FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
You're not alone - I too am a bit baffled by the love Phoenix gets. Twister is easily a superior ride in my book.
Canada&USA;LaR/SFNE/SFGE/Quassy/Compounce/Coney/Knoebels/Cedar Point/Waldameer/Niagara/CanWonderland
- Thread starter davidm
- Start date
Snoo
The Legend
Tis be the airtime homie. It differs person to person but without seatbelts, essentially standing up with the buzzbars.. you get sexy airtime. Of course, not everyone feels the same but more often then not, that is why people love the coaster if they do. Twister, on the other hand, just beats me to death while accomplishing.. not much? I feel G's here and there but no great or consistent airtime and the roughness turned me off long ago even after re-rides in subsequent seasons.
FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Airtime, schmairtime!
Seriously though, I think you've nailed it with the "it differs person to person" line. I personally didn't experience the awesome airtime claimed of Phoenix and Twister didn't beat me up. I've been on a hell of a lot rougher woodies of similar vintage.
Pear
Strata Poster
I didn't find Twister to be overly rough just kinda boring. The ride had some good lats but Phoenix's were much better IMO.
Phoenix really does become 10x better after rain as the ride goes so much faster than usual. We got on first thing right after a thunderstorm and the ride was hauling.
Phoenix really does become 10x better after rain as the ride goes so much faster than usual. We got on first thing right after a thunderstorm and the ride was hauling.
davidm
Strata Poster
Sunday 10th June
Today was a mixed bag. There was a LOT of driving, there was a LOT of rain, there was evil SPITE and there was also the best roller coaster
I have ever ridden.
Was a bit disheartened when I opened the hotel curtains to see lots of rain coming down - never mind I thought, I've got a big drive to come
perhaps I'll drive out of it. So after a ~3 hour drive I get to Conneaut Lake Park, and it has of course rained all the way there. Great.
The place is very odd - almost a carnival, very run down all over - the rides looked ok but the infrastructure (buildings, paths etc) were
all falling apart. There was a reasonable amount of staff around though, sitting around bored watching the rain.
I venture out into the rain and have a look at this
Which was the only real reason I was here.
Obviously not running, no operators around.
Wander over to the ticket booth (one thing this place is, is CHEAP ; $10 for an all-rides wristband) and ask the guy if they do run the woody
in the rain. Predictably "nope" is the answer and the rain isn't predicted to let up for a couple of hours he reckoned, so I buy a one-ride
ticket ($5) and ride the only other "coaster" here that I can
Devil's Den is allegedly a coaster anyway - was really a pretty ropey ghost train, but there seems to be some reason it's classed on RCDB
as a wooden wild mouse (of all things) - something to do with its layout and drive system being gravity powered. Anyway felt like a ropey ghost
train rather than a coaster anyway.
But hey it was indoor so away from the rain for a few minutes anyway.
I take a few pics and have a look at the other coaster that I knew I would be denied riding (it was kiddie coaster anyway).
Sit in my car for a few minutes then eating some lunch and then get the hell out of there.
Annoyingly about 30 minutes down the road the rain stops - I briefly consider doubling back for the woody, but **** it I have another long
drive ahead of me and I figure I'll be back in the area at some point in the future perhaps.
(It soon resumed raining though so I had made the right choice)
Another 3 hour drive through on and off rain (mostly on) and I stop at the outskirts of Sandusky (woo!) for some fast food - its still raining
of course but I head up to Cedar Point anyway as I'm in the hotel. Loads of cars leaving the park as I drive up
the peninsula road (very similar experience to last time I came here in fact).
But there she is, getting quite excited now despite the rain.
Takes far too long to check into the hotel (big Q at reception) but its still raining so no great loss.
View from room;
Been pinging DelPiero and Howie to see where they were at, and like me they were faffing between hotels and rainy parks, figure might as well
meet up inside the park so get a twilight ticket from reception (another Q of course, thankfully much quicker this time). Still raining but I
hide out in a shop until we work out where each other are and then meet up with the other British goons near Raptor/Valravn.
Rain was easing then though, so we hang around outside Valravn for a while and eventually they open it up - it did start raining a bit
again when we were in the station but only lightly and they didn't take it down so yay +1 on the second newest coaster here. It was OK, but
to be honest not my favourite ride type at all, good drop but then big slow elements and nothing very clever about most of it. But hey if its
popular and a crowd pleaser then thats fine by me!
Think we rode Millennium Force next as there was no Q and arranged to meet the incoming American-goons who had been hiding out from the
rain in their campsite hut thing.
After spending a week basically gooning away on my own, was a bit surreal to be suddenly at a park with people I knew (for real with the
Brit-goons and Taylor) or had known online for years (most of the yank-goons).
We spotted that the RMC was running though so we HAD TO go there.
Was a >90 minute Q, clearly the punters who hadn't left because of the rain were all in it.
Some good angles on the ride from the Q-line though helped to pass the time and it did look very very nice indeed.
Eventually we get there, to be fair the Q was moving continuously so wasn't frustrating, and good to chat to lotsofgoons of course to while
away the time.
So Steel Vengeance then; rode row 2 with Howie first up, there wasn't quite enough of us for a train take over. Couple of silly bumps
and then a big huge and NOISY lift hill gets us up to the top for the briefly vertical first drop - the little airtime hump after that doesn't
do too much but then you are into a big huge airtime hill and you are barely touching the seat all the way, immediately then another huge
airtime hill but this one off centre so not only are you flying over the hill but being thrown out sideways - crickey! Drops down and up into
a sublime zero-g roll that just does not stop when you think it should, no time to catch your breath as its immediately into another inversion
and drop down to ground level - double-up into the mid-course brake run (no brakes running today) and you think you might get a moment's
respite from it... but no, its just about to get even more ridiculous.
Honestly the first half of this ride delivers so much more than many other rides do in their entire circuit (RMCs included - looking at you
Lightning Rod) and its not even half done yet.
Drop off the MCBR has loads of air too, then another hill that throws you sideways and we are into the big wooden structure of the beast. I
lose track of what is going on now, there's another inversion deep inside the wood, loads of little air moments too - we pop out of the one
side of the structure briefly "outside" again before heading back in some more hills, the wave turn one is bonkers, not as big as the ones on
Wildfire/LightningRod but with added bump at its apex - bonkers. Swiftly followed by another inversion and a series of crazy ejector hills
to slam us into the brake run.
Absolutely ****ing fantastic ride.
Phew.
Think we all went on Maverick then, since it was nearby. I wasn't that impressed with it when I ride it a few years back, sure it was
good and all but nasty restraints hurt me and I didn't see what the "fuss" was about - however it has new softer restraints now and I did
very much like it this time. A grower (for me) then it seems!
DelPiero was on a mission to get Howie all the creds and was worried that the weather the next day might be windy and TTD might suffer, so
they made their way to that, the others wanted another go on Vengeance though and after a brief moment of confusion so did I - so back into
the big Q we went.
Slightly shorter (like 10 minutes shorter, still best part of an hour and a half) this time - added bonus was that it started raining again
while we were in line, so the threat of them shutting down for the night was very real. The tunnel though the structure offered some shelter
from the rain but you go back outside to get up the final steps up to the station and it was very much raining by then.
Done the front, so back it is this time.
Pic stolen off Antinos' facebook
Back of Steel Vengeance, in the dark (was nearly 11pm by then), in the rain (but honestly don't recall the rain on the ride at all) - just
sublime. Ejector in a few places at the back that you didn't get in the front (like the drop off the MCBR) but not such a pronounced
difference between back & front as on other RMCs (such as Texas Giant which was a snoozefest in the front compared to the back). Think we
all rather enjoyed that then!
We'd arranged to meat up back at the shack the yanks were staying in so headed back there for some beer and burgers, whoever's beer I was
drinking THANK YOU MUCHLY for that
DelPiero ate all the Cheetos
Antinos did a sterling job cooking burgers and the like in the rain - GOOD WORK MARC!
Not too raucous - we had coasters to ride early the next day after all.
So despite the rain, the tedious driving and the early woody-spite, a pretty darned good day in the end!
Today was a mixed bag. There was a LOT of driving, there was a LOT of rain, there was evil SPITE and there was also the best roller coaster
I have ever ridden.
Was a bit disheartened when I opened the hotel curtains to see lots of rain coming down - never mind I thought, I've got a big drive to come
perhaps I'll drive out of it. So after a ~3 hour drive I get to Conneaut Lake Park, and it has of course rained all the way there. Great.
The place is very odd - almost a carnival, very run down all over - the rides looked ok but the infrastructure (buildings, paths etc) were
all falling apart. There was a reasonable amount of staff around though, sitting around bored watching the rain.
I venture out into the rain and have a look at this
Which was the only real reason I was here.
Obviously not running, no operators around.
Wander over to the ticket booth (one thing this place is, is CHEAP ; $10 for an all-rides wristband) and ask the guy if they do run the woody
in the rain. Predictably "nope" is the answer and the rain isn't predicted to let up for a couple of hours he reckoned, so I buy a one-ride
ticket ($5) and ride the only other "coaster" here that I can
Devil's Den is allegedly a coaster anyway - was really a pretty ropey ghost train, but there seems to be some reason it's classed on RCDB
as a wooden wild mouse (of all things) - something to do with its layout and drive system being gravity powered. Anyway felt like a ropey ghost
train rather than a coaster anyway.
But hey it was indoor so away from the rain for a few minutes anyway.
I take a few pics and have a look at the other coaster that I knew I would be denied riding (it was kiddie coaster anyway).
Sit in my car for a few minutes then eating some lunch and then get the hell out of there.
Annoyingly about 30 minutes down the road the rain stops - I briefly consider doubling back for the woody, but **** it I have another long
drive ahead of me and I figure I'll be back in the area at some point in the future perhaps.
(It soon resumed raining though so I had made the right choice)
Another 3 hour drive through on and off rain (mostly on) and I stop at the outskirts of Sandusky (woo!) for some fast food - its still raining
of course but I head up to Cedar Point anyway as I'm in the hotel. Loads of cars leaving the park as I drive up
the peninsula road (very similar experience to last time I came here in fact).
But there she is, getting quite excited now despite the rain.
Takes far too long to check into the hotel (big Q at reception) but its still raining so no great loss.
View from room;
Been pinging DelPiero and Howie to see where they were at, and like me they were faffing between hotels and rainy parks, figure might as well
meet up inside the park so get a twilight ticket from reception (another Q of course, thankfully much quicker this time). Still raining but I
hide out in a shop until we work out where each other are and then meet up with the other British goons near Raptor/Valravn.
Rain was easing then though, so we hang around outside Valravn for a while and eventually they open it up - it did start raining a bit
again when we were in the station but only lightly and they didn't take it down so yay +1 on the second newest coaster here. It was OK, but
to be honest not my favourite ride type at all, good drop but then big slow elements and nothing very clever about most of it. But hey if its
popular and a crowd pleaser then thats fine by me!
Think we rode Millennium Force next as there was no Q and arranged to meet the incoming American-goons who had been hiding out from the
rain in their campsite hut thing.
After spending a week basically gooning away on my own, was a bit surreal to be suddenly at a park with people I knew (for real with the
Brit-goons and Taylor) or had known online for years (most of the yank-goons).
We spotted that the RMC was running though so we HAD TO go there.
Was a >90 minute Q, clearly the punters who hadn't left because of the rain were all in it.
Some good angles on the ride from the Q-line though helped to pass the time and it did look very very nice indeed.
Eventually we get there, to be fair the Q was moving continuously so wasn't frustrating, and good to chat to lotsofgoons of course to while
away the time.
So Steel Vengeance then; rode row 2 with Howie first up, there wasn't quite enough of us for a train take over. Couple of silly bumps
and then a big huge and NOISY lift hill gets us up to the top for the briefly vertical first drop - the little airtime hump after that doesn't
do too much but then you are into a big huge airtime hill and you are barely touching the seat all the way, immediately then another huge
airtime hill but this one off centre so not only are you flying over the hill but being thrown out sideways - crickey! Drops down and up into
a sublime zero-g roll that just does not stop when you think it should, no time to catch your breath as its immediately into another inversion
and drop down to ground level - double-up into the mid-course brake run (no brakes running today) and you think you might get a moment's
respite from it... but no, its just about to get even more ridiculous.
Honestly the first half of this ride delivers so much more than many other rides do in their entire circuit (RMCs included - looking at you
Lightning Rod) and its not even half done yet.
Drop off the MCBR has loads of air too, then another hill that throws you sideways and we are into the big wooden structure of the beast. I
lose track of what is going on now, there's another inversion deep inside the wood, loads of little air moments too - we pop out of the one
side of the structure briefly "outside" again before heading back in some more hills, the wave turn one is bonkers, not as big as the ones on
Wildfire/LightningRod but with added bump at its apex - bonkers. Swiftly followed by another inversion and a series of crazy ejector hills
to slam us into the brake run.
Absolutely ****ing fantastic ride.
Phew.
Think we all went on Maverick then, since it was nearby. I wasn't that impressed with it when I ride it a few years back, sure it was
good and all but nasty restraints hurt me and I didn't see what the "fuss" was about - however it has new softer restraints now and I did
very much like it this time. A grower (for me) then it seems!
DelPiero was on a mission to get Howie all the creds and was worried that the weather the next day might be windy and TTD might suffer, so
they made their way to that, the others wanted another go on Vengeance though and after a brief moment of confusion so did I - so back into
the big Q we went.
Slightly shorter (like 10 minutes shorter, still best part of an hour and a half) this time - added bonus was that it started raining again
while we were in line, so the threat of them shutting down for the night was very real. The tunnel though the structure offered some shelter
from the rain but you go back outside to get up the final steps up to the station and it was very much raining by then.
Done the front, so back it is this time.
Pic stolen off Antinos' facebook
Back of Steel Vengeance, in the dark (was nearly 11pm by then), in the rain (but honestly don't recall the rain on the ride at all) - just
sublime. Ejector in a few places at the back that you didn't get in the front (like the drop off the MCBR) but not such a pronounced
difference between back & front as on other RMCs (such as Texas Giant which was a snoozefest in the front compared to the back). Think we
all rather enjoyed that then!
We'd arranged to meat up back at the shack the yanks were staying in so headed back there for some beer and burgers, whoever's beer I was
drinking THANK YOU MUCHLY for that
DelPiero ate all the Cheetos
Antinos did a sterling job cooking burgers and the like in the rain - GOOD WORK MARC!
Not too raucous - we had coasters to ride early the next day after all.
So despite the rain, the tedious driving and the early woody-spite, a pretty darned good day in the end!
Last edited:
Pear
Strata Poster
Whether Conneaut Lake will still be there is another question
Youngster Joey
Strata Poster
I brought one of the Variety packs, I believe Antinos and/or Snoo brought the others. We had a ton of beer that night
Edward M
Strata Poster
Loving the trip report as well as my side glance on the beer pic. Steel Vengeance truly is a new standard.
"Watchu looking at mofo"
"Watchu looking at mofo"
FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Shame you missed out on Blue Streak. It's a lot more fun than Phoenix.
<ducks for cover>
<ducks for cover>
davidm
Strata Poster
Monday 11th June - US-LIVE DAY
Today was Hyper Hybrid Hangover: US Live at Cedar Point and as such I don't think I can do my usual walk thru
of the day - I didn't really take many pics and it was all a bit hectic trying to recall what we did and when and with whom, so this is going
to be a bit of a rambling mess I think?
Most of us met up at the Magnum gate for early opening and we rattled a few rides off during the first hour then ; Maverick, Millie, Gatekeeper
and the rest of the gang turned up (Tay and iac17 - CoasterHipster was meant to meet up with us too but that never happened). Howie needed
everything so we rode everything that day, various people sitting out of things that they didn't care for.
The 3 Brit-goons had FastLane+ for the day so for some stuff we just rode quickly or got a couple of rides in while our colonial cousins waited
in the pauper lines.
FL+ didn't always help ; one go we had on TTD we only saved about 5 minutes over the normal line (so could get some shots of goons waiting
for the front)
Snoo & Kevin getting blurred...
FL+ got us 3 or 4 goes on Maverick compared to the normal line though
And think it was 3 laps of Steel Vengeance in the afternoon - was till a fair wait for the FL+ line - while the normal Q was endured by the
others.
FL+ line was back this far;
But better than this;
Goons in the distance back there;
Liked this more and more each time I rode it ; fantastic thing that it is.
Weather was a bit overcast though, so pics aren't much good from the day anyway.
There was a "Beer & BBQ" event happening as well in the Frontierland area - this was pretty good ; you got a load of tickets (discounted for
resort guests, think it was $22+tax for me for 15 tix) and each ticket got you either a 1/3 of beer or a small-BBQ-food offering. So this
worked out well as we could eat enough for lunch, have a beer (or two) and have tickets left for snacks and food (and sneaky beers) later
in the day.
We also met up with an old-school CF-er who now works at the park and was running the beer/bbq event (CedarPoint6 I think was his username?)
- was cool to meet you anyway even if we didn't get any free beer tokens ;-) !
Look at that coasters and beer - what more do you want?
We started to break-up early evening as people had trips home of various degrees to manage
(pic stolen off Snoo - the last of the stragglers departed then)
Armed with the FL+ though, it got a bit serious then for us 3 Brits. We headed back to Steel Vengeance to ride it as much as we could. And we
did.
Initially the FL+ line was 20 minutes, then 15 minutes for the next ride, then 10 minutes, and then we were walking onto the thing or just
waiting a train ride - we picked up a random local goon who was on his own and doing the same thing as us by just cycling it and he rode
with us a few time to make up the numbers. I think we rode it 8 times in about an hour and a quarter until the Q closed to us ; was quite an awesome experience. The only down side of the thing is the STUPID BUGS that infest the place. There was a swarm of them on the lift hill,
thousands of dead bugs on all the lights around the structure and as it got darker and darker they started to swarm around the lights
in the station - ugggghhhhhh.
Howie did spot CoasterHipster in the Q at one point, so we briefly said hello on the stairs!
The Q shut at 10 and we were waiting for the next ride just before 10 so we waited for the front, DelPiero & I rode and Howie was on the next
train. We exited a bit after 10 and I thought we could see if we could charm the op running the Q to let us in one more time (as she was
obviously aware that we'd been cycling it for the last hour smiling each time we went back in) - and we got in as they seemed to close the
line a little bit after 10 in fact.
That last ride was obviously the best ride as Howie was far too slow and missed it - bonus ride
Awesome day then - loads of coasters, loads of laughs - and that last session on Steel Vengeance was just the best ever. Had to go and have
a very expensive beer (like $10) in the TGI Fridays to decompress a bit before I crashed for the night.
Today was Hyper Hybrid Hangover: US Live at Cedar Point and as such I don't think I can do my usual walk thru
of the day - I didn't really take many pics and it was all a bit hectic trying to recall what we did and when and with whom, so this is going
to be a bit of a rambling mess I think?
Most of us met up at the Magnum gate for early opening and we rattled a few rides off during the first hour then ; Maverick, Millie, Gatekeeper
and the rest of the gang turned up (Tay and iac17 - CoasterHipster was meant to meet up with us too but that never happened). Howie needed
everything so we rode everything that day, various people sitting out of things that they didn't care for.
The 3 Brit-goons had FastLane+ for the day so for some stuff we just rode quickly or got a couple of rides in while our colonial cousins waited
in the pauper lines.
FL+ didn't always help ; one go we had on TTD we only saved about 5 minutes over the normal line (so could get some shots of goons waiting
for the front)
Snoo & Kevin getting blurred...
FL+ got us 3 or 4 goes on Maverick compared to the normal line though
And think it was 3 laps of Steel Vengeance in the afternoon - was till a fair wait for the FL+ line - while the normal Q was endured by the
others.
FL+ line was back this far;
But better than this;
Goons in the distance back there;
Liked this more and more each time I rode it ; fantastic thing that it is.
Weather was a bit overcast though, so pics aren't much good from the day anyway.
There was a "Beer & BBQ" event happening as well in the Frontierland area - this was pretty good ; you got a load of tickets (discounted for
resort guests, think it was $22+tax for me for 15 tix) and each ticket got you either a 1/3 of beer or a small-BBQ-food offering. So this
worked out well as we could eat enough for lunch, have a beer (or two) and have tickets left for snacks and food (and sneaky beers) later
in the day.
We also met up with an old-school CF-er who now works at the park and was running the beer/bbq event (CedarPoint6 I think was his username?)
- was cool to meet you anyway even if we didn't get any free beer tokens ;-) !
Look at that coasters and beer - what more do you want?
We started to break-up early evening as people had trips home of various degrees to manage
(pic stolen off Snoo - the last of the stragglers departed then)
Armed with the FL+ though, it got a bit serious then for us 3 Brits. We headed back to Steel Vengeance to ride it as much as we could. And we
did.
Initially the FL+ line was 20 minutes, then 15 minutes for the next ride, then 10 minutes, and then we were walking onto the thing or just
waiting a train ride - we picked up a random local goon who was on his own and doing the same thing as us by just cycling it and he rode
with us a few time to make up the numbers. I think we rode it 8 times in about an hour and a quarter until the Q closed to us ; was quite an awesome experience. The only down side of the thing is the STUPID BUGS that infest the place. There was a swarm of them on the lift hill,
thousands of dead bugs on all the lights around the structure and as it got darker and darker they started to swarm around the lights
in the station - ugggghhhhhh.
Howie did spot CoasterHipster in the Q at one point, so we briefly said hello on the stairs!
The Q shut at 10 and we were waiting for the next ride just before 10 so we waited for the front, DelPiero & I rode and Howie was on the next
train. We exited a bit after 10 and I thought we could see if we could charm the op running the Q to let us in one more time (as she was
obviously aware that we'd been cycling it for the last hour smiling each time we went back in) - and we got in as they seemed to close the
line a little bit after 10 in fact.
That last ride was obviously the best ride as Howie was far too slow and missed it - bonus ride
Awesome day then - loads of coasters, loads of laughs - and that last session on Steel Vengeance was just the best ever. Had to go and have
a very expensive beer (like $10) in the TGI Fridays to decompress a bit before I crashed for the night.
Last edited:
rideguy70
Mega Poster
I just returned from my first trip to Lake Compounce about a week ago. Despite the speed and setting of Boulder Dash, I found the bottom of about 3 hills to be really, really jarring... so that kinda put a damper on it for me. You didn't feel those?
I like Phoenix, but it's been a very long time since I've been on it.
I did notice at Lake Compounce, they decorated the catch car for their Boomerang. When the staff saw us taking this pic, they told us it was named "Winston, the dog catch car" and was painted by their maintenance crew.
I like Phoenix, but it's been a very long time since I've been on it.
I did notice at Lake Compounce, they decorated the catch car for their Boomerang. When the staff saw us taking this pic, they told us it was named "Winston, the dog catch car" and was painted by their maintenance crew.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Finally caught up on this!
The Great Escape - it certainly looks like a beautiful park which is actually something I'm looking forward to seeing later this month. Shame about the rides though. Hopefully they get off their lazy asses and open the rides early when @Hixee, @Youngster Joey, and I are there.
Quassy - Wooden Warrior is such a quality ride...well worth the stop, especially when the park is so close to Lake Compounce.
Lake Compounce - it's a bummer that you had to deal with the heaving crowds but I'm glad to hear that Boulder Dash lives up to the hype.
Playland - It's on my list. Looks like quite a unique little park.
Coney Island - I did not realize how much they've added over the past few years. It actually looks like it'd be worth a quick run there if one is in the area.
Knoebels - I wholeheartedly agree regarding Flying Turns. It's a fun little ride, but it's so easy to develop a vast appreciation for the ride.
Conneaut - Looks like another park that I hope @Hixee, @Youngster Joey, and I can blow through quickly. At least it's a cheap little place.
Cedar Point - Your report has been a great way to reflect on how much fun that trip was. I'm glad we all got to meet and have both some cred running and also some downtime with some beer and food.
The Great Escape - it certainly looks like a beautiful park which is actually something I'm looking forward to seeing later this month. Shame about the rides though. Hopefully they get off their lazy asses and open the rides early when @Hixee, @Youngster Joey, and I are there.
Quassy - Wooden Warrior is such a quality ride...well worth the stop, especially when the park is so close to Lake Compounce.
Lake Compounce - it's a bummer that you had to deal with the heaving crowds but I'm glad to hear that Boulder Dash lives up to the hype.
Playland - It's on my list. Looks like quite a unique little park.
Coney Island - I did not realize how much they've added over the past few years. It actually looks like it'd be worth a quick run there if one is in the area.
Knoebels - I wholeheartedly agree regarding Flying Turns. It's a fun little ride, but it's so easy to develop a vast appreciation for the ride.
Conneaut - Looks like another park that I hope @Hixee, @Youngster Joey, and I can blow through quickly. At least it's a cheap little place.
Cedar Point - Your report has been a great way to reflect on how much fun that trip was. I'm glad we all got to meet and have both some cred running and also some downtime with some beer and food.
davidm
Strata Poster
Not especially, or at least I didn't obsess on them to any extent - don't get me wrong, the ride was far from glass-smooth, few places on the out-run up the mountain that were down-right violent depending where you were sat, and on the return run there was once nasty spot (where the track straightened up) that I learned to brace myself for. But not memorably at the bottom of any drops?
Also - good spot on the coaster-dog
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davidm
Strata Poster
Tuesday 12th June
So when I was planning this trip I'd only booked 2 days at Cedar Point, then when I was finalising where I needed to be when I realised that
nothing was open on the Tuesday in the direction I needed to be heading so I figured I'd just have another day at CP and wander around with
my (good) camera when I'd done the rides that I wanted to ride.
So that was today then. Most pictures are likely to be a lot better then today (took a few on my potato-like phone as well tho')- but I didn't
pick up the real camera until afternoon, so they'll likely be all out of sequence - deal with it.
I went for early entry again, but wasn't really rushing - we'd only ridden Gatekeeper once the previous day so I figured that needed a bit more
of an effort so rode that back and front and left and right for a while - s'nice I think. That and Thunderbird are the best B&M Wing coasters I
think, probably just prefer Gatekeeper though.
We had only ridden Raptor the once on Monday as well, so had another spin on that - great stuff that one too.
Millennium Force we'd ridden once on the Sunday and once yesterday, so I figured I needed a back row and front row ride on that. As I was
in line for the back row, spotted iac17 just getting onto the ride - so yelled at him and met up after I'd cycled round and we waited for the
front row together - that was fab, I'd not ridden the very front before (just row 2) so that was nice.
Another secret CF-er (NAPayne31) had made himself known on the site while we were there, but he was working today so I just snapped him looking bemused
at us while we were waiting for the front row.
iac17 still had a few creds to get due to missing out on a few rides on the Monday (prioritising Steel Vengeance I think was the cause) so we
rode Iron Dragon and Blue Streak - he wouldn't lower himself to the kiddie coasters though, so thats to his credit.
iac17 decided that he needed to get a FL+ in order to get the most out of Steel Vengeance that day (a wise choice in my view) so he left then
to do that.
I had another go on Valravn, had to Q a bit for it too I recall, but its a capacity monster so didn't take too long.
For some reason I thought that I might as well ride all the B&Ms today so I also took a spin on Rougarou as I was walking past. No Q,
no-one wants to ride it yet they are still running 3 trains - thats good (if slightly daft). Bit weird this then as I rode it a few times
as a stand-up and while that kinda "did" something, the floorless configuration kinda doesn't really - in that compared to other floorless
B&Ms which are a but fast and nippy, this sort of lumbers around a bit.
Right then, iac17 might be above the kiddie-creds, Howie might be above the kiddie-creds (despite DelPiero trying his best to get him to lower
himself the previous day), but it turns out I am not above getting the kiddie-creds, so I had a polite word at the town hall and they gave me
a token of shame...
and I got the Wilderness Run cred - twice in fact as the kiddies riding it wanted another go and it would have taken more time for me
to extract myself from the (front row - wooo!) restraints than it would have for them to just send it round again. (I had only not got this
before as I only found out about the goon-ticket's existence about a week after I last came back from CP ~5 years ago).
I sorted myself another Beer&BBQ experience for some lunch though - perfect option I reckon.
I was still so giddy with Steel Vengeance love that I even bought some tat from the tat shop - most unlike me to buy anything more than a mug
or a magnet dedicated to a ride; I've got a lot of park T-Shirts, but I've never bought a ride T-shirt let alone a hoody! </goon>
So that was that for the riding (well almost) - went back to the hotel and picked up the big camera - not something you want to take on
rides with you or leave on a station platform that. Spent a while just wandering around taking pics then, pausing for the odd beer c/o the BBQ
and having quite a relaxed afternoon. I'll dump in a load of random pics now then...
As I mentioned, weather wasn't great ; was still warm but very grey and cloudy most of the day - had to process most of these to get any
life in them
Stalking CP's PR chap here
Got another (got the same angle on my previous trip) lucky shot of Maverick from the train
Look no-one is riding Magnum either (park was a lot quieter on the Tuesday than the Monday, only Vengeance was holding a big Q that I saw)
Speaking of Vengeance, if you haven;t had enough pics of that thing over the last few posts, time to look away...
and some more processed ones I posted in the photo-thread too;
lastly a silly one;
After having some more BBQ and Beer I noticed some debate in the thread on here about its trims on the MCBR. So given I was standing right
near it and there did seem to be trimming happening and the line was only 3/4 hours I stuffed the camera-faff into a locker and went in
for one last night ride on this glorious thing.
Took a crappy phone-pic trying to illustrate the bug-infestation on the lights in the stricture. Didn't really work.
Line was 3/4 hour and I waited for the back. There was bit of braking happening on the MCBR that wasn't there the previous 2 days ; it barely
grabbed the train though, what it did do though was kill the ejector air in the back that you got just as you dropped off the MCBR, felt like
the front did instead. Otherwise I didn't notice anything "worse" in the second half, was still crazy as ever.
Spotted iac17 again, mid-FL+ marathon I trusted! Good chap.
Collared him afterwards and tried to take a good profile-pic for him as well, but didn;t quite work I think, sorry about that
Was about half nine by then, park was closing at 10 so made my way out. There was meant to be a platinum pass holder event on Steel Vengeance
after park closing, but rain had started and they had closed the Q for it well before 10 because of that, think they even closed the ride
down as I left.
Indeed, it started throwing it down as I headed back across the park and to the hotel, I dived into the closest entrance I could see in order
to escape the downpour and conveniently that took me past the TGIs.
It was really throwing it down - they cancelled the pass-holder event after a few minutes as the rain was not going to give up - that would
have been very annoying I think to turn up for that only to be denied!
Had a couple of (expensive) beers watching the rain and chatting coasters with the bar-bloke - another grand day then!
So when I was planning this trip I'd only booked 2 days at Cedar Point, then when I was finalising where I needed to be when I realised that
nothing was open on the Tuesday in the direction I needed to be heading so I figured I'd just have another day at CP and wander around with
my (good) camera when I'd done the rides that I wanted to ride.
So that was today then. Most pictures are likely to be a lot better then today (took a few on my potato-like phone as well tho')- but I didn't
pick up the real camera until afternoon, so they'll likely be all out of sequence - deal with it.
I went for early entry again, but wasn't really rushing - we'd only ridden Gatekeeper once the previous day so I figured that needed a bit more
of an effort so rode that back and front and left and right for a while - s'nice I think. That and Thunderbird are the best B&M Wing coasters I
think, probably just prefer Gatekeeper though.
We had only ridden Raptor the once on Monday as well, so had another spin on that - great stuff that one too.
Millennium Force we'd ridden once on the Sunday and once yesterday, so I figured I needed a back row and front row ride on that. As I was
in line for the back row, spotted iac17 just getting onto the ride - so yelled at him and met up after I'd cycled round and we waited for the
front row together - that was fab, I'd not ridden the very front before (just row 2) so that was nice.
Another secret CF-er (NAPayne31) had made himself known on the site while we were there, but he was working today so I just snapped him looking bemused
at us while we were waiting for the front row.
iac17 still had a few creds to get due to missing out on a few rides on the Monday (prioritising Steel Vengeance I think was the cause) so we
rode Iron Dragon and Blue Streak - he wouldn't lower himself to the kiddie coasters though, so thats to his credit.
iac17 decided that he needed to get a FL+ in order to get the most out of Steel Vengeance that day (a wise choice in my view) so he left then
to do that.
I had another go on Valravn, had to Q a bit for it too I recall, but its a capacity monster so didn't take too long.
For some reason I thought that I might as well ride all the B&Ms today so I also took a spin on Rougarou as I was walking past. No Q,
no-one wants to ride it yet they are still running 3 trains - thats good (if slightly daft). Bit weird this then as I rode it a few times
as a stand-up and while that kinda "did" something, the floorless configuration kinda doesn't really - in that compared to other floorless
B&Ms which are a but fast and nippy, this sort of lumbers around a bit.
Right then, iac17 might be above the kiddie-creds, Howie might be above the kiddie-creds (despite DelPiero trying his best to get him to lower
himself the previous day), but it turns out I am not above getting the kiddie-creds, so I had a polite word at the town hall and they gave me
a token of shame...
and I got the Wilderness Run cred - twice in fact as the kiddies riding it wanted another go and it would have taken more time for me
to extract myself from the (front row - wooo!) restraints than it would have for them to just send it round again. (I had only not got this
before as I only found out about the goon-ticket's existence about a week after I last came back from CP ~5 years ago).
I sorted myself another Beer&BBQ experience for some lunch though - perfect option I reckon.
I was still so giddy with Steel Vengeance love that I even bought some tat from the tat shop - most unlike me to buy anything more than a mug
or a magnet dedicated to a ride; I've got a lot of park T-Shirts, but I've never bought a ride T-shirt let alone a hoody! </goon>
So that was that for the riding (well almost) - went back to the hotel and picked up the big camera - not something you want to take on
rides with you or leave on a station platform that. Spent a while just wandering around taking pics then, pausing for the odd beer c/o the BBQ
and having quite a relaxed afternoon. I'll dump in a load of random pics now then...
As I mentioned, weather wasn't great ; was still warm but very grey and cloudy most of the day - had to process most of these to get any
life in them
Stalking CP's PR chap here
Got another (got the same angle on my previous trip) lucky shot of Maverick from the train
Look no-one is riding Magnum either (park was a lot quieter on the Tuesday than the Monday, only Vengeance was holding a big Q that I saw)
Speaking of Vengeance, if you haven;t had enough pics of that thing over the last few posts, time to look away...
and some more processed ones I posted in the photo-thread too;
lastly a silly one;
After having some more BBQ and Beer I noticed some debate in the thread on here about its trims on the MCBR. So given I was standing right
near it and there did seem to be trimming happening and the line was only 3/4 hours I stuffed the camera-faff into a locker and went in
for one last night ride on this glorious thing.
Took a crappy phone-pic trying to illustrate the bug-infestation on the lights in the stricture. Didn't really work.
Line was 3/4 hour and I waited for the back. There was bit of braking happening on the MCBR that wasn't there the previous 2 days ; it barely
grabbed the train though, what it did do though was kill the ejector air in the back that you got just as you dropped off the MCBR, felt like
the front did instead. Otherwise I didn't notice anything "worse" in the second half, was still crazy as ever.
Spotted iac17 again, mid-FL+ marathon I trusted! Good chap.
Collared him afterwards and tried to take a good profile-pic for him as well, but didn;t quite work I think, sorry about that
Was about half nine by then, park was closing at 10 so made my way out. There was meant to be a platinum pass holder event on Steel Vengeance
after park closing, but rain had started and they had closed the Q for it well before 10 because of that, think they even closed the ride
down as I left.
Indeed, it started throwing it down as I headed back across the park and to the hotel, I dived into the closest entrance I could see in order
to escape the downpour and conveniently that took me past the TGIs.
It was really throwing it down - they cancelled the pass-holder event after a few minutes as the rain was not going to give up - that would
have been very annoying I think to turn up for that only to be denied!
Had a couple of (expensive) beers watching the rain and chatting coasters with the bar-bloke - another grand day then!
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