Well, folks, this certainly was a weekend of ups and downs… On the rides, not the emotions! For those of you who don’t know, Cedar Point is located halfway between Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio, in Sandusky. Nice place, especially the food. (Naturally, I’d be one to remember a town by its cuisine…)
Anyway, we (meaning my friend Jeremy, my dad and I) woke up around 5:30... Ugh. At least it was worth it. I visited the boards for about a half-hour before we left around 7:00. The drive is about 2 ½ hours from here, but it seems like no time at all. I could get there by speedboat in about an hour, but alas, lacking one, we have to drive all the way around Lake Erie.
We arrived at the park around 10:30. There ended up being tons of school groups at the park that day, as evident by the countless charter busses clogging up the parking lot. I got my season pass, complete with $5 discount! YAY! Though my photo ID looks like I’m about to kill the photographer.
:lookaroun
First ride of the 2006 season: Wicked Twister.
Went in the very back. Great ride as always, and never too long of a wait.
Basically, it launches you forward at a medium pace, then backward up the back spire. Then, it gives you an even bigger push, sending you up near the very top of the forward spire. Same with the back one, and this is where you can’t see a thing, but you realize at the top, “Geez… that’s a long way to fall!”
Second ride: Power Tower.
We did the red side, because we hadn’t done the green side before, nor do we plan to. The red towers launch you up via compressed air, 240 feet, and drop you back down. The green side is like Tower of Terror: Bring you up slowly to the top, make you squirm in your seat for all of 10 seconds, and launch you down. My friend and I got a spectacular view of Lake Erie and its surroundings on the red tower.
Third ride, my favourite: Magnum XL-200.
The first row of the last car is simply magic.
Next (I think) was Mean Streak.
The only good ride lies with the very front seat. If you don’t choose the first car, let’s just say your chiropractor will be slightly richer. Ow.
I heard a new sound in the Frontiertown area of the park this year: the sound of a deafening roar.
…Skyhawk! While the thrust and airtime were quite impressive, it definitely needs a longer ride time. Nevertheless, a healthy addition to the Point’s repertoire.
I think we did a lot of reriding after this. I recall riding Magnum an additional 3 times, Power Tower and Wicked Twister twice, and Skyhawk again. Like I said, there was a school group invasion that day, combined with the usual Saturday crowds. We went back to our hotel, Breakers Express (exceptional, considering the price), and rested up for an hour around 4 p.m.
After a cooldown in the room, we ate at a pizza buffet place called East of Chicago’s, right across the street. Their pizza may be good, but one slice of their dessert pizza is enough to warrant twice the cost of the buffet!
Going back to the park, there seemed to be a single black cloud coming off of the lake. We made it as far as Power Tower before I decided the lines were small enough for this [sarcasm] little [/sarcasm] ride.
Quoting the announcer in the queue line: “SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! Are you ready for some speed? We’ve got 120 miles per hour! Are you ready to get vertical? We’ve got 420 feet! Are you ready for… Top Thrill Dragster!”
Yes… now quit asking.
My friend ate a little too much pizza, so he decided to opt out of this ride. The wait time said an hour, but it only took a half hour before I was on the ride. What made this ride so special was the location. I was in the station, about 4 trains away from getting on, when they called for a single rider. Taking advantage of it, I quickly realized it was a FRONT SEAT RIDE! Something I’ve wanted for at least 2 years. The other would have been a rollback, but the TTD crew has been running the trains extremely well this season.
About T-minus 60 seconds until launch, and I feel a drop of rain. Then another, and another.
Uh-oh.
I quickly learned something: Raindrops at 120 MPH feel like flecks of concrete. Through all the 0 to 120 in 3.8 seconds- craziness, I still managed to strike a pose for the camera.
In the blink of an eye, we’re already about halfway up the base of the tower. Cresting the hill, I look to my right. Wouldn’t you know it, I could see Point Pelee (mainland Canada) across the lake! Looking down on Millennium Force is quite a cool feeling, too. We plunge headfirst towards the ground, twist, and bottom out at the finish line. The best 22 seconds of my life.
Right after our train launched, there ended up being a rain delay. When the cloud cleared in about 10 minutes, however, the brightest arc of colour I’ve ever seen streaked across the sky, right over Dragster. I almost had a tear in my eye, it was so perfect. At this point, I figured that my luck was still going strong, so I worked up the courage to do the one thing I hadn’t done at the park: The green side of Power Tower.
What a view. Hovering almost right over TTD, we slowly went up the tower, and stopped abruptly near the top. Half the tower was already screaming, due to the fact that you can’t predict when it’ll drop.
*WHOOSH*
“AAAAAAH!”
And it’s over.
The only other thing I can remember that happened that evening was MaXair.
A great ride. While it does spin, it’s more of a changing view than a nauseating motion. Very fun.
I’ll type up part II sometime tomorrow.
Anyway, we (meaning my friend Jeremy, my dad and I) woke up around 5:30... Ugh. At least it was worth it. I visited the boards for about a half-hour before we left around 7:00. The drive is about 2 ½ hours from here, but it seems like no time at all. I could get there by speedboat in about an hour, but alas, lacking one, we have to drive all the way around Lake Erie.
We arrived at the park around 10:30. There ended up being tons of school groups at the park that day, as evident by the countless charter busses clogging up the parking lot. I got my season pass, complete with $5 discount! YAY! Though my photo ID looks like I’m about to kill the photographer.
:lookaroun
First ride of the 2006 season: Wicked Twister.
Went in the very back. Great ride as always, and never too long of a wait.
Basically, it launches you forward at a medium pace, then backward up the back spire. Then, it gives you an even bigger push, sending you up near the very top of the forward spire. Same with the back one, and this is where you can’t see a thing, but you realize at the top, “Geez… that’s a long way to fall!”
Second ride: Power Tower.
We did the red side, because we hadn’t done the green side before, nor do we plan to. The red towers launch you up via compressed air, 240 feet, and drop you back down. The green side is like Tower of Terror: Bring you up slowly to the top, make you squirm in your seat for all of 10 seconds, and launch you down. My friend and I got a spectacular view of Lake Erie and its surroundings on the red tower.
Third ride, my favourite: Magnum XL-200.
The first row of the last car is simply magic.
Next (I think) was Mean Streak.
The only good ride lies with the very front seat. If you don’t choose the first car, let’s just say your chiropractor will be slightly richer. Ow.
I heard a new sound in the Frontiertown area of the park this year: the sound of a deafening roar.
…Skyhawk! While the thrust and airtime were quite impressive, it definitely needs a longer ride time. Nevertheless, a healthy addition to the Point’s repertoire.
I think we did a lot of reriding after this. I recall riding Magnum an additional 3 times, Power Tower and Wicked Twister twice, and Skyhawk again. Like I said, there was a school group invasion that day, combined with the usual Saturday crowds. We went back to our hotel, Breakers Express (exceptional, considering the price), and rested up for an hour around 4 p.m.
After a cooldown in the room, we ate at a pizza buffet place called East of Chicago’s, right across the street. Their pizza may be good, but one slice of their dessert pizza is enough to warrant twice the cost of the buffet!
Going back to the park, there seemed to be a single black cloud coming off of the lake. We made it as far as Power Tower before I decided the lines were small enough for this [sarcasm] little [/sarcasm] ride.
Quoting the announcer in the queue line: “SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! Are you ready for some speed? We’ve got 120 miles per hour! Are you ready to get vertical? We’ve got 420 feet! Are you ready for… Top Thrill Dragster!”
Yes… now quit asking.
My friend ate a little too much pizza, so he decided to opt out of this ride. The wait time said an hour, but it only took a half hour before I was on the ride. What made this ride so special was the location. I was in the station, about 4 trains away from getting on, when they called for a single rider. Taking advantage of it, I quickly realized it was a FRONT SEAT RIDE! Something I’ve wanted for at least 2 years. The other would have been a rollback, but the TTD crew has been running the trains extremely well this season.
About T-minus 60 seconds until launch, and I feel a drop of rain. Then another, and another.
Uh-oh.
I quickly learned something: Raindrops at 120 MPH feel like flecks of concrete. Through all the 0 to 120 in 3.8 seconds- craziness, I still managed to strike a pose for the camera.
In the blink of an eye, we’re already about halfway up the base of the tower. Cresting the hill, I look to my right. Wouldn’t you know it, I could see Point Pelee (mainland Canada) across the lake! Looking down on Millennium Force is quite a cool feeling, too. We plunge headfirst towards the ground, twist, and bottom out at the finish line. The best 22 seconds of my life.
Right after our train launched, there ended up being a rain delay. When the cloud cleared in about 10 minutes, however, the brightest arc of colour I’ve ever seen streaked across the sky, right over Dragster. I almost had a tear in my eye, it was so perfect. At this point, I figured that my luck was still going strong, so I worked up the courage to do the one thing I hadn’t done at the park: The green side of Power Tower.
What a view. Hovering almost right over TTD, we slowly went up the tower, and stopped abruptly near the top. Half the tower was already screaming, due to the fact that you can’t predict when it’ll drop.
*WHOOSH*
“AAAAAAH!”
And it’s over.
The only other thing I can remember that happened that evening was MaXair.
A great ride. While it does spin, it’s more of a changing view than a nauseating motion. Very fun.
I’ll type up part II sometime tomorrow.
