DILinator

Hey! You're starting to understand how the world works! Congratulations! (Not trying to be mean, just funny - and agreeing with you!)

As I stated above, Tuesday to Thursday are generally the "money" days for attending CP in May. Mondays, and especially Fridays, can get bad, with people extending weekends...

Nintendo! And it's not even close! Annoying Car Salesman, or Annoying MLM Promoter

Lightning

^Sadly, I have not had the pleasure of doing Bands, Brews, and BBQ, but it sounds absolutely amazing! I don't get down to Florida as much as I'd like to, but I'll have to try and synchronize a trip down there with that event sometime in the future!

Excellent TR! Love the captions under the pictures especially! BGT is awesome! I definitely wouldn't make a trip down to Florida, without making my way over there! And while I actually love a lot of what B&M has done since Kumba, there is no doubt that it is one of their crowning achievements!

I wouldn't compare Sea World to Disney because they're so different, but if you're a big-time animal lover I don't think it's unreasonable at all to prefer Sea World. I love Sea World for the laid back atmosphere compared to the other Orlando parks, the great animal exhibits and shows and because Manta is probably Orlando's best coaster. I should have phrased it this way... For me personally, and my tastes, I'll take Sea World over Disney anyday! However, that's because of their awesome roller coasters, including my beloved Kraken, and not really because of the animals, which I usually skip. However, I look forward to having a more well rounded experience at Sea World in the future, taking my kids, because I think they will enjoy it, and I always enjoy anything I'm doing with my kids!

Valravn, yesterday! Last train of the night, to boot!

That POV doesn't even show the crows nest turnaround... Seems like the layout might have changed a little since that rendering was created!

I would never wait in more than a 15-20 minute line for food in an amusement park, no matter how hungry I was!

Count me in as somebody else who thinks it's NEVER a waste of time to go to Orlando! I love that place, and frankly, wouldn't mind living down there! Also, Sea World beats any of the Disney parks, at least for me personally! And Mako a clone of Nitro??? For shame...

Count me in as somebody else who doesn't think Time Warp is a great coaster, but would actually be a really solid addition to Michigan's Adventure! People will think it's a new coaster, just like they did with Thunderhawk, and with how badly they starve the fans of the park (and even the GP Michiganders I talk to) for new coasters, they'll take anything, even if it's not great, and like it (again, as evidenced by Thunderhawk.)

I've rode it about five times and every time I come off asking myself, "Why the hell did I ride that again?" It injured my wife. It's more painful than Ninja at SFOG...and since this is a Carowinds thread, Carolina Cylcone and Carowind's own Vortex is a better ride than KI's Vortex. Just my opinion here, but Vortex is the worst multi looper I've rode. But yeah, I agree...Everyone should ride it at least once to see how much pain they're in after they get off the ride. I don't think KI's Vortex is great, but Carowinds' Vortex is the worst coaster I've ridden since Son of Beast! Even the wretched Hurler was not as bad, in my opinion!

I went to Cedar Point yesterday, and it was the best day I've had at The Point in over 30 years and many visits! We arrived for early entry at 9:30, and went right to Valravn and got in a much shorter line that the last time I was here Preview Weekend. After a little less than 20 minutes, we were on the coaster in the front row, and enjoying a much better ride on it than I had my first go-round! Obviously, the view from the front, particularly facing down the drop, is a HUGE part of what makes the ride, and made it much more enjoyable. However, something else happened that I didn't even realize fully until our second ride later in the day... We didn't stop on the mid-course trims! Now, I'm not saying they didn't slow the train down at all, but if they did, it was minimal, and we went over the second near-vertical drop with a good measure of speed now, making that element intensely fun! It wasn't until our second ride, when we were slowed to almost a stop before going over, that I remembered THAT, is how the ride is supposed to run! So, needless to say, that was an awesome way to start the day, and getting down with Valravn before the regular crowds even entered was great! We went to Millennium Force next, and after a 5 minute (tops) wait, we were on what is still my favorite (barely) coaster in the park! After one exhilarating spin on MF, we saw the line was even shorter than before, and hit it again. Next up was my other contender for favorite coaster in the park, Maverick, and we got in a line that was the shortest one I have ever encountered on the ride during normal (non-ERT) hours! It was on the stairs, almost to the station! After a fantastic ride then, we got in line again, a little longer one this time, but after only about 10 minutes, were on board, and I was sitting in the back row. I had forgotten just how insane that coaster is in the back row, and was again questioning which coaster was 1a and 1b after getting off it! Such a great coaster! Yes, Mean Streak was running finally, and some thought was given to giving it a go, but nobody was all that passionate about the idea, so we left Frontier Town. We passed up Gemini this time around, and Magnum was down at the moment, so we hit TTD. The line began on the ramp, so we opted for front row since we weren't going to be waiting long in the main line. It was a blast, as always, riding up there, and when we got down with it, we'd only been in the park just under three hours. So, before even 1:00, the four largest coasters were in the books, MF and Maverick twice, and the entire day still lay ahead of us! Rather than go blow by blow through the whole day, I'll just say our final ride tally: Valravn 3 times (including the very last train of the night!), MF 3 times, Maverick 3 times, GateKeeper 2 times, TTD 2 times, and solo rides on Magnum, Rougarou, Raptor, Blue Streak, and Wicked Twister. I also got on Windseeker, maXair, Power Tower, and Tiki Twirl, and had a blast on Dodgems for the first time in many, many years! As I said before, in all my many years and visits to Cedar Point, including most of those being in the low-crowd days of May, I've never been able to do so much, with so little line waiting time! We could have actually ridden a lot more, but took a few breaks to eat, or just relax with a brew. The perfect weather was icing as the cake, as it was sunny and pleasant all day, and not too hot, nor cold! A few thoughts from the day... -My longest wait of the day was between 30 and 40 minutes, the third time we rode Maverick. But the worst wait of the day for me, was for Fresh Cut Fries, as I naturally picked the very slowest line of all the options available, and then after I ordered, the lady apparently forgot my order, because after getting my drink, and going to get a straw and napkins and coming back, she was serving other people, and then when she was done with that, asked me what I'd ordered, and then went and put the order in, waiting for it to be completed... But man, those Garlic Parmesan Fries sure were good, and in the end, the poor service was not the end of the world! -We had a second opportunity where we almost went on Mean Streak. I was game, but there just wasn't enough passion for the option among the group, so we didn't end up riding it. Still, it was nice to see it finally open, and I'm sure I'll get a spin on it at some point this year! -The removal of the Go-Karts didn't really open up a ton of space for a Soak City expansion, and even without Rip-Cord there, there wouldn't be much room. Perhaps with the Mini-Golf gone as well, there would be a decent amount of room... Still, a Carolina Harbor sized expansion just doesn't seem to be in the cards for Soak City, not unless they cut into that parking lot as well. -I was crestfallen to go for some more Tofts Valravn Ice Cream, and find out it was sold out! However, I did get to try the Valravn Dippin-Dots, which were actually pretty good, and as a bonus, I got some great information on CP's next project... Oh, wait... No I didn't! What the heck would the Dippin-Dots guy know about that shizz?!?! -Speaking of Project 2017, I've decided I know what I want it to be... All new, completely renovated bathrooms across the entire park! Seriously, every single bathroom I went in over the course of the day (and a couple of the guys I was there with had to go to the bathroom an unusually large number of times!) was just dank, disgusting, and sub-par, especially compared with all of the other newly updated infrastructure in the park! I don't know if this is actually going to happen, but I know if it does, I will not be complaining in the least about not getting another coaster or ride, as it'll be a big upgrade IMHO! Soak City expansion, and all new bathrooms... Yes, I could definitely be satisfied with that in 2017! -Valravn still isn't into my top 3 coasters at CP, but I do rank it ahead of TTD, Magnum, and Raptor! While those are all fine, and enjoyable rides, Valravn in the front (especially with the trims off!) is a spectacular experience, and just such a rush! Great addition by CP, and as I stated after Preview Weekend, that whole new midway its arrival has created is perhaps the best thing about the ride. I simply love it over there! I'll be back with another group of friends, co-workers this time, on Tuesday, so it'll be interesting to see how the crowds compare, since I was anticipating more people being there yesterday, with it being Physics Week. But I can't imagine having much shorter wait times Tuesday than I did today! We'll see... Regardless, this visit has definitely affirmed my belief that if you truly want to enjoy the CP experience, and don't want to get gouged by the ridiculous (and yes, that's EXACTLY what it is) Fast Lane debauchery, you really need to make sure you go weekdays (preferably Tuesday through Thursday) in May! I almost never go to CP mid-June through mid-August these days, and my park experience is SO much better for that! If you are coming from a distance, and can at all tolerate pulling your kids from a few days of school, I definitely recommend this route, as opposed to making a Summer trip, and then feeling compelled to get the FL+! Sorry for there being no photos, but my phone is pretty much garbage, and I was too busy riding coasters to snap many pics anyway. Thanks for reading!

Cool, thanks!

I know this is probably premature, but do we have dates, or at least ideas of dates yet?

^Honestly, Saturdays are always the worst days to go to CP, and crowds have been heavier than normal even during the week so far this year. So I'd definitely prepare for some waiting! Regarding Valravn, from what I've seen personally, and also read, it actually appears that Valravn at opening is seeing its largest wait times of the day. This is actually not surprising, since Raptor has always carried a long line at park's opening due to its proximity to the front gate. Now, with Valravn also drawing a crowd at the Marina gate, it's getting swamped from both entrances. Your best bet is probably to wait until around dinner time, and try to catch a ride then. Millennium Force will kick butt forever, and for-always, regardless of what the force-feeling impaired may lead you to believe!

Donald Duck Inception, or Interstellar

This is how I would rank the ones I've been on: 1. Big Bad Wolf 2. Vortex 3. The Bat 4. Ninja 5. Iron Dragon

G: Galaxie @ Boblo Island

Lasagna Game of Thrones, or The Walking Dead

Valravn (needed one )

Black, definitely! (Especially on Valravn! ) Son of Beast, or Hurler

To make it worse, Vekoma was the only coaster manufacturer that didn't go bankrupt! Cedar Point finally acknowledged that Magnum has been sinking slightly every year since the early 90's...