Jarrett
Most Obnoxious Member 2016
At the end of last season I scored a position as an admin over a Facebook page called KIFansite, one of many owned by the Coaster Crew network. Through this page I befriended another one of the admins, another Ohio enthusiast named Jenny. Due to the fact that it was the end of the season and time was running out, we established that we would have to wait until 2015 to meet up.
Fast forward to 2015. A few weeks ago we decided to work out a time to meet, and it was decided that I would meet her at Cedar Point for a day. After a couple of weeks of swapping texts, blowing up each others' Snapchats with pictures of pets and food, and late night Skype calls getting out of hand, the day came that we would meet up!
I'm always nervous meeting other enthusiasts and this was no different but I refused to let that ruin my fun. The night before I was a nervous wreck, texting everyone I knew fearing that this friend I had met online wouldn't like me in person, and they all said the same thing; be yourself and have fun.
That morning I woke up at 4:11 am and had a very small breakfast before getting on the road to Sandusky, the start of a grueling 3-hour drive. Traffic wasn't that bad but because it's Ohio, there was construction everywhere. Once I got off 75 and got on Route 6, it started getting a bit better. Did come across a stretch of closed road that required a detour along crappy little country roads that couldn't even accommodate two cars, though. But I got through it, drove through Sandusky, and got to Cedar Point in one piece! Then came the longest wait of my life waiting for Jenny by the Welcome to Cedar Point sign at the front gate.
Never in my life had this view been so terrifying...
Finally, I met up with Jenny and into the park we went. I was still really nervous upon meeting her but I quickly began to enjoy her company and just relax and have fun with another enthusiast.
All you need to know about Jenny: her selfie addiction is as bad as mine. We took so many for one day and I'm not ashamed of it at all. We could have used her seflie stick but didn't want to wait for the Bluetooth to sync with her phone. But there were copious amounts of selfies to be taken, Millennium Force to ride (or at least there should have been), and people to be watched.
First ride was a walk-on Maverick in the back, both our first time on this lovely Intamin rocking the new I-305 restraints. And HOLY CRAP they're awesome! Maverick just got a lot more respect from me over this! You hardly have anything to hit your head against on the turns and the ride is completely whack-free if you know how to brace for it.
Jenny and I tried to recreate the infamous test seat photo with the new restraints but it just didn't work out...
Respect. The. Classics.
With wind having shut nearly everything down, our next ride was the latest and greatest for 2015 from Cedar Point, Rougarou!
There was a mechanical delay when we first got there so we ended up doing quite a bit of waiting and selfie-taking.
Rougarou panorama!
Rougarou test seat photo!
Finally, they started sending empty trains up and hope was restored!
And then they let us in! Jenny and I decided to go for the front for my first ride on it.
And I loved it! Rougarou is, in my opinion, a good addition to the park. When I rode Mantis I refused to ride it again because I disliked it that much. Headbanging, intensity-induced leg pain, and crappy capacity made that one of my least favorite B&Ms out there. Not as bad as Carowinds Vortex or Scream but it was down there. Now with the floorless trains, you can just sit back, let your feet dangle, and enjoy a great ride. The floorless doesn't add that much to the ride experience (I consider it just another form of a sitdown) but it doesn't take away from it like the standup did. It is awesome to get up there and be stuck up on that pedestal as it dips around above the lake, though. I found the drop really enjoyable with the floorless trains and you get a much better sensation than you did when standing on that platform. The loop is awesome, the dive loop is awesome, but my favorite element is after; the inclined loop. I had always wanted to try one sitting down and I finally got to, so that was a mission accomplished. I liked how it provided such weird visuals combined with intensity like that, there's something about it I really liked. But after this is where it started to go downhill. It climbs into an MCBR, and there's a minor jerk transitioning into it. After that, however, you go into possibly the most disgusting corkscrew ever. I hit my head three times on this one element, I even counted. Afterwards it gets a little headbangy, but it didn't stop my fun. Some of those really sharp, snappy transitions are really fun, and I discovered that you can avoid the headbanging by using that classic trick sticking your head forward. Overall, I really liked it. Is it top ten material? No. Is it the best thing B&M ever did? No. But did they take a ride I didn't like and turn it into one I liked? Yes. And that's enough to impress me.
Afterwards we messed around and got one in on Iron Dragon. It's my least favorite suspended but at least it was open. Then we rode Corkscrew, which was uneventful.
After that we went to Cedar Creek Mine Ride upon seeing it test. While waiting for it to open up, we ran into Alex, a friend of ours from Facebook. So we hung out and talked with him for a bit before he went off to work and then got on Mine Ride with the best GP ever. Four high school girls sat behind us, one of them said it was her first coaster. They were screaming and freaking out the entire time. Now Jenny and I are both very brutally sarcastic people, we saw this as an opportunity, and took it and ran with it. Jenny kept obnoxiously squealing as loudly as possible while I screamed at her for dragging me on on the second lift hill. And at the end of the ride, we hit the brake run and I looked at Jenny and yelled, "I HATE YOU!!!! THAT WAS NOT WORTH FIFTY BUCKS!!!!!" And just when it couldn't get better...the guy in the front car yells, "no it wasn't!" Most fun I've ever had on such a mediocre ride! :lol:
Next, Jenny and I decided to go ride Skyhawk since it was operating. I'd ridden the smaller Screamin' Swing at Dollywood and liked it so I was expecting the most out of this one. And that's what I got! You get such a gorgeous view being slung over the peninsula like that, and the airtime is phenomenal. Short cycle, though.
Up next was a very, very, very annoying wait for Maverick. We get in line and immediately get line jumped by some people on the drink plan that were just running out to get their drinks. Not wanting to let someone else walk all over me, I tried to call them out and make a scene about it but Jenny calmed me down and told me it wasn't worth it. So we just stood there for forty-five minutes laughing at park guests and pretending to take FunTV seriously. Jenny and I then went to the front to see how we liked it compared to the back. As awesome as it was up front, I preferred the back. Nothing beats getting thrown off that drop in the back! <3
Afterwards, our patience was tested at Coasters. We went to grab a few cheeseburgers and found that due to math and science day, a bunch of wannabe engineers had set up shop at Coasters to work on their assignments. I wanted to go around and annoyingly check all their work, but Jenny and I just found two stray chairs and sat down and ate. Gross couples, people working on homework, and some weird guy that came up to us and started talking to us for no reason. But lunch was awesome. Because of that burger.
We then went to check out the new Wicked Twister midway. Wicked Twister was down. Like, really down. They had some guy in the station working his butt off to get the ride ready.
Maintanence pano!
What's this!? No restraint? No test seat photo for me today?
So...we just duckfaced.
We then rode Tiki Twirl, formerly Calypso. First time on it and I have to admit, it was fun. Wish they could run it a tad faster though, I prefer a scrambler to this.
When you see it... #panofail
After a quick spin on Blue Streak, we went to check out the Valravn area. Nothing but dirt, didn't even see any survey markers.
Valravn selfie!
I got sidetracked and geeked out over these footers for a bit while Jenny charged her phone.
After a quick stop tat shopping, Jenny and I looked at the Sweet Shop on the midway. Jenny saw these marshmallow bars that she liked so I bought her and I both one.
They were very delicious and very messy!
We WANTED to ride Rougarou again after...but the lockers weren't working.
Such a great ride...
This gorgeous view is crammed into the corner of a path and you have to go out of the way to see it.
An awesome photo of an awesomely deactivated trim!
We rode the train to maybe get on Mean Streak.
It was down for mechanical. We waited and chatted with the queue attendant (who happened to be a fellow engineer) for a bit but then left.
So we went back for more on Rougarou. A LOT more.
As pitiful as the theming is, I like these row indicators. A lot.
In the station, the ride op asked us "Rougariders" if we were "Rougaready." I told Jenny the jokes were "Rougaridiculous."
We rode Rougarou a total of ten times that day in every row at least once. Because it was the best thing open. But I really liked it. Cedar Point took one of the worst B&Ms and turned it into a decent coaster. I don't think it deserves to join the ranks of Millie, Maverick, Dragster, GateKeeper, and Magnum as a Cedar Point flagship but I really like it. If the wind's a blowing I'll take it over Iron Dragon or Mean Streak any day.
After our tenth ride, we went to Pink's for my first Pink's hot dog. And I loved it! It's no Tony Packo's but it was a good dinner and the perfect thing to eat before the drive home.
After a nice sunset spin on Blue Streak came the part of the hobby that I absolutely hate; meeting wonderful people and then going back to living hours apart. I walked Jenny to her car and gave her a fat stack of park maps. We talked about when we might be able to meet up again and hugged each other goodbye. Then came the grueling 3-hour drive home after having exhausted myself putting 11 miles on my feet. But I made it home at 11:30 and after swapping bad jokes with Jenny over Snapchat, got some much-needed Rougarest.
I got two ORPs because the second was only 5$ extra and I wanted Jenny to have one. She felt bad because I had already bought her a marshmallow bar. So I told her that any attempts to pay me back were futile.
Got a Rougarou glass!
I got the 2015 season shirt and I have to admit, I like it a lot. Way more than my 2013 one, which is also awesome. Wish it was louder, tackier, and more in your face, though.
Ah, that's way better! What a Rougarelief!
What an amazing day! Between trying out two awesome flat rides, two rides on a top ten coaster of mine in the front and back with new restraints, my first Pink's hot dog, and ten rides on Cedar Point's latest and greatest, I'd say it was a blast even with the wind shutting down most of the rides! But best of all, I got to meet an awesome friend who I have so much in common with. Jenny and I got along very well and once I got to know her, we clicked extremely well. I'm so glad we met! She's such a wonderful friend to have and I can't wait to go do more with her. Jenny, if you're reading this, you rock! :--D
Fast forward to 2015. A few weeks ago we decided to work out a time to meet, and it was decided that I would meet her at Cedar Point for a day. After a couple of weeks of swapping texts, blowing up each others' Snapchats with pictures of pets and food, and late night Skype calls getting out of hand, the day came that we would meet up!
I'm always nervous meeting other enthusiasts and this was no different but I refused to let that ruin my fun. The night before I was a nervous wreck, texting everyone I knew fearing that this friend I had met online wouldn't like me in person, and they all said the same thing; be yourself and have fun.
That morning I woke up at 4:11 am and had a very small breakfast before getting on the road to Sandusky, the start of a grueling 3-hour drive. Traffic wasn't that bad but because it's Ohio, there was construction everywhere. Once I got off 75 and got on Route 6, it started getting a bit better. Did come across a stretch of closed road that required a detour along crappy little country roads that couldn't even accommodate two cars, though. But I got through it, drove through Sandusky, and got to Cedar Point in one piece! Then came the longest wait of my life waiting for Jenny by the Welcome to Cedar Point sign at the front gate.
Never in my life had this view been so terrifying...
Finally, I met up with Jenny and into the park we went. I was still really nervous upon meeting her but I quickly began to enjoy her company and just relax and have fun with another enthusiast.
All you need to know about Jenny: her selfie addiction is as bad as mine. We took so many for one day and I'm not ashamed of it at all. We could have used her seflie stick but didn't want to wait for the Bluetooth to sync with her phone. But there were copious amounts of selfies to be taken, Millennium Force to ride (or at least there should have been), and people to be watched.
First ride was a walk-on Maverick in the back, both our first time on this lovely Intamin rocking the new I-305 restraints. And HOLY CRAP they're awesome! Maverick just got a lot more respect from me over this! You hardly have anything to hit your head against on the turns and the ride is completely whack-free if you know how to brace for it.
Jenny and I tried to recreate the infamous test seat photo with the new restraints but it just didn't work out...
Respect. The. Classics.
With wind having shut nearly everything down, our next ride was the latest and greatest for 2015 from Cedar Point, Rougarou!
There was a mechanical delay when we first got there so we ended up doing quite a bit of waiting and selfie-taking.
Rougarou panorama!
Rougarou test seat photo!
Finally, they started sending empty trains up and hope was restored!
And then they let us in! Jenny and I decided to go for the front for my first ride on it.
And I loved it! Rougarou is, in my opinion, a good addition to the park. When I rode Mantis I refused to ride it again because I disliked it that much. Headbanging, intensity-induced leg pain, and crappy capacity made that one of my least favorite B&Ms out there. Not as bad as Carowinds Vortex or Scream but it was down there. Now with the floorless trains, you can just sit back, let your feet dangle, and enjoy a great ride. The floorless doesn't add that much to the ride experience (I consider it just another form of a sitdown) but it doesn't take away from it like the standup did. It is awesome to get up there and be stuck up on that pedestal as it dips around above the lake, though. I found the drop really enjoyable with the floorless trains and you get a much better sensation than you did when standing on that platform. The loop is awesome, the dive loop is awesome, but my favorite element is after; the inclined loop. I had always wanted to try one sitting down and I finally got to, so that was a mission accomplished. I liked how it provided such weird visuals combined with intensity like that, there's something about it I really liked. But after this is where it started to go downhill. It climbs into an MCBR, and there's a minor jerk transitioning into it. After that, however, you go into possibly the most disgusting corkscrew ever. I hit my head three times on this one element, I even counted. Afterwards it gets a little headbangy, but it didn't stop my fun. Some of those really sharp, snappy transitions are really fun, and I discovered that you can avoid the headbanging by using that classic trick sticking your head forward. Overall, I really liked it. Is it top ten material? No. Is it the best thing B&M ever did? No. But did they take a ride I didn't like and turn it into one I liked? Yes. And that's enough to impress me.
Afterwards we messed around and got one in on Iron Dragon. It's my least favorite suspended but at least it was open. Then we rode Corkscrew, which was uneventful.
After that we went to Cedar Creek Mine Ride upon seeing it test. While waiting for it to open up, we ran into Alex, a friend of ours from Facebook. So we hung out and talked with him for a bit before he went off to work and then got on Mine Ride with the best GP ever. Four high school girls sat behind us, one of them said it was her first coaster. They were screaming and freaking out the entire time. Now Jenny and I are both very brutally sarcastic people, we saw this as an opportunity, and took it and ran with it. Jenny kept obnoxiously squealing as loudly as possible while I screamed at her for dragging me on on the second lift hill. And at the end of the ride, we hit the brake run and I looked at Jenny and yelled, "I HATE YOU!!!! THAT WAS NOT WORTH FIFTY BUCKS!!!!!" And just when it couldn't get better...the guy in the front car yells, "no it wasn't!" Most fun I've ever had on such a mediocre ride! :lol:
Next, Jenny and I decided to go ride Skyhawk since it was operating. I'd ridden the smaller Screamin' Swing at Dollywood and liked it so I was expecting the most out of this one. And that's what I got! You get such a gorgeous view being slung over the peninsula like that, and the airtime is phenomenal. Short cycle, though.
Up next was a very, very, very annoying wait for Maverick. We get in line and immediately get line jumped by some people on the drink plan that were just running out to get their drinks. Not wanting to let someone else walk all over me, I tried to call them out and make a scene about it but Jenny calmed me down and told me it wasn't worth it. So we just stood there for forty-five minutes laughing at park guests and pretending to take FunTV seriously. Jenny and I then went to the front to see how we liked it compared to the back. As awesome as it was up front, I preferred the back. Nothing beats getting thrown off that drop in the back! <3
Afterwards, our patience was tested at Coasters. We went to grab a few cheeseburgers and found that due to math and science day, a bunch of wannabe engineers had set up shop at Coasters to work on their assignments. I wanted to go around and annoyingly check all their work, but Jenny and I just found two stray chairs and sat down and ate. Gross couples, people working on homework, and some weird guy that came up to us and started talking to us for no reason. But lunch was awesome. Because of that burger.
We then went to check out the new Wicked Twister midway. Wicked Twister was down. Like, really down. They had some guy in the station working his butt off to get the ride ready.
Maintanence pano!
What's this!? No restraint? No test seat photo for me today?
So...we just duckfaced.
We then rode Tiki Twirl, formerly Calypso. First time on it and I have to admit, it was fun. Wish they could run it a tad faster though, I prefer a scrambler to this.
When you see it... #panofail
After a quick spin on Blue Streak, we went to check out the Valravn area. Nothing but dirt, didn't even see any survey markers.
Valravn selfie!
I got sidetracked and geeked out over these footers for a bit while Jenny charged her phone.
After a quick stop tat shopping, Jenny and I looked at the Sweet Shop on the midway. Jenny saw these marshmallow bars that she liked so I bought her and I both one.
They were very delicious and very messy!
We WANTED to ride Rougarou again after...but the lockers weren't working.
Such a great ride...
This gorgeous view is crammed into the corner of a path and you have to go out of the way to see it.
An awesome photo of an awesomely deactivated trim!
We rode the train to maybe get on Mean Streak.
It was down for mechanical. We waited and chatted with the queue attendant (who happened to be a fellow engineer) for a bit but then left.
So we went back for more on Rougarou. A LOT more.
As pitiful as the theming is, I like these row indicators. A lot.
In the station, the ride op asked us "Rougariders" if we were "Rougaready." I told Jenny the jokes were "Rougaridiculous."
We rode Rougarou a total of ten times that day in every row at least once. Because it was the best thing open. But I really liked it. Cedar Point took one of the worst B&Ms and turned it into a decent coaster. I don't think it deserves to join the ranks of Millie, Maverick, Dragster, GateKeeper, and Magnum as a Cedar Point flagship but I really like it. If the wind's a blowing I'll take it over Iron Dragon or Mean Streak any day.
After our tenth ride, we went to Pink's for my first Pink's hot dog. And I loved it! It's no Tony Packo's but it was a good dinner and the perfect thing to eat before the drive home.
After a nice sunset spin on Blue Streak came the part of the hobby that I absolutely hate; meeting wonderful people and then going back to living hours apart. I walked Jenny to her car and gave her a fat stack of park maps. We talked about when we might be able to meet up again and hugged each other goodbye. Then came the grueling 3-hour drive home after having exhausted myself putting 11 miles on my feet. But I made it home at 11:30 and after swapping bad jokes with Jenny over Snapchat, got some much-needed Rougarest.
I got two ORPs because the second was only 5$ extra and I wanted Jenny to have one. She felt bad because I had already bought her a marshmallow bar. So I told her that any attempts to pay me back were futile.
Got a Rougarou glass!
I got the 2015 season shirt and I have to admit, I like it a lot. Way more than my 2013 one, which is also awesome. Wish it was louder, tackier, and more in your face, though.
Ah, that's way better! What a Rougarelief!
What an amazing day! Between trying out two awesome flat rides, two rides on a top ten coaster of mine in the front and back with new restraints, my first Pink's hot dog, and ten rides on Cedar Point's latest and greatest, I'd say it was a blast even with the wind shutting down most of the rides! But best of all, I got to meet an awesome friend who I have so much in common with. Jenny and I got along very well and once I got to know her, we clicked extremely well. I'm so glad we met! She's such a wonderful friend to have and I can't wait to go do more with her. Jenny, if you're reading this, you rock! :--D
