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Author Topic: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10  (Read 3910 times)

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Offline B-mac

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Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« on: August 07, 2010, 05:47:30 PM »
My mom finally had enough of six flags and scheduled a trip out to Cedar Point on Monday. We'll probably be driving all of monday and setup to comeback home on thursday. There's also a possibility of me taking a side trip to Hershey on the way home since it's only a stone's throw off of I-76, which we'll most likely be taking for about 90% of the trip. I've never been to either park before in my life and I'm really excited about double-dipping theme parks for the first time since I was 4. Any advice for the trip will be greatly appreciated because my mom's only been to ohio once for business and she spent her time there in a military base and didn't go anywhere, but that's a whole other story. I will post a trip report after I'm done but unfortunately I don't have the equipment to give you guys pics of my trip (FML).

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2010, 06:27:37 PM »
IF you by any chance have a Platinum Pass or are staying on property, do not miss the early morning one hour ERT.

Regardless, enter the park at the Soak City Gate, which you get to by telling the parking attendant you are going to Soak City, then drive around the point towards but not all the way to Breakers. 

This will easily save you an hour if the park is at all busy, which it probably will be.

Maverick is best in the front row.  Cups of ice water are free at most stands....don't hesitate to ask for them.  Also don't be shocked by how small they are!

Have a great time, and ride Magnum and the Kitty (Wildcat) for wow...who will appreciate it! :)

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2010, 07:09:23 PM »
Thanks, I'm sure a lot of it will be helpful.

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2010, 07:27:57 PM »
Also, be sure to try the frozen custard, sold ONLY at the Fire House stand back by Maverick, and the stand in the center front midway in front of the children's water play fountain.  The other stands have soft serve ice cream, which is NOT the same, and nowhere near as good.

If you like a very violent steel coaster with tons of air, be sure to sit in the back row of the front car of Magnum (1-3).  If you don't, be sure you do NOT sit there!

Also, don't miss Cedar Downs, especially if you have not been to Rye Playland.  Only three of those left in all the world.

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2010, 07:53:08 PM »
I have had frozen custard before, it's been a while though.

I have heard about that seat on Magnum, but is it only that one seat that's so rough? I also heard that mantis is a "nut cruncher," is there any tips that'll help the possible pain?

Also, I will check out the cedar downs since it has that old history to it.

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2010, 08:07:20 PM »
Any back row of a car on Magnum will be violent, but 1-3 has the most airtime, by far.

As for Mantis, I find it more comfortable if the seat is SLIGHTLY lower than others would set it...not much, just a bit.

Still, the smoothest seat on Mantis is the bench out in front of the ride.

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2010, 08:58:46 PM »
due to the fact the it's cedar point and it's the first time I'm going there of course I can't sit Mantis out, unless it breaks down...

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2010, 09:11:08 PM »
And I don't suggest that you do sit it out.  You may like it.  Some do.  Some a very lot, indeed...

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2010, 09:17:55 PM »
I have never ridden a stand-up before, so it's worth the shot.

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2010, 09:24:04 PM »
One thing is for sure...whether you end up liking or not liking Mantis, you will probably like Great Adventure New Coaster 2011 more...

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2010, 09:36:20 PM »
I hope that's sarcasm...

Offline GADVwow

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2010, 09:42:32 PM »
It isn't.  Chang is a far, far superior ride to Mantis.

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2010, 09:48:49 PM »
I drove almost the same length as the Daytona 500, twice in the span of 3 days.

The trip to Cedar Point:

Other than the enduring trip across pennsylvania and the car stalling out by hershey at a rest stop; the trip was rather uneventful. We went through the apps, 4 tunnels, and 5 construction sites. We left at 6:30 am and got there at 7:30 pm. The car had to be towed due to a "fuel" issue causing it to stall out, but the mechanic didn't find anything wrong.

Lodging:

We stayed at the Knight's Inn about a mile from the causeway entrance to Cedar Point. Before you say anything, the hotel got the highest ratings for off-site hotels in the area (beat castaway bay and breakers express, surprisingly). They had a pool, a hot-tub, and an exceptional continental breakfast.

Cedar Point (day 1):

We arrived at the park 15 minutes before official opening. there were 5 things we noticed off the bat:

1) there's no preferred parking
2) coolers of any size are permitted
3) no security checks
4) the park is HUGE
5) the loud-speakers sound like the people at the other end of the phone from all the peanuts. You know, the "whom-Whom-WhomWHOMwhomWhom" (lol)

Every ride I rode will be in order,

Top Thrill had a line outside going in front of the station, even though the line starts at the end of the launch track. I skipped it for later.

Magnum had no body in line, so I decided to sit in seat 1-3 because of the rumored air time. There was air time, but I didn't expect ejector air. It was awesome either way.

Gemini also had no one in line and both sides were open. The ride was smooth and did offer some good air time in areas. I also liked that the trains stayed fairly close to each other providing a very good racing experience, which all the kids on the trains loved.

Mean Streak looked a lot like the pictures of Texas Giant post remodeling. I sat in the second row and expected it to be a not too rough ride. It was bearable until the MCBR, where the second the train pasted the brake I started getting jackhammered. I thought J2 was the roughest woodie ever, I was way wrong.

Maverick had a 1 1/2 hour wait, too long for my standards. So I skipped it for Millennium Force.

Shoot the Rapids was running, but they said it was closed due to "testing." I did hear though that it's not a ride for those who expect to get SOAKED.

Millennium Force had a long line but I decided to stick it out. The line never stopped and I was rather surprised that it was an actual line eater! I was chatting with some locals and the trademarked loud speakers sounded off, the only two words I heard were "force" and "difficulties." It turned out to be a sensor tripping and only took 15 minutes. Right before I got on the ride I noticed I guy sitting on the exit platform showing major signs of heat exhaustion, it was hot that day. I thought that this ride had so much wasted potential with its layout, but the back row made up for it. I felt I never went slower than 60 through the whole ride, which is what I thought set up the whole ride. I waited no more than 45 minutes w/ the breakdown.

Mantis was the big drama for me. I was hoping that it didn't cause me much harm,. I instead blacked out, scraped my right leg, and ended up sitting on a bench upside down to get the blood out of my legs amid lots of onlookers.

Next was Iron Dragon, Big Bad Wolf's little cousin. One of the ride-ops told me that both the intimidators sucked and I share the same feeling for Iron Dragon. The ride didn't have good pacing and I didn't feel the G's in the turns like BBW.

on the way down to the front of the park I noticed the cedar downs. because Wow mentioned it, I had to ride it. Cedar downs was actually pretty cool because unlike regular merry-go-rounds, the horses actually move forwards and backwards giving a racing feel to the experience. Definitely worth it.

Blue Streak was barren, nobody was any where near the ride. calypso was the same thing. While on the way up the ride stopped and we had a ride-op come and tell us something broke (NSS!). after a few minutes on my first breakdown ride, the train started moving and I finally got to ride. It had a bit of a cyclone feeling as you had the excitement, a resting U-turn, and then the return trip. It was much better than Pain Streak.

We stopped for lunch in the Midway Market Buffet. $12.99 ea. seemed expensive for two but finding out that it was help yourself to everything, and dessert plus the bottomless word that I love too dearly made it all worth it. I had my helping of salad, pizza, pasta, fried chicken and massive amounts of corn and garden veggies. My mom complained that they used the kraft "easy mash" instant mashed potatoes; she can taste the slightest difference in anything, btw. My dessert consisted of vanilla ice cream, a brownie, reese's, and M&M's (mmmm).

Raptor was the next stop, knowing my way around a B&M invert I knew there would be a whiplash somewhere in the ride. The layout was expected with a large loop followed by a zero-G roll (batman clone much?), then a cobra roll (alpie), then the MCBR (no whiplash(not alpie)), a corkscrew, a flat run, another corkscrew, then a falling helix (all sound like the batmen inverts), finally followed by the trademarked whiplash in the brake run (batman style). Other than the noticeable similarities to the Batman family, it was very decent and much different than all of it's cousins.

Disaster Transport. Two words, AIR CONDITIONING!!!! My second bobsled (I LOVE bobsleds). The line moved quickly and we (the only ride my mom rode) waited no more than 7 minutes. The ride was quick with little light but did offer the excitement of not expecting any of the turns or drops. Enjoyable, would be the word I would use for it. Exciting would be for the kids.

Next was Wicked Twister. The ride-op handling the mic was great, he had a lot of variety in what he said and he always gave the riders a surprise (5-4-launch, for example). Awesome floater air but the ride did feel like it was too quick.

passing through planet snoopy, the only thing I noticed was dog biscuits on the pizza hut menu.

Corkscrew was boring, I'm sorry I'm saying that because the double cork was actually pretty good.

TTD still had a line too long for my liking >:(.

Cedar Creek looked pleasant and otherwise calm, a lot like Runaway train. I met a small group from the German boy scouts, they did a trade with a nearby town's scouts for the week and today they were all in Cedar Point. I had a good time talking to one of them while his friends and everyone else had fun screaming for the entire ride for giggles.

After noticing maverick's line was shorter I decided to wait. After waiting an hour I noticed a single riders line (JACKPOT!), saving me 30 minutes. The layout, and the entire ride was exceptional. the first drop had air-time, the popper before the wraparound double cork had air time, the hill after the launch had air time, and the mini popper had air time. I wish that they could build one in GA.

Now night's starting to set in and we started moving towards the front of the park. one of two rides left for me was MaxAir. The ride had something break and they had the mechanics on the top of the ride trying to find out what. After about 30 minutes of waiting and speculating the prognosis was that ride could survive until closing. It had a lot of float in it and was otherwise thrilling being a test dummy ;D.

this is day one, I'll post day 2 and the trip back tomorrow.

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2010, 03:45:34 PM »
Day 2 (TTD, Soak City and the trip back):

Day 2 started off with me sleeping in until 9:30 am as the housekeepers knocked on our door (great service!). We got to the park at about 10:30 to notice that there were some gloomy clouds moving in. Before we hit Soak city I got a quick re-ride on Magnum, sitting in seat 1-2 instead of 1-3. There was a HUGE difference in the ride experience.

We spent the majority of the day in soak city. They allow tubes in the wavepool (but they're free), and my mom was worried because everyone was running eachother over in them. The park was just about all concrete and was split in two because of Magnum. They have two bodyslide towers, three tube towers, one raft tower, two kidee areas, a wavy river and a lazy river. The one thing that the neither of us liked about the water park was that there was only one smoking area (I had to hear her complain for the entire time) and it was in their adult swim area. they wouldn't let me in because they thought I would drink and smoke (after getting shown te real black lung in Freshman health I won't go anywhere close to thinking about starting). My mom told me to go back into Cedar Point and get on TTD, while she would atleast be able to have a legal smoke.

Top Thrill Dragster:
The clouds were looking black but after being shown the radar and the hour-by-hour I thought it shouldn't be that major. Top Thrill had an hour long line but it stayed moving and kept me interested in riding. I noticed that the train had racing-like seats on it(extra comfy) and on the giant top hat there were lights that lit up like a drag strip's "christmas tree." I sat in the second row with a guy from Quebec (Montreal in fact), his gf sat in the front row. The ride was considerably smoother than Kingda Ka and I would be glad to ride it again if there was no one in line and there wasn't a storm rolling in.

after getting back into soak city I started hearing thunder. I told my mom that the storm is getting close and the rides would be closing very shortly. The second we got back into Cedar Point a bolt of lightning struck and all the coasters immeadiatley shut down. As we were walking back I noticed their matterhorn ride was still running, stated out loud that those people have guts to everyone's agreement. We got back to the hotel just in time for the rain to pick up and start a complete downpour. Mom decided to leave that night so we wouldn't have to drive through rain and battle the sun in the morning and afternoon. We left at five the second after the rain stopped and tried to find I-90 right off the bat. After safely getting out of Ohio and passing into Pittsburgh the sun began to go down. The sun fully set around 8:00 when we started climbing the mountains. Construction was a big neucance on the trip back as almost all the construction/road work sites we passed were active. We arrived in Harrisburg around 10:30 and I noticed we sould get home at exactly 1:00 if nothing went wrong. Mom drove a steady 75+ all the way home on the turnpike. When we got into philly the GPS started told us to take an exit right after passing another one. We ended up taking the 202 instead of staying on I-76 like the thing really wanted. We ended up taking side streets trying to find our way back and had to take a detour on the side streets (construction, nonetheless). After finally getting back on I-76 the GPS wanted us to go to the Ben Franklin bridge (stated on it's command), and then told us to go to the betsy ross bridge on a whim (none of the "recalculating" crap happened). After crossing the betsy ross the GPS told us to turn right an exit early, I noticed that and told mom to go to the next one. It didn't want either exit and wanted us to stay on the road. I didn't care because I knew that the exit we took would lead us right to our street by our house. We got home at about 1:25 am and proceeded to get harassed by our cat for leaving him home for three days by himself. Sleep was never so good for me.

I enjoyed the trip, but my mom says it's going to be a while before she considers going to another cedar fair owned park. 

Offline nitrorox1414

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2010, 06:49:51 PM »
Sounds fun. Did you like ttd better then KK?

Offline B-mac

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Re: Cedar Point trip 8/9/10
« Reply #15 on: August 15, 2010, 08:41:22 PM »
It was fun, but like Wow said, The environment seems a little plastic.