Trip Report: Halloweekends at Cedar Point 2017

So we went to opening of Halloweekends on Friday.

 

We made it a bit after 5 for early entry and hit up Millennium Force and Gatekeeper with minimal waits. We popped over to Dragster just in time for opening and rode in the back with a minimal wait. We decided to redeem our free FL+ at this time because why not? We were able to skip a 25 minute Raptor wait and 30-45 minute Valravn line. (Side note: D convinced me to sit in the front and our bug game got REAL. Not doing that again!) We rode Dragster again before Haunt started (definitely not in the front), but FL+ made no difference as it was a station wait. So our free FL+ basically did nothing but get us one ride on Raptor and Valravn. Oh well, at least it was free.

 

Once Haunt started, that's all we did besides taking a food truck dinner break (super spicy Korean BBQ bowl, yum!) and making sure we got to Maverick before closing. One weird tidbit is they were still letting people into Maverick line and still running the ride at 12:15 despite the park closing at 12. We think what happened was there was no one to close the line, so more people kept coming and they had no choice but to let them ride until they finally got someone to close out the line. Because of this, we were able to get in three rides when we thought we would only get in one.

 

As far as Haunts go, we went through all 5 scare zones and did 4/6 mazes: Hexed, Freakshow, Deprivation, and Slaughterhouse. At one point, we got in line for Eerie Estate, but the line was not moving at all so we left. I didn't care that we missed Zombie High this year. Oh, and we also did Mystic Mine Ride.

 

Hexed and Slaughterhouse were pretty much the same as last year and not all that scary. The new scare zone, Harvest Fear, was delightfully cheesy and had a lot of funny "easter eggs." (Check out the "peepshow") The other scare zones were about the same. We still love, love, love Cut Throat Cove! There are so many great scare opportunities and it gets super dark and foggy. I still love CornStalkers because being white I guess I have a thing for wandering around in the corn (D. says corn mazes are a white people thing). Blood on the Bayou is also one of those scare zones that might as well be considered a maze, and there were still some great scares in it as well.

 

For new mazes:

 

Freakshow - Not as great as I was hoping, but still much better than Eternity Infirmary.

 

Deprivation - Our favorite this year! It's basically just pitch black in there, but unlike Total Darkness at Magic Mountain, they let you in 4-5 at a time but you are not connected to each other by a rope. I would not say it is like Blackout at Kings Island because Blackout isn't completely dark and there are things to see in there. I wouldn't say this one is all that "scary" but it's an interesting challenge. It's also great because you get to see Steel Vengeance from a new perspective while you wait! (Scroll for photos)

 

In summary, MUCH more chill and productive day than Labor Day Sunday despite having about half the time. We'll see how KI Haunt is this weekend but I expect it to beat Halloweekends by a mile.

 

Now, for my photos.

Skeletons everywhere!

Good riddance

Masochistic me liked Mean Streak, but rational me is glad it's gone and can't WAIT for the replacement!

Who doesn't like Dragster pics? And pumpkins, lots of pumpkins.

This guy sings and dances to "Halloween-themed" songs. Not sure how "What Does the Fox Say?" is relevant...

There you go

One of two past CP rides that I've actually been on. Don't care that it's gone now, but I love this description!

Raptor at sunset. We forgot how awesome this coaster was until our last trip

There was also a guy on his own "trip" on our last visit, and he kept screaming "SEND IT!!!" So now guess what I like to say to D every time we go on Raptor...

One of these skeletons is sassier than the rest.

Everybody loves a rockin skeleton

Dragster getting in the mood

It is now officially Halloweekends time!

After I finished gulping down my 5/5 spiciness Korean bowl, I hopped on this thing. Only my second ever ride on it and now I appreciate Cedar Downs like the rest of you.

I don't even know what to say about this, honestly. We were disappointed, to say the least, and a bit confused.

The facade to this maze is the best! Too bad the maze itself wasn't too scary.

While you wait, you can watch Maverick test trains after a break down!

Hide your fries

"What the flock??" These taglines were to DIE for!

So when I photographed this skeleton horse, one of the scareactors came up and said I owed him for photographing his horse. Then he said, "You'll have to work to pay your debt! Good thing there's a brothel nearby. You'll be kept real busy!" We were laughing and shocked like "WTF just happened???" Seriously, I didn't know if I should feel offended or not. How would you respond?

Deprivation! Basically just a completely black maze. The only thing you can see is the occasional exit sign to reassure you're going the right way.

Now, what you've all been waiting for... night photos of SteVen!

We got to go underneath.. oohhh...ahhh

Pretty

Main reason you should try this maze

This maze will have a completely different ambiance after SteVen opens. For now, it's quiet.

Drop still had no progress that I could see

This section looks great!

Corn Stalkers, perfect for Ohioans who love being around corn

One of the last few to leave the park, as per our usual.

Avoiding bugs in the mouth since 2017

Great report! Thank you!

(D. says corn mazes are a white people thing)

 

 

I can't stop laughing at this statement hahahhahaha.

Love the Corn Maze is a White People thing. Had me laughing at my desk this afternoon!

 

Looks like a great time, I'll admit I'm kinda jealous

 

SteVen is so damn sexy!!!

I've always been more of a hedge maze man myself, but to each his own.