TPR Midwest Trip PTR

Day 7: Cedar Point day 1

Ok so I'm going to redo the CP days, with no "personal" comments about the park and rides to try to be a bit more fair and a bit less objective to the place. Just straight up likes and dislikes.

Getting to Cedar Point was interesting as a main transformer in Sandusky had blown out, leaving the park and hotel with no power. So to get to our hotel rooms, all we had for light were flashlights given to us and occasional emergency floodlights.

The next morning, I decided to sleep in until about 10am just because I didn't make it to bed until 4. I'm glad I did, because I entered the park to find no rides (with the exception of the Enterprise and Spider) running. Within about an hour, some coasters had reopened.

I met up with Jeremy (from CoasterSims.com), and the first thing we did was Bluestreak, which is a pretty decent ride. I'm sure I would have liked it a lot more had it still had the buzzbars (like Yankee Cannonball, which is top 10 for me) but it was still pretty fun with a couple pops of airtime.

We then went over to MaxAir, which I liked but thought the cycle could have been longer. I didn't really like that the down swing is freefall though, as the smaller KMG ones push down. Still pretty fun, and was interesting to ride a ride like that in the rain.

After that it started raining again, so we just kind of walked around for a bit. We ended up meeting up with Toni and Max, and went to do Meanstreak. Well by the time we got to the station, it was pouring, so we didn't get on the ride until about 2 hours after. Max ended up going back to Fridays, but Jeremy, Toni and I waited it out. Meanstreak is a ride I would describe as not bad, but not good. The ride is rough but not painful, only has one pop of airtime (not really great considering the length of the track), and nothing for laterals. However it didn't really beat me up as I thought it would, even sitting in the last car on a wheel seat.

I'm not sure how the day went from there, but we ended up getting on all of the coasters besides Mantis, Iron Dragon, Woodstock, Disaster Transport, Wicked Twister, and one side of Gemini (blue was closed all day).

My thoughts on Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Millennium Force, and Magnum (without trying to "bash", but still be critical): Maverick was a very cool ride. I didn't think I'd enjoy it, but it really does do a lot, has some great airtime, and fits into the park nicely. The launch is pretty forceful, and I like the Scurves for the most park. Maverick to me felt like one of the parks two "complete" rides, the other being Raptor.

Raptor: wow, I wasn't expecting much from this, having had really bad rides on B&M inverts before, but this ride blew me away. It was very forceful, I could still feel my legs tingling 10+ minutes after the ride. The midcourse was off too, so the helix was very fast. This ended up being my favorite ride at the park.

Millennium Force: Ok, so without bashing the ride, here are my thoughts. I for one, don't see the appeal here. The first drop is good, but where is the ride inbetween? It seemed spread out to me with limited forces. Now after talking with some people, I guess I can see why it's liked so much. If it's height and speed you're after, this is your ride. However I thought it lacked the forces, intensity, and direction changes, which hold it back for me. Simply put, it's not my kind of ride.

Top Thrill Dragster: TTD, like MF, I thought lacked a complete ride. However I don't think TTD was made to have a complete ride, as fairly obvious from the ground. Again, like MF, the ride contains two key elements: height and speed. However, sitting in the back seat on the right, I think the sense of height was somewhat missing as I couldn't look over the side. There was a "hidden" element of the ride that I wasn't expecting but really liked, and that was the force going into the tophat. This was one of a few total rides that actually brought my hands down from the positive force alone, so I did like that. Again though, I don't quite think this is my kind of ride.

Magnum: Magnum was one of the rides I was looking very forward to on the trip, if not my most anticipated steel. The ride was good, but I thought it lacked the extreme airtime that I have heard raved about. The trims before the turnaround were on hard, so I'm sure that's what took away from it for me. The airtime was still very present, and good for the most part, but I can't call it "extreme" like I've read about.

Overall as a park, Cedar Point is not my kind of place. If you're into "resort" parks with nothing but huge steel coasters everywhere, than Cedar Point is most certianly for you. However thats not for me. I like smaller traditional and unique parks, like Lake Compounce, Indiana Beach, Canobie Lake. I love lots of woods, so I did enjoy the Frontier Town section of the park. The theming was nice and it did have a rustic feel to it. I do think it was somewhat ruined by Millennium Force towering over, though.

These pics aren't that great, the day 2 ones are better.

The lobby is creepy as hell in the dark

Me and Dave went exploring...

So yeah... we got to the hotel and see this.

People waiting for Maverick since the early hotel entry.

We were on the first train out after the rain cleared

Stuck in the station because of the rain

Mean Streak is pretty much the definition to average to me. not bad but not good, not slow but not fast, not rough but not smooth

MaxAir was cool, but I don't like that the down-swing is just freefall.

The first ride of the day

CP was pretty dead because of the rain

I really like Iron Dragon's mist

I do like Magnum, but I like Phantom at Kennywood more.

TTD with some nasty rain clouds above

Evan and Homer, who I blinded with my camera flash

Day 8: Cedar Point Day 2

Same deal, I'll try to tone the "bashing" down a little bit but still be critical.

Day 2 was pretty much finishing up my credits and taking pictures. The first thing I rode was Wicked Twister. I enjoyed the ride, far better than V2. I really like the hangtime on the back spike, and looking down the train "spiral". Overall the ride was pretty fun.

Next was Disaster Transport. This ride gets a lot of hate, but honestly I kind of like bobsled. I liked Kings Dominion's last year, and this one was pretty fun. The worst part about the ride was that it was short. If they had like another 1/3rd of it on there, I would have really loved it.

I then did Iron Dragon. I don't care for this ride much, it's one of those "it looks better than it is" type rides to me. It is a pretty decent family coaster, and it's a lot like a minetrain, but I like Big Bad Wolf and Top

Gun more.

After I did Mantis. I'm not sure if I like this ride or not. After having an awesome ride on Chang, this just didn't seem all that "there". However, I did ride this in the back, and Chang in the front, so maybe there was the difference. I didn't see why everyone calls this ride rough. Maybe I have good luck with standups but Shockwave at Kings Dominion, Chang, Iron Wolf, and this have all produced great rides for me.

I then went to get my 100th on Woodstock. This was the best Vekoma Skater/kiddie/whatever I have been on, with a longer layout. Fun I guess.

I then did Gemini Blue, back seat, which produced a little bit more airtime than red. The headchopper was also pretty cool, but didn't really get me like I thought it would.

I rerode Millennium Force in the front with hopes to like it better there. The airtime was a bit more present at the peaks of the hills, but I still didn't think it was much to write home about. Riding in the front seat also showed me how really long and drawn out the ride's transitions are, so that turned me off a bit.

Also did Bluestreak one more time. Had a better ride this time around, getting a little bit more/stronger airtime. I still think this ride would be great with the buzzbars (and skid brakes. I'm a big fan of "classic" things like that), but over all it's pretty fun.

Hopefully that was a bit less "hateful" while still being as critical as I wanted to be.

Anyway... pics. Some of the night shots blurred, because my tripod pics up a lot of vibration. I like the way they came out for the most part though.

First thing I rode was Wicked Twister. It's not amazing, but it's fun, and better than V2.

Corker again

Entrance sign lit up

I loved the light "show" they do on the lift

MF looks awesome lit up

Mean Streak

TTD at night

Corkscrew on the midway

I really like this shot.

Raptor at night

Wheel

yay Raptor

Blue Streak is fun

Millennium Force

I really liked Maverick

100th

Iron Dragon

Mantis is pretty fun, but I like Chang more

...Should have waited for a train

CP does have a pretty nice setting

i totally love those night pictures from within the park. Personnaly i skipped that possibility since i was way too tired.. but seeing your pics.. i know what i have to do next time

If its one thing I hate its people forcing their opinion on others as if the fact that they love S:ROS puts it better than MF and if you don't agree you are just dumb.

rant over

I don't think anyone is "dumb"... I just don't get what's seen in this ride or park. Yes I like SROS better, and I think before people call MF the best ride, they should see what else is out there. If you've ridden both and think MF is better, great! But I still think people should ride everything that's out there before they say it's best. There is a difference between "best coaster I've ridden" and "best coaster ever". And again, I really don't see what people see in the ride/park.

See and I have S:ROS @ #2 on my list and MF @ #4, but on the chance of getting this wayyyyyyyyyyy off topic I'll just agree to disagree and be quiet.

Nice pictures, awful report. Your opinions on certain parks don't really make sense. You say you hate CP but yet you give no reason why. My opinion is that you don't like it because your jealous your park doesn't compare. You hate MF because it is considered as good if not better than SROS. You said TTD was boring but I don's see how anyone can think that ride is boring! Are you on drugs? It is short, but far from boring. You even gave some good remarks about the worst rides at CP. After looking at some of those night pictures, no one is going to trust your criticism of the park. It is a great park with great rides and it ranks up there with any of the other top parks. Don't let your personal vendetta with CP keep you from being objective.

I actually think you are a closet Cedar Point fan.

Day 9: Kennywood

Ok So I knew I had always wanted to go to Kennywood, but I didn't know all that much about the park itself other than it was very "traditional". I ended up really liking this park. Not so much for the rides, it just seemed like a bigger version of Lake Compounce (my favorite park).

ERT was on Racer and Thunderbolt, but I think pretty much everyone only did Thunderbolt. All the rides there were fun, but I don't think I can call them amazing. I really liked Phantom, though.

Picsssss

Not sure who this guy is

Mary Lou, the park's PR rep

It comes into the brakes really steep, I bet the front has a nice pop of air

Jack Rabbit

This was my favorite part of the park

Carousel and some landscaping

The buildings all look really cool

More Thunderbolt pics that no one has seen before

Jack Rabbit is fun, but I didn't "get" the insane air on it... it just wasn't there for me.

No one has this picture

wooo Phantom

Kennywood's skyline

Weee

Awesome classic NAD trains

Yay Thunderbolt

Kennywood is a really nice park

whut whut

Nice pictures, awful report. Your opinions on certain parks don't really make sense. You say you hate CP but yet you give no reason why. My opinion is that you don't like it because your jealous your park doesn't compare. You hate MF because it is considered as good if not better than SROS. You said TTD was boring but I don's see how anyone can think that ride is boring! Are you on drugs? It is short, but far from boring. You even gave some good remarks about the worst rides at CP. After looking at some of those night pictures, no one is going to trust your criticism of the park. It is a great park with great rides and it ranks up there with any of the other top parks. Don't let your personal vendetta with CP keep you from being objective.

I actually think you are a closet Cedar Point fan.

There is no personal vendetta, no jealousy with my favorite parks, it's just not my kind of place. I like smaller, more traditional parks with lots of woods, trees, landscaping, etc. The only "large" park that sits in my top 5 favorite is Busch Gardens Europe, and thats only because of the landscaping of the place. My reason for the CP hate is that concrete slabs with mediocre (IMO!) rides don't appeal to me. As I said, Frontier Town was my favorite part of the park because of the woods and rustic feel, but MF towering over kind of ruined it.

I hate MF and TTD because besides being tall and going fast, they don't do anything. I like a "complete" ride with lots of things in between, such as direction changes, mixes of airtime, tightness, etc. Millennium Force is a first drop and thats it. The hills have next to nothing for airtime, and the turns are so large radius that they're boring.

TTD was boring to me because it doesn't feel anywhere near as intimidating as it looks. It doesn't "feel" tall, it doesn't "feel" fast. I did like the forces going into the tophat, but that's about it.

As for great rides, the only things that I really liked were Raptor and Maverick. As I said, none of the flats ran great, and none of the other coasters really "wowed" me. Magnum was good, but didn't live up to the hype.

My top parks are what I like, traditional, unique, well landscaped, and good atmosphere. Cedar Point didn't really have any of that to me.

My top 5 parks are:

1. Lake Compounce - Bristol, CT

2. Busch Gardens Europe - Williamsburg, VA

3. Indiana Beach - Monticello, IN

4. Canobie Lake - Salem, NH

5. Kennywood - Pittsburgh, PA

They are all far different from Cedar Point, so I guess CP just isn't for me.

You said TTD was boring but I don's see how anyone can think that ride is boring! n.

I think its boring... As is Kingda Ka...

I think the reason why people are getting upset is mostly because of the tone you used when making remarks about rides. I can see how fans of Cedar Point could find it offending. Personally, I am a huge fan of almost every ride at Cedar Point, but I respect your opinion. I think when it comes to a lot of the rides at Cedar Point, it really just depends on what you look for in a coaster. Like you said, you're a fan of coasters with a lot of directional changes, elements, etc. I just like a ride if I have fun on it (which is basically every single coaster I've ever ridden), and large hills and speed are fun to me, so MF and TTD are definately in the top of my list (although it is unfortunately a relatively small list). If I were you, I'd ignore those who want to get into a debate with you, as this is your trip report and you should be able to post your true opinions without being harassed.

By the way, thanks for the fantastic pictures so far, it looks like you had a great time.

I totally respect that, jmicha, and I'm sorry if I did offend anyone with my comments about the park. Remember, they are just that, my comments and thoughts. As I said, I guess it's just not my kind of place. Anyway, doing PKI pics up now, they should be up soon.

If there is one thing I have learned (yes, learned) after visiting TPR for a couple of years, is that everyone has a different opinion and there isn't a very good chance it's going to change! I can understand how anyone can think Millennium Force is "Boring", especially coming from someone who likes an atmostphere that CP can't provide and who has rode many other rides that look better and that are more action-packed than MF!(like SROS) But when you have people that have been to two or more parks with mediocre rides, they are going to think CP is heaven! (like me and many others) But my only pet peeve is when people say, "Lulzz this Galexi has more airtime than MF" And so on. Especially when it sounded like you weren't joking. MF has airtime significantly better than ALOT of rides, and there are three big places! (The drop, second airtime hill, and hop next to the station) I rode in the middle, front, and back.....the back today! And you can't say it doesn't have airtime. The overbanks are fun! And they are too quick to be "boring" I mean, you fly through them in 4-5 seconds!

And I just rode it about 3 hours ago That's my rant.

Oh, one little more....I could never describe Dragster as "boring" It's too short of a ride and pure fun.

Magnum doesn't seem like there is as much airtime as I remembered last year/previous years....I think the trims are on WAY too hard.

Well, I have little time because we are making a small stop by the hotel to get batteries charged and some food outside the park!

-J "Huh huh huh....Maverick kicks ass, bunghole" Z

Well the thing about the Galixis wasn't a joke. Pepsi Python and In Beach's Galixi have some serious airtime. I think IB's has airtime comparable to Cornball Express, and that says a lot.

The thing about MF's airtime is that it's very similar to that which you find on B&M hypers, but with the Tbar, you don't really "get" it (atleast not me). After being on Apollo and actually floating out of my seat, the stapled/weak airtime on MF feels just that, weak. And the airtime is SERIOUSLY mild after riding some woodies that have buzzbars and WILL stand you up, too, just a few days prior. Also, overbanks do nothing for me. I don't care for SROS's (although I like it more than any of MF's), so 4(?) of them just really isn't for me.

Dragster is boring to me because it doesn't do anything. Something like Maverick that has the launch but still has content is more my style. I'd love to try Kanonen, Superman (AU), and Storm Runner because they all seem to fit this.

And yeah, even the person I was riding with who has been coming to CP since '95 said Magnum was running weak with the trims on so hard.

Dude! Your like the coaster enthusiast version of Downer Debbie from Saturday Night Live! I was half expecting the signature audio "bwah bwah" after every caption I read.

People are just jealous that you are 17 and are already a certified coaster critic. At 17, I was staring at pictures of CP salivating and getting blood flow.

Honestly though, after reading these Photo TR's (and loving them), it seems that your opinion is a tad unjustified...I mean, wow, your really going out of your way to show us that you don't like this park! CP isn't Knoebel's or Lake Compounce...and if they led you to believe it was, then shame on them.

In fact, CP is the opposite of all those things you seem to like in a park. It is a resort style mega-park with more rides then trees. BUT, having been to other "Mega Parks" (SFMM, SFGAdv) CP wins hands down.

Almost like being a fan of Polka music and giving a Metal band a bad review. Duh!

Great photos. I can't wait to see to see all the beautiful trees and landscapes when I go to SFNE.

-Mike

That stinks that the trims were on hard on Magnum on your visit. I think the accident has scared them away from light or no trims. The ride's airtime on the last four bunny hops when the trims are off is insane. On closing day last year, the air was so strong that my coat and shirt would literally be around my neck from the airtime.

Day 10: Kings Island and Stricker's Grove

Ok, So with Kings Island I'm kind of torn. At the risk of being chewed up by fanboys again, I'm not sure if I like this park. On the one hand, it is a nice park. But, I disliked almost all of the rides (Dropzone and Face/Off were cool). Being a big wooden coaster fan, I wasn't sure what to expect from Beast. A lot of people love it because of the setting, a lot of people hate it because it's flat. Sorry Beast fans, I kind of fall into the latter. Similar to my dislike for MF, Beast didn't really "do" much. HOWEVER, I did have lots of fun on it during our night rides, as the whole train was doing the Adventure Express arm thing. Which brings me to my next question: WTF is up with Adventure Express? That one makes the list of "what the hell?" rides, joining the likes of Lost Coaster and Beech Bend's darkride. "Now you will pay...!".......yeah.

Son Of Beast: Hmm, rode it twice. In the front of the train it was actually smooth, but like it's mother/father/foster parent, it doesn't do anything. The second ride was in the back seat over wheels, in the blue train (supposedly that is the worst of the 2). It was rough at the bottom of the bowl, and hurt my back a little, but I don't know if it's "bad". I would ride it again, but I don't think I'd wait for it.

Racer Backwards I liked more than Rebel Yell, just because it had a bit more airtime. Forwards was nothing but jack hammering and hurt my back a little bit. That would have been off set had there been airtime, but I didn't feel any.

Topgun I liked. Best of the 3 suspended I have been on, narrowly beating out Big Bad Wolf (seemed more intense, but the setting was kinda blah). Flight of Fear wasn't as good as Kings Dominion's to me, but I rode this in the back (KD's front) so maybe that's why. Italian Job also wasn't as good, as they were launching it REALLY weak (it was very very close to rolling back 3-4 times). Firehawk had some cool awkward parts, but I don't really care for the flying gimmick. I don't know if I like this one or Ultimate Flight better, as they both don't do much for me. Delirium was fun but weaker than Cedar Point's. Dropzone.. was amazing.... but still not as cool as Beech Bend's ARM tower to me.

Pics. I'll do one more post with just random pics and comments at some point. Thanks for reading and putting up with my MF/TTD/CP bashing...

Coat hangers are the only good way to design roller coasters

More Ron Toomer goodness

Jr. SLC... and it was actually pretty cool. The one at Gröna Lund must be awesome, since it has park interaction and lapbars only.

Looks like a good place to ride. It was not

Awesome.

Topgun has some good swinging, and a pretty intense layout

This ride is very forceful. Not quite as good as Deja Vu, but still pretty awesome

Back to Kings Island for Face/Off goodness

We also rode the flyers, which snapped decent. I hit the trees once

And here's where it happens. Seriously one of the most intense moments of airtime I have EVER felt. Very similar to Cyclops

Up the lift

Back to Tornado

More parks should build family woodies, they're really fun.

First we got the Teddy Bear credit

Yay Tornado

Spidey is excited for Stricker's Grove

Hey there....

They're going to pay...

Racer's lift. I always wondered why they never did one of these with the home stretch down the middle, I think that would add to the race effect.

FOF "theming" consists of old TVs and computers

The flip off the lift is cool

Firehawk is "awkward".. but I'm not sure if I like it

The helix is pretty fun

Coathanger goodness

Italian Job is a really good family ride, but I think they could have done more with the theme

It's a pretty nice place

So we're at Kings Island and stuff

I had ERT on Magnum for Joe Cool Night on Sunday.

No Trims at all...Amazing...I rode 11 times in a row without getting out of my train.

The airtime was so intense I had bruises on my thighs the next couple of days.

Don't be bashing this airtime monster

The lists and other random comments and photos

So the night after Kings Island I figured out my top 10s in the lobby of the hotel. They go like this:

Top 10 wood:

1. Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce

2. The Legend - Holiday World

3. The Voyage - Holiday World

4. Kentucky Rumbler - Beechbend

5. J2 - Clementon

6. Cornball Express - Indiana Beach

7. Yankee Cannonball - Canobie Lake

8. Cyclops - Mt. Olympus

9. Avalanche - Timber Falls

10. (tie) Grizzly - Kings Dominion/Raven - Holiday World

Top 10 steel:

1. Superman Ride Of Steel - Six Flags New England

2. Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Europe

3. Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood

4. Raptor - Cedar Point

5. Maverick - Cedar Point

6. Volcano: The Blast Coaster - Kings Dominion

7. Loch Ness Monster - Busch Gardens Europe

8. Magnum XL200 - Cedar Point

9. Deja Vu Six Flags Great America

10. Batman: The Ride - Six Flags Great America

Top 5 favorite parks:

1. Lake Compounce - Bristol, CT

2. Busch Gardens Europe - Williamsburg, VA

3. Indiana Beach - Monticello, IN

4. Canobie Lake - Salem, NH

5. Kennywood - Pittsburgh, PA

Favorite meals of the trip: Italian Feast at Kentucky Kingdom, Taco Fiesta thingy at Indiana Beach

Standout park moments: Holiday World walkbacks on all 3 coasters (thanks Paula), conversation with Mrs. Koch; getting like 3/4ths of Kentucky Kingdom to ourselves for about 2 hours, and having a few rides completely to myself; ERT at Beechbend (Rumbler was ridiculously fast, and every time it just got faster) and meeting the GCI guys (thanks for making me ride the darkride Joe ); All of Indiana Beach, good times on the flats AND Cornball ERT. My first time riding a coaster in thunder & lightning lol, and it was flying with some crazy airtime; LOST COASTER; sneak preview of Meteor at Little A-Merrick-A, and talking with park people about their upcoming fullsize woodie; Timber Falls and Avalanche, which was insane. It was awesome that they got it up and running just for us; blowing past a 3 hour Superman Ultimate Flight line with gold Qbots ("I wish we didn't have to walk so far..."); Getting stuck on American Eagle; getting to Cedar Point with no power; Kennywood ERT; Beast nightrides at Kings Island.

Other random stuff: Dave getting left at Cedar Point, Toni getting left at the hotel at Great America yet getting to the park before us, the bus rides with Ron and Brent, "Keep PA Beautiful"

I'll add some more when I think of some more, and I'll add some random pics when I go through them. Wooooo[/b]

Nice report dude, some really good shots in there. Can't wait till next summer where I'll be joining you guys.

Crap, just read through this entire TR. GReat TR!The woodies look excelllllent

I redid the CP days to try to be a bit less objective towards the park. I'm sure people still won't like what I have to say, but it has way less "bashing" now.

Cedar Point day 1

Cedar Point day 2

That looks comfortable!

I don't remember that at all in 2005. I skipped it last year.

Looks like they left a piece of track off somewhere in the parking lot!

I had the old train that felt like it was going to unlock any second and throw me to my death!

Hey, post that OPA POV from Mt. Olympus.. that was insane! Was definitely the most fun spinning mouse ride I had on the trip.

Great pics! Though I already knew your views on Legend, having heard them at least 100 times.

I don't know why everyone is giving you crap though... everyone is entitled to their opinion about coasters, parks, etc. Different strokes for different folks. Some like air, some like violent shaking, some like laterals, some like smooth, etc.. It would seem some people are real homers when it comes to their favorite parks though.

It makes me wonder if I'm a homer after thinking that Valleyfair isn't such a bad park compared to many we visited on the Midwest trip. Especially now that they have Renegade! Woot!

Ah right, Opa POV -

I'll upload a high quality one to the video forum at some point.