The park was congested. I was surprised to find the causeway running much more slowly than it had on my previous visits, and it took us a solid 45 minutes to make it from the causeway to a parking spot, and then another ten minutes to walk to the security line. After our time in a car, the walk was honestly welcome.
Give credit where credit is due - to the park, for providing enough charming sights that we never focused on our sticky discomfort in the heat, and to the other patrons, who were generally polite and amiable despite lines spilling out from most attractions. As this was my girlfriend's first trip, I tried to play the role of tour guide and strike a balance between hitting flagship rides and maximizing ride time (and minimizing line time). Her only must-ride was Millennium Force, which she had heard about since childhood. Not knowing about Top Thrill Dragster's chronic maintenance issues last season, I suggested skipping it, probably a mistake. However, she seemed to enjoy the day, so hopefully I did my job.
GateKeeper (Credit 33, 4/9 Today, 10/44 Overall)
Our double-date counterparts were not drawn to extreme coasters like we were, and they were also not planning to spend the full day at the park. My girlfriend and I could easily save our marquee rides for the evening. I convinced them to try GateKeeper, as it is known for being a smooth and mild ride despite its size, which can intimidate new guests. I was trying to keep a lid on my budding coaster enthusiasm so as not to bore them, but I did suggest riding from the middle and avoiding the outside seats to limit the intensity (as well as the anxiety of a full, unobstructed view of the drops and near-misses). GateKeeper was a solid start to the day, and had a wait of only 20 minutes on a day where even Rougarou surpassed an hour wait at times. GateKeeper is a gorgeous ride from the queue and from the track. Its wing-over drop can be startling, but it is silky-smooth and above all creates a pleasant soaring sensation with the midway, the park entrance, and the water all in full view. The twists through and around the keyholes are slow and surreal, and the sights are as much a part of the ride as the sensations. I have read some talk about an occasional rattle on GateKeeper, but I have never felt it. I cannot pinpoint the source of my love for this ride, but I could not imagine going to Cedar Point and skipping it.
Corkscrew (Credit 10, 7/9 Today, 36/44 Overall)
Our causeway misadventure had eaten into some park time, and it was already half past noon when we left GateKeeper. We ate a small lunch in the dining area adjacent to its station to take some much-needed shade and plan the rest of our afternoon. Feeling lucky not to have betrayed my new friends' trust on our first meeting, I took a risk in suggesting Corkscrew. It was a station wait, whereas even Blue Streak was drawing a 30-minute crowd to this point. My "sell" was on the historical value of the ride (as well as its moderate height). I warned the group that it would not be nearly as smooth a ride as GateKeeper. It should come as no surprise that I was right. The layout for Corkscrew is as simple as can be - lift, drop, odd airtime hill, loop, turnaround, double corkscrew, the end. This specific looper, though, is particularly noteworthy for tumbling gracefully over the midway, where pedestrians can marvel at riders, mistaking their cries of pain for screams of delight. If I am being sincere, though, Corkscrew was running fairly well on this day. There were no uncomfortable jolts, and best of all, the vertical loop felt satisfying. None of us were clamoring for a re-ride, which I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised that all four felt glad that we had ridden it. We moved on, seeking more shade and more short waits.
Iron Dragon (Credit 8, 8/9 Today, 23/44 Overall)
I have had an affinity for Iron Dragon since I first rode it at 10 years old with its old paint scheme. The whole seems to vastly exceed the sum of its parts. The Arrow suspended model also provides a unique experience. I was surprised that we waited for all 20 minutes of the advertised wait time. On this day, there was a slight stagnant air to the water, which was less-than-pleasant in the July heat, but once we were in motion, the cooling sensation of rushing through the woods gave us wanted respite. On this 2019 ride, I was underwhelmed by the first half of the course. It felt slow - maybe this was imagined, or I was leaning too heavily into my nostalgic memories of the ride. I was more than satisfied with the section after the second lift, when the ride comes out into open air over the water, but it felt even shorter than usual with the tame first half. Once again, none of us left the ride needing a second go, which saddened me a little bit.
Our friends found some merchandise and flat rides while my girlfriend and I attempted a ride on Rougarou. After an uncharacteristically long wait, the ride went down as we were in the station for what appeared to be a calibration issue with the retracting station floor. The crew cycled trains while they awaited maintenance, and after it became apparent that the ride would be down for much of the afternoon, we sought out our friends again.
Gemini (Credit 6, 5/9 Today, 18/44 Overall)
While a seasoned Cedar Point veteran would scoff at our meandering path through the park, both Gemini and Magnum XL-200 were billed as walk-ons. Gemini was about the largest ride our friends were keen to brave, so we hopped aboard for a race. Gemini was running wonderfully today. The first drop is deceptively intense, and that initial jolt lends an energy to the rest of the course, which overall is standard dueling-coaster fare. The handchoppers are effective, and the upward helix into the brake run is forceful and exhilarating. I hope the ride still has many years of service left in it. Our friends commented on the drop, but still had smiles on their faces exiting the ride. (We "won," for the record.)
Magnum XL-200 (Credit 12, 3/9 Today, 6/44 Overall)
Our friends overshot the ride to seek out the caricature artist at the next landing, and my girlfriend and I struggled for a moment to find the entrance. Magnum XL-200 had a station wait, I think a product of the ride's capacity more than its overall crowd. People were filing into the station healthily behind us, and yet there were three trains in steady motion. My girlfriend's primary priority was the thrilling view of a front-row ride, and while I have finally grown into an airtime addict, this was her first visit to the park, and I happily acquiesced to make the ride special. She loved the view of Lake Erie, the rush of air into the tunnels, and of course the massive first drop. I was nearly salivating over the return trip, such was the caliber of ride on this warmed-up track.
As we left the station, our friends were still being drawn, so we hopped in line for another ride. My girlfriend indulged my curiosity to ride it from the back (I had not yet found out about the "magic seat"), and was surprised at how different the ride felt. It was borderline-violent, and I am actually somewhat glad that I did not seek out Row 1-3. I definitely did not sway her preference, but we both enjoyed each lap immensely.
We met with our friends, who at this point were somewhat coasted out. It was getting to be nearly 5:00 p.m., the heat and crowds were at their peak, and their four coasters, plus flats, plus reunion time felt like a fulfilling day to them. We walked them to the entrance and said a cheery goodbye, then wandered off to find more "bargain" waits.
Blue Streak (Credit 15, 6/9 Today, 25/44 Overall)
While not the most glamorous ride, and my girlfriend was less than impressed with its stature, she was still enthusiastic about riding as many coasters as possible. The wait for Blue Streak was down to 20 minutes, while Raptor had not gone below 70 all day, Valravn had not gone below 105, Maverick was hovering around 90, Top Thrill Dragster oscillated between 70 and 90, and even GateKeeper had gotten up to a 45-minute wait. Steel Vengeance had not budged below three hours. We boarded for a single lap (front row, of course), and had an impressively smooth ride. I think she is definitely more of a coaster modernist, seeking speed and sights, whereas I experience coasters just as much as a museum of architectural and engineering history. This was definitely an "indulge the silly boyfriend" moment.
Rougarou (Credit 34, 9/9 Today, 35/44 Overall)
Rougarou had just gone back up, and we felt like we should redeem the time sunk into queuing for it earlier, so we went that way. We hopped in the front row and took a single lap. Having ridden Mantis in its prime, and generally enjoying it, my opinion is that the floorless conversion amplifies both the pros and cons of the layout. However, the cons now impede the experience, and I enjoy Rougarou much less than I enjoyed it as Mantis. The view rounding the pre-drop turnaround is awe-inspiring, both looking down to Iron Dragon and the pond, and looking out to Valravn and Millennium Force. The drop and vertical loop felt fantastic in the floorless trains, and the dive loop is always an impressive element. However, at the apex of the inclined loop, the ride's scale shifts down, to whip riders through a compact second half. It was at this point that Rougarou became a merciless headbanger. This was the only ride all day that my girlfriend professed not to enjoy. Mutual consensus: "That ride is mean!"
Millennium Force (Credit 14, 2/9 Today, 2/44 Overall)
We had a stroke of luck as we sought one more coaster before dinner. Millennium Force was advertising only a 50-minute wait, and in practice, it was only half that! This was my girlfriend's principal mission for today's trip. Because our wait was so much shorter than expected, we gladly rested in the shady station for a few additional trains to secure a front-row ride. Being musicians, we were both humming the space-age, ringtone-length theme song within two cycles.
Once a consensus masterpiece, cleaning house in Golden Ticket Awards, Millennium Force has become polarizing among coaster enthusiasts. Derided by some as "Millennium Forceless" and compared unfavorably to the B&M giga coasters that have opened since (and to Intimidator 305, Intamin's other contribution to the genre), the ride is also defended ardently by riders who cannot forget the experience of soaring through the woods with a crystal-clear Lake Erie in the corner of their eyes. I fall squarely into the latter camp. First of all, for any who would question the ride's ability to pull forces, I have never ridden Millennium Force without graying out while pulling up into the overbanked turn. Even if the rest of the ride relaxes on the extremity, the gentle floater air contributes to a grandiose, high-speed nature tour. The tunnels serve as a reminder that the train is going very, very fast.
As we got off the train, I was hopeful that the ride had lived up to my girlfriend's expectations. Her verdict: "That was dope as [redacted]!"
My girlfriend was agreeable to making time for a ride on Steel Vengeance, no matter the wait (if this blog hasn't made it clear, she is just the best, and also a great ride partner). We decided to get dinner at the in-park Melt location, then head back across the park to Steel Vengeance, hoping that we would have some time left over for one or two others after. For those unfamiliar, Melt is a small chain specializing in deluxe grilled cheese sandwiches. They have a sports-bar vibe. I triple-fisted beverages - a pint of craft beer, joined by plenty of water and Sprite to rehydrate from a long day in the sun. My girlfriend enjoyed a whiskey sour along with her water. Service was not fast, but was also more than adequate given the crowd. Grilled cheese, with all due respect, is impossible to mess up, so suffice it to say that we were thrilled with our dinner choice, knowing that we would have plenty of time to digest in line for our next ride.
Steel Vengeance (Credit 35, 1/9 Today, 1/44 Overall)
By this point in the night, I was having trouble containing the nerdier side of my love for this park. This would be my first RMC, and I was aware of how beloved the ride is by many enthusiasts. I condensed the ride's story, its predecessor, Mean Streak, and some noteworthy points about its superlative reception, into a 30 second elevator speech. My girlfriend humored me for that (she really is the best), and did not balk when I saw the sign indicating a 150-minute wait, looked at her, and said, "Let's go!"
It was not yet 9:00 p.m. and there was still some light in the sky as we entered the queue. There is still a fair amount of interactive social media material available from the queues, as well as a number of HD screens that were definitely not present in the Mean Streak days. The queue offers an incredible view of the massive first drop, and each passing train built my excitement. The other thing that struck me in line, besides the number of excellent views of different ride elements, was the number of gigantic spiders making their homes in the support structure. I would think that the tremors would feel like magnitude-9.0 earthquakes to those little guys, but apparently not. Arachnophobes, beware.
Our total wait time was only 90 minutes as we boarded the train. While the updated articles policy was in place, and did not hold the line up, I was surprised by the insistence of the ride ops on personally lowering the lapbars. I understand the rationale, but I did notice that it slowed down each train's dispatch. As we headed out from the station, the night sky had fully darkened. The chain lift offered a gorgeous view of virtually the entire park. The lit torches to our left created a new kind of ominous anticipation. I could not contain my excitement.
Luckily, I did not have to. On most rides, I get a slight stalling sense cresting the lift hill. Steel Vengeance ripped us into its descent before I could process that we were near the top. We were assigned a middle row, and it is unfathomable to me that I could have experienced an even-more-intense version of that drop. For the first time all day, my scream was involuntary, and my hands were not up - I was genuinely afraid. From that point on, we were off to the races. I could not believe how thrilling, how brilliantly sequenced, and how right everything about the coaster felt. It was long and winding, and the relentless doses of airtime did not allow me to settle in. Unlike other rides of similar intensity, though, I had the freedom to look around and appreciate the ingenious use of the ride structure for handchoppers and a general dizzying effect.
As we left the station, my girlfriend repeated her verdict from Millennium Force - and then broke out in a run toward that ride. We closed our evening with a mini-marathon on Millennium Force, securing four consecutive laps that ended just after midnight. If I had worked a day as long and hard as operating a popular and iconic roller coaster on a hot, crowded Saturday, I can only hope that I would have the generosity of spirit to allow some extra "last rides" to the general public after gate closing.
Despite the crowds causing us to miss some important credits - Maverick, Raptor, Top Thrill Dragster, and Valravn (which I have not yet ridden) - this was a magical day. That I am writing about it more than six months later should be a testament to that.
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