Cedar Point 2019 Review: The Coaster Capital
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Entry posted by JoshuaA
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Ever since I was young I always have dreamed of visiting Cedar Point.
Sure it doesn't have as many coasters as Magic Mountain but I feel like Cedar Point has undeniably the better lineup in terms of quality over quantity.
The park also a lot more history than Magic Mountain and is very popular with enthusiasts from around the planet.
Very recently I had the pleasure of visiting for 4 days from Chicago which is a trip I will never forget.
Anyway I'm gonna start off reviewing the coasters as that is really what Cedar Point is known for.
Blue Streak:
(View of Valravn while in line for Blue Streak)
After entering the park it rained heavily resulting to many rides being down.
One of the rides that was open and near the front was Blue Streak, the parks classic out and back woodie.
The ride pleasantly surprised me with its fairly smooth ride experience with some great airtime moments.
The ride isn’t too long in length but it’s a fun ride that families and enthusiasts will enjoy.
I would certainly compare this to something like Big Dipper at BPB, classic but very fun.
It never really gets much of a queue too so its pretty easy to get a bunch of rides on this thing.
Rougarou:
(Taken on another day hence the sun)
After Blue Streak I was pretty set on doing Raptor/Valravn but getting on either of them was a futile effort.. After realising this I walked over to around Millenium Force to see Rougarou, completely walk on.
I literally walked right into the station and right onto the train which was midway through loading, it was crazy!
My overall thoughts of the ride is that it’s pretty good!
It’s nowhere near as painful as Dragons Khan and I really enjoy the more twisty approach the layout of the ride has instead of inversion after inversion.
The ride certainly has a rattle but by no means is it rough!
I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinary but I think this ride gets a bit of a bad rep. It’s not top 5 for Cedar Point by any means, but it’s fun.
The ride like Blue Streak seems to never get much of a queue even on the busiest days which means you get a ton of rides in!
Millennium Force:
Millennium Force is one of the most decisive rides in the world.
It has some hardcore fans, it has its naysayers, and it also has people somewhere in between.
After a 10-20 minute queue through the rain I finally got on this iconic coaster,
And.. This a complicated one to talk about.
So I like Millennium Force- it’s fast, smooth as butter, has a great drop and some decent floater airtime.
The problem with Millennium is that it only really has three proper airtime moments so don’t expect Shambhala levels of air here..
It’s not too forceful either, it’s all about just gliding through the long course gracefully with a bit of airtime chucked in.
Millennium Force I think fits the “jack of all trades, master of none” phrase. It doesn’t really do anything the BEST in the park but its still a very good coaster.
Don't expect Maverick style intensity or Shambhala levels of floater air, everything after the drop is just fun and not exceptional.
I think in a way Millennium Force being on the tamer side is a good thing,
especially when Maverick and Steel Vengeance are in the exact same park.
On another note the restraints on this thing are pretty neat and leave you feeling pretty exposed,
they are a little nutty for us guys though.. Rip future children..
Gemini:
After walking up to Steel Vengeance and seeing it broken down I decided to ride one of the parks five arrow coasters.
Now Gemini is probably the most odd coaster at Cedar Point.
A modestly tall hybrid coaster that duels (but only duels every blue moon)? Yep!
Despite its weirdness I actually quite enjoyed this coaster. It’s not the best layout but the coaster has some airtime and overall it’s a really classic ride.
The ride certainly isn't the most intense thing ever made but it has more airtime than Millennium Force in most rows so its cool.
Fun fact: The Blue side actually was my 100th credit!
I also got stuck on my second ride on the red side! The train stopped on the MCBR which caused a 5 minute delay.
Luckily I got a free line skip from this so I got another ride on Maverick!
Steel Vengeance:
When I saw the announcement for this ride a couple of years ago I said this thing would kick ass.. And holy crap..
QuoteAfter looking at the stats and layout for this ride more, I do believe this might be the best roller coaster ever built- Me, 2017
QuoteThis coaster looks insane, maybe the best RMC? Actually, easily the best RMC- Me, 2017.
I had very high expectations for this coaster, like stupid high. I would be disappointed if this wasn’t my favourite coaster!
So after a fairly decent wait I got into the funky looking trains and the rest was history..
Steel Vengeance is unbelievable,
There is airtime before the lift hill, airtime on every hill, airtime where you wouldn’t expect airtime to be. This coaster has so much airtime it probably has more of it than every UK coaster combined! It’s stupid.
The ride just feels relentless, even the mid course doesn’t really do anything to stop the insanity which is this coaster..
Layout wise the first half is more focused on large scale elements while the second half of the ride stays very low to the ground and uses the ride structure to create some headchoppers.
On my first ride I was hysterically laughing throughout the entire thing, how could a coaster be so relentlessly fun? Every hill delivers so much airtime and every element keeps you interested.
This coaster's layout is pure perfection, it just ticks all the boxes for everything that you could ever want in a coaster.
Now a few people have complained about the restraints and honestly I can understand how it would hurt.
Being around 5’7 and fairly slim I found no issue with the restraints but I can imagine that it could be not ideal for those who are taller or larger.
Besides that I think Steel Vengeance is actually flawless. It’s got a kickass layout with the BEST airtime of any ride I have ever experienced by miles, great inversions, a long length, and headchoppers to boot.
Easily my favourite coaster I have ever ridden,
Steel Vengeance is a MUST ride for any enthusiast.
Magnum XL H20:
So my only other experience with a arrow hyper is The Big One..
*sad violin music*
Going into magnum I wasn’t expecting much considering how boring and painful Big One is, fortunately Magnum exceeded my expectations
Magnum is really everything Big One could of been!
Fun, full of ejector moments, and just overall a enjoyable experience!
The ride has one hill or so at the start that doesn’t deliver much but every other hill throws you out pretty brutally which is good for those who like a bit of ejector air.
Sure its not the smoothest ride on the planet but the ride gives so much airtime I didn't really care.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the ride due to its remote location.
Due to being fairly out of the way from the park the ride never really gets much of a queue either which is great if you wanna lap this thing!
Due to the torrential rain the ride was temporarily introduced as “Magnum XL H20” which was very fitting when the tunnels were dripping with water! This made for a cool unintentional water effect.
Maverick:
Maverick is the ride that managed to completely change my mind on a manufacturer, Intamin.
My previous experiences with Intamin had been rides such as Colossus (why?), Furius Baco (just no), Rita (just burn it).
My only good experience with this company is probably Red Force or Stealth and both of those rides aren’t really anything to write home about.
Maverick definitely has opened my eyes to the potential of Intamin, this coaster is nothing short of spectacular.
First off the queue and ride itself is probably the prettiest the park has to offer. The queue for this ride is also mostly in the shade which is good on a hot day/rainy day.
Once on ride Maverick is a pretty intense coaster that has the best banked turns I’ve experienced and a few airtime moments that are absolutely fab, not forgetting a brilliant first drop and second launch.
The ride like SV is relentless, crazy element after crazy element. The airtime moments are full on ejector like SV too.
Unlike other Intamin coasters Maverick utilises the new soft vest restraints which make the ride experience much more comfortable. I really wish rides like Rita got these as it would make the ride much more tolerable.
The more I rode Maverick the more I questioned if this was my favourite coaster. In the end I decided I prefer Steel Vengeance but only barely.
After riding Maverick I can see why American enthusiasts love to suck the **** of Intamin so much.
Brilliant coaster.
Gatekeeper:
Now I’ll admit that I don’t like Swarm.
It’s kinda short and force less, don’t get the love for it.
Gatekeeper overall is really just a much bigger and better version of Swarm (take away the theming).
I like it more than Swarm, it’s definitely a good coaster, but not my thing.
Like the wing over drop is great and the coaster has that cool inversion over the park entrance which is cool.
But still when it comes to forces and the fairly tight B&M vests it’s just kinda okay in my books.
Overall I think B&M wings are just not my thing in general, they are too forceless for my taste, though Gatekeeper is currently my favourite one.
I'm also not a fan of the ending of this ride, like that helix? Why? Other than that section the layout is actually pretty decent, I especially like the dive loop.
Raptor:
Raptor is a pretty hard one for me to rank.
I enjoyed the overall forcefulness of it but I wasn’t a fan of cobra roll and some of the other transitions which made me think it hasn't perhaps aged all that well.
I feel like Nemesis overall has aged and rides a lot better than Raptor, Nemesis in comparison is pretty butter smooth.
Despite it being a little brutal the ride has some great moments like a really forceful zero g roll and an incredible helix which is my favourite moment on any invert, period.
If the cobra roll and transition the brakes were smoother I probably would rank this ride above Nemesis,
though sadly these transitions really held the ride back for me.
I would rank Raptor as a lot better than Batman and Inferno but I would say just a little behind Nemesis due to its roughness.
On another note the ride didn't get too much of a queue which made re-rides easy!
Valravn:
My only other dive coaster is Oblivion so this has to be better than that right?
Well, barely?
Valravn has all the right stats and a pretty great layout, though the ride itself is highly underwhelming.
I think the rides awful restraints play a role.
There is a time and a place for B&M vests, dive coasters are just not made to have these things.
The restraint neuters the main appeal of the ride (the drop)!
Even worse the station only loads one train at a time which makes the throughput seem like a lot less than Oblivion..
I think Sheikra and Griffon will ride way better than this, the restraints really hold this ride back and prevent you from really feeling any of the drops.
To clarify,
Not a bad ride.
Just could be so much better!
On another note, Valravn’s last inversion is incredibly fun!
Iron Dragon:
Another one of the many arrows this park has in its lineup, Iron Dragon is certainly more of a scenic ride than anything and that’s a good thing in a park like Cedar Point.
I found the ride to be pretty good for it’s age and the ride looks brilliant!
I would probably rank Vampire above it due to the new trains and more intense ride experience but Iron Dragon is certainly much more scenic.
Sure its very tame but I think this ride has its place in the park and it doesn't seem to take up too much space.
Top Thrill Dragster:
“What the fu** am I doing?”- My exact words when waiting for the launch in the front row on my first ride.
Top Thrill Dragster is my first strata coaster, and holy crap did it deliver.
Dragster is a massive one trick pony but when it does that trick so damn well, I can’t complain.
The launch is incredibly intense and smooth (unlike Red Force) and the ride has a decent throughput for its ride type.
The staff are very good with the dual loading which makes the queue a little more bearable.
The rides launch is incredibly forceful like Stealth’s but isn’t rough like Red Forces and the ride has a very comfortable lap bar which leaves you feeling pretty exposed!
Overall Top Thrill Dragster only has one trick up its sleeve but that trick is executed perfectly which makes it my third favourite in the park.
The only really downside to this ride is the downtime. Though with its hydraulic launch that is to be expected.
I also found the queue-line to be a little unbearable on the sunny days due to it being COMPLETELY exposed with no shade whatsoever.
Cedar Creek Mine Ride:
Cedar Creek kinda falls into a similar category as Iron Dragon; very pretty and lovely views but by no means anything worth shouting about.
Its a fun mine train that is better than El Diablo but by no means it is something I rode more than once (hence no pictures of it).
I think in the future this ride might be removed for a new coaster due to its fairly large footprint, the ride also doesn't seem too popular with the public anyways.
Overall a classic ride but I see it biting the dust somewhat soon due to its fair sized footprint and its fairly low popularity.
Wicked Twister:
If placed at most other parks this ride would be one of the signature attractions, though at Cedar Point this ride kinda gets overlooked.
Wicked Twister is the tallest inverted coaster in operation (not even joking) and is a incredibly fun impulse coaster.
It’s not MaverBae or SteelVengBae but it’s a great coaster with forceful and fun launches.
I do prefer V2 at Six Flags Great America (spoilers) but Wicked Twister was still a great coaster! I really enjoy the twisting spikes and sheer height of this thing, its just a fun time.
I was surprised how this thing never got a line tbh, I think it really speaks about just how the packed the Cedar Point lineup is.
Corkscrew:
I didn't ride Corkscrew until Day 3 and going in I was expecting to be in pain and bored.
This was surprisingly quite fun, not the best coaster but it was enjoyable.
I preferred this over Demon actually, the airtime hill after the drop caught me off guard, that element actually gives good airtime!
The ride overall I found to be pretty smooth for a arrow looper and overall quite fun.
This ride also looks really really pretty on the midway!
Operations:
Cedar Point overall had pretty great operations. 3 trains on all B&M's, well done dual loading stations on Maverick and TTD, 2-3 trains on Steel Veng, overall very solid.
Stacking did occur but operations were still pretty great considering the amount of trains they ran.
Its no Europa but probably the second best operations I have experienced, very good!
I really enjoyed the running commentary some of the staff gave while in the queue, it was something very different to the UK.
For example while in line for Magnum while waiting for the train to come back one of the staff had a microphone and was listing some of the stats and started quizzing the queue on the rides history. I found this really cool and it made the queue much more fun.
This also happened on rides like Blue Streak and Gemini and seemed to really mostly happen on the quieter days.
I have to say props to the staff running the rides for doing things like that as it made the short wait feel even less like a wait at all.
I think as a whole Cedar Point delivered really good operations but its certainly not as good as Europa. But that is a hard act to follow.
Conclusion:
Cedar Point is a park with good operations and one of the best if not the best coaster lineup on this planet.
Its not surprise why enthusiasts worship this place and I think every enthusiast should visit this park in their lifetime.
I think I still prefer Europa Park in terms of the full package (food, atmosphere, theming, ect) but Cedar Point is easily my second favourite.
I hope you enjoyed this review,
Six Flags Great America next.
(so much airtime I can barely open my eyes!)
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