Cedar Point trip/observations
Cedar Point: I just got back from spending 2 days at Cedar Point on Aug 8/9, and it was busy IMHO.
I just got back from spending 2 days at Cedar Point on Aug 8/9, and it was busy IMHO, with the mid-day waits for the big coasters being around 1- 1 1/2 hours. I will just list some of my thoughts/comments with a few comparsions to my home park SFGAM.
I rode Mil-Force,Maverick/Top Thrill Dragster/Wicked Twister amd Disaster Transport all for the first time this trip and the last time I visited the park was the year before they built Mil-Force. I thought Mil-Force/Top thrill Dragster/Maverick were great coasters and would list Maverick as the best of the 3. The first time I rode it was at night and wasnt expecting the mid ride launch, and it was great!!!!! Wicked Twister was OK, but I think I liked V2 better as I like being stopped at the top, then being released as compared to twisted spirals on both ends. Disaster Transport was just a WEIRD ride.
On Fri night I was in line for Top Thrill Dragster and the ride broke down around 9:20pm, but they did get the ride working just before 10:00pm and let every one in line ride which took till 10:50pm which was nice, also they didnt shut down the lines till just after 10:00 pm as I got into line at 10:00pm for another ride on Maverick and saw people getting into the line till 10:10 pm with the ride operating till 11:00pm.
I rode Raptor twice and while I liked it in some ways I like BTR better. BTR is shorter, but the ride elements IMHO were sharper/faster which makes up for its shortness. I also thought Magnum was rougher than last time I rode it, with less air time(though riding Raging Bull which is SO smooth may have impaired my judgement in this matter)
I thought the ride operations were EXCELLANT, with all the rides I rode being staffed fully(much better than SFGAM which for example often only has 2 ride-ops on Viper while Blue Streak had 5 both days I rode it.
It was also nice to have no pay to skip scam as the lines pretty much kept moving which made the wait better, and I also liked no TV monitors in the lines so you didn't have to see the same stupid commercials numerous times!! ALso nice to see employees wearing uniforms that arent a neon color with dumb comments on the back!!! Nice to only have to pay $10 to park compared to the $15/25 at SFGAM.
About the only negatives I saw was no enforcement of no smoking policies, I even saw people smoking while in lines, besides all over the park. And in gift shops or on rides you shouldnt have people who can barely speak english giving out ride instructions or trying to answer question's in the gift stores. We ate twice at the park Game Day Grille/Coasters and the food was OK, but as usual too expensive which is standard fare at most theme parks. I did like very much the home made chocolate chip cookies at the park and the other bakery that was made on site looked very good, again something SFGAM could learn from!! And I was impressed with the large amounts of design's for the coaster shirts, again something SFGAM should learn from. For maverick they must have had 10 different designs to choose from where with SFGAM they only have 1 shirt for TDK while selling many more shirts designs for the Dark Knight movie. And other top coasters had many shirts too choose from.
While the park was busier than I like, it was a very good 2 days at the park and I was impressed with the park itself and how it was operated. I wish it was closer to home so I could visit more often.
Thanks for posting...
From James Rao
Posted August 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Thanks for the trip report and detailed info. And while I am sure it was a pain, I am glad the park was busy because we need the big non-Disney chains to bounce back a bit financially after a fairly poor beginning to the year! ;)
I hope they are very busy, just on days when im not at the park!!(LOL)
Disaster Transport is a very weird ride. When I was real little (so little I don't remember it) it was originally a bobsled rollercoast and it was outdoors. Then they decided to spice it up and create a story and put it indoors. I remember a story about transporting something from Alaska to the US or something like that. When you entered and all thru the queue a robot talked to you. He continued to talk to you and the props thru out the actual ride went along with the story. I remember the robot saying "I am loosing control, I am loosing control" as you went down the second hill and finish the rest of the ride "out of control". Over the years, they have not kept the props in the queue working and let the robot's voice go. So now, when you ride it there are just randon props and flashing lights as you go thru it. Personally I think the haunted house they set up in there during Halloweekends is more exciting. So there's the story to why Disaster Transport is so weird. It's a good starter coaster for people if they don't mind the dark. Space Mountain it isn't. :-)
From Allen Lang
Posted August 22, 2008 at 10:44 AM
I've watched Cedar Point grow since they first put in the Blue Streak with it's manual brake system. I rode every ride new and old since then. If there is one thing that has really shown through the years is the way they operate the park. It has become such big business that the personal feeling has left the park. Food not cooked fresh anymore (still greasy yes,just not the same grease),paint slopped on not painted on,dirt and cobwebs everywhere. Can't help to wonder how they are doing on preventive maintence?
Next time your at the park, look at the park itself.The money machine is rolling and the personal touch is gone. Too bad
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