DILinator

I'm actually planning to do a mini-ish Coastermania review, with pictures! I just need to get my lazy butt (uh oh! Don't mean to bring that convo back) in gear, and do it. It was my first time, and I quite enjoyed myself, though I certainly didn't go hardcore coastering with it like one might assume with an enthusiast event. Regarding the new Beach Boardwalk, I'll expound on it a bit more in my TR (with some lovely pictures!), but I used it a couple of times, both to get into the park at the Beach Entrance, and also when I left the park for the day, and was very impressed! Such a nice refresh to that beachfront, and I highly recommend anybody check it out, and utilize it at least once on their trip! Another fun little tidbit from Coastermania... it was my first time ever at CP where I utilized all four entrances and exits on the same day! There was a lot of in and out throughout the day, and it took me all around the park, giving me that opportunity!

^Don't forget about that vacant land over near Magnum with the flags that make it clear Maggie is getting RMC'd next!

Sometimes it's SO easy to get things stirred up! In other news... 4th lap on Steel Vengeance, confirmed!

So, the Coastermania Q&A just happened, and I feel compelled to mention that Jason McClure gave affirmation that the 150th Anniversary in 2020 WILL be celebrated by something "big", and they will go all out! Let the debate begin again! Sometimes I just can't help but stir the pot!

Please, let's not make this a thing! There is negligible difference between previous rides, and the rides today! But yes, May is THE time to come to CP, and this year's visits proved that again!

Mid-course brake noticably grabbed on one of my three rides, but even then, it didn't slow the train down much, and there was still airtime off the drop from it. The other two rides, if it did grab, I couldn't tell! I will say, regarding the 3 train operation, I'm not sure how often they will run it, even they do get Blackjack in gear. They were barely completing loading one train, before the other hit the brake run, and honestly, it appeared they were intentionally waiting until it hit to dispatch. So I'm not sure they will actually gain a whole lot by adding a third... Adding the second helped IMMENSELY, however! As somebody who rode at the First Rider Benefit, and then rode it a few times between then and now, the speed the line goes is SO much better with two trains. It was really moving today!

I think my favorite part of Coastermania so far (besides three amazing rides on Steel Vengeance!), is Cedar Point trolling easily butthurt coaster enthusiasts by putting Pipe Scream on the t-shirts!

Since the park hasn't opened, I can't tell yet. If I see it being used, I'll post about it.

That sign wasn't even remotely right! I'm in line for my 3rd ride, and didn't get into line for my first until 7:15! So basically, an hour and 45 minutes total for 2 rides.

I'm here at Coastermania, and can confirm that SV has 2 train ops!

Humorously, Magnum XL 200 at CP! Humorous, in that I'm not the coaster's biggest fan... And in spite of being in the front row, it was a pretty terrible ride experience. I just don't know about this coaster anymore... Sometimes, it's still fun, and I got off enthused! But most of the time now it's lackluster to bad rides on it... Oh well, thankfully there's so many amazing coasters there now, it really doesn't matter whether Magnum is any good!

I love how much you love Millennium Force! It's not my number 1 coaster anymore, but it's still pretty dang close, and there is truly something special about it, that is almost impossible to describe, but has to be experienced! I'm so sick of all the haters, and naysayers... So you go coasterbill! Keep the MF love alive! It's great!

SWEET! Did you get to meet Bert? Yup! Funny guy! What you see on the show is him, the entire time, even off camera. He had this idea for this cheesy group walk thing, that we all did, and they used that. So hilarious! It was the lone time you actually saw me in it! Lol

I'm still trying to figure out if this was an attempt at online deadpan sarcasm, or really as misguided of a comment as it appears to be at first blush...

I had a chance to go to a shoot for the Travel Network show "Bert: The Conqueror" on Shivering Timbers at MiA, and took my son. We got to ride ST a handful of times, got some food, and got free admission to the park. We had a blast, and in spite of not ending up in any on-ride footage they shot, it was a great event, and both my son and I will always treasure that experience! If you don't understand the nature of one of these shoots going in (and in addition to being pretty well spelled out in the invites, you can also call and ask if you have questions), you should really not go, because filming for TV, or commercials, isn't "Enthusiast ERT". But if you let go of your expectations, and just go along for the ride, whatever that may be, you're likely to have a fun, and unique time!

I was able to do that a couple times in the early 2000's at a Coaster Enthusiast event, and it was cool, I guess. Still, I think it's a better ride BECAUSE of the lights being off, so I'm glad that's the typical operation.

First off: I LOVE that word filter for the "meh" nickname for Steel Vengeance! Well done! Secondly, I'm heading out to CP again today, but for a very different experience than normal. I'm taking my youngest child, who is 4, for the very first time, and am looking forward to him experiencing The Point, and hopefully loving it! Obviously, this means most of my day will be spent in Kiddie Kingdom, with some potential forays into Planet Snoopy, and Camp Snoopy! I think I may actually go see what Dinos Alive is about for the first time ever too! I am bringing my daughter as well, to help out, and hopefully the weather isn't too crappy (afternoon thunderstorms currently predicted), but even so, it's not like I'm going to be there for the coasters today anyway... Having said that, I'm looking forward to SV ERT tonight after park close, and hope I can another couple of rides on that amazing creation! As for the aforementioned comments about Magnum, I actually think it's one of the MOST overrated coasters there is - specifically by coaster enthusiasts! I have yet to go to CP with any non-enthusiasts (which is 95% of the people I go with) who think it's better than MF, Maverick, or even Valravn or GateKeeper. I also have it well below those. When we went this past week, we didn't even ride it, because with the flow of how we were hitting the park, it just wasn't important enough to my kids (who have all ridden it) to bother making the extra walking, or missing out on another Maverick ride. Now, I'm not saying it's a trash coaster, and certainly nobody who likes it best is crazy (well, maybe if they like it more than SV! lol), but I would never consider it underrated, personally. If it wasn't so crucially important in the history of roller coasters, or at Cedar Point, I suspect it wouldn't be remotely as "popular" among enthusiasts as it is.

The red light was flashing when I was there Thursday night...

I read that one day they didn't have it ready and opened Magnum instead, but is it true the last few days it wasn't running at all for early entry? It's still listed on the website, so that's why I'm wondering. I know it's probably a crapshoot, but is it just consistently not ready, or is it really not available at all? I should have put that as "it's not early entry time anymore", for more clarity. I was just saying that when I posted that, the wait times for SV were much longer, but it wasn't early entry anymore, like when I had the half hour wait. SV IS still available for early entry, at least when it's working. I walked into the park at around 9:10 yesterday, and didn't run or anything, and ended up getting there when the first few people who rode it were getting off, and back in line. And our wait at that point ended up being around half an hour (due to one train ops.) Given where we started in line, it wouldn't have been much more that 15, if that, with two train ops, and if they ever have three trains going? That line's going to fly! I went again at the very end of the day, and waited maybe 45 minutes, and again, that was with one train ops. Got on second to last ride of the day, with the sun setting over the Lake! As for reliability, SV ran most of the day yesterday, at least that I saw. So yeah, it's definitely in operation! Still kicking abs and taking names, too! I will back off my comments earlier in this thread about the airtime hills at the end seeming more comfortable than LR or SC though... They were really bucking hard this time around, so I'm guessing I was just so euphoric last time, I didn't even notice how forceful they were! Most of the coasters seemed to run well, all day, though Maverick did experience some downtime (not unusual for any day or month of the year), and TTD was also its usual unreliable (read: it operated maybe an hour all day?) self. It still was an absolute awesome day at Cedar Point, with beautiful weather, and mostly non-existent waits, and no real issues with staffing (besides the food locations), rides running, or any other issues people sometimes associate with going during this time of year! I look forward to my remaining 4 visits over the next month, and similar experiences, hopefully! BTW, one comment about the CP app, since its wait times were brought up the other day in this thread... It's pretty much a joke! Almost nothing was accurate as to what the app was saying, with it saying things were closed that were literally running right in front of me, and the wait times were almost always shorter, sometimes WAY shorter, than what it was saying. So, if you're using that, or if the other site you're going to is using that, I wouldn't, because it was laughably inaccurate!

You're probably here by now, and don't need me to tell you this, but crowds are very minimal, as they typically are this time of year. Haven't waited more than a half hour for anything (though I'm guessing SV is longer than that now that it's not early entry), and have walked into the station on everything except MF (ramp wait), and Valravn. Of course, we rode Maverick at the end of Early Entry as well, so the walk up isn't probably indicative of how it's been most of the day! Lol. TTD has stood for Tepid Thrill Downtime today, so I don't know if my two older kids will get their first ride on it today. Other than that though, most rides and coasters have operated, and operated well (aside from Corkscrew and maXair!) The food stands have been almost AWOL however, which is annoying when you have the All Day Dining Plan... Still, it's a beautiful day, with little waiting, and lots of Cedar Point goodness! Can't wait to get another ride or two on Steel Vengeance later!

I love going to CP and riding SV once, and Maverick twice, with only a half hour wait (all for SV) combined!

Heading to CP with my kids tomorrow! Here's hoping for the best, in regard to SV!

DLinator, we've got a group of three guys (me, freefalling45, and Richard a.k.a. richjabb) going to Coasterstock booked for Thursday and Friday night. Feel free to PM about joining us. Just so you know, I responded to your last PM early Sunday morning, and just did again, but I realized they are both still in my Outbox, appearing to have not been sent. If they don't arrive soon, we'll just have to exchange numbers or something, to communicate. Just wanted to let you know I wasn't ignoring your last message! Having said that, and having just taken a gander at the weather forecast for both days there, I'm leaning towards just writing off the $41 as sunk cost, and saving the hundreds of dollars I'd be spending by going. Sorry to possibly back out... I'll try and decide in the next day or so for sure.

The all day lock*rs are to the right, once you go through the main entrance gates, right next to the bathroom over there.

Fashion, smashion... I don't let other people's opinions on anything dictate what I wear! I've worn cargo shorts for years, even NOT at parks, and will continue to do so, as long as I feel like it! But definitely at parks, my newest pair with the nice zippered pocket for my phone, will be my go-to!