriously, it sucked 4 years ago and I'm sure it still sucks now.

Haha yep, looks like the exact same time, 2:21 pm! ^No, but that's a bucket list thing for me! Have you replaced your phone this year?

Yes, but they scare me more than theme park rides! Have you had to have your car towed in the last few years?

I think two nights ago. The Walking Dead. When was the last time you bought a T-shirt at a theme park?

Yes. Waited 4 for Mystic Timbers on opening day. Do you like McDonald's?

In March. I bought a new MacBook Pro. I also got an iPhone given to me as a gift in February. When was the last time you woke up after 12pm?

1) Facebook 2) Twitter 3) Insta 4) Snapchat which is the current rankings. I see some great TPR content on Facebook and Twitter! Idk if it's just my Insta, but I don't see a lot of TPR on Insta. I'm new to Insta as of this year so I'm still getting the hang of it (and trying to remember to use it). Twitter I've been using a lot more this year than ever before. I like reading what the public figures and celebrities I follow have to say, and I love interacting more directly with them, so I've started to use Twitter more. I don't really have many followers on Twitter compared to the other platforms, so I do not use Twitter to really interact with my real-life friends and family. Facebook I've always used a lot to connect with people I know IRL but I feel it's gotten less interesting to me in the last year. Also, one of my problems with using Snapchat more is that a lot of times when I'm surfing the socials, I'm somewhere quiet and can't play the snaps with volume, so what's the point?

You would have liked when my Bible study group took a trip to Mansfield Haunted Reformatory. You know, Christians are allowed to enjoy various types of entertainment. Sorry to derail CP conversation more but my parents have always been more traditional and I remember one time when I was a kid going to Six Flags during Fright Fest and them making it very clear they were not happy about it being Fright Fest and we were leaving early and we wouldn't get to do the 3D IWERKS theater because it was showing an Elvira movie. Now, I'm a huge Halloween/haunt fan and decorate my house and my parents still do not like Halloween. Just another thing Christians cannot agree on, but I digress... Speaking of Haunt... I don't know if anyone would know the answer to this, but we are returning to Cedar Point tomorrow for opening of Halloweekends and to use our dumb free FL+ they wouldn't let us use on Labor Day weekend. I assume now it is okay to redeem our FL+ since it is after Sept. 10 and not a Saturday, but is there any chance they're going won't let us because it's Haunt? I know I could call but we've had bad luck in the past with calling Cedar Point. It's a bummer we have only 6 hours to use our FL+ while still trying to do all the haunts, but it's still free and we don't know if we'll return again this year (we weren't going to return after Labor Day except for not getting to use our free FL+!!). Also, how are crowds on the first Friday of Halloweekends? Do I need to purchase FL+ to get all the credits? Just kidding...

On a side note, I got an e-mail that there is a new maze at Fright Fest this year, bringing their grand total to 4. Also a new show: I feel like I was the only one who cared/went to this when I was in the area, LOL, but if anyone else cares, here's the Fright Fest link.

Yes! I saw IT and loved it! Do you know what you wanna be for Halloween?

They've had the eagle and bobcat for a while now, they just aren't always out. Love the before and after pictures! And laqueefa, your pipe dream is great. They sometimes use that area for overflow parking, but isn't it also used for the fair? I've never been to SFDK during the fair in question, so I don't really know what they use and don't use. I've known they had the eagle back in at least 2014. Just surprised they made new enclosures for it, no idea when the park got a bobcat though I just thought they only had the cougar('s). I'll be interested to see if anything happens in that area of the park or if they are just going to turn it into a lowkey zoo. I might be mistaken about the bobcat, I seem to remember seeing one at some point at SFDK but I could be wrong. Maybe it was in one of the shows and now it's viewable at other times too? I don't know what you mean by eagle enclosure. They have had an open air area where the eagle is tethered to a branch and employees are there to answer questions about it. That area has been a "low-key zoo" since before there were coasters. Hopefully it will stay that way for some time. I frequently chat with employees about how likely they are to acquire new animals and whatnot. At this point, it just depends on if there are rescue animals that the state deems "unreleasable" and decides to send to SFDK. I guess it happens for them every so often. Also, I don't think it was mentioned here at all, but one of the walruses, Siku, died recently. That leaves SFDK with only one. If history repeats, SFDK will be forced to send that one away because it can't be alone. It's very sad. I love checking out the walruses every time I visit the park. The last remaining walrus, Uquq I have a nice picture of the two walruses playing with someone else's kids, but I thought not to post it without permission.

I have an orca too! On my foot. I'd love to see yours. They're my favorite animal.

Ugh... This looks to be a Christian rock concert. When I used to work at Darien Lake we had Kingdom Bound (3 day Christian concert) and it was the worst week of the year. We actually got called in early (lifeguards) to stand guard over the wave pool at 9am while they did baptisms. That water was so vile without the waves on to break up the clouds of hair/weaves/band-aids/hair gel...I felt disgusted watching them dip their heads in. The amount of teens busted for shoplifting and trying to hook up was crazy, security always dreaded that week. The best part was the park had to cover all the signage for Viper due to complaints from the event organizers about "serpents" in the park. They put a temporary sign out front and changed the name of the ride, it was ridiculous. Guess I'd rather just deal with the crowds on a busier Halloweekends night than deal with the Christian rock crowd. Must be a weird kind of Christian that has a problem with snakes. I'm a Christian and have no problems at all with snakes. Me too. It's a bummer about the festival at Darien Lake, I've been to some really great Christian rock concerts at theme parks. I'd love to see Skillet at Cedar Point. Does anyone know where the concert takes place? And it appeared that it's an upcharge even for passholders, can someone confirm this?

Yes!! See above. Have you read a book this month? (Like the whole of a book)

DO IT. Seriously you guys are the premier theme park review site on the internet. I hadn't thought of it until your post, but why aren't there annual TPR awards? I'd love to see it happen too! I'd love it if even just the mods got together and gave some "awards" for the year. Even better if they're "less than ideal" awards. How about: "Most disappointing ride of 2017" "Worst theme park food" "Worst place to bring children" "Dirtiest theme park of the year" "Stupidest shows" "Most hateful employees" Spoiler alert: Magic Mountain takes the most awards

My one and only time, the last Tuesday of June! When was the last time you ate something raw?

Nope, visiting CP on Friday and KI next Friday! LOVE Haunt season! Have you seen the new IT movie yet?

Cedar Point on Friday!

Memorial Day, Splashin' Safari at Holiday World. When was the last time you brought a friend free at a park?

They've had the eagle and bobcat for a while now, they just aren't always out. Love the before and after pictures! And laqueefa, your pipe dream is great. They sometimes use that area for overflow parking, but isn't it also used for the fair? I've never been to SFDK during the fair in question, so I don't really know what they use and don't use.