TR: Cedar Point 5/14/1997
Dave Althoff
NOTE: This is the fastest I have ever turned around a trip report...most
of it was typed at the park while waiting in line, and there is a very
good chance that I left something out. If you have any specific questions
about something I failed to mention or mentioned but didn't flesh out,
please let me know! --DCAjr
Trip Report - Cedar Point #1
=========== -------------- 05/14/1997
"Crowd? What crowd?"
Parking/Toll: $5.00
Admission: By season pass
Arrival: 9:10am
Weather: Raining, but by 9:30 it looks like things are clearing up.
Part I: As the park wakes up...
Midway Market: At 9:15, I peeked inside, and there were many people
inside trying to get it finished up. It has a very long way to go,
but when it is finished, it is going to be quite nice. I'm not real
thrilled with the exterior...like the M:TCFKAB station, it is
galvanized courregated. I was a little suprised by the dark green
roof; I would have expected either copper or "patina" to match the
carousel and main gift shop.
Burger Patio: Noticed the new railing here; it looks like last
season's experiment was proclaimed a success.
Cedar Point Cinema: Showing SPEED again. That is one of the better
IMAX films.
Wildcat is being test-run with sandbags instead of water tanks this
season.
Scrambler is now painted shocking pink, blue, orange, purple, and
yellow. It is almost hard on the eyes now, but it is a noticeable
improvement over the aqua and yellow.
Troika also got new paint this season. I think the tubs are the same
color they were last year, but the ride frame is much lighter.
Chaos site prep appears nearly complete, but still no sign of the
ride. Also, the mechanical building (which will house the hydraulic
pumps) is missing its roof.
Jr. Gemini is a lot more colorful now; the train is now yellow,
orange, red, and purple. One of the ride ops also tells me the Jr.
also got new squeeze brakes this year.
Swan Boats: There are eight big 2-passenger swan boats in the lagoon
beween Wave Swinger and Thunder Canyon, with the entrance next to the
carousel pavilion. It looks interesting, anyway...
It looks like Mine Ride has had a footer replaced at the downtrack
end of the helix. The footer is sitting at the bottom of a hole,
with a pile of sand* nearby.
----------
*Sand: What passes for dirt on Cedar Point.
----------
Finally, Schwabinchen got a fresh coat of paint. I think the scenery
panels are the same color scheme as before, but the tubs have now
been painted a bright red with yellow trim.
Part II: Dave goes riding.
1. Mantis: The Coaster Formerly Known as Banshee
Yup, it now has a brake on the first drop. Riding in the front, I
didn't really notice it, but in the back, it caused a jerk that
pitched me against the overhead bar. Early off-season reports were
that the restraints would be changed to reduce headbanging. I
noticed no obvious change. But my head did get pretty well battered
during my back-seat ride; up front was perfectly smooth.
The brake is midway down the first drop, and is obviously
dynamic...feedback provided by the pair of PX switches immediately
uptrack of the brake.
Wait: 7:00 (front seat), 1:40 (last seat)
Note: Walking the empty queue takes about 1:35.
Ride time: 2:40
Interval: 1:08
Capacity (32): 1694 PPH
2. Iron Dragon:
After riding Top Gun a couple of weeks ago, I am more irritated than
ever that I can't seem to figure out what it is about this coaster
that makes it not run well. It just feels like it is bouncing and
shuffling all over the place, and if it would just straighten out and
follow the track, it wouldbe a pretty darned good ride. At the
moment, it is almost annoying.
Wait: 2:03
Ride time: 2:44
Interval: 1:02
Capacity (28): 1626 PPH
3. Corkscrew:
It's quick, it's smooth, and up front it has *loads* of airtime.
What more could you want from a multi-looper? Well, perhaps a more
comfortable seat...my neck is still sore...
Wait: 4:23
Ride time: 1:50
Interval: 1:05
Capacity (24): 1329 PPH
NOTE: Only running two trains.
4. Magnum XL-200:
Possibly the finest steel coaster ever built, but it feels like it is
in need of some attention. Sure, it is running very fast. But it is
also bouncing like crazy, especially on the turnaround knot. There
is also quite a bit of lateral shuffle on that turnaround. I wonder
if Magnum might not be due for new road and guide wheels...
Wait: 5:06
Ride time: 3:20
Interval: 1:23
Capacity (36): 1561 PPH
5. Gemini:
Well, Gemini now has seat belts, much like the ones on Magnum. And
today, they were only running two trains on the red side. For one
thing, the park is very empty. For another, it is cold, and the blue
side in particular doesn't much like the cold. It was just a shade
slow, but the coaster was running smooth and nearly silent, except
when the up-stops crash into the track rail. Oh...the trim brake
calipers have been moved downtrack a few feet, which should alleviate
the problem of trains getting hung up on the trims.
Wait: 6:34
Ride time: 2:50
Interval (30): 1:52 incl. 0:55 wait for train to arrive
Capacity: 964 PPH (would be 1928 w/4 trains)
6. Cedar Creek Mine Ride
This one is running very well, but kind of slow because of the cold.
Ride time should be 2:42; or 2:36 with the brakes off. Today, I rode
with the brakes off and it took 2:46! I also had a nice chat with
Jonathan, Mine Ride Operator and r.r-c contributor. Hi, Jon! 8-)
Wait: 1:42
Ride time: 2:46
Interval: 1:31
Capacity(30): 1187 PPH
NOTE: Only running two trains.
7. Mean Streak
Mean Streak is as violent as ever, but in the front seat I got a
fairly decent ride. The rule still applies: DO NOT touch the seat
back. One of these days CP will understand this and install
upholstered seats n the train. Then perhaps they can shut down those
*two* brakes on the first drop.
Wait: 14:12 (front seat)
Ride time: 3:01
Interval: 1:56
Capacity (28): 869 PPH
NOTE: Only running two trains.
8. Wildcat
My, but this is a fun ride! The seat belt nearly claimed a victim
today, though...when the ride ended, I popped open the lap bar and
nearly leapt out. Fortunately, the Helpful and Friendly Ride
Attendant quickly reminded me to unfasten the seat belt first.
Whoops! 8-)
Wait: 4:01
Ride: 1:26
Interval: 0:36
Capacity (4): 400 PPH
Note: Running 5 cars
9. Raptor
Up front, this is still an awesome ride, even with shoes on. But in
the back, this is really getting rough and hard on the ears. I
wonder why...it is really starting to bounce around a lot.
Oh...Raptor got new overhead bars this year, identical to the old
faded ones except that the safety belt release now has the little
padded buckle someone was asking about recently.
Wait: 17:00 (for front seat)
Ride: 2:52
Interval: 1:34
Capacity (32): 1226 PPH
Note: Running two trains
10. Blue Streak
I'm going to leave off the stats for this one, since the crowd was
light and there was only one train running. Blue Streak is running
fast and smooth this year, and they seem to have finally worked the
kinks out of the lap bar mechanisms. Maybe. The trains got a sharp
new paint job this year, and really look good. Big hellos to r.r-c
correspondents and Blue Streak operators Jason and Brian.
11. Disaster Transport
Ride time: 2:42 (of course)
The queue theming is pretty much gone. But the on-ride theme elemets
are mostly functional. The red lift tracers were [ ON] this time.
The trash that Pete mentioned up in the "repair bay" baskets is still
there. The ride runs well, though, and that is what really counts.
Note that the design of this ride makes it difficult to take timings,
so I didn't.
Part III. Dave meets up with...
By 4:30pm, everything was a walk-on. And I do mean EVERYTHING. I
met up with the elusive Walt Schmidt and unexpectedly encountered
Pete Babic as well. We toured the park a bit, talking CP stuff, and
ran into Jerry Dorf. Before long, we had formed a small mob in the
middle of the midway where we were talking coasters for quite a long
while. It's that oddball Coaster Nut Behavior again, I guess.
Part IV. Dave and Pete get food after closing and find...
After the park closed at 8:00pm, Pete and I stopped at Frickers to
get a sandwich. Shortly after we arrived, the table behind ours
filled up with a whole bunch of CP crew people. Nothing odd about
that; the restaurant is one of the first places you come to when
leaving the Causeway. What got our attention was the fact that these
people were discussing proper ride operation procedure...tricks of
the trade, as it were...even on their off-hours. This leads me to
believe that CP has managed to hire some very conscientious people to
run their rides.
Part V. The wrap-up
It started stormy, but cleared up nicely. Crowd? What crowd? I did
notice a large number of buses in the parking lot, and I did see a
number of students with inclinometers and accelerometers doing their
thing, particularly early in the day. But it was a good crowd, under
decent weather (if a little cool). Once again, the first Wednesday
proves to be a good day to get to the Point. Things are looking
pretty good up there; I think it is going to be another good season.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
--
/-\ _ _ *** Now open every day!!! ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /XX\_ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ _/XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
RCoaster13
Hey Dave,
I was just up at CP on Monday. If you want to compare days and talk
about new things there just give me a e-mail!! I wish I could talk/type
longer but I got to go!!
HAPPY COASTER RIDING!!
"The Future of Roller Coasters"
Matthew Baughman
E-mail: RCoas...@aol.com