Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[Kafka]

Blue Streak is great. Its an old classic coaster.

Mean Streak isnt a terrible ride. A lot of people say its too rough, but i feel that its not as bad as The Boss, which i still think is a great ride. Now that i think about it a GCI woodie would probably be best over where DT is

[coasterfreak101]

Yeah, you can absolutely tell the difference the new trains make in that video. If anyone hasn't ridden Blue Streak this season, they've missed out!

[coastermaniac]

Blue Streak does seem to be smoother this season; it is certainly noticeable in the video (POV).

[cal1br3tto]

Maybe my "problem" (not that it really matters) was that I rode Blue Streak in the back car. I'll have to check out the front next time. Certainly a charming little coaster, and one of the few at CP I deemed worthy of re-rides this year.

 

I know from experience that front seats on woodies can providing suprising airtime in terms of intensity and/or location.

[ABW]

LOL! Overrated? This one of the most underrated rides I've ever been on? You seriously think that out of everything at Cedar Point THIS is overrated? What else did you happen ride? Ever heard of Mean Streak?

 

And don't even get me started with the overhyped comment. I haven't seen ONE person who is even close to hyped up about this ride.

 

Yes, overrated. I'm sorry I hit a nerve, but that's my opinion. All I hear on here and many other forums is how great the airtime is and such (i.e. HYPING it up...hence "overhyped" ), when I don't think it's more than just a middle-of-the-pack wooden coaster. I don't think it's terrible, but I certainly don't think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread like most people HYPE IT UP to be. Looking at your coaster count you have only ridden 9 wooden coasters, all average at best, so I can see why you think what you think (I would probably rate Blue Streak the highest out of those too). I'm nowhere near to having even a remotely large coaster count, but if you ever get the chance, definitely try out El Toro, Ravine Flyer II, Boulder Dash, Phoenix, Voyage (although maybe not so much now), etc. and you might just change your tune.

 

Also, as someone else said, what does Mean Streak have to do with anything? It is not rated high or hyped up by many people. I have been on far worse wooden coasters than Mean Streak, and my opinion would be the same whether it existed or not...

No actually. Among the things you said in your original "overrated" post you said

it's still 'meh' to me

Now, let's think here. Blue Streak is one of two wooden coasters at Cedar Point, and you said Blue Streak was a "meh" ride. Well, the other woodent coaster in the park (as I'm not sure you'll agree) is NOT a "meh" coaster. It's a horrible coaster! So I know I don't even need to explain Mean Streak as you're obviously aware that it's a bad ride. On the other hand, we have Blue Streak which is a MUCH better ride. So out of the two wooden coasters at Cedar Point the one you choose to rip on for being bland, overrated, and overhyped is Blue Streak. That simply doesn't make sense to me, not only have I heard some not-so-great review from both coaster enthisiests and the GP about Blue Streak, but you're also ripping on a coaster that is at a park that's home to one of the worst coasters man can possibly ride at the moment. So I don't think you have very much reason to back up you're argument that of all the coasters at the park, Blue Streak is overrated, or a meh ride. Also as I mentioned in my original, let's not forget that that this is Cedar Point, the park that has (of all overrated coasters) Millenium Force. Need I say more?

 

But sure, I'll keep taking my "mediocore" rides on Apocalypse and Ghostrider.

[alpengeist04]

I haven't been on Blue Streak since 2009, and at that time I thought it was running great. ...smooth ride, with pretty good airtime. IMO, it's more underrated than overrated. I would actually rank it 5th best in the park behind, TTD, MF, Maverick, and Raptor. As a matter of fact, those 5 coasters are really the only ones I would consider worth re-rides.

[cal1br3tto]

^Those are the only coasters there I've bothered re-riding other than Disaster Transport and Magnum.

[ABW]

I haven't been on Blue Streak since 2009, and at that time I thought it was running great. ...smooth ride, with pretty good airtime. IMO, it's more underrated than overrated. I would actually rank it 5th best in the park behind, TTD, MF, Maverick, and Raptor. As a matter of fact, those 5 coasters are really the only ones I would consider worth re-rides.

Exactly, I wouldn't call it the smoothest thing around so I guess I could see why some people don't like it but that doesn't automatically make it a bad ride. Also, like you said, it has airtime. Really good airtime at that. Still though, nobody goes to Cedar Point to ride Blue Streak. I see it as just a cherry on top to everything else the park offers.

[coasterlover420]

It kind of bothers me that people think wooden coasters should be smooth. Honestly if you don't like the way wooden coasters are, then don't ride them. Wood is rough, it's the way the ride is engineered and it's the way the material holds up. Not to mention Blue Streak is old. Not all coasters were built by Intamin. To be honest, in a way I like how woodies are rough. It's a different personality from steel coasters, and it's a lot more like a challenge than a ride. That's probably just me...

[osm]

^^^^^The point he was making was that many enthusiasts consider Blue Streak to be a great little ride with lots of air, and he thinks differently, therefore he considers it overrated. You clearly disagree. Now I'm not taking any sides here, as I ran out of time to ride Blue Streak on my August trip. However, I'm not sure what your point is about Mean Streak. Almost every enthusiast, with very few exceptions, hates that ride like it killed their family. Therefore, nobody is overrating it. And just because a park has one terrible ride doesn't mean that other rides at the same park can't be overrated. He thinks Blue Streak is overrated, you clearly don't. In the end, they're all just opinions.

[ABW]

^I also addressed overrated-ness in that post as well. Not sure if that got through to anybody now to be honest. But sure, it's all opinion, so it's no big deal.

It kind of bothers me that people think wooden coasters should be smooth. Honestly if you don't like the way wooden coasters are, then don't ride them. Wood is rough, it's the way the ride is engineered and it's the way the material holds up. Not to mention Blue Streak is old. Not all coasters were built by Intamin. To be honest, in a way I like how woodies are rough. It's a different personality from steel coasters, and it's a lot more like a challenge than a ride. That's probably just me...

This is very true. I don't really think a wooden coaster needs to be the smoothest thing ever (like I'm sure El Toro is) but it just needs to have a good layout. That's what makes a wooden coaster itself. I really don't get all the complaints either. Unless it's really uncomforably rough, there's nothing bad about it being a little rough. Not to mention the fact that most wooden coasters are older anyways. I completely agree with you on this.

[FeelTheFORCE]

ABW, you have your opinion and I have mine. You think Blue Streak is a good ride, and that's fine, I respect that. Just realize that not everyone is going to have the same views as you, and forcing your views on someone else with a "my way or the highway" approach isn't necessarily the way to go.

 

Again, what do all of the other coasters at Cedar Point have to do with anything? The current discussion is/was about Blue Streak, so why would I post my view on Millennium Force or Mean Streak, and how would that affect Blue Streak in any way? Just because a park has one (or a few) terrible ride(s) doesn't mean other rides at the same park can't be overrated. It doesn't matter where Blue Streak is located, I would still have the same opinion regardless. I rate rides based on the ride they give, not based on how many overrated coasters that park currently has.

[thrillrider]

At the park now.....most coasters are closed.

[cal1br3tto]

I don't understand the idea that wooden roller coasters "should" be rough. Yes, that can help give them character and intensity, and yes, they tend to end up that way, but I have no problem with smooth wooden coasters. I've ridden a number of wooden coasters of all ages and layouts that I would consider anywhere from relatively to perfectly smooth, and that's fine by me. (Granted, some of them can still hurt when you get thrown around by airtime.)

[SharkTums]

At the park now.....most coasters are closed.

 

I'm assuming weather?

 

I still don't understand how we lucked out with three days of the most amazing weather I've ever seen at CP this summer on our TPR Trip!

[thrillrider]

No rain, just cold and breezy.

 

I can see why a few of the coasters would be closed with the wind.

[eddie200330]

Isn't there like a minimum temp in order for most of the coasters to operate? I thought that was one of the big issues with HP's Springtime in the Park? According to weather.com it is 56 and pretty windy there right now.

[braztaz]

^Normally, the minimum temperature would be in the lowish 40s... I know this is the case for most coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, but every coaster is different...

[xChris125x]

Top Thrill Dragster doesn't have a set minimum temperature, but if it's too cold the trains will not go over the tower after multiple launches in a row, even using the launch boost. It happened to us one day during opening week and we never opened for the day.

[DougMJr]

^Launch Boost?

 

I've never been an operator, but that intrigues me. How much does it "boost" the train by?

[xChris125x]

Roughly 15mph I think. It says right on the control panel that it must be an empty train and requires management approval. We only used it if we knew it would roll back and wanted to ensure the train would go over. It's just easier to make sure a train we were sure would rollback would go over than to have it roll back and have to recalculate the launch. Using the launch boost would 'confuse' the ride and would take several cycles for the ride to adjust back to normal launch calculations. It also puts more stress on the trains and track at the top of the tower so the boost is only used sparingly. I only saw it used a handful of times all season.

 

[braztaz]

That's pretty neat!

[coasterlover420]

Also, Dragster does have a wind indicator, and as I was told by a crew member yesterday, it was too windy. When it gets too windy Dragster will actually give a trouble light. However, at least rides like Dragster can risk testing in conditions where rollbacks are possible. If it's windy and cold, there's a pretty good chance Raptor or Millennium won't open either. Can't really risk rollbacks on those rides. If it's a wind condition or light rain, rides like WT and DT should be open, though. Not that that's a good portion of coasters at CP...

 

p.s. ^^Chris, you would take pictures of all the buttons.

[SoCalCoasters]

^Wicked Twister closes in the wind if I recall correctly. It has been almost 7 years since I visited the park...

[coasterlover420]

No it does not. I work at the ride, and I know that the ride does not close in the wind since it is not a continuous circuit. There is no risk of rollback problems since the ride does it naturally.