Come into work Thursday with a notice telling us production levels were so high we get Friday off. Got home from work at midnight, then hit the sack about 3. 6:15 my alarm blares.

Anyhow, I get to the park and pay for my ticket along with the Mountain Dew discount. 9:00 National anthem and Joe Cool members in. 9:30 we are let in.

First up, Raptor. Certainly a lot smoother than last year. Nearly lost my sense of direction on the zero g roll. Lotsa fun, plus sat on the right edge.

Next, Blue Streak...couldn't ride it because I couldn't get the seatbelt to fit. Funny how my mom is bigger than me and she had no problem.

I hit Magnum twice, once in the very back and the second was last car first seat. Great ride.

Gemini was next as I hit it twice. One side open, but it was still quite early. After wards surprised my folks as I said that was heading home but got distracted bt a mesh of yellow green and this giant 300 foot thing colored blue.

Feeling a bit shaky, hot dog on a stick, pretzel and pepsi.

A twirl on white water landing and towards MS. Brake on first drop, but not overbraked. Rode with a MS newbie who asked if this was rough. I told him you will crave a bottle of advil afterward. While walking to the station, I overheard a guy telling his family that this is a brutal coaster. "Sir, brutal is an understatement."

Next, two more twirls on WWL and then one on CCMR. Smooth yet unsatisfying. This brings me to the town hall. Ever been in there? Old games from the point that only cost a nickel or dime in the days of Model T. Saw some great displays of MS and BS. Definitely a stop in.

Watched some riders get soaked and more on Snake River.

Headed to MF and even around 11:30 they were handing out stamps. "5-6" and headed to WildCat. I skipped Mantis because of the slight trouble I had at Raptor. I fit, but barely. WildCat was nice and smooth but too cramped. Walked over to WT but found I could only receive one stamp per day (that is unless I washed off my other stamp).

Took 3 spins on PT, all shooting up. Gotta love it. I took my time that day. No one to check in with, just by myself. Checked out some shops, but didn't see anything I wanted to buy. Oh yes, Chaos was down all day and WT was not up at 9, but was running at noon. Headed to the Boathouse for a bite to eat. Caesar salad with chicken and three Heinekens came to just over $20. $4 for some bottled beers (mine was $3.75 each) I consider that good for where I was. About to leave at 4:30 when rain came. Saw some riders stuck on Raptor, yet BS ran all the way thru the rain.

While in the Boathouse, I met an electrician who wired MF and WT. He spouted off some facts that flew over my head. Together with the bartender, we speculated on the latest rumors to Area 51. She confirmed the RUMOR of the 400 foot coaster. I am saying she confirmed the RUMOR, not saying the confirmed the attraction. As I was about to leave, the electrician said it would be 500 foot tall. With three beers in me, I amy believe something, but not that. But I thought I would throw a 500 foot attraction into the mix. Although in that space, he said 9 more footers needed to be poured, so if that part (about the footers) is true...I'm thinking flat ride.

Headed back into the park and to the bathrooms. Noticed WildCat was running empty. Headed past Mantis again and to MF...figuring it was 5 I showed my hand and "line jumped" to the merge. There I met a girl and her mom. The girl was experiencing the Force for the first time and jumped every time the train roared past her. She asked how smooth, and I told her it is just as smooth as PT. I was all set to ride in front of her when a ride op put me into another row with a single rider. Nice cute female too. Of the three of them, two had not ridden before, so I exaggerated my story I used on the first girl and told them how the track looks as if it curves under. Also mentioned during MM how I rode MF 13 times in a row (2 years ago). Hands up all the way. Ride op helped me buckle in and I stapled myself in. You read right, stapled myself in. Had a great ride, you'd have to surgically remove my smile it was that good. Found the first girl and her mom and asked if she enjoyed it. Her scream of delight and smile told me she had.

I hit PT another three times, 2 getting shot down and one up. I pretty much called it a day. Sun was shining, but I wanted to beat the crowd.

Other rides...Rode PaddleWheel Excursions twice. Only to hear the jokes about the Cubbies. Caught the end of the diving show. Would love to see the entire thing and was still wearing my smile from the Force.

Took a twirl on Witches' Wheel mid afternoon. Got a glimpse of Area 51, but only saw one footer. Almost fell asleep on it too.

By the way, is it me or are some of the test seats SMALLER than the ones on the ride itself? Feels like it to me, but I will test WT another day.

Guest interaction:

I try to have some short conversations with guests/ride-ops. With one ride-op on PT, I noticed a bunch of them had Kent State tags. She mentioned that the entire crew was KSU folks, yet I did see one Rocket from Toledo.

The Boat ride captain the first time was an Akron native. Raptor had one from KSU and I didn't notice others.

While in line on Gemini early in the day, I talked to a man and his daughter. Interesting conversation. They were from LA. I mentioned that they have SFMM nearby, why come to CP. Now this came from him and I was surprised by his answer. He said CP is better...he compared MF to Goliath and even though Golitah is good, MF still beats it. He mentioned how Six Flags is dirty and a few other things. He did not ride X nor Deja-Vu. Questioning why he didn't ride X, he said he didn't like 4 hour waits.

But I still hope to hit SFMM sometime.

In all they were the farthest from home. I met people from Massilon, Athens (Ohio) and Michigan.

All in all, CP was a great day off work. Maybe my only time there, but time will tell. And so will finances. Left the park early as I said about 7:30 and bought some taffy for my mother. A trip to McD's and I was on I-80 in no time back on my original destination to Toledo which had started back about 7am.

One other disclaimer, 400 foot or 500 foot...110% will not happen. It may be the overall height as we all know that PT's peak is 300 feet, but the actual ride itself is 240.

No wait times....didn't feel the need to check my watch. Despite popular complianing about Mantis here...it had a longer line than Raptor and rivaled the line of MF.

And you, yes you (however you may be attired) as is every attraction at CP, there is NO sitting or standing on the handrails.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - finding a way to piss you off every day.
Be a REAL American, bend over, grab your ankles and let this country have its way with you.

You sir, are an idiot.

I rode Blue Streak in the rain last year at Halloweekends....thought my poncho would protect me.....not a good idea. The wind blew it back and all the water came in...plus the rain really hurts when you are going 45mph. I laughed so hard because we were all trying to shield our heads and faces from the rain while trying to hold on at the same time.

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"Ok, fat ***, we've just traveled 2,460 miles just for a little Roy Wally entertainment. The moose says you're closed. I say you're open!"