Cedar Point trip report. Post 8.

[~LoveTulie]

I'm going to Cedar Point November 1st, next Saturday.

So, just wondering. Is it going to be really crowded on that weekend? I've never been to a Halloweekend on a Saturday, so I'm not sure. I wouldn't suspect as many people, considering it's most likely just Season Pass Holders, and it's the last weekend to go...

I'm wondering if it's crowded because since I've never been to a day at Cedar Point where it's really crowded, I don't know how I should go on ride-to-ride. We're going to get there right when it opens, and go straight to Maverick. We're planning on going to Meanstreak, but is it closed because of the refurbishment? If so, I'm not sure where we'll go from there. I know my friend likes Millenium the best. And I know, that since we're going to be in the back of the park right when it opens, we should be able to miss some of the long lines, because everyone else is still at the front of the park. But after Maverick or Meanstreak, would it be better to strike out Skyhawk, Millenium, Mantis, (maybe Iron Dragon), Wicked, and all those? (excluding Disaster Trans., we both don't care about it), and then after we eat and what not, go back to Power Tower, TTD, Magnum, etc.? I just want to know the best plan of when to ride rides, because we want to hit some of the haunted houses/attractions, too.

Thanks for any help! :)

[Wild 1]

I don't think meanstreak is closed yet. They added rails and some new track but the main refurbishment (if there is one) Would not be until winter. I could be wrong though.

[Darth Gilbert]

It will be crowded. Saturdays during Halloweekends always are. Your plan is sound, but if you get there right when the park opens, Maverick and Millennium will already have a line from the MaxPassers such as myself. Yeah, I'll be there. I would suggest heading to those 2 rides first, whichever is closer before the other, after that, do whatever you feel like. As for the haunted houses/attractions, plan to attend them right when they open for the shortest lines. The haunted houses open at 5pm and Club Blood seems to have the shortest line at that time of day as not many people are lingering near the front entrance. And have fun!!

[ytivarg]

Saturdays have been really bad this year. Expect long lines everywhere... and don't plan on riding everything, it won't happen.

[~LoveTulie]

Saturdays have been really bad this year. Expect long lines everywhere... and don't plan on riding everything, it won't happen.

Damn, sucks to hear that. How bad are they? It can't be worse than July.. can it? :confused:

[ytivarg]

Hahahahahah.... yes. Yes, it can. Last weekend a friend of mine whom I warned not to go on Saturday went anyway... reported back to me with waits of 45 minutes to an hour for Iron Dragon.

Although, with the park being open this late this year, it's a toss-up... but every other saturday thus far has been a madhouse.

[willo22sly]

It's probably about luck on the day, although being a Saturday and a Halloweekend it dosn't sound promising.:(

[~LoveTulie]

Well, the reports about Saturdays aren't as bad as I thought! Yesterday was an amazing day, actually. I'll just do a trip report...

Alright, so we got to the park around 12:30. The parking lot wasn't very full at all; looked like a Sunday at the park. My friend and I go straight to the back of the park to Maverick. We made great timing; right when we passed the Train Station, it was boarding passengers. We got right on, got off, and went to Maverick. The line was only 30 minutes! It said 45, but I knew it wasn't. There was only one full line thing outside, and when we got in the line, the line already moved up to the wooden dock thing over the water. The line was really moving fast. The queue line house was really fun, too. Some guy was blowing up balloons, and people kept hitting balloons all over the queue house. Was pretty amusing, and was a really good time-killer. Got to the station, and waited in line for the Front Seat. Had an amazing ride as usual, great ride. Front seat is the best.

Got off, maybe 1:15? Not sure. But we headed over to Meanstreak. Line started halfway up the steps. We sat in the 4th car.. surprisingly, it was pretty fun. I don't think it's bumpy anymore, and it was faster than I realized. I also noticed at this tiny piece of refurbed track, you could feel the difference. I could feel it being a lot smoother, and even though Mr. Snoo over here thinks even with the refurb it'll be a horrible ride still, I think otherwise! ;) Fun ride.

Headed over to Skyhawk then. Got in line when the ride was already going. Then the next group of people got in. We luckily got in the next group, so we only had to wait like 5 minutes. Fun ride as usual.

We then went to check out Gemeni. Line started by the steps, so we waited about 15 minutes. Went in the 2nd-last car, in the front row. The blue train actually won today, probably because we got the advantage of the faster lift-hill. Fun ride. Smoother than I remember, too.

Headed to Magnum. Kinda disappointing, actually. The line took like 45 to an hour. The station was really crowded, as usually, which really pissed me off. It's so hot and claustrophobic in there, it's so annoying. And, they were only running 2 trains. Why in gods name would they only run 2 trains for Magnum, on a Saturday? They must have been expecting big crowds, somewhat, and that just irritated me. The line would have been so much faster if they were running all the trains. Well we got in the 3rd-last car, front row. Fun as usual.

After that, we met up with my brother and his friend. We were all hungry. Headed out to Jonny Rockets, but the line was massive, so we headed over to Midway Market. Really disappointing there, it was $16 a person. $16. Are you kidding me? That's just way over the line. So we went to the Potato Patio thing by Raptor. Ridiculous prices; $14 for a Cheeseburger, fries, and a small coke. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. At least the food was good, though.

Headed to Bluestreak. No line as usual. Got in the 3rd car, had fun.

Raptor was our next stop. We went in the front. Weird, I was pretty scared. I thought my cell phone was going to fall out of my pocked, and my restraint wasn't that tight. Pretty scary, and you really whip through the inversions in the front. But still, a great, smooth ride. Had a lot of fun, even though I was pretty scared!

Our next stop was Disaster. Line came out to that fence thing, waited about 15 mins. Not that bad I guess, the ride still sucks.

MaXair was next. Only waited like 10 minutes. That was fun, and the lady next to me was all "why we keep getting so close to that pole?" Haha I was laughing at her, she told me to shut up. :p

Wicked was next. Grav, I remember your trick about which car twists out more, and you were right. Went in the 4th car from the back, and boy, was that intense. I could only see the ground, and there wasn't a car in front of me. Definably more intense, and a whole different experience. Intense, but fun.

Went to Iron next. No idea what happened here. Got in the station after 5 minutes. Everything seemed fine, then they report it's broken down. Yet, they could get the empty train up the lift and stop it, and unload the people that were still on it. What the hell? Meh, not much of a loss though. Went to Mantis.. it said a 45 minute wait, so we just skipped it. Yet again, no big loss.

Millenium was next! :D Had an amazing ride. Line was only 30 minutes. Went in the 6th car back, and had an amazing ride. It was soo much fun riding it at night, so intense! My teeth were numb! Still, forgot how amazing that ride is!

Now what to do? We've rode pretty much everything. So we go to Power Tower. This is when hell broke in. We went on the blue one, and we were on the one closer to the Skyride. We were facing the parking lot. I have no idea why, but I was scared ****-less when we got at the top. I don't know why, I was fine with it before. My wild guess is because it was nighttime. Just, my restraint wasn't very tight, and it was freezing, it felt like a really long time when we were at the top, and this random girl next to me kept shaking her restraint yelling "I'm going to fall out!" That didn't help. I was really, really scared. I absolutely hated it. So I found my weakness; Power Tower at night. Never going to do that again, in my life!

We never got on TTD, because my friend has heart problems with that ride.. so we went on Magnum again. Same as last time, although we went in the 2nd car, in the 3rd row. My friend unfortunately got stapled, while mine was alright. Although I remember why I hate the third row; it was hell going over those camel-humps. It really hurt!

After that, we got on Gemeni again. They weren't racing anymore. Got on the blue train again, in the 2nd last seat, 1st row. For some reason, it felt as smooth as glass riding it. Had a great time on it.

I then wanted to go through the fright zones, by my friend didn't want to. So we met up with my brother and his friend by the entrance of the Frightzone by Maverick. My brother and I went through, while my friend and his went on Skyhawk. We just went through and back it. Kinda disappointing, actually. There weren't as many scary people as I thought. A lot of fog, though.

So we met up with my friend and my brother's friend by Skyhawk. Did the same thing, my brother and I went through Carnival, 3 times, 3 times through, three times back! :p Met my friend and my brother's friend by the Witches Wheel. Our last ride of the night was the Red Power Tower. Pretty good..

So that was it. Had a great time, the lines weren't that bad at all. Had an extremely long day, and the weather was nice all day. A little chilly, but still, had a great time. Amazing last day for CP this season! Couldn't have had a better day.

[BoRJoYZeE]

No pictures? :(

But it sounds like you had a fun time!

[~LoveTulie]

No pictures? :(

But it sounds like you had a fun time!

I took pictures on my phone. Unfortunately, I don't have a USB cord for my phone to hook it up to the computer. I do want to get them on the computer, though, because I took some really nice pictures.

[disneyland123]

I really wanna go to CP!







It's kinda far from where I live thou. I don't think I'm doing any intercontinental travel soon lol.

Maverick really looks like tons of fun.

[willo22sly]

Sounds like a much better time than expected!!

[cpkidOH]

Third row is the ejector row on Magnum. So no wonder it hurt.

But sounds pretty good for a Saturday!

[BoRJoYZeE]

I don't mind the ejector sit on Magnum. Take the pain tulie!

[~LoveTulie]

Third row is the ejector row on Magnum. So no wonder it hurt.

But sounds pretty good for a Saturday!

I know! I knew the ejector seat sucks, but we went on it anyways because we didn't feel like waiting for a long line!

I don't mind the ejector sit on Magnum. Take the pain tulie!

No, I will not! :mad:

[ytivarg]

Glad you had a good trip. Next time you get on Twicky, go for the best seat on the train.... row 15 (station row number, obviously) .. right hand seat.

[LightGrenades]

I took pictures on my phone. Unfortunately, I don't have a USB cord for my phone to hook it up to the computer. I do want to get them on the computer, though, because I took some really nice pictures.

-Go to new texts
-Create message
-Insert email instead of number
-Send picture as normal.
-Check emails for pictures.
-????
-Profit.

[~LoveTulie]

-Go to new texts
-Create message
-Insert email instead of number
-Send picture as normal.
-Check emails for pictures.
-????
-Profit.

Can't do that, I can't send picture messages.

And grav, thanks. I'll take your advice next time we go! Isn't Row 15 the seat in front of the back seat? :p Heh, I've still wondered if I should ever try the front. It just doesn't seem as intense, because when you're facing the sky, you can't really notice how high you are. When you're in the back on the other hand, you go up high and you actually notice how high you are. I'm not sure! :p

[Harpo]

Something I particularly enjoy when sitting in the back seat is, when at the top of the back tower, looking to the side and seeing the front tower.

I don't know why, but I just find that view to be pretty neat.

[ytivarg]

Can't do that, I can't send picture messages.

And grav, thanks. I'll take your advice next time we go! Isn't Row 15 the seat in front of the back seat? :p Heh, I've still wondered if I should ever try the front. It just doesn't seem as intense, because when you're facing the sky, you can't really notice how high you are. When you're in the back on the other hand, you go up high and you actually notice how high you are. I'm not sure! :p

Yeah, the row in front of the back seat, right hand seat... best seat on the ride that's not the front seat. ;)

I like the front... going up the back spike isn't all that exciting, but spiraling up the front tower is pretty unique with nothing in front of you. Especially when it looks like you're coming just a little too close to that plunger at the top. ;)

[Harpo]

Just an offhand comment...

Wicked Twister was not layed out the way I would have liked. Clearly, it would have meant getting appropriate regulatory approvals, but I think it would have been really neat if it ran perpendicular to the beach rather than parallel to it. I would have had one of the towers over Lake Erie.

The big question would have been, which one? I can see an argument for either. Put the front tower there, and the trains would look like they're shooting off into the middle of the lake. Put the rear tower there, and the trains would look like they're diving into the lake. I think either one would be quite exciting.

But, I'm not done yet. The plan would also have been taking into account a future addition. I would have planned for a future wood coaster, running along the beach, splitting the uprights of Wicked Twister. To me, Wicked Twister looks a bit like a big goalpost, so the wood coaster would be the football being kicked through the uprights.

It could even have tied in some of Cedar Point's history, as a tribute to football legend Knute Rockne who perfected the forward pass while working as a lifeguard on Cedar Point's beach.

But, oddly enough, they didn't ask me. Bummer.

[ytivarg]

The winters are too harsh to build anything on/over the lake. The water/ice would tear up any concrete footer and/or steel support beams far too easily. It's *possible*, sure, but not cost effective to keep it standing.

Plus, CP doesn't own Lake Erie... ;)

[Harpo]

Ah, but I know there's been a plan to build a ride pier in that area of the park, with the plan being shelved due to economic conditions. If a ride pier sticking into the lake can be done (with appropriate government approvals, of course), then a ride sticking into the lake could also be done.

[ytivarg]

I don't see it happening. If it does by some grace of god, I'll eat my slice of humble pie... but until then, I stick by the fact that we'll likely never see a ride over the lake.

[Harpo]

If the park is going to continue to grow, it will eventually be necessary to add a new midway somewhere.

In the late '80's, when I was working at the park, the expectation was that Camper Village would disappear and would become a new midway. Usage of Camper Village was diminishing, and Soak City was growing in that direction. It would also have provided a very convenient entry point for what was the new Sandcastle Suites. However, the Lighthouse Point area reinvigorated Camper Village, hence squelching the likelihood of a new midway taking over for Camper Village.

Another possibility that has been discussed for years, at least since the late 1980's, is moving parking off The Point, with a new parking structure on the mainland side of the Causeway.

As far back as 1987, when Iron Dragon was built and Western Cruise was moved to its current location and renamed Paddle Wheel Excursions, the talk was that a bridge would eventually be built to what is now Millennium Island (or Terror Island for this HalloWeekend season!), and Paddle Wheel Excursions would be permanently closed. The thought was supported by the Paddle Wheel Excursions building looking very much like a building that could easily be transformed into a picnic pavilion.

In the early 2000's, the talk was of tearing down Oceana since the dolphin show was gone, and building a new ride pier in that area of the beach. A buddy of mine who was an assistant director indicated that they were ready to go, but saw signs of a weakening economy (yes, even in the early 2000's), so decided to shelve the pier idea indefinitely.

With the current economy, and Cedar Fair's current debt load, it is likely that new rides will either replace old ones, will be squeezed in on existing midways, or will intertwine with existing rides.