So I just got back from 2 days at Cedar Point. It's been 4 years since I was last there so I was anxious to finally get the credit for Maverick. I also needed to get Raptor which I didn't get on my first visit to the park, and was hoping to get as many rides as possible on Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force.
One of my friends in Milwaukee initiated the trip and he and another one of his friends drove to Chicago to pick me up. We met at my house and continued on from there. Some dense fog was encountered in western Indiana, but after that, things seemed to clear up. Other than that, it was an uneventful ride out.
We arrived at the park shortly after opening, around 10:30 Eastern time. We thought we would ride Maverick first, but since it was shortly after opening, we thought the line would be a little long for that. Instead, we got on Corkscrew. I had already begun snapping pictures with my new camera I purchased just for this trip. I was mesmerized by Top Thrill Dragster and put my zoom to the test. I also started messing with the settings on the camera and turned the shutter speed way up so I could easily capture all the rides in motion but still get crisp, clear pictures. This lead to what it probably one of the best pictures I took of Top Thrill Dragster. I was able to get the train just after the catch car released and not a bit of motion blur. Anyway, after that we moved onto Magnum. It was the standard ride filled with some air time and minor shaking.
Finally, we decided it was time for Maverick. By the time we got in line, it was a 45 minute wait. This was extended somewhat due to a breakdown. My friend recommended that I wait for the front row. I did, and also managed to get a few more pictures while waiting. The front row of Maverick is really good, and I loved the seemingly constant high speed of the ride while zipping through the elements, especially the airtime hills. My favorite part is the launch tunnel when you get bolted up to 70 mph and fly out and over the pond. The only thing I didn't like was that the sudden rolls kept jamming the side of the OTSR into my neck. After this, we went on Skyhawk, and I stand by my statement that SFGAm needs a screaming swing. I can't quite remember where we went after this, but it was either Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster. In any case, I savored the ride on Millennium Force this time because I honestly couldn't remember any of it from the previous time I rode it. As for TTD, I still love this ride. The launch didn't quite suck my stomach out like the last time, but it's still amazing. I also waited for the front row this time After we had completed these rides, we left the park momentarily for lunch. We stopped at East of Chicago Pizza for their pizza buffet. Let me just say it wasn't bad, and it's a lot like a Pizza Hut ripoff.
After lunch I was able to get my credit on Raptor. We then took a short walk over to the Wicked Twister midway and got a ride on Disaster Transport. After we got off of that, we got in line for Space Spiral because I wanted some aerial shots of the park. I got a nice one of Wicked Twister and maXair. We also subconsciously went to check on Ocean Motion, which will be removed for Windseeker next season. I think we hit Maverick one more time in the day, and then got another on Millennium Force. We were walking back to Dragster, but made a stop on Iron Dragon; an uneventful ride there. It was nearing the end of the day, so we got to Dragster just in time for the last ride of the day. I had never been on it before in the night, and it was a different experience. The cool air makes it a lot better. With that, we resigned for the night to a Motel 6 just outside of Sandusky in Milan, OH.
We started the day with Gemini as we made our way to the back of the park for Maverick. After Gemini though, we hit up Mean Streak. Up until this ride, I had put my camera in my pocket when I got on a ride. However, the shaking I remembered from this ride actually worried me, so I left my camera in the station. Just as I thought, Mean Streak is still rough as hell and left me with a minor headache. Can’t quite remember the order of the day anymore, but I know we got another ride on Maverick, then 2 more rides on Millennium Force, one more on Dragster, and then out to lunch. When we came back, we got on Power Tower then again to Dragster. We then knew we only had a few hours left, so we went back through the loop, got Maverick, and one last ride on Millennium Force. We then went up to Raptor, but made a stop on Wildcat so I could get the credit. After Raptor, it was in line for one list ride on TTD. It broke down while we were in line though, so the sun set while we were waiting. We decided to go front row as well. The launch was great, this train was hauling over the top hat, and then on the descent down, we started to feel the bugs. I think I took out a combo of 30 gnats and mosquitoes once I noticed they were plastered to my shirt. Finally, there was just enough time to run to the back and get the night ride on Maverick. The bugs weren’t out for this one. However the sun had just recently set and the sky was still glowing a little orange and purple. As I was on the exit ramp, I turned the shutter on my camera down to 3 seconds and set it on a trash can. I was able to get another great shot, and probably the best sunset picture I have ever taken.
I used a Canon Powershot SX120 IS. It has 10x optical zoom with 10 megapixel resolution with just about everything else adjustable. I needed a new camera for a while and sprung for it just before I took the trip. The pictures speak for themselves. I can't wait to try this out at other events like hockey games and races.
Couple great shots there. Loved the shot of Mantis with TTD in the background, the sunset shot of Maverick, and the MF shot with the full train. Great stuff!
And yes TP, Skyscraper is one of the best rides in the park. Loved that thing.
Top 5 wood-5-Goliath 4-Ravine Flyer II 3-Phoenix 2-Voyage 1-El Toro Top 5 Steel- 5-Velocicoaster 4- Maverick 3- Fury 325 2-Steel Vengeance 1-X2 Coaster Count: 444
It is a ride that has 2 seats on a car and on the opposite end there is 2 likewise. They are free rolling and connect to a joint that spins 360 like a ferris wheel. The cars can move freely spinning upside down. There is one at Timber Falls in the dells.
Skyscraper is also in Challenge Park, just outside of one of the gates near Magnum. I don't think very many people go over that way, and the only time I saw it was when I was on the Space Spiral.
I worked Ripcord/Skyscraper this summer and we actually got pretty busy. However most of the riders where from Soak City walking to and from there cars. I have about 100 Ripcord rides and 160 Skyscraper rides and either of the two have lost there fun unlike mostly everything else in the park...except Magnum.
The best part about riding that many times is figuring out the ride. There are ways in which you can balance the carriage so you end up doing a nose dive all the way down to the platform. A good nose dive can also be controlled by the driver. It take a lot of practice, but if you let go off the speed for a few seconds you can get riders to do some pretty crazy dives.
Philly 589 wrote:It is a ride that has 2 seats on a car and on the opposite end there is 2 likewise. They are free rolling and connect to a joint that spins 360 like a ferris wheel. The cars can move freely spinning upside down. There is one at Timber Falls in the dells.
Thanks for the video. I never went in to Challenge Park so that's why I don't recall it. Does Cedar Points model have more than 4 seats? I stopped at Timber Falls back in May to ride the coaster, but they were a week away from opening it, and I can't believe I missed seeing this. Talking I guess.........
I hope it sticks are a few more seasons. There was talk about it moving to another Cedar Fair park since its been a rotation. Was at Dorney for a few years, then it went to Valleyfair, and now it's at Cedar Point. And the best part about it is that it still uses the straps instead of the OTSRs. I don't know about the one in the dells but mostly every other one in the US switched to the OTSRs which kind of kill the ride experience.
Maintenance is spelled wrong and it still say Valleyfair One of the only rides in the park where you have 100% manual control.
