coasterbilly Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 ***photos after write up*** Well hello everybody! This is my first photo trip report here even though i've been on the site for a while (just haven't been on many trips!!). My family and I have taken vacations all over the mideastern, southeastern, and east coast United States ever since I was born. 11 years ago we hit Martin's Fantasy Island, where I rode my very first coaster, the now defunct Wildcat. Ever since then my dad, sister, and I have fallen in love with these scream machines. Since then, we basically dedicated our vacations from then on to Amusement Park hopping! Our 11th year brings us back to Ohio where we have been before 3 different times: 2000 to Cedar Point, 2002 to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, and 2003 to Paramount's Kings Island, but obviously they have all changed a bit since those trips and unfortunately, my sister could not join us for this trip We bought Maxx Passes this year since all of them were now owned by Cedar Fair. We started at Dorney Park (my 2nd home park), traveled and spent a day and a half at Kings Island, went up and stayed 3 days at Cedar Point, and went east to Geauga Lake for a day. But, my parents surprised me as we stopped a few hours at Knoebels before hitting home!! After 5 parks, around 40 coasters, and many miles of driving it was one of the best trips we've been on. Props to my amazing mom who is the supplier of these photos, she has a loving hobby for taking pictures and since I did all of the riding (and writing these reports) she took some spectacular shots, so she gets all the credit for these great pictures!! The report is long guys, hopefully some of you stick it out and read it, I know there have been many many many reports on these parks already this year and the TPR crew is on there Midwest trek right now, but I love writing about my experiences so I'm putting my all into these reports. They are split up into 5 sections or else Rob would prolly kill me for the length haha, so here we go! Dorney Park: We arrived at my 2nd homepark around 7:00pm on Saturday evening to get our Maxx Passes and hit up some favorites before making the drive to Ohio. This park always has a special place in my heart because it is so well upkept, has some great flats, and 9 unique roller coasters. Since it was Saturday, I knew there would be crowds so my dad and myself had a gameplan ready in order to do what we wanted to get our trip started on the right foot. We got our passes very easily and headed in. Coaster #1 of the trip had to be a good one, and close, well that was easy, Talon was first! Talon: We got there and entered the queue that usually is quite empty, but not on Saturday, there was actually a line this time, but with 2 train operation + Dorney should've equalled a short wait. But, someone lost there glasses during the ride earlier, so DP advisors went under the ride to find them, which took a lot of time (and meant they couldn't operate the coaster). This lead to a 50 minute wait, but what the heck we love Talon so we waited for the front. My 17th spin on this underrated B&M Invert had me smiling the rest of the day, such a great drop and great speed, it's so smooth, and has great elements that make this such a gem here, but it really doesn't get credit in the coaster world, which is why I say it's underrated. We got our ride video (a new thing CF put on 1 coaster at each of their parks) and left satisfied. Next up we strolled, got some food and munched as we enjoyed the Dorney Park sunset, we thought Hydra was up next but the wait was pretty long and I'm not a huge Hydra fan, so mom snapped some photos and we moved onto the Thundercreek Speedway (go-karts). We do these because my brother isn't a roller coaster fan, these cars were good and it's definitely one of the best layouts because it's very long, which proved to be a very fun time, plus it was a cool spot to watch Steel Force's backside! Thunderhawk: Next up was a classic, Dorney's great woodie the Thunderhawk. Since Hercules was beaten down, this remains Dorney's lone wooden coaster and it packs a punch! We walked onto this one thankfully and hit up the back because I knew ejector air was abundant back here! The ride isn't really long (2767 feet) or high (80 feet) or goes fast (45 mph) but here at TPR I know we all know that it doesn't have to be a world record breaker to be fun! It has some brilliantly designed speed hills after the drop before the cool mid-twister section which pulls a figure 8, then the return back is also full of air. We laughed and said ow a little bit but it was worth a nice dusk ride. Steel Force: No better way to end our night at Dorney Park then to ride the mammoth 10 year old Steel Force in pure darkness! We only waited around 15 minutes for the front because they had 3 trains going, and the ops (we timed it!) had each train locked and loaded in 50 seconds for each train... which is simply awesome! The ride blows me away every time, especially in the front because that's really where you feel the speed and smoothness of this ride. The helix in the back of the ride takes the cake (besides the bunny hills of course) because it picks up speed the entire way down it, which is phenominal. So, with it's 10 year anniversary, speed, drop, airtime, helix, and it being pitch black made for an incredible ride to finish our night off at DP. We took some last photos and headed to our hotel in Allentown to get some sleep for our drive to King's Island tomorrow! Pictures are below! Coaster Tally/Rank: Steel Force: 1 (10/10) Talon: 1 (9/10) Thunderhawk: 1 (7.5/10) Ride Tally: Thundercreek Speedway: 1 finishing up with a neon infested ferris wheel! Thanks for reading, Kings Island is next!! Dominator showboating it's fancy lights...it does look pretty friggen cool though waiting for the Raceway, it cooled off a little at night! take that funky picture mommy! haha Steel Force at the bottom of it's second drop by Thundercreek Speedway me loves me some Hydra footage during the setting of the sun! even though this is one sweet cobra roll the sweet Hydra entrance, unfortunately we didn't ride because of an unworthy line! around the horizontal curve leading into a pop of air before the breaks, one fantastic ending to a ride! over the corkscrew, the final inversion on this great beemer! going around the awesome overbank above the entrance Talon diving down the 120 foot, gorgeous drop! oooooo, ahhhhhh, mmmmmmm Steel Force, Dominator, and the Ferris Wheel, who is the best lookin? It's your call SF cresting the hill as the sun sets my dad, myself, and my bro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankees15 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Great photo trip report! I agree with everything you stated about the coasters. Talon is very underrated, thunderhawk has great ejector (but i think there is more in the front), and Steel Force is awesome. IMO Steel Force is running the best I have ever seen it this year, much better than previous years. Can't wait to see the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Coaster Girl Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 I love dorney, i wish i lived closer than 2 hours away, i miss it when i leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Great trip report, Dorney Park sounds like an awesome park, I gotta get over that way someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsme102 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Very good trip report. I do agree that Talon is very underrated. I'm not a very big fan of Thunderhawk, though. And where's the love for Laser? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Nice trip report! I will be going to CP soon and would like to also hit KI, but think that I will be doing Hershey Park on Labor Day instead because I have never been there and I need me some Stormrunner front seat action! I would definitely like to get to Dorney Park too, but it probably won't be until next year. I have a sister than lives outside of Allentown, so I might get a free place to crash! Anywho...a very detailed and well written report! Make sure to give Mom more kudos for a job well done on the camera! YAY MOM!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 haha thanks for the feedback everybody! My mom thanks you philrad71 she got a kick out of that comment!!! Laser we just didn't have time for, mainly because of Talon's wait (50 min), the go karts took a while and the park was closing the queues before we could get over there, I absolutely love Laser but just couldn't get there this time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 ***pics below*** Well thank you everyone for such positive feedback so far! I really do appreciate it because coasters and trip reports are a huge passion of mine! As you know this is part 2, which is a lot longer then part 1 because Kings Island is much bigger, and has a lot more rides to take pictures of haha. So here it goes! We woke up in Allentown and hit up the continental breakfast. We were greeted outside with rain as we packed our stuff and got ready for an 8 hour drive to Kings Island where one heck of a park awaited us. The rain slowed down and the sun peaked out to make the ride much more enjoyable. My brother and I slept a lot, but we also watched Team America: World Police and Family Guy Season 1 to entertain ourselves haha. Soon enough, I saw the skyline and immediately got ready to take on some more great coasters! We arrived at 6:00pm to the new logo that is Cedar Fair's Kings Island (I do miss Paramount a lot), but the park itself hasn't changed much because of the great condition Paramount had this park in before the change. Since we hadn't had any dinner beforehand, we went to the Festhaus and had some Panda Express to fill our stomachs. Yet again my dad and I got the plans together on what we would do. Since my dad isn't a flat ride guy and I love em, I left a little earlier and headed next door to hit up one amazing one, which you might've heard of, called Delirium! Delirium: This monster opened in 2003 and was constructed by the great Huss, and what a great job by Kings Island to bring this prototype here. I only waited 10 minutes compared to my ride in 2003 when it opened of 35 minutes. It obviously holds many riders (50 to be exact) and is just breathtaking reaching the peak height of 137 feet. I absolutely love the spinning factor too because each swing has a different effect and force, which had me giggling the whole way through, a great start to Kings Island! I met up with the fam after this ride and we stayed in the Action Zone to hit our first coaster in Face/Off, the Vekoma Invertigo! Face/Off: These are such unique rides because there aren't too many out there and you face each other! We hopped in line to wait 25 minutes to get towards the middle of the train. Dad and I talked to 2 people in front of us and we convinced them to separate into opposite rows so they could face each other so we could, and they did! This made the ride much cooler because my dad's expressions were so priceless, he really enjoyed the ride going forward...but definitely not backward haha. I, though, thoroughly enjoyed the whole ride, sure it has it's headbanging moments, but other then that, it's lots of fun. After Face/Off, we went into one of the shops and hit up some Paramount wear that they were selling for 60% off! My bro got a Top Gun shirt, I got a Fear the Four cup and some other little things that costed me almost nothing! Once we exited I immediately looked left and observed Son of Beast which was closed that day for maintenance, so I was doing a lot of praying that we could try out the new trains and the loopless layout. Quickly we headed to the Coney Mall section and got on the newly named ACE Coaster Classic...The Racer! The Racer: This is always a must for any enthusiast to hit up a racing woodie built back in the 1970's. I have never done these backwards before and really don't want to because I really like to enjoy these going in the forward direction haha. This was a walk on into the 2nd row. It still runs great with a great drop and some sweet pops of air, really is a true classic! Well next up we strolled around Coney Mall a bit and decided it'd be smart to do the Used for 2007 coaster tonight since tomorrow it'd be scorching hot, and the line didn't look too bad! Firehawk: X-Flight was my very first flyer back in 2002 at the then great Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. When I heard of the move I was pretty upset but thankful that I'd still get a chance to ride it, and the paint is indeed chipping where the green track from X-Flight still remains haha! We waited 45 minutes in the queue and an extra 15 because the restraints locked (with me in them!) haha, but the crew had it together and got the ride up quickly. They separated my dad and I to fill the train, so I got the 4th row. The ride is still running great, I love the lie to fly times especially at the top, and the loop is still so cool. A brilliant design and a great ride, although the geniuses from Switzerland called B&M definitely have a little better concept of this ride. Because of the wait for Firehawk, my dad and I booked it over because it was near closing to get to what we came to Kings Island for...a night ride on The Beast! The Beast: So many enthusiasts have put this coaster down because of the roughness it has now...but I tell them all to get over it because it's almost 30 years old now and still runs insane!!! We waited a half hour because Kings Island launches the fireworks at night from back in the woods over by Beast. But, they got it back rolling and we waited for the 4th row because the front was a little long, and we hadn't checked into our hotel yet! This did not take away from the ride a bit, the drop, the tunnels, the speed just cruising around the backwoods of Ohio, and the double helix finale just still make this a top 10 ride. It still reigns as my #2 woodie because it really gives quite an incredible ride still after 30 years. Next we just sat and relaxed by the incredible fountains in the front of the park to make us realize that we were on vacation and already having a blast, we finally left at 10:45 and passed out right away at our hotel for the next day!! _____________________________________________________________ Day 2 arrived and we took it easy that morning to pack up our stuff yet again because we were going to Kings Island until mid-afternoon because we were staying in Columbus that night. We got to the park at 10:45 to tackle the rest of what this park had to offer! Son of Beast: Well everyone, our prayers were answered with the loudest lift hill anywhere haha. We rushed over and waited 30 minutues for this now mystery of a ride. We also rode it in 2003 with the old trains and loop and enjoyed it, but I had heard the new trains made this ride even better and more enjoyable. We rode in the front and boy were they right! This ride quickly jumped back into my woodie top ten and now sits at #6. The drop and speed are incredible and it really is a bit smoother with these trains, and the loop isn't really missed because the section they put in allows you to feel the speed a bit. Don't miss this next time you hit Kings Island because it really is a whole new experience! Top Gun: Next up right away was the suspended Top Gun. It made sense saying that this is right next to Son of Beast, so we hopped on. My brother likes suspendeds so he joined my dad and I on this. We waited 10 minutes for the third row and had a great time on this short n' sweet ride, to be exact it's 2352 feet long, which is short, but this ride is relentless the entire way through, which made it fun! Following this was one of the highlights of the trip for me, which was Drop Zone! But, what made it the highlight was the fact that my dad and MOM came with me, yes my mother, who is petrified of heights wanted to give this a shot! Drop Zone: We waited 20 minutes only to get on the Intamin Drop Tower that towers over the park at 315 feet. My mom was cool and collected in line but when we hopped in and got strapped in she got nervous, but she stuck it out and really had a laughing blast on this GREAT ride, such a rush!! I'm really proud of her for doing this because it totally surprised me when she joined me and dad when walking over, this really is one of the best flats out there, just breathtaking and incredible! Next we took at break at the Stuntcrew Grill and had hot dogs, waffle fries, and cookies, some really top notch food I might add! With 3 thrill machines done in just an hour and a half, we were refueled and ready to surge to the end. Adventure Express: This is a ride many forget about here because you can't really see it, but it's one of the best Arrow mine trains this world has to offer. We walked onto the 2nd row (the whole family that is!) and had a good time. This one is aging in a negative way because it's quite jerky but the theming in the abundant amounts of tunnels make this ride so unique and so fun, enjoy this on TPR midwest crew! We headed over and got some more photos on Firehawk, but also for me to try and get on Flight of Fear, which unfortunately had around a 2 hour wait, so I didn't get on this this trip . But, this didn't get me down, I went by myself to the grand arrow looper in the middle of the park! Vortex: My dad sat this one out because he's a pretty tall guy (6'4) so he fits rather uncomfortably in Arrow loopers. I waited 15 minutes for the third row and had a good time on this, sure it's rough and beats you up, but I like to look past this. The ride has one of the best layouts that Arrow has designed for sure, especially the straight drop and turnaround before the inversions come, which is 2 loops, the MCBR, then 2 corkscrews, the batwing, an upward helix, then the breaks, it's solid! But, it sure is rough so brace yourself, but still remember to have fun too! Italian Job: Stunt Track: I anticipated this ride a lot before the trip because of how different it looked. My dad met up with me after Vortex and we hopped in the short 15 minute wait for this immediate classic of a ride. We got lucky and were sent to the front row to enjoy the tame launch, but very forceful upward (and neverending) helix. The rest of the ride is tight but loads of fun, then of course the mid part where the helicopter fires at you and gas tanks explode around you. It's short, but it wasn't made to be very extreme, but just fun, which is what it is! Next up we were nearing the end, we took 2 more rides on Beast in the front and had more amazing rides. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is Tomb Raider, which was closed yet again, which means I still have yet to ride this thing!! It looks like it'll be closed for a while (I could be wrong), because the garages were down in the photo building, the garage was down where the queue goes inside, and they had lockers blocking the exit path Rugrats Runaway Reptar:We hit this family invert as our last coaster of the day. My mom, bro, and I hit this while my dad videoed it haha. It's gotten a little rougher but it's so enjoyable and a great ride to get the kids started on to take on bigger rides in the future. I like how it takes you over the walkway during the first portion of the ride. Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion: Last but not least was Scooby Doo. It's a family vacation so we hit this family fun ride last. I sat with mom because we both suck at these dark shooting rides whereas my dad and bro are acers at it haha. I don't remember the scores very well, but despite how bad I am it's still so fun, it's got a good length to it and just great theming and sounds to Scooby Doo. The picture is also hilarious to look at because they put it at the beginning and you have no idea what's going on, which leaves some priceless candid shots. With this we departed at 5:30 for our hour drive to Columbus to take a break from coasters at the zoo and botanical gardens they have there for 2 days. Kings Island really brings so much to the table, it's so well upkept, they are great with the rides they own, and are so friendly. It's so clean and has plenty of shade. I was a little sad because of how rushed it was here because it's indeed one of my favorite parks and could've hit up some re-rides, but I know our schedule was tight so I was very satisfied with what I did. Hope you enjoyed this portion too, the pics are below, Cedar Point is next!!! Coaster Tally/Rank: The Beast: 3 (9/10) Firehawk: 1 (8/10) Son of Beast 1 (8/10) Italian Job: Stunt Track: 1 (7.5/10) Top Gun: 1 (7/10) Face/Off: 1 (6.5/10) Vortex: 1 (6.5/10) Runaway Reptar: 1 (6.5/10) Adventure Express: 1 (7/10) Ride Tally/Rank: Delirium: 1 (10/10) Drop Zone: 1 (10/10) Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion: 1 (9/10) and I finish with the previous night's beautiful shot of the striking lights of the fountains! Stay tuned for Cedar Point, thanks a ton everybody! I love how the main skyline is from just 1 section of the park haha Yay time to suck again! But it's such a fun thing to suck at haha hmm, looks as though scott is not very pleased with the cute n cuddly starfish rawr but looky at what ACE made me and because you can't see me until you ride me! Fear me! Some coaster enthusiasts do because I'm almost 30 years old! we await our upcoming adventure! Will dad fit into those mini coopers? what cool trains you have! Oh herro Italian Job!! now this is a tagteam shot, mom takes the picture and dad videos! "you might want to have some tylenol or advil handy after I get through with you!" chuckled Vortex as it hurls it's riders through the tight loops hmm, i think Cedar Fair owns this park...garbage can city! The conquerors got hungry, so we had foot long hot dogs to tidy us over! The conquerors, especially the lady on the right side! Look at me, I'm the tallest in the world! Top Gun headed down the hill where it gets it's speed, and keeps it until the breaks! Now it's as enjoyable to ride as it is to look at it! the blue train through the lift structure, much more comfortable train i might add the monsterous structure that is called Son of Beast, which isn't extremely painful anymore! hear me roar, my lift hill i mean hmm, I don't think this said this during the Paramount days... Scott scoping out where his beloved arcades are located upclose and personal with the red one!!! It still runs great! and a yellow one! I have a red train! Used for 2007: X-Firehawk Flight! The backwards train poses for the shot, this ACE classic has been thrilling riders for over 30 years! the signature shot of Face/Off, the headbanging scream machine! another artsy shot from coasterbilly's mommy! Don't I look sexy next to the Eiffel Tower? Delirium loves swinging it's passengers high and fast! we are ready to go! looks like a postcard haha, it's the gorgeous entry plaza at Kings Island Welcome to Ohio, our home for the next week! The Blue Mountain tunnel is a neat part of the drive through Pennsylvania! morning hair showing off my Steel Force 10th anniversary shirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankees15 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Wow I never realized how much kings Island is like Kings Dominion. I really have to get out there sometime, it looks like a great park. I'm enjoying the report so far. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Great TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Great TR, CoasterBilly! Sorry to hear you couldn't get a ride on FoF, usually when the line is out of the hangar it's only an hour. Vortex, haha...I NEVER ride towards the front for the same reason! It whips you through every turn, which ends up being a smack to the restraint! The back gives awesome airtime and little roughness! I can understand about Face/Off, it's usually a hit or miss. I've had bad head banging and I've had none at all! Great shots and glad to hear your ride on SoB was pleasant! -Zach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 thanks dude!!! Yeah obviously i'm not a KI regular so I wouldn't know that about FoF , it was a full queue inside thats why it scared me away (plus the time we had was short). But yes I absolutely love KI and definitely will be back to have a nice leisurely time because it's definitely a park worth doing that for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor6 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Son of Beast: Well everyone, our prayers were answered with the loudest lift hill anywhere haha. We rushed over and waited 30 minutues for this now mystery of a ride. We also rode it in 2003 with the old trains and loop and enjoyed it, but I had heard the new trains made this ride even better and more enjoyable. We rode in the front and boy were they right! This ride quickly jumped back into my woodie top ten and now sits at #6. The drop and speed are incredible and it really is a bit smoother with these trains, and the loop isn't really missed because the section they put in allows you to feel the speed a bit. Don't miss this next time you hit Kings Island because it really is a whole new experience! I rode Son of Beast about a month ago and let me tell you that I hated the ride with a burning passion. That first helix was downright painful and was as bumpy and rough as a SOB. The first drop was great, however, overall I did not enjoy my experience on the coaster. Would I have had a better ride if I would have sat in the very front seat? Possibly. That ride really need those new PTC one bench coaster trains as soon as humanly possible. I will not ride it again until those issues are resolved (this is helped by the fact that I am more than 4 hours away from King's Island). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Part number 3 is here and boy has it taken a long time to get all of the pics to fit the size required for the site. Since the pictures are coming from my mom's camera, I haven't used the program for her camera before so it's been quite a challenge, but thankfully i'm getting it and moving forward with the report! We went to the Colombus Zoo and Dave and Busters on Tuesday and took a break from coasters. But, to my pleasant surprise, the zoo is under construction building what looks like a pretty top notch water park across the parking lot from the entrance! They also are putting in some "dry" rides as they call them, and looks like they are doing some work on the Sea Dragon that once resided at Wyandot Lake, so look for more on this to open next year! On Wednesday we hit up the Botanical Gardens and checked out Ohio State University before we started our trip 2 hours north to Sandusky...the roller coaster capital of the world! A little setback occurred though when we hit something in the road that slashed one of our tires which required the guys to change it. This took time but we got to a shop to get a new tire, while dad took care of this my ma, bro, and myself went across the street to a Giant Eagle to get some food for our cabin at CP! We then stopped for dinner at Arby's then finally headed to the Point! is what I saw crossing the lake to get to the entrance, since we were staying in Lighthouse Point we got to tour the left side of the park driving by. Man I was so anxious to get in the park that night and get some rides in seeing Milliennium Force towering next to us, Dragster owning the skyline, and obviously we passed Maverick which looked amazing. We got to our cabin which are so fantastic! It has a bedroom next to the kitchen where the rents slept, the kitchen, a huge loft where we stored stuff, a nice bathroom with a shower, and a living room with 2 pull out futons where Scott and I had our own (plus a TV yay!). We then unpacked quickly, but my bro stayed behind to relax while mom wanted some more sunset shots haha and dad and I wanted to ride! CEDAR POINT: Day 1 well it was time everybody, it's been 7 years since I had been to the Point (and that was when MF opened!). Boy this park is so much better then I remembered it, plus they had done quite a lot since my last visit (Wicked Twister, Dragster, MaXair, Skyhawk, and Maverick) so you can assume that this was one amazing time. We got into the park at 7:30pm and wanted to get on as much as we could in 2 1/2 hours, so we stuck with the back of the park since it was closer to the exit to get back to our cabin. With this we kicked off Cedar Point 2007 with a ride on Gemini! GEMINI: We hopped in line for 10 minutes before boarding the middle of the train. Out of the 3 days we were here, they only raced the trains one of the days. The reason for this is because of capacity, if there isn't enough of a crowd, they only run one side, which was the case tonight so we hit up the Red side. This ride is a CP classic and still runs so well. It's very tame but it fits so well into this park to keep that balance there, a great drop and just a fun and simple layout, not to mention comfy trains and great ops, a great way to start out our CP time! Following this I knew we had some options (yes Maverick is in the back, but due to the line, we would wait until Friday). So with this mom took some pics and me and dad dared to give Mean Streak a try. MEAN STREAK: Well we really enjoyed this 7 years ago, but obviously i've heard many opinions of this since then as people wanting it burned down and all of that because of how badly this coaster has aged. We waited 15 minutes for the 2nd row because of 1 train op , and guys believe the stories you've heard. This ride really has gone down and it's such a shame because it has such a great layout and a beautiful structure (probably the prettiest at CP). The drop is trimmed to hell and basically crawls through the structure, my back really was in pain after I got off so we had to sit for a little. As I stated earlier in my Kings Island report about roughness where I look past it, this ride made it difficult to look past it because it's very long too. I'm not saying not to ride this because everybody has different opinions on rides, but be cautious. CORKSCREW: The sun was almost gone and we wanted to more rides, so why not hit up the lineless Corkscrew. It was 5 minutes (not even) before hopping into the front. We like these because they are simple and great starters for young and upcoming enthusiasts. Corkscrew was great to us last time, but since we each grew a little this ride was a little more painful this time out. The bunny hill after the drop delivered some insane ejector air...but very unpleasant ejector air because it killed our shoulders haha. The rest of the ride was ok with the loop and double corkscrew, I'm sure young riders would still enjoy it, but once was enough for us this time around. MAGNUM XL 200: Well it was night ride time, and since we stuck to our plan, Magnum would be our first nightride of Cedar Point. This ride is still at the top of many lists and still in the top 5 of Golden Ticket so there was obvious excitement. But, I had been on this 7 years back and liked it, but in no way enough to be a top 10 ride, so I went in with mixed emotions. We waited another 10 minutes for the front and took on the first hyper coaster in existence. The skyline at night is amazing and looking at it from Magnum's lift is quite breathtaking. The drop one this is still quite good as well as the second hill. But the pretzel turnaround has a nasty trim in the beginning of it which kills the speed, but did make it a little smoother. The tunnels were still cool and the bunny hills still deliver that great ejector air but the lapbars are so uncomfortable that I had bruises on my thighs from them, which made the ride pretty much a to me. But, we did give it some more spins later on which I'll explain then. We then headed back to the cabin around 10:00 after a great start, 4 coasters down, 13 to go...with ERT in the morning awaiting us . _____________________________________________________________ CEDAR POINT: DAY 2 Day 2 arrived and me and dad awakened around 7:30 to get ourselves ready for early morning ERT. It's a beautiful thing that Cedar Point brought this year (I believe?) for guests staying in the resorts that CP has to offer. The bonus for us is the Maxx Passes because we had to go inside and sign in with what park we purchased them at, which got us to the front of the line EVERY SINGLE MORNING! haha. We waited at the gates until the Star Spangled Banner sounded and the ropes drop...which means the running of the bulls to Maverick!! Not this morning for us though, we had a date with our #1 steel coaster since 2000, our beloved Millennium Force. MILLENNIUM FORCE: This was why we were here mainly, to be reunited with a ride that scared the crap out of me years ago but now thrilled me more then anything else. We got in line for only 15 minutes (loving this ERT already!) for none other then the front. The lift is so cool with the cable because it's nice and quick (and actually accelerates 3/4 of the way up!). The drop obviously is king over almost every coaster I've been on, so steep, so massive and so fast!! The overbank is still so smooth and still delivers such a cool effect, then the transition into the tunnel makes you keep that speed. The first hill does have a nice bit of floater airtime on the way into the next overbank still riding on glass and providing great speed. The next curve also keeps it rolling as we approach the 2nd hill which also provides decent floater air! The last tunnel gives us our flash for the photo as we then scream by the station and the queue rocketing over the last overbank into the breaks. Just simply unbelievable, I know many don't consider this the best because it lacks forces, but so what. This ride has the drop, the smoothness, and such sheer speed that keeps up the entire ride, it's hands down this still sits at the top of my steel list, what a spectacular start to Thursday! RAPTOR: After MF we got a photo and headed down to ERT ride #2, the awesome Raptor. To our very thankful surprise this ride gets nobody for ERT, so we got there and had an empty station, so we rode in the front once and the 2nd row once. This ride still owns, you can definitely tell that it's 13 years old because the cobra it a little rough and other little sections too, but it still has one awesome layout and a great ending with the downward double helix. It didn't do it enough to crack my top ten but I have a top 20 list and it sits in the teen area. Now at this point the GP were pouring into the front as they awaited there gates to drop so they could run (rather hopelessly I might add because Maverick and Millie already had big lines) to their rides. With this my dad sat out the second Raptor ride and went and waited for me at Wicked Twister so we could get on that before the rush went there. After my Raptor ride I went sprinted accross before the ropes dropped to booing people haha, but we were the only ones waiting until the ride opened. WICKED TWISTER: I'm a lover of Impulses so I was quite excited to get on the tallest, fastest, and only double twisting Impulse. What made this ride so special was we had our own private ride...no one else was there to ride yet, so we sat in the front for the ride, which was so sweet. It's a debate which part of the train is best on this ride, so since there was no one around, I re-rode while dad waited again. There was around 8 people in the station when I returned and the very back was taken so I got into row 15 haha on the right side. My mind is made up now definitely that the back is better, sure in the front you feel the speed but the back you get the amazing air on the left twisted spike, which takes the cake indefinitely. With great speed and awesome views from the front and the back, this just pushed our 2nd day forward with greatness. MAXAIR: Since, yet again, we were in the area (and the fact that I love Delrium @ KI) I hopped on a mini-lined MaXair. Since I rode a total of 5 coaster rides that morning my body was a little disorientated which caused me to be a little woozy on this, but it didn't take away. This location is great because you are completely over the walkway on both peak swings, the speed is sweet yet again and is just such a fun flat ride, definitely needed a little break because this made me a little dizzy haha. BLUE STREAK: Next up we crossed over (since Disaster Transport doesn't open until 11) we hit the classic woodie Blue Streak. I didn't remember this ride from last time I was here but got really excited because it's a classic out and back coaster which meant potential great airtime. We waited 15 minutes this time for none other then the front. This is such a better ride then Mean Streak and a better one then I remembered it, just such great hills with air and the turnaround has a nice roughness to it like a classic should deliver. This ride definitely popped back into my top 20 woodie list, don't miss this when you are here, many people forget about it but it's really a gem that saves the wooden coasters at CP. DISASTER TRANSPORT: Well it was open and waited 10 minutes. This ride wasn't anything special last time I went but the 3D sign it had out front intrigued me only to learn that the queue was the 3D portion with neon colors and dark lights that made you glow. The ride itself is still the lame indoor boblsled, some people think it's great, but the only thing I like about it is the line because it's air-conditioned haha. Finally by this time mom and scott met up with us and we took it easy for a while, so we did the Ferris Wheel, Space Spiral, a shopping break, and Cedar Downs. The Wheel gave us some great shots of rides and let us cool off because of the nice breeze off of Lake Erie. The Space Spiral could've been more enjoyable because I thought it was air-conditioned but it wasn't which meant it was scorching inside. But, I was entertained because of the great view and 2 little girls next to me (prolly around 13 or 14) sat there still until after the ride was over because they thought the ride was going to drop from the top...wow. Then finally we shopped a bit and hit up the classic Cedar Downs which is such a fun ride, the speedy carousel is what I call it, this is another must to ride here because there aren't many around! Following this we planned for the rest of the day, my dad takes naps so he went back to the cabin and passed out while the 3 of us stayed. This took me to my next coaster! WILDCAT: We missed this last time due to rain all the time so this got me excited. I waited a mere 15 minutes again and rode this gem, what a fun experience this is. You can tell it's a classic when the cars bump into each other in the station waiting to move up to the loading spot haha, which made some people a little more nervous but that obviously wasn't a problem. The ride is still so smooth and so fun with the great drops and turns, then the ending with the great banked curves and flying into the breaks. So out of control and great, I'd be back to ride this again! Next up Scott, Mom, and myself went to Snoopy's Summer Vacation which is the ice skating show featured this year! Honestly I wasn't expecting too much but what we got was a half hour of great entertainment! The skating was quite superb, the characters were humerous and mostly all of the women ice skaters were gorgeous that it was great eye candy! haha. We cooled off in here as well, which left me quite satisfied, give this a shot if you're looking to take a break from riding or just want to get out of the heat. Dad joined up with us after this for one of the most anticipated parts to this visit...Famous Daves!!! We got our hands stamped and went across to the Marina and ate at one of the best BBQ places on the planet. We got a feast and chowed down, I have never felt so stuffed before and was pretty worried that it could come back up because we were both heading back to the coasters right away! IRON DRAGON: Next up was another gem at this park in my opinion, the Iron Dragon. It was another walk on in the front where we were nicely surprised by this Arrow suspended coaster. It is a lot tamer then Top Gun and Big Bad Wolf but that doesn't make it bad, it's just a fun ride, and like Mr. Rob Alvey himself, that's all that matters to me. It has 2 lift hills and nice scenery, and the ending does indeed pack a punch with the mist over the little lake and great turns, plus the break run which is fun on these rides because every one tilts the track a certain degree that causes the trains to rock side to side pretty high as the train slows to a stop haha. A fun family ride definitely. Next up dad, mom, and scott wanted to shop some more (yes again haha) but I did not which gave me a chance to choose what I wanted to do. Since my dad doesn't do them I took this time to have a little S&S fun... POWER TOWER: I absolutely love S&S towers, I've been on 5 previously (Dominator @ DP, Downtime @ LC, Sky Screamer @ Marineland, Scream! @ SFNE, and Double Shot @ Rye Playland) but had never been on this last time because I was intimidated by it. This one I was expecting to be one of the better ones but I had heard that this one isn't as intense as the others out there and they are right. I still had fun on it, but the launch up wasn't very intense, but drop down side was indeed better and a bit forceful, but didn't bounce very much after that. Sky Screamer still owns because of the double program of down and up and the sheer height of it, but Power Tower was still fun enough to pass the time with being 2 walk-ons anyway. Next up they were all waiting for me and by that time Scott somehow passed out next to my mom haha! So me and dad went on Wildcat so he could get his credit and had another splendid ride on that. Then we woke Scott up and got on the train to get some more cool shots and be entertained by the skeleton people CP have set up next to the track! Well it was getting darker and me and dad had our eyes set on one ride for our night ride tonight, and that was Top Thrill Dragster! TOP THRILL DRAGSTER: This was one of the biggest anticipating rides of the year for me. I have Kingda Ka at home but really don't like it because of the how many times it breaks down a day, the over the head restraints are so uncomfortable, and it's really just a wasted effort for Six Flags. We waited 1 hour and 20 minutes for this which wasn't bad because it had a break down for a few because of an unbalance in pressure which was fixed nice and quickly. With the breakdown though wasted some time and made it darker, which was a plus! We sat in the front to really get a taste of the speed and we rolled out onto the launch track to be blown away! I love the christmas tree lights on the massive 420 foot structure itself to add to the drag theming and lets you know when the 120 mph launch is going to occur. Boy the launch is incredible, and with the great lap bars on this, it's so smooth and allows you to enjoy the launch (unlike KK where you were is banging side to side haha) and feel the great speed (and BUGS!! God we got pelted badly). We launched up the hill and crested it actually allowing you to notice the height more then KK again because there are rides around you to compare yourself to, and the death spiral is a great effect and the speed track through the finish line makes this ride an immediate top 10 coaster for me, #3 respectfully. It's around 20 seconds of pure adrenaline that is worth the wait for sure! Well in the midway they had there Summer Lights show, so we grabbed some Custard from the front of the park and enjoyed the show that featured some coasters, college football teams, and an America salute along with a few other things, the liquid fire feature was quite neat as well. With this, day 2 ended, with 11 coasters now under our belt, day 3 was the day to get them all in with some re-rides, we were ready! _____________________________________________________________ CEDAR POINT: DAY 3 It was another ERT morning for dad and I as we approached the gates at 8:45. We yet again got through and signed our names as we got ourselves prepped for the last major ride to hit on our list, which was of course Maverick! This morning, though, we met somebody waiting in line named Joe who was a regular at Cedar Point and 23 years old. This was going to be his 128th spin on Maverick already and he basically stayed with us all day and hung out which was a cool surprise! With that, the ropes dropped and we jogged to Maverick which was not open yet so we waited. MAVERICK: Well I'm sure this coaster is the reason a lot of you have ready this part of the TR to get my opinion of this ride. Well, I did the same to many other TR's before hitting CP to get some expectations going and mine will be similar to the other reviews but maybe better. This ride owns you guys, period. We only waited 20 minutes for the front and got ourselves ready for the bucking bronco to take us on one wild ride! We rolled out of the station and made our way up the hill which is a nice cruise up, obviously not extremely fast. We neared the top and got tossed over it into the 95 degree drop which is really sweet into some incredible banked curves off to the right then the left, then to the right again between the manmade canyons into the best ejector air on this ride! After this we bank right again into the first corkscrew which is smooth and well paced, then bank left and up into the other one which is the same exact way. Then we turn right again into the break under the station, the tunnel entrance! You pause and start rolling and then WAM you hit the launch and rocket @ 70mph through some cool lighting effects and whiz out to the left up a hill that slows you a bit as you dive over a huge banked right curve over the little lake where water jets explode next to you simulating the effect of something shooting at you. The next part which would've been the heartline was still cool going between the canyons and up under the drop for the first wicked 92 degree bank then you hit up another turn into the second one which is also as awesome. Following this is another great pop of air into an up-curve to the right into the breaks. This is just a flat out fun coaster, it delivers on every level: intensity, g's, inversions, speed, smoothness, and FUN. The restraints resemble those of Storm Runner and Kingda Ka and obviously can leave bruises on your shoulder (did on mine, but who cares) but they are needed for obvious reasons. The lines were very long during the day but it moves quick and it's totally worth it, Maverick jumped into my top 10 as well, guys this just proves that it doesn't need to be a hyper, giga, or strata coaster to be a top 10, just a different and solid ride, which this is, get on it as soon as you can. After that satisfying ride it was already opening so we needed to play it out, we needed to finish up our coaster count before re-rides so we headed to the midway for another beemer! MANTIS: I know stand up coasters have bitten the dust as of late and many enthusiasts don't really enjoy them anymore, but I have a love for Mantis. My first B&M was Batman: The Ride at my homepark @ SFGAdv in 1998, then Medusa, then Raptor and Mantis, so this was one of my first B&M rides to start my riding off with. We waited a few minutes for the front and got a great ride. The stand up effect is still so cool to me because you are more elevated from the track, especially in the front. The loop is awesome because there is a huge amount of hangtime, as well as the dive loop. The inclined loop is still so weird but really neat. This is all still quite smooth, but it's the rest of the ride where you need to help yourself out to make it a little better, the corkscrew is indeed painful and the all of the twisting and turning towards the end rocks you a bit, but the ride comes to an end and resulted in a fun ride. I'm glad CP has this ride because there aren't many out there and this is def one of the best ones (been on 4, not Riddler or Chang though). Learn to ride it so it will be more comfortable and you'll be fine! Mom and Scott got aquainted with Joe and we moved onto a must flat for me! SKYHAWK I have been on 2 Screamin Swings before this, but obviously this is a biggest one out there so I was quite pumped for it. It is indeed a short program because you only reach the maximum height on 2 swings, but the speed and floating time are wonderful. So, I was satisfied, plus I only waited 10 minutes for it so I liked that! CEDAR CREEK MINE RIDE: Next up was our final new coaster of the trip which is there mine train. This one is the most tame and boring one I've been on. But, it's good for the young enthusiast at the same time, the final helix is quite fun because you continuously pick up speed through it, so that made it a decent ride, plus there is never a wait so you can't go wrong with getting a credit on it! Next up we hit a forgotten ride here at Cedar Point called the Paddlewheel Excursions, a boat ride where you ride around the mini river in the middle of the park. It's like the train with the skeletons, but they have other cute things throughout the ride too, plus the guys who drive are pretty entertaining and give information about some rides and coasters you pass along the way, which was pretty friggen neat! After this we tried to get on Woodstock's Express, which used to be a family coaster where anyone could ride, but now have changed it to a kiddie coaster. With that anyone over 48 inches can ride unless they have a child, and since I wanted re-rides I didn't take time to find a kid to ride with haha, so we moved on without this credit Next up was re-ride time, since I went into full review of each coaster earlier, I won't do that again, so here is what we did! We hit up Gemini again when it was racing, we did the red again while Joe did the blue, much more enjoyable because of the racing effect! Next up me and Joe tackled Magnum, this time we did the back and resulted in a much more pleasant experience, it didn't hurt as much and the drop was 2x better because of the whip effect! Mom, Scott, and Dad all went back to rest at the cabin, but since I had a companion, I stayed to get re-rides! Following this Joe convinced me to go back on Mean Streak with him, so I gave in and endured another very painful ride. Following this we played the lazy roll as we took the train to the midway from Frontiertown, to the Cable Cars down towards the front of the park. After this we hit Blue Streak again towards the back which was just as fun as the front, such a classic woodie! Next we did MaXair again which was still cooking nicely. Next up was another debut ride for me at CP, the last full review of this CP TR! DEMON DROP: These types of freefall rides are all coming down, SFGAdv's Stuntman's Freefall was just dismantled over the offseason and this one is for sale, so I made sure I got on this during our time here! We walked onto it and had pennies ready to have some fun, we went up the straight hill, rolled forward onto the track, and dropped, it's that simple haha. But, with the pennies on our knees, we watched them float up to our faces before the ride hits the slope and you finish on your back. The transition back down under where the loading dock is was rough, but the ride is certainly old, but still a classic. Since we walked on, we ran around and did it again, still loads of laughs! Next up we hopped on the cable cars to the middle of the park (we didn't hit Raptor because it had a solid wait every day we were there, and Wicked Twister because since Joe is rather large, he had trouble fitting in it). We hit Iron Dragon in the back with a little wait and had fun of course, then Wildcat which was another 15 minutes then tons of fun. Next we strolled back towards the front to meet my parents for dinner, but on the way we hit the Dodgems and the Antique Cars to just enjoy the leisurely time we had. We met the family at Johnny Rockets and enjoyed the great food and performing waiters and waitresses there, so cool! Following this we got my dad on Demon Drop for more penny fun. Next we hit the Carousel because my mom has never been to the front of Cedar Point before, and it's the Merry-Go-Round c'mon! The family and Joe did some more shopping while I snuck one last ride on Wicked Twister since we were there in the back, which owned yet again. Then we did a full family ride on Iron Dragon for Scott and Mom, which was enjoyable again and fun because I got to sit with my brother which was a change. The sun started to set again on Cedar Point on our last night here so we decided to end the night in amazing style, we hopped in line for another run on Top Thrill Dragster. An hour and a half later we were in the front on the black cherry train and were blown away, with virtually no bugs this time, still such ownage for a coaster. Joe was beat so we got contact info and he headed home, it was tons of fun meeting him and chilling with him, I told him to check out this wonderful site and if he ever reads this, thanks for a fun time buddy! With this we headed to Millennium Force around 9:00 to get the very anticipating night ride on this mammoth. We waited an hour for the front again on the yellow train (have had this train all 3 of my MF rides ironically enough) and really had our breath taken away. The skyline at night is so amazing, and MF has little lights along it's track which just gave us a pure, insane experience, and we got destroyed beyond worse with bugs this time compared to Dragster the night before. This did not make the experience worse, it just added because I've never had that happen anywhere else before. After this we took off ready for another last ERT session tomorrow before we headed to Cleveland. _____________________________________________________________ CEDAR POINT: DAY 4 ERT arrived one last time as we got there and were ready to hit up Maverick one more time before taking off. The wait was even shorter because the ride was up for the opening of the session, we got in the front of Bart (the train name, we rode Brent the previous morning) and were blown away even more this morning because we were more awake this time haha, didn't have my coffee the morning before. Following this my dad decided to see if he could forgive Magnum, so we rode in the back and he enjoyed it more back there too, not a top 20 ride for either of us, but still satisfied us. With that we left back to our cabin around 10, and we hopped in the van and departed the point at 11, WHAT A TRIP!! I'm telling you, there is a reason why this park still wins best park every year, it's still very clean, has the best staff and ops, the coasters are well operated which keep the lines moving nicely, the food is great, the resorts are so pretty, and on and on and on. I miss this park so much already, it's a park that one could spend a full week at and not run out of things to do because we still never got to Lake Erie, Soak City, the Action Park, or just enjoy our cabin and the resort itself. I hope you all enjoyed this portion, it's taken me 2 days to write all of this haha, but it's well worth it because I just re-lived my time at CP, here is the tally of rides and my mom's pictures, enjoy and thanks again! COASTER TALLY/RANK Wicked Twister: 3 (9/10) Magnum XL 200: 3 (7.5/10) Iron Dragon: 3 (7/10) Wildcat: 3 (8/10) Millennium Force: 2 (10/10) Top Thrill Dragster: 2 (10/10) Maverick: 2 (10/10) Raptor: 2 (9/10) Mean Streak: 2 (3/10) Gemini: 2 (7.5/10) Blue Streak: 2 (8/10) Disaster Transport: 1 (4/10) Mantis: 1 (8/10) Cedar Creak Mine Ride: 1 (5/10) Corkscrew: 1 (5/10) RIDE TALLY/RANK (on select few) Demon Drop: 3 (8/10) Power Tower: 2 (8/10) MaXair: 2 (9/10) Railroad: 2 Cable Cars: 2 Space Spiral: 2 Skyhawk: 1 (8/10) Dodgem: 1 Antique Cars: 1 Ferris Wheel: 1 Carousel: 1 Cedar Downs: 1 (8/10) those bugs didn't know what hit them, unfortunately for them they will never find out haha. Well that's it for now, all of these photos were from Wednesday and Thursday, more MF, Maverick, bird poop, and bugs hopefully by tomorrow night, stay tuned! mmm snack for later! yeah I think we liked it! this was just seconds before we launched, and what a launch it was! ready to go! and they're off! Especially with this neat fountain one bangin coaster as the sun sets everyone's butts are up right there! ..and going down! through the mist, the best part of the ride! Corkscrew doing what it does best! all hail the mighty Dragster cup! a nice way to travel inside the park! This definitely would've been handy at the end of the day... the world's favorite Beagle! guess the garden! Knarly! just in case a kamikaze lights the garbage can on fire, the fire hydrant's got it covered What a great start to a great ride Very High. Very Steep. Very Fast. Very Amazing. Choo Choo time! nice shot mom! Meanwhile, Scott is passed out next door! Dad and I finishing our ride on Iron Dragon in row numero uno Mantis's extreme hangtime loop! Up to the first turn around, so smooth! Wildcat wooo! a view of the famous Raptor from the Famous Daves and Scott and I do the same! Dad ripping apart of the many ribs we consumed during our feast at Famous Daves me and Scott with our monsterous meeting Famous Daves! Lucy Van Pelt as the Statue of Liberty! the Snoopy ice skating show saluting America! A very big bug that forces you to stand up on it to ride it? how strange, but how fun! mmmm S&S, this one is one of the most re-rideable ones out there, walked right on both sides! go horsy go! exiting the cobra roll, from Cedar Downs the first element, the loop, weee! Diving down it's awesome drop the beautiful invert from above, I love the color scheme on this ride a nice shot of some of the CP skyline from FW Mr. Millennium from the Ferris Wheel A little Troika, Ferris Wheel, and Disaster Transport MaXair soaring over the walkways Up the front twist Morning Wicked Twister! Our cabin area, with a nice fountain in the middle mmm, we'll be riding you soon! Gemini and Mean Streak ready, set, go! A beautiful sunset of the Dragster It's shame because this ride would still be killer if it ran great, as you can tell me and dad are more interested in the pretty red ride next door! I might be pretty to look at but I'm not nice to ride! Gemini Red Train peaking through the say hello! another welcoming garbage can! Didn't get any drive in photos, so this was Dragster when got in Wednesday night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Great update. Very interesting to read your comments for each coaster. Certainly keep all in mind for next year's trip I have planned to CP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 One reason why I don't ride Dragster at night or right in the morning! LOL! Those are the...SEASONAL MUFFLHEADS! They are like gnats or flies that are just little pests! AWESOME CP TR! I can't wait to go up next week! -Zach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 well here comes Friday and Saturday then CP is finished! Here we go and thanks for the feedback! * One oops thing occurred to me, we never got any shots of Blue Streak, we went through the photos Thursday night to see if we missed anything and I guess it totally slipped my mind, so my bad on that. Multiple train action as mom and dad pose, while scott and I say adios to CP, thanks a ton for stickin with me through this portion you guys, I really hope you enjoyed this, Geauga Lake is next! the signature skyline shot from the Soak City parking lot, we woke up and crossed this every morning for ERT haha, dad's shirt yep, I'm quite proud of myself! well, here are the infamous shots of the incredible bug wall after our MF night ride! Mantis taking a dive into darkness! love the red lights flowing through the letters on the sign! a tangle of Mantis and Millennium, gorgeous as the sun sets on our last night at CP for 2007 one last shot with Joe before he took off and the ride photo proves it! after our last time on TTD, blown away! another front row spin on TTD! haha there she blows the poop out her butt on coasterbilly! alright, I did say bird poop, and yes one did it on me haha! Right next to Iron Dragon we sat down for a second and I felt something very warm hit my head and wow it was unpleasant, but it just added to the CP memories haha enjoy! Snoopy enjoyed dad's presence, even though he never moved Mom enjoying the pumpkin patch with Sally and Linus! Dad, Scott, and Joe enjoying there Cedar Downs fun haha, don't tell the kids what this really means... Saddle up your wooden horsy! These are such classics, and will be missed oh hey! Us on Demon Drop! Peekabo! Magnum loves Fridays too! Ahhh I know, it's Wicked Twister! Broken down at the time unfortunately, so mom couldn't get any train action Ooooooo what's that! Down they go! Air time action up ahead! Swooping down into the first tunnel! hmm intriguing, they put flowers on tops of the garbage cans where no one really goes...haha nice CP heading back! Up close and personal with the blue train! Beginning the pretzel turn...with trim included going around! sweet some backside shots of Magnum! another grand shot before they continued there journey omg the ejector air on that hill is so amazing!!! Entering the mcnasty drop! then 122 degree overbanking it up! Millennium 80 degreeing it up So this is when Mom and Dad strolled along Lake Erie, which resulted in some unique pictures, starting with this one! while Snoopy and his Woodstock buddies canoe off a cliff, Gemini goes racing! zoomin' from a different angle! ZZZZOOOOMMMMMMMM oh yeah Magnum's still here! Sweet! How's it going racing Gemini! Cedar Creek Mine Ride going over it's water portion! Skyhawk cooling off it's guests Watch out for the flower chopper! haha Maverick heading down over the water! the lovely family poses for a bench shot This section of the park gave us this sweet angle of MF's first huge overbank! Interesting! yep, I look pretty darn sweet in the morning too! good morning Mantis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 WOW.....that is DISGUSTING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Holy crap, that is a world record bug count...as far as what I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterEricHP Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 LOL!! Good lord man!! Great TR!! You pretty much share my opinion on everything, especially saying that Steel Force is amazing at night. Can't wait to read more! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 haha yeah the bugs stuck to me because of the sweat so I had to walk back to the cabin like that, which resulted in many weird looks from people haha, but as I said, it was well worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Coaster Girl Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Thats gross. I will make sure i keep my mouth closed when i ride at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Hey folks! Took a little of a break after the long CP update to now bring you my report from the decaying Geauga Lake! We departed Cedar Point as I said on Saturday and arrived in Cleveland. We drove around, saw the Browns stadium, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, and the Science Museum in Cleveland. My bro and dad went inside the USS Cod while me and mom played UNO on a picnic table nearby to just relax, I also got preparations for my TR's ready to help me! After this we hit up Hard Rock Cafe for dinner then hit our hotel where I swam in the pool and hit the bed early to give my body a nice rest for Geauga Lake, a place where I thought that re-rides were going to be by the handful...but I was wrong. GEAUGA LAKE We woke up a little late and arrived at the park around 11:00am. It was such a cruddy day, it was rainy, the park was not too full, and every single coaster had 1 train operation, which meant despite the crowds being light, the lines were still present. DOMINATOR: This was the reason why I came back here (I came in '02 when SF had it, basically when this park was in it's prime). We hopped in line as the ops were taking the 2nd train off the track which was saddening. The front is obviously a continuing trend with dad and I so we hit that spot. Unfortunately it was raining our first ride which hurt worse then the bugs at Cedar Point, so I didn't enjoy the ride one bit, but we came back later. We did the front again and saw what this ride could really do. The drop is amazing, the loop is so huge with awesome hangtime!! One of the highlights of this ride for me is the banked right curve after the loop and the curve over the station because no other floorless does this and this makes you really feel the sheer speed on this ride. The cobra is also beautiful because it's wide, not tall, which is also pretty unique. The MCBR gives you a nice breather then you hit the signature interlocking corkscrews on B&M rides, but the ride isn't done after this as you bank left and dip down and hit a sweet horizontal left turn just a few feet off the ground then go up into the breaks. Totally worth coming here, it's also made a home in my top 20, this is a ride that doesn't get lots of credit in the floorless world because of Kraken, Superman Krypton Coaster and Medusa, but this one really is one of the superior ones. VILLAIN: Next up was the massive woodie this park holds called the Villain built by CCI. That one sentence should make any enthusiast drool because of the words massive and CCI, but I forgot to mention that this ride uses G-Trains, that's when so many of us cringe! This ride was not worth the front so we hopped in the 4th row. It has a very solid layout but this ride is definitely on the rough side, it's got many hills and goes inside the structure a good amount, but it sure is uncomfy. Nevertheless I still enjoyed it and we moved on. DOUBLE LOOP: Since it was next door we hit up Double Loop, the park's Arrow looper. It's the smallest one I've been on only being 1800 feet in length, but I think it's still pretty neat. You drop, make a large left turn, drop into the 2 very tight loops, do an upward helix, and call it a ride, with no wait! So, with 3 coasters done already the rain started to come down harder. We had time so we took cover and had some lunch and played some family UNO (which was very entertaining haha). The rain slowed down a lot and they continued to play, but I didn't want to waste time. Since Dad didn't want to do the SLC this park has, I figured that's where I would go! THUNDERHAWK: I remember this SLC being one of the better ones I have ridden so I was ready to ride. But, with the single train op I waited 20 minutes for this, which I wasn't too thrilled about. The funny thing about this ride is how when people got off it they were like "Oh man that was the best ride!" and other comments like that, which made me chuckle because SLC's are good, but not spectacular. I rode in the 2nd row, and started up the lift. With the rain earlier, and the wheel covers on the trains, water dumped onto me going up the lift which was so unpleasant haha. The ride though was still pretty good, not terribly rough at all, I've always liked the layouts on these so I had fun. The family rejoined me and we headed over towards the old X-Flight/Superman Ultimate escape area. Man this park really is so much different without these here, it really blows actually. I would love to know what Cedar Fair is planning to do with this place because taking out 2 signature rides in 2 years is really rough and a big blow to this park, plus I really enjoyed it better as Six Flags because of the theming. Well there were still coasters over here so I hit up another Vekoma! HEAD SPIN: This is another ride I actually really like, Vekoma Boomerangs. This I also did by myself because dad doesn't enjoy these either. I sat in the middle and laughed the whole way through, obviously we've all been on these so no details are needed, I just love going through the inversions in both directions. Next we crossed the lake into Wildwater Kingdom and saw more wasted things, like the stadium on the lake where the old Batman show was held. I went here in 2000 when it was Sea World as well and boy this has changed a ton since then too. The waterpark looked pretty neat with some cool slides, but the weather wasn't in our favor to hop into the bathing suits to give them all a try. We did the new attraction for 2007, which is Lego Racers 4D. It was decent, the seats didn't move and the only effects were the 3D glasses, wind blows on you and water sprays you twice, it's worth being inside in the air conditioning on hot days, and was worth giving it a try. We headed back over to the park side to see Raging Wolf Bobs still closed, which was sad because I wanted to get on this again. This is when we did the 2nd Dominator ride that I reviewed earlier then we headed for some family fun! BEAVER LAND MINE RIDE: This is a fun ride, and so simple. The trains are also some of the longest trains I've ever seen! The cool thing about this ride too is that it sends you through the course twice, it's tame but fun enough where my mom and bro did it as well to try to get some life into them on the wet day we were having here at Geauga Lake. Next we hit the Carousel and there Dodgems. Then we headed for our last ride of the day, which basically saved the day (besides Dominator) at Geauga Lake. BIG DIPPER: This is a classic. They only ran this when the rain was completely over and done with, and with our luck the rain did stop from our 2nd Dominator ride until we left the park so we hit this at the right time. We front seated this up and had a wonderful ride. This coaster has a long lapbar instead of the single orange ones seen on many woodies these days and a single belt (I think, don't remember). But all I know is that this ride delivered some brilliant airtime on every hill and for being an old woodie this was a heck of a lot smoother then Villain was. This was the perfect way to end our day and vacation (so I thought at the time)! Geauga Lake is a park to go to if you're in the area (or Ohio as a whole because it's CF like CP and KI). But don't travel from afar just for this place, Six Flags wins here, CF in my opinion has really brought this park down. X-Flight going to Kings Island was a waste in my opinion because of the same state factor, and the rumors are quite strong that Steel Venom is landing at Dorney next season (which I am thrilled about, but still would've rathered it stay in GL), and the rumormills are indeed floating around about Dominator potentially being next. I really hope they are done taking rides out because this was a great thrill park and to an extent still is with 3 cool woodies, 2 good Vekoma's, a classic Arrow, a great family coaster, and one of the best B&M's in the country. With this, we took off at 7:00 and went to dinner at Steak n Shake where it started to pour again. Pictures and results below!! COASTER TALLY/RANK: Dominator: 2 (10/10) Thunderhawk: 1 (8/10) Villain: 1 (7.5/10) Big Dipper: 1 (7.5/10) Head Spin: 1 (7/10) Double Loop: 1 (5.5/10) Beaver Land Mine Ride: 1 (5.5/10) One more picture before leaving. Thanks again for reading, hopefully ya'll enjoy, part 5: Knoebels is up in a day or so! rats, this would've been one sweet photo if this light post wasn't in the way of my body, but hey dad! Hands up all the way through! Me and dad in the front heading up the beautiful classic Big Dipper ahh yes the Dodgems, where head on collisons were common, and painful But, nice pics still had to be taken, so here's picturemom and coasterdad since it rained all day and it finally stopped for a while, we all turned pretty giddy...especially me haha dad took this and was amused, as well as begging me to put it on here, so here is a shot of the horses bottoms and the butts of Scott and I representin mom!!! the happy stroll after riding! haha going through a second time, I think Scott and Mom and even me are enjoying this! haha yay Beaver Land! more love for Villain as it dives down the drop exiting the cobra..mmm cobra roll sweet shot of Dominator heading through the last inversion of the ride yep, had to take it! Geauga Lake's carp are spoiled, they just hang there mouthes open for people to just throw food in the same for Thunderhawk the signature picture of Dominator from the bridge The massive splash of Shipwreck Falls that went into the walkway and got bystanders soaked too the question: is the train exiting the inversion, or going backwards into it? hmmmm Loopy Loop Head Spin going up backwards, fun fun fun going through the bend into it's sweet finale of the double inline twist Heading through the Heartline, fun ride! through the final part of it's helix, notice the stray garbage can next to it's support...hmm strange Going through some of the tightest loops I've experienced Double Loop lift Villain going around it's turnaround Villain sending it's riders up the 120 foot lift hill Same element, different angle! Meanwhile, T-Hawk sends it's riders through the half-loop coming at ya! Exiting the loop into the sweet speedy right bend Heading down the sweet drop what's up massive Dominator loop! Geauga Lake entrance plaza and it peaks out for it's drop! ah there's the train rumbling down the 2nd hill Welcome to Geauga Lake, this is most of the skyline you will see now that X-Flight and SV are gone, look at the great size of the ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbilly Posted August 15, 2007 Author Share Posted August 15, 2007 Sorry for the delay everyone, I'm moving tomorrow and we have been packing like crazy the last couple of days, and this is the last night our PC is in operation so I had to squeeze it in! We left our hotel and started for home, I put my headphones on and started writing my info for my TR's and took some naps. Meanwhile somewhere in there my mom was on the phone with someone but I thought nothing of it. My brother is asleep and we haven't taken a break for gas at all so we near an exit that has the Knoebels sign by it, I of course, just don't even think haha. My brother awakens and asks what we are doing and I reply: "We are just getting gas". Then my dad comes in and says, "and maybe 2 or 3 coasters...". Immediately I say, "Dad it's not funny to joke about that!" haha and he said that he wasn't!!! I start bobbing up and down in my seat and my brother grumbles haha, we were going to Knoebels for a few hours...not home yet! We arrive around 3:00pm to a mighty different parking lot that is all grass not pavement, except the walkways to the park. Mind you this park's skyline is trees, you can't see anything because this park is buried, you can't see it until you're in it haha. No parking fee, and no admission made this a sweet start, since we were here for a quick stop by to our to our coaster counts, we headed to coaster #1! TWISTER: I've heard many mixed reviews of this ride, some hate it, some love it, some think it's eh. We waited 15 minutes because of one train op, but they had the trains out in like 30 seconds because the trains at Knoebels don't have seat belts, just the lap bars which made the experiences much better! We hopped in the front for one of the most unique woodie experiences yet. We hit the first lift, then you do a loop around and hit a second lift which takes you higher. After this you make another interestingly shaped turnaround into the drop and from then on it's such fun, I love how they put a double helix around the station, which is the highlight of course! Out of this it's through the structure nicely, into a tunnel in the back and then the breaks. It's not the best woodie, but it edges into my top 10 at #10, it definitely could've been a lot more forceful, but it fits with it's sister Phoenix. Next I bought a shirt and we got a ride photo and moved on. This park easily is one of the coolest out there, the fact that it's buried between mountains means there is lots of shade and sweet scenery. It's old fashioned and just so friendly. I also realized all of the amazing unique rides they upkeep, they never throw anything away, they just re-use it anyway they can! We also got to look more at Flying Turns and it looks fantastic, I'm amazed at how tedious this project needs to be with the kind of support system and wood required to make this ride run correctly. We stopped and talked to one of the workers and asked him (we gave it a shot haha) when they think it'd be ready to open, and he said come back for Fun Fest?? Not sure if that's what it was but it's in the end of September, which is sweet because it looked like it was nearing completion! Next up was supposed to be one of the best woodies in the world! PHOENIX: I was stoked to ride this, I know it's short in height and short in length, but I heard that it's an airtime machine, which is what we all like!! Another 15 minute wait with 1 train, and another front row viewing. I love the tunnel after the station before the lift, total darkness! The lift obviously is short, but the ride definitely gives a great experience! The drop is nice, then up into a turn around, where you drop down and just go over bunny hills before another turn around with more bunny hills then a turn around next to the structure with some amazing hills before the breaks. This ride does nothing else but lift you out of your seat (with no seat belts, it's serious airtime). It's not forceful airtime (in the front, not sure about the back!) but just awesome floater air. It's not my #1 or top 5, it's my #7 because I do like more to my woodies, but just the fact that it's a sheer classic and for giving that much airtime, and of course being at a great park gets it to where it is. We had to have some of the awarding winning food, which definitely was some of the best I've had, just had a BBQ Pork sandwich to tidy myself over and just that was friggen awesome. We toured more, went in the museum, took some pics (not many because the battery was running low, sorry guys!) and hit up 1 more ride before heading home officially. HIGH SPEED THRILL COASTER: Well, in the brochure it's obviously listed as a kiddie coaster, but it does say not to underestimate it! Since it is one of the few small coasters that doesn't have a maximum height limit, dad and I rushed here haha! We hopped in the back and let this baby take us away, it's so old fashioned where the op physically runs the lift and the breaks. You go through the cycle 4 times, and in the back you get such fun airtime, it's like a mini Phoenix that is really tight, it's so much fun, don't miss this when you're here, this is what enthusiasts would die for! haha Well, that's it unfortunately. Knoebels is a park I'll definitely head back to and spend a weekend of camping there, something that can be easily done because there is a lot to do. Once Flying Turns opens this park will be even greater will unique rides there, it's clean, friendly, and very yummy and INCREDIBLE food prices!! 3 great coasters (with a 4th on the way) and what seems like endless fun, Knobels is a place to head out of your way to for sure. This also ends my PTR. It seems so long ago we started at DP and that kick butt night ride on Steel Force, to Kings Island with our amazing night ride on Beast and luckyness the next morning on Son of Beast. Cedar Point was nothing short of amazing with bug filled night rides on 2 of the best steel coasters in the world in Millennium Force & Top Thrill Dragster, and of course riding a bucking bronco that's one of the most unique steel coasters in existence called Maverick. Having a rather blah day at Geauga Lake, but still managing to get blown away by Dominator, and finishing at wood-fest of fun at Knoebels. What a trip, 5 parks and 38 coasters in 9 days gives me such a smile because that's the most I've done on a family vacation in my 11 year history! Thank you all so much for reading, I appreciate those who stuck with me through the whole report! Look for 1 or 2 more throughout the rest of the season as I hope to hit Dorney Park again and then a Hersheypark trip hopefully too, I leave you with the Knoebels ride count, and my top 10 woodies and steelies! PEACE! Knoebels Coasters: Twister: 1 (8/10) Phoenix: 1 (9/10) High Speed Thrill Coaster: 1 (6/10) TOP TEN STEEL: 1. Millennium Force- Cedar Point 2. Superman: Ride of Steel- Six Flags New England 3. Top Thrill Dragster- Cedar Point 4. Phantom's Revenge- Kennywood 5. Incredible Hulk- Islands of Adventure 6. Apollo's Chariot- Busch Gardens Europe 7. Medusa- Six Flags Great Adventure 8. Alpengeist- Busch Gardens Europe 9. Maverick- Cedar Point 10. Montu- Busch Gardens Africa TOP TEN WOOD: 1. El Toro- Six Flags Great Adventure 2. Beast- Kings Island 3. Thunderhead- Dollywood 4. Boulder Dash- Lake Compounce 5. Lightning Racer- Hersheypark 6. Son of Beast- Kings Island 7. Phoenix- Knoebels 8. Cyclone- Coney Island 9. Roar- Six Flags America 10. Twister- Knoebels and we leave we a picture next to Kozmo! Thanks so much everyone, hope you enjoyed it! Mr. Ride Op definitely isn't having as much fun as us! getting dragged over the top! now for the most entertaining picture of Dad and I going nuts on HSTC After the first way around, laughing our butts off! ready to go on one awesome kiddie coaster! the swings! No antique cars...but antique boats!!! This made me chill, the floods of '96 and '06, look how high the water was, so nuts a sweet looking slide! One of the many unique/rare rides Knoebels has to offer Dad posing with a life size toy soldier! no garbage can this time, so we got a bench instead! Yep! We liked it! Now dad and I give it a try! Up close and personal with a star! Yep, she's 22 and an ACE Landmark, yipee! Around and down! Phoenix heading up 78 feet! mmm definitely coming back next season to get on this ride yeah...it takes a lot of these usually to build one of these things...ya know...to keep it from falling apart look how complex this is, going to be worth the wait! nice, Flying Turn's lift hill, this ride looks so fun! Dad and I enjoying our spin on Twister! haha, thanks for the reminder Knoebels This is actually it's second lift! what? haha it's a good ride Coming around the station! Twister peaking to the top! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 You have had an amazing couple of weeks going to all of those parks, I visited CP and KI in 2000 (I wish I could make it more often to the parks, but I live over 4,000 miles away). Great pic's and very good to know that your Mum and Dad likes coasters as well, I could not get my parents on any rides, they hate them. You could ride Magnum and MF with goggles, this will stop the bugs from getting in your eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now