Day 6 - Cedar Point

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The mecca of the coaster world. A grand total of 16 coasters and a great carnival atmosphere in a huge beach resort make Cedar Point a must-do destination for the enthusiast. Don't go expecting a theme park though. The rides are generally unimaginatively constructed and much of the park is pretty bland, however the Frontier Trail section towards the back of the park is pretty and leafy.

The Coasters

At 7:30am, we were supposed to be having an ERS on Top Thrill Dragster, however the weather was absolutely atrocious. Very wet and windy, most unlike Ohio. Understandably, Dragster was down - they couldn't get it over the top! (More of that later). But graciously, Cedar Point substituted Millennium Force for us. At 'only' 310ft high, it's no longer the world's tallest coaster (more of that later too) but it's still higher than most people would ever experience. In driving rain though, the experience was lost on us as the only way to ride it was to keeps your arms up in front of your face. Rain at 90mph hurts! You couldn't see a thing - even if you were brave enough to keep your arms down, you were blinded by the water. Needless to say, in that hour's ERS we were absolutely drenched. Read my 2001 trip report for more details of Millennium Force, however I must say that I was slightly more impressed with it this time as it did seem to give some good airtime over the two mid-course hills. It seemed a bit bland in 2001. The first drop of course was fantastic, mega airtime especially in the back. But the rest of the ride consists of nothing but overbanked corners, apart from the afore-mentioned mid-course hills which should serve to inject some interest into the ride.

Top Thrill Dragster itself was down for most of the day. The story of the world's tallest and fastest coaster is one of constant oneupmanship between the parks! Cedar Point has always prided itself on installing record-breakers. Several of the coasters they have were world-beaters in their time. Six Flags Magic Mountain claimed the record, although dubiously, in 1997 with Superman: The Escape. Cedar Point obviously, along with myself I must add, didn't classify Superman as a true roller coaster. It's a launched freefall thrill ride and doesn't do any 'coasting'. Its tower is 415ft high, however the train doesn't reach anywhere near that height probably around 350ft at the most. So in 2000 Cedar Point claimed the record back for themselves with Millennium Force - a 'true' roller coaster with a height of 310ft. But their claim to fame was to be short-lived. Steel Dragon in Japan topped them a few months later by a few feet. And of course, Magic Mountain claimed that Superman was still the tallest. So in 2003, Cedar Point put a full-stop at the end of the sentence by building Top Thrill Dragster. It tops out at 420ft which is just enough to stop any more ambiguity from Magic Mountain. But there are rumours that an even taller one is soon to appear in Japan...

Dragster is a very simple machine, for all its impressive statistics. It starts off on the ground being launched hydraulically along a horizontal section of track, 0-120mph in 4 seconds. Yes, you read that right! It then rises up the 420ft vertical tower, twisting through 90° as it does so, traverses the apex, then falls down the other side performing 270° twist on the way down and into a set of magnetic brakes at the bottom. Its an Intamin Rocket Coaster like its baby sister Storm Runner at Hersheypark but whereas Storm Runner has more of a ride after the launch and tower, Dragster relies on the higher speeds and height for the thrill. It's a 16-second ride - 4 seconds for the launch, 4 seconds for the climb, 4 seconds for the drop and 4 seconds for the brakes.

Towards midday, the ride was beginning to test and we were all looking expectantly from wherever we were within the park. But in the strong winds, they couldn't get it to reach the top of the tower and it just kept rolling back. Don't worry, it's designed to do that and it's perfectly safe! There is an illuminated sign that displays the speed of the launch, and even when they were sending it at 125mph it still didn't make it. However, by late afternoon, they were showing signs of success. They have to get 5 successful lauches before opening it to the public, and eventually it happened...

Several of our club members managed to be in the front of the queue and I watched them from beside the launch track. Especially Dennis and Sylvia who grabbed the very front seat. And they had a rollback! Lucky sods! The front of the train did actually go over the apex, but the centre of gravity of the train didn't and they were pulled backwards over the apex again and fell down backwards. So they got a second launch! And this time it worked. I just can't describe how fast 120mph looks when you're standing right by the side of the track. It is truly like a rocket.

So with great excitement I took my seat. The launch was just as I expected. Extremely intense, and almost unbearable. It's probably the same amount of acceleration as I'd experienced on Storm Runner (which does 0-70mph in 2 seconds) but it lasts twice as long. However, the climb up the tower was completely lost on me. It didn't register at all. The launch just took all my senses away and the next thing I noticed was that we were actually at the top. A very brief micro-second to look around at the incredible height and digest the view before taking the plunge downwards. But unexpectedly, I didn't feel any airtime. Maybe it's because the track does a heartline twist on the way down, so unlike Oblivion you don't get any nice floating sensations as you're gently pulled out of your seat. The train twists round and instead you are thrown into your seat instead of out of it. And that was it - into the brakes.

As with Storm Runner, I have very mixed feelings about Dragster. It has two major characteristics which you are unlikely to find anywhere else - the amazing acceleration and speed, and the unfeasible height. It's certainly a record-breaker, but I wouldn't class it as a great coaster. It doesn't do anything else. It's certainly a phenomenal experience, but I wouldn't rush round to join an 2-hour long queue for a second go.

The only other coaster at Cedar Point that I hadn't ridden before on other trips was Wicked Twister. This is an Intamin Impulse coaster, a larger version of Superman: Ultimate Escape at Geauga Lake. It's a U-shaped shuttle, with two vertical spikes both of which have heartline twists in them instead of just the forward spike as with Superman. A magnetic launch sends the train partway up the first spike, then it falls down and travels backwards through the station where it gets an extra boost of power to send it up the back spike. Then travelling forwards through the station, more acceleration to allow the front of the train to get the the bery top of the front spike, and then backwards again to the top of the back spike. And then brakes. Unlike Superman, the train is not held for a second on the back spike on its final descent. It's a fantastic ride and I really enjoyed it. It's best ridden in both the very front and the very back. In the front, there is an extremely surreal view as the top of the front spike gets closer and closer and you think you're going to come off the end. And in the back seat you get a very peculiar view at the top of the back spike of the rest of the train in front of you twisted round on itself. I did get a nasty slam from the restraints though in the back seat as it accelerates down the twist - the back seat is obviously travelling the fastest round the twist and it's slightly uncomfortable.

And last thing at night...a half-hour ERS on the Arrow hyper Magnum Xl-200. The original and still one of the best. With glow-wristbands cutting through the night air, we made the most of the final rides of the tour. Magnum has a stupendous fiorst drop, then a curving second drop down into a tunnel, followed by a lovely floating hill. Then into a pretzel-shaped turnaround and then the home run back to the station is a series of very abrupt bunny hops. These last few hills are great fun in most seats, but as in previous years I found the third row in each carriage to be a little too brutal. You are certainly left with a lap-bar shaped impression on your legs as the typical Arrow triangular-shaped apexes throw you out of your seat with incredible force. But a fitting and traditional end to the tour.

Please read my 1999 and 2001 reports for descriptions and pictures of the other coasters and attractions at Cedar Point.

I have to say I was a little disappointed with Cedar Point this year. It seems to have developed a mini Six Flags (or even Tussauds) attitude, and while the hospitality is second to none and ride operation is extremely efficient, it did have a couple of points that got up my nose.

Six Flags Moment #1
There is a very inconsistent policy with regards to loose items on rides. Fair enough, it's reasonable that loose items should not be taken on rides. However, there is no indication as to which rides they are. Sometimes, you will not be allowed into the queue line carrying a bag. Sometimes, you can enter the queue line with a bag but you will be turned away on the platform after having queued an hour. Sometimes, you can enter the queue line with a bag and you can leave your bag on shelves or in boxes on the platform. Sometimes, there are racks provided on the platform for loose items but you have been prevented from entering the queue line with a bag in the first place. Sometimes you can enter the queue line with a bag and you can take your bag with you on the ride. So what do you do with your loose items? Well, they very kindly provide lockers which cost you $1 each time you want to retrieve something. People will have things with them that they need during the day, such as cameras, drinks, sunblock etc, so you can't put them in a locker for the whole day. In other words it costs you $1 each time you want to go on a ride. I thought this park was Pay One Price?

Six Flags Moment #2
If you buy souvenirs during the day, not only do you then have the above problem of paying extra for lockers to put them in (remember, if you don't put them all in a locker in one go it will cost you $1 to open the locker to put something else in, or to get another locker), you will find that your items are put into rather useless paper bags which will disintegrate after you've clasped them for 10 minutes. You can ask for a decent plastic bag, but guess what, that will cost you $1.

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