(This isn't my first post, I had an account on here before but can't access it now for some reason. oh well.)
So, over the past few years, I have almost completely fallen out of being an enthusiast. However when I got the opportunity to visit family in the Midwest this past week, a trip to Cedar Point was mandatory. I am from the West Coast, and my favorite local parks are Knotts Berry Farm (mostly for Xcelerator), and SFMM, though the latter is too far away to travel there frequently. Cedar Point turned out to be my favorite park yet, and my visit included a fun 20-minute ride on Millennium Force! More on that later
Anyways, on to the trip report. I only got a few pics with my blackberry, but its better than nothing I suppose.
The first thing that struck me when we arrived at the main road to CP is the sheer size of the park. Compared to my local parks, it is Massive! I understand that land is much cheaper in the Midwest compared to Socal, so this is understandable, but it still blew my mind. The skyline is very impressive as well, with Millie and TTD dominating the skyline. We waited a bit for the guards to open up the rest of the park, and made a beeline towards TTD.
Top Thrill Dragster: This is a ride that I have been wanted to conquer since it opened 7 years ago. I absolutely love Xcelerator at Knotts, so its no surprise to me that I enjoyed Dragster immensely. My first ride of the day was towards the back of the train, because it had the shortest line, and thats the best area to ride on Xcelerator. The launch is incredible, and the tophat is a rush. To try to explain to someone what this ride is all about, is difficult, because it has to be experienced to be appreciated. The drop back down the tophat is the closest thing to skydiving I think I will ever feel without doing the real thing. Its that awesome. 10/10
Next up was Millennium Force:The line moved really fast, and was pretty small despite it being a Sunday. I chose the seat directly behind the very front, because of the Intamin staggered seats, it doesn't make much of a difference (this proved to be a great decision). Got on the train, and towards the top of the lift the train stops completely. The ride operator comes on speaker and told us our train was stopped on purpose, not to panic, blablabla. I am moderately afraid of heights, so the thought of having to take that tiny cart thing back down the hill made me queasy. Of course, everything went fine, and the ride continued as usual. What can I say? Its just pure speed. I would have liked a bit more forceful airtime, but the ride was definitely not boring as I have heard from some people. 8/10
After the Millie incident we were treated to a line-free ride on Maverick. I rode in the very back seat . WOW. The ejector air in this ride is incredible. I really like this ride. The first drop is incredible, and so are the ridiculously snappy turns and transitions. The corkscrew-like elements were my favorite; they remind me of something I once created with the NoLimits Elementary program (ejector rolls?). The launch was OK; fairly forceful but not as much as I would have liked. The mini stengel dives are very fun too. Overall, the ride has excellent pace and is definitely one of my favorites now. 9/10
At this point I decided to get lunch, and head over to Corkscrew. Not much to say about this ride except its not as rough as I thought it would be, and had more airtime than I expected. A fun little ride for what it is. 6/10
Now I headed back to a broken-down TTD, which I waited in line for about 30 minutes before getting a front-row seat. It's definitely worth getting a front seat for this ride, its the only way to fully experience the speed that you are really traveling at. It felt like my face was melting, and at the brake run, I was drooling out the side of my mouth . Also had a good collection of small bugs all around my face, shirt, and hands. The line was still not bad, so I went for a second round.
Next up was Blue Streak. I really enjoyed it, as a good classic woodie with great airtime and some decent laterals. Not as rough as I was expecting. 7.5/10
After Blue Streak I headed over to Wicked Twisted . As said before I really like launched coasters, so this was another winner for me. I found the acceleration slightly uncomfortable with legs hanging, but luckily its not very powerful. I sat in the middle of the train, so got about midway up each spike. Spinning while weightless is a very cool feeling. Overall a pretty cool ride, but nothing very special. 8/10
Last ride of the day was Magnum XL-200. I couldn't leave Cedar Point without riding this classic Arrow megacoaster. Well, I didn't find it enjoyable at all. The best way I can describe it is the complete opposite of Goliath at SFMM. It is rough, uncomfortable, and beat the sh!t out of me. By the end bunny hops, I just wanted it to be over with, and the ejector air the ride is famous for is painful as hell. 5/10
So, thats it! My first trip to Cedar Point. It was definitely a successful day, I got on all the rides I wanted to hit before the end of the day, and some more than once. The park was crowded, as expected for a Sunday, but I still had a great time, and if I have the chance to go again I won't hesitate.
For some reason I only actually got one picture, even though I'm sure I got more.
Thanks for reading!
