Happy Roller Coaster Day, everyone. A couple of weeks ago, my family and I went to Cedar Point for 4 days. This was not my first trip, as I went there 15 years ago. Before I go into the details of the trip, I want to tell you my history with Cedar Point. Back when I was a kid in 2001, I watched a show on Discovery Channel called “Top Ten Coasters 2001.” In that show, three of Cedar Point’s coasters were featured. The show was sort in the top 5 wooden and steel coasters according to Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards. The inverted coaster Raptor was number 5 on the top steel list. Millennium Force, which was the world’s first giga-coaster (310 feet high), was at number 2 on that list. The #1 spot in 2000 was the world’s first hyper-coaster (205 feet high): Magnum XL-200. Another show on Discovery Channel that year was Extreme Rides 2001, which also showcased Millennium Force. Later on, there was a special called “World’s Largest Amusement Park”, which went into detail about the inner workings of a single day at Cedar Point. From ride maintenance and operation to behind the scenes looks at wardrobe and live shows, the special had it all. A few of the coasters were featured, including Mean Streak, Raptor, Gemini, Millennium Force, and Magnum XL-200.
Ever since watching those shows, plus seeing plenty of POV videos online, I was obsessed with going to Cedar Point and riding Magnum, Millennium Force, and all of the other coasters at Cedar Point. In 2006, I finally got the opportunity with my mom, my dad, and my two sisters. There are plenty of things I remember about that trip 15 years ago, including seeing the coaster skyline in person as we drove into the causeway, going on Magnum XL-200 11 times in the front row, being intimidated by Top Thrill Dragster (then overcoming that fear after the 0-120 mph launch), Millennium Force in the front row, and staying at Hotel Breakers. I also remember my dad saying to me that taking me there was his favorite part of the trip. I had a lot of fun in 2006 at Cedar Point, although a regret was being too obsessed with the front row. In the years since that first trip, new coasters were added to Cedar Point, which increased my anticipation for my next trip. Those coasters were Maverick (2007), Gatekeeper (2013), Valravn (2016), and Steel Vengeance (2018). Some of the coasters that I rode in 2006 are no longer there, including Mean Streak (which was turned to Steel Vengeance), Wildcat, Disaster Transport, and Mantis (which was turned to Rougarou). A non-coaster ride that I enjoyed in 2006 was Demon Drop, which was a free-fall ride designed by Intamin. In 2009, the ride closed at Cedar Point and was moved to Dorney Park, which is owned by Cedar Fair (the parent company of Cedar Point).
Over the years, I have gotten more accustomed to more than just the front row on roller coasters (though the front is still my favorite). For example, the back row is a really fun experience on some coasters because it pulls you down the first drop. In a sense, my maturity over which rows to go on paid off during this trip to Cedar Point. Speaking of which, I will go over the details of the trip right now.
It all began on August 1, 2021, with the early morning flight from Punta Garda, Florida to Cleveland, Ohio. My family and I took flight at around 6:40 in the morning and landed safely in Cleveland at around 9:00. Before the trip, my father bought all of us tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Our appointment there was set for 10:30, meaning that we had a bit of time after getting the rental car to explore some of the downtown area. After the car was parked in a garage, we walked around the area. During our walk, we came across a big rubber stamp was meant to say “free” in the bottom. On our way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we saw the Browns stadium in the distance. In reality, the stadium was to the left of the Hall of Fame. There was plenty of stuff to explore in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, from the history of rock and roll, to the various parts of the world with different types of rock (including Liverpool, Memphis, New York, and many others). In the first floor, the theater was showing a documentary about “American Bandstand”, which I saw only a few seconds of before moving on to the next part of the exhibit. There was a room where one half was focused on The Beatles and the other half was focused on The Rolling Stones. Another section of the first floor was focused on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which included a few jackets and a walk-through of the “hall of mirrors/lights” from the most recent Super Bowl halftime show (performed by The Weeknd).
The second floor of the Hall of Fame was an area where people would practice their guitar, piano, and drum-playing skills while being helped by a backing track. Later on, I saw a group of people playing (and singing) to “Hotel California” by Eagles. Moving on to the third floor, there was a 20-minute show called “The Power of Rock”. The show was basically a compilation of performances by various artists during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. It was a fun show that made you feel like you were in a rock concert with strobe lights and very powerful speakers. Going up the exit ramp, there were quotes that were talking about various artists, including Queen, The Beatles, and many more. There was a massive statue/display that focused Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, which was cool-looking. The entirety of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had plenty of displays of guitars, drum sets, outfits of various artists, and even written lyrics of some iconic songs, including “Enter Sandman” by Metallica and “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys. At the end of the experience was an area where you can see every single inductee from 1986 all the way to present day.
Overall, my family and I had a great time spending a couple of hours in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was glad that there was plenty of Beatles stuff there, including plenty of Beatles-related items at the gift shop. What irked me a bit was the lack of Queen stuff in the Hall of Fame. My guess is that the lack of Queen in there was maybe due to some controversy with Freddie Mercury’s estate not allowing many artifacts from Queen’s history in Cleveland. Despite this, it was cool to see many artifacts and learn about the history of Rock and Roll in the Hall of Fame. If you’re visiting Cleveland, then I highly recommend visiting this place for at least 2-3 hours.
(Below are some of the photos from Cleveland, including the stamp, the Browns stadium, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)
(What I like here with these two photos is that you can see the signatures from each member of the bands.)
After my family and I exited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we made our way back to the parking garage where the rental car was. After we got to our rental car, we made our way to Cedar Point, which is only about an hour away from Cleveland in a town called Sandusky, Ohio. I got a little teary-eyed as we got closer and closer to the park while driving down the causeway. It was a great feeling being back at Cedar Point after a 15-year absence. The first thing that needed to be done was to check in to Hotel Breakers, which is the park’s oldest hotel (it opened in 1905). I was amazed with the changes made to the hotel, which were done in 2015. After check-in, we got into our room and were able to put our stuff in it. After that, my family let me go by myself. I had to go all the way to the front of the park to Guest Services in order to get my Gold Pass (which I bought for all five of us). It took only a couple of minutes for me to get my Gold Pass.
(Sorry about that little photobomb by me.)
(Great view from my room, I have to say.)
After I got my pass, I was on my way to start my trip proper at around 3:30 in the afternoon. The first coaster that I rode was Raptor, which opened in 1994 as the tallest, fastest, and longest inverted coaster in the world. Raptor was built by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M), which is still a well-known roller coaster manufacturer to this day. I had some fun on this coaster on my 2 rides in 2006, so I was hoping that it would hold up well in 2021. My first ride on Raptor this time was not too rough, even though I was on the right edge seat in the front row. The next coaster that I went on was another B&M creation: a wing-coaster named GateKeeper. This coaster was built in 2013 and was part of a major revamp of the park’s front gate and also opened up the views to the water (which were blocked for 22 years by Disaster Transport, a bobsled coaster in the dark that was opened in 1990 as a retheme of Avalanche Run). The signature element of GateKeeper is a twisting inversion through two keyholes that the winged trains go through. This coaster was a lot of fun for me, especially when going down the twisting first drop in the front row on the right side. After GateKeeper was Wicked Twister, a double-twisting impulse coaster built by Intamin in 2002 that rises 215 feet above the Lake Erie beach. This coaster is a fun one, especially when twisting up the forwards and backwards spikes at various speeds. After I got off of Wicked Twister, I was thinking of going to Valravn next, but it was down for the time being (more on that ride later). Therefore, my next ride was the world’s first giga-coaster: Millennium Force. This coaster was built in 2000 by Intamin and was the first full-circuit roller coaster in the world to top 300 feet in height. I went on this coaster only twice in 2006, so I was looking forward to riding it even more on this trip. After waiting about 30-35 minutes in the queue, I went for a back-seat ride, which was an awesome experience. Being pulled down the 300-foot drop at an 80-degree angle was an incredible feeling. After I got off Millennium Force (plus buying the back-row picture), I got back in line and went for a front-row ride. I did have to wait a bit more for the front, but the views up front are worth it for me. What was cool was that I rode the front seat of Millennium Force with a guy who had over 19,000 rides on it, a record that I won’t ever reach. Sorry about not knowing the guy’s name, but I got to give him props for that many rides on Millennium Force.
(That's the cable lift system for Millennium Force. It was the first of its kind ever.)
After 2 rides on Millennium Force, it was time for the next coaster. Heading up to the Frontier Town section of the park, I saw a coaster named Maverick in the distance. Maverick is a Blitz coaster built by Intamin that opened in 2007, the year after my first trip. A little fun fact before I continue: as my family and I left for Cleveland, we saw track pieces that ended up being used for Maverick. This coaster took the place of the former White Water Landing log flume ride that operated from 1982-2005. In fact, the main queue building for Maverick was the loading platform for the log flume. There is still a piece of the log flume as part of the queue, which I appreciate as a part of park history. After about an hour wait in the queue, I got a front seat ride on Maverick. I ended up enjoying the heck out of this coaster, from the twists and turns to the 70-mph launch tunnel to the Stengel dives. After I got off of Maverick, it was time to get on Steel Vengeance. For anybody that doesn’t know, Steel Vengeance is a steel hybrid revamp of an old wooden coaster called Mean Streak, which I rode back in 2006. The Dinn Corporation woodie was rough on all of my three rides on it. Mean Streak closed in 2016 to allow for the people at Rocky Mountain Construction to turn it to a steel hybrid while using as much of the existing wooden structure as possible. I waited about 35-40 minutes for Steel Vengeance, which also included putting my stuff in a free locker. This coaster is the only one at Cedar Point where any loose articles are not allowed on the ride. I was not even able to have my waist pack on the ride, which I did for every other coaster and ride at the park. I completely understand why this policy is in place at Steel Vengeance (for safety reasons). I was lucky to ask for a front row ride on this coaster. I need to give kudos to Al, who worked on the ride, for giving me a shoutout after my “Yeehaw” yell. Steel Vengeance was an awesome roller coaster from start to finish. It has the most airtime out of any coaster that I have ridden in my life. There were even a couple of airtime moments before the 205-foot lift hill. Some of the wildest airtime moments were right before the mid-course brake run and the final bunny hops before the final brake run. The inversions were awesome as well, especially the 2 corkscrews while inside the coaster’s structure. After getting my stuff back from the locker, I bought the front row picture in keychain form.
After the picture and a quick bite to eat, it was time for me to get on the world’s first hyper-coaster: Magnum XL-200. Built by Arrow Dynamics and opened in 1989, this coaster was the first to break the 200 foot mark for a full-circuit coaster. To the right of the entrance is a coaster landmark sign that was given to the park by a group called American Coaster Enthusiasts (or ACE for short). Throughout the queue, there were numerous signs that showcased early advertisements for the coaster as well as the different ride logos for Magnum. Going up the 205-foot lift hill with the classic Arrow chain sound brought me back some nostalgia from seeing the POV videos as well as my first 11 rides in 2006. The coaster has some great views of Lake Erie and some moments of laugh-out-loud airtime. Those final bunny hops can be painful, but they were fun regardless. After 2 rides in the front row on Magnum XL-200, there was enough time for me to find one more ride to end the night. At around 9:35 in the evening, I got in line for the park’s B&M Dive coaster Valravn. Built in 2016, this coaster broke 10 world records, including world’s tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster. While in line, I struck up a conversation about roller coasters with a couple of people. In particular, there was a lady named Jazz that complimented me about my coaster smarts while waiting for Valravn. I ended up riding with her and 3 other people in the back row (I tried to ask for the front, but it was past closing time and the operators wanted to get everyone on the ride ASAP). I have had experience with a dive coaster in the past with Sheikra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, so I know the feeling of Valravn’s first drop. No matter what row you’re in, Valravn provides fantastic views of the park and of Lake Erie from the very top. A bonus was that the fireworks were going off as the train was going up the 223-foot lift hill. After Valravn, it was time for me to get back to my hotel, get my package pickups, and get ready for bed (after a shower, of course). Overall, I had a very productive 6 and a half hours at the park. The trip just started, but I already knocked out most of Cedar Point’s headlining coasters.
After some sleep, I woke up a little before 6 AM on Monday August 2. The first thing that I did after exiting the room was getting the early entry passes for all five of us. These passes were necessary to enter the park through the alternate gates at 9 AM. After bringing the passes to the room, I went off on my own for the day. After getting cereal and apple juice from the gift shop for breakfast, I walked around the path surrounding the hotel and leading up to the Lighthouse Point cabins. This path gave me some good views of Magnum XL-200’s pretzel turnaround. The gate that I went through on Monday (plus Tuesday and Wednesday) was right under Magnum. This particular park entrance is the fastest way to get to the back of the park, where Maverick and Steel Vengeance are. I did my research beforehand on the rides that are open during the Early Entry period from 9-10 AM. With Steel Vengeance not open for Early Entry on weekdays, I went for Maverick after the gates opened. Unfortunately, Maverick was down so I went to Millennium Force instead (not a bad compromise, IMO). After a front row ride on Millennium Force, I went for Valravn and got a front row ride on that.
(The photo gallery was named in honor of Philip Bender, who helped renovate Hotel Breakers.)
(Kinda stunk that Maverick was not ready, but what can you do?)
With the time being close to 10:00, I made my way to Steel Vengeance for its opening. The bad part is that a lot of people got there before me. I am not kidding when I talk about this next part: the queue for Steel Vengeance started all the way at the entrance of a haunt that is used during the park’s Halloweekends event. It took about 20-30 minutes to get past that part of the line and an additional hour in the normal queue. By the time I got on, it was already 11:30 in the morning. Thankfully, the ride did not have a delay during the wait. When I exited, the wait time went up to 2 and a half hours. After that was done, I went for a quick ride on Cedar Creek Mine Ride, which is an Arrow mine train coaster that was built in 1969. I thought that it held up well with only a couple of rough parts. With it having no Fast Lane line, I was on it in less than 20 minutes. After Mine Ride was done, I went on Skyhawk, which is an S&S swing ride that is a really fun experience. After I went on Skyhawk, I saw my family for a few minutes before I went off to my next ride. Just to get the credit, I went on Woodstock Express, a Vekoma junior coaster that was built in 1999 (named after the little yellow bird in the Peanuts comics and shorts. One thing that I can give it credit for is the train has a bell that goes back and forth while the train goes through the track.
After that, I went to Top Thrill Dragster. This coaster opened as the world’s tallest and fastest coaster in 2003 with a height of 420 feet and a top speed of 120 mph (which is achieved via a hydraulic launch system in less than 4 seconds). Truth be told, I was intimidated when I first saw Dragster in person 15 years ago. Any fear was gone after I went on it. One of my favorite parts of Dragster is the theming. To be specific, I am talking about the engine sounds that lead up to the launch. When it’s time for the launch, the lights on the strip and on the top hat quickly turn from yellow to green and the train is launched up the 420-foot tall top hat. After about a 40-45 minute wait (plus some luck being a single rider), I was able to get a front-row ride on Dragster. I have to admit that it’s a crazy feeling being launched at 120 mph in the front seat. After Dragster was done, I took a little break with some ice cream and a trip on the Skyride (not at the same time, though). Once I got off the Skyride, I went to Raptor for another front-row ride. With my second ride on Raptor out of the way, I headed to the park’s oldest coaster: a Philadelphia Toboggan Company creation called Blue Streak. For this one, I was assigned to the front row of the last car. It might have been because I was in the back of the train, but it was rougher than I remembered. I do give the maintenance team at Cedar Point credit for keeping Blue Streak good enough to ride. In hindsight, I should have asked for the front on that one. After Blue Streak was done, I went to the arcade in the Coliseum building for some game time. There was bowling, Skee-Ball, and basketball among many other games in the arcade. I also liked that there was a big model of Steel Vengeance in the arcade area.
After the arcade, I went for another ride on Wicked Twister. For this ride on WT, I opted for a back-row ride. I have to say that it was very unique twisting up the backwards spike in the back row. After that back-row ride was done, I went for the back row on the left side of GateKeeper. Being pulled down that inverting drop was an awesome feeling on the left side back row of that wing coaster. The next ride that I went on was a horse racing carousel named Cedar Downs Racing Derby, which has been around for many years at Cedar Point. What was cool about this ride was that the horses went back and forth switching leads like I was in a horse race. In fact, the audio that was playing throughout the ride made me feel like I was racing for first place at the Belmont Stakes. I don’t think I won, but at least I did not lose to a horse with nobody on it.
(This is Dave The Robot from Disaster Transport. Glad that Cedar Point brought him back to life in the Gatekeeper gift shop.)
The next ride after Cedar Downs was Rougarou, which started its life as a stand-up coaster by B&M called Mantis. Back in 2006, Mantis was not kind to my privates at all (especially at night in the back row). In 2014, Mantis closed and was reopened the next year with a new paint job, floorless trains, and a new name: Rougarou. I went on this one because I was curious at how different the ride experience was with no stand-up trains. The good news: my privates were ok after the ride. The bad news: Rougarou is a massive head-banger of a coaster. This was one of those coasters where it was one-and-done for me (also including Blue Streak). After Rougarou, I did some walking around and gave myself a little break from riding. During my walk around the back of the park, I saw Al from Steel Vengeance and talked with her. As I was talking to her, I told her about Steel Vengeance having the wildest airtime on any coaster that I have ridden. I also told her that Cedar Point is my favorite place and she told me that she was thankful to have people like me. I gave her a side hug and then went on my way to the next ride (after some Dippin’ Dots). That next ride was a racing steel coaster named Gemini, which was an Arrow Dynamics creation that opened in 1978. There was no line for this one, so I went on both the red and blue sides in the front row. The racing element of Gemini is very fun in that any train can win depending on the weight distribution. I was able to get some high-fives from the other train on both of my rides during the turnarounds. I won on the red train, but lost on the blue train. After Gemini, I made my way for another ride on Magnum XL-200 (which was also designed by the legendary Ronald Toomer). Once I was done with Magnum, there was time left for at least one more ride before closing time. With that in mind, I went to Millennium Force in the hopes for a front row night ride. After some waiting, I got up to the loading platform and was informed by the ride attendant to pick a different row. I opted for the back row after he said that to everyone in the station (which looks awesome at night with the red ceiling light lining up with the trains). After I got off and got the ride photo, there was just enough time for me to do another back row ride on Millennium Force. I had to put the photo inside my shirt, which ended up working as it did not fly off. With back-to-back rides on Force done, I bought a couple of pendants for Force and Vengeance from the Pagoda Gift Shop. I then went back for the hotel’s gift shop looking to claim my package pickups. I was expecting 3, but there was one that was not brought to the hotel. Luckily, the situation was figured out and the package was there the following morning.
(The parade floats looked great. I did not see the parade at all because I was busy riding coasters.)
Speaking of that morning, I woke up at around the same time that I did the previous day. It was agreed on Monday that my mom would join me for the day on August 3rd. I told her to meet me at the gate under Magnum before 8 AM. Once that happened, we waited for rope drop. A great aspect of going to these parks is a chance to meet plenty of nice people, including a family of 4 who visited from Boston. Every time I talked with them, we had some good conversations about coasters, theme parks, and music, among other things. Once again, I went for Maverick after rope drop. This time, the ride was ready for Early Entry and we were able to get on quick after the PA played the U.S. National Anthem, which is a great start to the park day. After the front-row ride on Maverick, we made our way to Millennium Force for our second ride of the day. Seeing that the front-row line was filled up, this ride was another one for me on Force in the back row. With Force out of the way, it was time for me and my mom to go on Valravn. One thing that I give the crew at Valravn credit for on this ride was how fast the operations were. We were not able to get a front row seat, but the drop was still fun while in row 2. Speaking of row 2, I call that particular row the “Silver Medal” seat. I call it this because of the feeling that I am not good enough for the actual front seat of a coaster. Due to this, I try to avoid going to this row on any coaster (aside from being assigned to it in a single-rider line).
Anyways, back to the normal programming. After Valravn, we made our way to Gatekeeper for a quick ride on the front row (right side). One nod to past attractions that I appreciated was in the gift shop for GateKeeper. The robot named Dave from Disaster Transport was revived for the park’s 150th anniversary (which was last year, but they delayed it due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and now talks to guests exiting GateKeeper. We then made our way to the shot side of Power Tower, which was built in 1998 by S&S. On this ride, we got a great view of Hotel Breakers and Lake Erie. Next up was Top Thrill Dragster, which we rode in the very back seat. There was no different feeling with the launch, but we were pulled down the top hat at a good speed. Magnum XL-200 was the next ride after Dragster, and it did not disappoint with the airtime. We took a lunch break at a place called BackBeatQue, which is a BBQ quick service eatery that took the place of the former Witches’ Wheel flat ride. I had the half-roasted chicken with potato wedges and a corn muffin while my mom had their Mac and Cheese. After lunch, we went for the park’s newest attraction: Snake River Expedition. The theming in the queue is well-done and the attraction was a cool experience. It involves live actors, animatronics, and a boat ride through the river that provides great views of the park. Overall, it was a bit cheesy, but it’s a great addition that families can enjoy.
After our expedition, we then made our way to the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad. We figured that we would do a full cycle, getting a great tour of the park’s north end. The railroad tour includes a trip through an animatronic Boneville area with actual gun sounds and fire effects. In addition to the Boneville area, the railroad provides some unique views of the park, including Millennium Force’s cable life motor, and most of Maverick. After the railroad, we went for a ride on Skyhawk, which was still an awesome swing ride. Following Skyhawk was a trip on the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Once we got off Mine Ride, we walked for a bit before going on the red side of Gemini. Once again, I was able to get a couple of high-fives from people on the blue train. Weirdly, we were on the losing side with the blue train winning the race. After some walking around, we made our way to Windseeker, which is an enhanced version of a wave swinger ride that takes you over 300 feet in the air. It was fun going up that high and getting a great view of the park and of Lake Erie. After Windseeker and a front row ride on Wicked Twister, we made our way back to the hotel. My sister made a 7 PM reservation at one of the hotel’s eateries: Tomo Hibachi. What I really like about places like this is the fact that the chef cooks our food right in front of us.
After that satisfying dinner, my mom and I made our back to the park with one goal in mind: a night ride on Steel Vengeance. Seeing that it was down, we went into the queue for Maverick, which was about an hour long. During the wait, we saw a couple of people with basketballs cut through the line. At first, I thought that they were going to get away with it. However, they did get caught by security (Cedar Point has their own Police Department) and were escorted out of the line and the park. Also during the wait, I saw that Steel Vengeance was testing. After we got off of Maverick, we went immediately for Steel Vengeance. I thought that I was going to get away with just using the small (and free) locker in the queue. However, one of the guys up front told me that my fanny pack was too big for those lockers. Therefore, I had to put everything that we had in the lockers outside of the entrance. It was only $2, but it was still a shame that I could not get some great night shots with my phone. The wait ended up being about 30-40 minutes for our ride. I tried to ask for the front, but I was denied because of it being past closing time. Even in row 4, the airtime was still awesome on Steel Vengeance at night. After the ride, we got the stuff out of the locker and made our way back to the hotel. It was a great day with my mom and I was glad that I spent it with her.
Wednesday August 4 was my last day at Cedar Point before the flight back home. I decided beforehand that this was going to be my all-in day. This meant that my goal was to purchase Fast Lane Plus and get on as many rides as possible before closing time. Once again, I waited for rope drop at the gate under Magnum XL-200. Once the gate opened, I made a jog/sprint to be first in line for Maverick. I managed to make it by a good distance. After the national anthem played, everyone was let in and I got on the first train of the day in the front row. A bonus was that the family from Boston was right behind me and rode with me. After Maverick, I went through the Frontier Trail to Millennium Force. I did wait a bit longer for the front row on Force, but the wait was (and is always) worth it. After Force, I went to one of the shops to buy my Fast Lane Plus wristband. On this particular day, it was $159, but the price always varies depending on the day that it is bought. My first ride with the Fast Lane band was Corkscrew, which was a bad use of the pass in hindsight because of no people in the normal queue. It was also a bad choice because the ride itself bumped me around a lot, especially in my head and neck. The roughness started after the first drop and did not end until the ride was over. I do give Cedar Point credit for renovating the look of the trains, but the 1976 ride showed its age and then some. This was a coaster that I probably won’t ever ride again, but will take pictures of because of the way it looks like on the Midway. After Corkscrew was Top Thrill Dragster, which I was able to get on 3 times in a row in less than an hour thanks to Fast Lane Plus. The first 2 times that I did it, it was basically a walk on to the train. On the third ride, I waited a little bit for the front row. The wait was worth it, even with the launch making my face weird. Granted, everyone’s faces look weird after being launched at 120 mph in less than 4 seconds.
After those rides on Dragster, I went for a quick ride on the drop side of Power Tower. This side of the ride brings people to the top of the tower and keeps them up there for a couple of seconds. There was plenty of airtime on that initial drop down the tower. Once Power Tower was done, I made my way to the Fast Lane line for Magnum XL-200, which is near the ride’s exit. A few minutes later, I got yet another front row ride on the world’s first hyper coaster. After Magnum, I decided to take a ride on Pipe Scream, which I kinda don’t consider a roller coaster. Whether it’s a coaster or not, it was a fun ride that makes riders feel like they are on a huge skateboard doing a half-pipe (with an extra hill for good measure). Once Pipe Scream was out of the way, I made my way to the Frontier Town section of the park. During this, I checked the app to see if certain rides are running. With Steel Vengeance down at this point (it was down for half the day on Wednesday), I made my way to Maverick’s Fast Lane queue. I started waiting in the queue when I saw that it was down. Seeing that realization, I decided to exit the queue and make my way to Millennium Force. Luckily, Force was running and I was able to get a back row ride on it after about a 15-20 minute wait with Fast Lane. After I got off of Millennium Force, I made my way to Valravn, which I waited for about 20 minutes with Fast Lane. I was lucky with asking for the front row on Valravn.
With Valravn out of the way, I made my way to Raptor’s Fast Lane queue. Raptor was down for a few minutes, but the ride was back up and running. After about a 15-20 wait, I got on the front row of Raptor, adding that one to the list of coasters ridden with Fast Lane. I then walked across the park to Gatekeeper for another ride on the B&M Wing-rider. I opted for a front row ride on the left side, which pulls me up the wing-over drop. Wicked Twister was the next coaster that I went on after I got off of Gatekeeper. The amount of time that I waited for WT was not too big of a difference with Fast Lane, but I took advantage of the wristband anyway. Once I was off of Wicked Twister, I took a late lunch break at Hugo’s Italian Kitchen. This eatery was formerly the Midway Market buffet when I first visited Cedar Point 15 years ago. I thought that Hugo’s was a good replacement for Midway Market. As the name implies, the place offers pizza, pasta, calzones, and strombolis. I had the personal pepperoni pizza with a side of cheesy bread (plus Sprite with the Ride and Refresh band). It was a meal that kept me good until closing time.
After that late lunch break, it was time for another spin on the Skyride. I have to give Cedar Point credit for still operating their Skyride ever since it opened in 1962. Only a few parks have a Von Roll sky ride, including Cedar Point and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I have a lot of hope that the sky ride will not go extinct. After the Skyride, I made my way to Iron Dragon, a suspended coaster built by Arrow Dynamics that opened in 1987. Like the Von Roll sky rides, there are only a few Arrow suspended coasters left in operation, including Iron Dragon. What I like about this type of coaster is the fact that the cars swing back and forth as the ride goes on. Iron Dragon’s signature element is a helix over the water near Corkscrew. Even though I did not get a front seat ride on this one, there was plenty of swinging during the ride’s finale. After that swing on Iron Dragon, it was time for me to get another ride on Millennium Force. With this one, I decided to wait extra for the front row. As I was going up the cable lift (the first of its kind ever), I saw that Steel Vengeance was testing. After that fun ride on Force, I made my way through the Frontier Trail to Frontier Town for a second try on Maverick. Luckily, the ride stayed open when I was in the Fast Lane queue, though it took me about 25-30 minutes to get on Maverick.
Once I got off of Maverick, I went straight for Steel Vengeance in the hope for a short wait. Unfortunately, that was not the case as I waited more than an hour in the Fast Lane queue. According to team members, the longer wait was because Steel Vengeance was running with only 2 trains after one of them needed repair. I was determined to wait it out, although I was getting tired after a bit. Once I got on the ride, I was relieved that I was done with the line. After the ride (plus getting my waist pack from the locker), I made my way back towards Gemini and Magnum. With Gemini down for the time being, I went on one last ride on Magnum XL-200. After Magnum, I made my way back to Top Thrill Dragster for one more ride on that coaster. I opted for a back seat ride on Dragster, which was a good time with the launch and the drop down the top hat. By this time, it was a little over an hour before closing time. With this in mind, I went to Millennium Force, where I would end the night in a memorable way. On the first of 2 rides to end the night, I opted to wait for the front seat. I knew beforehand from other people that I would act as a human windshield, catching all of the little bugs with my face, arms, and shirt. I would not be alone as I rode with a team member who worked Millennium Force earlier in the day. After that bug-filled ride, I got right back in the Fast Lane queue for one last ride. During the wait, the ride was down for maintenance reasons. Thankfully, the delay was not too long and I was able to get one last back row ride on Millennium Force at night. That was a great way to end my second trip to Cedar Point. The next morning, my family and I made our way to Cleveland for our flight back home.
(Wonderful tribute by the American Coaster Enthusiasts to the late Ronald Toomer, who designed a few coasters for Cedar Point with Arrow Dynamics.)
(Last ride of the trip. What a way to end it.)
Overall, I had a really awesome time at Cedar Point over the course of 4 days. There was no rain at all when we were at the park. That meant that the only times the rides were down were either for repair or wind reasons. One ride that I was not able to ride was Maxair, a spinning pendulum swing ride that I enjoyed the heck out of in my first trip. It was not that big of a loss as I went on a lot of the major attractions, including all of the coasters at least once (minus Wilderness Run, originally named Jr. Gemini). A couple of coasters that I won’t ride again are Rougarou and Corkscrew mainly because of the roughness of them. I will miss Wicked Twister, which I got 4 rides on (twice in the front, twice in the back). Right after we got back home, Cedar Point announced that on Labor Day (September 6, 2021), Wicked Twister would close forever. My guess is that Wicked Twister will be moved to another park in the Cedar Fair chain (most likely Michigan’s Adventure or California’s Great America).
I do have to say that I have a new favorite coaster at Cedar Point. Back in 2006, it was Magnum XL-200, which I rode 11 times that year. This time around, that honor goes to Steel Vengeance, with Millennium Force being a close second and Maverick being a close third. Magnum will always have a special place in my heart as the coaster that got me obsessed with going to Cedar Point in the first place. I will also appreciate Top Thrill Dragster for the 0-120 mph launch and the trip up and down the top hat. Comparing the two strata-coasters that I have ridden, I give the slight nod to Top Thrill Dragster over Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. The reason being is because I like the anticipation of the launch with the engine sounds on Dragster. The two new B&M coasters added since my last trip, Gatekeeper and Valravn, were a lot of fun to ride. I still give credit to Cedar Point for keeping Blue Streak up and running. Maybe next time I’ll ask for the front seat to get a smoother ride than the back car. Some of the coasters were a little rougher than previously, but I still enjoyed them to a degree.
I also have to say that Hotel Breakers is my favorite on-site hotel at a theme/amusement park. There are a few reasons for this: the close proximity to Cedar Point, Early Entry, great views of the coasters, friendly staff, and plenty of options for food and drink. I highly recommend this hotel to anybody who is planning a trip to Cedar Point. Back in my first trip, I enjoyed the outdoor pool area that also gives great views of the park and of Lake Erie. This time around, I was not able to do the pool area (or any water rides) due to dealing with a wound. Tomo Hibachi was a great place to eat on Tuesday night. It is a popular place, so it’s best to make a reservation beforehand. The people at the gift shop were very helpful, especially when there was a screw-up with package pickup.
Speaking of friendly staff, I thought that the people who worked at the park were very helpful in answering any questions that I had, even though it was tough for me to hear them at times. Operations at the rides was extremely efficient, especially on the coasters. Valravn, in particular, had very fast operations on my 4 rides. I have to give the ride operators and attendants credit for being consistent and helpful. The team that I thought had the most fun with their job was the crew for Millennium Force, especially at nighttime. There was an extra sense of energy among that crew and the riders in the loading station that I loved. The strictest ones I saw were on Steel Vengeance, specifically when talking about the loose article policy. With this, it’s a good idea to do some research beforehand and be ready to put your stuff in the locker. I knew beforehand that there was a metal detector in the queue for Vengeance from videos and articles. Therefore, I understood what the attendants there have to deal with everyday with regards to that.
What was also special about this trip was that Cedar Point was celebrating their 150th Anniversary. It was supposed to be in 2020, but the pandemic delayed everything. The park had a new parade and nighttime spectacular, which I did not see because I was too busy riding coasters. In addition to the nighttime stuff, they had some special merchandise for sale. One of those items was a very large book called “Rolling Through the Years” authored by Ken Miller. The book had lots of pictures that tell the history of Cedar Point, which opened way back in 1870. I ended up not buying that book, but I did buy a memoir called “Always Cedar Point” by John Hildebrandt, who worked for the park for 40 years. Snake Rover Expedition was the new ride that opened along with the 150th anniversary celebration. It was a bit cheesy, but I thought that it was a great addition for families to enjoy. I hope that this ride sticks around for a while at Cedar Point.
A quick thought on Cedar Point's Fast Lane Plus: It's worth it if people are coaster lovers and want to get on as many rides as possible. A problem though is that Cedar Point has a tendency to sell too many of these passes. This can result in some of the Fast Lane queues, particularly Maverick and Steel Vengeance, to be a bit of a wait. For example, I waited about 25-30 minutes for Maverick and over an hour for Steel Vengeance (about 80 minutes). Like I said earlier, Vengeance was only running 2 trains, resulting in that long wait. If you want my advice, I would say get it if you're only at Cedar Point for 1-2 days. For a 3-day (or more) trip, it might not be wise to do it for every day.
What I recommend highly for add-ons to your ticket is the FunPix option. This add-on gives you the option to scan all of your on-ride photos to your ticket. All you have to do to do this is to buy it and give the attendant your e-mail address. Once the account is set up, you can see the photos from your day or (in my case) the season if you buy the all-season pass.
No matter how many amusement/theme parks I visit in my lifetime, Cedar Point will always be my #1 favorite. 365 acres of fun for all ages, including the best roller coaster collection on Earth (in my opinion). Those coasters include many firsts in the roller coaster industry. The original hyper-coaster: Magnum XL-200. The original giga-coaster: Millennium Force. The original strata-coaster: Top Thrill Dragster. The world’s first hyper-hybrid coaster: Steel Vengeance. In addition to them, Maverick is an awesome Intamin Blitz coaster that packs quite a punch despite its small size. The coasters by B&M (minus Rougarou) were plenty of fun as well. To all of the people I interacted with, including Al from Steel Vengeance and the family from Boston, you helped me make this trip one to remember for a long time. Thank you to my father for getting this trip planned in the first place. He got the plane, hotel and rental car while I paid for the Gold Passes. Thank you to my mother for enjoying a full day with me on Tuesday the 3rd. Hopefully it’s not another 15 years before I visit Cedar Point again. Stay tuned for future posts regarding reviews of specific coasters. Have a wonderful day, everyone.
To conclude this post, I will share with you my ride count on the various roller coasters at Cedar Point (in no particular order):
Magnum XL-200, Top Thrill Dragster: 6
Maverick: 5
Millennium Force: 11
Steel Vengeance, Valravn, Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister: 4
Cedar Creek Mine Ride: 2
Gemini Red: 2
Gemini Blue: 1
Raptor: 3
Rougarou, Corkscrew, Blue Streak, Woodstock Express: 1
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