Photo TR- Justin Goes To Cedar Point

[CP_RULES]

Last week my dad came up to me and told me to check the weather for Sandusky. Not thinking he was serious, I lazily checked the weather and reported it back to him. Next thing I knew I was booking our room at Breakers Express and my mom, my dad, and I were all headed for Cedar Point.

 

INDEX

Part One- The Drive: See Below

Part Two- Knocking Out Boredom

Part Three- Early Entry

Part Four- Morning Manic

Part Five- Afternoon Antics

Part Six- Twilight Delight

 

 

Part One- The Drive

 

Since I live in Missouri, the drive to Sandusky is about 10.5 hours.... Yea, you saw that right, 10.5 hours. It wasn't too bad though, we had my iPod and plenty of McDonald's on the way to keep us happy.

 

Rise and shine!

 

Oreo knows something is up. Poor kitty, we'll be back on Saturday.

 

Our ride for the trip.

 

Around 8am it was time for our first stop. From the outside it looks liek a normal McD's.

 

But from the inside it is a luxury restaurant.

 

Complete with flat screens and old people! Elissa would be in heaven.

 

Everything is bigger in Illinois! Oh wait....

 

Indianapolis is a beautiful city... too bad I cant get a good picture of it.

 

See? Everytime I had the perfect shot, something got in the way right as I clicked. Oh well, only 5 more hours to go.

 

So is this the gateway to the East?

 

Finally something that says Cedar Point!

 

So.... close!

 

Too bad we're going to have to wait until tomorrow to ride anything.

 

Breakers Express was nice, I thought it was funny that these toiletries had CP stuff on them, but it could have been the 10 hours of driving.

[spaceace12]

You drove through my town, probably just smelled it. Terre Haute.

[CP_RULES]

Part Two- Knocking out Boredom

 

After getting to our hotel so early, we didn't really have anything to do. We ate at this pizza buffet next to our hotel called East of Chicago and decided to show my mom the beach (this was her first time). We were planning on driving down the road to what we thought was the closest public beach, but someone told us that CP allows you onto it's beach for only 50 cents. What a good deal! We headed up to the peninsula and drove on perimeter road to the beautiful beach.

 

Now THAT is a skyline!

 

Hard to catch any trains when you are moving down the road.

 

But sometimes you get lucky.

 

Hi, I'm the Overrated Express. Here you can see the only part of me that is really any good.

 

Hi, I'm the new guy.

 

I'm a lot more fun than my big brother who gets all the hype.

 

No one cares. Moving on.

 

I really can't think of a caption for this one.

 

There will be better pictures of this big boy in part 3.

 

Magnum is pretty hard to photograph. All you can see is the lift.

 

After passing all of those beautiful coasters, we finally made it to the beach.

 

But we have to hurry if we want to get our money back, so we head back to the front gate.

 

It looks just like the ocean but without the waves.

 

You cant tell me that the area around Maverick isn't nice looking.

 

The drop look amazing from this angle.

 

Too bad the rest of the ride is so spread out.

 

The lift is so intimidating.

 

Apparently they were only running two trains on Thursday. Good thing they were smart for us on Friday and ran all three.

 

Blue Streak says, "I have more airtime than MF."

 

And with that, I say goodbye for now. More pictures soon!

[thefitness]

There aren't even pictures from inside the park, and the TR is already awesome! Can't wait to see Part 3!

 

What did you think about Breakers Express? My Dad and I are planning a CP trip in July if we don't move before then, and we were considering Breakers Express.

[SonOfBeastSucks]

Nice pictures so far, even if I highly disagree with your opinion of MF. The whole area around CP/Lake Errie is a nice place.

[rileybrands]

Very cool!

 

I also have to disagree with your view on MF some, though I do how one could see it as "bleh..."

 

Actually, I've found that if you walk from the Bon aire section of Breakers to Sandcastle you can get some great pics of Magnum.

[coasterdude5]

Great TR, there were some awesome shots of Maverick and MF in there.

[crazydaveh]

I think Millennium Force is a top notch coaster. Your description of it seems weak! Where else can you get that type of lift and first hill? I can't think of many.

 

To each his own though... I can't stand Rock N Roller Coaster because it's slow, but many others love it.

 

Great pics.

[yankees15]

Hey the McDonalds by my house is just like that one, they just reconstructed the inside.

[CP_RULES]

Part Three: Early Entry

 

I don't think we could've picked a better day to go to the point. Crowds were very light for CP, and the weather was a perfect 80 degrees. The sun was out and the park was ready.

 

Yes! Thank you very much Breakers Express, our early entry session was WAY worth it.

 

We parked in the Soak City lot and waited to get in the park. When the clock struck 9, we ran straight for Maverick. This was a great choice as Maverick was a walk-on and I got a back seat ride in no time.

 

All I can say about Maverick is WOW! The first drop had insane airtime, and the entire ride was just amazing. I didn't headbang at all, but I did have to hang onto the OTSR. The launch wasn't too strong and the trims slowed the ride down quite a bit, but it didn't detract from the ride too much. I liked the S bend, but I still think a heartline could work there if they did it correctly. The stengal dive was the only part of the ride that I found to be awkward. It really flung you and it felt unnatural. The second air hill made me quickly forget the awkwardness and was a great end to the ride. Overall, I give Maverick a 9.9/10.

 

Pictures of Maverick will come later, we spent most of our hour of early entry trying to ride everything we could.

 

Despite what the sign at our hotel said, there were many rides open for early entry. Skyhawk was one of them.

 

I didn't ride until later though.

 

It's a very loud ride, I don't really see how it fits into the theme of frontiertown.

 

This is the only Dippin' Dots man that knows the facts. Too bad he isn't here to give me the inside information.

 

 

Because we got on and off of Maverick so quickly, we were still able to get to Millennium force before the rush.

 

This wont be the last picture you see of brakes.

 

Despite the ride being WAY overrated and having a fairly boring layout, it is still a fun ride.

 

And it does have at least one spot of good airtime.

 

And it's pretty damn sexy.

 

After a quick ride on MF we headed over to TTD. Apparently the first train didn't make it over the top so they shut it down. Luckily, it reopened in about 10 minutes to virtually no wait.

 

TTD begs to be looked at.

 

121, 122, 121, 120. If it doesnt say this or more, it probably wont make it over the top.

 

It really takes you by surprise when you are walking along and then it zooms by.

 

I could do without the twist, but it's cool to photograph.

 

Who wants to make bets on how much longer the track will be red?

 

One of my favorite shots on the trip.

 

After we rode TTD, our hour of early entry was over. I thought it was pretty good to knock out the top three rides at the park in one hour. We tried to get back to Maverick before the rest of the GP had gotten to it, but we weren't successful, so instead I just took pics of it! Those are next, stay tuned!

[odene497]

These pictures are really awesome.

[kennywood!007]

Amazing pictures Justin! The shots from the road are really nice.

[bulldogmom]

Great pics! I love the drive past all the coasters to the resorts- it's hard to keep your eyes on the road. I had one of those seashell thingies too when I stayed at the Breakers- I thought it was cool, since I like seashells. BTW, I was in the old (Bon Aire) section, and my room looked right at Magnum, Dragster, and Gemini- in fact, you could hear them if you turned off the AC.

Oreo is so cute! My dogs look at me that way too when they know I'm going somewhere, trying to make me feel guilty.

As to MF- just look at my signature

[dandaman]

I've found that if you walk from the Bon aire section of Breakers to Sandcastle you can get some great pics of Magnum.

 

The last part of this TR or so I can submit as proof.

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35792

 

Great pics especially of Dragster!

 

EDIT: I missed that cross in Illinois the first time around. I have pictures of two of the exact same; one in Tennessee, the other in Kentucky. Is there such a thing as Christian bulk discount stores?

[verticalzero]

Lovely photo's of CP's rides esp MF which I love, MF has an awesome 1st 80% 1st drop, floating 2nd hill to the Island, power and the speed.

 

I photo'd MF from the road at night with it's light show, that is something else. Anyone got a video of the lights..?

 

Found all rides at CP amazing inc Mean Streak (my 1st king size woodie, don't have any wooden coasters over 100ft in England). The brakes were there on the 1st drop but only felt the mid-course ones apply.

 

Everywhere at CP is lovely, very tidy and a great place to spend a couple of days. The "Ice Cream" is the best I've ever had. Prob cos it's got loads of added Sugar

 

A 10.5 hour drive is insane, that must be 1/2 way across America How many States did you drive through.?

[CP_RULES]

Part Four- Morning Manic

 

Let's pick up right where we left off. Our hour of early entry was up and we quickly headed for Maverick. However, the GP was all already there so I just decided to take some pictures.

 

This thing is definitely a zero-g roll.

 

Obligatory blurry shot.

 

This ride is definitely a back-seat ride.

 

You get more air on the first drop, the air hills, and the zero-g rolls there.

 

BUT, the front does come with the view, and still a hefty amount of air.

 

This little shootin' gallery looked fun.

 

It was a walk-on... Why else would I ride it? Oh yea, I hope you're happy Jahan.

 

I'm in the green striped shirt.

 

This ride's cycle pretty much sucked. It only got to full height for one swing.

 

Apparently Maverick is going to have to be modified again, it's chopping off heads now!

 

The water cannons weren't on in the morning, not that you noticed them anyways.

 

Not worth the wait if there is one.

 

Framed.

 

You just have to take a picture in these.

 

It goes so fast yet it's so scary.

 

And then you go down the first drop and all is good.

 

This is the only overbank I really like on the ride.

 

Mantis only had a 15 minute wait. Yea, that's how empty the park was.

 

Two train shot!

 

Mantis is very photogenic.

 

Check out those sexy B&M curves!

 

This loop is very forceful.

 

The third train is still just chillin' under the transfer track.

 

I formerly disliked this ride do to its ball-smashin' antics.

 

But this time I got the restraint in the perfect spot and the ride was AWESOME.

 

Hey look, my dad took a good picture! Here you can see my mom and I in the front row on the right.

 

If this doesn't get you off Derek, there's more to cum.

 

B&M brakes are so cool, and these are even better because they save your legs.

 

My mom said that this wasn't a roller coaster.

 

Well, she said that until I made her ride it.

 

Raptor wasn't running as good as I remembered it.

 

But that could be because I rode in the back seat this time.

 

I love this fountain.

 

Weee!

 

Brace yourself.

 

There was some headbanging in the back seat on the cobra roll.

 

Nothing you haven't seen before.

 

My mom didn't like the bouncing on this ride. I can agree, I think it's a waste of time.

 

On our way to the car for lunch, I got this nice picture of Mantis.

 

Yea, we're pretty cheap. We brought stuff to make sandwiches and we ate in the car.

 

Framed again.

 

They didn't get their timing quite right.

 

Red train almost always won.

 

Stay tuned for Part Five- Afternoon Antics.

[asr]

This is a cool TR, even though Cedar Point gets old for me, since there are tons of TRs of it, and I know pretty much everything about the park. And although Mantis looks really, nice, I still think it sucks. When I rode, it didn't squish my balls, but it had headbanging worse then any Vekoma I've seen

[lil jimmy norton]

Nice TR man. 10 hours is a long ride. That is about the same length from Brooklyn to CP. If not this year, than I definitly have to get out there next year.

[coastercrazed49]

Great Trip Report. Your pictures make me want to go there so badly, it looks like an amazing park. WHY WONT MY PARENTS DRIVE 10 HOURS TO GO TO AN AMUSEMENT PARK!

 

Your parents must rock!

[PKI Jizzman]

Some nice pics in there, I can't wait till I go this summer.

[pizza>poop]

How long were your waits for the rides?b

[CP_RULES]

You drove through my town, probably just smelled it. Terre Haute.

 

I sure did. In fact, I was the one who was actually driving when we went through Terre Haute. My dad drove most of the way there, but I have my permit so I got some driving in too.

 

What did you think about Breakers Express? My Dad and I are planning a CP trip in July if we don't move before then, and we were considering Breakers Express.

 

It's fairly new and for half the price of the other CP Resorts, it was well worth it. Especially since you still get early entry.

 

I highly disagree with your opinion of MF.

 

To you and everyone else who mentioned this, I will say that I really don't hate MF at all. Do I think it is the 2nd best steel coaster in the world? No. Does it have a great layout? No. It is just plain and simply overrated. A good drop, a bunch of overbanks, and a few air hills with minimal airtime is all it really has.

 

Where else can you get that type of lift and first hill?

 

Hehe, funny that you can only point out those things as the good parts of the ride. You're right though, the lift and drop are unique, and that's the part of the ride I really like.

 

These pictures are really awesome.

 

Thanks! I just got a brand new digital camera, glad to see it was worth the buy.

 

Oreo is so cute! My dogs look at me that way too when they know I'm going somewhere, trying to make me feel guilty.

 

She's a good cat, I always feel bad when we leave her.

 

A 10.5 hour drive is insane, that must be 1/2 way across America Taiko Happy How many States did you drive through?

 

It was pretty much a straight shot on I-70 through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and then Ohio. We didn't have to get off I-70 until we got into Ohio. Then it was just I-75 and Highway 6 into Sandusky.

 

This is a cool TR, even though Cedar Point gets old for me, since there are tons of TRs of it, and I know pretty much everything about the park. And although Mantis looks really, nice, I still think it sucks. When I rode, it didn't squish my balls, but it had headbanging worse then any Vekoma I've seen Taiko Vekoma

 

Thanks, I tried not to take the same pictures that you see in everyone else's' PTRs. And I didn't really notice any headbanging on Mantis, except for in the corkscrew. Maybe you were riding in the wrong row? I hear the front is the smoothest.

 

Your parents must rock!

 

Ummm.... sure!

 

How long were your waits for the rides?

 

Coasters (first ride/second ride)

 

Maverick- Walk on/1 hour

MF- 15 mins/30mins

TTD- 15 mins

Cedar Creek Mine Ride- 5 mins

Mantis- 15 mins

Wildcat- 15 mins

Raptor- 30 mins

Wicked Twister- 10 mins

Magnum- Walk on/Walk on

Gemini- Walk on

Iron Dragon- Walk on

Disaster Transport- 30 mins

Blue Streak- Walk on

 

Flat Rides-

 

Skyhawk- 10 mins

Power Tower Red- 10 mins

Power Tower Blue- 10 mins

Chaos- Walk on

 

Transport Rides-

 

Skyride- Walk on (all three rides)

 

 

 

Ill post parts 5 and 6 tomorrow to complete the TR. Stay tuned and thanks to everyone for the comments!

[kennywood!007]

Wooo update 4 was awesome!

[bulldogmom]

More great pics. Mantis is very photogenic, even if I don't care for it. I think it's the bright colors that make it attractive.

I can't believe you had a 30 min wait for Disaster Transport! I haven't waited that long for that thing since like 1994. It seems to be the place to go when it's raining, cold, or really hot, since the queue is inside.

I love that fountain too, especially at night!

[dandaman]

Which day was Part 4 taken on? I hope it's Saturday, but I doubt it.