| Coaster Bender '07. Day one- Fun Spot and Cedar Point 6/14/07
We got up early and headed North. We'd always wanted to hit Fun Spot in Angola, Indiana on our way to Coastermania, but Coastermania always fell the week before they opened until this year.
Fun Spot always looked interesting to me because they have an Arrow launched loop. My first coaster inversion was on Screamin' Demon at KI, so riding Afterburner looked to be a chance for a trip down memory lane. They also have a lot of older flat rides (many like KI used to have when I was a kid, before Paramount went in and tore them all out)
We got to the park at about 11 am. There were less than 50 cars in the parking lot, so it looked as if our plan to do this park quickly would come together. With ACE discount, we both got in and got ride passes for a total of $16.00. The park itself has a very nice atmosphere. It felt a lot like a city park, and was very clean. We're not talking HW clean, but very tidy. Humorously, I commented about the park being clean to Lori, and within 30 seconds, a kid behind us puked on the pathway. "This path is disgusting!"
With the exception of the Flying Scooters, every ride needed paint, and needed it BADLY. Flying Scooters has very fresh, nice looking paint. Everything else needed some serious love with a sandblaster and paint gun. The faded/peeling paint and rust was bad enough to detract from the whole trip.
As for the flats:
Flying Scooters- a nice flyer. looked great and gave a good ride.
Troika- worst Troika I've ever ridden- it didn't rise very high or go very fast at all.
Paratrooper- Very nice ride, and the best ride op we had at the park. He was having fun, and doing what he could to make us have more fun, too.
Tilt-a-whirl- Good ride, and it had the classic paint and signage.
Ferris Wheel- Nice view, and the ride op even stopped us at the top, which was nice because he didn't have to stop it to allow more riders to get on. We were the only ones on it, and there was nobody in line.
Scrambler- Excellent long cycle time, and it was moving fast. Only IB's Scrambler beats it, and that is only because IB's is out over the lake.
Roundup- never my favorite type of ride, but decent. Interesingly enough, this is the only time I can remember being the only person on a ride.
Sea Dragon- not bad, but it didn't go as high as the other swinging ships I've ridden.
Calypso- slower than CP's. The huge Calypso letters than normally are on the ride were laying on the ground behind it. The car seat belts (with GM logo) were amusing.
Balloon Race and Bayern Kurve were closed. Balloon Race had a sign, but Bayern Kurve just looked as though it was about to be torn out, and you could walk right up on it if you wanted. The ride op from Troika (right next to it) said "It's closed- the engine went out last year and they still haven't fixed it."
The Coasters:
Zyclon- A lot like a S.D.C. Galaxi, but not nearly as fun. For some unfathomable reason, it actually has OTSR's (it really only barely needs belts) and the OTSR's to give a couple of nasty head bangs. When we got on, I had to pick up the seat pad from the floor and put it back on the seat before we got in.
Afterburner- we had to wait for this one, as it didn't open until noon. It was as fun as I remember Screamin Demon to be. We sat in the front seat, and got a couple of nice pops of air during the backwards drop. Nobody in line, so we took a couple of rerides before heading out to get back on the road to Sandusky.
All in all, it wasn't terrible, and could have been much nicer with some better maintenance on the rides.
Cedar Point:
We drove over, got checked into our hotel room, and headed into the park. Lori had gotten a bit nervous about MF last year and backed out of riding at the last moment. (even though she'd ridden TTD earlier that day) She wanted to go there first, so we went, and took a back seat ride. When we were buckled in, waiting to dispatch, I told her to relax, in three minutes she would have a new favorite roller coaster. I was right. Nice floater air from the back, and that smooth speed is always great.
We met up with Wes after the MF ride, and we headed though the park as a threesome, riding what caught our eye. In no particular order:
Raptor- always a nice front seat ride, just remember to hold your head against one side of the restraint to avoid headbanging.
Magnum- Two trains running now. Still no sign on the black train. Always an awesome ride, especially in 1-3. Just remember the trick to surviving the ejector air is to make sure your belt is tighter than the lap bar.
Gemini- another ecxellent ride, but it would be nicer if they would fix the timing so the coasters stay close enough for hand slapping. A little bit of roughness, but we were in the back seat.
Blue Streak- Classic wood- never disappoints.
MaxAir- I still can't decide if this ride is more thrilling or relaxing. What I know is that it's easily my all-time favorite flat.
Power Tower- was practically a walk-on, and Wes had never ridden it, so we did the drop side. We sat on the side facing TTD, and the view was awesome. The ride was most excellent, too.
Maverick- toward closing time, we headed back to check the line, and it wasn't too bad, so we decided to give it a spin. From the queue, you can't see much of the ride at all, which is a nice suspense builder. By the time we dispatched, it was totally dark, and in the dark the ride was outstanding- lots of air, and lots of surprises with the elements. I rode hands up, and I don't recommend it- between my Thursday and Friday rides, I got a nasty bruise on my right deltoid from being thrown up into the restraint, and I do not bruise easily.
A couple of general observations: Millenium Force is due for a repaint- the blue is getting faded and chalky in places, and the park seemed to be more covered in bird poop that I remember from past trips.
Day two to come.
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