Cedar Point Trip Report 8/10 - 8/12

[Pufferfish]

Let me start by saying, I ended up really loving this park and I personally don't understand most people's hate towards it. This first part will just be me expressing my opinions of the park and resort area. I will post pictures when I can next week.

 

Let me begin by saying, the drive to the park was very interesting. To avoid traffic my gps took us through amish territory. This was a very interesting drive and I got to see a lot of Ohio that a normal person might not see. Overall it was about a 10 hour drive with a couple of stops for food/bathroom. One thing I didn't like about the trip was I-77 through WV. There were a total of about 4 toll boths we went through and had to pay $2 each time.

 

Once we finally got there we checked into our hotel for the trip, Breaker's Express. I found the room to be very decent and well kept. The beds were extremely comfortable and the customer service was great. After checking in, my dad took me over to the park and dropped me off for the couple remaining hours. Here is my first complaint towards the park. They need to add a drop off/ pick up line so you don't have to pay to just drive in and drop someone off.

 

Now the park. When I was growing up, I had always dreamed of this place. Ever since I gained an interest in coasters and watch a show about Magnum, it's been killing me to get here. So that first step through the gate was very sentimental to me.

 

The park itself was pretty clean. Amazingly clean considering the massive ammount of people that was at the park. I found most of the landscaping around the park to be fairly nice and added a relaxing feeling into the standard fair atmosphere. The main midway was pretty lacking though and felt way too busy. I ended up avoiding this area for the most part of the trip. Now, onto the rides.

 

Magnum: I have wanted to ride this ride for a very long time. It proved to be just as good as I had imagined. Decently smooth with a couple of bad transitions and airtime on almost every hill. I must say the third hill is one of my favorite moments of airtime on any coaster. (8/10)

 

Gemini: I found this coaster to be the surprise of the trip. It is rarely ever talked about, but is extremely fun. It had excellent airtime on every drop. It is also probably THE smoothest Arrow coaster I have ever ridden. Also, during the day, they were always racing. (8/10)

 

Blue Streak: Your standard out-and-back wooden coaster. I have a particular fondness to classics, but this one fell short for me due to the lack of airtime on the first drop. It would have been better if it still had buzz-bars. (6/10)

 

Mean Streak: This has to be THE worst coaster I have ever ridden. The seats are hard as rocks, the layout is long and boring, and the cars jackhammer like crazy. I litterally almost found myself crying in agony from the pain this thing was causing my back. It was entirely forceless and extremely excrutiating. (0/10)

 

Woodstock Express: Not much to say here. It's your standard model Vekoma rollerskater. (4/10)

 

Corkscrew: While not as smooth as some of the other Arrow loopers, this one has a great first drop. It provides a little more airtime than your standard Arrow looper. (6/10)

 

Iron Dragon: I love Arrow suspended coasters. This ride may be slower than most of them, but it's still a lot of fun. (6/10)

 

Raptor: This was probably the biggest dissapointment of the trip. I had heard so many good things about this ride and was prepared to really like it. It started out pretty good, but ended up just under preforming. Also the final transition from the helix to the break run did a number on my head. It's still better than Alpengeist in my book though. (7/10)

 

Mantis: First off, let me say this is the most strict stand-up I've ever ridden. The girl made me pull my shorts up so she could make sure the seat was planted firmly in my groin. Thankfully I tricked her and was able to get it down a little bit from right under me. The ride itself was a pretty good standup. It gave me a nice greyout between the loop and diveloop. (7/10)

 

Disaster Transport: This was my first bobsled. It had good speed in a couple of parts, but the ride itself was fairly tame. The theming was pointless, but overall a nice family ride. (5/10)

 

Wicked Twister: Good forceful launch and great floater airtime. What more could you ask for? (7/10)

 

Mellinium Force: Everyone who says this ride is boring and forceless are now liars in my opinion. This ride officially has the best first drop on any coaster I've ever been on. The speed is great and it gives a nice grey out in the back seat. Overall this ride was one of both my dad and I's favorites. (9/10)

 

Top Thrill Dragster: Wow, just wow. Even though it only lasts 20 seconds, this was probably the best 20 seconds of my life. Nothing compares to the feeling of being launched at 120mph. Also, the entire top of the top hat supplied me with airtime. Excellent ride and now one of my top 10. (10/10)

 

Maverick: Officially my new number 1. This ride was amazing from start to finish. The great speed, the wild transitions, the amazing airtime. It was all great. The only way it would be better is if it didn't have Intamin's crappy OTSRs. The second Stengel Dive can hit you hard and right on the neck too. (10/10)

 

Overall it was a great trip and this is now one of my favorite parks.

Pictures up later.

[CoasterEricHP]

Great TR! I feel the same way as you do on just about everything... especially the main midway feeling kind of off and Raptors last break neck transition into the brakes.

 

I'm headed to Cedar Point on Sunday for a couple of days. It'll be my girlfriend's first time! I love seeing how people react to their first rides on MF and Dragster.

 

Looking forward to some pictures!