I decided to take the afternoon off and go out to Cedar Point on Thursday (6/8/06). I got to the park just before 1:00 and parked at Soak City. The main parking lot was about 40-50% full. I was able to park in the 2nd row of the Soak City lot.
First stop:
Magnum XL-200 - 10 minute wait - rode in 3/3/1 and got a surprisingly smooth ride for being in the middle of the train, much smoother than my last visit on 5/23.
Rating: 9/10
Skipped
Gemini because of the long line and only 1 train running. The wait was posted at 30 minutes, and I'd believe it as they were only running blue at the time.
Cedar Creek Mine Ride - 10 minute wait - rode in 3/3/3. This was my first ride on CCMR in probably 3 years, and I had forgotten how much this thing throws you around. I still had a hard time getting in with my knees (I'm 6' 4"), and getting out was fun as well. Its still a decent coaster, but I think I've had my fill for the year.
Rating: 5/10
Stopped by
Skyhawk to ride, but it had just gone down mechanical. It did run periodically throughout the day, just not when I was close. It is still an awesome ride.
Millennium Force - 40 minute wait - rode in blue 1/2 and had an awesome ride as always. I still love the front of this thing more than the back, and the 2nd row in the first car is awesome if you can get it because you get (almost) all the thrills of the front without the extra 30-45 minute wait.
Rating: 10/10
ROCK the House! - Red Garter Saloon - This is one of the new shows at CP for this season, and although it isn't quite as good as the Red Garter show from last season, it is still worth seeing. We got in at 2:50 for the 3:00 show and there was already no seating on the main floor and the only tables left upstairs didn't have a view of the stage, so we decided to stay on downstairs and stand for the show. The show is entertaining, although I noticed that one of the singers was missing. I got to see the full performance on 5/23, so it wasn't a huge disappointment and the show was still good, just not as good as it is with a full cast.
Rating: 8/10
Wicked Twister - 5 minute wait - rode in the 3rd row. This is a fun coaster, although it seems like it has gotten rougher over the past two years.
Rating: 7/10
We stopped by
Disaster Transport for a ride and saw the sign out front advertising a 45 minute wait. I couldn't figure this out as the park was not very busy (typical June day), so I just assumed the sign was wrong and we went in. When we saw that the queue was backed up into the first room near the 3-D cart, we decided not to wait
.
$0.25 Cotton Candy at Confection Connection (in front of Raptor). It's $0.25, enough said!
Sky Ride - 5 minute wait - This ride is self explanatory.
We spent some time on the frontier trail and talking to old friends. We checked out the new shops this year (Cedar Point Mining Company and Spooky Hollow) and then headed back to Frontier Town.
Divine Divas - Palace Theatre - This show replaced last year's award winning Twistin' To The 60's show. We arrived at about 4:45 for the 5:00 show and there were still plenty of open tables. Even during the show there were seats available on the main floor. The new stage is a neat addition (giant turntable, remember Tony & Tyler's mystery pictures?), but that is the best part of this new show. Although some of the music is good (a mixture of Elvis and Moulin Rouge), the costumes and wigs in particular look really bad and some of the singers left something to be desired. I wish they'd just bring back Twistin' and get rid of this show. I'm hoping that this one doesn't see the 2nd year of CP's typical two year show lifespan.
Rating: 2/10
After the show, we wanted to go to dinner up at Famous Dave's, but as we were exiting the train was just pulling away, so we decided to take a quick ride on...
Mean Streak - no wait - Rode in gold 7/2, This ride is tearing itself apart and riding in the back seat only amplifies the pain. I still can't figure out why I ride this thing on nearly every visit when it ALWAYS gives me a headache. On a side note, there is a new sign at the entrance of Mean Streak officially stating that MS will not open until 11:00am this season. I find this placement strange as Cedar Point keeps the Mean Streak railroad crossing closed until 11:00, so you can not actually see the sign until after the ride opens at 11:00.
Rating: 5/10
As we were exiting, we noticed that
Mean Streak Photo was closed. It was closed during the week through May last season primarially due to low staffing levels, but they opened up on the weekends and were open throughout the week beginning in late May. It was strange to see it closed at 5:30pm in the middle of June.
After riding Mean Streak, we didn't have to wait long for the train to come around. We rode up to the main midway and exited out to
Famous Dave's at the marina. I got hooked on Famous Dave's last season when I worked at the park and I still love it. I am glad that they decided to open a new location in Toledo earlier this year so now I can visit during the off season as well. This is still my favorite restaurant at Cedar Point, and apparently there are a lot of others who think the same, as the waits can get long during peak meal times or during a rain shower.
Speaking of rain showers, while we were eating dinner we got to watch the storm clouds roll in. Just before we left it started raining, and by the time we made it back into the park, the temperature had dropped from 80 down to about 65 and the wind had picked up. Nearly all of the coasters were closed with the exception of Corkscrew and Magnum, and it was getting late, so we decided to head home instead of waiting out the rain.
The crowd levels weren't bad and the weather was nice up until about 7:30, so it was a good day overall. If all goes well, I'll be back at The Point sometime next week and hopefully to Geauga Lake and Busch Gardens Williamsburg later this month.
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